The following collection of Penguin advertisements for a new line of audiobooks featuring Penguins' classic book collection was recently sent to me. Avid reader and lover of literature that I am, I was instantly transported back to the beautifully engaging story of each of the books depicted. And yet, I couldn't avoid the alarmingly phallic nature of these so-dubbed "ear worm" ads.

The Jungle Book - Penguin Audio Book Ad	The Wizard of Oz - Penguin Audio Book Ad
The Pied Piper of Hamelin - Penguin Audio Book Ad

I most certainly understand the connection between the creative and the message -- with these audiobooks, the characters will literally crawl their way through your ear, enter your mind and awaken your imagination!

However, the highly anatomical creative approach has (hopefully unintentionally) layered onto it an understandable case of mistaken identity. At face value, yes the body part depicted could very well be that of a human's ear canal but there is another, less child-friendly, male body part that also comes to mind!

With that said, I do love the texture and colour palette of the ads. Since the subject matter is classic children's literature, the subdued tones and almost-rough texture definitely allude to an older but no less venerable time in literature.

Details on where these ads will appear -- both geographically and in which publications -- are unavailable, but I would be very surprised if they made it to the North American market. Angry parents armed with words and acts of outrage instantly come to mind...

(The ads were created by Y&R.)