6562: Open To Interpretation.

OK, still wasn’t buying the “translation” for the Russian ice cream ad referencing President Barack Obama. Phrases like “Flavor of the Week” seemed very odd. After all, in Russia’s last election, citizens were given a choice between voting for Vladimir Putin’s puppet or potentially losing their jobs or worse. This is not a country offering flavors of the week. At the agency’s website, the original ad appears (depicted here with another from the campaign).

Duet is an ice cream bar that combines two flavors, and the ads are dramatizing this feature. The Obama ad—for the vanilla and chocolate version—literally reads:

It’s on everyone’s lips—Dark in White.
Wow! Give it.

The second ad literally reads:

Staring at Banana—thinking of Strawberry?
Wow! Give it.

Now, one might still argue that the Obama ad displays cultural cluelessness. But it doesn’t necessarily make a political statement about the candidacy or election. The creators might actually have been seeking to celebrate the event.

You make the call.