The sense of humor of French notaries
The least we can say is that the ad content of French notaries has taken a sharp turn in a decade.
In the summer 2020, the Chamber of French Notaries from Gironde (think Bordeaux as the main city of this southwest district) published this ad. Shocking! They had to remove the ad after only 48 hours. The ad was deemed misogynistic and tasteless. Others liked it, even saying they didn’t know notaries had a sense of humor!
Ad English translation: The kids are not the only ones who are reuniting with their “maîtresse” at the end of the summer. The pun revolves around the word “maîtresse”, which can mean a primary school teacher … or your lover, depending on the context!
Below is their 2015 campaign, which showcased the diversity of the French population. I believe it was the talk of the town, and was pretty well received. “Passez à l’acte” has a double meaning, as it means to take a romantic relationship to the next level or to sign a notarial deed.
The idea was to invite people to consult their notaries to discuss their next matrimonial steps, be it a wedding or PACS (a civil contract that may be signed between two people, a kind of substitute for marriage).
Or this one:
It was such a far cry from their 2010 campaign ad, which was dusty, to say the least, despite their try at playing on words …. And no women in sight! (40% of French notaires are women).
