Take A Vacation — Get Blown Up By A Terrorist

    Coming so soon after the Boston bombings, these award-winning travel ads are especially head-shaking.

    White Collar Hippie is a small online travel agency with offices in Mumbai (home office) and London.

    The campaign won a Bronze Lion at the Cannes Creativity Festival last summer. But the ads are being circulated on advertising and design sites this week.

    Certainly, using these startling YouTube screen captures is an "edgy" idea. But these ads were created mainly to win awards. The large ad agency (BBDO, Mumbai) went out and found a smaller client with nothing to lose to "buy" the ads: it's doubtful they ran anywhere noteworthy, if at all. White Collar does link to the ads on their website.

    And top ad agency creative directors wonder why their jobs are becoming increasingly irrelevant.

    Now, this is a great travel campaign.