Adventures in Law Advertising: Monster-in-Law
This advertisement, from tiny divorce and bankruptcy firm Davis and Millard, appeared in an Atlanta magazine in June:
We get confusing messages. With the curly font and all the pink, it seems like it should be an ad for lip gloss for teens. But the menacing way the woman grips that rolling pin puts fear in our hearts. The color motif and menace bear a striking similarity to this Serial Mom movie poster.
The text at the top of the ad -- "Moving on means never having to talk to your mother-in-law again" -- reminds us a bit of this earlier advertisement: "Life's short. Get a divorce."
(34) Comments
First to say, wow, that woman really likes pink!
are we sure thats a rolling pin shes holding....
Notice the uncontested divorces start "at" (read: "FROM") $599. That amount won't even cover an hour on retainer. Lame.
How about some news about white guys with asian girls??
- King of WGWAG
Divorces from $599 = classy
I think its great. beats the hell out of the same old boring lawyer ads that are equally misleading and deceptive. Why not have a laugh?
Note to self: Make sure future ex-wife is represented by this firm.
HTH.
Did the Duane Morris marketing group create this ad?
This blog is so in the shitter.
Kash can divorce me anytime.
I wish my mother-in-law looked that good.
Guys at my high school used to hook up with their mother-in-laws all the time. It was no big deal...until some snitch sent an email to the hiring partner and ratted them out.
Note to #3: Uncontested divorces shouldn't take more than an hour....and given that paralegals do all of the prep work anyway, $599 seems a little high....
I thought initially it was a chick lit book ad.
Moving on means never having to talk to your mother-in-law again?
As an expert in this area (divorces, not divorce law) let me just say it ain't necessarily so.
4 years after my divorce my ex-mother-in-law, a frighteningly unattractive German émigré who drove a school bus and could have (and probably did) medaled in shot-put throwing, attended a post decree child support modification hearing.
(This is the hearing that occurs when your 9 year old daughter returns from a visit with dad holding a photo taken with the new GF and mom concludes that Dad must now be making a $100K a month.)
The hearing was, well, unpleasant. Ex-mother-in-law—who could have starred in the Epic of Gilgamesh, actually whistled out loud for effect whenever she thought her pro se daughter made a particularly compelling point.
My solution was to write Monster-in-Law a letter enclosing the order resolving the issue my way, and further indicating that she leant the proceedings just the right “touch of class” normally missing from the pro se divorce/OSC calendar.
I never heard from the woman again.
Not the most flattering picture of Hillary....
15 - dating 100k a month woman? very nice.
15: Good to see that you're setting a positive example for your daughter.
15 here
i wanted a son.
19: That is harsh. Please let me know what club she'll be dancing at in a few years. I don't like a challenge.
WTF is SKIRT! magazine? Hotlantans? The answer could either be harmless, or evidence a new low in law firm advertising...
Is anyone familiar with the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct? An advertisement such as this probably wouldn't fly in some states. Just sayin' ...
@22 what the hell are you talking about?
Name one state where it is unethical to advertise that getting a divorce means you don't have to talk to a bitchy geriatric harridan.
As a GA family lawyer I don't see anything in the ad that would violate the RPC.
I will say that there are at least 10 good firms in Atlanta that exclusively handle family law cases. Obviously, this is not one of them.
Advertising that you do both flat fee uncontested cases and "complex contested divorces" = TTT.
Why do people take things so seriously? It's an ad -- and it's fun. Obviously, it has created some buzz -- isn't that the purpose of advertising?
The flashy advertising covers the shoddy legal work. It is actually a great tactic for peddling to the massess in a TTT practice area.
HTH.
Just because attorneys have a sense of humor doesn't mean they do shoddy work.
This ad makes me laugh everytime I see it! They had it on a billboard near ATL. Its nice to see a law firm with a sense of humor. I'm sick of lawyers that only have a sense of humor after 4 drinks.
21. Skirt is a womens magazine in ATL
The writer makes this comment below the ad;
"The text at the top of the ad -- "Moving on means never having to talk to your mother-in-law again" -- reminds us a bit of this earlier advertisement: "Life's short. Get a divorce.""
Other than divorce I see nothing in common. What does it take to be a writer these days!
It's actually quite funny... though, "Life is short, get a divorce" is waaaay f'in funnier.
27 -
24 here. I agree that having a sense of humor does not mean they do shoddy work. Flipping uncontested divorces that "start at $599" means they do shoddy work.
27 & 30: You both must have had sub-170 LSAT scores as your faulty reading comprehension and logic of the brilliant statement that I made in 26. I suppose that is what a state school education gets you.
HTH.
... there are some serious d-bags posting comments in here.
33 - I agree... snob attorneys (32) are what give the rest of us a bad name. BTW the LSAT has never helped me actually win a case, must be 32 is still stuck writing briefs 7 years out of law school.