Folks got it all wrong. People think they don’t like ads, or commercials, but that ain’t the truth. We just don’t like most ads and commercials. Some ads, however, are evocative, iconic, simple (like Absolut, Patagonia, Eileen Fisher, Prana). Some are over the top crazy (the best Super Bowl ads). And some are…funny. These are ads we love, ads we actually want to look at, and aren’t just a waste of paper, pixels or a chance to run to the kitchen between segments on the Daily Show or Seinfeld.

TDA Advertising & Design—which created our Gay Rights cover a good year or so before the tragic backstep that is Prop 8 passed—has long been the snark and style behind Hapa Sushi—every one of their hundreds of ads has caught my eye, and often sparked a grin. Here’s a sampling:

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Creative Statement, via TDA:

We are  grateful for the many years we have worked with Hapa. It gave us a start in the restaurant world. The work got us on the radar of, and then hired by, Chipotle. After riding with them through a very successful IPO we got kicked out the door by Chipotle,  but that  work got us hired a year ago by Pizza Inn which has been awesome. So we owe a lot to the Hapa relationship. Mark has been a pleasure to work with as a client and I consider him a good friend.

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A look back at our Gay Rights cover by TDA:

TDA

We sent five mindful ideas to world-class advertising and design agency TDA, based in Boulder, Colorado. And then, we thought of doing a cover on Gay Rights—which, while having nothing to do with yoga organics sustainability conscious consumerism Buddhadharma contemplative art ecofashion did have plenty to do with active citizenry, one of our 15 areas of focus. And, to their credit, TDA jumped at the challenge. It’s our first serious cover. It’s a statement, thanks to their imaginative design: that our generation, limited not by age but rather defined by compassion and respect, will not stand for any portion of our population to be stripped of their basic American (human) rights.

tdaad.com: “Gay marriage is not even a question if you have a sense of decency and respect for fellow Americans who

are gay. You would think that there are enough politicians in high places with gay children that we would not have to wait

any longer for gay marriage to become a reality (if only the Vice President of the United States had a lesbian daughter!)”

Will Geddes, an art director at the agency, designed this cover and is happy to officiate your gay wedding.