June 5, 2009

By Jacob Berkman

Click on the photo to view video:

The Jewish Agency for Israel seems to have finally picked up on what Israel’s tourism ministry discovered a few years back -- sex sells.

Israel previously tried to spur tourism to the Holy Land with a series of racy ads featuring hot Israeli women on the beach, and by pushing forward such classic photo spreads in MAXIM Magazine as the Women of the IDF.

Now the organization that has long been tasked with promoting immigration to Israel is trying to sell its MASA program to recent American graduates through a series of steamy viral videos.

That JAFI, the classically old school quasi governmental Israeli-based organization, commissioned Heeb Magazine to produce the videos probably speaks to a recognition on behalf of JAFI that it has to shake its crusty image. (One can only wonder at how much Heeb charged for the parntership.)

The entire campaign, “Israel: a Better Stimulus Package,” is aimed at convincing recent American college graduates that they can get some career development in Israel while waiting out the bad economy.

We will see whether the ads resonate with the 20-something set.

But the bigger question may be how will donors react. The series of three ads featuring the same girl trying to figure out how she should make money right out of college during the midst of a recession really are kind of risqué.

In the video above, MASA’s heroine has decided that she wants to be a surrogate mother. When a couple comes to check out the merchandise, she ends of disrobing. The footage includes a shot of her panties dropping to the floor.

In this one below she is trying out her standup routine at an old age home. She talks about her college education: “Good thing I had the insight to have a minor in getting high and watching reruns of scrubs. This one likes marijuana. I bet you have a half an O in your bag.”

When she asks the old folks about the recession, one replies: “Your recession is for pussies.”