Clever! As part of their effort to sell homo-inspired Tom of Finland cologne, some ingenious marketing types launched an international ad campaign incorporating something every gay loves: a phallus!

The drawings of topless men started appearing next to lamp posts, bollards and pipes in San Francisco earlier this month.

Others have appeared in the Marais area of Paris.

The posters have been arranged with the street furniture to leave passers-by with a none-too-subtle image of masculinity.

The drawings have been placed as part of an advertising campaign for Tom of Finland, a new aftershave from French fragrance firm Etat Libre d'Orange.

The scent is named after the homoerotic artist known as Tom of Finland, who was famed for his heavily muscled and sexualized drawings of gay men.

All the posters used in the campaign, which was devised by the Ogilvy agency, are based on his work.

The Tom of Finland fragrance is designed to smell like "a guy coming out of a shower" according to Antoine Lie, who created it for Etat Libre d'Orange.

Hmm, when we think Tom of Finland, we don't think "clean." But maybe that's just us…

We know that we’re not perfect. As much as we love all things gay, there are some things that some of our fellow homos do that make us cringe: frosted hair, mesh shirts, rainbow ringed necklaces, Miatas. We know we usually have more taste and style than the straights, but sometimes good taste turns to tackiness, kitsch, garishness. Like Elton John.

And we’re cool with tacky things, but only when they’re done in that smart, ironic way. Think Todd Oldham. Sometimes The Gays go a bit overboard. Leave it to a bunch of fags to get so inspired by Brokeback Mountain to create art. Really bad art, but art nonetheless.

Defamer recently found that eBay has become the hot spot for your original artwork inspired by Brokeback Mountain. It will look great next to your Judy Garland photograph or your Tom of Finland poster, honey. Psyche.

They’re so bad, they’re almost good. At least we found something to get Andy Towle for his birthday this year.

Brokeback Mania Inspires Art [Defamer]
Brokeback Gay Paintings [eBay]