LG Says Life's Good in the Ghetto
This is an LG billboard in Caracas, Venezuela, shot from one of the city's worst slums.
As the ANIMAL blog notes, there's a certain disconnect in the slogan, "Life's Good" and the board's context.
This is a test contextual ad for the SHOPPING category. It should appear on all SHOPPING entries, unless the subcategory has its own ad.

You see stuff like this all over South America. There are smiling, pan-ethnic consumers on billboards in some of the most destitute areas of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Who exactly are these companies advertising to?
Seems to me that a more effective way to garner attention to your company in such an area would be to donate to a local community center or something, if one exists.