New legislation proposed in Congress today would require the U.S. Department of Education to study the nutritional value of foods available in schools, as well as the forms of food marketing. Sponsored by Representatives Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and Todd Platt (R-PA), the National School Food Marketing Assessment Act has a large roster of supporters, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, National Parent Teacher Association, American Heart Association, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
marketing
Are All Xbox 360s Doomed To Fail? Student Survey Aims To Find Out
By 9.18.09
Reader Ben Strauss is doing a cool project for his marketing class – he’s surveying Xbox owners to find out how many have had failed Xboxes and/or know someone who does. So far he’s interviewed 200 people and is seeing a 71% failure rate, with 85% of respondents saying they know someone with a failed Xbox. Ben writes:
Play Doh Ads Make Crying Out For Help Fun
By 9.16.09
These Play Doh ads from Singapore don’t seem to be aimed at kids. Then again, the message “safe no matter what you make” seems to be aimed directly at parents of kids who play with Play Doh, which leads us back to our initial thought, which is wtf kind of kid requiring parental supervision is shaping eerily realistic looking bottles of pills and razor blades for fun? Play Doh, the fun sad toy that tastes like tears!
Danish Government Promotes Unwanted Pregnancies, Tourism
By 9.16.09
Here’s another one for the apology pile: the Danish government is apparently very, very sorry for creating one of the most bizarre tourism campaigns ever. VisitDenmark, which promotes tourism, created a fake website for a pretty young mom who got drunk one night, had sex with a stranger, ended up with a baby, then made an internet video to find the father. The story was purely a hoax—the young woman, an actor; the baby, not hers—and many people sucked in by the sad tale are now pissed off.
Doctors Smack Down "Smart Choices" Campaign Labeling Fruit Loops As "Healthy"
By 9.16.09
Last week we pointed you toward the New York Times’ report on the dubious Smart Choices campaign, an industry-backed, pseudo-science marketing effort to convince you Froot Loops and other sugary cereals really are part of a complete, healthy breakfast. The Sustainable Food blog is not amused at the existence of such a program, and put together a list of 10 reasons Smart Choices is bogus.
Faberge.com Sells $7 Mil Baubles To Special People Only
By 9.16.09
The reborn Faberge has decided that the rich don’t shop online like the rest of us.
The Latest Form Of Greenwashing: Going "Local"
By 9.9.09
Alternet reports on the latest fad in marketing: touting one’s national or even multinational corporation as local. HSBC calls itself “the world’s local bank.” Winn-Dixie, a 500-outlet supermarket chain, is advertising “Local flavor since 1956.” There’s the non-Starbucks Starbucks. And “[e]ven Wal-Mart is getting in on the act, hanging bright green banners over its produce aisles that simply say, ‘Local.’ “
Aussie Company Will Sell You Facebook Friends
By 9.4.09
Here’s a company that will help those who really, really need more help killing Col. Mustard in the parlor with the candlestick in Mafia Wars: Australian company uSocial is selling Facebook “friends” and Twitter followers by the batch. If you want 5,000 more adoring Facebook minions checking out your status updates, you pay $654.30.
Pfizer Must Pay Record $2.3 Billion Fine For Sneaky Drug Marketing
By 9.3.09
Haters of Big Pharma, rejoice! Pfizer has been smacked with a $2.3 billion (yes, with a B) civil penalty which includes a $1.2 billion criminal fine after they did some very, very bad things while promoting painkiller Bextra and other drugs. That’s the largest criminal fine in American history. Let’s hope they’re proud!
Lexapro's Marketing Plan Shows How Drug Maker Pushes New Drugs
By 9.3.09
The Senate just released 88 pages of a confidential 270+ page marketing plan by Forest Laboratories, created in 2004 and focused on how to get doctors to prescribe the antidepressant Lexapro over similar but cheaper alternatives such as Celexa. The New York Times notes that the line between marketing and education seems to be heavily blurred, which may not surprise you. There are, however, two interesting notes for consumers who may be taking Lexapro.
Verizon Should Really Stop Marketing FiOS To People Who Can't Sign Up For It
By 9.1.09
Want to know how to piss people off? Send them marketing crap for deals they can’t use. Take this individual. The title of the blog post should probably not be reproduced here, but the basic idea is that unless you can offer TV, Internet and phone from Verizon for $79.99 a month — don’t mail stuff to people saying you can.
Shut Out The Worst Ad Offenders With These Firefox Tricks
By 8.31.09
If advertisers and websites would play fair with their readers, we wouldn’t need to apply various filters and blocks to them. But when you’re trying to read an article and every sixth word is hotlinked with a pop-up ad, while the FavIcon in the browser window blinks at you like a traffic light, while loud video clips start auto-playing when the page loads—well, it’s time to shut it all down. Lifehacker has put together a great list of all the ways to reclaim your sanity when you’re online.
FCC Launches Large Scale Investigation Of Cellular Industry
By 8.28.09
Uh-oh, the FCC is getting serious about doing its job, which probably means more memos like the one Apple posted last week from companies like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. Yesterday the FCC announced three “Notices of Inquiry”—all unanimously voted for by a full, bi-partisan commission—that will look at different aspects of the cellular industry.
Hotel With Glass Windows Overlooking A Park Markets Itself To Exhibitionists
By 8.27.09
The High Line in NYC is a former railroad line that has been converted into a park, but visitors are getting a little more of a view than they bargained for. The Standard Hotel overlooks the park and according to the New York Post, they’ve been marketing themselves as a good venue for exhibitionists to expose themselves to hapless park-goers.
How Can I Tell When A Product Is Being Greenwashed?
By 8.27.09
Sure, some people want to buy environmentally friendly products, and that’s great. The problem is that marketers understand these impulses well, and want to take advantage of them without always offering products that live up to the claims. What to do? ShopSmart has some answers.
$10 XSport Fitness Upgrade Really Costs $20
By 8.27.09
Cache asked about the $10 “Super Power Pass” add-on at his local XSport Fitness club today—the sign in the window says “work out where you want, when you want with a Super Power Pass for just $10 more*,” and lists “Chicago – New York – Washington” across the top. We don’t know what’s linked via that asterisk, because the fine print on the ad is so small that it’s unreadable in the photo Cache took, but as you might expect there’s no such thing as a $10 add-on that lets you use any XSport Fitness.
Certified Pre-Owned Cats: Inspected, Detailed, Better Than New!
By 8.19.09
The problem: thousands of sweet, cuddly, adoptable adult cats languishing in shelters. People gravitate toward tiny kittens, which are plentiful in the summer months, leaving adult shelter cats without humans to own. A possible clever solution: Clever marketing ploys. Which is the origin of the Michigan Humane Society‘s Certified Pre-Owned Cats campaign.
