There was some hubbub recently over breakfast cereal-makers’ claims that products for kids can boost health. Kellogg decided to discontinue its on-the-box statement that Rice Krispies “Now Helps Support Your Child’s Immunity,” after it added “antioxidants” to the iconic product, which, incidentally, my daughter continues to enjoy many mornings.
Lately I read that Froot Loops is [...]

I was recently at a hospital’s fracture clinic for a dislocated knee. I had to have my entire leg placed in a cast.
After waiting forever to speak to a specialist, he was mid-sentence with me when his assistant told him that “they” has arrived.
Appearing at the door were some suits with a camera crew. The [...]

I’ve been blitzing on season two of the vaunted AMC series, Mad Men, over the last five days and nights so that I can finally remember to watch season three episodes live. It’s a popular show with marketing professionals.
Shakespeare’s legacy is based largely on deception. He used the device in every play: females playing men [...]

Fashionistas, marketers and pedestrians alike are abuzz thanks the most recent Calvin Klein advertising controversy. Just when people thought jeans, t-shirts and perfume couldn’t get racier, they did.
The iconic fashion label erected a billboard this week at a major intersection in Soho that has drawn more than a few “oohs” and “aahs”. Some are calling [...]

Is it just me or does every second commercial on television seem to be for E-harmony? Jill and John, married September 2008. Mary and Paul, married March 2009.
Barf. Well perhaps that is a bit harsh. But, seriously, I do gag a little. Rumor, “on the street,” (via a Google search) is that the people in [...]

Much has been said lately about the decline of newsrooms due to the decline of advertising spending. My last post commented on that subject, and I continue to ponder it.
My eight-year-old daughter has become something of an advertising critic, the apple not falling far and all that. When we watch American Idol or something she’ll [...]

Anyone who works for or closely with media outlets will be well aware of the onslaught of bad news about . . . the news business. As organizations cut their advertising budgets, newspapers, magazines and electronic media outlets suffer. It seems that every day there’s yet another story about a publisher or network cutting stuff, [...]

It’s good to know that even in this economy, a smart, creative idea still works like a charm.
Tourism Queensland, with responsibility for promoting the Queensland region of Australia, came up with the brilliant idea of advertising “the best job in the world.”  
The job is caretaker of the islands of the Great Barrier Reef with [...]

Chatter about the biggest “advertising” event of the year, the Super Bowl, has started with the annual anticipation about what companies are spending how much money for 30-second spots far outstripping interest in the actual game.
The truth is, Super Bowl advertising isn’t about advertising at all; it’s about public relations. The value of investing $300,000 [...]

While on the subway this morning, I noticed an interesting print advertisement on my train. The ad features a photograph of a magazine, opened to a page bearing the title “hot trends” (or something of the like). The page is intended to look like an editorial piece that coincidentally features two of the “hottest” items [...]