A lot of PR people I know watch Mad Men. If you don’t, this won’t mean much to you, so check out this instead.
The central premise of Mad Men, as I have come to realize, is a struggle between fiction and fact, between deception and transparency, between acting and reality. Public relations professionals I think [...]

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’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 [...]

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, [...]

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 [...]

A few weeks ago I noticed a half-page ad in a print newspaper placed by a public relations agency. The ad touted the PR industry awards that the agency recently won.
I swooned.
The irony of advertising agencies going after awards has been discussed many times before. The marketing value of winning industry awards is mainly in [...]