Advertising

Ad Council, Born in War Propaganda, Flacks For Freedom

by John Stauber — June 30, 2002 - 10:00pm

The target="_blank">Ad Council, a non-profit advertising company funded by corporations, is launching an advertising "campaign for freedom" in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the US. The New York Times notes that the Ad Council was launched in 1942 to propagandize for the US war effort.

Main Source: 
New York Times, July 1, 2002

Nutritional Advice from McDonald's & Coke

by Sheldon Rampton — June 13, 2002 - 10:00pm

"Fast food companies including McDonald's and Coca-Cola are helping to fund a multimillion pound advertising campaign urging Americans to eat more healthily," reports the Guardian. Burger King, Heinz, Kelloggs, Kraft, Nestle, Pepsi, Procter & Gamble, Monsanto, and Unilever Bestfoods are also funding the $2.4 million campaign, code-named "Activate."

Main Source: 
The Guardian (UK), June 14, 2002

Stations Won't Run Ad Exposing Ford's Greenwashing

by John Stauber — June 12, 2002 - 10:00pm

Radio stations won't let environmentalists at the Sierra Club run a radio ad urging the US car industry to build more fuel efficient cars. The ad spot specifically names Bill Ford Jr. of Ford Motor Company, an executive who excels at greenwashing his company with rhetoric, while failing to 'walk the walk.' Ford gives lip service to fuel efficiency, but staunchly opposes laws that would require it. Radio stations doing business with Ford and running its car ads are refusing to run the Sierra Club's radio spot.

Main Source: 
The New York Times, June 13, 2002

More Dirty Tricks from Tobacco Flacks

by Sheldon Rampton — May 29, 2002 - 9:55am

Stan Glantz, a professor of medicine at the University of California-San Francisco who researches the lobbying and PR tricks of the tobacco industry, has just published two new papers on the topic in leading medical journals.

Hiding a TV Commercial in Plain View

by John Stauber — May 23, 2002 - 10:00pm

"An NBC-owned talk show is offering marketers the chance to buy guest spots for their products and executives, further blurring the line between programming and advertising. The sponsored segments were included in about two dozen shows appearing during the 2001-02 season of the entertainment program "The Other Half," which is owned, produced and distributed by the NBC Enterprises division of NBC, part of General Electric. ...

Main Source: 
New York Times, May 24, 2002

Saudi Arabia's Ad Campaign Rates Zero Stars

by Laura Miller — May 19, 2002 - 10:00pm

Advertising Age's Bob Garfield in his Ad Review column gives the ad campaign created by Qorvis Communications for the Embassy of Saudi Arabia zero stars. "The ads are signed 'The People of Saudi Arabia,' but that's a lie," Garfield writes. "And so is the premise. For decades, the U.S. relationship with Saudi Arabia and other so-called 'moderate' Arab states has been a deal with the devil. We sponsor their corrupt, repressive, authoritarian regimes with cash and weaponry. They sell us oil. Such unholy alliances, dictated by Cold War realpolitik, were bound to create backlash ....

Main Source: 
Advertising Age, May 20, 2002

Jamming Citigroup's PR Message

by Sheldon Rampton — May 10, 2002 - 11:22am

In mid-April, Citigroup launched a $100 million global ad campaign titled "This is Citigroup." Using images of elderly people, and people from Hong Kong to Brazil, the ads portray a caring bank, committed to local communities. But the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), which has waged a boycott against Citigroup for the past two years, says the bank completely ignores environmental and social concerns and is one of the biggest contributors to global warming.

Main Source: 
http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5613

Beer and Terror Don't Mix (But What About Buying Gas For An SUV?)

by Laura Miller — April 21, 2002 - 11:00pm

"Take an ad suggesting that doing illegal drugs can lead to terrorism and add the word 'beer' and what do you get?" Advertising Age asks. "As the Office of National Drug Control Policy discovered some very angry beer wholesalers and brewers." The ad copy in dispute reads "Last night, I met the guys for beers, went out for dinner and helped gun down 21 men, women and children." The White House drug office says the ad is part of a series showing how illegal drugs finance terrorism and is not meant to make a connection between alcohol and illicit drugs.

Main Source: 
Reuters, April 9, 2002; Advertising Age, April 22, 2002

Hollywood Trade Mags Censor Anti-Smoking Ads

by Laura Miller — March 5, 2002 - 12:00am

"If there's anywhere anyone can advertise about anything, it's Variety and the Hollywood Reporter. ... But there's one ad neither of the Hollywood trades will run--the latest broadside from Smoke Free Movies, a health advocacy group that's been at the forefront of a no-holds-barred campaign against the proliferation of cigarette smoking in movies," writes Patrick Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times.

Main Source: 
Los Angeles Times, March 5, 2002

American Advertising Goes to War

by Sheldon Rampton — February 4, 2002 - 2:29pm

Advertising Age magazine has created a special section of its website devoted to stories about "Selling Brand USA to a Hostile World." Story titles include: White House Buys Anti-terror Super Bowl Spots, Should American Values Be Marketed to Muslim Nations?, Sony Products Take Center Stage in Coalition War Ad, and

Main Source: 
http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=33639
Syndicate content