Guerrilla Marketing

Peak Drug Industry Body Sin Bins Roche

by Bob Burton — July 22, 2008 - 12:40am

The Swiss drug company Roche has been suspended from the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) after adverse findings over its promotion of the weight-loss drug Xenical.

Main Source: 
Financial Times (UK), July 15, 2008

The True Story of a Bogus Blog

by Sheldon Rampton — May 8, 2008 - 2:55pm

Writing for AdWeek, Andrew Adam Newman reports that a deceptive PR campaign on behalf of the Coach bag company has become "the latest illustration of how a buzz-seeking stunt may backfire." Led by Paul Werth Associates, an Ohio PR firm, the "International AntiCounterfeiting Campaign" (IACC) sought to discourage people from buying knockoff handbags.

Main Source: 
Adweek, May 5, 2008

Teaching College Kids to Lie

by Sheldon Rampton — March 16, 2008 - 5:37pm

Additional details have surfaced about the story we mentioned last month regarding a corporate-sponsored hoax at Hunter College. The college receives donations from the Coach Corporation, a manufacturer of handbags, shoes and other women's accessories.

Main Source: 
Inside Higher Ed, March 3, 2008

Fake vs. Fakes

by Sheldon Rampton — February 21, 2008 - 7:48am

In a Youtube video, "Heidi Cee" lamented the loss of her Coach handbag, compared product counterfeiting to ter

Main Source: 
Ben Kessler's blog, February 19, 2008

Presidential Election Season Brings New, More Stupid 527 Groups

by Conor Kenny — January 27, 2008 - 5:56pm

The Huffington Post and TPM Muckraker highlight the newest activities of Roger Stone, whose past includes a stint as the "youngest dirty trickster" for Richard Nixon and a recent alleged prank call to

Main Source: 
Huffington Post, January 24, 2008

An Industry Look at 2007's Biggest PR Blunders

by Judith Siers-Poisson — December 21, 2007 - 9:55pm

Fineman PR of San Francisco, California, has released their list of top ten PR blunders of 2007. Topping the list at number one is "No Reporters? No Problem" -- the fake news conference staged by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) about their response to the California wild fires.

Main Source: 
The Huffington Post, December 15, 2007

Featured Participatory Project: Help Expose the Attempts to Spin Wikipedia (Week 2)

by Conor Kenny — September 5, 2007 - 12:24am

Last week we started a new participatory project to expose the government agencies, corporations and lobbying groups that have been censoring, whitewashing or otherwise spinning Wikipedia.

Main Source: 
SourceWatch Project on Tracking Attempts to Spin Wikipedia

Drug Gets a Cameo in a Film Backed by Its Maker

by John Stauber — February 21, 2007 - 8:49pm

Stephanie Saule reports that "Innerstate, a documentary about three people coping with disabling chronic illness, may be coming to a theater near you. If so, admission will be free, courtesy of the drug maker that produced the film. The 58-minute film ... is an unusual form of soft-pedal marketing of a blockbuster drug, Remicade. The documentary never specifically mentions Remicade, or the product’s maker, Centocor, a unit of Johnson & Johnson.

Main Source: 
New York Times, February 21, 2007

Guerrilla Marketing Gone Bad in Boston

by Diane Farsetta — February 2, 2007 - 11:53am

Turner Broadcasting apologized "for a marketing campaign that sparked Boston's biggest security scare since the September 11, 2001, attacks -- closing bridges, shutting major roads and putting hundreds of police on alert." The "outdoor marketing campaign" promoting an Adult Swim cartoon "had been in place for two to three weeks in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Austin, San Francisco, and Philadelphia." Boston police feared that the magnetic lightboards of cartoon characters might be bombs.

Main Source: 
Reuters, January 31, 2007
Syndicate content