Marketing

Profs Smell Smoke in Food Marketing to Kids

by Jonathan Rosenblum — September 8, 2006 - 9:02am

Governments should learn a lesson from tobacco marketeers and restrict junk food advertising aimed at children, says a prominent obesity specialist. Boyd Swinburn, professor of population health at Deakin University in Australia, was one of several members of a global task force on obesity who called for international standards on advertising food products to children.

Main Source: 
Sydney Morning Herald, September 6, 2006

Pharma PR Tries to Spin Gold From Yawn

by Jonathan Rosenblum — September 6, 2006 - 3:06pm

Americans may tire quickly of some pharmaceutical PR, but they've got nowhere to turn (certainly not in bed) when it comes to a new campaign sponsored by the makers of a sleep-fighting medication, Provigil. Drug-maker Cephalon hired Dorland Global Public Relations, which has spun consumers' disinterest in "sleepiness" into a Homeland Security-like campaign for "alertness." The trick: target employers.

Main Source: 
PRWeek, August 28, 2006 (sub req'd)

Meet the Future of Marketing: It Is Us

by Diane Farsetta — August 28, 2006 - 1:52pm

Joseph Turow summarizes how marketers are using new technologies to make it "harder than ever for audiences to escape, and resist, their advances." One practice, "seeding," blends "publicity, product placement, and public relations." Seeding can involve hiring actors for "clandestine campaigns that 'may consist of seeding chat rooms, blogs and forums with paid-for messages,'" as one marketer explained.

Main Source: 
Boston Globe, August 27, 2006

General Mills Gets Multicultural

by Diane Farsetta — August 24, 2006 - 11:45am

From General Mills' video news release promoting "Pancake Week"

General Mills "is simultaneously launching two separate PR campaigns targeting

Main Source: 
PR Week (sub req'd), August 22, 2006

It's an Increasingly Anti-U.S. World, After All

by Diane Farsetta — August 22, 2006 - 3:24pm

"With nearly 50 years in marketing, Keith Reinhard knows when a brand is in trouble," Christopher Lee writes in the Washington Post. "Even before the war in Iraq bred new resentment of the United States abroad, the country had developed an image problem, says Reinhard," who in 2004 founded Business for Diplomatic Action, to get U.S. corporations involved in public diplomacy.

Main Source: 
Washington Post, August 15, 2006

Product Placement Picking Up Steam

by Judith Siers-Poisson — August 22, 2006 - 1:49pm

Product placement in movies and on television is expected to triple by the end of the decade according to a report issued by PQ Media.

Main Source: 
BBC News, August 17, 2006

Drug Company's Hearing Too Sensitive For Criticism

by Bob Burton — August 17, 2006 - 6:36pm
  • Topics: Activism, Democracy, Health, International, Marketing, Pharmaceuticals, Science

    • One of the marketing success stories in the world of herbal pills is the hype and advertising that has made Tebonin one of the big-time sellers. If you believe the ads, popping a Tebonin pill a day will relieve tinnitus (the ringing sound some people have in their ears), dizziness and even improve mental alertness. The promoters claim the drug, which is based on a patented extract from the ginkgo biloba tree, improves "impaired micro-circulation," reduces "free radicals" and "promotes optimum cell function."

    According to the German manufacturer, Dr. Willmar Schwabe GmbH & Co KG, eight million pills are consumed every day. Schwabe, like so many companies in the herbal supplements sector, trades on its feel-good image. "From Nature, For Health," its website claims. That's the story the company wants you to hear. However, when a small group of Australian doctors and pharmacists, AusPharm Consumer Health Watch, drafted a report raising doubts about the benefits of Tebonin, they discovered a company that was not so warm and fuzzy. Soon after sending a copy of their draft report to the company, they were hit with a writ seeking an injunction that may bury their critical assessment forever.

    Restless Drug Promotion

    by Bob Burton — August 11, 2006 - 3:10am

    GlaxoSmithKline breached the British drug industry's own self-regulatory code of conduct by promoting ropinirole to treat restless legs syndrome before the drug had been approved for that use.

    Main Source: 
    The Sunday Times (UK), August 6, 2006

    McHummer

    by Bob Burton — August 11, 2006 - 12:55am

    During August, U.S. McDonald's is teaming up with GM to include a model of the gas-guzzling Hummer in its "Happy Meals." The New York Times notes that McDonald's "appears not to have gotten the message" about rising petrol prices.

    Main Source: 
    New York Times, August 10, 2006
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