Marketing

Correction: DuPont & Invista Hype Nanotechnology-Free Product as "Nano"

by Bob Burton — February 1, 2006 - 1:02am
  • Topics: Corporations, Marketing

    • In the original version of the blog post, "Environmental Defense or Nanotech Defense", I cited a webpage, which stated that a DuPont created Teflon leather protection product "works on the nano scale", as an example of the company having nanotechnology products on the market.

    Subsequently, a reader disputed that Teflon could be a nanotechnology product and described the company's use of the word "nano" as marketing hype. After requesting clarification from DuPont, one of its nanotechnology researchers, David B. Warheit, has confirmed that the Teflon leather protector is not a nanotech product. We have corrected both the original blog and the article in SourceWatch. Invista's promotional page on the DuPont Teflon leather product, however, remains unchanged and potentially deceives consumers of its product into thinking that it is based on nanotechnology. A request to DuPont's PR section for a copy of the June 3, 2003 media release announcing the new Teflon product, which I noted in the original post has gone missing from its news archive, has so far gone unanswered.

    On TV News, the Ads Never End

    by Diane Farsetta — January 30, 2006 - 3:11pm

    "Local TV news operations hungry for free content have intersected with brand brokers looking for product placement opportunities," writes Advertising Age. The segments "typically come in the form of four-minute lifestyle segments that are dedicated to one brand and feature a brand's spokesperson chatting with the show's host and delivering the product's message to viewers.

    Main Source: 
    Advertising Age, January 30, 2006

    The Axis of Urban Marketing

    by Diane Farsetta — January 27, 2006 - 6:33pm

    The PR firm Weber Shandwick's new multicultural practice, called the Axis Agency, just hired its first senior vice-president of African-American and urban marketing. Kevin Hooks, the new hire, used to handle the Procter & Gamble, Motorola and Bacardi accounts for UPP Entertainment & Marketing.

    Main Source: 
    PR Week (sub req'd), January 27, 2006

    Corporate Ads Grow Greener

    by Laura Miller — January 18, 2006 - 7:17pm

    "The 'green' advertising wave is on, as companies from Ford to General Electric to BP blitz the airwaves with concern for a clean planet," the International Herald Tribune reports.

    Main Source: 
    International Herald Tribune, January 18, 2006

    Senators Just Say Whoa To Drug "Education"

    by Diane Farsetta — January 13, 2006 - 5:04pm

    "A Congressional investigation of the money that drug companies give as supposed educational grants has found that the payments are growing rapidly and are sometimes steered by marketing executives to doctors and groups who push unapproved uses of drugs." In 2004, 23 drug companies spent $1.47 billion on educational grants, a 20 percent increase from 2003. The U.S.

    Main Source: 
    New York Times, January 11, 2006

    Clear Channel Declares Moral Bankruptcy in Wisconsin

    by Diane Farsetta — December 20, 2005 - 2:08pm

    "Clear Channel Communications Inc. radio stations in Madison, Wis., and Milwaukee" are naming their newsrooms after corporate sponsors. "Starting in January, the news on WIBA-AM in Madison will deliver its report from the Amcore Bank News Center. ...

    Main Source: 
    Washington Post, December 15, 2005

    Where's the Fire?

    by Diane Farsetta — December 16, 2005 - 3:23pm

    Durham, North Carolina's local ABC television affiliate "has been staging fire, foul weather and other news events across Durham this week, shooting advertisements for its news operations that not only put its Eyewitness News team at contrived scenes but also have taxpayers footing the bill for on-duty firefighters and other emergency workers to give the ads a realistic flair." The city fire chief said the ads weren't "a waste of taxpayers' money," becaus

    Main Source: 
    The News & Observer (North Carolina), December 16, 2005
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