Marketing

B-M's "Independent" Healthy Weight Task Force

by Sheldon Rampton — September 29, 2002 - 10:00pm

"One of the things medical people really know about is clever advertising and one of the really clever tricks of the industry is duping the media into running advertising campaigns absolutely free of charge," writes Media Watch of Australia as it deconstructs the "Healthy Weight Task Force," a front group set up by the Burson-Marsteller PR firm in Australia to promote sales of Xenical diet pills.

Main Source: 
ABC Online (Australia), September 30, 2002

Slick Ads Won't Sell US to Arabs

by Sheldon Rampton — September 18, 2002 - 10:00pm

Madison Avenue-style advertising aimed at Middle Eastern audiences isn't likely to work for the U.S. government, says Harold C. Pachios, chairman of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. "There's more to America than Calvin Klein jeans--and that's the point," said Harold C. Pachios, chairman of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy. "We are thought of as superficial, so we need to avoid anything that smacks of the superficial."

Main Source: 
Los Angeles Times, September 19, 2002

Pediatricians With a Corporate Logo

by Sheldon Rampton — September 17, 2002 - 10:00pm

"Some leading members of the American Academy of Pediatrics are expressing outrage that the group is allowing the maker of Similac infant formula to print its corporate logo on the cover of a special edition of the academy's book on breast-feeding," reports the New York Times. "The academy, whose members include 57,000 pediatricians and other pediatric specialists, has long recommended that most mothers breast-feed because of the myriad benefits over formula." Dr. Lawrence M.

Main Source: 
New York Times, September 18, 2002

What Rhymes With Hewlett-Packard?

by Sheldon Rampton — September 8, 2002 - 10:00pm

In a new wrinkle on product-placement deals (known in the advertising lingo as "product integration"), the Island Def Jam Music Group is talking with Hewlett-Packard Co. about a deal to write product mentions into hip-hop songs. "If companies are willing to pay a premium to have their brands in movies, why wouldn't they jump at the chance to be in songs?" said a music industry executive.

Main Source: 
Ad Age, September 9, 2002

Insincere Apology for "Sex for Sam"

by Sheldon Rampton — August 27, 2002 - 10:00pm

The maker of Sam Adams beer is following the standard PR script for crisis management and offering a public apology for encouraging people to have sex in public places, including St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York.

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Boston Globe, August 28, 2002

CNN To Require Celebrities To Disclose Drug Company Ties

by Laura Miller — August 22, 2002 - 10:00pm

"After learning that some celebrities who talked on its news programs about their health problems were being paid by drug companies, CNN has issued a new policy and will tell viewers about the stars' financial ties to corporations," New York Times' Melody Petersen writes. In an August 11 Times article, Petersen revealed the widespread testimonial practice. Petersen reports stars like Lauren Bacall and Kathleen Turner "had been paid to help promote drugs or other medical products" on network morning "news" programs.

Main Source: 
New York Times, August 23, 2002

Have A Coke And A Pedometer

by Laura Miller — August 4, 2002 - 10:00pm

In an effort to "bring additional value to our educational partners," Coca-Cola is launching its "Step With It!" campaign. Coke will promote walking to middle school students in 10 cities. According to PR Week, the campaign will encourage students to walk 10,000 steps a day, giving students pedometers to keep track of their walking. Coke will also promote the campaign to local media.

Main Source: 
PR Week, August 5, 2002

Product Placement TV: The Commercial IS the Content

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

"Who wears the pants on The Best Damn Sports Show Period?
Why, the advertisers, literally and figuratively. In the latest example of how television programming and advertising are becoming increasingly indistinguishable, Levi Strauss & Company paid for an actor featured in a commercial for its Dockers pants brand to appear on the show on Fox Sports Net, a cable TV channel owned by the News Corporation and Cablevision Systems. ...

Main Source: 
New York Times, July 1, 2002

The Secret Sell of Drug Sponsorship

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

"Security guards, secret guest lists and silent sponsors were not what some participants were expecting when they turned up at a meeting in Sydney earlier this year to discuss new medicines. Billed as a 'Collaborative Forum' at the University of NSW, the invitation had been signed by three medical groups including Arthritis Australia. Academic kudos for the forum was provided by a major report prepared by the University of Canberra.

Main Source: 
Australian Financial Review, June 20, 2002

Gunning for Money

by Sheldon Rampton — June 14, 2002 - 9:52am

"Despite the colder realities of the business, the gun industry packages firearms in the sepia tint of nostalgia, conjuring up the Western frontier, fathers and sons hunting at the turn of the century, and grand moments of martial history," writes Tom Diaz of the Violence Policy Center. "For decades, the gun industry has portrayed itself in this way as a repository and guardian of fundamental U.S. cultural values.

Main Source: 
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