Rob Walker has a good gig. He writes about consumer culture for TNYT Magazine. This week's installment looks at Rosemary Williams, an artist and an assistant professor of new media at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota. Williams finds shopping anxiety-laden, which makes her choice to pursue "The Wall of the Mall" an act of bravery as well as an act of art, for she had to make recurrent trips to the Mall of …
From 30 Seconds To 30 Minutes
The line between advertising and content becomes thinner by the day. Here's today's example from Variety. Winner for most unusual piece of development this pilot season goes to ABC, which has turned a series of quirky Geico commercials into an actual half-hour comedy project. "Cavemen" will revolve around three pre-historic men who must battle prejudice as they attempt to live as normal thirtysomethings in modern …
Absolut Liquidation
According to this this news story from A.P., Absolut is for sale. The vodka distilled in the southern Swedish town of Ahus is the world's No. 3 premium spirit and one of the country's most recognizable brands. It's owned by the Swedish government, who will likely make billions on the transaction (while gratifying those Swedes who contend their government needn't be in the spirits business). …
The Puritans Are Still In Power
Pamela Grossman at Getty Images reports that the Dove spot depicted above has been banned by the FCC for showing too much skin. However, the ad is airing in Canada, according to Canoe. And on the internets, obviously. Grossman fights the Feds logic with: How can it be that Ms. Spears is allowed to gyrate in a bikini top on MTV with a snake whilst singing “I’m a slave for you” to 12 year olds, but 50-something women …
Industry to Kennedy: Restrict Us Not
Senators Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. and John Cornyn, R-Texas, along with 29 sponsors from both sides of the aisle, recently introduced a bill designed to significantly restrict tobacco advertising--particularly to minors--by giving the FDA authority over the product's marketing. In the House, Reps. Henry Waxman D-Calif., and Tom Davis, R-Va., introduced a similar measure with nearly 100 co-sponsors, and that number is …
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Podcasts Perfect For Novelists
In the New York Times today, a great example of how faith in your art can pay off, if you're smart, resourceful, and have something people want. Most first-time novelists only sell a few thousand copies, but Scott Sigler, a San Francisco-based sci-fi writer, has built a sizeable audience for his "steel-tipped boot on your throat, speed-metal fiction” by podcasting from a makeshift studio he set up in his walk-in …
Twitter De Twitter Dum
Web Host Industry Review offers a concise look at some possible uses for Twitter, a Web 2.0 darling du jour. You can use Twitter as a shorthand newsletter. The example that LifeHacker gave was a video store, whose employees can post new movies now available for rental, holiday business hours, limited-time sales promo, etc. Likewise, web hosting providers can keep customers posted on network status ("some DC2 circuits …
Can An Agency With A Name Like “Arnold” Be Anti-Male?
Adweek reports on a war of words between Arnold and Glenn Sacks, a blogger who thinks Arnold's commercials denigrate men. Glenn Sacks, on his Web site glennsacks.com, yesterday wrote, "We are asking Volvo not to award the contract to Arnold and instead award it to one of the other agencies, preferably Euro RSCG." He objects to several of the agency's recent commercials, notably an execution for Fidelity Investments, …
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