Seattle Times reporter Nick Perry looks at an academic response to our always-on media culture. It's tough tuning out in today's world. Just ask a dozen communications students at Seattle University who attempted a 96-hour media-deprivation experiment: No listening to iPods or car radios. No checking e-mail. No chatting on cell phones. No surfing Web sites such as MySpace or Facebook. No watching "Desperate …
Making Enemies Every 30 Seconds
BBC naturalist and documentarian, David Attenborough shares his disdain for advertising. I hate advertisements, virulently and with ferocity. If that [TV] set has any damage it’s likely to be because I have thrown something at it when it came to an important point in the drama and they showed a picture of a chocolate bar. I hate advertisements everywhere. I know all the arguments and I know I’m being quirky and that …
Do You Harbor Any Resistance To Always-On Connectivity?
I just began instant messaging and texting last year. Aware of my new undertakings, Shawn--the publisher of this site--welcomed me to the year 2000. So I'm not an early adopter. I can deal with it. What I find interesting is people who resist altogether the watershed changes underway in technology and communications. USA Today lables these unique creatures "tech-nos." Some tech-no's shun e-mail. Others don't use the …
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With A Nod To Shepard Fairey
People love to bust on McDonald's. There's a long history of activism against the global burger dispenser. Ronald McHummer, the latest comer adds a subversive twist to their protest—a make your own McD's sign game. Here's why they're bothering: McDonald's often emphasizes its "long-standing global commitment to environmental protection and leadership." So why did they give away 42 million toy Hummers in Happy Meals? …
False Advertising: Faux Fur It’s Not
LA Times reports on the fashion industry's unconscious sourcing of raw materials. Macy's has pulled from its shelves and its Web site two styles of Sean John hooded jackets, originally advertised as featuring faux fur, after an investigation by the nation's largest animal protection organization concluded that the garments were actually made from a certain species of dog called "raccoon dog." "First these jackets …
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Marketing In Schools Seen As Big Pimple
Ad Age looks at the struggle to keep advertising out of schools. Earlier this year, a teacher at a New Jersey private school handed out more than homework to the middle-school students: brochures and sample packets of Clearasil. The company defends it as an educational effort. "The material is all educational in terms of proper skin care," a spokesman said. "It's obviously sponsored by Clearasil, but the actual …
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Deceptive Practices And Privacy Violations Challenged
USA Today reports on organized resistance to unchecked/underegulated online marketing. A non-profit consumer advocacy group plans to ask federal regulators Wednesday to rein in the fast-growing $100 billion online marketing industry. The Center for Digital Democracy is expected to file a Federal Trade Commission complaint asking the agency to investigate online advertisers. It also wants the FTC to force companies to …
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Jane Pauley Appears In Advertorial Against Her Will
According to The New York Times, Jane Pauley--who made her bipolar disorder public knowledge in 2004--claims she was duped into appearing in an advertising supplement for manufacturers of psychotherapeutic drugs. The television news anchor Jane Pauley has sued The New York Times, saying she was misled to believe she was being interviewed for an article on mental health when she actually was being featured in an …
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