Advertising Is Good For You

Enzyte Bob has been dealt a big blow

Turns out, the people behind Enzyte, the herbal supplement for "natural male enhancement," are a mother/son team. (Quick, keep reading before disturbing images form in your head.) And they're going to jail. Because not only does Enzyte not create a "new swelling of pride" as promised, the company has been manipulating customers' credit cards, refusing to accept returns or cancel orders, laundering money, etc. Read about Enzyte's troubles here. 

Enzyte's TV commercials were hysterical. I'm going to miss them and their star, Bob.  Click here to see one of the Enzyte TV spots. 

Two controversial ads that were banned

The advertising police in Britain banned the following ad, ruling that it trivialized and stylized violence...

This ad for Marithe & Francois Girbaud clothing was banned by Italy's Advertising Standards Authority because they found it 1) disrespects the sacred, 2) promotes products to the same level as religious symbols, and 3) it offends consumer sensibility by blurring the line between the sanctified and the irreligious...

Source: AdPunch

Wal-Mart continues to impress (not necessarily for the right reasons)

The Wal-Mart Litigation Project reports, "Wal-Mart is sued two to five times every business day somewhere in the United States in federal court alone."

 

Spammers are getting more devious.

Few things tick me off more than when a spammer cons me into opening an email. And recently, I've fallen for the same trick a few times.

There in my emailbox I'll find an email with the subject line: Delivery unsuccessful: Mailbox has exceeded the limit. The sender is identified as: Mail Delivery Subsystem. Of course, I assume that something important I've emailed earlier wasn't delivered and like a good pigeon I open the email.

I have to give the con artist spammer who thought up this spam technique credit, it is very clever. But it's still sleazy, unethical, unwanted and a terrible reflection on whatever stocks, prescription drugs or penis enlargers the spammer is selling.

Image: Street-Signs-USA.com

Two f-ck yous for the (discounted) price of one

For some criminal mastermind, there wasn't enough copyright infringement in merely selling pirated copies of Microsoft Windows Vista. This fiend wrapped the pirated software in packaging showing licensed Disney characters without the expressed consent of Walt Disney Company.

Source: Scary Ideas

Why do advertisers get away with it?

The people behind Fast Food: Ads vs. Reality have done what I've always thought about doing -- and they posted the results.

Their website compares photos of how certain fast foods look in ads and how they look in real life.

You remember the bowl of saturated and trans fats known as KFC Famous Bowls? First is the advertising version; below it is what you get when you actually buy a KFC Famous Bowl...

I think most consumers understand and aren't bothered by a little difference between the food in an ad and the real thing. After all, the food in the ads was fussed over by a team of stylists and photographer's assistants, while the food you get to eat was most likely prepared by someone making minimum wage.

But a discrepancy like the above example?

Yet, for the record, the popularity of KFC Famous Bowls is making a mint for KFC.

And THAT answers the question, Why do advertisers get away with it?

For more -- though less dramatic --  examples, visit  Fast Food: Ads vs. Reality.

PR Week surveyed a group of public relations executives gathered in Britain. The results are scary.

When asked whether the public relations industry has a duty to tell the truth, honesty lost 138 - 124.

Those who voted against honesty apparently used the excuse, "PR has a duty to its clients."

I'm genuinely stunned that so many PR professionals think honesty and duty to one's clients are mutually exclusive. I also strongly disagree with them. Public relations, advertising and marketing certainly spin the truth in a client's favor -- that, in essense, is our job -- but flat out lying is another thing altogether.

Source: AdWeek

Clorox Stinks in More Ways Than One

Mouseprint reports on some sleazy tactics from Clorox bleach.

If you've wandered down your supermarket's laundry detergent aisle anytime recently you've probably noticed that Clorox bleach now comes in regular scent (that would be YMCA pool smell multiplied by 100) as well as Citrus Blend, Fresh Meadow, and Mountain Fresh.

What you probably didn't know is that the new, sweet-smelling Clorox bleaches contain only half the active ingredient that makes bleach do its job. And Clorox doesn't mention it on the label of the new scented bleaches.

Clorox does, however, mention it in a place where it's actually a selling point: on the label of regular, eye-burning, nose-stinging Clorox:

The scented bleaches contain a sodium hypochlorite concentration of 2.75%.  Clorox Bleach - Regular Scent has a sodium hypochlorite concentration of 6%.

As I said, it's sleazy.

Have you ever noticed that white athletic socks, white towels and pretty much anything else that you'd want to keep white with laundry bleach comes with a "No chlorine bleach" warning on the care tag? Why is that? And why do I sound like Andy Rooney?

Stella McCartney Care ad challenges the standard definitions of perfection. And it does so beautifully.

Generally speaking, I don't like cosmetic advertising. It's often misleading (e.g. artificial lash-wearing women selling mascara) and it typically conveys an artificial world peopled by men and women of unattainable beauty.

In most ads for cosmetics, every perceived imperfection is photoshopped. In the unforgiving eyes of most advertising creatives, no professional model's face is clear enough, no surface is clean enough, no flower is perfect enough to escape photoshopping.

And that is why this ad from Stella McCartney Care should be celebrated and revered by anyone who feels advertising contributes to the insecurities and unrealistic expectations of all of us.

From the looks of it, there's been very little photoshopping done to the two photos in this ad.

The product shot has the kind of shadows and reflections of light that are not typically not tolerated by professional photo retouchers.

The other photo features plain old weedy grass and bald patches of dirt. The model appears to be wearing very little makeup. And while it would be naive to think that a hairdresser hadn't worked on the model's hair, the style does provide an accurate impression of unstyled hair.

The effect? An ad that clearly communicates that this luxury cosmetic line is natural, organic and devoid of anything artificial.

More subtly, the ad also illustrates that perfection is not a necessary component of beauty.

Source: Notcot

Yet Another Cheap Shot at Advertising and Marketing

An Illinois lawmaker is getting lots of press for her plans to introduce legislation that would make the alcohol industry stop marketing to kids. Funny thing is, there's no evidence whatsoever that the alcohol industry actually is targeting underage drinkers.

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A 2003 report from the Federal Trade Commission, based on its investigation of alcohol ads, product placement, and even internal company marketing documents, concluded underage consumers were not being targeted by by alcohol advertising and marketing.

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State Senator Carol Ronen, a Democrat, is targeting makers of what she refers to as 'alcopops' i.e. Bacardi Silver, Smirnoff Ice, Captain Morgan Gold and Mike's Hard Lemonade, and other sweet alcoholic beverages that appeal to those wanting to enjoy the effects of alcohol without the taste -- a market segment that is hardly limited to teens.

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So-called alcopops account for less than 1% of total alcohol beverage sales in the U.S.

In addition, sales of alcopops have decreased 21% between 2002 through 2006.

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The lack of evidence against advertising and marketing doesn't appear to be stopping Senator Ronen from moving forward with her plans to keep her name in the papers. 

Source: Chicago Tribune