Advertising Age - Adages Blog
Ken Wheaton and the editorial staff riff and rip on the best and worst of the ad, marketing and media business.

Focus on the Family Now Has 20% Less Boycotting Power
Focus on the Family -- scourge of media outlets and advertisers who dare portray gays, gay kissing, gay hugging and gay marriage -- is cutting 202 jobs according to UPI. The group is known for loudly launching boycotts against those who dare offend its Christian Right sensibilities, but usually succeeds at getting more media coverage than actual results.

Gap's Use of Jennifer Hudson Ill-Advised
After all, the idea of holiday-themed ads is to conjure up notions of joy, not triple homicide.

Barack Obama Gets Own Baseball Card Collection

Topps, which is best known for producing baseball cards, announced Thursday it would launch a line of "Barack Obama Inaugural Edition" commemorative cards.

Toilet-Paper Bow Is Not a Statement on the Economy
Procter & Gamble Co. is wrapping its annual gift to the people of New York City and the global tourist/shopper class in a faux bow of toilet-paper as it prepares to unveil the latest version of Charmin's holiday Times Square toilets.

Mates Condom Spot Is a Rough Ride
A spot for Mates Condoms is bringing up bad memories of amusement park rides.

PETA, AdCouncil Set Ape Humor Back 2,000 Years
AdCouncil President-CEO Peggy Conlon "has signed PETA's 'Great Ape Humane Pledge,' committing that the council will never use great apes in its ads."

Facebook App Lets Ads Battle for Supremacy
Ad Battle, a collaboration between Buddy Media and Atmosphere BBDO's Jason Culbertson, is sort of like Hot or Not, but with ads. Watch two spots or look at two print ads, then decide which is better.

Antony and Smitty Are Convincing About Ford Flex
Speaking of local ads, you can't beat the goombah action in this spot for Queens Boulevard Ford, in which Smitty, after being told about the new Ford Flex, declares, "Aight. You got me. I'll take two."

Qwik Lube Rappers Ain't Too Classy ...
This Qwik Lube Express spot features a group of rappers/mechanics who may have mad rhymes but, according to the disclaimer, will not give them away for free.

Palin Didn't Spend Enough to Help Retailers
News last month that the Republican National Committee spent nearly $50,000 at Saks Fifth Avenue and $75,000 at Neiman Marcus to outfit Gov. Sarah Palin raised plenty of eyebrows. Alas, both luxury retailers reported dreary October same-store sales today, despite the gobs of free publicity.

Outdoor Campaign to Usher in Era of Peace
Just when you thought it was time to retire "Yes we can," the folks at Taxi, New York, would like to shove one more tagline into the political stratosphere. Paul Lavoie, the New York chairman and chief creative officer at the shop, has partnered with the Outdoor Advertising Association of America for a campaign dubbed "Vs. * Us." As in, America was "Vs." before Nov. 4 and is now "Us" after the election.

If the Vote's A-Rockin, Don't Come A-Knockin
Sex-toy retailer Babeland is offering free sex toys from Nov. 4 to Nov. 11 at its New York and Seattle stores to those who produce a voter card or simply say they voted.

Ogilvy to Employees: Take a Day Off to Vote
According to a memo acquired by Gawker, Ogilvy is encouraging its employees to vote. But! If those long lines cut too far into your work day, guess who's going to be charged for a vacation day (Hint: It won't be Barack Obama or John McCain).

Starbucks Runs Into Election-Day Problems
Starbucks, in its bid to cash in on election fever, announced that it would give free coffee to anyone who voted today. It turns out that that's easier said than done. In some places you can't give the stuff away -- and that's not just a figure of speech.

Amazon Continues Fight Against Wrap Rage
Just as Wal-Mart is pressuring some of its suppliers to cool it on excessive packaging, Amazon is working with some toy suppliers to not only reduce packaging (Go environment!) but also all those annoying ties and tightly sealed plastic that lead to wrap rage (Go parents!).

Toyota Must Take Down 'Saved by Zero'
And while I missed some excellent football games this weekend, I also missed that super-annoying Toyota "Saved by Zero" ad, aka this year's version of the Chevy "This Is Our Country" spot from last year. (Maybe this is a plot by women to drive men away from football!)

You, Too, Can Dress Like Michelle Obama
Smart Use of Search Advertising from J. Crew

McDonald's Considers Not-So-Double Double Cheeseburger
With franchisees likely to take the real double cheeseburger off the $1 menu, McDonald's is introducing the McDouble, a burger with two patties and only one slice of cheese.

Cascadian Farm Caves to Anti-Subliminal-Head Pressure
For those of you who are big fans of disembodied heads floating about on your broccoli packaging, I've got some bad news.

Palin Bashing Now in Non-Political Advertising
Manhattan Mini Storage, long known for making political jokes in its advertising for storage sheds in New York, is now making fun of Sarah Palin.

The Logo of a New Generation?
The blog Will It Brand is collecting ne...

Say Hello to Pumpy, the Self-Hating Gas Pump
I guess now that gas prices are slipping back down from "morally outrageous" to simply "wallet-busting," it might seem like an odd time to link to a site tryi...

Apple Sticks Another Finger in Microsoft's Eye
New Ad Makes Fun of PC's Ad Strategy

FCC Sponsors Nascar Ride
The Federal Communications Commission will take the unusual step of sponsoring a Nascar entry as part of its digital-TV outreach. FCC chairman Kevin Martin announced today that the agency will sponsor Nascar No. 38 with driver David Gilliland for three ra...

That's One Place to Stick Your Ads
New Meaning to the Phrase 'Pole Position'

Shiner Outfoxes Heineken Deep in the Heart of Texas

When Heineken picked up the sponsorship of the Austin City Limits Music Festival, local brew Shiner figured out a way to establish a brand presence.

Potential Happy Cows Seem Neurotic, Unhappy
Also Geographically Challenged

Fox Business News Goes Negative on James Cramer
I always wondered why other networks didn't do this -- I mean aside from Jim Cramer's popularity with viewers (an entirely different mystery) and the fact that he'd probably sue. And, of course, the ad begs the question: Does Fox Business News have anyone...

Bloggers Pile On PR Hacks
I don't think anyone working in journalism will see anything new at Dear PR Flack, yet another site dedicated to embarrassing public relations "professionals" into doing a better job. As i...

10 Best Product Placements?
Christopher Campbell over at Spout.com has a list of the 10 Best Product Placements in Movies. At the top spot is Reese's Pieces in "E.T." Ca...