Fear-Mongering Advertising At Its Worst
July 11, 2007
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new scare advertising champion. Use your credit card now to book a parking spot at the airport, or you too may be the victim of a glaring TSA lady terrorist.
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Archive for the ‘Advertising’ Category
Speaking Up for Shareholders at Time Warner
May 22, 2007
At the Time Warner shareholder meeting microphones were set up around the room for comments. I couldn’t resist, making a point about how media companies are vulnerable to a crisis arriving at Internet speed. I said that Time Warner handled the arrest of HBO head Chris Albrecht on domestic charges ‘about as well as it could’ by firing him ASAP. Then I brought up two other Time Warner properties ripe for potential crises.
One is TMZ.COM, a celebrity gossip/paparazzi site that many see as a disaster waiting to happen, with paparazzi engaging in car chases, harassment of celebrities and their kids, and pitched street battles with other photographers to get shots. Then I mentioned Lou Dobbs on CNN with his “protect our borders” rhetoric, as having potential for crisis impacting Time Warner. I asked how the company planned to deal with it.
“That’s a good question,” said Richard Parsons. “Everything he says is clearly labeled as opinion.” I don’t think so, but at least Parsons addressed the question. The news media, on the other hand, only got part of my point; The Hollywood Reporter did it best, at least mentioning the Lou Dobbs issue.
Claudia Eller of the LA Times, who did great reporting on the Albrecht assault, couldn’t let go of it in her piece . “One shareholder mentioned Albrecht in passing, praising Time Warner for acting swiftly in discharging the executive after he was arrested in Las Vegas for assaulting his girlfriend and after the Los Angeles Times ran a story about his 1991 physical altercation with a subordinate.”
When you’re the ‘covered’, as opposed to doing the ‘covering’ as a journalist, it’s interesting to see what gets picked up–and what doesn’t.
Underdog Davis Twins Fight the Power
May 10, 2007It’s spring, and the Davises are hot. Sports fans are watching Baron Davis and his Golden State Warriors humble giants like Mark Cuban’s Dallas Mavericks.
Meanwhile, corporate meeting groupies watch Evelyn Y. Davis fight golden parachutes and try to humble would-be giants like Pinch Sulzberger of the NY Times.
Separated at birth? Judge for yourself.
 
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Lamest Advertising Claim
May 8, 2007In the coupon section of the Sunday LA Times, I came upon this lame claim: RAYOVAC: Lasts as Long as Duracell & Energizer
Not exactly “Tastes Great, Less Filling” stuff, but at least it won’t make the corporate lawyers nervous.
But the marketers must have realized that ‘me-too’ advertising isn’t very compelling. (And batteries are hardly the sexiest consumer electronics category .) So unshaven, over-the-hill quarterback Brett Favre holds up the package, as if that (along with the complex three-part mail-in $3 rebate) would be the clincher.
