The good oil on palm oilThe UK advertising regulator has banned an ad by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council claiming that palm oil is ‘sustainable’ and contributes to ‘the alleviation of poverty, especially amongst rural populations’, reports Andrew Bartlett.
Advertising 
When online journalists moonlight as copy-writers 
The patriarchy is bad for men too!
Hair dryers, manscaping and eating tofu? That’s no real man. Except, ads focused on a false idea of manhood are just as damaging as the “real women” concept is for females, writes Clem Bastow.
Dust storm of advertising
You can’t say that Sydney advertisers don’t have their fingers on the pulse, with a swag of advertisements this morning about yesterday’s dust storm. How do you get red dust out of white pants?
Beck boycott a boon for Fox
Big-name advertisers are boycotting Fox News host Glenn Beck after he accused Barack Obama of being racist on air last month — but the blow-up has seen his audience numbers boom, with 3 million tuning in on Wednesday.
Death of newspapers: it’s the advertising, stupid
Newspapers aren’t dying because readers are no longer buying them. The main problem is that advertisers, whose ads have always paid the cost of journalism, are deserting newspapers.
Very disturbing vintage ads: into the minds of mad men
What do murder, pedophilia, suicide and a baby tiger have in common? They’ve all starred in these amazingly disturbing vintage ads!
Meet the mind behind Mad Men
Creator Matthew Weiner tells Rolling Stone about Season Three and the inspirations behind the show’s twists and turns. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.
Viral movie marketing: one giant practical joke
Viral movie marketing campaigns rely upon a temporary suspension of disbelief. After initial confusion wears off, as the operating principal goes, people will agree to play along with what is essentially a massively scaled practical joke.
The chicken wars: KFC v El Pollo Loco
An ingredients listing on KFC’s site reveals that its grilled-chicken burger is flavoured with … beef. El Pollo Loco, a much smaller American chain, is turning the revelation into a commercial opportunity.
Five ad industry myths debunked
Mass media marketing isn’t dead and the future isn’t in online advertising. So don’t believe the hype — or the myths.
Media briefs: Ad gets banned from program about ads
Gruen’s controversial ad, NY Times tech revolution, tweeting surgery on TV, Fox online hits the big time.
Empty shopfronts turned into billboards
As shops close and vacant shopfronts lie empty, advertisers are painting shops, installing digital billboards in the windows and using them as a cheap form of advertising.
OK, OK, so sugar doesn’t make you pay attention
Kellogg’s has agreed to settle federal claims that they falsely advertised the benefits of eating Frosted Mini-Wheats, including that children who ate the cereal got a 20% boost in attentiveness.
Burger King retracts ad that offended Mexicans
Mexicans took great offence at an ad for Burger King’s “Texican Whopper” which paired a cowboy with a little spicy Mexican (literally). After ambassadors intervened it became too hot for the fast food co. to handle.
International ads with Obama continue to offend
In honor of companies’ continuing clumsiness and stupidity in their efforts to capitalise on Barack Obama’s election, a Russian example.
US classifieds fall 60% in just two years
American newspaper print ad revenues fell to their lowest level in 14 years last year and online ad revenues fell for the first time in five years, according to figures for 2008 ad revenues from the American Newspaper Association, writes Glenn Dyer.
John Farnham Cadbury’s gorilla remix gets the thumbs-down
A remix of Cadbury’s award-winning gorilla advertisement featuring John Farnham instead of the original Phil Collins track has won derision on social media sites since it broke at the weekend, writes Tim Burrowes.
The bizarre Dr Bob baffles Melbourne adland
Legendary advertising man Bob Isherwood’s recent lecture left a lot to be desired, writes Stephen Downes.
Beware “buying off the plan”
There are few more effective ways of generating a negative return on your investment than by buying a property “off the plan” from a developer, writes Adam Schwab.
Sponsorship is a two way street
The operators of the Melbourne stadium formerly known as Telstra Dome are finding out the hard way that sponsorship is a two-way street, especially when it involves naming rights, writes Stephen Downes.
