Breakfast cereal — and its slogans — are a nice little snapshot of the times, from Rice Bubbles being marketed in war rationing times as a good filler, to ‘constipation’ being mentioned four times in a Special K ad.
Advertising
Revving up a tire-d Michelin
In the battle of the tire bigwigs, Bridgestone has finally rolled Michelin as number one in the global tire market. Can an updated cartoon roly poly Michelin Man reinflate the Michelin brand? Portfolio examines the plan.
Free shipping: how two words transformed e-commerce
Eliminating shipping costs levelled the playing field between online and brick and mortar companies this year. Advertising agencies will now need to play catch in order to capture the masses moving online.
Crikey Competition: Put a Tiger in your tank: advertising evolves at glacial speed
How would Don Draper have handled climate change? Wonder no more — because he already has, working on the Humble Oil account. Got to love some politically incorrect advertising.
Hand jobs: gadget boom creates new market for models
The booming gadget industry of mp3 players, e-Readers, netbooks and digital cameras has created a new demand for hand models, with the most in-demand mitts earning up to $10,000 a day.
The Yaris end of social media
For a company that trades on a ‘feeling’, Toyota does not seem to care about goodwill when it comes to their latest user-generated Yaris commercial. But is it all just a punk on social media and the advertising industry?
The battle for online classifieds cash
Web giants eBay and Craigslist are to square off in court over eBay’s attempts to gain more control on Craiglist’s board, one of its major competitors in online classifieds. What would happen to eBay if Craiglist charged for ads?
The good oil on palm oil
The 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.
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.
