If you haven't heard of Talon News' White House Correspondent Jeff Gannon, it's OK. There is no Jeff Gannon. White House correspondents and bloggers did a little digging on Gannon after he tossed softball questions to President Bush and White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan at news conferences. Turns out Talon News is closely connected with the GOP, Jeff Gannon isn't his real name and his company also …
Corporate Captains Float The Bill
from AdAge: In a what has become a quadrennial custom, a newly elected president of the U.S. will be inaugurated today amid celebrations largely funded by marketers, media companies and other corporations that routinely lobby in high government offices. Bristol-Myers Squibb, ChevronTexaco, Exxon Mobil, FedEx, Pfizer, Aflac, Home Depot, Bank of America, Time Warner, Altria, Ford Motor Co. and AT&T are among the …
Mehlman Puts Geopolitical “Red Vs. Blue State Thing” To Bed
"We did what Visa did," Ken Mehlman, Bush/Cheney's 2004 campaign manager said. "We acquired a lot of consumer data. What magazine do you subscribe to? Do you own a gun? How often do the folks go to church? Where do you send your kids to school? Are you married? Based on that, we were able to develop an exact kind of consumer model that corporate America does every day to predict how people vote - not based on where …
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Another Four Years Of Bush’s Deadpan Humor. Priceless.
Here's yet another splendid example of the power of brand advertising. The executive branch of U.S. government is "borrowing" liberally from Master Card's language to help sell their big January soiree. Hey, there are no new ideas. In a direct mail appeal to large donors, the President's innuagural committee shaped it thusly: "Tickets to all official inaugural events, including an "elegant" candlelight dinner with a …
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Modern Day Horatio Alger Cherry-Picked For Commerce
from the Chicago Tribune: President Bush today chose Carlos Gutierrez, a native of Cuba who rose from truck driver to chief executive officer of Kellogg Co., to be Secretary of Commerce. "Carlos's family came to America from Cuba when he was a boy," Bush said in the Roosevelt Room. "He learned English from a bellhop in a Miami hotel and later became an American citizen. When his family eventually settled in Mexico …
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Policing The Language — A New Corporate Responsibility
Red Herring reports that eBay has banned the N-word. The new eBay policy is clear: …
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Holy Mackerel
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, wants you to refrain from catching and/or eating fish. According to Associated Press, Bruce Friedrich, PETA's director of vegan outreach, said, "No one would ever put a hook through a dog's or cat's mouth. Once people start to understand that fish, although they come in different packaging, are just as intelligent, they'll stop eating them." To press their …
How Frank Can We Be?
One of the more fascinating aspects of Frontline's "The Persuaders," which aired last night on PBS was the close up look at Republican pollster, Frank Luntz. If you watch the news at all, you've seen this guy's spin, I mean work. Luntz advised his political cronies, I mean clients, to say "climate change" not "global warming" and "death tax" not "estate tax." He helped Newt define his "Contract With America" and …
Conspiracy Theory Informs Ad Campaign
James W. Walter, an eccentric millionaire from Santa Barbara, Calif., who over the years has financed programs promoting voter registration in low-income neighborhoods and prison reform, has recently taken a growing interest in the investigation of the Sept. 11 attacks. In fact, Walter is so interested he opened his wallet to the tune of $3 million in order to finance a national ad campaign pressing for the reopening …
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Good People Need Great Copy
The Intelligence Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a leading civil rights organization is seeking an experienced writer with proven research, investigative, analytical and editing skills. This individual will produce major articles focusing on extremism, terrorism and hate groups for the Center …