Coca-Cola has launched a new product blog and it's not going over too well. Here's some of what resistance fighters, The Zero Movement Sucks, have to say: In co-opting the trademarks of the counter-culture--blogs, street art and a passionate cause--to promote an artifically sweetened cocktail of chemicals and flavourings, Coca Cola is demeaning it's audience. We don't want an ad agency forming our life philosophy. We …
PETA’s Onion Imitation
Kentucky Fried Cruelty: Deciding to make a statement every time he’s asked for or signs his name, a 19-year-old PETA staff member—formerly known as Chris Garnett—has legally changed his name to KentuckyFriedCruelty.com, the same name as PETA’s Web site that gives the lowdown on KFC’s refusal to eliminate the worst abuses of chickens raised and killed to fill its buckets. The former Dover Plains, New York, resident …
Pharmie Pharce
Brandweek: Eli Lilly and Co. agreed to plead guilty to a federal misdemeanor charge that it illegally promoted its Evista osteoporosis medication for the treatment of breast cancer and cardiovascular risk reduction. The company also agreed to a $36 million fine to settle the charge. The investigation into the effort began in July 2002. The government alleged that in 1998, certain Lilly employees promoted Evista for …
Hummer Bummer
If you own a Hummer, don't be surprised if people give you the finger while you're out and about. There's a web site with hundreds of photos of people doing just that. …
Kids Are Mean
The Telegraph: In a finding that will astonish many parents, academics at Bath University concluded that girls attack their Barbie dolls as a symbol of their rejection of the consumer society. "Barbie provoked rejection, hatred and violence," said Dr. Agnes Nairn, who led the research for the university's school of management. "The girls we spoke to see Barbie torture as a legitimate play activity, and see the …
Enough With The “C” Word Already
From the Marketing Trenches points to this great bumper sticker. If you would like one, send $5.00 to these fine folks in St. Louis before their supply runs out. …
1-800-PIT-BULL
Florida's Supreme Court forbade two personal injury lawyers from using a pit bull with a spiked collar to advertise their services because "there is no way to measure whether the attorneys in fact conduct themselves like pit bulls." According to the ruling: In this case we impose discipline on two attorneys for their use of television advertising devices that violate the Rules of Professional Conduct. These devices, …
Let My Money Go
Consumerist user, Crispin B., is pissed at his bank, Chase. I’ve been with Chase for a long time. I have money from the dot-com days. I’ve run a lot of that money through them - at one point just over a million dollars following the sale of my home. Did that earn me any respect? No. They treat me just like I was back in college, living from paycheck to paycheck. They’ve nickel-and-dimed me the whole time. Charges for …