The demise of the printed word

Jon Stewart let the media have it with both barrels for essentially being idiots. This is a worth read. Essentially, he’s trying to point out how, in their desperate effort to emulate CNN and the internet, print media has surrendered their only point of distinction and the only reason any one subscribes to them. Especially telling in light of the Sacramento Bee’s decision to become a collection of cute little snippet articles.

If newspapers fail, it’s totally of their own doing! They desperately need to understand marketing and differentiation.

Mike

Community Outreach Goes Viral

How do you change an entire community’s expectations and behaviors? That was the challenge faced by California’s Monterey County Health Department when it launched a campaign to improve the health of its Latino community, which makes up 70 percent of its population. The answer was the development of a multi-tiered communications campaign aimed at changing not only Latino behaviors but the broader community (media, restaurants, churches, policymakers, schools and retailers) that fosters those behaviors. With partners on board from literally every sector, the Salinas campaign contributed to a remarkable12 percent increase in healthy weight of Salinas Latinos. Check out the ads that came out of this winning campaign that brought the coveted PRSA Silver Anvil to BMC.

Wine Spectator honors a fictional restaurant

Restaurants live and die by ratings, such as the highly coveted Wine Spectator Awards. You can imagine the shock when it was revealed that a fictional restaurant won. Reporter Robin Goldstein submitted an application for a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for a restaurant he named “Osteria L’Intrepido.” Goldstein submitted the fee ($250), a cover letter, a copy of the menu which he decribes as "a fun amalgamation of somewhat bumbling nouvelle-Italian recipes" ) and a wine list that, ironically, includes a number of wines that had scored poorly in the Wine Spectator magazine

Osteria L’Intrepido won the Award of Excellence, as published in print in the August 2008 issue of Wine Spectator. (Not surprisingly, the Osteria’s listing has since been removed from Wine Spectator’s Web site.)

The hoax brings up several questions. How could this happen? And, how often does this happen? The magazine's executive editor, Thomas Matthews, writes that this has never happened before and that 45,000 wine lists have been reviewed during the competition's 27-year history.

Take it as you will. My advice? Follow your palate not just what you read.

Motivational Monday!

I'm sure you've seen those motivational posters in various office. Well, here are some that you probably haven't seen . . .

Happy chuckling!

~Nicole

Look Out - Here Comes 7 Billion!

Assuming that things stay pretty much the way they are right now (meaning we aren’t hit by an asteroid or a flu pandemic) the population of the world will reach 7 billion sometime around June 2011.

And if you divided all 7 billion into families of four, you could give them each a half acre of land and they would all fit in Texas with plenty of room to spare.

(Yes really - do the math and you'll see for yourself.)

Now that would be a sight to see.

Ken

What's the best graffiti you've seen in the bathroom?

I know I just posted about a contest the other day but I heard about this one in the blogosphere and I couldn't resist!

A company called Toilet Paper Entrepreneur (can you imagine having that on your resume?) is holding a Funny Bathroom Graffiti contest. They're asking people to submit the funniest bathroom graffiti they've come across. They're not letting on what they plan on using it for, but if your submission is one of the staff's top 25 favorites, then you'll receive a signed copy of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur book as a thank you. The deadline for submissions is tomorrow, Aug. 22 by 5 p.m. (EST) and you can find out more by watching their You Tube video below.

So . . . what's the funniest potty poetry you've ever seen?

~ Nicole

Brochures... Fast Food's Answer to Obesity!

Ever try and read a brochure in a fast food line!
You have to check this out, it’s hilarious. Fast food joints are pushing brochures as the “responsible, comprehensive” way to provide consumers with nutrition information – shorthand – “please dear God, don’t make us post the outrageously huge calorie counts on the menu board – it would scare the hell out of our consumers!”

This quick little YouTube video offers a realistic look at how ludicrous the Fast Food industry’s claim is!

If you haven’t done so, next time you’re in a fast food restaurant, ask for their nutrition brochure. Be prepared for a blank stare from behind the counter followed by a work stoppage as the staff scurries about in the storage room to find the brochure. Then, enjoy your lunch as your peruse through a 12-panel, two-sided, 7 point type brochure guaranteed to confuse and baffle even a nutritionist.

Another creative PR move from Southwest Airlines

Talk about an ingenious public relations move. Southwest Airlines is holding a contest to find its next "blog-o-spondent." They're killing two birds with one stone - getting great publicity for their airline and executing the ultimate job candidate search without much overhead. Maybe this will make up for all the hub bub over the flight attendants keeping "pretty girls" from flying.

The company is asking people to submit one minute audition videos and it will select three finalists to send to the 2008 BlogWorld Expo to compete in a final round of competition. The winner will be outfitted with a new video camera, laptop and editing software and have all their expenses covered as they record his or her traveling adventures on the airline. What a cool job (unless you suffer from hellish motion sickness like myself)!

~ Nicole

He's no Michael Phelps

Thoughts?

-Tasha

Ever try and read a brochure in a fast food line!

You have to check this out (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zD4m6WN3Tlg) it’s hilarious. Fast food joints are pushing brochures as the “responsible, comprehensive” way to provide consumers with nutrition information – shorthand – “please dear God, don’t make us post the outrageously huge calorie counts on the menu board – it would scare the hell out of our consumers!”

This quick little YouTube video offers a realistic look at how ludicrous the Fast Food industry’s claim is!

If you haven’t done so, next time you’re in a fast food restaurant, ask for their nutrition brochure. Be prepared for a blank stare from behind the counter followed by a work stoppage as the staff scurries about in the storage room to find the brochure. Then, enjoy your lunch as your peruse through a 12-panel, two-sided, 7 point type brochure guaranteed to confuse and baffle even a nutritionist.

Study Rates Nutritional Quality of Children's Meals at Fast Food Chains

One of our clients, The California Center for Public Health Advocacy, released Kids' Meals: Obesity on the Menu -- its investigation into the nutritional quality of children's meals from 13 major restaurant chains. Some interesting facts that came out from the study:

• Ninety-three percent of the 1,474 possible meal choices for kids, exceed 430 calories. That's one-third of what the Institute of Medicine recommends children aged 4 through 8 should consume in one day.
• Every single possible combination of the children's meals at KFC, Taco Bell, Sonic, Jack in the Box and Chick-fil-A, is too high in calories.
• Forty-five percent of kids' meals at the 13 chains studied are too high in saturated and trans fat.

You can read a copy of the press release here. Also, FOX 40 was at Monday's press conference, take a look at their segment here.

So BK Apple Fries are NOT Fried Fast Food Afterall

Its worst than I thought.

Those Burger King Apple Fries are NOT fried.

Funny – why call them fried then??

Has the fast food’s industry’s multi-billion dollar campaign to sell our kids fast food convinced them that if something ISN'T fired it doesn’t taste good??

I would have liked to have been at the focus group of 5 to 10-year-olds on this one.

“Who’d like some fresh apple sticks.” Dead silence in the room.

“OK then – who’d like some Apple FRIES?”
“Me... Me too… I want some… give them to me!”

But that brings up another question.
Can you call something fried that isn’t?
You can’t call something Kosher - when it’s not.
You can’t call something all beef – when it’s not.
So why can they call something fried - when it’s not??

I smell fertile ground for a lawsuit here.

Distraught mother, ”I ordered Apple Fries for my little boy. He bit into one and discovered they were NOT fired, and now he's been traumatized for life. I want one million dollar for our pain and suffering.”

They’ll settle out of court for $250K.

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PS - I wonder if the new Burger King King scares the kids as much and he does me?

Ken