Product Placement in Superman Returns

Product Placement in Superman Returns: "As Superman returns from a five-year sabbatical to find himself, Metropolis is buzzing with Samsung devices. The consumer electronics brand reportedly provided the film with a record 274 digital products. From LCD television screens in the Daily Planet office to computer monitors and printers to cell phones to fax machines, it seems Samsung is the real conqueror of Metropolis. Even with all the products in the film, Samsung had a rather seamless integration. Logos weren%u2019t always apparent and in your face, although Budweiser stood out like crystals laced with radioactive kryptonite. Apparently, %u201Ctruth, justice and all that stuff%u201D doesn%u2019t include abstinence. After finding out that the love of his life, Lois, is engaged and has a 5-year-old son, %u201CThe Man of Steel%u201D heads to the local bar and gets tipsy from drinking a Budweiser. Other honorable brandcameo mentions: Belstaff jackets for the bad guys and Virgin Galactic premiering its aircraft in one of the crucial action scenes.
Featured Brands: Featured Brands: Audi, Avaya, Belstaff, Bose, Budweiser, Graco, Grey Goose, Mountain Dew, Nikon, Oakland A's, Plantronics, Samsung, Scrabble, Steinway & Sons, Virgin "

(Via Brand Cameo.)

Bloggers paid to push products.

Bloggers are getting paid to push products. : "Murphy is launching PayPerPost.com, which will automate such hookups between advertisers and bloggers and thus codify a new frontier of product placement. Advertisers pay to post details about their 'opportunity,' specifying, among other things, how they want bloggers to write about, say, a new shoe, if they want photos to be included, and whether they'll pay only for positive mentions. Bloggers who abide by the rules get paid; heavily trafficked blogs may command premium rates. Those seeking to subvert PayPerPost from within can't: No pornographic or 'illicit' content is accepted."

(Via PR Watch) .)

Media Manipulation - Global Issues

Media Manipulation - Global Issues: "The media is manipulated in all manners, for example through professional public relations (PR), and covert and overt government propaganda which disseminates propaganda as news. What are often deemed as credible news sources can often knowingly or unknowingly be pushing political agendas and propaganda."

Street Level Product Placement

'Reality-based product placement' is here. The car maker Jaguar's new marketing strategy is to give 'its high-end cars to jet-setters' in major cities, for free. In Manhattan, Nico Bossi and his Jaguar XK 'show up at all the right places, such as ... hangouts in New York's trendy meatpacking district.' According to the Wall Street Journal, 'Many people ask about the car, but Mr. Bossi doesn't reveal his Jaguar deal. ... Sometimes, he takes people who are really interested for a spin.' The deal was brokered by the PR firm Brandman Agency. Firm owner Melanie Brandman said the arrangement 'makes the advertisements come to life.' Bossi gives the firm 'updates on where he goes each week.' In similar but smaller programs, General Motors 'chauffeured VIPs around the Super Bowl in Detroit earlier this year' and DaimlerChrysler 'lent out the new Mercedes-Benz R Class SUVs to selected consumers for a week.'

Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), June 29, 2006
(Link Via PR Watch's Spin of the Day.)

The Tangled Web of Doctors, Drug Companies and Charities

The Tangled Web of Doctors, Drug Companies and Charities: "

'Around the country, doctors in private practice have set up tax-exempt charities into which drug companies and medical device makers are, with little fanfare, pouring donations — money that adds up to millions of dollars a year,' Reed Abelson reports in the New York Times. Concern has been raised that the funding can bias medical decisions, create conflicts of interest which aren't disclosed to patients and potentially skew research results in favour of the funder. 'There's undoubtedly corruption in the system,' Dr. Cherf said. 'We need healthy relationships between physicians and industry. Both parties have been too aggressive.'

Website: New York Times, June 28, 2006

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/28/business/28foundation.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1151553743-sljrvFovoMv7eiGnYP9hDw

"

(Via PR Watch's Spin of the Day.)

White House News Forgeries Widespread

"White House News Forgeries Widespread": "To a viewer, each report looked like any other 90-second segment on the local news. In fact, the federal government produced all three. The report from Kansas City was made by the State Department. The 'reporter' covering airport safety was actually a public relations professional working under a false name for the Transportation Security Administration. The farming segment was done by the Agriculture Department's office of communications."

(Via truthout.org .)

Comic books the next frontier for product placement

Comic books the next frontier for product placement - AdJab: "Comic books the next frontier for product placementPosted Apr 19th 2006 9:19AM by Chris ThilkFiled under: Product PlacementBoth Marvel and DC, the two largest comic book
publishers, have signed deals that will integrate product placement in the issues of some of their titles. DC will have a new hero called The Rush drive a Pontiac that the publisher says is just as important to that character as the Aston Martin is to James Bond. Marvel is jumping in whole hog by putting the Nike swoosh logo in a variety of places such as car doors and character
t-shirts."

Bush 'planted fake news stories on American TV'

Independent Online Edition > Americas: "Federal authorities are actively investigating dozens of American television stations for broadcasting items produced by the Bush administration and major corporations, and passing them off as normal news. Some of the fake news segments talked up success in the war in Iraq, or promoted the companies' products."

Fake TV News Report Now in PDF Form

"Fake TV News" Report Now in PDF Form: "

With the U.S. Federal Communications Commission investigating the television stations that CMD documented airing corporate video news releases, you might want to read through the report that started it all. Luckily, 'Fake TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed' is now available in PDF format! Download it from our website, print it out and take it along on your summer holiday. It's 114 pages long -- chock full of important information, harrowing tales of media deception, and some great puns. The URL to download the report is: www.prwatch.org/pdfs/NFNPDFExt6.pdf

Website: Center for Media and Democracy, May 26, 2006

URL: http://www.prwatch.org/pdfs/NFNPDFExt6.pdf

"

(Via PR Watch's Spin of the Day.)

I Sold It Through The Grapevine

I Sold It Through The Grapevine: "Not even small talk is sacred anymore. P&G has enlisted a stealth army of 600,000 moms who chat up its products... The program is a state-of-the-art method for reaching the most influential group of shoppers in America: moms. At a time when companies need to find creative ways to get their message across to consumers, it's likely to be widely studied. But Vocalpoint also raises a serious ethical issue: Should the person spreading the product message disclose her affiliation? P&G says it's up to such "connectors" to make that decision on their own. But this puts the company at odds with the recently formed Word of Mouth Marketing Assn. (WOMMA), which mandates full disclosure.

(Via Adrants.)

Creepy McDonald's ad from India

Link
(Via Boing Boing.)

Astroturf site from telcos' PR company against Net Neutrality

Astroturf site from telcos' PR company against Net Neutrality: "Cory Doctorow:
Astroturf site from telcos' PR company against Net Neutrality: "Cory Doctorow:
Neil found a site called 'HandsOff.org' that seems to be a grass-roots campaign from 'a nationwide coalition of Internet users' against Internet regulation. On closer inspection, though: 'it's nothing more than a front for business interests that was set up by a PR company called the Mercury Group. If you've ever wondered why government seems so far removed from the will of the people, the existence of 'astroturf' campaigns like this go some way to explaining why.'

MaxedOutBuzz.com - Home

MaxedOutBuzz.com - Home:

"Maxed Out shows how the modern financial industry really works, explains the true definition of "preferred customer" and tells us why the poor are getting poorer and the rich getting richer. By turns hilarious and profoundly disturbing, Maxed Out paints a picture of a national nightmare which is all too real for most of us."

(Via www.maxedoutmovie.com .)

Covert Recruiting Video in Schools, on Planes and TV

Covert Recruiting Video in Schools, on Planes and TV: "

One Navy officer profiled in 'Today's Military,' who's a liaison to TV and movie studios

United Airlines' new in-flight video 'was produced and funded by the Department of Defense -- a fact passengers do not learn from watching it,' reports Jason George. The 13-minute segment, 'Today's Military,' profiles five 'military glamor jobs.' It shows only 'one soldier beyond U.S. borders,' who's 'doing humanitarian work in Thailand' -- a remarkable focus at a time of war. The Defense Department paid United $36,000 to run the video for one month. A United spokesperson said 'between 7 to 15 minutes' of their two-hour programming is sponsored video. The military video was excerpted from a 48-minute feature, produced by the Mullen firm, that's aired on at least two Illinois TV stations: Springfield's ABC and Peoria's UPN affiliates. The feature 'does not say who produced it until the final credits roll' and the Defense Human Resources Activity is listed. The goal is to educate 'influencers,' including parents and teachers. 'This fall, 40,000 copies' of the feature 'will be shipped to high school guidance counselors for distribution to students.'

Website: Chicago Tribune, May 6, 2006

URL: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0605060077may06,1,212661.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed

"

(Via PR Watch's Spin of the Day.)

Review by Mike Gange

An Island in the Media Stream:

"Most of these releases are aimed at adult readers, and while they contain ideas that may be useful in the classroom, they are more likely to end up as a library selection than a day-to-day classroom resource. We Know What You Want: How They Change Your Mind by Martin Howard would be one of the few surprising exceptions. Not only does it stand out from the others in the flood by proving to be enlightening for adults and students, it contains items that could be used alone or as part of a unit on media education... Part of the beauty of We Know What You Want: How They Change Your Mind is that it will teach both leaders and learners in the classroom and serve parents and kids in the home... Another appealing aspect of this book is the use of graphics that will help get the point across. Maybe the best part of the book, however, is its tone: it teaches us what to think about, without preaching to us about what to think. In that regard then, We Know What You Want: How They Change Your Mind is a stand out."

Military Plays Up Role of Zarqawi

Military Plays Up Role of Zarqawi: "The U.S. military is conducting a propaganda campaign to magnify the role of the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, according to internal military documents and officers familiar with the program. The effort has raised his profile in a way that some military intelligence officials believe may have overstated his importance and helped the Bush administration tie the war to the organization responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks."

(Via Washington Post.)

Pentagon fabricating Zarqawi Legend

Who is behind "Al Qaeda in Iraq"? Pentagon acknowledges fabricating a "Zarqawi Legend": "Pentagon PSYOP Zarqawi Program

In an unusual twist, the Washington Post in a recent article, has acknowledged that the role of Zarqawi had been deliberately "magnified" by the Pentagon with a view to galvanizing public support for the US-UK led "war on terrorism":


"The Zarqawi campaign is discussed in several of the internal military documents. "Villainize Zarqawi/leverage xenophobia response," one U.S. military briefing from 2004 stated. It listed three methods: "Media operations," "Special Ops (626)" (a reference to Task Force 626, an elite U.S. military unit assigned primarily to hunt in Iraq for senior officials in Hussein's government) and "PSYOP," the U.S. military term for propaganda work..." (WP. 10 April 2006)
"

(Via Global Research.)

Monitoring Health Care Journalism

Web Site Rates Health Care Journalism - Yahoo! News: "Newspaper and magazine health coverage will be reviewed online at a new Web site beginning Monday. Access to the site and its findings, http://www.HealthNewsReview.org, is free and open to consumers. It was created by University of Minnesota journalism professor Gary Schwitzer, who fashioned the site after similar efforts in Australia and Canada."

Examples of actual VNRs

Video Downloads: Video News Releases Examples of actual VNRs. While these 36 examples represent less than one percent of VNRs offered to newsrooms each year, this report provides the most comprehensive survey of fake TV news to date."

(Via PR Watch.)

Fake TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed - Center for Media and Democracy

Fake TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed - Center for Media and Democracy: "Fake TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed
A multimedia report on television newsrooms' use of material provided by PR firms on behalf of paying clients"

Over a ten-month period, the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) documented television newsrooms' use of 36 video news releases (VNRs)—a small sample of the thousands produced each year. CMD identified 77 television stations, from those in the largest to the smallest markets, that aired these VNRs or related satellite media tours (SMTs) in 98 separate instances, without disclosure to viewers.

Mass Media Cover-ups

Mass Media: "a 10-page summary of revealing accounts by 20 award-winning journalists from the book Into the Buzzsaw, compiled Kristina Borjesson. All of these courageous writers were prevented by corporate mass media ownership from reporting major news stories. Some were even fired or laid off. These journalists have won numerous awards, including several Emmys and a Pulitzer."

(Via Want To Know.)

On TV News, the Ads Never End (Part Two)

On TV News, the Ads Never End (Part Two): "

'With TV stations facing increased competition and pressure on advertising revenue ... product placement, media and branded entertainment agencies say they are increasingly being pitched opportunities from local stations to integrate their clients' products into news programing in exchange for buying commercial time or paying integration fees,' reports Gail Schiller. KRON-TV in San Francisco, KMEX-TV in Los Angeles, and KPTV-TV in Portland 'confirmed that they have integrated advertisers into their newscasts.' KCAL-TV in Los Angeles and Gannett NBC affiliates in Denver, Minneapolis, Atlanta and Cleveland 'are experimenting with integration into newsmagazine-type shows that they describe as entertainment rather than news.' Recently, ABC's 'Good Morning America' broadcast from a cruise ship. The cruise company 'did not pay integration fees,' but 'did foot the bill for airfare, room and board to send nearly 300 women,' who won an ABC contest, on the cruise. Radio-Television News Directors Association president Barbara Cochran warned, 'If viewers start thinking your news is for sale, then the credibility of your news is lost and your audience is lost.'

Website: Reuters, March 15, 2006

URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060316/tv_nm/newscasts_dc_1

"

(Via PR Watch's Spin of the Day.)

The Catalogue

The Catalogue: "This is great! This excellent independent video production looks like the not too distant future of tagged humans and a society without privacy.Requires Apple Quicktime… The Catalogue

(Via Freedom Is Slavery.)

Bush's State of Propaganda Speech

Bush's State of Propaganda Speech: "r. Bush threw out a dizzying array of misleading analogies, propaganda slogans and false choices. Congress authorized the president to spy on Americans and knew all about it ... 9/11 could have been prevented by warrantless spying ... you can't fight terrorism and also obey the law ... and Democrats are not just soft on national defense, they actually don't want to beat Al Qaeda. "(Via Propaganda&Media edstrong.)

Subservient Donald

MIT Brand Culture Convergence: Blog: "Writers Guild of America that pushes for limits on product placement has launched a Subservient Donald website as part of a larger campaign. The Donald dances, shows off pantyhose he's wearing, and sells paper towels."

(Via .)

Think Tanks Compassionate Conservativism

Think Tanks Compassionate Conservativism: "

As the toll mounts from U.S. political scandals, think tanks have provided new homes to some of the fallen. The Hudson Institute has appointed
I. Lewis Scooter Libby as 'a senior adviser'. In October 2005 Libby resigned from his position as Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to Vice President Dick Cheney after being indicted on five counts including obstruction of justice. 'Libby will focus on issues relating to the War on Terror and the future of Asia. He also will offer research guidance and will advise the institute in strategic planning,' the think tank stated. In mid-December Doug Bandow resigned from both his role at the Cato Institute and as syndicated columnist with Copley News Service after revelations that he had accepted payments from lobbyist Jack Abramoff. On January 1 Bandow started as vice president of policy at Citizen Outreach, a group that favours 'limited-government public policies'.

Website: Hudson Institute Media Release, January 6, 2006.

URL: http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=58926

"

(Via PR Watch's Spin of the Day.)

Pentagon OK's Online Propaganda - Center for Media...

Pentagon OK's Online Propaganda - Center for Media and Democracy: "'U.S. military websites that pay journalists to write articles and commentary supporting military activities in Europe and Africa do not violate U.S. law or Pentagon policies,' concluded the Pentagon's inspector general. The websites, the Southeast European Times (launched in 1999 by President Clinton) and Magharebia (launched in 2004 by President Bush), often use 'freelance reporters hired by Anteon Corp.' The U.S. military's Pacific Command in Asia and Central Command in the Middle East are also developing 'regional information websites.' The Pentagon inspector general's report did not address the fact that U.S. audiences, which the government is forbidden from propagandizing, can access the websites. A related investigation into Pentagon-planted stories in Iraqi newspapers, headed by Navy Rear Adm. Scott R. Van Buskirk, is expected to be completed soon."

More about Subliminal Persuasion

Influence Peddlers Pass Out Billions in Washington...

Influence Peddlers Pass Out Billions in Washington: "Special interests and the lobbyists they employ have reported spending, since 1998, a total of almost $13 billion to influence Congress, the White House and more than 200 federal agencies."

Dvorak Uncensored

More about Subliminal Persuasion

The 2005 Falsies Awards

It Was a Very False Year: The 2005 Falsies Awards - Center for Media and Democracy: "Over the past twelve months, the ideal of accurate, accountable, civic-minded news media faced nearly constant attack. Fake news abounded, from Pentagon-planted stories in Iraqi newspapers to corporate- and government-funded video news releases aired by U.S. newsrooms. Enough payola pundits surfaced to constitute their own basketball team -- Doug Bandow, Peter Ferrara, Maggie Gallagher, Michael McManus and Armstrong Williams. (They could call themselves the 'Syndicated Shills.')"

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NeuroPop's exclusive Neurosensory Algorithms

Neuropop Sound Design: "We can change your mind"

NeuroPop's exclusive Neurosensory Algorithms (NSA) are the heart of our sound design and musical composition technology. NSAs will lock your audience's attention, change their perceptions, alter their mood, or even make them dance by using patented NSA technology."

Download the PDF

"Adjust your audience’s perceptual, attentional or emotional state by employing Neurosensory Algorithms (NSAs). NSAs use specially designed sounds to excite parts of the brain involved in processing sensory localization, emotional reaction and memory formation."

More about Subliminal Persuasion

Buying Fox News: "'Saudi Prince al-Waleed bin Tala...

Buying Fox News: "'Saudi Prince al-Waleed bin Talal boasted in Dubai earlier this week about his ability to change the news content that viewers around the world see on television.
'In early September 2005, Bin Talal bought 5.46% of voting shares in News Corp. This made the Fifth richest man on the Forbes World's Richest People, the fourth largest voting shareholder in News Corp., the parent of Fox News. News Corp. is the world's leading newspaper publisher in English.
'Covering the riots in Paris last November, Fox ran a banner saying: 'Muslim riots.' Bin Talal was not happy. 'I picked up the phone and called Murdoch . . . (and told him) these are not Muslim riots, these are riots out of poverty,' he said. 'Within 30 minutes, the title was changed from Muslim riots to civil riots.'' (FrontPage Magazine article)."

(Via Disinformation.)

Giving Up the Ghostwriters

Giving Up the Ghostwriters - Center for Media and Democracy: "'Many of the articles that appear in scientific journals under the byline of prominent academics are actually written by ghostwriters in the pay of drug companies.' Used by doctors 'to guide their care of patients,' these 'seemingly objective articles ... are often part of a marketing campaign.' The New England Journal of Medicine recently revealed that a 2000 article on Vioxx 'omitted information about heart attacks among patients taking the drug. ... The deletions were made by someone working from a Merck computer.'"

(Via PR Watch.)

Why do they keep running stories saying suits are back?

The Submarine: "'Suits make a corporate comeback,' says the New
York Times. Why does this sound familiar? Maybe because the suit was also back in February, September 2004, June 2004, March 2004, September 2003, November 2002, April 2002, and February 2002.

Why do the media keep running stories saying suits are back? Because
PR firms tell them to. One of the most surprising things I discovered
during my brief business career was the existence of the PR industry,
lurking like a huge, quiet submarine beneath the news. Of the
stories you read in traditional media that aren't about politics,
crimes, or disasters, more than half probably come from PR firms."

FROM www.maximumexposurepr.com

The Men's Apparel Alliance (MAA) - For the MAA, MaxPR developed a national publicity campaign to increase awareness about professional dress in the workplace. The program focused on linking the resurgence of business attire and its connection to increased business productivity.

(Via PR WATCH.)

Pentagon Funds Psyops

Pentagon Funds Psyops: "The Pentagon awarded three contracts this week, potentially worth up to $300 million over five years, to companies it hopes will inject more creativity into its psychological operations efforts to improve foreign public opinion about the United States, particularly the military."

(Via Washington Post.)

Market research: Mind reading

Market research: Mind reading - Market Research Bulletin - Market Research news by Email - Brand Republic: "Two types of scanning are currently on offer as market research tools. One is fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging), which involves a large, immobile scanner. The other is a variant of EEG (electroencephalography), which has evolved into a highly portable mechanism, small enough to fit inside a hat, that measures electrical activity in the brain. Both have their pros and cons: fMRI offers a far more detailed scan than EEG, but subjects must stay in the lab. EEG can be taken to a consumer's natural habitat, such as a home or shopping centre. It also provides many more readings per second, making it easier to see exactly when changes in brain activity occur."

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The Power of Cult Branding

The Power of Cult Branding by Matthew W. Ragas and Bolivar J. Bueno: Like religious cults that can attract thousands of devoted disciples, is it possible for company brands to build legions of loyal followers? In a marketer's dream come true, can certain products%u2014with the right combination of positioning and branding%u2014take on magnetic characteristics and galvanize die-hard customers who become walking, talking viral marketers? Can your company harness the power of cult branding without blowing a fortune on advertising?"

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U.S. Is Said to Pay to Plant Articles in Iraq Papers

U.S. Is Said to Pay to Plant Articles in Iraq Papers - New York Times: "U.S. Is Said to Pay to Plant Articles in Iraq Papers: Titled 'The Sands Are Blowing Toward a Democratic Iraq,' an article written this week for publication in the Iraqi press was scornful of outsiders' pessimism about the country's future... But far from being the heartfelt opinion of an Iraqi writer, as its language implied, the article was prepared by the United States military as part of a multimillion-dollar covert campaign to plant paid propaganda in the Iraqi news media and pay friendly Iraqi journalists monthly stipends, military contractors and officials said."

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Minister of propaganda, John Rendon

Rolling Stone profiles Bush's minister of propaganda, John Rendon: "Mark Frauenfelder:
James Bamford, author of the book 'A Pretext for War: 9/11, Iraq, and the Abuse of America's Intelligence Agencies,' wrote an amazing, frightening article for Rolling Stone about John Rendon, a guy who has taken untold millions of US taxpayer dollars to produce propaganda designed to sell the idea of wars in the Middle East. He's the one who fed a gusher of lies to the New York Times' Judith Miller, who uncritically used the propaganda for her stories.

[T]he Pentagon had secretly awarded [Rendon] a $16 million contract to target Iraq and other adversaries with propaganda. One of the most powerful people in Washington, Rendon is a leader in the strategic field known as 'perception management,' manipulating information -- and, by extension, the news media -- to achieve the desired result. His firm, the Rendon Group, has made millions off government contracts since 1991, when it was hired by the CIA to help 'create the conditions for the removal of Hussein from power.' Working under this extraordinary transfer of secret authority, Rendon assembled a group of anti-Saddam militants, personally gave them their name -- the Iraqi National Congress -- and served as their media guru and 'senior adviser' as they set out to engineer an uprising against Saddam.

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Home Depot Parking Lot Advertising

Home Depot’s Parking Lot Advertising: "

During brainstorm/ideation sessions, any thoughts that are off-topic, off-base, or need future follow-up get written down in a proverbial parking lot. Well, some marketing ideas are best left on parking lots in conference rooms -- not in parking lots of retail shopping centers. Case in point ... a Home Depot parking lot in Austin, TX.

---

Who are the ad creeps behind this ad creep? Parking Stripe Advertising are the creeps.

---

"

(Via Brand Autopsy.)

Fake News: It's the PR Industry Against the Rest of Us - Center for Media and Democracy: "Be careful what you ask for. That may be the take home lesson for the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).
Last Thursday, the PRSA released the results of its poll of U.S. Congressional staffers, corporate executives and members of the general public. All three groups overwhelmingly supported mandating disclosure when broadcasters air video news releases (VNRs) %u2014 segments produced by public relations firms for their clients and frequently aired, without disclosure, by television news shows. PRSA's results are similar to those of the Center for Media and Democracy's poll on fake news, in which nearly 90 percent of respondents supported full disclosure, 'in all cases,' when VNRs or their radio cousins, audio news releases, are aired."

(Via PR Watch.)

Local Fake News

And Now, for the Local Fake News - Center for Media and DemocracyThe mayor and city council of Newark, New Jersey 'hired a fledging newspaper called Newark Weekly News to publish 'positive news' about the city - and will pay $100,000 over the next year for it.' The no-bid contract specifies that the paper will 'generate stories based on leads' from the mayor's spokesperson and city communications staff. A senior scholar at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies said, 'If you are publishing government propaganda in the guise of neutral, detached reporting, that's about as unethical as you can get.'

(Via PR Watch.)

Building a buzz on campus: "In an age when the col...

Building a buzz on campus: "In an age when the college demographic is no longer easily reached via television, radio, or newspapers -- as TiVo, satellite radio, iPods, and the Internet crowd out the traditional advertising venues -- a microindustry of campus marketing has emerged. Niche firms have sprung to act as recruiters of students, who then market products on campus for companies such as Microsoft, JetBlue Airways, The Cartoon Network, and Victoria's Secret.

By the estimate of leading youth marketing firms, tens of thousands of students work as campus ambassadors nationwide, with many in the college-rich Boston region. The students selected tend to be campus leaders with large social networks that can be tapped for marketing. Good looks and charm tend to follow. Many are specially trained, sometimes at corporate headquarters, Gossett said, as in the case with Microsoft. They are expected to devote about 10 to 15 hours a week talking up the products to friends, securing corporate sponsorship of campus events, and lobbying student newspaper reporters to mention products in articles. (THE BOSTON GLOBE)"

(Via Agenda Inc. Live Feed.)

Monsanto's Anti-Politics Machine

Monsanto's Anti-Politics Machine - Center for Media and Democracy: "'One large and important producer of genetically modified (GM) crops - Monsanto - has engineered public opinion to reduce critical scrutiny,' writes a group of South African, Mexican and American academic researchers. Monsanto has followed 'a tried-and-true set of PR tactics designed to tie GM crops to the question of hunger, to silence debate on the topic, and to challenge critics as technophobic. "

(Via PR Watch.)

Exploitation via Word of Mouth

Exploitation via Word of Mouth

Bob Garfield of Ad Age is pumped up about citizen marketing:

'If the conversation is dominated by consumers themselves, and they’re paying scant attention to the self-interested blather of the marketer, who needs ads -- offline, online or otherwise? This raises the question of what agencies are left to do. Maybe the answer is obvious: to manage, focus, exploit, maybe even co-opt the open conversation. The real question may be whether the agency world is culturally equipped for the task.'

(Via Church of the Customer.)

Review: Subliminal advertising book

AdPulp: June 2005 Archives: "Every so often, a marketing book comes along that captures precisely what's going on at the moment--the 'zeitgeist,' if you will...We Know What You Want: How They Change Your Mind by Martin Howard is a fascinating overview of all the marketing tactics that are working to influence consumers on a much subtler level than traditional advertising...I read a lot of marketing stuff, but this book has quite a few 'I can't believe someone's doing THAT' marketing ideas in here. It's well-done."

(Via Ad Pulp).)

"We Know What You Want: How They Change Your Mind :::
Solid primer about the ways your mind can be and is controlled by corporations looking to make you buy their stuff. This will freak you out." -LB"

(Via Quimby's).)

A Hidden Word from Our Sponsor

And Now, a Hidden Word from Our Sponsor

The Wall Street Journalreports that Subway Restaurants 'launched a new sandwich last night by having it written into the story line of NBC's 'Will & Grace'.' Such advertising is increasingly spreading beyond television and movies, and into magazines and newspapers. According to Website: Christian Science Monitor, September 29, 2005

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Bush Teleconference With Soldiers Staged

Bush Teleconference With Soldiers Staged - Yahoo! News: "It was billed as a conversation with U.S. troops, but the questionsPresident Bush asked on a teleconference call Thursday were choreographed to match his goals for the war in Iraq and Saturday's vote on a new Iraqi constitution... 'This is an important time,' Allison Barber, deputy assistant defense secretary, said, coaching the soldiers before Bush arrived. 'The president is looking forward to having just a conversation with you."

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Fake Blogging

Fake Blogging and an Equally Fake Apology - Center for Media and Democracy: "Fake blogs—a form of viral marketing in which PR or advertising agencies attempt to generate interest in their client's product by creating a fictional character on the internet—are drawing criticism from real bloggers. The Cohn & Wolfe PR firm had to apologize recently after 'using a fictional character to leave a series of thinly veiled advertisements on blogs and other websites."

(Via PR Watch)

Strategic Communication Laboratories: "By rigidly applying the methodologies from the Behavioural Dynamics Institute (BDi) to international communication campaigns, SCL has grown to become the leading provider of strategic communication solutions to governments worldwide."

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Psy-ops propaganda goes mainstream

You Can't Handle the Truth - Psy-ops propaganda goes mainstream.: "Strategic Communication Laboratories, a small U.K. firm specializing in 'influence operations' made a very public debut this week with a glitzy exhibit occupying prime real estate at Defense Systems & Equipment International, or DSEi, the United Kingdom's largest showcase for military technology. The main attraction was a full-scale mock-up of its ops center, running simulations ranging from natural disasters to political coups."

(Via Slate).)

Telecrapper 2000 - Telemarketer Interception System

THE TELECRAPPER 2000 TELEMARKETER INTERCEPTION SYSTEM: "The Telecrapper 2000 (TC2K) is a computerized system designed to both intercept incoming Telemarketing calls on the first ring, and then carry on a virtual conversation with the telemarketer.

(Via Makezine)

Local TV Station Uses 'Helicopter Marketing': "Perhaps introducing a new category of marketing, Nashville television station WSMV landed its news chopper on a Brentwood High School soccer field as a football game was being played on an adjacent field and handed out footballs with the..."

(Via Adrants.)

Spinning the Money Markets

Spinning the Money Markets - Center for Media and Democracy: "In a two-part series on Australian corporate PR, an investment banker explained that investor relations campaigns are carefully planned. 'At morning conference calls, there's always a lot of talk on which journalist is a softer touch and who will be more favourably disposed and who has particular relationships with the other side,' an investment banker said. The spokesman for one large corporation explained that they used external PR consultants for 'for media management of senior commentators. These guys talk to commentators about 10 projects a night and it is not necessarily evident who they are working for ... The use of an independent third party allows you to manage that relationship better or get a discussion going to ease the tension. The consultants say it in their own language and it doesn't sound like spin from the company,' he told Jennifer Hewett for the second article."

(Via Source Watch.)

The State of State Lobbying - Center for Media and Democracy: "'Vested interests are working harder than ever to achieve their goals in state capitols and state agencies across the country,' reports the Center for Public Integrity. The organization's review of 2004 lobbying activities found that nearly $953 million was spent 'attempting to influence state legislators and executive branch officials' in the 42 states that track such spending."

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US Army recruits using online games

adfreak: War: It’s all in the game : "War: It’s all in the game

To develop strategies for combat, the U.S. Army conducts war games. It also uses war games (the video kind) to recruit soldiers—a task that is becoming increasingly difficult with all the live action in Iraq and Afghanistan. At AmericasArmy.com, game players get a free shot at becoming a virtual Green Beret without the risk of shrapnel wounds or post-traumatic stress disorder."

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Chicago city offers public product placement

Chicago for sale: "Chicago is short $94.1 million dollars for 2006.


How will the mayor raise funds? By selling naming rights of city assets to the highest corporate bidders, reports the Sun-Times.

'There's a few other assets that may provide for a captive audience to be exposed to advertising' or naming rights, said Budget Director John Harris. 'The [Chicago Transit Authority] is exploring it for some of its train lines.... We will be putting out a request for information to the experts in that field to give us some more ideas.'

That includes airports, libraries, water filtration plants, police and fire stations and vehicles, bridges over the Chicago River, the famed Lake Shore Drive, even the 911 emergency center."

(Via Church of the Customer.)

Hollywood studio's 'fake' critic

Hollywood studio's 'fake' critic: "A US judge has finalized the settlement of a lawsuit brought by movie-goers who accused Hollywood's Sony studios of using a fake critic to trick them into seeing mediocre films, lawyers said... Sony also used endorsements by people who turned out to be Sony employees, the attorneys for the plaintiffs said in a legal notice concerning the settlement that was agreed in March 2004 and given final approval last month."

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CNN.com - 'Enemies of humanity' quote raises Iraq PR questions - Jul 24, 2005: "The U.S. military on Sunday said it was looking into how virtually identical quotations ended up in two of its news releases about different insurgent attacks. Following a car bombing in Baghdad on Sunday, the U.S. military issued a statement with a quotation attributed to an unidentified Iraqi that was virtually identical to a quote reacting to an attack on July 13."

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Doctored Health News

Doctored Health News: "'Health reporters should not rely on prepackaged stories,' writes Maria Dorfner, whose company NewsMD Communications produces health-related videos. 'Physicians who migrate to television news ... lack actual reporting or producing skills.' According to Dorfner, this results in their 'relying heavily on prepackaged content."

(Via PR Watch's Spin of the Day.)

Rip-off Report

Rip-off Report.com

"Victim of a consumer Rip-off? Want justice? Rip-off Report™ is a worldwide consumer reporting Website & Publication, by consumers, for consumers, to file & document complaints about companies or individuals who ripoff consumers."

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Pushing Prescriptions

Pushing Prescriptions - The Center for Public Integrity: "How the pharmaceutical industry gets its way in Washington... The pharmaceutical and health products industry has spent more than $800 million in federal lobbying and campaign donations at the federal and state levels in the past seven years, a Center for Public Integrity investigation has found"

Buzzflash Review: We Know What You Want

Buzzflash Review: We Know What You Want: " a vibrantly designed, practical introduction to how we are psychologically influenced as a result of intentional strategic design... The two-page section (104-5) on how to detect propaganda is worth the book itself. It captures the Rovian manipulation of public opinion in seven short paragraphs."

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Ten Things Your Supermarket Won't Tell You

Ten Things Your Supermarket Won't Tell You: "How do supermarkets capitalize on your tendency to stray? They play soft music in the aisles, inducing you to relax and spend, says Richard Rauch, a professor of marketing at Long Island University who consults for supermarket chains. Some stores, he adds, even use special mood-enhancing lighting that filters out higher frequencies in the visible light spectrum. It produces only relaxing colors such as blues and purples, which reduce the rate at which your eyes blink. 'It slows your pace and gets your mind to slow down,' says Rauch. 'Using lighting to create an atmosphere is not an unusual tactic. Most of the larger, more sophisticated stores use it.'"

(Via www.smartmoney.com.)

Sleeping Poll News concocted to Promote Sleeping Pills

Sleeping Poll News concocted to Promote Sleeping Pills
This spring, a poll that found half of adult Americans have frequent sleeping problems was reported on 'by virtually all of the country's major newspapers and television networks,' as well as international media. 'Lost in the somber warnings and survey results, however, was that the poll, the proclamations and the press kits that spread the information were paid for by sleeping pill manufacturers,' reports the Sacramento Bee. Although the group that released the poll, the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), receives more than half of its income from drug companies, only 17 of 84 newspaper stories 'mentioned the foundation's pharmaceutical sponsors.'"

(Via PR Watch .)

Below The Line Marketing. Way, Way, Below The Line.

Review by AdPulp: Below The Line Marketing. Way, Way, Below The Line. "Every so often, a marketing book comes along that captures precisely what's going on at the moment--the 'zeitgeist,' if you will....We Know What You Want: How They Change Your Mind by Martin Howard is a fascinating overview of all the marketing tactics that are working to influence consumers on a much subtler level than traditional advertising....covering such tactics as event marketing, in-store marketing, targeted CRM, advergaming, word-of-mouth, PR, buzz marketing, etc., Howard lays it all out in a kitschy, well-designed book full of little graphics to keep you enthralled... I read a lot of marketing stuff, but this book has quite a few 'I can't believe someone's doing THAT' marketing ideas in here. It's well-done."

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Pentagon recruiting kids with mass data mining

Pentagon recruiting kids with mass data mining scheme:
The US military has retained the services of a commercial privacy invasion outfit to assemble detailed dossiers on all American high school children and college students, according to a report in the Washington Post"

(Via The Register.)

An onslaught of hidden ads

An onslaught of hidden ads: " Toyota Motor Corp. has asked at least three major magazine companies to explore product integration - that's product placement to you and me - of its cars into magazine editorial pages. Say hello to another indicator of changing media mores.

There's no sign that Hearst Magazines, Meredith, and Advance Publications, the parent of Condé Nast Publications, are going along with what would be a major breach of the traditional wall between magazine editorial and advertising units.

Still, it's a time, says Deborah Wahl Meyer, vice-president for marketing at Lexus, in which 'ideas can cross between advertising and editorial. It doesn't always need to have the 'advertorial' note on top.' Indeed, when Toyota came calling at each publisher, its execs talked up a favorite marketing coup: this year's multimillion-dollar deal that put its vehicles on reality-TV show The Contender.

Toyota's notions aren't universally welcomed. 'We'll sell our mothers, but this doesn't work,' says a mystified magazine executive who attended one presentation and, fearing a major advertiser's wrath, insisted on anonymity. 'I can't sell you an article. I don't even know how to price it.'

Elsewhere, such concerns faded long ago. For a fee, companies can place brands in songs, plays, movies, books (remember Fay Weldon's The Bulgari Connection?) -- and, of course, television. (BUSINESSWEEK)"

Agenda Inc. Live Feed

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Expose of Kabbalah Centre

Expose of Kabbalah Centre: "Mark Frauenfelder:
The SPY-like Radar magazine has a great article about 'Hollywood's Hottest Cult' -- Kabbalah Centre, the Los Angeles institution that Madonna has donated $18 million to.

The Bergs have come a long way since 1971, when Philip, then known as Shraga Feivel Gruberger, began preaching his version of Jewish mystical enlightenment to a small group of students in Israel. A onetime insurance salesman who left his wife and seven kids to marry Karen, his former secretary, Berg has become a man so revered that some of his followers believe he has the power to resurrect the dead...
Link (Thanks, Nathan!)"

(Via Boing Boing.)

US pays for good press

My Country Was Invaded and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt

'The U.S. Special Operations Command has hired three firms to produce newspaper stories, television broadcasts and Web sites to spread American propaganda overseas.' The contract may run $100 million over the next five years. The work was likely outsourced because there are 'only one active-duty and two reserve psyops units remaining' in the U.S.

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Hustling Estrogen With Fake News

Hustling Estrogen With Fake News: "The Australian Broadcasting Corporation's MediaWatch program has revealed that Estradot, an estrogen patch for women made by drug industry giant Novartis, has been promoted in Australia by a fake news package including a press release, a video news release (VNR) and an audio news release (ANR)." (Via PR Watch's Spin of the Day.)

Psychological Warfare Effort to be Outsourced

Psychological Warfare Effort to be Outsourced - Independent Media TV
The U.S. Special Operations Command has hired three firms to produce newspaper stories, television broadcasts and Web sites to spread American propaganda overseas... The Tampa-based military headquarters, which oversees commandos and psychological warfare, may spend up to $100 million for the media campaign in the next five years. The Pentagon backed away from a similar campaign in 2002."

More about Propaganda

More Fake News from Big Pharma

More Fake News from Big Pharma: "Pharmaceutical makers have created fake news segments and given them to local TV stations to air as news programming. Such fake stories under their deceptive news-like camouflage are part of a marketing strategy aimed an unsuspecting consumers. The segments could begin airing in major markets this summer but are drawing intense criticism from journalists and Dr. Sidney Wolfe, the director of Public Citizen’s Health Research groups. As he puts it, ‘Viewers will undoubtedly be deceived into believing this content is a product of the normal news process, which is supposed to be objective and non-biased- not driven by an economic agenda or marketing considerations.’ From 1998 to 2003 there has been an 85 percent decrease in the FDA enforcement actions against prescription drug advertising. Therefore, since the FDA is no longer regulating closely to see whether drug companies are violating advertising restrictions for medicines, the question is whether or not they will monitor such pseudo news stories in MediZine’s and on television. For more info, visit www.projectcensored.org"

(Via Blogdigger search for "fake news".)

Manipulating Google

Manipulating Google: "Companies are using blogs, link farms and spam to subvert search engine results, writes Mark Glaser. A case in point: Quixtar, a revamped version of Amway.To put it simply, Quixtar enlisted various people to help create dozens of Weblogs that linked to each other and were filled with positive stories and key words. The idea is to help put these newer blogs at the top of search results for phrases such as 'Quixtar success' and 'Quixtar opportunity,' while more critical sites such as Quixtar Blog and Amquix.info would drop down.


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NeuroSky hacks brainwaves

NeuroSky: "... has developed a non-invasive neural sensor and signal processing technology that converts brainwaves and eye movements into useful electronic signals to communicate with a wide range of electronic devices, consoles, and computers.
"

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NeuroSky to offer thought control

NeuroSky to offer thought control without those pesky brain implants: "Intellectual children (dweebs) have long suffered the humiliation of being chosen last for such illustrious sports as Dodgeball and Piggy Move Up. Up to now, parents could only implant a BrainGate in hopes of supplanting hand-eye coordination with thought-control (be the ball Danny, be the ball). But now, NeuroSky (a fab(u)less startup of US chip designers and Russian neuroscientists chillin’ in NorCal) claims a ‘breakthrough’ in non-invasive neural sensors allowing low-cost, dry (no contact gels) neural mapping solutions to be applied to those things you’d most like to mind control ( spouse , voters , TV, game console, cellphone). Initially, they will focus on three applications: sleep/drowsiness detectors for the automotive and industrial markets; therapeutic solutions for attention deficit disorder (ADD) problems; and gaming consoles. They’ve already inked a deal with China Mobile and their 100 million cellphone subscribers. Hmm, China embracing thought-control technology - who woulda guessed it? [Via textually.org ] Ads by Google"

Blogdigger search for "mind control"

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Gadget Promos Creep Into TV Shows

Gadget Promos Creep Into TV Shows: "'Tech product placement is going into overdrive, with several prime-time shows basing plot lines around hip gadgets and gizmos. And soon, thanks to interactive 'object-tracking' technology, consumers may be able to buy featured products with a click of the remote.

'As consumers turn away from traditional advertising, tech marketers are picking up the slack by weaving lots of gadgets into the fabric of TV shows and movies. The net, video games and ad-skipping DVRs are forcing marketers to focus more attention on 'branded entertainment.'' (Wired News article)."

Disinformation

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Customised RFID tags embedded in products

Customised RFID tags embedded in products: "Radio frequency identification system read/write tags that can be embedded into products at their point of manufacture provide full product tracking and traceability."

(Via Blogdigger search for rfid.)

Advertainment Reigns

Advertainment Reigns: "Product placements on television shows are booming, with this year's market expected to total $4.2 billion. 'Advertisers pay as much as $2 million an episode to get their products featured on NBC's 'The Apprentice,'' reports the Los Angeles Times. At the TV industry's annual sales drive, actor Amanda Bynes of WB's 'What I Like About You' said of her show's characters, 'This season we found out, like, they eat Pringles and use Herbal Essence shampoo. Next season, we hope to find out what cellphones they're using and what cars they drive.' Other recent product placements include a couple on Fox's 'The O.C.' looking at AmericanAirlines.com, a character on ABC's 'Desperate Housewives' working for Buick LaCrosse, and contestants on CBS' 'Survivor:Palau' using Home Depot tools.
Main source:
Los Angeles Times, May 26, 2005
Main URL:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-payola26may26.story"

(Via PR Watch's Spin of the Day.)

Pay-for-Praise Comes Under Scrutiny

Pay-for-Praise Comes Under Scrutiny

Jonathan Adelstein of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission called 'for an investigation of experts who tout products on television without disclosing payments from the manufacturers.' The Wall Street Journal and Washington Post have reported on 'technology and other experts who are paid tens of thousands of dollars by such companies as Sony, Apple and Hewlett-Packard' and who have praised those companies' products 'on NBC's 'Today' show, other network programs and during 'satellite tours' of local TV stations.' Such payola violates federal law and could result in fines of up to $10,000 for repeat offenders.

Washington Post, May 25, 2005

(Via PR Watch's Spin of the Day.)

Middle East Propaganda TV: 'Cheaper than an Invasion'

Good Morning Iraq: US Sponsored Television: "US Sponsored Television in the Middle East is 'Cheaper than an Invasion'
he violence -- and casualties -- in Iraq continue to mount and many in the Arab world continue to view America as an imperialist power. But the US-based television station Al-Hurra is trying to change that. After all, there is some good news in Iraq, isn't there?")

Soundtrack for Torture

Soundtrack for Torture: "In November 2003, one of our DJs received this e-mail from a WFMU listener stationed in Iraq:

Hi, I'm currently deployed to Iraq and recently discovered your program. Since then My tank crew and I listen whenever we get the chance. The reason I'm writing is that we have been looking for anything we can find by happy flowers, not just because I think My Skin Covers My Body is the greatest record of all time, but also It's perfect for Psychological Warfare. Well, the only song we have here is Charlie Got a Haircut and we've used it so much, we can't stand it. Basically I wanted to check if you know somewhere we can score some Happy Flowers we can then load onto an Ipod to use on the Iraqis. Any suggestions would be appreciated."

(Via WFMU's Beware of the Blog.)

Personal Data for the Taking

NYT > Personal Data for the Taking: "Personal Data for the Taking
Senator Ted Stevens wanted to know just how much the Internet had turned private lives into open books. So the senator, a Republican from Alaska and the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, instructed his staff to steal his identity.
'I regret to say they were successful,' the senator reported at a hearing he held last week on data theft.
His staff, Mr. Stevens reported, had come back not just with digital breadcrumbs on the senator, but also with insights on his daughter's rental property and some of the comings and goings of his son, a student in California. 'For $65 they were told they could get my Social Security number,' he said.

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USDA pays for articles

USDA pays for articles: From Washington Post:

The Natural Resources Conservation Service hired freelancer Dave Smith in September 2003 to ‘research and write articles for hunting and fishing magazines describing the benefits of NRCS Farm Bill programs to wildlife habitat and the environment,’ according to agency procurement documents obtained by The Washington Post through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Smith, contracted to craft five stories for $1,875 each, also was to ‘contact and work magazine editors to place the articles in targeted publications,’ the records show.

From Real Propaganda

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Subliminal Persuasion

Disney 'reporter' appears in local news

Disney 'reporter' appears in local news: "I'm hearing that some local TV stations are doing live shots from a Disney 'reporter' -- complete with a Disney logo on the microphone -- promoting Disneyland's 50th Anniversary. Doesn't this fit squarely in the VNR category?"

All pre-packaged news need disclaimer

Disclosure for Video (but Not the Radio) Stars - Center for Media and Democracy: "Senators John Kerry and Frank Lautenberg introduced the Truth in Broadcasting Act; a Senate Commerce committee hearing is expected in early May. The bill would require 'all pre-packaged news stories produced by Executive Branch agencies to contain a continuously visible disclaimer stating 'Produced By the U.S. Government',' when aired on U.S. television stations. The bill does not require disclaimers from broadcasters. The disclaimer would not be required for reports from government-supported news agencies like PBS and NPR, or for international broadcasts, 'since the U.S. government has no prohibition on exporting propaganda.'"

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Review: We Know What You Want

Book Review: "WITH ALL THE verbal and written rhetoric for the past several years about the
elite, liberal and/or Conservative media, in order to get at the truth,  you should read
this great soft cover, beautifully produced with exceptional graphics and quotes
about 'how they change your mind. It is a brilliantly conceived book from The Disinformation Press!...AUTHORED BY MEDIA  literacy advocate Martin Howard, this book is a much-needed (and we could say, required reading) and field manual to protecting yourself from subliminal messages, hypnotic triggers, and other perils of modern marketing.  With an introduction by media theorist Douglas Rushkoff, We Know What You Want is a visually organized companion volume to Rushkoff's ground breaking book Coercion. ."

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ExxonMobil Funding Global Warming Skeptics

ExxonMobil Spends Millions Funding Global Warming Skeptics: "Friday, April 22nd, 2005
Report: ExxonMobil Spends Millions Funding Global Warming Skeptics

A new investigation by Mother Jones magazine has revealed that ExxonMobil has spent at least $8 million dollars funding a network of groups to challenge the existence of global warming. We speak with the author of the report, a member of one the organizations that receives money from Exxon and a journalist covering environmental and climate change issues.

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Beaming into the brain - by Sony

April 26, 2005: Get Out Your Tinfoil Hats!: "Sony Electronics has recently been granted a patent for beaming sensory information directly into the brain. They hope to create video games which you can smell, taste, and touch.

You can read the Reuters story here, where a Sony spokeswoman admitted that they haven't had any successful experiments yet. The patent 'was based on an inspiration that this may someday be the direction that technology will take us.' In other words, their mind control lasers are still just smoke and mirrors, but they have a patent now. Fnord."

Blogdigger search for "mind control"

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Free trip in exchange for "a mention"

A Sell-Out's Tale: "One day in February I got a message from a woman named Jennifer. As messages go, it was a good one. She worked for Volvo of North America, and she wanted to fly me to Phoenix for a three-day stay in a first-class hotel, all expenses paid... It would have been a cryptic message, but I had already been on one Volvo press trip, and I knew immediately that I had just been offered a cushy free vacation. All Volvo wanted, in return, was for me to mention their car in a national publication. Or, to put it bluntly, all they wanted was my journalistic integrity"

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Get yourself inserted directly into the stories

Paying to be in the News: "Our startup spent its entire marketing budget on PR: at a time when we were assembling our own computers to save money, we were paying a PR firm $16,000 a month. And they were worth it. PR is the news equivalent of search engine optimization; instead of buying ads, which readers ignore, you get yourself inserted directly into the stories. "

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Global surveillance infrastructure

Warning on spread of state surveillance: "Governments are building 'global registration and surveillance infrastructure' in US-led 'war on terror', warn civil liberty groups."

Guardian Unlimited World Latest

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Paid Experts Disguised Fake News

Trust Us, We're Paid TV Experts!

'The use of TV consumer experts is the latest way marketers have tried to disguise their promotions as real news,' similar to magazine ''advertorials' designed to look like editorial features' and video news releases aired as TV reports. The stable of paid 'experts' includes 'Today' show tech-product reviewer Corey Greenberg, 'trend and fashion expert' Katlean de Monchy, Popular Photography & Imaging magazine editor John Owens, and Child magazine tech editor James Oppenheim.

Main source: Wall Street Journal (sub. req'd.), April 19, 2005

Link PR Watch Other Feed

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Army Recruitment Campaign Tricks

Beware Monster.com - by Dr. Teresa Whitehurst: "Interesting but expected..." Sadly, however, most students won’t notice that all those questions about students’ plans for college and career are a cover for the real questions, which are embedded near the end: “If you are considering a military career, which of the following describes your plans?” and “Which of the armed services would you prefer?”... Neither will most kids notice or care about fine print at the bottom, printed in a font size so small that few will bother trying to read it: “To learn more about what kinds of information you might receive %u2026 visit www.YourFuture.org,” which means they’ll never see the “privacy” statement, which makes very clear where their “private” information is going…

Dvorak Uncensored

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Propaganda Technique: Repetition

Censored Propaganda Technique: Repetition

From SourceWatch:"If you repeat something over and over, no matter how outrageous it may be, people will come to believe there's some truth in it. A good example of this is the claim that Saddam Hussein was responsible for the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. No evidence has been found suggesting collaboration between Iraq and the Al Qaeda network, yet Bush administration officials have repeatedly mentioned the two in tandem. As a result, a recent opinion survey by the Council on Foreign Relations shows that more than 40 percent of the American people believe that some or all of the attackers on 9/11 were Iraqi nationals, when in fact none were.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Repetition"

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Lobbyists Spend $13b to Influence Congress

The 'Fourth Branch' Of Government: "'Special interests and the lobbyists they employ have reported spending, since 1998, a total of almost $13 billion to influence Congress, the White House and more than 200 federal agencies. They've hired a couple thousand former government officials to influence federal policy on everything from abortion and adoption to taxation and welfare. And they've filed--most of the time--thousands of pages of disclosure forms with the Senate Office of Public Records and the House Clerk's Office.

'Washington's lobbyists reported billing $2.4 billion in 2003, the most recent year for which complete data exist. That figure will almost certainly go up to more than $3 billion in 2004.' (AlterNet article)."

Disinformation

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RFID Tagging Rifle

RFID Tagging Rifle: "This is the product of the Danish company, Empire North. It does not shoot bullets, but rather it shoots ultra-miniature GPS tracking chips, allowing police to 'tag' suspects and track them without their knowledge. Chilling? You bet. But the technology was well received by law enforcement agencies when EN unveiled it at China's police exhibition in Beijing.
"

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Credit Card Fine Print You Missed

secret history of the credit card: the fine print: "The detailed agreement that comes with a new credit card contains provisions that can add up to hefty fees, penalties and rising interest rates. A look at some of the important sections of a typical contract."

(Via Frontline PBS)

BBC reveals use of Fake News

The Controller of Editorial Policy for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Stephen Whittle, has written to David Miller from the European PR watchdog group Spinwatch stating that the use of audio news supplied by the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS), an agency funded by the UK Ministry of Defence, was 'not ideal'. Miller revealed the use of fake news by the BBC a little over a week ago.
Main source:
Scoop, March 24, 2005
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0503/S00240.htmPR Watch's Spin of the Day

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Review: We Know What You Want

News From Nowhere - reviews » “We Know What You Want: How They Change Your Mind” by Martin Howard: "Did you know that the classic business self-help text How To Win Friends and Influence People is part of the CIA’s training on interrogation techniques? Or that product placement doesn’t just happen in films, that people in the street or a bar enthusing about a product or brand might have been paid to do so? The book is packed with fascinating information like this."

(Via News From Nowhere.)

Neuroeconomics - Hacking your head gently

via MetaFilter: "Neuroeconomics: 'Eventually it could help economists design incentives that gently guide people toward making decisions that are in their long-term best interests in everything from labor negotiations to diets to 401(k) plans.' Note the ambiguous use of the pronoun 'their'--are we talking about the long-term interests of people in general or of economists?"

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Choicepoint stores 77 page dossiers on citizens

My Life, according to the data merchants

"To find out just what these companies have on us, I bought dossiers on myself from both, spending less than $30. Like most major news organizations, the AP has accounts with data brokers...
...Accurint's list of my possible relatives was brief and dead-on, almost scarily so. That was in distinct contrast to ChoicePoint, whose 200-person list of possible relatives, while rich with celebrities, was largely inaccurate. (If I had my choice between being related to former Go-Go's band leader Belinda Carlisle and dyspeptic playwright Neil Simon, both of whom are in my ChoicePoint dossier, I'd pick Belinda in a heartbeat.)
My Accurint file was 17 pages of small type. For about $25, my ChoicePoint file was 77 pages long. It covered much of the same ground Accurint did but included many more digressions, such as those 200 possible relatives."

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Fake News is Global

(Via AboveTopSecret.com.)

Propaganda Report Finds Bias in Iraq Coverage: "At least 20 federal agencies, including the Defense Department, have produced and distributed hundreds of phony television news segments in the past four years. Three times in the past year alone, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that government-made news segments push the window on covert propaganda. The Pentagon Channel now is offered to all US media - army public affairs specialists beam news reports from Iraq and Afghanistan. The military-financed Web site at http://www.dvidshub.net provides US TV stations with free news segments. US law and FCC regulations prohibit government propaganda, but the White House is using legal technicalities to fight the restrictions. On Friday, the Justice Department and the Office of Management and Budget circulated a memorandum instructing all executive branch agencies to ignore the G.A.O. findings."

14 Words Never to Use

Political Strategy - Politics, Strategies, Tactics, News and Opinion: "In the tenth and final installment of the text version of the Luntz Republican playbook, Frank warns conservatives of the 14 words they should never, ever use -- and then graciously provides 'proper' alternatives."

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Language: A Key Mechanism of Control

Time to revisit a classic propaganda guide...

Language: A Key Mechanism of Control: "Language is listed as a key mechanism of control used by a majority party, along with Agenda, Rules, Attitude and Learning. As the tapes have been used in training sessions across the country and mailed to candidates we have heard a plaintive plea: 'I wish I could speak like Newt.'...That takes years of practice. But, we believe that you could have a significant impact on your campaign and the way you communicate if we help a little. That is why we have created this list of words and phrases."

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White House Fake News Probe: NY Times

From Chuck Currie:

"1984 Bush-style The New York Times is reporting in an extensive article that the Bush Administration has attempted to manipulate the media in unprecedented ways:

Under the Bush administration, the federal government has aggressively used a well-established tool of public relations: the prepackaged, ready-to-serve news report that major corporations have long distributed to TV stations to pitch everything from headache remedies to auto insurance. In all, at least 20 federal agencies, including the Defense Department and the Census Bureau, have made and distributed hundreds of television news segments in the past four years, records and interviews show. Many were subsequently broadcast on local stations across the country without any acknowledgement of the government's role in their production.

It is clear that an independent counsel is required to investigate this White House and their role in pushing propaganda as news to the American public.

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Lebanese opposition buys US support

Pro-Cedar, Anti-Syria

The Lebanese American Council for Democracy, the 'group that played a key role in the passage of the Syrian Accountability Act,' retained 5W Public Relations for 'strategic counsel and media relations.' The group's goal is 'to gain support from U.S. political leaders and United Nations officials to pressure Syria to withdraw its troops.' The group is reportedly 'closely aligned with Michel Aoun, the former Prime Minister who was ousted by the Syrians' in 1990.

Main source:
PR Week (reg. req'd.), March 10, 2005

PR Watch's Spin of the Day

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Book shows risks of surveillance society

Daniel J. Solove, The Digital Person: Technology and Privacy in the
Information Age: "THE DIGITAL PERSON TECHNOLOGY AND PRIVACY IN THE INFORMATION AGE by Daniel J. Solove ISBN: 0814798462

"A pathbreaking account of the threat to privacy in today’s digitized world.

Seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, electronic databases are compiling information about you. As you surf the Internet, an unprecedented amount of your personal information is being recorded and preserved forever in the digital minds of computers.  These databases create a profile of activities, interests, and preferences used to investigate backgrounds, check credit, market products, and make a wide variety of decisions affecting our lives. The creation and use of these databases--which Daniel J. Solove calls ‘digital dossiers’--has thus far gone largely unchecked.  In this startling account of new technologies for gathering and using personal data, Solove explains why digital dossiers pose a grave threat to our privacy."

The propaganda you paid for

Watching the spinners paid by US: "Ever wonder who gets the spin money from the government to sell us everything from wars to reforms to reconnect the Army with the American people. A rundown on the seven biggest PR firms doing business with the government, and their refusal to come clean about what it is they're doing with our tax money. PRWatch has much, much more, including exposing the funding and associations pushing Social Security 'reform'"

MetaFilter

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Choicepoint personal data files riddled with errors

Privacy Digest: Privacy News (Civil Rights, Encryption, Free Speech, Cryptography): "Deborah Pierce held a rare and precious document in her hands. It was the story of her life, as told by ChoicePoint Inc. She wasn't supposed to see it; an anonymous source had smuggled the report to her. But there it was, her "National Comprehensive Report," 20 pages long, a complete dossier of all the digital breadcrumbs she's left behind during her adult life ... Pierce said she felt an uneasy twinge in her stomach as she began to flip the pages. A dozen former addresses were listed, along with neighbors and their phone numbers. Almost 20 people were listed as relatives -- and their neighbors were listed, too. There were cars she supposedly owned, businesses she supposedly worked for.

But the more closely she looked, the more alarmed she became: The report was littered with mistakes.

ChoicePoint, the now embattled database giant, aggregates data from hundreds of sources on millions of Americans. The reports are then sold to thousands of companies and government agencies that want to know more about their clients, customers, or employees.

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Your online behaviour being recorded to use against you

Customer Surveillance intensifies...

TACODA: "With TACODA's Audience Management Services™ (AMS) publishers can dramatically expand the value of their inventory using behavioral targeting.

AMS gives publishers an eye into the behavioral value of their audience and enhances their ability to sell their Inventory and audience to high-value advertisers."

[Your Name Here] University

[Your Name Here] University: "

Philip G. Altbach has a fine op-ed in tomorrow's Christian Science Monitor about the sale of naming rights at colleges and universities. The trend towards sale of naming rights, Altbach writes, will 'inevitably weaken the concept of the university as an institution that is devoted to the search for truth and the transmission of knowledge, of an institution with almost a millennium of history.'

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Profile: Frank Luntz, Opinion Engineer

Read a comprehensive profile on Frank Luntz at Source watch including leaked memos describing his controversial insights on opinion management via language tricks.

Frank Luntz - SourceWatch: "Frank Luntz, the Republican Party pollster and political consultant, is president and CEO of Luntz Research Companies, which offers 'Strategic Consulting and Message Development,' focus groups, surveys and other research for political and corporate campaigns.[1]

VNRs on CNN

VNR on CNN Domestic: "Are you watching the free advertisement for Virgin Atlantic? The GlobalFlyer's landing has been live on CNN for the past half hour or so. It's a nice story, but why are they live for this long? In true VNR format the video is coming directly from the GlobalFlyer folks. Jeez."

Source: Lost Remote

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ASVAB Army Recruiters Tricks

ASVAB Recruiters' Tricks Revealed in Their Own Handbook: "The most striking feature of the Army's School
Recruiting Program Handbook is the forthright way in which it states the purpose of recruiter presence in high schools. Page 1, paragraph 1.1 says it all: 'School ownership is the goal.' It is hard to imagine that any educator or school administrator, no matter how supportive of the military, would not be outraged and deeply offended by this statement."

(Via From Akins Journalism Blog.)

RFID Spychip ban bid in California

Someone is taking action to place limits on the emerging RFID technology...

Anti-RFID Legislation: "California spy-chip ID card ban? p2pnet.net News:- A California senator has introduced a bill aimed at banning spy chip ID cards in the state. Joe Simitian’s SB 682 would, ‘would prohibit identity documents (including library cards) created, mandated, or issued by various public entities from containing a contactless integrated ..."

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Neuromarketing Probe for Subliminal Triggers

Marketers Peer Into Our Brains to Sell, Sell, Sell

"Tomorrow's Los Angeles Times has a front page article on neuromarketing -- the use of fMRIs not for healing but for marketing purposes.

The article has excellent reporting of what some neuromarketers are actually do. But it doesn't well explain the core problem of neuromarketing: what happens if it makes commercial and political propaganda more effective? ...This is no trivial matter. If neuromarketing really makes propaganda more effective, then the implications are serious, because it could lead to more marketing-related diseases, and the stirring up of ethnic & racial hatreds, totalitarianism, fascism, and genocide."

Commercial Alert

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Secret Scents Influence Customers

De-Scent into Madness

"Is this the smell of victory for the shopping mall chains?

Yesterday's Washington Post reported on a study which found that shoppers spent $20 more per outing when under the influence of a citrus aroma....What will the marketeers do next?"

Commercial Alert
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