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Little People Ask FCC for Ban on the Word 'Midget'

Group spurred to action by Celebrity Apprentice episode

(Newser) - The Little People of America have filed a complaint with the FCC in an attempt to get the word “midget”—which people of exceptionally small stature see as demeaning—banned from broadcast television, Newsday reports. The LPA was moved to action by a segment on NBC’s Celebrity ...

Nun-Priest Snog Gets Ice Cream Ad Banned

Image of 'forbidden Italian temptation' sparks UK furor

(Newser) - An ice-cream ad showing a priest and a nun apparently about to lock lips has been banned in the UK after readers complained, the Daily Telegraph reports. People told an advertising-standards group that the magazine image, promoting Antonio Federici gelato, demeaned those who pursued a “religious vocation.” The...

Top 5 Billy Mays Infomercial Wares
 Top 5 Billy Mays 
 Infomercial 
 Wares 
OPINION
Jun 29, 2009 6:00 PM CDT

Top 5 Billy Mays Infomercial Wares

(Newser) - Many of the As Seen on TV goods hawked by the late Billy Mays were reviewed in the pages of Popular Mechanics; Harry Sawyers runs down the bellowing talent's top five infomercial products.
  1. Hercules Hook: A heavy painting and a sack of books were no match for a hollow-wall anchor
...

BK Goes Crude With 7-Inch Burger Ad
BK Goes Crude
With 7-Inch Burger Ad
comment
Jun 24, 2009 9:43 AM CDT

BK Goes Crude With 7-Inch Burger Ad

Yes, they really want to 'fill your desire for something long, juicy...'

(Newser) - Burger King’s “edgy” ads have reached a new low, writes Cajun Boy for Gawker. The ad for its 7-inch-long burger screams fellatio—from the “piping hot beef laden with creamy mayo” to the “open mouth of a wide-eyed blond.” The slogan—“It’ll blow...

NC Man Solicited Wife's Rape on Craigslist: Cops

Was in the room as wife was attacked by knife-wielding man

(Newser) - A North Carolina man faces first-degree rape charges after arranging for the rape of his wife via Craigslist, police said. The 25-year-old, who advertised for someone to have sex with his wife using “scare tactics,” was in the room as a man with a knife carried out the...

Brits Bellow Over 'Racist' White Bull Ad

(Newser) - A British milk ad showing an angry black-spotted bull "purifying" himself white is racist, consumers are bellowing—charges a UK advertising council has labeled bull. "Viewers were likely to understand that the black-and-white bulls were intended as a metaphor for milk and were unlikely to interpret the purification...

Dems Spoof 'Marooned' GOP
 Dems Spoof 
 'Marooned' GOP 
May 6, 2009 8:27 AM CDT

Dems Spoof 'Marooned' GOP

Web ad likens Republicans to Survivor cast

(Newser) - A new DNC ad touts the latest Survivor series: the GOP edition, the Huffington Post reports. The Web spot begins with Sen. Olympia Snowe, the “Last of the Moderates,” describing how being a Republican moderate can feel like “being a cast member of Survivor,” and goes...

Bill Would Keep ED Ads Off TV at Most Hours

Viagra, Cialis ads could be restricted to between 10 pm and 6 am

(Newser) - A bill proposed in the House would ban advertising for drugs to treat erectile dysfunction from airing in the daytime and prime time, the Hill reports. The “Families for ED Advertising Decency Act” would confine such “indecent” advertising to between 10pm and 6am. Under the bill, the makers...

Mexico Slams Burger King for 'Whopper' of an Insult

(Newser) - Mexico is protesting what it says is a whopper of an insult. An advertisement for Burger King's chili-flavored "Texican" burger that has run in Europe shows a small wrestler dressed in a cape resembling a Mexican flag. The wrestler teams up with a lanky American cowboy who boosts him...

'Lost' Child in Anti-Smoking Ad Really Cried

Filmmakers let kid lose sight of mom to make spot more effective

(Newser) - A new anti-smoking ad that shows a child crying after he loses his mother in a crowded train station portrays genuine distress, MSNBC reports. The 4-year-old—acting with his real mother—was allowed to lose sight of her for "a very brief moment," said an exec with the...

Coen Brothers' Ad Knocks 'Clean Coal'

Filmmaking duo mock coal industry in ad for Al Gore green group

(Newser) - The Coen brothers chuck the notion of "clean coal" into the woodchipper in a new ad commissioned by Al Gore’s Reality Coalition, the Guardian reports. The ad, which the filmmaking duo directed for the anti-coal environmental group, features a salesman spraying black smog from a can marked "...

Take That, Atheists: Believers Plan Own Bus Ads

(Newser) - Christian groups in London have decided not to turn the other cheek: In response to a much-publicized ad campaign by atheists on city buses, the groups plan to take out ads of their own in the next two weeks, the Guardian reports. Their theological retort, delivered via mass transportation, will...

Ads Were Not So Super
 Ads Were Not So Super 
SUPER BOWL
Feb 2, 2009 6:11 AM CST

Ads Were Not So Super

Nice tries but no touchdowns as advertisers stick to the familiar

(Newser) - Given the $3 million, 30-second opportunity to speak to the biggest audience of the year, advertisers reached deep into their bag of tricks last night and pulled out the same old formulas, Stuart Elliot writes in the New York Times. Slapstick, celebrities, sex, nostalgia, and plenty of animals filled the...

Tough Times Put Cheap Ads in Prime Time

Low airtime costs offer big audience to low-budget spots

(Newser) - The recession has pushed TV advertising rates to a relative pittance, and that’s great news for tools like the PedEgg—a callous remover—and the Snuggie—a blanket with sleeves. Though it may hurt shows’ profiles, “Act Now!” infomercial-style ads have recently broken into primetime, the Washington ...

Atheist Bus Ads Draw Fire from UK Christians

Complaints say campaign breaks requirements of 'truthfulness and substantiation'

(Newser) - A series of pro-atheism ads on London buses have prompted nearly 150 complaints to Britain’s advertising regulator, the Guardian reports. The complaints largely claim that the ads, which declare, “There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life,” are offensive to monotheists and break...

Saved by Zero? Or Sick to Death of It?

Toyota's relentless 0% APR ads wear thin ... and will continue

(Newser) - “Saved by zero?” Try bored. Toyota’s 0% APR ad campaign has left TV viewers annoyed—by both the jingle and the fact that it airs seemingly incessantly, AP reports. Though some might appreciate the extension of 0% financing, originally set to expire this week, most viewers are bemoaning...

Ad's Choice of Song Sparks Debate on Artists' Lives

HP yanks tune by pedophile Gary Glitter

(Newser) - HP's decision to change an ad because it featured a song by convicted child molester Gary Glitter has Charlie Moran in Advertising Age wondering about how far we should go in drawing the line between the artist and his art. The ad for the TouchSmart PC drew complaints because it...

PC to Mac: Who's Square Now?
 PC to Mac: Who's Square Now? 
ANALYSIS
Oct 1, 2008 4:29 AM CDT

PC to Mac: Who's Square Now?

Microsoft's $300M ad campaign fights 'snooty' Apple

(Newser) - Apple's ads have long painted Microsoft users as square, but the PC has effectively stood up to the cool kids in the company's $300 million campaign, writes Farhad Manhoo in Slate. "Even if they are a little saccharine, the core message of Microsoft's ads—that Apple is snooty—should...

Obama Smears Are Low-Profile Precision Strikes

Efforts to emphasize Democrat's "foreign-ness" dodge publicity

(Newser) - This election’s smear campaigns are precision strikes flying under the radar, unlike the publicity assault from the Swift Boat attacks last time around, the New York Times reports. An independent group has run cable ads heavy on racial overtones in Detroit’s suburbs, linking Barack Obama to controversial black...

McCain Accuses Obama of Killing Immigration Bill

Dems, advocates call ad misleading, say Mac opposed it himself

(Newser) - John McCain is accusing Barack Obama of trying to kill an immigration overhaul that both candidates supported, reports the Los Angeles Times. McCain is running a Spanish-language ad attacking Obama for undermining the immigration bill. He has also criticized the Democrat for supporting amendments “that would have killed the...

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