How is this News?

So the Guinness Book of World Records is releasing their 2009 edition in the next day or two. They get they world's shortest man, He Pingping, and the woman with the longest legs in the world, Svetlana Pankratova to stand on some steps at Trafalgar Square in London. This becomes front-page news on every website in the world and the top story on every television news network.

How? Why? Are we that desperate for a break from wars and politics? Maybe so.

I love how Craig Glenday, and editor with Guinness, says they don't want to turn the promotion for the new edition into a freak show. So in their honorable effort to avoid this, what do they do? Get a couple of freaks to pose with the book so everyone in the world can gawk at them. I especially love the shot of Pingping standing between Pankratova's legs as he does his best to keep eyes forward!

Nice.

Finally - Someone Worse than Ann Coulter

It's taken a while, but I've finally found someone more deserving of my distaste and scorn that Ann Coulter. Lynn Forester de Rothschild is pure, unadulterated, out-of-touch evil incarnate.

I'm simply going to quote the article that appears on CNN's Political Ticker, because it is so obvious to any rational, thinking human being just how deluded this spoiled rich-bitch is.

Be sure to take note of the fact that, despite her wealth, despite her elevated status in the DNC, despite living on two continents and being the CEO of a "holding company" - her main criticism of Barack Obama is that he is "elitist." Say, what? I suspect the truth has more to do with the fact that she is a racist Republican who was pretending to be a Democrat to further her own twisted agenda. Her true nature is now coming out - but does it really deserse a press conference? How many hard-working, "normal" Americans call a press conference to announce a switch in their political affiliations? Elitist? Ya think?

The article in full:

Prominent Clinton backer and DNC member to endorse McCain

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a prominent Hillary Clinton supporter and member of the Democratic National Committee’s Platform Committee, will endorse John McCain for president on Wednesday, her spokesman tells CNN.

The announcement will take place at a news conference on Capitol Hill, just blocks away from the DNC headquarters. Forester will “campaign and help him through the election,” the spokesman said of her plans to help the Republican presidential nominee.

Forester was a major donor for Clinton earning her the title as a Hillraiser for helping to raise at least $100,000 for the New York Democratic senator’s failed presidential bid.

In an interview with CNN this summer, Forester did not hide her distaste for eventual Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.

“This is a hard decision for me personally because frankly I don't like him,” she said of Obama in an interview with CNN’s Joe Johns. “I feel like he is an elitist. I feel like he has not given me reason to trust him.”

Forester is the CEO of EL Rothschild, a holding company with businesses around the world. She is married to international banker Sir Evelyn de Rothschild. Forester is a member of the DNC’s Democrats Abroad chapter and splits her time living in London and New York.

Why isn't what this woman is doing so obvious to everyone? She wanted a woman in the White House. That was more important to her than any party loyalty or even what is best for the country. It is what would have been best for her and her alone. By supporting and getting McCain elected, she insures that Hillary will have another shot in 2012. Of course she doesn't care that the country will be further devastated as a result. She's so rich it doesn't matter. She lives have the time in London with her "Sir" husband anyway. So the heck with America - "I want a woman president and I want to be instrumental in getting her elected so she will appoint me to an important position and insure my place in history!"

Obvious? Apparently not. But definitely worse than Ann Coulter, who spews hate but doesn't do anything to disguise it. Forester de Rothschild hides behind a smokescreen of respectability. But in reality, she's worse.

Republicans are Terrorists

I know I'm probably not the first person to come to this realization, but I really feel the focus needs to be diverted from John McCain and toward his political party. McCain is merely the front man, the most public face of the Republican Party. But he's neither smart enough nor crafty enough to be engineering what the Republican Party is doing to this great country.

I've always had problems criticizing or disrespecting John McCain. What he went through in Viet Nam - right or wrong - was a major sacrifice to our nation. He hasn't been the greatest senator we've ever had, but I think for the most part he did his best to represent Arizona over the past many years. He never was - and certainly isn't now - presidential material. That's why the Republicans are running him. He's old and near the end of his career. He can easily be manipulated and will lie on command. I'm not even sure he can differentiate the truth any longer. He is the Party's sacrificial lamb, since the power elite know fully well there is no chance any Republican is going to be elected in 2008 to go to the White House. So they put forward someone they have no conscience about trashing personally or professionally.

So why are the pushing so hard? Why throw Sarah Palin into the mix? Why lie about the lies and continue to hide behind false patriotism?

Because their goal is to take as much as the vote away from the Democrats as possible so that the opposing Party's victory isn't as overwhelming as it would be otherwise. Therefore it will appear the country is still divided enough that a Republican in 2012 might be viable. But it's worse. In their attempt to do this, their ultimate goal is to keep the country divided, on edge, unhappy and fearful. The want to drag America down so they can offer to step in and build it back up.

Isn't this EXACTLY what a terrorist wants to do?

In their ideological zeal and misguided principles, the Republican Party has become worse than Al-Qaeda. They have resources and techniques that a foreign agent couldn't even imagine controlling. They have a ready-and-willing media to spread their poison and the connections to cover up everything they are doing. But make no mistake, their purpose is to harm America to the point where we think they are its salvation and our saviors.

They are sick, sorry, unstable people who should become the victims of their own system. We need a detention center for Republicans. We must take back - and keep - this country in the next election. I only wish we could somehow prosecute everyone in McCain's campaign and demonstrate to his deluded supporters just how wrong they are.

Maybe these two articles will help, but I doubt it. Blindness - especially the mental type - is almost impossible to heal. Especially with facts and knowledge, since most Republicans base their allegiance to the Party on hatred.

Richard Cohen, The Ugly New McCain, Washington Post - click here.

Count the Lies, McCainpedia - click here.

Marketers Are Morons - M and Ms Edition

I was reading my Time magazine the other day and came across a very odd ad right near the front - premium (read expensive) placement! It wasn't for the typical type of product you see advertised in this serious news publication. It was for, of all things, M&Ms candy.

But there is something strange about it and I had to look closer to figure out what it was. You see, the Mars candy company is promoting its little melt-in-your-mouth-not-in-your-hand candies as a corporate gift through its MY M&Ms program. Well, OK, M&Ms as a gift seems OK to me under most circumstances, but in this context?

Imagine if you just got promoted to vice president, as the ad suggests, and your company honored the occasion with a jar of M&Ms with the company logo on them? Is this really befitting your accomplishment? I think it's kind of cheap and demeaning to tell you the truth. What could you possibly say?

But there is so much more wrong with this ad.

First of all, the colors. Orange sunburst and deep blue? What is that all about? The M&Ms shown in the ad match - orange, blue and white. Seriously NOT your typical M&Ms colors, but maybe that's the point.

Next, the photo shows a tall, older white woman dressed in red - obviously "the boss" - congratulating an Asian woman who is standing next to an Hispanic woman who is near two hot studly white guys. Wait a minute! Where's the black person? All companies and all ad agencies ALWAYS include a black person to prove they aren't racist! Hmmm, could Mars, Incorporated be telling us something here? And if the whole idea is to give an employee some personalized M&Ms for a job well done, where are the M&Ms in the photo?

It appears this ad was either not thought through at all - of they over-thought it. Either way, it's artificial and just plain bad.

Lastly, Mars needs to take a punctuation lesson. You don't form plurals with an apostrophe. Now I know some people say when it's confusing and the "word" is actually letters (ABC, ICBM, M&M, etc.) that you use an apostrophe for the plural. But I don't think that "M&Ms" is confusing - although I admit m&ms is. But they aren't consistent with their usage, so I'm going to fault them. Just use M&Ms all the time and I won't complain any further.

I suspect what is really at work here is typical marketing cluelessness in the halls at Mars, Incorporated. A few years ago someone came up with a way to print things other than little letter "m"s on their candies. Of course nobody really cares because these are good to eat, not pieces of art. You grab a handful, throw them in your mouth and swallow. You don't stop to admire them and you couldn't care less what color it is or what it says on it.

But the powers that be want their investment to earn some payback, so they push the poor marketing managers to sell more personalized M&Ms. But...but...but...so they got with the advertising agency and came up with this horrible idea and are now spending millions of dollars to try and convince people to do it. But corporate America isn't that dumb. They aren't going to turn logoed M&Ms into the next big thing in corporate giving. Sorry...you ARE clueless and just making matters worse in the recoup-your-investment department.

"Congratulations, Bob, you've just been promoted to vice president of worldwide sales! Here's a jar of blue M&Ms with our logo on them as a token of our appreciation."

It's actually kind of funny if it wasn't exactly what the marketing idiots at Mars are hoping to make happen.

Gibson Pwned by Palin

Much hype was spewed about ABC World News scoring the first full interview with Sarah Palin following her nomination as John McCain's vice presidential running mate. They chose long-time anchor Charles Gibson to go to Alaska and interview the governor one-on-one.

Big mistake.

Everyone loves Charles Gibson - or Charlie as he was known for the 19 years he appeared on Good Morning America. I do too. It's impossible not to appreciate his longevity, his sincerity and his integrity. But his interview skills - at least in this circumstance - fell way short of what we needed in this important first meeting of Sarah Palin with the American media.

First of all, for some reason, he totally swallowed his voice and spoke in an almost inaudible whisper. He tipped his head way down, pulled his reading glasses down to the tip of his nose, and just looked totally uncomfortable and out of his element. How strange for someone who has been in this business for such a long time.

But worse was the manner in which he questioned Palin. It's almost as if he had never interviewed a politician before and didn't know what to expect. He kept asking - actually demanding - a "yes" or "no" from Palin on questions that really do not have that simple of an answer. He should have known better. I don't blame Palin for being a bit frustrated by his repetition of questions that she had already answered to the best of her ability. True, she didn't say "yes" or "no" but a detailed question about a hypothetical world situation cannot be answered this way. He looked foolish.

Palin did not waver. She maintained her cool, called him "Charlie" and stood by her answers. Gibson eventually had to back off because it was obvious he was not going to win.

I hope the next few interviews go better, but Gibson did a horrible job on the first of these sessions. ABC put a lot of trust in him, and rightly so, but so far it has been severely misplaced. I'm very disappointed.

The Fate of Dana Perino

I found myself wondering the other day about the fate of White House Press Secretary Dana Perino. Her days as the Bush Administration's designated liar are numbered, and I wonder what someone like this with no morals and no ethical compass will do for the rest of her life. After all, she's only 36 years old and has already dug a career pit for herself that I doubt she'll ever be able to crawl out of.

I think it's interesting to take a quick look at her two predecessors. First there was Scot McClellan. He lasted about three years before, as he says, his conscience got the better of him and he resigned. Right now he's plugging his tell-all book and hoping to make enough money not to have to ever send out any resumes again. I want to applaud what he's doing, but I just don't buy it. He was a Bush insider and crony for far too long for me to accept this turnaround in morality. Instead I think he saw the handwriting on the wall and realized there's good chance once they are no longer protected by the Office of the President, most of the members of this gang might well be prosecuted for what they have done to the country and our Constitution. I think he's covering his ass.

Then there was Tony Snow. I really don't know what went through his head. He gave up a very promising career as a respected journalist to become a lying shill for G.W. and Company. I wish I could say he managed to die with the renewed respect of the country and the press corps, but it's just not true. He was a disgrace to his profession and the country. I have no doubt whatsoever that the stress of the job is what made him succumb to colon cancer.

Then there's Ms. Perino. You think maybe she's gotten where she is based upon a few things other than her intellect and ability? Maybe just a little? Like so many others in the Bush Adminstration, Perino is a sacrificial lamb thrown to the wolves. Nobody in the power elite cares what is ultimately going to happen to her. They just wanted someone they thought the press might go a little easier on because she's a woman and she's pretty. Yes, I truly think that's the way they think.

It's pathetic to watch her struggle to match wits with journalists who know what they are talking about and have all the data and facts that she obviously just can't comprehend. So she'll just laugh and smile and try to divert to question to something meaningless instead. I'm truly surprised she hasn't resorted to puffing out her lower lip and telling some insistent reporter that he's being "mean" to her. Boo hoo.

Maybe someone in the corrupt Republican world will give her a job and protect her from the fate that she deserves. Her husband is successful and wealthy (and 18 years older than she is with grandchildren already); he'll probably support her in fine style and ultimately leave her with enough money that she doesn't have to try and be a part of the real world again. He's British, and I wouldn't be suprised if they return to England where no one will know her. I guarantee she will soon be forgotten anyway. The Washington press will certainly say "good riddance" and hope that the next Press Secretary will actually be able to answer a question - and maybe even tell the truth when he or she does so.

I suppose I have the same hope.

New Marketing Sense at Applebee's

It seems the marketing group at Applebee's has wised up. For far too long their advertising campaign was focused on a dancing apple that had the voice of Wanda Sykes doing ludicrous things like giving a television crew for a tour of its home. It's one of the stupidest, clueless attempts at engaging customers that I have ever seen.

Well it looks like they may have finally wised up and dumped this campaign. I sure hope so. I just saw a new commercial that is pretty forgetable in terms of overall content, but shines for an excellent line of copy.

"Not just Tuesdays or Fridays but every day at Applebee's."

This is excellent in both its top-level branding communication and also its subtext. Multiple meanings in a single line of text. Well done, Applebee's. Glad to finally see some intelligence coming from you and your advertising agency.