Miscellaneous material for your midweek reading.- Not surprising: Canadians find Stephen Harper’s constant politicization of everything – including awards for volunteers – to be improper. Even less surprising: Stephen Harper couldn’t care less.- Meanwh…
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Accidental Deliberations: Pop quiz
To my recollection, exactly one Canadian political party has featured a candidate other than its leader in a recent ad campaign. Guess which one, and in which province.Then take the spin that the party’s leader served as its lone face in that province …
Continue readingThose Emergency Blues: Get Me the Frickin’ Goat!
If only there was a magic goat. Part of an advertising campaign from the Nova Scotia Ministry of Health Promotion and Protection aimed at reducing harm from high risk behaviours. According to the No Magic Goat website: 911 is your friend. The goat, not so much. (She bites, for one). She’s cute and furry, but […]
Continue readingArt Threat: Racist bottled water adverts pulled – Boycott against Quebec company Eska continues
Quebec bottled water company Eska has found out the hard way that racist advertising doesn’t sell. After one week of a small but scrappy boycott campaign, the company has decided to pull “Eska Warrior” adverts from print and television. The ads, like the one above, depict non-aboriginals dressed up in a melange of Hollywood Indian […]
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: On political investments
Yes, there’s plenty of reason for snark in response to the news that the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce will be (a) pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into this fall’s provincial election campaign, and (b) pretending not to be doing so on behal…
Continue readingwmtc: thou shalt be thin: obesity hysteria and the eating disorder epidemic
This ad for Yoplait Light reduced-calorie yogurt, which I saw on TV last Sunday night, was supposedly pulled from circulation. The National Eating Disorder Association petitioned General Mills because the ad promotes a mindset associated with eating di…
Continue readingThose Emergency Blues: Time for the Talk
A tried and true (if tedious) bait and switch routine to draw attention to a serious issue. Synchronicity is a weird and wonderful thing. Here I was talking about the my own promiscuous use of the F-bomb this week, and now a non-profit uses it as part of an advertising campaign in order to be relevant […]
Continue readingThe Skwib: The Curious Case of Toulouse Le Grandfig, Graphic Designer (Part Two)
Entry 2: Dictated: April 26, 1951 (continued from Part One) For our first session, I thought I would try to understand Grandfig’s psychosis through the medium of his art. I brought in the artwork he had been working on for a hat-maker, and had him role-play what the characters were saying to one another. [Figure […]
Continue readingThe Skwib: The Curious Case of Toulouse Le Grandfig, Graphic Designer (Part One)
PATIENT HISTORY OF GRANFIG, TOULOUSE LE File #: 12-23571-X Dr. Abe Cornelius Bellevue Hospital — Psychiatric Triage Center Entry 1: Dictated: April 25, 1951 The patient was brought into the hospital by several co-workers, including his immediate supervisor at Vandelay, Alderson, Pentergrast, Ilterton and Deckard, a mid-sized advertising company on Madison Avenue. The Creative Director, […]
Continue readingwmtc: racist bus ad in mississauga, part two: we win!
Remember this?
I wrote about this here.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of my comrade Peter, we were able to organize the requisite five complaints needed to trigger a City review of advertising. And guess what? We won!
Dear Laura Kaminker:
Thank y…
Continue readingProgressive Proselytizing: How we can change the political capital formula
It is a tautology that a successful politician is one who is capable of attracting votes. However the way successful politicians can attract votes is divided into largely two overlapping categories. They can enact and advocate for policies and politi…
Continue readingopenalex: Bixi Sighting: New Ads Mark Roll Out of 2011 Bikes
Here are some of the first bixis of 2011, notice anything different? New ads, mounted above the wheel and on the baskets, have raised a lot of criticism on Twitter so far.
Most of the docking-stations around town are still empty. But bixis are startin…
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: Too Smart For Canada
I am not a big fan of Michael Ignatieff but this is brilliant.
Continue readingDemocratic Progress: CPC Pork and You
Big day in federal politics today, as Con MPs fan out across the country to hand out taxpayer dollars in an attempt to purchase re-election. I have a rather lengthy response.
It’s Our Money
Here’s the first thing that the Liberals should be reminding…
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