Super Bowl flops

Adweek has a good roundup of famous (infamous?) Super Bowl commercials that failed. Worth watching the links.

Ads and Accuracy

The two presidential campaigns got into multiple kerfuffles last fall over the accuracy of campaign advertising. It's a pretty common development.
Here's just one example.
But now that we have the benefit of time and distance, did it matter? In what ways does campaign advertising sway the electorate? Should we expect it to be "accurate"? How is that accuracy determined in the arena of politics? Isn't one man's misinterpretation another man's firm conviction? Are these ethics questions only or should we think about legal ramifications?

Promises, promises

So it turns out that Barack Obama handed out a lot of assurances during his campaign. Many, many more than his predecessors (about double Bush and Clinton).
These came out in speeches and his online content but also very prominently in his campaign advertising.
Now PolitiFact wants to check out how good he is at keeping them.
What is the role of campaign advertising in establishing policy? How closely should we scrutinize campaign ads? Are they really about issues or really about personality? How do they matter?

Obama tours the Post

Here's an illuminating inside look at what happens when a popular new president checks out the newsroom in his new hometown.
What is the difference between news and celebrity coverage and how might that affect this administration? What does it mean that people are "star struck" by Obama? How can reporters overcome this in themselves? Is that feasible? Why might people be concerned about personal relationships between reporters and the people they cover?

White House Site

With the transition of power in Washington came a digital transition, as well. Check out one evaluation of the new Obama Administration White House Web site.
Have you been to it? What do you think? Will you go back?

New administration meets the press

It seems like the claims that the news media adore Barack Obama may be on the wane. Lots of concern and complaints about access.
What obligation does a presidential administration have to give reporters access? How does Obama's affinity for alternative information channels affect the traditional news media (e.g., bypassing the press during the campaign and making announcements directly to voters via Web sites, blogs and texts)?

BBC edits Obama video

Ethicists are raising questions about a BBC decision to edit together separate parts of President Obama's inauguration address.
What does this choice do to the BBC's credibility? How would the audience know about this editing? Does it matter?

Super Bowl Ads and the Blogosphere

Looks like the recession may cutting into chatter about the upcoming Super Bowl ads. Discussions are down, according to Ad Age and others.
What does this mean for these spots? Does it make the massive investment less worth it? How much does this buzz help a brand?

Miller creativity

Here's more on the Miller 1-second ads we covered in lecture:

http://www.adweek.com/aw/creative/ad-of-the-day/article_display.jsp?creativeId=269983

and you can view the set of ads at http://1secondad.com/VerifyAge.aspx

be sure to verify your age correctly : )

KC News Meeting

Welcome to a brand new crop of 202ers. Each week, I post to the "KC News Meeting" tag on this blog a short list of things that have made the news during this week. This should prompt you to make sure you've prepared for the current events quizzes. But my lists aren't comprehensive or exhaustive. So I want you to post comments to add news items you think are important. I try to draw quiz questions from a combination of my posts and your comments.
So what's been happening:
- one word: Blagojevich
- economic stimulus package
- John Updike dies
- administration appointments, including Timothy Geithner for Treasury
- Pfizer pharmaceutical may be getting much bigger
- Gov. Jim Doyle covers the state budget woes
- Microsoft cuts jobs
- Obama makes a move on auto emissions
- massive Wall Street bonuses look bad, very very bad
- upcoming elections in Iraq