Eugene David<br>...The One-Minute Pundit

Posted 6:43 PM by Gene

We don't ordinarily pay attention to ADAGE'S GREATEST HITS, as the editors tend to pick the most grotesque ads the way some psychotics pick the wings off flies, or the way some creative types make ads; but of these ten ads "America won't see" five are from proud members of the American Society of Willfully Ignorant Advertisers, and discounting a clever and inoffensive print ad from P&G's razor division the whole point of the other four is to stick it. We can't imagine what has prevented the companies from bringing their stellar efforts stateside -- especially the one from Unilever. And that company has the GALL to tell people it has values. It has values all right: make money and shaft the public.

And on the topic of the Abramoffs of K Street:

The second notable item from the forum was contained in a letter from Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), which was read by Senator Inouye. In the letter, Senator Obama singled out ads for the ED drug Cialis for criticism. He noted that on one occasion, an ad aired while he was watching television with his children, which made him uncomfortable. This prompted a question from Senator Inouye asking whether advertising needs to be regulated. Representatives from watchdog groups, like the Christian Coalition and Parents Television Council, claimed that advertising, like programming, is pushing the envelope and should be regulated. The network representatives fired back, arguing that prescreening of ads before airing is generally effective. They noted that while some ads get through that may be inappropriate for the audience, generalized complaints about ad content are not helpful. The issue was not discussed further, but it shows that advertising is on the radar screen.

That had them high-fiving on K Street AND MadAve.

(Well, 1120 20th St. NW, which is close enough.)