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Graphic warning labels on cigarettes proposed

By on November 11, 2010 in deceptive marketing, socially responsible, truth

I won’t bore you with all the reasons I hate cigarettes, but childhood migraines due to passive cigarette smoke is where my disdain for the stuff started. Given the shocking facts regarding the health risks, I’ve always thought cigarettes should be even more heavily regulated, if not banned outright here in the U.S. Imagine my [...]

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A-Rod deals another blow to the MLB brand

By on February 10, 2009 in branding, ethics, no trust, truth, videos

View this video on YouTube Few professional athletes have ever been bigger than George Herman “Babe” Ruth. His achievements on the baseball field were epic, garnering him the nicknames “The Sultan of Swat,” “The Colossus of Clout,” “The Titan of Terror,” “The King of Crash,” and of course, “The Great Bambino.” Arguably, the greatest player [...]

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Tobacco in an irresponsible marketing death spiral

By on December 17, 2008 in authenticity, deceptive marketing, ethics, false advertising, socially responsible, truth

This week, tobacco companies were dealt a blow when the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of allowing lawsuits to proceed under state law for deceptive advertising of “light” cigarettes. Tobacco companies are now in what I call an irresponsible marketing death spiral: The proliferation of traditional and social media have created millions of professional [...]

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Scheduled site improvements on Cyber Monday?

By on December 1, 2008 in truth, word of mouth

Cyber Monday is one of the busiest online shopping days of the year. The last thing any online retailer would want is have their website down for maintenance. Well, that’s what the Old Navy, Gap and Banana Republic brand family are all claiming on their respective website as of 9:15 a.m. Everyone knows this isn’t [...]

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Responsible today. Irresponsible tomorrow?

By on October 17, 2008 in deceptive marketing, ethics, socially responsible, truth

Responsible Marketing is relative, isn’t it? Take a look at the following cigarette ads from When Doctors, and Even Santa, Endorsed Tobacco in the New York Times: These ads weren’t objectionable then, even though they were deceptive. Today they’d be considered outrageous. The fact is, Responsible Marketing is a moving target. What’s responsible today, may [...]

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Responsible or not? FreeCreditReport.com

By on October 6, 2008 in creativity, ethics, false advertising, responsible or not?, truth, videos, viral marketing, word of mouth

FreeCreditReport.com has done a great job with their marketing—it’s hard to come up with a company that’s created more memorable ads recently. People are paying attention to their ads, sharing them on social sites and singing along. View this video on YouTube The problem is, the credit reports aren’t free at all. When you get [...]

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Can’t buy me love: Paid conversation seeding

By on July 14, 2008 in authenticity, message responsible, no trust, social networking, truth, word of mouth

Authenticity is the marketing buzzword du jour, and for good reason: There’s a huge trust gap between marketers and consumers and the more “real” you can be, the better. So, is the following Responsible Marketing? Top Quality & Affordable Forum Population Paid forum posting is about providing your forum, blog or community a jumpstart, by [...]

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Responsible Marketing is marketing without an *

By on July 3, 2008 in authenticity, deceptive marketing, greenwashing, message responsible, no trust, privacy, truth, word of mouth

We don’t trust anyone anymore. It seems the great politicians, celebrities, corporate titans and athletes have all let us down one way or another. And while part of our psyche seems to revel in watching the demise of greatness, there’s also a part of us that hurts a little. Where have all the good ones [...]

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The Etymology of Responsible Marketing, by Tim Girvin

By on June 30, 2008 in about this blog, branding, creativity, truth

Tim Girvin and I go back. Way back. Okay, not that far back. We were on the advisory board of a before-its-time start-up six or seven years ago, then reconnected through social media recently. Tim’s firm, Girvin, is known in design circles for its work on identity programs for over 350 motion pictures such as [...]

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