New Media

Some of you may have heard about the latest issue of Adbusters, which sports a weird photo essay contrasting the “striking similarities” of the wartime Warsaw Ghetto and the modern Gaza Strip.

I wrote about this in the Vancouver Sun’s Community of Interest in Adbusters Gets It Wrong. An excerpt:

If the Adbusters photo essay were merely offensive, that wouldn’t be a problem. It’s simply dishonest, sloppy journalism that easily lends itself to the odious Jew-Nazi comparison so common to our university campuses and increasingly, dinner table conversation. If Shoppers’ Drugmart and other shopkeepers choose not to display this sort of material on their shelves, that’s not an infringement of Lasn’s free speech. It just means that in the marketplace of ideas, fewer people want what he’s selling. And that’s a good thing.

A similar take in The Propagandist in Follow Up To The Adbusters Warsaw Ghetto-Gaza Photo Essay

And if Kalle Lasn is reading this, well, you already know what you can do.

In Canadian politics, the party that moves to the center typically wins. But in business, this rule doesn’t necessarily apply. When it comes to marketing your local business during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, you’ve got to pick a side: Pro-Olympics or anti-Olympics. The beauty is that it doesn’t matter which side you choose.

From my latest article in the Vancouver Sun:

“We tell them, pick a side — Olympics or anti-Olympics,” says Olympics marketing expert Maurice Cardinal, who has been advising businesses about how to take advantage of the excitement surrounding the Winter Games while getting around the tough rules VANOC has deployed to protect its official sponsors. With vocal constituencies for and against the Olympics split down the middle, businesses can cash in on catering to one side. “If they pick a side, they’ll probably do well. The thing to avoid is sending a mixed message”

Read the full article, Businesses Need to Pick a Side for Olympics

What Exactly Are They Marketing Here for the Olympics Theme?

A mob of demonstrators blocked the Olympic torch relay last week and protests are expected to continue from now until the Olympics are done. Which brings us to the main question: What is the point of these protests?

Plenty of demonstrators seem incensed at the money spent on the Olympics instead of, say, health care, education or housing. But that money has already been spent. And it’s not like the protesters are going to be able to actually prevent the Olympics from taking place. So what do you think the demonstrators want? Isn’t the traditional media falling down on the job here in terms of probing the protesters with basic questions…

Continue reading this article in the Vancouver Sun’s Community of Interest.