Thursday, January 29
Letter to Ad Age: Verizon Wireless Proves Bigotry Is Alive and Well
Just last week, a few of us at Ad Age headquarters were discussing the blatant stereotype parade on display in the Verizon Wireless spot below. Anyone who reads even a tenth of what I write on Ad Age and elsewhere knows I'm not overly sensitive or particularly politically correct. But even I thought the spot might as well have been called "Johnny Goomba, Can You Hear Me Now?" Then, last night, Ad Age received the following letter from Peter Fosco in Pennsylvania wondering just what the heck Verizon was thinking. [MORE]
Yes, this is offensive. It implies, at base, that Italian-Americans are all criminals, or related to criminals. However, when the media's love affair with the Mafia has been escalated to new heights (the Sopranos being the latest example), and Brooklyn-Italians seem to exemplify everyone with any Italian-American, anyone who finds it offensive is a humorous boob.
I also didn't find it funny when Bloomberg wanted two Sopranos actors to march in the Columbus Day parade.
Speaking as someone who has relatives (Carlo Tresca) murdered by the Mob, I don't find it funny.
I'm proud of my heritage. And I vote with my wallet. Duly noted, Verizon.
Labels: pop culture news
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3:45 PM
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Friday, July 18
Hellboy Takes to the Web with NBC Universal
In a first of its kind, Universal Pictures' Hellboy teamed up with talent from across NBC Universal in a multi-channel on-air and online viral campaign to raise awareness and broaden the potential audience for this blockbuster summer release.
Hellboy can be seen in humorous spots satirizing The More You Know PSAs, with the team of SCI FI Channel's Ghost Hunters, NBC's American Gladiators and as a part of USA's Characters Welcome campaign. The most successful online clips have been Hellboy's interviews with Bravo's Inside the Actors' Studio host James Lipton, which brought in well over 200K views and playing video games with NBC's Chuck, which was seen by over 100K. This is significantly stronger traffic than a traditional: 10 or: 20 second movie clip would bring in online.
Video Spots with JAMES LIPTON and HELLBOY:
Labels: pop culture news
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8:32 AM
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Saturday, May 31
This. Is. Awesome.
Star Trek vs. Star Wars. Seriously.Labels: pop culture news
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12:20 PM
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Sunday, May 25
Why We're Here
If you've ever read a Jack Chick track, this will make perfect sense.
Okay, you have to be a fan of Lovecraft's work as well to get it...
Labels: pop culture news
posted by talien at
11:59 PM
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Friday, March 28
RIP Ben Chapman
Benjamin F. Chapman, Jr. (October 29, 1928 – February 21, 2008) was an American actor best known as playing the Gill-man in the 1954 horror film Creature from the Black Lagoon. A distant relative of fellow actor Branscombe Richmond, he also appeared in Wake of the Red Witch in 1949. [MORE]
Labels: pop culture news
posted by talien at
7:37 AM
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Thursday, March 13
THE URBAN ARCHIPELAGO
Prescient and well-stated, if a bit inflammatory: http://www.urbanarchipelago.comTake a look at the second map. This map shows a county-by-county red/blue breakdown, and it provides a clearer picture of the bind the Democrats finds themselves in. The majority of the blue states--Washington, Oregon, California, Illinois, Minnesota, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware--are, geographically speaking, not blue states. They are blue cities.
Look at our famously blue West Coast. But for the cities--Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego--the West Coast would be a deep, dark red. The same is true for other nominally blue states. Illinois is almost entirely red--Chicago turns the state blue. Michigan is almost entirely red--Detroit, Lansing, Kalamazoo turn it blue. And on and on. What tips these states into the blue column? Their urban areas do, their big, populous counties.
It's time for the Democrats to face reality: They are the party of urban America. If the cities elected our president, if urban voters determined the outcome, John F. Kerry would have won by a landslide. Urban voters are the Democratic base.
Labels: pop culture news
posted by talien at
9:01 PM
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Wednesday, January 30
Firebrand!
http://www.firebrand.comSo you no longer have to slog through YouTube to find commercials.
Firebrand, the hottest spots from the coolest brands, on TV, web and mobile, will celebrate “the Holiest Day in Advertising,” with the launch of its first national holiday campaign, “The Road to Firebrand Monday.” The multi-million dollar media buy will include spots on cable networks like MTV, G4, Sci Fi and VHI, as well as online video placements on TVGuide.com, YouTube, MySpace and Facebook, among others.
Labels: pop culture news
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10:44 AM
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Sunday, August 26
Hannibal Lecter: Transhumanist Icon
An excellent analysis of the Hannibal series of books and movies and how they represent Transhumanism. [MORE]Labels: movie reviews, pop culture news
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12:58 PM
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Friday, July 20
Silent Hill Inspired By Real Events
This freaked me out:Centralia was the pre-production codename and a small influence for the movie adaptation of the game Silent Hill.[1]
It's a real place!
Labels: movie reviews, pop culture news
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6:42 PM
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Friday, March 24
The Slowskys
Bill and Karolyn Slowsky love DSL. So much that they've become DSL's national spokes-turtles. Watch their commercials. Read Karolyn's blog. [MORE]Labels: pop culture news
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7:55 AM
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Sunday, January 22
Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny
The song's actually better than the animation, but who cares...this is truly the ultimate showdown.I can recognize 99% of the characters. Everyone from Godzilla to Batman, Indiana Jones to Shaq, and you'll never guess the winner.
Not that you could guess, there's too many icons to keep track of! [MORE]
Labels: pop culture news
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12:14 AM
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Monday, April 11
Make Your Own South Park Character
I discovered a South Park Character Generator. So of course I immediately did what everyone else does: I made a South Park Mike. The headset thing is a work joke. I wear headset all the time, so much that I sometimes forget I'm wearing it. Then I wonder why coworkers ask for their "free football phone..."Labels: pop culture news
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10:13 PM
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