The annual Style issue of Vanity Fair is out, and loaded with ads, including this awful one from Hilfiger. Who is the target audience there? Who would want to hang out with those idiots and their Hilfiger fishing suits?
In the same issue, there is a great spread from Ports 1961, a brand I never took notice of before seeing their minimalist but striking ads. I asked them to send me their photos, and if they do, I'll post them here.
I was reading a post on TV Newser today when I noticed a peculiar advertisement:
It advertises MediaBistro's $15 video "course" on how to use Wikipedia to raise your media profile. The preview video raises the specter of the Seigenthaler controversy, and offers to "explain what Wikipedia is, how it works, and how people and businesses can increase and influence an identity on it" [emph added] and describes three "rewards of being on Wikipedia":
Setting aside the debatable parts of points 1 and 3, let's continue. The course synopsis says:
It's only a matter of time before you or your business finds its way onto Wikipedia's pages. But what approach should you take toward creating or developing these pages? Are you allowed to influence your own Wikipedia presence?
Well, that's a great question. The point of the video seems to be that you can influence your own Wikipedia presence. Although the preview is to brief to identify the precise methods endorsed, the instructor says, in regards to the Seigenthaler controversy, "with a little bit of foresight and effort, this does not have to happen to you."
The instructor in the video is identified as Manoush Zomorodi, a voice-over talent, former reporter for the BBC, and media consultant for Hardy Robin Media, which claims to be "a consultancy that specializes in media training and new media strategy."
I think if Hardy Robin Media were such an expert on Wikipedia and new media strategy, they would know that manipulating Wikipedia for purposes of public relations is widely considered unethical and is strongly discouraged, and that those who have been caught editing their own entries (including Microsoft, David Pogue (allegedly), Adam Curry, and even Jimbo Wales himself) have paid a price for getting caught with their hand in that particular cookie jar.
MediaBistro should also know better than to offer courses that skirt ethical guidelines like this one does. It undermines its own credibility.
