KEY POINTS:
A depressing metaphor for life, not from an insurance company, but from a US real estate outfit.
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According to the Guardian the use of the word "Olympic" could be barred under copyright law. And maybe even "2012". The organising committee for a certain upcoming sporting event stumbled on Robert Ronson's yet to be published children's science-fiction novel Olympic Mind Games. They decided it would be "disproportionate" to prosecute Ronson for breach of copyright. But they could if they wanted to because all the elements of its title are protected by a trademark. Instead the committee sent the author an email asking him not to use the O-word nor the expressions "London 2012, or 2012, etc", in the title.
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Kirsten Ballantine watched the latest commercial for Dove's "Campaign For Real Beauty" marketing initiative in Friday's Sideswipe and had this to say: "People may think what an ethical company Dove is in caring for the self-esteem of our children until they find that it is actually owned by Unilever. Unilever is also responsible for such products as Impulse, Lynx and Sunsilk - hardly products known for consistently using "real" people in their advertising campaigns."
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A public notice in the Herald on Friday invited National Party nominations for the seat of Helensville. Wonder how many wannabes would back themselves to be selected ahead of a certain John Key, present MP and National leader?
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Rob Corne heard a radio ad again from a certain mathematics computer tutor, which uses a child's voice saying, "My maths has improved about 50 million per cent". Either the starting point was extremely low or the child's understanding of maths is still not very good, he opines.
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Florida's Oswego High School suspended two students and forced 50 others to turn their shirts inside out after they all wore an anti-drunk driving slogan T-shirt to school. The shirt read "Seniors .08" on the front and "Don't blow it" on the back. They say they came up with the idea after a crash killed five local teens. School officials don't believe the shirts warn against driving drunk. "I think it could be interpreted as promoting drinking," said principal Mike Wayne. (Source: reason.com)
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North Shore City mayoral candidate Andrew Williams described the Sideswipe item making fun of his election key ring marketing idea as a personal slur and says he has had feedback as a result of being maligned. "One person has emailed me saying he was going to vote for me but won't now as he sees me as a crass idiot having seen the key ring article," bemoans the mayoral candidate. "The key rings were made in Korea and were donated to me for use just for the Korean community, where apparently small token gifts like this are commonly accepted. Only a small number have been attached to Korean flyers I had printed. They used American spelling, hence councilor, not the English version councillor." According to Williams, key rings were also made for George Wood, but were spelled GOERGE WOOD, so he had the good sense not to use them. Williams, however, decided to send his out even though they implied he is a North Shore City councillor when he is not and hasn't been since 2004.
