News

Bad news: breakfast cereals apparently don't cure cancer. Under pressure from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Kellogg is pledging to remove big, bold claims from boxes of Rice Krispies and Cocoa Krispies that the cereals help boost immunity. Parents and public health professionals said consumers could be misled into thinking the cereals could help fight H1N1. Last spring, Kellogg's had to pull ads that claimed Frosted Mini-Wheats improved the attentiveness of children by 20 per cent. Hey parents, do you know what really improves kids' health? Not feeding them sugary crap for breakfast.

Telecom smackdown

We love when companies take on each other in their advertising: It's the business world's version of WWE wrestling, except the body blows aren't (as) fake. South of the border, AT&T has been smarting over a Verizon campaign using maps to compare the two company's 3G coverage. The ad's tag line? “There's a map for that.” AT&T, which has exclusive rights to the iPhone, is now suing Verizon for false advertising. It seems to us that if AT&T spent as much effort on upgrading their oft-maligned network as they do on legal tussles, this never would have happened.

No accounting for taste

Speaking of marketing gone awry: The Down Under division of Kraft Foods recently hit a bad patch of yeasty brown sludge when it dared to fool with the national food Vegemite, blending it with cream cheese and holding a contest in which Aussies were able to vote on a name for the new concoction. The winner, Vegemite iSnack 2.0, wasn't a winner with the public, and the company was forced to hold another vote. The new winning name? Cheesybite. That strikes us as fairly gross. Then again, we live in a country that adores something called poutine.

Taxi rises to the occasion

Congratulations to the folks at Taxi Toronto for winning a pair of gold statuettes at the London International Awards for their work on Pfizer Canada's Viagra account. The winning ads, a trio of 16-second TV and mobile spots, each featured a 60-something fellow recounting how he and his wife had grown obsessed with a leisure activity. “Antiquing took over our lives,” says one of the men. “So I tried Viagra, and now my antiquing is pretty much gone.” The spots are wry, yet pointed, without being déclassé. If only we could say the same for every ad out there.

Client appreciation

Buy an ad, get out of town? This week Astral Media Radio announced it had paired up with Aeroplan to offer program points to clients who directly buy ads on one of Astral's 83 radio stations across the country. For its launch promotion, the companies are giving every Astral client who is registered with the program by next August a shot at winning 200,000 Aeroplan Miles. That might just be enough points to get you to some exotic location where you won't have to think about advertising, radio, or any kind of business at all.