THE WEEKLY SPIN, January 16, 2008
Date: Wed, 16 Jan 2008 10:36:31 -0600 (CST)
THE WEEKLY SPIN, JANUARY 16, 2008
== BLOG POSTINGS ==
1. Adults Still Don't "Get It" on Youth Smoking
== SPIN OF THE DAY POSTINGS ==
1. News Director Sickened by Proposed Hospital Agreement
2. Marketing Drugs for a Disputed Condition
3. How BP Fueled "Emotional Affinity" for Gas
4. Drug Ads Raise Legislators' Blood Pressure
5. Weekly Radio Spin: Superheroes in Blue Helmets
6. Blair Does a Bank Job
7. Hill & Knowlton's Maldives Role Still Generating Heat
8. Carbon Offsets: Feel Good Greenwashing?
9. Second UK Energy Consultation Headed for Meltdown
10. Holy International Diplomacy, Batman!
11. Cigarette "Taste Test" Snuffed Out
12. Fake News for the Masses
13. Drug Companies' R&D Spending Lags Behind Promotion
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== BLOG POSTINGS ==
1. ADULTS STILL DON'T "GET IT" ON YOUTH SMOKING
by Anne Landman
A recent report issued by the American Lung Association gives
the State of Virginia a "D" for its youth smoking prevention
efforts. The state of Maryland received a similar poor grade.
Preventing youth smoking has long been an urgent topic for
public health authorities, since most smokers start by the age of
18. But the policies that have emerged from that concern have been
questionable. For example, many cities have enacted laws making it
illegal for kids to buy or possess tobacco. Under these laws, kids
caught smoking are given tickets and sentenced to tobacco education
classes. While the information in these classes is unquestionably
important, kids simply are not receptive to it when they are forced
to attend as punishment. Worse, youth possession laws reinforce the
idea that cigarettes are an "adults only" product, which just
enhances the attractiveness of smoking to youth. Philip Morris has
long understood this dynamic, as evidenced by its 1991 Archetype
Project, in which it sought to exploit youngsters' longings for
adulthood and tendencies toward rebelliousness to make them want
cigarettes more. The person PM appointed to head up its Archetype
Project, Carolyn C. Levy, Ph.D., was a specialist in smoker
psychology, nicotine addiction and marketing, and was especially
knowledgeable about marketing the Marlboro brand. Levy wrote in a
1981 PM report,
"Today's teenager is tomorrow's potential regular
customer...The smoking patterns of teenagers are particularly
important to Philip Morris."
Dr. Levy was the person PM assigned to head its "Youth
Smoking Prevention" department when it was first formed in 1999.
To read the rest of this item, visit:
http://www.prwatch.org/node/6891
== SPIN OF THE DAY POSTINGS ==
1. NEWS DIRECTOR SICKENED BY PROPOSED HOSPITAL AGREEMENT
http://www.prwatch.org/node/6892
"I could not with a clear conscience go into that newsroom and
tell the staff that this was a good thing," explained former WEAU-13
news director Glen Mabie. Mabie resigned from the northwest
Wisconsin television station "because of a disagreement ...
regarding coverage of medical topics." WEAU's management "attempted
in recent weeks to negotiate a deal with Sacred Heart Hospital in
which TV-13 would run medical stories featuring personnel from that
hospital and its affiliates but not employees of other Chippewa
Valley hospitals or clinics." Mabie said, "My problem with this is
it was going to dictate newsroom content." This week, after an
official with WEAU owner Gray Television "met with the station's
staff ... the company decided not to proceed with the agreement."
Mabie "said he hopes to land a communications or marketing job but
acknowledged his future is uncertain."
SOURCE: Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire, Wisconsin), January 15, 2008
2. MARKETING DRUGS FOR A DISPUTED CONDITION
http://www.prwatch.org/node/6889
"Fibromyalgia is a real, widespread pain condition," stresses a
woman in a television ad for Lyrica, a Pfizer drug that recently
became "the first medicine approved to treat the pain condition."
But some doctors have their doubts. These skeptics "say vague
complaints of chronic pain do not add up to a disease. ... The
condition cannot be linked to any environmental or biological
causes." Even Dr. Frederick Wolfe, who first defined fibromyalgia,
"now considers the condition a physical response to stress,
depression, and economic and social anxiety." The president of the
National Fibromyalgia Association, "a patients' advocacy group that
receives some of its financing from drug companies," counters that
the Food and Drug Administration's approval of Lyrica made her pain
"real to people." Even though Lyrica has troubling side effects, its
sales increased 50 percent from 2006 to 2007, and are expected to
"rise an additional 30 percent this year, helped by consumer
advertising." Forest Laboratories and Eli Lilly have "asked the FDA
to let them market drugs for fibromyalgia." One thing is certain,
says Dr. Wolfe -- the drug companies are "going to make a fortune."
SOURCE: New York Times, January 14, 2008
3. HOW BP FUELED "EMOTIONAL AFFINITY" FOR GAS
http://www.prwatch.org/node/6887
The energy company BP's rebranding as "Beyond Petroleum," led by
WPP Group's Ogilvy & Mather, is reviewed by Adweek's Gregory Solman.
The campaign was launched in 2000, after multiple mergers left BP
wanting "to replace its multiple brand images with a distinct and
uniform identity." Research done by WPP's BrandZ revealed "a crucial
insight about selling fuel." Unlike other products, motor fuels
hadn't developed much "brand affinity" among consumers. "Ogilvy's
team resolved to build the BP brand with 'real equity and emotional
affinity beyond the products and services themselves,'" explained
Ogilvy's John Seifert. "In other words, there was plenty of room for
emotional attachment to a fuel company." Part of the campaign, "BP
on the Street," sought to earn "street cred" by holding public
forums to project "more humility, more transparency, more openness."
Seven years later, "brand awareness" for BP has increased to 67
percent (from four percent in 2000), and marketing surveys have
identified BP as the "greenest" energy brand.
SOURCE: Adweek, January 14, 2008
4. DRUG ADS RAISE LEGISLATORS' BLOOD PRESSURE
http://www.prwatch.org/node/6886
The U.S. Congress is investigating "the pharmaceutical industry's
use of celebrity endorsements in direct-to-consumer (DTC)
advertisements." First up are ads for Pfizer's cholesterol drug
Lipitor, which feature the inventor of the artificial heart, Dr.
Robert Jarvik. In the ads, Jarvik says, "Just because I'm a doctor
doesn't mean I don't worry about my cholesterol." Representative
John Dingell noted, "Dr. Jarvik appears to be giving medical advice,
but apparently, he has never obtained a license to practice or
prescribe medicine." Dingell is leading the investigation, along
with Representative Bart Stupak. The lawmakers are asking Pfizer for
"all of its records -- including contracts, e-mails and
correspondence -- related to the advertising campaign, as well as
all records related to Jarvik's financial association with the firm"
and "materials detailing Jarvik's professional qualifications, his
own use of Lipitor, and Pfizer's rationale for featuring him in the
campaign." Other celebrity drug endorsers include former Senator Bob
Dole and athletes Magic Johnson and Cal Ripken.
SOURCE: PM (Pharmaceutical Marketing) Live, January 9, 2008
5. WEEKLY RADIO SPIN: SUPERHEROES IN BLUE HELMETS
http://www.prwatch.org/node/6885
Listen to this week's edition of the "Weekly Radio Spin," the
Center for Media and Democracy's audio report on the stories behind
the news. This week, we look at how why drug prices are so high, and
it's not why you think, the resurrection of the Swift Boaters, and
what Marvel Comics and the U.N. are up to. In "Six Degrees of Spin
and Fakin'," we tell you how many steps it takes to get from nasty
election-year smears to the person tasked with promoting the U.S. as
a beacon of democracy to the rest of the world. The Weekly Radio
Spin is freely available for personal and broadcast use. Podcasters
can subscribe to the XML feed on www.prwatch.org/audio or via
iTunes. If you air the Weekly Radio Spin on your radio station,
please email us at editor@prwatch.org to let us know. Thanks!
SOURCE: Center for Media and Democracy, January 11, 2008
6. BLAIR DOES A BANK JOB
http://www.prwatch.org/node/6883
Former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has agreed to become a
part-time adviser to the global financial services firm JPMorgan
Chase where, the Financial Times reports, he "will use his
experience and contacts to provide political and strategic advice to
the US bank and participate in some client events." Blair resigned
as leader of the parliamentary wing of British Labor Party in June
2007. While the fee for the position has not been disclosed, a New
York recruitment firm suggested that it "was likely to be more than
$1m (B#500,000) a year." Blair stated that he was looking at
accepting "a small handful" of similar positions with other
companies. "I have always been interested in commerce and the impact
of globalisation. Nowadays, the intersection between politics and
the economy in different parts of the world, including the emerging
markets, is very strong," he said.
SOURCE: Financial Times (UK), January 9, 2008
7. HILL & KNOWLTON'S MALDIVES ROLE STILL GENERATING HEAT
http://www.prwatch.org/node/6882
The role of the PR firm Hill & Knowlton (H&K) in polishing the
image of the authoritarian government of the Maldives has become the
centerpoint of a controversy between the former Foreign Minister,
Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, and the current Information Minister, Mohamed
Nasheed. In a blog post, Nasheed claimed that the reason that
Shaheed resigned ahead of a motion of no confidence in August 2007
was that documents relating to the PR company's work were in the
hands of the Foreign Minister's critics. In response, Shaheed stated
that "it is total rubbish that Nasheed is saying he knows nothing
about Hill & Knowlton. He twice met them in my presence." H&K's lead
consultant on the account, Tim Fallon, is saying nothing. It appears
that Fallon, who posted a blog in October 2006 defending his work
for the regime, blogs no more.
SOURCE: N.Velidhoo Community, December 30, 2007
8. CARBON OFFSETS: FEEL GOOD GREENWASHING?
http://www.prwatch.org/node/6881
The Federal Trade Commission is looking into the booming business
of selling carbon offsets, which are billed as a way "to balance
the emissions created by, say, using a laptop computer or flying on
a jet." Deborah Platt Majoras, chairwoman of the FTC feels that with
the tremendous growth in the field, there is potential for abuse of
the public's trust. The last revision of the FTC's environmental
advertising guidelines was in 1997, and did not include terms common
today, like sustainability, carbon offsets or renewable energy. "As
more companies use offset programs to create an environmental halo
over their products, the commission said it was growing increasingly
concerned that some green marketing assertions were not
substantiated. Environmentalists have a word for such misleading
advertising: 'greenwashing.'" Corporations that are offering carbon
offset credits to consumers include Dell, Continental Airlines,
General Electric, Bank of America, and Volkswagen. "The FTC has not
accused anyone of wrongdoing -- neither the providers of carbon
offsets nor the consumer brands that sell them. But
environmentalists say -- and the FTC's hearings suggest -- that it
is only a matter of time until the market faces greater scrutiny
from the government or environmental organizations."
SOURCE: New York Times, January 9, 2008
9. SECOND UK ENERGY CONSULTATION HEADED FOR MELTDOWN
http://www.prwatch.org/node/6878
"We are profoundly concerned that the government's approach was
designed to provide particular and limiting answers," announced a
spokesperson for the British nuclear consultation group. The
independent group of energy economists and nuclear advisers
condemned the British government's second attempt at developing a
national energy policy, saying that "the government's plans to force
through a new generation of nuclear power stations" is "undemocratic
and possibly illegal," reported John Vidal. Prime Minister Gordon
Brown's government had been preparing to announce "a major expansion
of nuclear power," which could result in 20 new nuclear reactors.
The consultation process included meetings and thousands of public
comments, but environmental groups say "the questions [asked] were
loaded and the information presented biased and inaccurate." A
complaint was also filed against the market research firm involved.
Greenpeace won a court decision against the British government's
first energy consultation, but will wait for its response to the new
criticism before launching another legal challenge.
SOURCE: The Guardian (UK), January 4, 2008
10. HOLY INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY, BATMAN!
http://www.prwatch.org/node/6876
Cartoon heroes are being "called upon to rescue the battered image
of a very real-world institution -- the United Nations," reports
Simon Usborne. The UN is partnering with Marvel Comics on a comic
book to be released later this year. The comic "is expected to be
set in a war-torn fictional country and feature heroes including
Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four, as well as workers from UN
agencies such as children's charity UNICEF and blue helmets of the
peacekeeping forces. Eventually, the work will be translated into
several other languages ... but it is American schoolchildren who
the UN plans to target first. ... The comic will be distributed free
to one million U.S. school children." The UN says it hopes the comic
teaches "the value of international co-operation," and sensitizes
students "to the problems faced in other parts of the world." Marvel
Comics has previously adopted political causes, mostly in favor of
U.S. policies. In 1971, Marvel's Stan Lee penned a Spider-Man story
on "the destructive force of narcotics," at the request of the U.S.
government.
SOURCE: The Independent (UK), January 1, 2008
11. CIGARETTE "TASTE TEST" SNUFFED OUT
http://www.prwatch.org/node/6875
Australia's 1992 Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act prohibited
most forms of tobacco advertising, making it more difficult for
tobacco companies to promote their products. Despite the law, an
Australian market-research firm called Feedback Plus was found to be
distributing free cigarettes in a program it said was a
"taste-testing survey" being carried out as part of a "marketing
research" program. Participants received free, unbranded packs of
cigarettes that carried only a health warning, were told to take
them home, smoke them and fill out a survey. Participants received
A$50 per survey and up to 200 free cigarettes per week, for up to
six to eight weeks. Once the cigarette give-away was discovered, the
Federal Health Department reprimanded the marketing research firm
and the program was shut down. Feedback Plus distributed an email
about the survey last November in which it sought smoking and
non-smoking participants, and said that all "had a chance at winning
an instant $200 cash."
SOURCE: Sydney Morning Herald, January 9, 2008
12. FAKE NEWS FOR THE MASSES
http://www.prwatch.org/node/6874
The migration of sponsored video news releases (VNRs) and B-roll
footage from television stations to websites is increasing. Major
companies are "bypassing the press and going directly to the
masses," in part because of increased scrutiny of fake news,
according to Brandweek. An Allstate representative said posting the
videos to their website "started as an experiment," but is now the
norm. General Motors's director of broadcast communications
explained, "We're just trying to get impressions out." Bev Yehuda of
the PR firm MultiVu agreed: "Our customers are no longer reliant on
broadcasters to tell their stories." In related news, the Recording
Industry Association of America (RIAA) marked the holiday season
with "a series of initiatives to offer consumers tips for avoiding
pirated music," including an alarmist VNR. As Consumerist.com noted,
the RIAA video was "leaked (promoted?) heavily by the [public
relations] company that produced it," so "keep your bullshit
'stealth marketing' sensors up."
SOURCE: Brandweek, December 31, 2007
13. DRUG COMPANIES' R&D SPENDING LAGS BEHIND PROMOTION
http://www.prwatch.org/node/6873
The pharmaceutical industry often uses the need for research and
development funds as an excuse for exorbitant drug prices. But a new
study by Marc-Andre Gagnon and Dr. Joel Lexchin out of York
University (Canada), titled "The Cost of Pushing Pills: A New
Estimate of Pharmaceutical Promotion Expenditures in the United
States," shows that publicity, not R&D, eat up the biggest
percentage of U.S. drug price tags. "The researchers' estimate is
based on the systematic collection of data directly from the
industry and doctors during 2004, which shows the U.S.
pharmaceutical industry spent 24.4% of the sales dollar on
promotion, versus 13.4% for research and development, as a
percentage of US domestic sales of US$235.4 billion." Gagnon
estimates that the pharmaceutical industry "spent approximately
US$61,000 in promotion per physician during 2004." 2004 is the
latest year for which complete data is available. "The study's
findings supports (sic) the position that the U.S. pharmaceutical
industry is marketing-driven and challenges the perception of a
research-driven, life-saving, pharmaceutical industry, while arguing
in favour of a change in the industry's priorities in the direction
of less promotion."
SOURCE: ScienceDaily, January 7, 2008
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