The Original Pop-Up A

The Original Pop-Up Ad

Pop-up ads didn’t start with the Web. Magazines invented this form of annoying their readers. Talking here about the dozen subscription cards that I had to tear out of the latest issue of Smart Money. Five were for the magazine itself, the rest for advt’r promotions. Does anyone actually tear/fill/send out those “more information” cards? As for the house sub cards, if I like the magazine enough, I’ll make the effort to subscribe. They’re obviously hoping to beat readers into submission, but of course, unlike subscribing to a Web site, that won’t save you from future pitches to join up.

Green Party Political Pollution

It's election day. The campaign signs used to be clustered at intersections, now they seem to extend all the way down every major (and several minor) roads in town.

It's protected political speech, yes, and I was part of the phenomenon myself as a youngin helping rally votes for Mayor Mom. But this is getting out of hand. The more signs that go up, the longer it takes for them to come down.

So much visual pollution. And the worst offender? Why it's the Green Party, of course.

Corporations Think You're Stupid.

Gee, why do people have a hard time trusting giant corporations? Maybe because of moves like this. What more cynical move is there then to hop on the organic food band wagon because of its growing popularity and than try to undermine the whole movement by trying to change the whole meaning of organic. The big food cos. have been buying up organic brands by the dozen to capture their growth. But instead of continuing to deliver what customers want, the cos. want to pervert the whole thing by injecting synthetics into these products while still calling them "organic."

So organic is just a brand, a way to sucker consumers, while these manufacturers continue to do business the same old way...the way consumers are trying to move beyond in the first place. Trouble is, big corporations are always refuge's for tired old thinkers who rely on their money and political connections to compensate for an inability and unwillingness to simply deal openly and honestly with the market.

I suspect this will backfire in the end. Sure, they'll sell stuff to people who take comfort in a word on a box (just like they did with "no cal" and "no carb"). But the whole organic movement started with people who took the time to flip the package over and read the fine print. These folks are too savvy to be suckered by the likes of General Mills and they'll lead the way for small companies that want to stay true to what it means to be organic.