Required Friday Reading

MediaPost's Over the Line blog this morning was guest-written by George Simpson, who ground out a navel-gazing piece that looks dressed-up to discuss advertising ethics and the current ad climate, but seems more directed at stirring up reaction from ad people.

Oh, yeah. And drawing attention to George H. Simpson, who claims to be an "Expert in Advertising and Internet Trade Media Relations" but admits to being a PR practitioner.

The well written column's first sentence is a great quote from Randall Rothenberg, "Advertising is the makeup on the public face of capitalism.” And MediaPost calls Over The Line "A Lighthearted Look At Advertising and Media." Take both of those into consideration.

First There Was Speed-dating, Now it's gone Mass Media

I just got back from Washington DC to find this.

A former ad agency professional is looking for a mate, and is collecting donations to buy a Super Bowl ad, in order to snag one.

A little creepy? Yes. Bound to get attention? You bet! Note the "charity" aspect of this campaign - and she's already appeared on NBC's Today Show.

Looks more like PR than advertising to me.

From this morning's LA Times.