
Consumed Hm: Blog that mocks mocks Wal-Mart customers. But, uh, it's for charity? [Thanks for the tip, Cousin Lymon]
Source: www.peopleofwalmart.com
A collection of all the creatures that grace us with their presence at Walmart, America's favorite store.

Consumed
Tomorrow's column:
"Some of ATK’s ammo-brand differentiation sounds more akin to the sort
of image making many people associate with, say, energy drinks or
deodorants."
Source: www.nytimes.com
Ammunition may strike you as a commodity, but even bullets get branded.

Consumed The Big Money critiques The Hummer (and last week's colum). Their bottom line: "It didn’t really mean anything." Okay then.
Source: www.thebigmoney.com
Over at the New York Times Magazine, “Consumed” columnist Rob Walker has seen a Hummer— the large and often derided, military-derived General Motors SUV that will soon be sold as a brand to the Chinese—in the parking lot of a Goodwill and “smirked.” The

Consumed
"Just a few decades back, many car-radiator covers set a shiny stage for pouncing beasts, figures from classical art, or twists on an
automaker’s emblem. But now most models just roll with an abstract badge..." One thing I'd add to this slide show is the Mack Truck bulldog.
Source: www.thebigmoney.com
A visual history of car hood ornaments.

Consumed The always-interesting Sociological Images blog posts this video of gothca-news-report that also has some sociological implications. Basically they faked situtions where an African-American shopper is unfairly hassled by clerks to see who if anyone will intervene. More than 80% did nothing.
Source: contexts.org
Sociological Images encourages people to exercise and develop their sociological imaginations with discussions of compelling visuals that span the breadth of sociological inquiry.

Consumed Have you had trouble buying bullets lately? According to WaPo you're not alone. Coincidentally, this weekend's Consumed is about ammo branding!
Source: www.washingtonpost.com
In a year of job losses, foreclosures and bag lunches, Americans have spent record-breaking amounts of money on guns and ammunition. The most obvious sign of their demand: empty ammunition shelves.

Consumed Significant Objects contest with SmithMag: Invent a six-word story that converts this object from thrift-store thingamob to Significant Object. Winner gets proceeds from object's auction on S.O. site. You should enter! Just six words, after all..
Source: www.smithmag.net
We know that everyone has a story, but the online project Significant Objects believes every thing has a story, too. Started by Joshua Glenn and NYT

Consumed
Secondhand news: In survey, "91
percent say they would consider buying secondhand items. During the
last 12 months, 29 percent of them said they have been buying more secondhand goods and fewer new items. Fifteen percent said they
only starte buying secondhand goods within the last year."
Source: www.brandweek.com
RSS Subscribe Now! FREE Newsletter | Whitepapers | Digital Edition brandweek web

Consumed Tomorrow's column: What are Hummer fans thinking?
Source: www.nytimes.com
How do the drivers of a widely loathed vehicle see themselves?

Consumed
Billy Mays III, son of the famous pitchman, has a site about his dad's ... legacy, I guess. "There will no doubt be a multitude of people dressed as Billy Mays
(or zombie Billy Mays)" this Halloween, he writes in this post, where he announces a contest for best Mays costume. Also, you can get Mays stickers. Curious.
Source: www.wheresbillymays.com
A heartfelt blog and headquarters for all-things Billy Mays maintained personally by Billy Mays' son, Billy Mays III.

Consumed On a less frivolous note, Andrew C. sends along this link about suspect company-made "studies" being treated as news. Writer says media companies "are short of cash, they are short of money to pay people to fill their pages, and they print PR-reviewed 'research' straight from the press release, because it’s quick and it’s cheap." Has examples.
Source: www.badscience.net
You will have noticed – from the fish oil pill saga, and the Herceptin coverage – that journalists can cheerfully make grand claims for a product which would be impossible in any advert. This ...

Consumed Where can I get a Lucky Cat Candy Packet? I love the Lucky Cat.
Source: www.boxvox.net
Tiny cellophane packet achieves a surprisingly effective illusion: transforming its contents —(two gum-ball shaped candies)— into a miniature Maneki Neko. Different packets feature different facial expressions. (More photos after the fold...) Randy Ludacer Beach Packaging Design

Consumed Interesting rundown of ad-avoidance stats, and (this is what I liked best) ad-avoidance technologies of yore.
Source: www.hhcc.com
Radio Advertising Eliminator, 1934: “The device will operate the radio only when musical programs are coming over the air. Just as soon as any voice announcement is made from the station, the radio receiver is turned off and is not turned on again until the musical program resumes. ...















