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Consumer Reports Webwatch and the Mediatech Foundation have published a study of how young children interact with the internet, warning that "Publishers of many major children’s Web sites should do a better job disclosing sales and advertising information to parents, especially as more kids at younger ages go online to play and meet friends." The study asked families to keep journals and use video cameras to track the way their children used sites such as Club Penguin, Webkinz, Nick Jr. and Barbie.com. It found that children as young as two years old are surfing the web and observed "repeated examples of attempts to manipulate children for the sake of commerce. ... We believe publishers of children's Internet content need to be reminded they are dealing with an audience that thinks differently than adults. Considering how easily millions of adults are regularly fooled by offers of 'free credit reports,' deceptive advertising, and 'order before midnight' commercials, we think it is unreasonable and irresponsible to subject children to the same hard-sell tactics."

AdAge reports that Fenton Communications and its client MoveOn.org have announced a politically liberal advertising consortium using corporate advertising executives and firms to "help change the playing field this year. ... At the moment it will go after presumptive Republican nominee Senator John McCain. ... [David Fenton] said the team would work for a variety of causes, not just MoveOn.org. Fenton also handles public relations for Global Green; Friends of the Earth; Bono's One Campaign; Refugees International; and Human Rights Watch, among others. 'Right now, the idea is to help win the election and talk about issues on global warming and women's rights,' he said." MoveOn's political strategist Tom Matzzie and its founder Wes Boyd also founded Campaign to Defend America, currently running advocacy TV ads against John McCain.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is suing NextClick Media, Inc., an Internet advertising company, over Web sites they operate that offered "free 10-day trials" of an herbal stop-smoking patch called "Nicocure," "Stop Smoking 180" and "Zero Nicotine." The sites claimed the product worked better than nicotine patches and had a "97% success rate." People who signed up for the "free trial" got a 30-day supply instead of a 10-day supply, then were told they had to pay for all 30 days if they chose to keep it. If they returned the product, they were assessed a $7.95 restocking fee. People who agreed to the "free trial" also found themselves enrolled in a "continuity program" that automatically billed their credit or debit card a monthly charge of up to $99.95 until they canceled. Customers found contacting the company to get out of the arrangement nearly impossible. None of the costly terms of the "free trial" were disclosed on the company's Web sites. After the FTC sued the company, NextClick agreed to halt its deceptive practices.

Buried in junk mail...what to do?A recent blog about the pro-junk mail lobby and its front group, Mail Moves America, drew many comments. Mail Moves America is a coalition of businesses that oppose efforts to create a legislated "Do Not Mail" list to protect citizens from being showered with unwanted junk mail,Junk mail is clearly a hot topic that arouses strong emotions on all sides. As electronic mail moves closer to overtaking paper mail as the medium of choice for written communication, it is clear that the Post Office remains an essential way to communicate and transfer goods. Still, many people are overwhelmed with junk mail and have little idea how to stop it.

The ad that got Shell in troubleBritish consumers are mad, and they aren't going to take it anymore. In its annual report, the advertising watchdog organization Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) recorded more than four times as many complaints against corporations for greenwashing in 2007 as in the previous year. "The ASA has already censured several high-profile companies including Suzuki, Shell, Ryanair and Toyota for the practice of 'greenwash' -- where companies are found to have misled consumers on their environmental practices as a business or of the particular benefits of a product or service." The Shell ad that caused concern featured a graphic of a refinery that spewed flowers from its smokestacks. The communications firm Futerra also released a report, using in part the ASA findings, that found that the auto and energy industries were those most likely to receive complaints. The Futerra agency also published a greenwash guide, with tips on how to spot the tactic in action. The list includes fluffy language, a green product vs. a dirty company, suggestive pictures, and what they call "best in a bad class" as warning signs.

An April 7, 2008 citizen journalism task asked people to investigate tobacco industry brainstorming documents at the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library. That request led to a marvelous blog titled "The Sick and Crazy Science Tobacco Companies Pursue to Get You Hooked," posted on Alternet by Scott Thill, in which he describes some of his finds, including a bizarre research project to investigate the effect of a chemical in cigarette smoke called nitric oxide on cat penises. From nacho cheese-flavored cigarettes to on-pack contests to win everything from Clearasil to used celebrity underwear, tobacco industry brainstorming documents contain an untold number of bizarre marketing, advertising and product design ideas. Thill's blog praises TobaccoWiki's Brainstorming documents page, as well as citizen journalism and the new ways that research wikis are allowing people to compile and share information.

"Suppose, for example, that you own a company that sells bottled water," which is "shipped, in its little plastic bottles, ten thousand miles from the bottling plant to the consumer," writes Steve Burns. "Could you possibly 'brand' such a product as eco-friendly?" If the company is FIJI Water, you'll try. FIJI's new ad campaign, "every drop is green," calls the bottled water "carbon-negative," because of the carbon credits the company buys. To dismiss concerns about the sustainability of shipping bottled water around the world as the "food miles 'myth'," FIJI uses a study co-written by a New Zealand agribusiness representative. But, as Burns points out, "what choice do they have? If your entire brand identity is built around 'water from Fiji,' then the water has to come from Fiji, no matter the cost to the planet."

How does a mother explain to her children why she's having a breast augmentation, a tummy tuck or a nose job? Help is on the way -- a new book for kids about plastic surgery, My Beautiful Mommy. The story features a handsome, musclebound, superhero-type male doctor and a Mommy who says that as she got older, she couldn't fit into her clothes any more. Mom explains to her child that the doctor is going to help her fix all that. Mom comes home after surgery looking slightly bruised and bandaged, but with fuller, higher breasts. The text of the book doesn't mention breasts, though; only Mom's "tummy." Michael Salzhauer, the plastic surgeon who wrote the book, said, "The tummy lends itself to an easy explanation to the children: extra skin and can't fit into your clothes. The breasts might be a stretch for a six-year-old."

NEI coasterSwiss auto racer Simona De Silvestro isn't only "the second woman in the 34-year history of the Cooper Tires Presents The Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda to win a race with her victory in the Imperial Capital Bank Atlantic Challenge of Long Beach." Believe it or not, there's another sponsor involved -- the U.S. nuclear power lobby group the Nuclear Energy Institute. "It was a very tough weekend, especially on Friday, but we got everything together," De Silvestro said about her recent win. "For the race, I was pretty confident, because the car felt really good. ... I also need to thank the Nuclear Energy Institute for supporting me. I am proud to be a brand ambassador for the Nuclear Clean Air Energy Initiative."

NBC Universal and Omnicom's Media Group Digital are partnering to create online videos "that help advertisers sell their products." The first "Digital Studio" programs will include "a science-fiction series starring Rosario Dawson called 'Gemini Division' and a quirky comedy about a college-aged zombie called 'Woke Up Dead,'" reports AP. Initial advertisers include Intel, Cisco Systems and Microsoft. Omnicom's Matt Spiegel said the collaboration provides "a unique way of giving brands a seat at the table with writers and producers in developing episodic programming that ties directly to brand needs." The videos "will be broadcast on NBC Universal's digital properties, such as Web sites."