theFreshScent » Advertising

NORML Extends Deadlines for $10,000 Ad Contest

Perry — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:44:35 +0000

Stoners do like to procratinate.

So it shouldn’t be any surprise NORML has extended the submission deadline for flash animation and video entries for their ad contest until January 15, 2009. Contest rules and submission guidelines are available here.

Washington, DC: Want to express your outrage at America’s draconian marijuana policies – and win thousands in cash too?

What a great idea, counter the propaganda, with propaganda, and try to win $10,000. Not a bad idea. To give you an idea of what to submit, check out a clip from last year’s winner.

Cigarettes & The Big Screen

Alex — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:34:09 +0000

Back before everyone knew about that little thing called cancer, smoking cigarettes was actually cool. No, beyond cool. You were the man. Why? Because all the movie stars did it.

Turns out that wasn’t a coincidence, but more like a prolific advertising arrangement between studios, actors and the cigarette companies.

Between 1927 and 1951, major studios and tobacco companies partnered on at least 215 cigarette advertising campaigns.

Crazy. Companies like Lucky Strike and others got stars to smoke in each scene and even talk about the “benefits” of their favorite pack o’ butts. Today, science has gotten the better of tobacco companies, kind of, and most people have wizened up. No more movies like Breakfast At Tiffany’s or The French Connection, with cigarettes dangling from the protagonist’s lips.

Now it’s all about product placement and pervasive, subliminal advertising. Ah, how the industry as progressed…

Tucker Carlson Owns Congressman

Alex — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 12:04:00 +0000

Life tends to throw curveballs every once in a while, so I try to stay prepared. However, something that no one could prepare me for was this video of Tucker Carlson laying a verbal smackdown on the ultra-conservative congressman, Rep. Mark Souder.

This clip is great on many levels:

It’s always fun to see a political hot-air bag sputter out total bullshit answers to very straight forward questions
Tucker’s smug expression during the majority of the interview had to be infuriating for the congressman
Tucker admits to knowing “many” casual pot smokers and flat out tells the congressman he is wrong

I’d feel bad for Mark Souder, but he’s brought this on himself. It’s crystal clear that he is the result of when political agendas and rhetoric overtake the rational, thinking mind.

Even Marc Emery has a bone to pick with this guy.

Tucker Carlson: 1
Conservative Politicians: 0

Rejected Marijuana Reform Ad

Alex — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 18:59:07 +0000

The Marijuana Policy Project created their latest ad to put a face on the normal, non-violent Americans that are put behind bars as a result of marijuana arrests.

Check out the numbers behind the ad to really understand the simple (yet powerful) point that the MPP is trying to get across.

Unfortunately, it seems the ad has been rejected for publication.

[via 10ad]

Visine and NORML, Best Friends Forever

Alex — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 12:21:53 +0000

Looks like the folks at NORML have been brainstorming new ways to get their message out.

I like it.

[via Politically Outspoken]

tFS Debris – 10.27.06

Alex — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 09:18:49 +0000

Ah, the first Debris since re-launching tFS. This allows us to showcase what we believe to be some of the more interesting things floating around the web. The goal is to spice things up and maybe throw something out there that you wouldn’t have spotted otherwise.

This weeks edition features the usual eclectic mixture of vids, features and links. Enjoy.

The Video

I Don’t Have Any Marijuana: This one pretty much sells itself. A fine example of the human race brought to us courtesy of the show Cops. One thing that did catch my eye was a comment below this video:

Smoking pot doesn’t make you stupid, but “stupid” people smoke pot. You can’t blame pot. People are in charge of themselves. Pot has not made this man unintelligent, as much as people want to believe that’s the cause. That logic is a falacy.

Looks like there’s hope for humankind after all.

The Feature

Cardboard House Art: An interesting photo set of artwork on cardboard shelters from the mid-90’s in Shinjuku, Japan. The combination of inspiring art and the sad back story explaining how it was all wiped away makes for an unique read. [via Pink Tentacle]

The Links

I sure wish liquid bandaids existed when I was a kid [via SciFi Tech]
Never, ever lose your remote again [via The Uber-Review]
Combining a table and a fridge is sheer genius [via Trendir]
Some really cool and inventive outdoor advertising [via Just Elite]
Cappuccino + KitKat? Why the hell not [via Candy Blog]
A collection of 18 amazing photos from 2005 [via Immense World]

Time Warner Pulls Marijuana Ads

Alex — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 18:25:33 +0000

Time Warner, the king of the cable television throne, pulled 3 medical marijuana ads from running in the Coachella Valley area last Thursday. The ads, produced by the Marijuana Anti-Prohibition Project, were scheduled to run on Comedy Central, MSNBC, the Travel Channel and Home & Garden Television.

Lenny Swerdlow, the groups displeased president, had this to say:

They are censoring speech that they don’t approve of. They should not be doing that. They should be in the business of fostering new ideas, not trying to squelch them.

Time Warner is allowed to pull ads, but with 14 days notice, and Mr. Swerdlow found out only after a reporter called him regarding the subject and what his comments were. This is a slippery slope that Time Warner is choosing. Removing ads from circulation which are offensive, derogatory, or racist makes complete sense. However, pulling ads from circulation simply over a disagreement in political or topical viewpoints dangerously slants what we do and do not see.

This brings up the question, what other ads have local Time Warner branches pulled? The public never knows of and never sees the informative messages that were intended. Only time will tell if these actions will come back to haunt those station chiefs that censor what Americans are allowed to watch. If you don’t like a message, simply change the channel, but don’t take away someone elses right to be informed on that same subject.

[via Newsvine]

Dude, You’ve Got RSS Advertising!

Alex — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 00:09:42 +0000

Ok, this should be the first and last time I write about something that is absolutely unrelated to tFS topics (unless you count the Dell stoner), but I can’t help myself.

If you like to read interesting stuff online, then there’s a high chance Boing Boing is in your RSS feed reader. Recently, RSS advertising has been gaining in popularity and Boing Boing has jumped on the ship. Above is an example why this can be dangerous.

First, you’ve got an article explaining how a Dell laptop battery set itself on fire without warning, filled a company office with smoke, and caused the fire department to be called. Directly below it, you’ve got an advertisement for Dell products.

Whoops.

For a larger, in-context screenshot click here.