Jenny McCarthy Sits on the Toilet Again For Candie's

Everyone got there undergarments in a bunch back in 1997 when Jenny McCarthy sat naked on a toilet wearing nothing but Candie's. Well get ready for an even bigger bunch when candie's combines McCarthy's toilet squat with last year's Kelly Clarkson bubble bath wearing just jewelry and her Candie's...all in one ad. Ads debut in early March in Us Weekly then break in April in Seventeen, YM, Teen People, Elle Girl, Vogue and Jane.

Elle Macpherson's Lingerie Ad Deemed Offensive

A magazine ad for Australian supermodel Elle Macpherson's line of lingerie was banned in Britain after it was labelled "offensive". Inspired by the Alfred Hitchcock (news) film "Rear Window", the ad for Elle Macpherson Intimates shows a woman through a keyhole, dressed in a bra and panties -- with her thumbs inside the panties.

"The complainant objected that the advertisement was offensive because it suggested that the model was masturbating," the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA), an industry watchdog, ruled. Obviously, that "complainant" has a very dirty mind. Ladies, is it even possible to masturbate with your thumbs? OK, maybe it does look like she's masturbating in the ad.

Obviously as dirty-minded as the "complainant," the ASA said the ad was "likely to cause serious or widespread offence," disagreeing with the editors of Vogue -- in which it had appeared -- who thought it was "beautiful with no disturbing undertones". Bendon Ltd, which markets Elle Macpherson Intimates, was instructed by the ASA not to repeat the image again, and to seek advice before running similar ads in the future.

Macpherson, nicknamed "The Body" for her swimsuit work, launched her lingerie line more than 10 years ago, but last year for the first time she stoppped appearing in its advertising. She turns 41 on March 29. And she still looks as hot as ever.

Buzz Marketing Brings $125 Million to 'The Passion of the Christ'

Ad Age tells the story about Mell Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" overcoming negative press and spinning that press into buzz marketing that help deliver a blockbuster opening.

Tobaccowala Pontificates The Future of Advertising

Starcom IP and SMG Next President Rishad Tobaccowala, speaking at Doubleclick's annual Insight Conference, says consumers are becoming more and more empowered in their control over media and that "humans are gods" because this power allows them to be all powerful in their media selection. Tobaccowala talked up the rise of HDTV, DVRs, video-on-demand, gaming consoles, IM and video iPods and some of the new channels of communication between marketer and consumer.

Tobaccowala also spoke of Starcom-dubbed "TV 2.0" which is made up of broadband, gaming, computers and television all combining into new portals into the home. In a nutshell, the number of channels into the mind of a consumer, or contact points as Starcom likes to call them, is increasing dramatically and the control over those channels is shifting from the hands of marketers into the hands of consumer. It's analogous to Robert De Niro staring into the mirror in "Taxi Driver," saying/asking defiantly, "You talkin to me? You talkin to me?" That's the question marketers will have to answer to the satisfaction of the consumer before passing on their commercial message.

Banning Ads to Kids Could Kill Children's Television

Testifying before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Competition, Infrastructure, and Foreign Commerce of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation during their discussions on the impact of food advertising on childhood obesity, ANA President Bob Liodice warned any ban would "curtail if not end children's broadcasting on free television and ad-supported cable."

The hearings follow several studies showing a direct link between food marketing and fat kids. Sure, most food today is filled with too many calories and fat, is over-process and is bad for you but no marketer is forcing that food down a kid's throat of forcing them to sit, hours on end, in front of the television. If kids just got off their asses, went outside, and ran around the house a few times every day, that would be a great start towards reducing the fatness of youth.

I'm not saying food marketers are doing nothing wrong. They are. They are promoting food that is fast to make, over-processed and not very health to eat. The other problem is that "bad" food tastes so damn good! Who wouldn't want a juicy cheeseburger instead of a head of lettuce? Work is needed on both sides of this issue. More food that is actually healthy and affordable needs to be marketed. At the same time, GameBoy and PlayStation usage needs to be limited and physical activity encouraged.