SF public transit disclaims racist ad

The above ad, according to Mother Jones, was placed on San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (Muni) properties by anti-Muslim activist Pamela Geller.

Muni felt they had to accept the ad, based on what they (and legal precedent) perceived as Ms. Geller's First Amendment rights.

So they used their adjacent ad space to run a disclaimer:

Apparently, Ms. Geller insists that the Ayn Rand-inspired quote in her ads refers to particular acts taken by Palestinian groups during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But that's not the Randian context of the copy.

Mother Jones quotes Ayn Rand in full:

Further, why are the Arabs against Israel? (This is the main reason I support Israel.) The Arabs are one of the least developed cultures. They are typically nomads. Their culture is primitive, and they resent Israel because it's the sole beachhead of modern science and civilization on their continent. When you have civilized men fighting savages, you support the civilized men, no matter who they are. Israel is a mixed economy inclined toward socialism. But when it comes to the power of the mind—the development of industry in that wasted desert continent—versus savages who don't want to use their minds, then if one cares about the future of civilization, don't wait for the government to do something. Give whatever you can. This is the first time I've contributed to a public cause: helping Israel in an emergency. 

Dehumanizing your enemy — now who's the "savage"?

Pork tries to "empower" women at the BBQ, gets burned

Last week, we found out that girls can be scientists too (but only if they do it in saucy '80s video style!) Now, Mother Jones tells us, girls can even BBQ!

All images via MJ

A guide published by the US Pork Information Bureau (of "...the other white meat" fame) attempts to lure women into pork grilling by appealing to their desire to be both sexy and a "super-mom":

Oh, yeah, rub it right!

But relax, feminists. It's all in the name of empowerment.

Marketing Big Meat

Mother Jones recently ran an interesting exclusive: branding and packaging pages from a draft marketing plan fror Sara Lee about how they could reposition Hillshire Farm deli meats as a more sustainable and healthy option.

The scanned document looks like it was nicked from a recycling bin, but it's worth reading just for gems like this:

Give it up for pepper!

And this:

Good job, bees!

This off-the-cuff, conversational style is supposed to represent a new era of transparency and sustainability  in megameat.

Well, aspiring to transparency and sustainability anyway. And buying up small farms so that their newly-pluralized brand name actually means something.

It's good, though, that consumer pressure is forcing big processors into at least wanting to be seen as wholesome and small.

They also want to break into the food snob market by developing two new premium brands, "Smith & Smith" and "Flat Iron Ranch".

"Size of the prize"? I'm amazed that agency people can present that to a client with a straight face. But they also committed the following atrocities:

I am so ashamed of my industry right now.

Does this look into the marketing minds behind Big Meat surprise you? Disappoint you? Or just confirm what you already suspected.

This kind of rebranding, dressing factory-processed meat in a neighbourhood butcher's apron, is happening throughout the packaged meat sector.

But the big question is, how much marketing spin are you prepared to swallow?

And note to self: shred all draft marketing plans.