http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwIw5cljzPM

Obsession
What am I going to make for dinner? Is it too early for lunch? Should I eat that donut? In all, women spend about two years of their life, or around 44 minutes a day, thinking about food. I'm thinking about the low-fat fudgcicles in the 6th floor freezer right now. (source: The Daily Mail)

The opposite of greenwashing
Prompted by Stonyfield Farm, 15 of the VT dairy farms that provide milk to the yogurt brand are changing their cow feed from soy and corn to things like alfalfa and flaxseed that more closely mimic the grasses cows evolved to eat. Why? To see if better feed makes for less gassy cows and less climate impact. So far the ladies are producing 18% less methane and as much milk as ever. This is the kind of authentic, results-based contribution that consumers want to see in corporate green programs. (source: NY Times, 6/4/09)

Greenwashing, but not really
The FTC has charged K-Mart for saying its private-label paper plates are biodegradable. The odd thing is, they really are, at least in your basic backyard compost pile. However, the FTC says that doesn't matter because most people don't compost, and the plates won't degrade under landfill conditions. Since consumers could misunderstand this, they're calling it a false claim. Tricky. (source: Marketing Daily, 6/10/09)

Killa chinchilla
Creating a holiday out of thin air worked for Corona and Hallmark, why not Vegas?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jf89N1_uz_A

Dibs on Daphne's couch
A UC San Diego study shows that people who nap at work significantly improve their productivity. Employees who were allowed to nap improved their scores on word games by 40% over those who stayed awake all day. (source: WHEC.com, 6/9/09)

iRemote
Your iPhone will now unlock the door and beep the horn (to help you find it) of the Zipcar you reserved. Two great ideas that taste great together. (source: Springwise, 6/10/09)

Secret stayers
Langenfeld, Austria, has invited 200 tourists to visit for 3 days sometime during July. At the end of their stay, they'll fill out an extensive survey. But the big test is the cost of their holiday. There's no bill, they'll pay what they think it was worth. (source: Springwise, 6/10/09)

WeREAD
Rochester, NY, is the top US city for newspaper readership. 87% of our adults have read a printed paper, a paper online, or both during the past week. We're closely followed by Cleveland and Buffalo. (source: Scarborough Research/Quirks, June 2009)

Choose Mad Ave and die
Boone Oakley, an agency in NC, doesn't have a website, just an interactive video on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Elo7WeIydh8 (source: Marketing Daily, 6/8/09)

Procurement's gonna love this
Pay them "what it's worth." http://www.agencynil.com/ (source: Springwise, 6/1/09)

Sexiest commercial ever
A team of ad vets thinks Cindy Crawford's 1991 Pepsi TV spot takes the cake. It's steamy yet subtle and relates to the products benefits. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcroQsUN60s (source: Forbes, 6.8.09)

One per customer, really
Once a mobile coupon barcode from Samplesaint Inc. has been scanned from a consumer's cell phone screen at a store, it automatically disappears from that phone so it can't be forwarded or used again. Problem solved. (source: NY Times, 6/6/09)

Are cheese and beef healthy?
Australia's Health Minister is expected to recommend a ban on advertising unhealthy foods and beverages, including alcohol. If this passes, it will be an interesting test case not only for determining what qualifies as healthy, but on the side-effects. Can anybody afford to produce a pro sports match that's not sponsored by beer? Will there be riots in Sydney? (source: The Australian, 6/8/09)

Boing boom tschak
Light Bright with audio. http://lab.andre-michelle.com/tonematrix (source: Ad Age, 6/9/09)

Green shoots?
Zappos is hiring. On a related note, a quarter of all Americans believe they will have more money to spend "the way they want" in the next 6 months. (source: violator on zappos.com & Harris Poll Weekly, 6/9/09)

Swim faster?
No joke. G-Defy ad seen in the July issue of Discover.

SHC
Stands for Sears Holding Corp., but until recently it also meant "see, hear & collect." Sears just settled with the FTC for not making it clear enough to people who joined My SHC Community that by providing their email address and downloading software they were giving Sears the keys to their computer. Sears was tracking and storing members' data, from banking transactions to friends' email addresses and prescription info. Creepy. (source: Promo, 6/11/09)