consumer pr

This is not a Halloween joke, as you expected. Walmart and Star Legacy Funeral Network, Inc have partnered to supply Walmart customers with a rather macabre range of products: coffins, urns and memorial jewelry. These will be sold at walmart.com starting this October. Caskets are only shipped in the US, and they are not available to all areas. But as spokesman Ravi Jariwala says, this is a "limited beta test to understand customer response." Since the most probable customers for such items will be dead or close to it , I assume the test will go well and soon the... Read More >

It's all that cinnamon and sugar that makes the crunchy little squares (Cinnamon Toast Crunch) so irresistible. It's all that cinnamon and sugar that should tell you that one of your child's favorite morning snacks should never be advertised as a healthy, nutritional breakfast. Children should never be targets for marketing campaigns, yet General Mills has a different vision. The gross of the company's income comes from products designed for children, but these are not the healthiest General Mills brands. A new study from Yale University’s Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity discovered that General Mills markets to children... Read More >

In an effort to attract younger audiences, 7-Eleven launched an online dating game: The 7 11 Club. The site, with a splendid flash execution, invites visitors to play an online game that would eventually reward them with a "hot Brazilian." The campaign promotes 7-Eleven's Brazilian Bold coffee and it's a part of a larger effort to promote the company's coffee products. The game is fun and engaging. Players visit Rio de Janeiro's exotic 711 Club where they select a (virtual) hot date, then they must choose the correct "pick-up line" from the multiple choice list. Each correct answer earns "mojo"... Read More >

Reports of Mercedes Benz sales seem to vary widely in the news lately. Forbes, Bloomberg, the WSJ and many other publications reveal figures that range from a "break even" proposition, to near devastating auto sales for the first 8 months of this year. However, Daimler AG, Mercedes' parent company, appears to be turning over every rock in efforts to find new markets, and plug the wounds of previous made decisions. Even the most conservative reports suggest sales are down as much as 49 percent for some models, with only the E Class models showing any promise. In a statement to... Read More >

This is not a case for the “goofy awards” – we “offer” those to correct some small mistakes or blunders that, if corrected, can only benefit the reputation of the “awarded.” This is a more likely a case for “PR horror stories” than anything else. The Orlando Sentinel and a few other high profile news sites report that Showbiz Promotions, based in Jacksonville, had planned to sell its Caylee Sunshine doll for $29.99. This doll was apparently meant to represent "a tribute" to Caylee Marie Anthony a little girl who disappeared on July 15, 2008. Her remains were found five... Read More >