Shine a Light on Sneaky TV Product Placement

Congress wants data on childhood obesity

(NEWSER) - The FTC dealt out 44 subpoenas yesterday to food companies, including McDonald's, Coca-Cola, and Kraft, seeking information on how much they spent on advertising to kids. The businesses have until November 1 to comply for a report the FTC is preparing for Congress on marketing practices and child obesity. More»

Ooyala might figure out the riddle of monetization: Forbes

(NEWSER) - There's a startup company you've probably never heard of, but chances are you've seen its work, writes Michael Humphrey in Forbes . It's called Ooyala, and it powers an enormous number of videos across the web. ESPN highlights, Miramax movies, videos that appear on the sites of Rolling Stone, TV Guide, and many more are all managed by Ooyala. The company racks up 200 million video views a month, and its future is all about making sense of the avalanche of data it receives about viewers and turning clicks into dollars. More»

We need laws, not suggestions, argues Mark Bittman

(NEWSER) - The FTC’s new guidelines against marketing junk food to kids don’t go nearly far enough for Mark Bittman. “Instead of announcing, ‘We have guidelines you must follow,” the New York Times writer complains, “the FTC said, in effect, ‘We have voluntary guidelines we hope you’ll follow—they’re voluntary, you understand—and in five years we’d like you to voluntarily comply with these voluntary guidelines.’” More»

FTC trying to end marketing of junk food to kids

(NEWSER) - The Federal Trade Commission has proposed a new set of food advertising guidelines that could leave Ronald McDonald hanging out with Joe Camel in the unemployment line. The new guidelines aim to stop companies from marketing products that are high in sugar, fat, or salt to children, forbidding everything from cartoon pitchmen to online games, the New York Times reports. More»

Morgan Spurlock helms documentary on advertising

(NEWSER) - Morgan Spurlock, the guy behind Super Size Me, calls his latest documentary—an exploration of our ad-obsessed culture—The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. And critics seem to agree:

• Spurlock “has this habit of making documentaries that come hidden in the Trojan horse of silly and then stab at your conscience,” writes Peter Travers in Rolling Stone . “As ever, he makes you laugh till it hurts.”