Recapturing the Media

I was doing some reading yesterday about some of the products on the market that have found ways to:

1. Cut down on their CO2 emissions, waste and vehicles on the road - all in all making the world a less-polluted, more sustainable place
and
2. Save themselves loads of money in the process

I think this is great.

And I think that once more people become conscious that sustainaable manufacturing, transportation and design can actually save them time and money, not to mention a toll on their health - the world as a whole will be a better place overall.

For example - Natures Path cereal cut down on their box size by 10% - pulling 300 tractor trailers off the road each year, saving tons of fuel and reducing the amount of material they have to use by 76 tons a year.

Kettle Chips use solar power to make a quarter of a million bags of chips a year, they have a fleet of biodiesel vehicles that run on the same safflower and sunflower oil they use to make chips.

Did you know that they take the skins off the tomatoes you eat out of a can with bleach? This includes the spaghetti sauce on your bolognese.

There is a lot to know about the things you put into your body, and the products you use on an everyday basis.

And people should know these things.

Newspapers and the popular media cannot be relied on to have our best interests in mind. Their job is to keep their advertisers appeased.

If you have seen The Corporation you might remember the story about rBGH. This is one example. The reality is that it happens everyday, in every paper, in every article, except for the sources of hired Manufactured Dissent - which only exist to make you believe that objectivity still remains.

Adbusters has unsuccessfully tried to get 'Buy Nothing Day' on the airways. The stations refuse to sell them space.

Of course. Why would this ever be in their best interest?

A Media Carta is a nice idea - but realistically - paid communications - even paid communications masked by a product front - is the new frontier

Blackspot is way ahead of its time.

More products need to get on the bandwagon and realize that the machinations of advertising agencies exist for a reason - because they are effective.

Just think of a brand, any brand. Say it out loud.

It is time to start putting some of this expertise to use - and offering objective information to the public in an effective way.

Rogers sugar strips all of the molasses from its sugarcane, and then re-injects it to create 'raw sugar'

Trans fat cannot be processed by the human body. It is poison.

But it is in almost all of the food we eat - junk food that is.

The World Health Organization is demanding that products indicate that they have trans fats in them - but not until 2006. Even now, less than 0.5 g can slip under the radar.

Campbells soup is loaded with carcinogenic MSG

I know this from a Capers flyer - a paid piece of communications that got me reading about all of the health dangers that mass communication never adequately expresses.

It's through a medium that is fast, bright, colourful, and crafted to catch our attention that awareness can be best spread - disruptive, honest, and ethical advertising - that the true stories reach our consciousness.

It is the fastest route to the truth.

By the way, the brand you said out loud, was it Nike?