Advertising, ad campaigns, ad agencies, and the people that make it happen

One of my pet peeves, as I've posted before, are people writing about advertising in the main stream media, who obviously have no idea what they are talking about.

Today's piece by Dominic Rushe in The Times Online in the UK is a perfect example. He's talking about the Julie Roehm, Wal-Mart kafuffle that has gained so much attention in the last few weeks. What’s so funny is that he's obviously used as his source an article that ran in last weeks New York Times. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to have read it very well. I left him this comment...

If you're going to rely on the New York Times article of last Friday as your source material for this column... At least read it properly. You say... "Wal-Mart investigators even tracked down the pair to a Holiday Inn hotel room in Guatemala where, with ear pressed to the door, the agent heard “moans and sighs”. That was not Julie and Sean, that was another couple and was part of a completely separate investigation. And along with other reporters you fall into the trap of stressing the "sexy bits." Negotiating a job with the agency she was interviewing to handle the Wal-Mart account, was not only contrary to her contract, it was also unethical, probably illegal, and certainly dumb. You also forgot to mention that she was also supplying the agency with confidential Wal-Mart documents and emails. Claims that these kinds of articles in the New York Times (and now in The Times) will damage Wal-Mart are crazy. Few of their customers read, let alone the NYT or The Times.

Perhaps as an employee of "The Wizened of Oz" he is only used to getting his information from his bosses unspeakable tabloid rag, the New York Post, which has become famous for distortion and lack of substance.

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