Wrapping dead fish

[by Todd] Wow, it's buffet day at the Cluelessness Diner. And that awful odor is yesterday's catch.

Cluelessness Example 3 -- The Newspaper Industry

Ladies and gentlemen, I present an amazing example of the emperor's new clothes: Newspaper Advertising, A Destination, Not a Distraction. With a $50 million budget behind it, the Newspaper Association of America will attempt to convince media buyers that newspapers are hipper than ever. Which probably explains the edgy graphics in the ads.

I especially love this line: In an opt-out world, consumers opt in to newspaper advertising. Huh?! As I write this, the NAA is meeting in Chicago. So I opt to pose a few questions?

1. What the @*#% where you thinking using imagery of dead fish and Model Ts to invoke the image of a vital industry?
2. In all the creative reviews, did no one raise their voice and say, this is bull*#@% we're going to look like fools?
3. If you're going to throw away so much money, can I have some?

Let's wrap up this exercise in schadenfreude with a brief, yet poignant counterpoint. Every year the Project for Excellence in Journalism publishes it's State of the News Media report, a detailed assessment of every form of news out there, including online. Let's check out the introduction to the report on newspapers, shall we:

For the newspaper industry, 2005 turned out to be the year of unpleasant surprises. Every indicator, including the number of news staff members that the nation’s best metro papers field every day, was on a steep downward path.

Play on Nero, play on.

-Posted by Todd

Comments

[olivier blanchard]

ROTFL

:D