Martin Lindstrom - Brand Ethics - 10 Ethical Brand Guidelines | Branding Expert Martin Lindstrom

Apple cider from Carlson Orchards

Sept 7, 2011

Not everything that comes in a juice box is sugary, artificial, and overly processed. Take, for example, the 4.23-ounce boxes of freshly pressed apple cider from Carlson Orchards in Harvard (59 cents each or $3.99 for an 8-pack). They don’t look like other juice boxes - no splashy colors or cartoon mascots - and what’s inside doesn’t resemble typical kids’ juice: It’s made from whole, fresh apples, not concentrate, with no sugar or water added. “It’s our premium blended cider,’’ says Carlson Orchards’ Frank Carlson, the very same cider sold in gallon jugs throughout the area in season, but handily packaged for little hands. Carlson Orchards Premium Blend Apple Cider juice boxes available at Whole Foods Markets.

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Breast-feeding doll shocks Americans

18 July, 2011

The Breast Milk Baby, now available for boys and girls alike. Here’s a toy you can buy for your kids that really sucks. Move over, Malibu Barbie! There is a new children’s doll on toy store shelves, and The Breast Milk Baby is swallowing up the competition. After a successful run overseas, Spain-based Berjuan Toys is bringing their Breast Milk Baby to the United States. The realistic play-thing aimed at kids two and up is trying to teach the youth of America that breastfeeding is a healthy, natural way to feed a baby — and this is something that can be taught with a $90 piece of plastic complete with a realistic suckling mechanism.

“As an American, I find it hard to believe that we are letting a silly misconception about something as wholesome as breast-feeding be turned into a taboo subject,” says spokesperson Dennis Lewis to Forbes. Lewis adds that international organizations across the globe have endorsed the doll before it recently came stateside, and after such a positive reaction he is aiming to teach toddlers that breast-feeding is natural in a way that won’t sexualize anyone.

And yes, Lewis means both boys and girls when he says anyone. Think little Billy needs a GI Joe for Christmas? Think again. “Although we usually only think about little girls playing with dolls, the truth is that boys need to acquire healthy nurturing skills as well,” Lewis tells Forbes. “My take is that anything which reminds young girls that their bodies are something other, and more, than sex objects, is a very good thing,” Dr. Ronald Cohen, medical director of the Mothers’ Milk Bank in San Jose, California, says to ABC News.

The doll is extremely interactive, requiring the child to wear a colorful smock over their torso in order for the doll to fully utilize its suckling system. Over the general nipple region are two brightly-hued flowers, which the doll — whether you opt for the Jeremiah, Tony or Lilyang model — clasps on to and goes to town. The Breast Milk Baby is available in six different models of varying gender and skin-tone, all priced at around $100 after shipping and handling.

“There have been people who have called us pedophiles, they’ve called us perverts, they’ve said we’re endangering little girls,” Lewis tells ABC, but adds that “breast-feeding was a normal part of life before a few greedy pharmaceutical companies tried to make it rich selling artificial milk.”

“A girl who plays with a breast-feeding baby now will think this is the normal way to feed a baby.”

Small, faux humans with realistic emissions are nothing new for US toy shops. Baby Alive first hit shelves nearly 40 years ago and taught children the majesty of diaper changing after each item produced droppings and puke after being spoon-fed a meal. The Breast Milk Baby, however, is believed to be the first of its kind in America, though, as far as breast-feeding dolls go.

“We just believe breast-feeding is normal, and that’s exactly what our beautiful dolls promote,” Lewis says to Forbes. “Children learn by playing, and if they learn that the best way to feed a baby is by breast-feeding, it will be an easy, natural choice for them when they grow up. What could possibly be wrong about a child learning this from an early age?”

American reception of the Breast Milk Baby has been understandably mixed so far, but statements on the doll’s website and Facebook page link to praising testimonials and even notes on one page, “God supports The Breast Milk Baby.” After all, if former Pope John Paul II was for breastfeeding, how can you be against teaching your children with an $100 doll which may or may not be extremely creepy?

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Abercrombie & Fitch

March 28, 2011

Abercrombie & Fitch is selling a push-up bikini top to young girls at its kids’ stores -- target market ages 7 to 14. The “Ashley” bikini boasts a padded top -- first described on the retailer’s web site as a “push-up triangle.” The wording has been changed to “striped triangle,” but the top is still for sale. Unsurprisingly, plenty of parents -- and non-parents -- are outraged. “The push-up bra is, effectively, a sex tool designed to push the breasts up and out, putting them front and center where they’re most accessible to the eye (and everything else). How is this OK for a second grader?” one parent wrote on Babble.com.

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Procter & Gamble

Market Leader Summer 2006

Procter & Gamble, who are leading the field, has upwards of 750,000 members in its two online US consumer advisory panels ‘Tremor’ (for teens) and ‘Vocalpoint’ (for ‘moms’). Panel participants, recruited by banner ads and word of mouth are regularly invited to participate in online VIP votes on P&G and ‘partner’ brands, allowing them to call the shots on anything from pack design, logos, new flavours, strap-lines, ads or promotional material.

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The Iridium Satellite Phone System

BNET: May 3, 2010

Iridium was a Motorola subsidiary — it eventually was spun out and went bankrupt — intended to provide a satellite alternative to land lines and cell phones for international business travelers. Motorola spent $8 billion building the satellite system and handsets. Then the product launched in the early ’90s, and no one used it! Motorola had gotten all wrapped up in building the system but had never paused to find out if there’d be a demand for it.

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Kid Cuisine All Star Chicken Breast Nuggets.

The label on this package advertises “white meat chicken, grains and vegetables.” Yet this product falls into the high-fat category - and the only vegetable it contains is corn.

Dora the Explorer Fruit Shapes

Promotes itself as “naturally flavored, 90 calories per pouch, and gluten free,” and features Dora, a popular television cartoon character, prominently on the box. What the front of the package neglects to reveal is that 58% of this product’s calories come from sugar.

Apple Jacks

Touts its high fiber, low fat content, but derives nearly half (48%) of its calories from sugar—in fact, sugar is the primary ingredient, coming first on the ingredient list.

Prevention Institute, NPI Center Jan. 19, 2011 Package labels that market children’s food products hide the truth.

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Most bottled keep secret some or all the answers to these elementary questions:

Where does the water come from?
Is it purified? How?
Have tests found any contaminants?

Nestlé’s Pure Life Purified Water tells the truth

Nestlé’s Pure Life Purified Water — discloses its specific geographic water source and treatment method on the label and offers an 800-number, website or mailing address where consumers can request a water quality test report.

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P&G

P&G has a clear concise Privacy Policy

Our Privacy goal at P&G is to protect, collect and use personal information provided to us as if it is our own. We do not trade, sell or lease personal information entrusted to us. P&G values the trust people place in us when they give us personal information; this Global Privacy Policy describes how we work to maintain that trust.

We strive to be global and consistent in how we implement privacy. Our privacy policy applies to:

All individuals who provide personal information, such as consumers, customers, research subjects, business partners, shareholders, job applicants, employees, retirees, and others
All locations where we operate, even where local regulations do not exist
All methods of contact such the Internet, direct mail, telephone and mobile, and for emerging technologies and methods that might be tested

P&G’s Global Privacy Executive is accountable to the Vice-Chairman of the Board, the Chief Information Officer, the Global Human Relations Manager, the Chief External Relations Officer, and the Chief Marketing Officer. We manage Privacy through a Global Privacy Council, representing all geographic regions where we do business and business processes where personal information is collected—such as consumer marketing and employee benefits. P&G’s privacy policy and data protection practices extend by contract to our supplier and partner relationships.

P&G promotes industry best practices to ensure privacy concerns are addressed and that personal information is protected. We serve on the boards or committees of global and local privacy organizations, and actively engage on important privacy issues to address the privacy needs of those who have trusted or may trust their information to us.

Privacy is more than complying with country privacy laws—which we strive to do. It’s also about doing the right thing for the millions of people whose lives we touch every day through the use of their personal information. Our Privacy Policy is built not just on individual country privacy laws but also on the internationally accepted privacy principles, or fair information practices, established by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the European Union (EU) Data Protection Directive, and the U.S.-EU and U.S.-Swiss Safe Harbor Privacy Principles as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce. These principles and how P&G works to apply them are:

Benefits for individuals: P&G collects and uses personal information to provide world-class products and services of superior quality for our consumers, customers, employees, and others. We limit the collection of personal information to what we need to know in order to achieve our goal of providing superior quality and value. For example, we use e-mail addresses to send consumers or shareholders or job applicants information they have requested. Consumer and employee feedback on products and services is used to improve our products and services.

Notice: We tell individuals what information we collect, how it is used, whether it may be temporarily transferred to others to provide the products or services requested and how to contact P&G with privacy inquiries. We provide a link to P&G’s consumer privacy notice on our Web sites, and in e-mails.

Choice: We offer individuals who provide us information choices about receiving further communications from us; for example, our e-mail newsletters are sent only to those who have expressly asked to receive them, and the newsletters have a link to use to opt out of receiving future messages. We may ask individuals if they wish to participate in market research, and then contact them if they give us their permission. We do not contact individuals for marketing purposes if they have put their names on do not contact lists such as Direct Marketing Association, or Robinson lists in countries where these lists exist, or who have contacted P&G directly to opt out of our direct marketing programs.

Technology: P&G uses technology in order to better serve our consumers, customers, employees, and others. We tell individuals when we use technologies that are privacy related. We do not use internet cookies to collect or store personal information. We actively promote best privacy practices and consumer benefit for emerging technologies that may have an effect on privacy, such as radio frequency identification tags used to manage product inventory.

Data Accuracy & Access: P&G takes steps to make sure that the personal information we use is correct. We provide individuals with reasonable access to the personal information they’ve provided us so that they can review and correct it, or ask us not to use it. For example; employees can obtain their personal information through employee systems, and shareholders have access to their data through Shareholder Services. Consumers can obtain a copy of the data they have provided, or update their information by using this link to obtain a country-specific address to contact.

Security: P&G protects personal information under company control by industry standard security practices and measures, in order to prevent loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure or alteration. We limit access to personal information to those who have a business need. We do not keep personal information any longer than necessary to meet the business purpose for which it was collected, though in some cases, legal or regulatory reasons require that personal information not be deleted.

Data Transfer: We may transfer personal information to P&G databases in countries other than where it was provided. Our global privacy program requires the same high level of security and protection of personal information in all geographies with procedures and contracts in place to help ensure this is so. Data may be temporarily transferred to a vendor or business partner to provide services for P&G, such as mailing information or samples. These vendors and business partners are required to protect and manage the personal information to the same high standards P&G does, and they cannot use the information for purposes other than to provide the services P&G has requested.

Children: P&G generally does not intend to collect information from children (those under the age of 13, or an age defined by a country law). We ask for a birth date on our Web sites before collecting personal information to make sure we do not collect information from children when we do not intend to. Where we do collect information from children, we comply with country children’s privacy laws, and ask only for the minimum information necessary to participate in the program. Parents can obtain a copy of the information their child has provided, or update the information, or can ask us to no longer use the information by using this link to obtain a country-specific address to contact.

Accountability: P&G expects our employees and partners to maintain the trust placed in us by those who give us personal information. We provide privacy training to employees and highlight the importance of privacy in our worldwide business conduct program. Those who manage personal information complete privacy self-assessments to make sure that personal information is secure and protected. We periodically audit privacy compliance. P&G privacy policies and data protection practices extend by contract to our supplier and partner relationships. We support industry self-regulation as a flexible means for keeping pace with emerging privacy issues.

Notification of Policy: Changes If major content changes are made to P&G’s Global Privacy Policy we will outline and post the changes along with the new version on this Web site. http://www.pg.com/en_US/sustainability/privacy.shtml

Read their privacy policy here

Facebook

Facebook has acknowledged a problem with its site that reveals your name and the names of your Facebook friends to some advertisers, and potentially tracks the websites you visit online.

The Wall Street Journal tore apart the code in Facebook to determine what identifying user information was being forwarded to third-party applications such as Farmville, Mafia Wars and some of the quizzes you take. These are all add-on apps on which a user has to click to access Facebook, not features such as photos or videos.

The Journal found that in 25 instances the third-party app companies were taking in users’ Facebook identification numbers. The number then tied into a user’s profile and could identify the person by name, no matter how secure his or her privacy settings were.

The companies tracking you could then build a clear profile of your habits. If they used other Internet tracking technology to keep a record of the websites you visit and then married that to your name, this would be a clear violation of Facebook’s policies, which has consumer groups up in arms.

ABC News: Oct. 19, 2010

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Google Wi-Spy Scandal

June 14, 2010

The Google Wi-Spy scandal is looking more and more like the makings of a great screen play for the next dystopian techno-future thriller...coming to theaters near you.

Of course, there’s always the far out possibility that Google is telling the truth and they just happened to be sucking up all this user data on accident, but I find that just a tad hard to believe.

For those unaware, here’s the backdrop: A few weeks ago the corporate giant admitted (after lying at first) that its StreetView cars were gathering private information from unaware local residents as they photographed neighborhoods - yet again demonstrating the company’s lack of concern for privacy and the need for government inspection of the data the company is collecting and storing.

Google first revealed that Street View cars were collecting wireless data in April, but said that no personal data from Wi-Fi networks was involved. But an audit requested by German regulators forced the company to admit, or “discover”, that it indeed HAD been collecting and storing everything from email addresses to web searches.

As a result, a host of suits have been filed by people accusing Google of violating their privacy and breaking the law. Since then Google has been ordered to make two copies of a hard drive containing data from the United States and turn them over to the court.

Three U.S. lawmakers, concerned Google may have violated U.S. privacy laws, also took action, asking the company to tell them how much personal data was gathered. California Republican Representative Joe Barton, California Democrat Henry Waxman and Massachusetts Democrat Edward Markey said in a letter to Google’s Chief Executive Eric Schmidt that they also wanted to know how Google planned to use that information.

Lawyers suing Google have asserted that the company deliberately programmed its Street View cars to collect private data from open Wi-Fi networks, despite claims to the contrary. This assertion has been backed up by an independent report by Privacy International (PI) that details what kind of data Google’s code did and did not collect, as well as how it was processed and stored.

The program, called “gslite”, sniffed packets from unprotected WiFi networks as Google’s Street View cars rolled down the street, separating out encrypted and unencrypted content. The encrypted data was dumped while the unencrypted data was then written to the car’s hard drive.

Because of this specific behavior of the program, PI says it’s clear that Google made no mistake at all—”It is a criminal act commissioned with intent to breach the privacy of communications,” wrote PI. The group says that some jurisdictions allow for accidental interception of data, but that Google clearly had “intent to intercept” and therefore is in violation of criminal law.

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H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine Insert Admits It Causes Guillain-Barre Syndrome, Vasculitis, Paralysis, Anaphylactic Shock And Death

The package insert for the Influenza A (H1N1) 2009 Monovalent Vaccine manufactured by Novartis is known to cause a whole host of very nasty side effects such as guillain-barre syndrome, vasculitis, anaphylactic shock and even death.

Of course anyone who has been studying vaccine side effects already knows that it causes all of these things, but the story here is that the insert for the swine flu vaccine itself is admitting all of these things. The insert says that it was updated during September 2009

The following is a list of some of the very nasty side effects that the vaccine package insert admits to...

Local injection site reactions (including pain, pain limiting limb movement, redness, swelling, warmth, ecchymosis, induration)
Hot flashes/flushes
Chills
Fever
Malaise
Shivering
Fatigue
Asthenia
Facial edema.
Immune system disorders
Hypersensitivity reactions (including throat and/or mouth edema)
In rare cases, hypersensitivity reactions have lead to anaphylactic shock and death
Cardiovascular disorders
Vasculitis (in rare cases with transient renal involvement)

Syncope shortly after vaccination
Digestive disorders
Diarrhea
Nausea
Vomiting
Abdominal pain.
Blood and lymphatic disorders
Local lymphadenopathy
Transient thrombocytopenia.
Metabolic and nutritional disorders
Loss of appetite.
Arthralgia
Myalgia
Myasthenia
Nervous system disorders
Headache
Dizziness
Neuralgia
Paraesthesia

Febrile convulsions
Guillain-Barré Syndrome
Myelitis (including
Neuropathy (including neuritis)
Paralysis (including Bell’s Palsy)
Respiratory disorders
Dyspnea
Chest pain
Cough
Pharyngitis
Rhinitis
Stevens-Johnson syndrome
Pruritus
Urticaria
Rash (including non-specific, maculopapular, and vesiculobulbous).

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You can read the package insert fro the FDA for this vaccine for yourself right here

Merck’s Vioxx scandal widens: Drug maker knew Vioxx was deadly for years before risk was made public

The Vioxx scandal widened this week as new research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine reveals that Vioxx maker Merck held data for three years that proved Vioxx caused an alarming increase in the risk of heart attacks and strokes. And yet Merck chose not to release that data. In fact, it took three more years of patients dying from heart attacks before Vioxx was pulled off the market, and even then, Merck insisted the drug was not dangerous.

Natural News: November 25, 2009

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Zolpidem and weight gain

can be linked in some patients, but it is more common for people who take this medication to experience some weight loss. In the list of side effects found in clinical trials disclosed to consumers on order from regulatory agencies, weight loss is a listed issue, while weight gain is not.

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Ambien (zolpidem) can cause sleep eating

Ambien (zolpidem) can cause sleep eating Ambien (zolpidem), the most commonly prescribed sleep medication, can cause sleep eating and large amounts of weight gain according to a report on the CBS television show, “The Early Show”. This has also been previously reported in the medical literature. It seems to occur mostly in people with sleep disorders such as restless leg syndrome, obstructive sleep apnea or sleep walking and previous episodes of nightly eating according to a report from the Mayo Clinic.: March 15, 2006

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Seroquel

According to company e-mails unsealed in civil lawsuits, AstraZeneca “buried” — a manager’s term — a 1997 study showing that users of Seroquel, then a new antipsychotic, gained 11 pounds a year, while the company publicized a study that asserted they lost weight. Company e-mail messages also refer to doing a “great smoke-and-mirrors job” on an unfavorable study.

Pharma Gossip:Oct 2010

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Brandi Law Firm discusses Yaz Birth Control Side Effects and offer to help patients fight for compensation

When a drug company spends millions of dollars on “corrective ads,” you know something is not quite right. Bayer--the makers of Yaz--wants you to think that it is perfectly safe. They want you to ignore Yaz side effects. If you or someone you care about suffered a serious injury because of Yaz, you need experienced legal representation. At The Brandi Law Firm in San Francisco, California, we have over 30 years of experience fighting for victims of defective and dangerous drugs. We will help you hold Bayer responsible for Yaz injuries and side effects.

What They Don’t Want You to Know

Every day, women suffer serious side effects from taking Yaz and Yasmin. Women who had no history of previous problems are now facing life-threatening problems from:

Blood clots in the legs and lungs (Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism)
Stroke
Heart attack
Gall bladder disease
Pancreatitis

Stand Up for Your Safety

Our team of experienced attorneys, investigators, doctors and nurses is ready to help you stand up for your safety. If you or someone you love suffered serious Yaz side effects, injury or even death, we will fight for compensation for you.

We will work tirelessly to hold the responsible parties accountable for your life-changing injuries because they:

Did not tell the truth about Yaz
Failed to properly test Yaz for side effects
Endangered countless American women to protect their profits

Women who were hurt by Yaz side effects deserve to be compensated for their pain and suffering.

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Women taking Yasmin, Yaz or Ocella to avoid becoming pregnant or to treat PMDD (Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder) or severe acne have reportedly suffered major injury to their health and wellbeing. Although most pharmaceuticals present some form of side effects, the main event surrounding Yaz seems to be that the original commercials downplayed the health risks and side effects. This attracted users to the product that may not have taken it otherwise had they been properly informed about the risks posed by Ocella, Yasmin

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O’Connor Hospital’s New Advertising Campaign: “My O’Connor Story”

It is Orange Label’s observation that, “your customers are often your best copy writers.” Authentic and candid customer comments can be one of the most relatable sources for messages you can communicate to your target market. Orange Label clients throughout the years have leveraged their own customers into powerful and integrated advertising campaigns – sharing engaging messages of success and customer benefits.

For this reason, we are excited to announce the launch of a new advertising campaign for client, O’Connor Hospital – located in San Jose, CA. The advertising campaign: “My O’Connor Story”, features real people and real stories. The campaign consists of service-line specific stories with real patient experiences. Each five week campaign will be supported by an integrated mix of local print, radio and online. In addition, O’Connor Hospital will be launching a campaign specific landing page that will show case all of the O’Connor stories. Visitors to the page will be able to browse through the featured stories and view the print ad creative for each.

“My O’Connor Story” adds a unique “realness” to O’Connor Hospital’s advertising that powerfully connects to the hospital’s positioning, It’s the Way We Care. The first story to kick-off the campaign promotes O’Connor Hospital’s Wound Care Clinic – sharing a local resident’s heart-warming story of overcoming her struggles with a diabetic wound and how the Wound Care team was able to heal her wound. With the power of the patient’s words, the story highlights the real patient benefit with O’Connor Care and tells the story of why the patient states, “I have my freedom back.” (See link to image of “My O’Connor Wound Care Story” at the bottom of the post)

“It was so inspiring to meet the O’Connor Hospital patients and listen to their stories of how O’Connor Care made a difference in their lives. The stories that will be shared this year through the “My O’Connor Story” campaign are touching, motivating and attention-grabbing… I am excited to see how these stories will encourage others to make O’Connor Hospital part of their “story” of health and healing,” said, Integrated Advertising Supervisor.

Orange Label Advertising: April 2011

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Dell

One example of a company using testimonial advertising is Dell, which has been implementing this strategy for its products that are targeted at small and medium businesses. The management feels that public endorsements help improve interactivity with customers, grow the market as well as help build a brand. Microsoft on the other hand has campaigns running that are not aimed only at SMBs but follow the same strategy of engaging with their customers.

Directory Business Journal: May 2, 2009

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Power Balance athletic bands Shaquille O’Neal and Lamar Odom False Advertising Lawsuit Names Celebrity Endorsers as Defendants

April 27, 2011

A class action lawsuit was recently filed against Power Balance LLC and NBA players Shaquille O’Neal and Lamar Odom regarding claims made by Power Balance, O’Neal, and Odom about Power Balance athletic bands. The complaint alleges that Shaquille O’Neal, a paid endorser for Power Balance, claims that he had been the subject of kinesiology tests which showed improved strength and balance when O’Neal wore the Power Balance bands. The complaint also alleges that Lamar Odom, also a paid endorser for Power Balance, claims that “playing at a championship level requires you to perform at your peak day in and day out. The Power Balance silicon wristband helps me keep that balance.” The complaint further alleges that Power Balance allegedly has no scientific or objective basis to assert that its products are capable of delivering the advertised performance, and that the kinesiology tests relied upon by Power Balance are not adequate substantiation. The plaintiff asserts that the conduct of all of the defendants, including Power Balance, O’Neal, and Odom, violates the California Consumers Legal Remedies Act and constitute false advertising and unfair competition under the California Unfair Competition Law.

TIP: Celebrities who are compensated for their endorsement must base statements about products or services based on their honest opinions and beliefs, and their experience with a product; but express claims about the performance of a product must also be substantiated by reliable scientific evidence. Both the advertiser and the celebrity endorser could potentially be held liable for false advertising if claims made by the celebrity endorser are not adequately substantiated.

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Of interest the following Washington Post article: Glowing — and overstated — testimonial lands infomercial peddlers into hot water

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Here is a very Very Clear Shelf Life Example:

Hidden Valley® Dressing and Dips Mixes and Hidden Valley® Bottled Dressing

For Hidden Valley® Dressing and Dips Mixes, the recommended shelf life is located on the back of the packet as indicated by “Best Before” date. For instance, “14JUL11PG1” means we recommended you use the product by July 14, 2011; PG1 is the manufacturing code. Once mixed, the product is good for approximately 3 to 4 weeks, depending on the freshness of the date of the milk or sour cream used. For Hidden Valley® Bottled Dressing, the recommended shelf life is located on the back of the neck label as indicated by “Best If Used By Date On Label.” For instance, “15May10 BHG2” means we recommend you use the product by May 15, 2010; BHG2 is the manufacturing code. After the recommended shelf life date, the product may taste increasingly vinegary, but—because vinegar is a natural preservative—will still be safe to eat.

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Hidden Valley® Bottled Products Shelf Life

April 27, 2011

Scandal-plagued Fujiya Co. said Thursday its head office had instructed a cake factory in Osaka Prefecture to refrain from indicating expiry dates on puddings that were shipped to another facility in Saitama Prefecture. The company backtracked from an earlier statement that factories made independent decisions on the indication of expiry dates.

The Osaka prefectural government has told the Izumisano factory in Osaka that its failure to indicate expiry dates on food products could run counter to the Food Sanitation Law and should be corrected.

The Izumisano factory sent puddings without expiry date labels to the Saitama factory under instructions from the head office issued May 24 and 27, 2004. The Saitama factory then put expiry date labels on the puddings before shipping them to retail shops, the company said.

The head office instructed the Saitama factory to dispose of all puddings from Izumisano that were not shipped a day after receipt, Fujiya said.

But the Saitama factory made an independent decision to ship the old puddings by extending the expiry dates one or two days beyond Fujiya’s in-house guidelines, the company said.

The independent decision deviated from the head office’s instructions, it said.

Fujiya has suspended sales at Fujiya cake shops in Japan since Jan. 11 due to its reported use of expired ingredients in cream puffs, as well as the extension of expiry dates for puddings and cream puffs. Major retailers have removed Fujiya confectionery products from their shelves. Kyodo News International, Tokyo January 25, 2007

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The Fujiya Expiry Date Scandal

The biggest deal in Japan right now is the Fujiya expiry date scandal. Yesterday, the president of the famed candy company resigned because people found out that they were making cake with expired milk. NHK interviewed people on the streets re: the Fujiya scandal,
“I am horrified!” One woman said. “The expiry date is the one thing that I am very careful about.”
“I worry about our children’s health,” another said. Other voices echoed the same traumatized sentiment.

Tokyo Mango: January 16, 2007

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Fujiya Told Factory Not to Indicate Expiry Dates on Puddings

January 25, 2007

Scandal-plagued Fujiya Co. said Thursday its head office had instructed a cake factory in Osaka Prefecture to refrain from indicating expiry dates on puddings that were shipped to another facility in Saitama Prefecture.

The company backtracked from an earlier statement that factories made independent decisions on the indication of expiry dates.

The Osaka prefectural government has told the Izumisano factory in Osaka that its failure to indicate expiry dates on food products could run counter to the Food Sanitation Law and should be corrected.

The Izumisano factory sent puddings without expiry date labels to the Saitama factory under instructions from the head office issued May 24 and 27, 2004. The Saitama factory then put expiry date labels on the puddings before shipping them to retail shops, the company said.

The head office instructed the Saitama factory to dispose of all puddings from Izumisano that were not shipped a day after receipt, Fujiya said.

But the Saitama factory made an independent decision to ship the old puddings by extending the expiry dates one or two days beyond Fujiya’s in-house guidelines, the company said.

The independent decision deviated from the head office’s instructions, it said.

vFujiya has suspended sales at Fujiya cake shops in Japan since Jan. 11 due to its reported use of expired ingredients in cream puffs, as well as the extension of expiry dates for puddings and cream puffs. Major retailers have removed Fujiya confectionery products from their shelves.

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Synlait says it didn’t alter expiry date on milkpowder

January 25, 2007

A Chinese-controlled dairy company in New Zealand, Synlait Milk, is rejecting a claim it changed the expiry date on milk powder exported to Nigeria to extend its labelled shelf life from one year to two years.

Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) claimed that a local importer, Carnco Foods Nigeria, deliberately altered the actual expiry date on Synlait milkpowder containers to increase the products’ shelf life but Carnco said that the expiry date was changed by the manufacturer “to correct a printing error”.

But Synlait Milk chief executive John Penno tonight told NZPA that the expiry date was changed by an agent who originally bought the milkpowder for distribution in China, and Synlait was not involved in the Nigerian deal.

It was part of a much bigger consignment that had to be redirected out of the intended market, China. “We’re aware of this transaction -- we like to follow where our product goes,” Mr Penno said. “It was redirected with our knowledge.

He said the powder went to the Nigerian market with a two-year shelf life but it had been sitting on wharves in Nigeria so long that it was now past its expiry date and not fit for human consumption.

Asked if the milkpowder had a two-year shelf life when it left the Dunsandel factory, Mr Penno said: “Yes, all of our product goes out with a two-year shelf life.” “We did not alter the expiry date, however the primary market required the original documentation to have a one-year shelf life... when it was moved to the secondary market, there was an alternation made in the market from one to two years. “It was a change made by the agent,” said Mr Penno, who said whole milk powder normally had a life of two years.

National Business Review: February 02, 2011

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Facebook

Use peer pressure to your advantage. When an ad shows the viewer that one of their friends has already “Liked” the ad, this increases the chance the viewer will click it.

Mobile app harnesses positive peer pressure to stop your friends smoking

August 30, 2011

Remember the peer pressure at school to wear the right clothes, be seen with the right people and that it was cool to smoke? Students at the The Miami Ad School have created a mobile app to challenge that negative peer pressure and instead turn it around and use it to encourage smokers to quit.

The app experience begins by asking friends to show how serious they are to the cause and put some money where their mouth is whilst also stating a quit date. This in itself makes sure that A) the friends are on the smokers back and B) that there is a financial incentive to do so and an added sense of guilt from the smoker. The app then make sure it offers encouragement and support along the way, aswell as being a social tracker of progress.

What’s clever about it is that if the smoker quits then all the friends get their money back, if not then its donated to the Cancer Society!

Adverblog: Aug 30, 2011

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Winners: Those Who Managed Their Carbon Footprints

Sun Microsystems found numerous ways to shrink its carbon footprint, and then even more clever ways to manage it. The software giant cut overall Scope 1 and 2 emissions by about four percent in the second year after it began measuring, which may not seem like much, but a steady four percent per year decline will keep the company well ahead of regulators. Sun also cut energy use by more than 50 million BTUs--adding money to the bottom line--with measures such as HVAC upgrades, lighting retrofits, building “tune-ups,” and installing variable speed drives on motors. Sun then focused on two parts of its footprint for management strategies, business travel and air freight shipping of its products.

From 2007 to 2008, Sun was able to cut business travel two percent--again, not a big number, but impressive considering that business-as-usual would have seen that figure rise by double digits. The company also boasts that some 3,000 employees in the United States signed up for mass transit programs to cover their daily commutes. Finally, in FY2009, Sun addressed the largest, most obvious, and measurable source of carbon in its supply chain: air shipments. The company reduced the weight of products and improved logistics so that products travel shorter routes from manufacturing to end-users. The result? Sun cut emissions from that source by a third in one year.

Fast Company: Feb 11, 2011

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Zappos An excerpt from the Zappos Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

It is our policy and your responsibility to comply with federal and state antitrust laws. Price fixing, customer and market allocations, bid rigging and other arrangements with competitors that are unlawful must be avoided, and you may never exchange sensitive business information with competitors. Unless information is publicly available, you should in general avoid discussing the following subjects with any competitor: prices, terms or conditions of sale; credit terms, discounts, profits, profit margins or costs; market segment shares; distribution practices; bids on contracts; sales territories; selections, rejections or terminations of customers; or any other matters where an agreement with a competitor would be inconsistent with the complete freedom of action of Zappos in the conduct of our business.

You must never engage in competitive conduct that cannot be justified by sound business considerations wholly apart from its effect on any injured competitor. If you are unsure whether a contemplated action might violate any of the antitrust laws, you must review it with the Legal Department prior to implementation.

Fast Company: Feb 11, 2011

See the complete Zappos Code of Business Conduct and Ethics here

Wal-Mart

Legal Responsibilities: Wal-Mart has a rather poor showing in this area, being considered “the most sued company in America”. It is embroiled in hundreds upon thousands of lawsuits, and has questionable labour practices. It is reputed for low wages and discrimination (based on gender etc). However, it must be noted that it is inevitable for such a large company to get sued by many parties, sometimes with no grounds at all.

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Amazon

In the summer of 2000, Amazon was alleged to have offered differing prices to different consumers for the same products on the same day. This is understandable from an effectiveness perspective. Given varying price elasticities among consumers, Amazon might have been trying to make their marketing more effective by offering selective price reductions to more price-sensitive consumers. An outcry ensued when this practice was uncovered (Hill 2003). Because these price reductions were not visible to other consumers, this course of action fails Smith’s (1993, p. 30) “availability of information” test. This is an example of an ethical conflict caused by the tension between the norms promoting marketing effectiveness and consumer autonomy. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. (2008) Marketing with integrity: ethics and the service-dominant logic for marketing

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Greenpeace criticizes Apple for carbon footprint of iPad cloud

March 31, 2010

Because the iPad will further the growing market for cloud computing, international environmental advocacy group has criticized Apple's newest hardware for having "a much larger carbon footprint than previously estimated."

The new report from Greenpeace issued this week claims that "quintessential cloud computing devices," like Apple's iPad, raise questions about how the Internet is powered. Specifically, the nongovernmental organization said increase demand for online services will also result in a larger demand for "dirty coal power."

"To be clear: We are not picking on Apple," the group said. "We are not dissing the iPad. But maybe someone can come up with an app that calculates the carbon footprint of using different web sites based on their location and energy deals. "Apple is the master of promotion, and while we marvel at the sleek unpolluted design of the iPad, we need to think about where this is all leading and how like all good surfers we can make sure our environment stays clean and green."

The report, entitled "Make IT Green: Cloud Computing and its Contribution to Climate Change," concludes that connected mobile devices like the iPad will increase the use of online services like social networks and video streaming. The report noted that Facebook recently announced the construction of its own data center in Prineville, Oregon that will primarily run on coal.

The report states that data centers and telecommunication networks will consume about 1,963 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in 2020, which is more than triple their current consumption and over half of the total electricity consumption in America. Devices like the iPad, the environmental group suggests, will only add to global warming pollution.

"As the cloud grows, the IT industry's appetite for energy will only increase, so the industry must become strong advocates for renewable energy solutions and strong laws that cut global warming pollution," said Casey Harrell, Greenpeace International campaigner. "IT companies like Microsoft, Google, and IBM are now in powerful positions at the local, national, and international levels to influence policies that will allow them to grow responsibly in a way that will decouple their economic growth from rising greenhouse gas emissions."

When Apple introduced the iPad in January, it touted the environmental checklist for the construction of the new hardware. The company noted that the device is free of arsenic, brominated flame retardant, mercury, polyvinyl chloride, and is highly recyclable.

Greenpeace's attitude toward Apple has improved significantly over the last few years, with the environmental group ranking the Mac maker the greenest electronics maker earlier this year. The praise was quite a change from just a few years ago, when Greenpeace was targeting Apple over the use of toxic chemicals in its products.

Last Year, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs revealed that Greenpeace's actions played a part in his company eventually promoting its green focus in public. He said the company's tight-lipped approach, particularly on public policy issues, hurt its image with environmental organizations. Last September, Apple began reporting its hardware carbon emissions, and touting its environmentally friendly hardware. The Cupertino, Calif., company said less than 5 percent of its emissions come from manufacturing facilities, while more than 95 percent of Apple's greenhouse gases are from use of the products they make.

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Amazon

In the summer of 2000, Amazon was alleged to have offered differing prices to different consumers for the same products on the same day. This is understandable from an effectiveness perspective. Given varying price elasticities among consumers, Amazon might have been trying to make their marketing more effective by offering selective price reductions to more price-sensitive consumers. An outcry ensued when this practice was uncovered (Hill 2003). Because these price reductions were not visible to other consumers, this course of action fails Smith’s (1993, p. 30) “availability of information” test. This is an example of an ethical conflict caused by the tension between the norms promoting marketing effectiveness and consumer autonomy. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. (2008) Marketing with integrity: ethics and the service-dominant logic for marketing

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Positive Brandwashing

Apple cider from Carlson Orchards

Breast-feeding doll shocks Americans

Abercrombie & Fitch

Procter & Gamble

The Iridium Satellite Phone System

Kid Cuisine All Star Chicken Breast Nuggets.

Dora the Explorer Fruit Shapes

Apple Jacks

Nestlé’s Pure Life Purified Water tells the truth

P&G

Facebook

Google Wi-Spy Scandal

H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine Insert Admits It Causes Guillain-Barre Syndrome, Vasculitis, Paralysis, Anaphylactic Shock And Death

Merck’s Vioxx scandal widens: Drug maker knew Vioxx was deadly for years before risk was made public

Zolpidem and weight gain

Ambien (zolpidem) can cause sleep eating

Seroquel

Brandi Law Firm discusses Yaz Birth Control Side Effects and offer to help patients fight for compensation

What They Don’t Want You to Know

Stand Up for Your Safety

O’Connor Hospital’s New Advertising Campaign: “My O’Connor Story”

Dell

Power Balance athletic bands Shaquille O’Neal and Lamar Odom False Advertising Lawsuit Names Celebrity Endorsers as Defendants

Hidden Valley® Dressing and Dips Mixes and Hidden Valley® Bottled Dressing

Hidden Valley® Bottled Products Shelf Life

The Fujiya Expiry Date Scandal

Fujiya Told Factory Not to Indicate Expiry Dates on Puddings

Synlait says it didn’t alter expiry date on milkpowder

Facebook

Mobile app harnesses positive peer pressure to stop your friends smoking

Winners: Those Who Managed Their Carbon Footprints

Zappos An excerpt from the Zappos Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

Wal-Mart

Amazon

Greenpeace criticizes Apple for carbon footprint of iPad cloud

Amazon