Buzz Advertising: An Assault on Peers and Privacy?

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With a generation jaded by a deluge of pitches in print, radio, TV, and the Internet, "buzz advertising" is just one of several new approaches to corporate marketing. The upscale product placement spreads like a virus, using trendsetters and peers to sell items without even telling you. Another futuristic technique will trace one's location zap a cell phone sales pitch for the store the consumer happens to be passing. Is it all just slightly subversive? We take a look at creative nontraditional approaches that advertisers are developing, with marketing consultants and advertising critics. Newsmaker: Arafat and Hamas Discuss Joint Rule - Yasser Arafat has reportedly drafted a power-sharing agreement with the fundamentalist group behind the latest wave of suicide bombings in Israel. The Boston Globe's Dan Ephron says the move may re-ignite the Palestinian leader's standing and give credence to Hamas, but is also certain to constrict Arafat's ability to negotiate with Israel. Reporter's Notebook: Website Wilderness and the Hoaxer Behind the Hoax In Sunday's edition of "Doonesbury," President Bush is puzzled and angered by a survey showing he has the lowest IQ of any recent President. Today, the comic strip's creator Gary Trudeau acknowledged that the information was part of an Internet hoax. Paul Boutin, of Wired magazine, fills us in on this and other urban legends.
With a generation jaded by a deluge of pitches in print, radio, TV, and the Internet, "buzz advertising" is just one of several new approaches to corporate marketing. The upscale product placement spreads like a virus, using trendsetters and peers to sell items without even telling you. Another futuristic technique will trace one's location zap a cell phone sales pitch for the store the consumer happens to be passing. Is it all just slightly subversive? We take a look at creative nontraditional approaches that advertisers are developing, with marketing consultants and advertising critics.
  • Newsmaker: Arafat and Hamas Discuss Joint Rule - Yasser Arafat has reportedly drafted a power-sharing agreement with the fundamentalist group behind the latest wave of suicide bombings in Israel. The Boston Globe's Dan Ephron says the move may re-ignite the Palestinian leader's standing and give credence to Hamas, but is also certain to constrict Arafat's ability to negotiate with Israel.
  • Reporter's Notebook: Website Wilderness and the Hoaxer Behind the Hoax In Sunday's edition of "Doonesbury," President Bush is puzzled and angered by a survey showing he has the lowest IQ of any recent President. Today, the comic strip's creator Gary Trudeau acknowledged that the information was part of an Internet hoax. Paul Boutin, of Wired magazine, fills us in on this and other urban legends.

The Boston Globe

Palestinian National Authority

ADD Marketing

Center for Democracy & Technology

Permission Marketing

The Sponsored Life: Ads, TV and American Culture

Wharton School

Wireless Advertising Association

Gary Trudeau / "Doonesbury"

Wired

Credits

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Warren Olney