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Showing posts from May, 2009

Family Hires PR Firm in Legal Battle Against Hammer Attacker

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After Pittsburgh teenager Sarah Deluliis was allegedly attacked by her ex-boyfriend, 17 year-old Robertino DeAngelis, the girl's family hoped that DeAngelis would receive the appropriate punishment for his crime. Instead, he would be tried in juvenile court  and charged with attempted homicide after beating Deluliis over the head with a hammer. The family made several appeals to the office of the district attorney but were repeatedly denied. Desperate, the family turned to Forge Communications in order to have their voice heard. The family explained, " We're desperate. The juvenile system is not equipped to deal with such a violent act... I'm just a mom of a young daughter that we're trying to protect. If this alleged violent predator is released into our community once more, we believe we are all at risk."  The PR firm has since set up a Facebook group, a Twitter page , and a Website callled "Adult time for Adult Crime" in order to gain s...

Pets Officially Take Over Twitter!

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User @sockington (Jason's cat) is taking the twitterverse by storm with 514,199 followers while only following 381 himself (how pretentious!) Here's recent tweet by the friendly feline turned social-networking guru: "GAHH DISAPPOINTMENT thought I caught a rat TURNED OUT TO BE A SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERT not tasty at all SORRY LITTLE GUY easy confu " @Sockington has made the huge jump in followers in just 3 short months according to Twitter counter: So what does this mean for us dedicated Tweeps? Are we being left in the dust to people's pets!? There's even a site dedicated to pets on twitter: http://thepetfeed.com/ Forget #followfriday tags that made you feel like your thoughtful 140 character tweets really meant something special, #meowmonday is the new thing! I guess I should head to the local animal shelter and pick out a social media savvy cat or dog to help me boost my social networking skills.

Apple Fires Back at Microsoft's "Laptop Hunter" Ads with Megan

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For awhile Microsoft's "Laptop Hunter" ads were taking the cake against Apple, showing people who choose PCs over Macs. Finally, Apple has made a comeback directly responding to the Microsoft "Laptop Hunter" ads with their latest ad "Elimination" featuring Megan, a girl looking for her dream computer. In the latest ad, Megan describes her specifications to the Microsoft and Apple guys. One by one, the Microsoft team leaves as they fail to meet her requirements. As if we didn't see it coming, Megan is left with a Mac as the perfect computer for her. While some of the claims made against Microsoft are not entirely accurate, one claim that defintiely shines is that PCs with Windows are not protected from malware as well as Apple Macs are. Checkout the ad after the jump. applead from Gizmodo on Vimeo .

If FDA Says Cheerios is a Drug then I must be an Addict

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The FDA is going after General Mills for claiming that Cheerios is "clinically proven to lower cholesterol" without getting approved as a new drug. In a letter to General Mills, the FDA says that the labeling on the Cheerios boxes is "in serious violation" of federal rules and that Cheerios, " may not be legally marketed with the above claims in the United States without an approved new drug application." The letter further states, "Based on claims made on your product’s label, we have determined that your Cheerios® Toasted Whole Grain Oat Cereal is promoted for conditions that cause it to be a drug because the product is intended for use in the prevention, mitigation, and treatment of disease." The Cheerios box states the following : "Did you know that in just 6 weeks Cheerios can reduce bad cholesterol by an average of 4 percent? Cheerios is the only leading cold cereal clinically proven to lower cholesterol. A clinical study showed that ...

KFC and Oprah's Coupon Offer Ignites Outrage!

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Oprah teamed up with KFC to give out "free KFC meal" coupons to everyone in the U.S good now until May 19th but excluding Mother's Day available here . The free meal includes two pieces of newest menu item, Kentucky Grilled Chicken, two sides and a biscuit. KFC is already extremely popular in the U.S., and Oprah has millions of viewers, so why didn't KFC forecast what would happen next?... Kentucky Fried Chicken has endured quite a lot of negative press over the years, especially by animal rights organizations such as PETA who are always protesting in front of KFC restaurants. KFC has also been hit hard by the latest attacks on the fast food industry. To improve their image and attract new customers, KFC has started to offer healthier menu items. The Kentucky Grilled Chicken was definitely a smart move, as its lower in all things unhealthy (sodium, fat, calories, sugar, etc) . The company says, “Kentucky Grilled Chicken has fewer calories, fewer fat grams and less so...

McDonald's Video Tour of Lopez Foods Causes Mixed Feelings

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Recent debate has brewed over whether or not McDonald's video tour of one of their meat processing factories is strong PR tactic or just further hurting their image. McDonald's posted a video on their official website which gives viewers a tour of one of their meat processing factories, Lopez Farms. The video is aimed at showing the quality, and safety of McDonald's meat. Richard Lane, V.P. of Operations at Lopez Foods leads the tour of the factory, assuring viewers of their sanitation and safety procedures. Surprisingly, I am initially impressed by the tour, as I see how thorough they are with their sanitation and quality assurance procedures. Lane explains that the Mc Donald's beef is 100% USDA inspected beef with no fillers or extenders. I appreciated seeing the step by step process of producing McDonald's beef patties. However, there are a few shots that are giving me mixed feelings about the video/the franchise: -In one shot where the beef is put through a g...

"Swine Flu" Causes Public Relations Crisis for Pork Industry

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The Swine Flu has given pork a bad wrap and consequently hurt the U.S. pork industry. The United States pork industry produces over $21 billion in personal income while adding $34.5 billion to the U.S. gross national product. The National Producers Council noted that the pork industry supplies nearly 35,000 direct full-time jobs which producers 500,000 additional jobs. Clearly, the pork industry not only produces a LOT of pork, it also creates a substantial amount of jobs. So why isn't the industry backing themselves up enough when they are accused for being the cause for the swine flu? The truth, (which most people are unaware of right now) is that the U.S. Center for Disease Control has reported that pork products are safe to consume. To get straight to the point, consuming pork products is not going to give you the swine flu! The CDC has reported the following on its official website: "Swine influenza viruses are not transmitted by food. You cannot get swine influenza fr...