1.27.2014

When Social Media is hijacked...

Well now, sometimes social marketing efforts can be very successful, but not quite what you wanted. Witness the Coca Cola effort with Share a Coke on facebook and Twitter. And McDonald's Corp twitter hashtag #CheersToSochi.  Both campaigns have been taken over...



Here is a screen print of the twitter hashtag #CheersTo Sochi

 

And Coke's share a can stunt backfires. See Boing Boing:

Everything from 'Boycott Coke' to 'Puck Futin' - that one is because the web app doesn't allow you to use the words 'Fuck' or 'Putin'. But the English language is a remarkably wonderful and versatile thing - and it's only a matter of time before Coke realizes they've opened the door very wide for a lot of very angry people to reach their foot in and kick 'em hard in the nads. Enjoy it, and share it, while you can." - Word games with the "make your own Coke label" promo 


Want to make your own can? Here's a link to Share a Virtual Coke


It's The Real Thing - Not

Coke and the Russian Olympics. By now you have read of Russian persecution of gays, the LGBTQ communities (Google it).  Coke is the most most identifiable sponsor of the Olympics and to date has refused to speak up on the homophobia in Russia and its association to these Olympic Games.

In 1971 Coke produced an iconic ad. It's the Real Thing, Coke.
AmericaBlog: This video is brilliant and chilling.  Who doesn’t love that Coke commercial from 1971?  It’s so early 70s, and really just a classic in great American advertising.  But part of what made the commercial so great was the warm and fuzzy “we are the world” nature of its message.
Classic Coke supported diversity. New Coke defends the arrest of dissidents, and even assists in the arrests. Oh how a mighty brand has fallen.

  Here it is re-worked...



And then there is Coke's new social media campaign, a campaign that bans the word "GAY" and many associated words.

I did several using 'gay' and they were rejected. I then had to try Queerthoughts.  I was one letter short, but we like it anyway!


Coke Can 

If you click on the link above, you can make your own can and deliver a message to Russian President Putin and Coca-Cola.

From Joe My God 

1.23.2014

Irony as Lyn McLeod receives Order of Ontario as Premier Wynne watches...

Today the Order of Ontario was given to many people here in Toronto.  One of those to receive the honour was Lyn McLeod, former MPP, cabinet minister and leader of the Ontario Liberal party. She was first elected in 1987 and remained in Queen's Park until 2003.

Lyn McLeod, Ontario
Liberal Leader 1992- 1995
In 1990 the Ontario Liberals were in a mess. They lost the election to Bob Rae, they had several interim leaders in the run-up to the 1992 leadership convention. Ms McLeod was one of the favourites, and won the leadership on the fifth ballot by nine votes.

Following her election as Leader the Liberals, lost some by-elections and the party started to flip flop on policy to attract and or keep more rural voters.  One of the policies she jettisoned was Bill 167, same-sex benefits law. Her party had been supportive but suddenly decided to vote against passing this equality bill.  Something I am sure had David Peterson still been leader the party would not have taken. Ms McLeod however had no doubts about it.

The Ontario Liberal party threw the LGBT communities under the bus for hopeful electoral success. (For the record 12 NDP MPPs also voted against the bill.) The electoral success wasn't there. Due to being seen as flip-flopping on issues, the Liberals went from likely to succeed the NDP in 1995 to losing to Mike Harris and the Progressive Conservatives.

Today Ms McLeod received the Order of Ontario. She was the first woman elected leader of an Ontario political party and served as an MPP for many years. Like Kathleen Wynne, she broke through a historic barrier. I can't imagine what it was like today as Premier Wynne looked on as Lyn McLeod received her Order of Ontario. McLeod aspired to be premier. Turns out, somewhat ironically that Ontario's first woman premier Kathleen Wynne is gay, a member of the community that McLeod found politically expendable.

Delicious


1.15.2014

Oklahoma Judge, Jimmy Fallon and Bruce Springsteen - Sometimes America gets it right!


Two items in the news from the US of A grabbed my attention this morning.  One being the Oklahoma Judge's ruling that slam-dunked the arguments of the right and religious, objections to same-sex marriage.  And then it was Bridgegate. The New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie's staff decided to close down several lanes on the world's busiest bridge as retribution for a Democrat not endorsing the Governor! 
First this ruling from Oklahoma Judge on same-sex (gay) marriage...

From: The New Civil Rights Movement: The last thing most people want to do is read a court ruling. They’re tiresome, filled with legal jargon, footnotes, and all sorts of oddities.
So I did.
Yesterday, United States District Judge Terence C. Kern ruled that Oklahoma’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional because it “violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution” — another huge win for marriage equality.
(We should note he stayed his ruling opening appeal, so Oklahoma same-sex couples can’t marry yet.) And Judge Kern took a sledge hammer to every argument the anti-gay and religious right is using to prevent same-ex couples from marrying. Read more here.
Governor Chris Christie’s “Fort Lee, New Jersey traffic jam
And then this! Last night, Bruce Springsteen appeared with Jimmy Fallon to perform a new version of his own “Born to Run” dedicated to Governor Chris Christie’s “Fort Lee, New Jersey traffic jam.”

1.11.2014

Budget accountability

Stephen Harper ran for office to end the corruption and secrecy of the Liberal government. He promised to be open and accountable. He also promised to appoint only elected Senators. We all know how this has turned out.

Stephen Harper, Prime Minister
Open and accountable government has been pushed aside other than talking points which suggest the government is the most open and accountable government in our history.  Lets look at the budget. The budget lays out how the government will raise the money to meet its commitments and how it will spend the money.

Your home budget is fairly straight forward. You have an income source, you have to pay for housing, food, transportation, entertainment and health. Sometimes you need to finance to meet your needs. It could be a mortgage on the house, a car loan, using the credit card or borrow from a friend for unexpected costs or for that special event. As long as you have the same or better level of income, you can make your payments. You know what you can afford to pay.

The federal government is required to do the same. They project the revenue they will raise from us, then tell us how they will spend it.  At least that is the way it use to work. Governments assign money to different envelopes (some of you still do this. Put money in the rent, mortgage or food envelope).  The MP's then vote on the budget after debating each envelope in estimates. The envelopes are bi
g, Health, Indian affairs, Defense, Transportation, etc, you get the idea.

To vote, MPs have to make an informed vote. They need to know where the money will be spent. They can vote to agree, modify or defeat the spending. This no longer happens. Budgets provide very little detail, they are passed purely on partisan positions.
Thomas Mulcair, Opposition Leader

Once the budget is passed in Parliament, the government has authority to raise the money and then spend it. Over the course of the year the government has keep the MPs informed as to how they are doing. That's where things are falling down again. This government often spends money in areas that were not approved. Most of us recall the money approved for border security to fund projects in the Treasury Board President's (Tony Clement) riding.

We only find out how money was spent after the fact, even misappropriated spending. MPs have lost the most important power they once held, the purse strings. It's one thing to have a majority governments MPs support a budget, its another for those MPs to turn their backs on the governments failure to show us exactly where the money is going and how much was spent.

The current government, encouraged by the trend of previous governments, has absolved itself of being accountable.