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Writing for Money on the Interwebs

A while back, a girlfriend of mine forced me to watch a chick flick that she felt I would find inspiring. It was called The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio.

Now, I think Julianne Moore is a good actress (and I have a thing for redheads) so this didn't take that much arm-twisting. And it wasn't an altogether bad movie. But what I remember most, rather than actual plot or characters, is the idea that people used to be able to make money writing jingles and entering them in national contests.

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The Protein Water Scam: Kellog's Special K2O Can Do Anything!

According to a recent ad for Kellog's Special K2O protein water: "Losing up to 6 lbs in 2 weeks just got easier!"

This extraordinary claim caught the attention of the consumer advocates at Mouseprint.com. They point us to the fine print at the bottom of the ad:

*Average weight loss when replacing meals with two cereal meals is 5 pounds. Weight loss may vary.

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5 people you never heard of who rocked your world

The Alchemists is a film about five people who transformed our culture by convincing us to adopt corporate slogans as a way of life. Consider:

• Dan Wieden who, inspired by the last words of executed murderer Gary Gilmore, came up with the little phrase "Just Do It" and revolutionized advertising forever;

• Lee Clow, who created the most-famous commercial in history by introducing Macintosh computers in "1984";

• George Lois who single-handedly saved MTV from extinction with his trademark in-your-face celebrity campaign, "I WANT MY MTV!"

• Phyllis K. Robinson who helped define the entire "me generation" with her liberating spin on selling Clairol ("It let's me be me.");

• Hal Riney who got President Reagan re-elected.

According to the film's sponsors, this film is "not an analysis of the perils of consumerism and thought-control" but rather a documentary about "creative rebellion, and how all-powerful art springs forth from deeply personal, psychological sources and the need for change."

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