HEALTH .com

I know that when the winter flue comes to pay us visit soon we are all going to be desperately pounding on the computer in search of a cure for that annoying cough.

We are presented with direct to consumer persciption medication advertisements on a daily basis. Whether it is for men over 50 or teenagers with severe acne, advertising brings an array of pharmaceuticals products to our attention daily, what do we do with this information?

People are taking charge of their health, today consumers more than ever before are being more inquisitive regarding their health and getting answers.

An ABOUT.COM survey has found that 68% of people find information online because it makes them feel better informed and give them a place for discussion with their doctors. 47% of people find online information about alternative treatments, 26% uses ads in their search to help them find this information. In the survey when asked to identify the kind of information seeking they participate in, 58% answered that it is about side affects of drugs and 38% cited to have participated in free trails.

The effect of advertising on the drugstore supermarket has connected the consumer with the seller by providing a link to the information we need to know, want to know and wish we would have known.

US ARMY ADV

This coming week 4 agencies will be pitching to get the honourable job of promoting the US ARMY. The Army Requested Traditional, digital, direct marketing, promotions and events and the biggy for me, Multi-cultural advertising.

This gives me mixed emotions when I think about the "old days" and how in a Jim Crow nation men from other races and cultures were segregated in the Army.Then I blink for one second and realize that the current situation with the "Don't ask Don't tell" policy debates, puts the freedom of the very people who sacrifice their lives for the freedom of others, in a very small box of that is highly judgemental.

I understand that there are homophobic people in all walks of life, and the judgement can be especially sharp in an exclusive group like the military who is constantly under public criticism. what I don't understand is how we can accuse someone of Homosexual conduct as if it is a crime and worst of all take their job from them. This to me seems very paradoxical in a country where GLBT rights are so furiously fought for and equality is engraved into almost every walk of life.

I cannot wait for the day the Military open their eyes and realize that gay service men and women leave things behind too. They have families and people who love and accept who they are and most important the life of a gay service man or woman is just as valuable as the soldiers fighting next to them.

SO while the army is changing their advertising, I hope they find that they can recruit people from all cultures and ethnicity's and sexual orientation, because in the end it is all about protecting your country and In an ever changing political climate let's hope that all men and women can serve their country regardless of who they sleep with.

Wallmart in Africa

I was very excited to hear that Wall Mart is stretching their super muscles to the 3rd world. Maybe their influence in Africa can be a positive one and boost the economy for those countries who desperately need it. In South Africa we have a chain similar to SAM'S CLUB called MAKRO. When My parents recently came to visit the States they flipped out about Wall Mart's variety and low cost products. My dad still can't stop talking about how 24 cans of coke only cost $5! I truly believe that Wall Mart will triumph the poverty in those countries, they can bring products to the people that has never before had the pleasure of consuming anything but Salvation Army food packs.

Their head office will be in South Africa.