Thank you to the following companies and corporations who have placed advertising on this blog (if I have not acknowledged your ad, I apologize; I operate from a public facility and do not get to update my blog as often as I’d like, and so may not have noticed it. Also, I believe some of the contributors of advertising to this site do so via a consolidator and may not even realize that their ads have appeared here):
Ad Council, The: In the beginning, the advertising industry decided to form a council for the purpose of creating free public service announcements (PSA’s) — messages promoting public service organizations — for the betterment of society, and at no-cost to the organizations promoted, as a kind of industry “tithe.” So, I hope that the people who declare commercialism an all-encompassing agent of bad faith will reconsider the impact for the good that the ad industry has had in society. Recent of their ads include: discovertheforest.org and smokeybear.com (Get Your Smokey On!).
Adobe (Marketing Cloud): Several Adobe ads are running throughout the blog at this time, but the “BS Detector” commercial is “spot-on” (ha-ha) in getting to show how annoying all that mumbo-jumbo-lingo talk really is (it really gets to me, too). One of the people in the ads (and I won’t tell you who) looks like that “old boyfriend” I mention (see Chrysler, below). Anyhoo, Adobe is cool; wish I could do Photoshop. Maybe one day, when I have my own home, and own my own computer….
Aer Lingus: Established in 1936 and based out of Ireland, per Wikipedia, Aer Lingus was the second European airline to hire female pilots (one giant yee-hah for womankind!). According to its own website, they have partnered with Etihad Airways, an Abu Dhabi-based airline, to offer service to the Middle East. Three elements of terror exist in this scenario: the histories of the Muslim countries, the histories of the Irish countries, and airplanes! Maybe Aer Lingus could’ve chosen better partners like El Al or Arkia, airlines with better track records in helping to defeat terrorism (such as dodging anti-aircraft missiles lobbed at them from Mombassa, Kenya, etc….). Aer Lingus has gone ahead and made it easy to book flights around the Middle East in just one transaction via their airlines, and in February 2009 opened Terminal 3 at Abu Dhabi airport to serve as an exclusive facility for their passengers. The whole thing is a big turn-off to me, including the combo tail insignias of the Shamrock and the Arab Eagle thing (see codeshare partners at their website). Reminds me of Lockerbie, Scotland… Well, maybe they’ll improve…
AIU/American Intercontinental University: I don’t know much about this university, but it’s offerings seem like they are trying to provide a good service to the public.
Alexia: Oh, yeah…These are good…(potatoes).
alz.org: the Alzheimer’s Association.
AT&T: Broadband and unlimited nationwide voice. You’ve got to hand it to them for being a telecom giant, but I’ve kindof always considered them to be overpriced.
Audi: One weird ad, but a many-times winner for a safe car.
AutoTrader.com: Big name. Recycle your car here!
Beam Global: Makers of Maker’s Mark, which I reported on previously, they offer an interesting collection of liquor products. I don’t believe any of them are Kosher. But, they are Kentuckian! Some are also Hecho en Mexico (Made in Mexico), including Sauza Tequila. If you’re interested (and if you’re “of age”), check out their website to learn about their different brands.
Best Buy: Once you were my favorite electronics retailer. But, since you decided to support the Palestinian cause (the self-same folks who assert they’ll wipe me and my kind off the face of the planet), I do declare that you no longer have an iota of worthiness in my eyes until you publicly denounce your actions and are remorseful. And, yes; I even did call for a boycott.
Boeing: Running several ads, Boeing focuses on greening their technologies, whether for the UAV or in developing biojetfuel. Introducing the all-new 747 upgraded plane (the 747-8) is Grace Balut Ostrum. There is another Ostrom, who, while his last name is spelled with a small difference, was also involved with airplanes — Allen Ostrom, tail gunner of a B-17 (“Flying Fortress”) in the 603rd Squadron of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, 398th Bombardment Group-Heavy. He also edited the 398th newsletter, FLAK NEWS. Just one man, among many, of the Greatest Generation…
Canon: Celebrating creativity and inspiration with Project Imagination, a Film Festival with Director Ron Howard and others included. Another case of thinking unremittingly about something that pops into my mind and stays there for days on end, Canon was one of them recently and strangely enough….
CheapCarInsuranceTrick.com: Ubiquitous!
Chrysler: Town and Country Model. A note to Chrysler: You have a long way to go! Once upon a time, I had to battle one of your reps in court for an ex-boyfriend, who had purchased a car which turned out to be a lemon. Well, we won in court. You also have had problems with selling your products, being cash-strapped, and out-of-touch with the car-buying public. What’s up with you? We want American-made products, and ones we can be proud of! We want workers who will be paid a living wage! We want good products not outsourced overseas! We are going through economic down-times. Can many people afford this vehicle? I don’t even have a car, myself, because I have no work and can’t afford the costs involved: payments, insurance, maintenance and gas! Chrysler, get with it! Make products we can admire and that are affordable! I don’t think these recent ad campaigns are gonna cut it — sorry……. Update: One good thing that they HAVE done is added the option to install Boston Acoustics audio. That is a really good thing! I once went with a friend to an audio store in Be’er Sheva, Israel, to listen to some speakers, and we both agreed that the Boston Acoustics had the best sound of the ones featured! Update: Disclaimer: My family used to own a couple of Chrysler cars.
Clinton Foundation: Former President Bill Clinton’s organization. I was so surprised to see him on my site, I couldn’t imagine the connection he could feel to a Jewish girl’s website featuring poetry, etc…..?????
Coca-Cola: Vote for Coke! The Coke Chase commercial is really cute, even without audio. I vote for the showgirls, but I bet the Arab with the camel in the desert wouldn’t mind a Coke, even at the expense of benefitting from commercial, American products!
dts.com: DTS Neural Surround is a high-definition, multi-channel, audio and enhancement capability mandatory on Blu-Ray Disc(TM). They provide the sound broadcast during the 50th anniversary concert for the Rolling Stones, one of my all-time favorite rock-n-roll (English-language) bands. Yay!!!
DirecTv: Who’s got the best advertisers in the land? I do, I do. DirecTv is awesome. I used to watch some of my favorite shows on it, including the NatGeo channel; History International, featuring one of my all-time favorite tv shows of all time, The Naked Archaeologist; and one of my former favorite series, Sleeper Cell.
Disney Cruise Line: Once upon a time, in a childhood long, long ago, I loved Disney and all it stood for. However, when the Saudis bought a giant share, and started taking over, it really began to go downhill. At the apex of it’s highest revenue earnings, the Christian groups started attacking Jews in business, and this meant that Disney’s share-generator had to go. Shareholders never recovered after the ouster of it’s CEO (or whatever his title was), and replacing him with Roy Disney was a big mistake (sorry about the familial dissing, but it’s true…). So, boo to Disney.
Clorox: Greenworks – A good product adding green stuff to their arsenal is okay by me…
Dodge: Dart Model. Looks really cute and they’re promoting the heck out of it, which is really what they need to do to succeed. Perhaps they’re at last listening to the American people, instead of sucking up bucks and padding their pockets. Or: see Chrysler, above.
Frito-Lay: A part of the PepsiCo (Pepsi Company) brand, of which Pepsi is one of the many lines. As I get older, it becomes harder to remember past slights and blatant anti-Semitism from some of the companies that have helped to perpetrate it. All of the cola companies have been embattled in it, from Pepsi, to Coca-Cola, to R.C. (Royal Crown) Cola. What spurred it was the Arab boycotting of Jewish and Israeli products, and the Arab insistence on not allowing companies who wished to pursue business with the Arab countries to do so if they were already doing business with Israel — thereby causing many companies to boycott Israel in order to secure business from the more populous economies of the Arab countries. Some of the effects linger on today, even with myself — Although I prefer the taste of Pepsi, I drink more of the Coca-Cola products, as do so many of the Jewish people today. I seem to have in my head that Royal Crown Cola somehow had totally to do with Saudi Arabia, but these are hazy “recollections,” if at all, in my mind, and this entry is not about cola products, but about potato chips — Ruffles, by Frito-Lay/PepsiCo, to be more precise. And I am happy to report, having known this for many years as well, that many of the Frito-Lay panoply of products have been certified Kosher; some by the OU, and others by the occasionally considered controversial, Triangle K. Additionally, I learned that they make many other products I love and buy, including Sabra hummus. Many OU products are in their lineup, and I thank them for doing so for many of their products. If you look at their website, you will see that they have a very interesting list of relevant food guidelines and dietary considerations they are attenuated to.
Givology: Cute name. I have not checked out their site, and so I do not make any claims of endorsement for any of these advertisers. This site is for donating to children’s funds.
HP (Hewlett Packard) Envy 23 Touchsmart: Wow…touch-screen technology for the home…Too cool!
HTC Windows Phone 8X: Is this the latest/greatest? Check it out!!!
iLivid/iMesh: Don’t know what these do, but thanks for advertising…
Insurance.Comparisons.org: Their ad is keyed to the state. Neat!
jcp: JC Penney has revamped its fashion-forwardness. What was once fuddy-duddy, is now lookable. So — Good To Go There, JC Penney.
Jarritos: (Muchas Gracias a Uds.).
Kimberly Clark Worldwide: Poise (Thank you for your poise and good taste in contributing to the democratic ideals of free speech via this blog).
LaCoste: One of the old-time originals…
Lego(R) Hero Factory: Seems they have a bunch of these new lovable lunks. Who knew? Update: Some websites have listed how the Lego company came up with their name; in Denmark, they say “Leg Godt,” which means “play well;” and in Latin, “Lego” supposedly means “I study,” or “I put together.” Interesting!
Levi’s: Long-time best brand denim. Many styles, but they always seem to keep getting rid of my favorite ones, causing me to have to find other brands. Levi’s, esentially, invented “jeans,” “dungarees,” “denim.” Jewish jeans — love ’em! Update: Disclaimer: I used to work in a factory ticketing Levi’s jeans for a third-party vendor which sold Levi’s jeans.
littergenie.com: A cool contraption for cat litter! This just also happens to be one of the coolest commercials I’ve ever seen. If you love stop-motion animation and cool special effects, this commercial proves itself Addy-worthy — I looooovvve it!
Lowe’s/Levelor: Lowe’s Home Improvement and Levolor blinds in a co-op ad. Two great companies putting good products to use.
Lumosity: Brain-training fun for the health of it. I really ought to use this site…
McDonalds: (I am Lovin’ It! – Thanks for advertising on my site! So cool! Oh, and by the way, you ARE my favorite of the other fast-food hamburger places out there!) Extra love: the Peppermint Mocha Latte is super-delicioso. Super peace: McDonalds has a Kosher location in Israel — you can see both Arab and Jewish families shmai-ing around the malls and treating their families to the goodies (like McDonalds) in the food court (sometimes even Kosher Domino’s pizza!!! Woo-hooooo – you go corporate franchise expanders! Thank you for kashering your products!).
McDonald’s (more): They’re continuing to advertise, which makes me happy. A few of my favorite foods of theirs includes: the Big Mac and the best french fries in the whole, wide world. They’re re-introducing McCafe, and they now have the cutest little computer-generated animation ad feauturing adorable little prehistoric-type fairy-colored dinosaur-looking animals. Somehow this got keyed into my What Animals Tell Me book review! I wish they’d bring back the: bun seed sesame a on onions pickles cheese lettuce sauce special patties beef all two commercial (I used to practice saying this backwards)!
Maker’s Mark: Bourbon/Whiskey (tho’ they’re spelling it “Whisky”). The nice computer-animated graphics, and the Maker’s Mark Bourbon Ball recipe provided, are two great holiday gifts to this web site. Enjoy them responsibly.
Mercedes CLA: Well, again…I don’t particularly have a warm and fuzzy predisposition to things German, so, I’m gonna take a pass on this one…
Microsoft (Windows Phone): Hey, I think Microsoft is a good corporation. I’m happy for Bill Gates that he has found a wonderful wife in Melinda, and that the two have weathered the spurious attacks against their technologies. I always felt that those attacks were rather unfair in targetting them for becoming a monopoly. I understand that our society wants to give fair advantages to small business by limiting just how wide a playing field one company can expand, yet the whole purpose of free-market enterprise and the whole U.S. dream is to allow one to become as successful as the market will support. But, when you’re the one being targetted, I suppose it can be frustrating to see many others who get away with the same thing – right? Additionally, Bill and Melinda Gates have set up a foundation to do good work in the world. I think they’re “Good Guys.”
Mini Cooper: Any car that’s a Cooper has got to be a good one! (The large version: the “Cooper, Super-Duper”.) Update: I’ve learned that BMW was a part of this (which, see: my thoughts on things German, above).
MioFit (with electrolytes): If I would just learn to capitalize on my ideas a lot earlier, I would have been a gazillionaire by now! Yes, this was basically one of them, when I was poor and diluted juice to a few drops per gallon of water! Needless to say, I haven’t followed through on some of my good ideas, and I’m still poor! How, do I know I have good ideas? Because this company has pursued this good idea!
Naked Juice: Good, yummy juice…Essential for the body…Takes care of so many ills…Thanks for being a part of my web blog!
Nintendo: If I said I can remember when Pong by Atari came out, would you hold that against me? I was a real killer at that Pong game, but then Pac Man came out and just left me in the dust! Now the gaming systems are in-home, with incredible graphics that practically represent real-life scenarios! Nintendo was the next big thing, after all these. And now, there’s the wii version in the Nintendo system, adding interactive, body-recognizing components that were missing from v. 1.0 models of all games gone before. As the Nintendo ad broke out on my blog, I had to learn, with sadness, that the president of Nintendo, Hiroshi Yamauchi, also a major stakeholder in the Seattle Mariners baseball team, had passed away on September 19th.
This is a sad day in the game world, and condolences to the Yamauchi family, to Nintendo, to Japan, and to all, I send.
Nokia (Lumia 920 Phone): In tandem with Windows Phone (see above), the company still garners a good share of the newbie playing field out there.
Nordstrom: Celebrating love and togetherness with a video vignette about a man and a woman sharing their love, their life, and their baby-to-be together…
Norton by Symantec: Maker of computer virus protection software, continually updated to the latest known standards. One of the gold standards of the industry.
opinion-central: Thank you for your ad. If readers would like to participate (and who wouldn’t?) in some surveys (we love to have our voices heard), give this site a try…
Philadelphia Cream Cheese: Cool CG commercial. Also, they are pairing up with Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign, which will donate $1.00 (up to $50,000.00) to help eradicate hunger here in the U.S.
Prudential: Placing their ads to promote the hiring of veterans via VETalent. This is a very nice thing for this company to do. Disclaimer: I have worked for at least two companies which have retained Prudential as a client.
Publix Supermarkets: I think this is mostly a southern-based supermarket chain. Their holiday ad featuring a little girl who wants to make cookies for her Grandpa, in which it might be vaguely implied that she’s making them for “Santa,” just melts my heart. I love this commercial! I intended to add it to my good ads/bad ads post, but the ad was posted before I could even get to it. Disclaimer: I know some people that work for this organization.
Red Bull: Still going strong! (Ha-Ha!)
redcross.org: Really??? (PS – They are really on an advertising blitz as of late; perhaps my razzing about them has had an impact…).
Red Laser: Neat ad. (Can you imagine Red Bulls (see above) with Red Lasers?).
Silk (Pure Almond): Almond milk. A good alternative for the lactose-intolerant, and it also just happens to be a very good product! I’ve had it before, and it’s very good! I appreciate sooooo much that they’re advertising with me!
Sprint: showcasing the Samsung Galaxy S III (check out this great deal!!!! Hurry while promotional offer lasts! Good ideas for the holidays!).
Taco Bell: Good Mex-American fast-food at an awesome price point! I love Taco Bell (hey, isn’t that their ad slogan?)!
Tide: Not sure, off-hand, who makes this clothing detergent, so it’s going into it’s own listing. Their Miracle Stain ad with Joe Montana (featured as the “miracle stain”) is really pretty funny, even watching silently from a library computer without using headphones.
Toyota: Pairing up with the New York Food Bank, Toyota is helping to stave off hunger in the U.S. Toyota has always made great cars — economical and well-driving. Update: Disclaimer: Our family has owned several Toyota vehicles previously.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs(VA)/MakeTheConnection.net: I hope that the V.A. is as serious in overhauling their old systems and attitudes regarding the medical/physical/emotional wellbeing of our troops as much as they consistently claim to. I did hear good things about them renovating the Walter Reed Medical Center and other older facilities to get rid of mold problems, etc. Certainly, the people who serve and protect our country and our way of life both in the United States and abroad deserve the finest care we can provide for them, and not to treat them like experimental guinea pigs, unwanted cast-offs of society, or dangerous criminals because they know how to properly handle weaponry. The V.A., as before, offers continuing services, but this time the spin seems like it is really for the good this time. Let’s hope it’s for real. And because of the importance of this endeavor, and the difficulties inherent in snaking your way through a bureaucratic mess of discombobulated protocols, the V.A. has now compiled this MakeTheConnection.net site to help consolidate the needed resources vets can find to assist them in many ways. Here is their veterans crisis line, if you need to contact them and feel you are at your wit’s end in getting in touch with someone who can lend a helping hand to you: 1-800-273-8255/Press 1. I thank the veterans for serving our country, and I thank our country for serving us. Update: Disclaimer: Our extended family has several veterans within it.
universityofphoenix.edu: Probably the first online university for college credit, University of Phoenix and other such online schools have become credible alternative providers of classes and degrees for time- and cash-strapped individuals. Update: University of Phoenix has provided five scholarships to the 2013 Miss America scholarship program. Brains and Beauty are a winning combination!
VH1: New shows and line-ups coming out and looking cool (I think I’m beginning to overuse the word ‘cool’ in this blog…). I’m flattered and humbled that the great VH1, the second video channel to come out after MTV (I think… somebody fact-check that, please…), is here in my blog! Too wow!
VW.com: I always have a hard time with products from Germany or the products produced by Anti-Semitic American companies. Even hearing a German accent makes my skin crawl at times — I can’t help it. Being Jewish and dealing with the memories of my ancestors makes it sometimes difficult for me to get beyond the fact that this is present-day times. I’ve dealt with anti-Semitic German tourists to Israel, and they’re still a nasty bunch. One German person, who was a nice person, was bitten by a scorpion after I had asked him to help me clean up a volunteer area… I feel bad about that.
Verizon: showcasing Intuition by LG (What will they think of next? Does almost everything but your laundry! Nice gift for that someone special…).
Virgin Mobile: One cool ad for a cool phone company.
XBox 360: Preorder Gears of War now. XBox is such a versatile gaming system; it does so much more than just games, doesn’t it?
News Notes 1 