Hot Humid and Hairy

+ NYTimes looks at how Tagament takes an edgier approach to marketing heartburn treatments to a younger audience, with a campaign for Tagamet HB 200. The campaign demonstrates a desire by the OTC companies to balance addressing serious medical conditions with persuit of a desired lifestyle. "In this case, the lifestyle is youthful hedonism. The Tagamet campaign suggests shifting the focus of heartburn medications from treating unintentional excess - for years, Alka-Seltzer thrived with the slogan "I can't believe I ate the whole thing" - to providing a prophylactic for customers whose excess is very intentional indeed. Since last week, bar patrons in the Buckhead area of Atlanta have found such encouragement on coasters and pint glasses. Staring out seductively from these items are women wearing little black dresses or tight-fitting shirts. "Did you bring protection?" or "Don't forget your protection,'' the copy reads. Pictured nearby is a mound of buffalo wings, or a pizza with plenty of toppings."

+ Coke ad, "Buddies" gets pulled off air. "The advert features two friends taking a break from a basketball game. One of the friends takes two cans of Coke out of a fridge, drinks one of them and uses the other to cool down by applying it to his forehead, neck, stomach and then armpit. He then hands the can to his friend, who is unaware of where the can has been. The advert was intended to run during the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament, but was aired during a golf tournament, whose TV audience included Donald Keough, a director and former president at the company. According to The Wall Street Journal Europe, Keogh complained about the ad to current president Steven Heyer. Other Coca-Cola executives and at least a few consumers also complained, according to the company." You can view the ad at Coke's site - click on the ad titled "Buddies". I don't see what the hoopla is all about. It's not like the guy spits on the can, puts feces on it or something else totally disgusting. People need to calm down and chill out.