oDepend Attempts To Get Sexy With New Ad Pitch Aimed At The Younger Setw

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  (Depend)

  
  
  
  Lest you think wearing Depend undergarments is something the older folks do, the company has set out on a mission to spread what it calls “Underwareness” with a new ad campaign showing younger people, especially women, wearing the the protective skivvies.
  

  In the newest effort as part of the Underawareness campaign, which launched last year, Kimberly-Clark Corp’s Depend has a bunch of younger women strutting around without pants on to showcase the brand’s new Silhouette Active Fit, reports AdAge, as seen in ads launching next week.

  
  

  The campaign seeks to show that adult incontinence is widespread, and can effect people of all ages.

  
  

  “It’s a recognition that many women with bladder leakage worry that people can tell,” said Liz Metz, brand director of Depend, adding that the ads are “recognition that one in three women deal with this issue, and they come in all shapes and sizes.”

  
  

  Depend is shaping up in preparation to face competition from Procter & Gamble, which launched Always Discreet incontinence products last summer after previously ditching its Attend line. It now has a 9% share of the U.S. market, according to the VP of North American baby, feminine and adult care for P&G.

  
  

  Along with young people strolling around in their Depend underoos, the brand also has celebrity stylist/Queer Eye for the Straight Guy personality Carson Kressley as a PR and social media pitchman to help appeal to the fashion-conscious out there dealing with bladder control issues.

  
  

  Depend Tries on a Sexy Look to Compete in a Hot Category [AdAge]

  
  


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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

oYou Can Give Ancestry.com Your Saliva And $99 To Find Out Details About Your Ancestors’ Livesw

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  Ancestry.com

  
  
  
  Spit, something our bodies readily produce for free, can be very valuable. It can mean the difference between prison and freedom, and between being related to Wild Bill Hickok versus Buffalo Bill. In an effort to cater to dedicated genealogists, Ancestery.com is introducing a new service that promises to provide detailed information about consumers ancestors as well as connections to other living relatives, for the price of some saliva and $99.
  

  Ancestor Discoveries will provide about 30% of consumers with information about relatives from the past and present, including details about the ancestors’ daily lives, as well as alert them to other people alive who’re related to them, reports USA Today.

  
  

  “It’s the biggest leap forward for us yet, leveraging nearly a million DNA profiles we already have in our system,” says Ancestry.com CEO Tim Sullivan.

  
  

  He says the company sees two markets for the service — those who are already into genealogy and then others who just want to know who they are. People simply spit in a tube and send it back to the company for results, which arrive in about 6-8 weeks, the company says.

  
  

  “Family history is never really done. With every generation you go back, you have that much more context for your own story.”

  
  

  Its previous DNA kit, which also goes for $99, broke down an individual by ethnicity and provided a network of possible relatives, but this sounds like it’ll be more in-depth.

  
  

  Eventually, Sullivan thinks health disclosures through DNA testing will be something the company offers, pending Food and Drug Administration approval. There will likely be privacy concerns involved with sharing medical information, however, so that still needs to get worked out.

  
  

  “The FDA will have a lot to say about how you can communicate health discoveries to users, and of course you’ll also just be able to opt out,” he says, pointing out that there are positives for people who might want to learn about potential issues before they happen.

  
  

  Ancestry.com uses spit to find your long-lost relatives [USA Today]

  
  


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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

oVideo Captures Lightning Striking Two Planes Approaching Seattle Airport During Stormw

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  They say lightning never strikes twice — but one observant onlooker did catch two separate lightning strikes hitting planes approaching Seattle’s Sea-Tac Airport as they were landing. Both flights landed without incident, though those onboard say the moment the lightning hit the planes was a rough, albeit very brief experience.

  
  

  A University of Washington student was outside trying to catch lightning on film while a thunderstorm moved into the area, reports KOMO News. He managed to capture two huge bolts of lightning as they moved through the planes.

  
  

  “I was stunned for a second because I couldn’t believe what I just saw,” he said. “After the second (plane) got hit, I knew I was on to something spectacular!”

  
  

  One plane was an Alaska Air flight coming in from Orange County, while the other was another Alaska Air plane heading in from Houston.

  
  

  A passenger on the latter flight said she was sitting in the ninth row on the right side of the plane when the bolt hit.

  
  

  “We were flying in and out of clouds, sunshine then darkness, sunshine then darkness,” she said. “I was looking out the window when I saw this bright flash and this streak of lightning hit the top-middle of the right wing near the engine.”

  
  

  It appeared that the bolt exited below the wing she says, as there was a loud crack, lighting up the cabin for a brief second.

  
  

  “There was this loud gasp in the cabin after it happened. The people behind me were starting to worry if it was going to affect the landing. It didn’t,” she said, adding that it was “startling.”

  
  

  A passenger on the other plane from California said the moment the bolt struck the plane was probably “the worst turbulence you’ll ever feel for two solid seconds. It got people pretty shook up.”

  
  

  Other than that, the flight was totally normal.

  
  

  Scary as it sounds, lightning strikes on planes are pretty normal. The Federal Aviation Administration estimates that each plane gets hit by a bolt once a year. Planes are also built to withstand the effects of a big zap.

  
  

  “Airplanes themselves are prepared for this kind of stuff and have the mechanics to manage lightning strikes,” Sea-Tac Airport public relations manager Perry Cooper told ABC News. “We did not receive any reports of precautionary landing alerts from any pilots Wednesday night either.”

  
  

  Still, two planes in one storm? That, and the National Weather Service reported only five lightning strikes with the storm on its radar in Seattle.

  
  

  Watch: Lightning strikes two jets on approach to Sea-Tac Airport [KOMO News]

  
  


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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

oAMC Goes To Court To Identify Who Is Posting Spoiler Clips Of ‘Walking Dead’w

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  C’mon, we all know it was Eugene who uploaded the spoiler clips to Vimeo.

  
  
  
  While most of us never see a TV show until it airs, there are all manner of people out there — from network people to entertainment reporters to advertisers — who often get to see episodes ahead of time, and some of these folks (or maybe their idiot kids or roommates) are then sharing these videos online with spoiler-hungry fan communities. For the producers of hit AMC show The Walking Dead, it’s not enough to just take these spoiler videos down as they pop up, they want to know where the clips are coming from.
  

  We’re not talking about entire episodes that are being shared illegally via BitTorrent. This is about short clips of shows that just haven’t aired yet.

  
  

  TorrentFreak reports that online forums like TheSpoilingDeadFans.com have been a resource for early teasers of upcoming episodes.

  
  

  And even though these clips only help to feed fan frenzy — it’s not like people who go through the hassle of actively hunting down spoilers aren’t then going to watch the show — AMC, which also produces the show, has been making copyright claims to force video-sharing sites like Vimeo to remove the offending images.

  
  

  But they are also going a step further and having the court subpoena [PDF] Vimeo to provide any identifying information the site might have on the user who uploaded such clips.

  
  

  For that user’s sake, we hope they used a throwaway e-mail account and spoofed IP address. If not, they could be facing hefty fines for merely trying to do what Chris Hardwick does every week when he shows advance clips of the show on Talking Dead.

  
  

  At the very least, if AMC is able to track down the source of the clips, you can be sure that person will be blacklisted from ever getting another advanced look at one of the network’s shows; even if it was their stupid kid/roommate who did the spoiling.

  
  


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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

oCoca-Cola Makes Splash At Final Four With “Drinkable” Coke Zero Billboardw

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  The whole point of food advertising is to make you crave the product and buy as much of it as you can right then and there. But for this weekend’s Final Four of the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament, Coca-Cola is showing off a billboard that actually satisfies that craving by dispensing the beverage on the spot.

  
  

  The “drinkable” billboard is in Indianapolis’ White River State Park, where Coke Zero is sponsoring a concert tomorrow, and only a few blocks away from Lucas Oil Stadium, where the actual basketball will be played this weekend.

  
  

  The 26′ x 36′ display uses 4,500 feet of tubing to pump samples of Coke Zero to waiting, presumably thirsty people below.

  
  

  In the face of changing consumer attitudes and increased scrutiny from lawmakers and public health advocates, beverage companies are increasingly touting low-calorie, low-sugar drinks like Coke Zero and Diet Coke.

  
  

  In a statement, the company says they want to push Coke Zero because “many people think they know the taste of Coke Zero, but they actually don’t… Drinkable advertising is an innovative approach to removing barriers and making it ridiculously easy for those who are open to try Coke Zero to enjoy it in fun and unique ways.”

  
  

  [via Creativity Online]

  
  


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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

oBelk Department Stores Thinking Of Flirting With Suitors Like Nordstrom, Macy’sw

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  (WashuOtaku)

  
  
  
  Belk Department Stores, the largest family-owned and operated department store chain in the United States, with 300 stores in 16 states in the South, is reportedly considering hooking up with potential suitors, including Macy’s and Nordstrom.
  

  The Charlotte-based company confirmed that it’s looking into the possibility of a sale, reports Reuters, saying it’s hired Goldman Sachs to help it look into things, including a sale, and expects the analysis to be done within the next few months.

  
  

  The State reports that Belk has entered into a five-year “strategic planning process within a rapidly changing industry.”

  
  

  In any case, insiders told Reuters that the deal could be worth as much as $4 billion, including debt. This year Belk is projected to have annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization this year of around $400 million, an insider cited by Reuters said.

  
  

  Along with Nordstrom and Macy’s, large private equity firms are expected to be contacted by Belk to see if they’re into possibly getting hitched, those anonymous sources added.

  
  

  Belk was founded in 1888 by William Henry Belk, making this the third generation of family leadership. The family still owns most of the 41 million shares of stock in the company, notes the Associated Press, though it’s unclear why the family is thinking about selling now, or if they’ll hold on to some of their equity.

  
  

  Department store chain Belk seeks sale: sources [Reuters]
  
  Belk department stores weighing sale [The State]
  
  Belk department store chain considers sale [Associated Press]

  
  


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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

oJudge Dismisses Stalking And Harassment Charges Against Ice Cream Truck’s Rivalw

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  (James Callan)

  
  
  
  An icy, delicious turf war has finally come to an end, almost two years after one mobile ice cream vendor accused another frozen treats truck driver of bullying him and trying to run him out of town. A judge in upstate New York dismissed stalking and harassing charges against the snow cone truck brought by an ice cream rival back in 2013.
  

  A snow cone driver says he always knew his name would be cleared after he was accused of stalking a rival ice cream driver, reports the Times Albany Union. A judge issued a written decision dismissing a charge of misdemeanor harassment and stalking, a violation.

  
  

  The other driver claimed that in April 2013, the defendant would follow his ice cream truck, yelling like a villain in one of those old movies, “You don’t have a chance, this is my town!”

  
  

  He also accused him of pulling up behind his truck and offer free ice cream to his customers.

  
  

  The police chief testified that the incidents occurred after he’d warned the snow cone driver to leave his competitor alone.

  
  

  The judge ruled that telling customers he had “free ice cream” for them is protected free speech; and that the two incidents had been “accidental and unexpected” and not “for no legitimate purpose” and “with a course of conduct,” a legal requirement of the charges.

  
  

  “I’m happy it’s over and the decision came down in my favor,” said the defendant, who reportedly lost his vendor’s license in the process. “I think it was ridiculous from day one and felt it was a personal attack against me.”

  
  


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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist