The Onion

But now we know that’s not all “America’s Finest News Source” can do. See, Digiday taught us something this week: The Onion also helps brands discover (or re-discover) their sense of humor via its in-house ad/marketing/advisory team, Onion Labs. This strange experiment all started last year when Microsoft Internet Explorer, desperate for a rebranding, decided to embrace its reputation as “The Browser You Loved to Hate” and ask The Onion‘s advisory team for ideas (one of which was this cute “Child of the 90′s” video). The project grew rapidly from there.

Onion Labs is still relatively new, but the group’s site features a series of funny spots for brands as disparate as Jack Links and 7-Eleven. They’ve also worked on social media campaigns like the #vacationitis project for Hilton Hotels and Resorts.

We can certainly see why the Onion Labs aesthetic appeals to so many brands–if you’re not comfortable making fun of yourself then you’re going to have trouble appealing to that crucial 18-30 demographic. Here’s one of the Lab’s commercials pitching Dove deodorant to men by making light of the fact that guys don’t really like to deal with their dry skin problems:

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Now comes the next phase–and big soda chose a very interesting PR approach this time by enlisting the NAACP and the Hispanic Federation to argue against the ban on racial terms. During the first courtroom arguments in the class action suit filed against Bloomberg and the city, representatives from these organizations argued that the ban would disproportionately “hurt small and minority-owned businesses while doing little to help health” and placing said businesses at a further disadvantage when compared to their larger rivals. Of course, soda also plays a crucial role in boosting obesity rates within minority communities, but we’ll just forget about that for now.

Here’s the real shocker: these groups don’t just receive lots of donations from Coke, Pepsi and other soft drink brands; they also give them awards for outstanding “corporate leadership”. This isn’t to say that social advocacy groups should be immune to the usual lobbying nonsense, but the completely unsurprising revelation does damage the credibility of this particular PR initiative while simultaneously diluting the larger and far more important mission of these civil rights advocacy groups. It’s very unfortunate.

One thing that does really bother us about this ban: it will exclude 7-Eleven, home of the famous “Big Gulp”. Why? Because, for some reason, the city can’t legally regulate convenience and supermarket chains (which are slowly smothering its classic bodegas). That’s just dumb.

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Beer still accounts for the lion’s share of alcoholic beverages that millennials consume (42 percent). However, wine accounts for 20 percent of alcohol consumed by millennials, a jump from 13 percent for Gen X.

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The Huffington Post has a few stories focused on celebrity philanthropic campaigns. The video above comes from Feeding America and its “Hunger Is A Real Story” campaign, which enlisted celebrities like Matt Damon to act out the stories of real people who are going hungry.

According to the campaign’s press release, more than 50 million Americans live with hunger. The campaign includes advertising and a Spanish PSA in addition to clips like this one available on the Web.

Will Ferrell is also among the celebrities participating in 7-Eleven‘s “Coffee Cup with a Cause” campaign, which aims to donate $2 million to charities. They’re raising money through the proceeds from coffee sold in cups designed by the celebrity spokespeople. Among the charities benefiting are Ferrell’s choice, Cancer for College.

Finally, West Virginia native (and wife to Ben Affleck, who’s also participating in the Feeding America campaign) Jennifer Gardner heads home to benefit Save the Children.

Additional philanthropy and nonprofit coverage is available on HuffPo’s Impact page.

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The company has launched a truck tour that left Dallas on Friday and will end in Washington D.C. Along the way they’re offering freebies, giving Slurpee-loving Americans the opportunity to mix and match flavors, including the new “Purple for the People.” And, of course, there’s a Facebook page.

The company has also offered to install Slurpee machines in the White House and host a Slurpee Summit.

“I don’t know about a Slurpee,” USA Today quotes Rep. John Boehner (OH) . “How about a glass of merlot?”

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