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  1. Lather Up to Show Your Political Support

    October 26, 2008  | Comments (1)

    I’ve said before that we vote with our wallets, but at the time I was thinking about product approval, not the presidential election.  According to GoodGuide, we’re backing presidential campaigns as we book airline reservations, use our charge cards, and even buy soap! Do you know who the companies you buy products from are supporting with your dollars? Are they supporting politicians you wouldn’t?

    Dara O’Rourke, founder of GoodGuide, says his company works in partnership with the Center for Responsive Politics to release company-focused campaign finance data, showing the political donations of major corporations to Republican and Democratic parties and candidates.

    Rourke says, “Obama supporters may be surprised to learn that Procter & Gamble, the maker of Tide laundry detergent and Pantene shampoo, donates overwhelmingly to Republicans. Even though McCain likes to tout Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman as economic advisors, their respective former companies HP and EBay, slightly favor Democrats.”

    Go to GoodGuide’s Political Contribution page and click “Republican” or “Democratic” to see which companies support your political perspective. … more

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  2. Who’s the Luckiest?

    October 10, 2008  | Comments (0)

    Jason Weber marvels at his wife’s amazing luck, but the latest $1,000 CrackaJack winner pulled down a bit of luck of his own on Friday, October 3.

    Jason sometimes says “Yeah, whatever,” when his wife throws a sweepstake idea his way, even though she racks up an eye-popping pile each year in prizes and cash through entering sweepstakes. “When I think of some of the stuff she’s won, it blows my mind,” he says. “For example, she recently won an all-expense paid 12-day cruise through the Mediterranean and on the second night of the cruise she won a BMW in the casino.”

    When she told him about AdJack, she piqued his interest. He’s in the event management and promotion business himself in Winchester, Virginia, so he was intrigued by the idea of commercials as art and entertainment.  “I know what it takes to make a great ad,” he says.  “The creativity in these ads is amazing. They get a lot across in just a few seconds’ time, and it’s not all just sales. There are usually clever subtexts in the messages. That’s what makes them fun to watch.”

    Like several other AdJack winners, Jason is a relative newcomer to the site.  He had only submitted a few entries when he got the notice that he won. For once, he’s the one who feels lucky. … more

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  3. On the Contrary: Relief is Not A Swallow Away

    October 6, 2008  | Comments (0)

    Maybe you’ve noticed there are no political ads on AdJack. There’s no shortage of clever commercials making cases for both sides, but we’ve decided to offer a moment of relief from the fray.

    The news predicts we can expect a horrific onslaught of negative ads in the coming weeks, slinging half truths engineered to stick in our minds and sway what we do when we reach the voting booth. Ferreting out pivotal truths may seem nearly impossible amidst the din. How can we know what’s true?  If there’s a simple answer, it’s in a four-letter word:  work.  You’ll have to work to find the truth, and it will involve critically examining what is being said.  Swish, but don’t swallow.

    When you buy a product and its performance disappoints you, you vote it out with your dollars. There’s no return, no refund on the package we’re about to purchase with our votes.  As the 1990 Diet Coke commercial warns, “Choose wisely.”… more

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  4. Nevermind What Mighta Been

    October 2, 2008  | Comments (6)

    The ninth CrackaJack winner, Russell Schultz of Canton, Michigan, won his first computer in the mid 1980s in a sweepstakes contest.

    “It was a top of the line IBM,” Russell says.  “We got a lot of use out of it.”

    Now Russell and his wife of 42 years each have their own computers.  He keeps his own scrupulously clean of spyware and hidden cookies with a daily scouring.  Even though he is supposed to steer clear of his wife’s machine, he says he tries to give it a weekly once-over.  She doesn’t play sweeps but she doesn’t mind that he does, and she especially likes it when he wins.

    The retired General Motors autoworker, father of four and grandfather of 10, says he will probably hand over what’s left of the $1,000 prize after taxes to his wife to use for Christmas.  “I won’t have to attack the savings this year.” He’s thankful for the win, and chooses to forget that he was one number shy of scoring the $365,000 MadJack on September 26.

    He likes the overall clean character of AdJack, especially the funny ads.  “I don’t like the ones that use profanity,” he says.  “I interrupt those and move on to something else, like the elephant singing in the rain, or the Michael Jordan commercials where he’s talking about how he didn’t get where he is overnight, that he worked hard.  I like ads that are funny, or helpful.“
    … more

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  5. Husband Lays Claim to CrackaJack Prize

    October 2, 2008  | Comments (0)

    Sherry Alexander of Lebanon, Indiana, a relatively new member of AdJack, won the September 19 CrackaJack prize of $1,000, becoming the eighth winner.

    The veteran contest player says “I’d only done two or three weeks of contests when I won.  That’s it.” Which may explain why she wasn’t fully aware of how the AdJack program works.  She has her husband to thank, twice.  He told her about AdJack, and when she missed the first email notice that she won, he found the second email telling her she was fast approaching the prize expiration date.  “I went into panic mode.  I said, ‘oh my gosh!  What do I do now?’” She began to post comments in the news section.

    AdJack CEO David Boland saw the posts and emailed her a third time, explaining that normally, winners’ correspondence is conducted via email. The effort to notify her sparked a lively discussion in the AdJack news column.

    She and Boland finally connected, and perhaps several AdJack members now have a clearer understanding of how winners are notified—always by email, unless they happen to be tuned in at the time of the drawing, and see for themselves that they have won.  But it appears that Sherry’s battle for the money is only beginning.  Since her husband told her about AdJack, then rescued the second email notification that she won, she says, “He keeps telling me how he’s going to spend the money.”

    For the record, winning sweepstakes numbers are always posted on Adjack under Sweepstakes, in the right column under Drawing Results. … more

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