So here’s a class action lawsuit with some teeth on it alleging deceptive advertising on the part of Apple. 

Gillis was one of several dissatisfied iPhone 3G customers who recently filed lawsuits alleging Apple falsely advertised the handset’s performance. The lawsuits stem from widespread frustration over the popular smartphone; the complaints vary from frequently dropped calls to sluggish broadband speeds and the inability to stay on 3G before it switches to the slower EDGE network.

Read more of this article about Apple’s deceptive advertising lawsuit on Wired »

Check it out: www.windowshop.com

The company says that Sen. John McCain leads among owners of domestic and luxury cars, including GMC (61 percent of owners prefer McCain), Chevrolet (60 percent), Buickand Dodge (58 percent), Ford (57 percent), Lexus, BMW and Lincoln (52 percent). Kelley’s research also finds that 66 percent of full-sized truck owners support McCain, as do owners of SUVs (61 percent) and luxury SUVs (61 percent).

Meanwhile, Sen. Barack Obama leads among import owners, including Mini (70 percent),Subaru (61 percent), Saab (59 percent) and Honda (50 percent). Fifty-nine percent of station wagon owners support Obama, as do owners of hatchbacks (55 percent), crossover SUVs (52 percent) and hybrids (48 percent).

So, who would win the election if cars could vote? Read more…

Your Car Reveals Your Voting Habits »

SIPPING a 2001 Bordeaux from Château Mont Perat, a bead of sweat trickling down his left cheek, Shizuku Kanzaki is suddenly overwhelmed with images of a turntable, guitars and Freddie Mercury.

“It’s powerful,” he says of the wine, “but it also has a meltingly sweet taste, with an acidic aftertaste that catches you by surprise. It’s like the voice of Queen’s lead vocalist, sweet and husky, enveloped in thick guitar riffs and heavy drums.”

This is the opening of a New York Times article on a Japanese manga called Shizuku by Yuko & Shin Kibayashi. 

In Japan, wine sellers grab copies of the magazine as soon as it comes out on Thursdays, quickly showcasing a featured wine in their stores or on their Web sites. According to Enoteca, a large chain, men in their 30s to 50s tend to ask for wines from the magazine, especially those priced around $30.

Read more of Next Week, Our Hero Chooses a Médoc »

Corporations who play this game of economic musical chairs are in for a rude awakening – because the music just stopped. 

This, a pithy line from Umair Haque’s take on the world financial crisis happening right now, sums it up. To put a finer point on it, he says this:

the macro crisis isn’t really a financial crisis, an economic crisis, a liquidity crisis, or a solvency crisis. It’s an institutional crisis: the economic institutions of capitalism are in shock.

Haque uses Starbucks as an ongoing example of the wrong way to proceed, as well as the right opportunities for re-forming the economy of the future.

And in the comments, something from Ethan Bauley  really struck a chord with me:

Design is everything. MBA should be renamed MBD: Master of Business Design. Holistic business design that balances all disciplines is the future of value creation.

This concept isn’t new. BusinessWeek named Bainbridge Graduate Institute—with their MBA in Sustainable Business—among the top design schools in the world.

Read more of Haque’s article: Why Traditional Recession Tactics Are Doomed To Fail This Time »

Bainbridge Graduate Institute + MBA in Sustainable Business »

Shoptopia is an online social shopping experience where members can share their love for their favorite brands, discover new products, seek shopping advice from a community of friends, family and peers, and receive exclusive benefits from local shopping centers. 

Why is it? 

“When using more than one channel to shop for goods, 75% of consumers overwhelmingly prefer to move from online to brick-and-mortar locations,” said John Dee, president of Mallfinder Network. “We launched Shoptopia to meet the needs of these consumers and to connect them directly with brands and products available locally. We’ve partnered with Forest City as we test the concept and intend to roll out not only to Forest City’s multiple centers but in partnership with shopping centers across the country.” 

Read more on Forbes.com »

Go to Shoptopia »

Here are two articles giving an overview and roundup of social shopping sites:

Social Shopping Roundup for Online Retailers

17 Social Networking Shopping Sites for 2008

And how do they do? In a word: contrived. In two words: good enough.

This is Julie. Amazingly, she writes just like a copywriter.

Eric & Julie don’t look even vaguely real. What I see are pictures of models with staff writer’s doing their best to capture a “youthful” style of marketing copy. It seems they have little idea how people really talk & write on the Web, or were unable to convince the marketing managers that authentic writing would be more convincing to consumers than pithily versed calls to action. Eric & Julie are as real as a “genuine faux diamond.

“One question. Two answers. Who’s side will you take?” Ummm, how about the side of smart consumers who can see through the shilling.

And as for the mblog, I don’t know if HomeGirl, VogueScholar, and Streetnik are better described as blogger names or the monikers of some focus-group psychographic pigeonholes). 

The other sections I can see working because they are exactly what they claim to be. Brand spotlight? Yup. “This brand paid us spotlight them. You know it, we know it. Now take a look at the great stuff we’re selling!” That’s honest, it rings true (enough), and people will take it for what it is. Same goes for Trend Report, and Look of the Week.

Altogether, Mervyn’s misses the mark on authentic cool and comes nowhere near the hearts of their target consumers, but they still have put together a nice piece of a larger puzzle. Taken in the context of the entire site, Mstyle adds a little spark for the first-time visitor; I just wouldn’t expect repeat traffic to this marketing cul-de-sac. Instead of a Web 2.0 site (I’m sure the me-too factor played a role in this), Mstyle ends up being a one-sided broadcast, lacking interaction with the site or other users.

I give it a B for effort, and a C for bravery.

Check out Mervyn’s Mstyle