Brand Mix

This week's Six of the Best features Miley, marshmallows, the Moon and Marge. Plus misguided FTC rules and dead flies sunbathing from Muhr:

1) Miley Cyrus Quits Twitter, World Ends: Yahoo Tech!
Yes, it's true. @mileycyrus has closed down her Twitter account. It may have been a boyfriend-prompted, spur-of-the-moment decision for her but it's caused agony and heartbreak for many of her 1.1 million followers. Their pleas for her to start tweeting again (#mileycomeback) became one of the top Twitter trending topics of the week but has fallen on deaf ears so far. Relationship marketing at its finest.

2) Blogged and Sold: The New York Times
Choire Sicha thinks that the Federal Trade Commission’s efforts to regulate online endorsements are misguided. As an example, he thinks of "poor" Gwyneth Patrow whose " weekly GOOP newsletter is filled with heartfelt recommendations of services, products, experts and restaurants. This means one free garganelli at Babbo and, blammo: the F.T.C. may clap her in what are most likely non-hypoallergenic shackles." If the same rules are applied to celebrity dressing, he wonders if: "Come the Golden Globes, will our nation’s most important celebrities be forced to wear disclaiming signage?" (For those who want to read the FTC perspective, it's here)

3) Don’t! The secret of self-control: The New Yorker

Oh, The Temptation from Steve V on Vimeo (via Ben Kunz)
This video reproduces the experiments of Walter Mischel described in (comprehensive) detail in The New Yorker article. It turns out this test is predictive of future success and that kids that are able to distract themselves from eating the marshmallow have already started developing the self control that makes so many other things possible later in life.

4) Marge Simpson will bare it all for Playboy: USA Today
The Marge Simpson centerfold is "obviously somewhat tongue-in-cheek," Playboy's new CEO, Scott Flanders Flanders says. "It had never been done, and we thought it would be kind of hip, cool and unusual." Or desperate?

5) NASA "Moon Bombing" May Have Hit a "Dry Hole" National Geographic
Well, now the President has won the Nobel Peace prize, we've got to find something unearthly to take our aggression out on, I suppose.

6) Dead Flies: Muhr Photography (via brandflakesforbreakfast)

That's it! Back soon with more stories from the world of brand strategy (and related areas). More thoughts and comments also available on Twitter (@martinjbishop).