Movie Producers Love Critic’s Tweet As An Ad… After Mention Of The Competition Is Edited Out

(Tom Raftery)

The primary goal of a movie critic is not to sell movies, but to review them. Which seems like a simple enough idea, right? Apparently not simple enough for Scott Rudin and his fellow producers behind Inside Llewyn Davis, who not only took one of New York Times critic A.O. Scott’s tweets and turned it into an ad (which ran in the NYT itself), but edited out any mention of competing movies in doing so. Oof.

Boing Boing explains that it’s not just sort of twee and precious to run an ad featuring the tweet, which ran as a full page and was presented as a tweet from Tony “A.O.” Scott reading: “I’m gonna listen to the Llewyn Davis album again. Fare thee well, my honeys.” And that was all there was to it.

But it’s that there was more to the tweet, specifically, mention of other movies currently in the theaters. Scott’s original tweet:

You all keep fighting about Wolf of Wall St. and Am Hustle. I'm gonna listen to the Llewyn Davis album again. Fare thee well, my honeys.—

a. o. scott (@aoscott) December 31, 2013

Oh, we see what you did there. Not only that, but as the Times’ Public Editor Mary Sullivan explains in addressing the controversy, Rudin asked Scott if the producers could run the tweet and was roundly denied permission. Scott reportedly told Rudin in his response:

Well this is a new one. I’d prefer though that my tweets not be used in advertisements. That seems like a slippery slope and contrary to the ad hoc and informal nature of the medium.

And changing the tweet is basically manufacturing a quote, something I avoid.

So I’m afraid the answer is no.

It’s also confusing because did Rudin et al really think no one would go on the Internet and find the original tweet? There’s no possibility of covering your tracks in this case.

Edited tweet used in ad [Boing Boing]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

American Airlines Will Remind Customers Nonstop About All Its New Post-Merger Changes

(zonaphoto/zonaphoto)

Moving in with your significant other means creating new rules and getting rid of excess. The same goes for the $17.7 billion merger between American Airlines and US Airways, only on a much larger scale. But it’s all for the good of the consumer, right?

American Airlines announced a plethora of changes customers will begin seeing as the first stage of the merger, named “Customer Day One”, takes off Tuesday, reports the Dallas Morning News.

The marriage between American and US Airways became official in December after a long courting period.

Officials with American said customers will see an “overcommunication” of changes. They call the changes “taking care of customer needs,” but some are less convenient than others.

Traveling with a little one? You’re no longer going to be able to board early anymore.

Connecting to a US Airways flight from an American flight? No problem, eventually. The airlines will soon share terminals, although, it’s going to be a slow moving process.

Here’s a rundown of the American/US Airways first stage, customer-centric changes:

• Letting customers earn and redeem miles on both carriers. You’ll have to choose to bank miles with either American’s AAdvantage program or US Airways’ Dividend Miles program for each flight.


• Relocating the US Airways’ and American Airlines to the same terminal. They’ll start with hub airports in New York, Phoenix, Miami, Los Angeles and Dallas/Fort Worth.


• Military members will no longer board before first class, instead the two groups will board together. Again, families won’t be able to board early. The boarding changes are in line with American’s policies.


• The maximum age of unaccompanied minors changes to age 11, three years younger than US Airways’ current policy of up to 14 years of age.


• Members of US Airways and American Airlines can use both airlines’ lounges. The clubs will combine at a later date.


• Wi-Fi passes purchased on Gogo, daily or monthly, can be used both airlines.

Most importantly, they promise improved communications with customers. Customers can follow changes on aa.com/findyourway.

Look for more changes, including a code-sharing agreement for customers to use both airlines’ networks, in the next several weeks. The entire merger process is expected to take two years.

American Airlines unveils customer-focused changes [Dallas Morning News]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Man Likes His Burger So Much He Comes Back For Seconds — And To Rob The Burger King

(Morton Fox)

We’ve all had that gustatory moment when you realize that this thing you’re chewing? It’s so freaking good, you just need to come back and order another one. But one no good, very bad consumer took his trip for seconds to another level by returning to not only order another burger, but also to rob the Burger King. You know, as long as he was already there.

Police in Long Island say the man simply ordered a hamburger the first time around, paying for his meal and leaving the restaurant, reports the New York Post.

But then just five minutes later he returned, this time wearing a mask, and ordered another burger. He then allegedly grabbed a bunch of cash right out of the register and left again.

“He ordered a hamburger. He liked it so much he came back and ordered a second one,” a police spokesman suggested (because really, do we know for sure he loved the hamburger or the chance for some free money?). “Then he grabbed an undisclosed amount of cash from the register.”

Police aren’t saying how much money he took because they don’t want anyone to think that’s a good idea.

“We don’t want to encourage this type of behavior. Seriously,” the spokesman said.

Although to be clearing, ordering more than one burger is totally a personal decision anyone is free to make. Just not the stealing afterward part.

Hungry thief orders burger before cash grab [New York Post]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Is This 2,550-LB Wide-Belt Sander Now The Heaviest Thing That Ships For Free On Amazon?

(Amazon)

Yesterday’s clever advertising ploy/PR stunt from Amazon and/or Nissan got us thinking back to that 1,509-pound gun safe, which previously held the title of Heaviest Thing You Can Ship For Free on Amazon. One Consumerist reader says he found something even heavier that’s Prime-eligible, which could mean it’s time to pass the title on.

Brian writes in with this new kid on the block — a 2,550-pound wide belt sander that sells for $16,245 — saying it deserves to be crowned.

“While the gun safe is certainly a porker at 1,509 pounds, this Shop Fox belt sander really tips the scales with a shipping weight of 3,955 pounds and is Prime Eligible,” he explains, and it appears to be so.

But Brian isn’t done with us yet, throwing down the gauntlet to back his assertion: “I’II challenge you to find a heavier product!”

Challenge accepted. If you can find a heavier item on Amazon that will cost Prime members nothing to ship, or heck, something even bigger than the car that was apparently in that super big box yesterday, let us know at tips@consumerist.com. Then you can share in the wearing of the imaginary crown.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

FTC Settles Charges Of Deceptive Advertising Against Four Weight-Loss Marketers For $34M

(afagen)

Put down that shaker of Sensa. Those promises of shedding 30 pounds while eating french fries and sitting on the couch aren’t real. We know — who would have thunk it? Well, the Federal Trade Commission for starters, which announced today that four marketers of fad weight loss products settled FTC charges on deceptive advertising for $34 million.

Operation Failed Resolution recovered approximately $34 million for customers, said Jessica Rich, director of consumer protection for the FTC.

Sensa accounts for the largest chunk of change being returned by paying $26.5 million to settle charges, the FTC explained in a conference call and press release today.

Rich said she could not say how much the other marketers were forking over.

An FTC survey, released last year, found that in 2011 there were 5.1 million instances of fraud related to weight-loss products.

Charges of deceptive advertising announced Tuesday were against the following marketers:

Sensa: The FTC charges they deceived customers with unfounded weight-loss claims and misleading endorsements.

L’Occitane: The company claims that its skin cream would slim users’ bodies.

HCG Diet Direct: Marketers of an unproven human hormone that was touted for more than half a century as a weight-loss treatment.

LeanSpa, LLC: An operation that promotes acai berry and “colon cleanse” weight loss supplements through fake news websites. The charges resulted in a partial settlement of temporarily halting the promotion of the product.

“Resolutions to lose weight are easy to make but hard to keep,” Rich said. “And the chances of being successful just by sprinkling something on your food, rubbing cream on your thighs, or using a supplement are slim to none. The science just isn’t there.”

It’s important to note the suits change the way marketers can advertise the weight-loss products, not that the products will disappear.

The FTC also announced Tuesday updated guidance for media outlets on spotting false weight-loss claims in advertising.

Creatively, the FTC also created a “teaser website” designed to reach people searching for weight-loss products online.

The website, similar to one Massachusetts unveiled in 2012, appears as an advertisement for “FatFoe”. When consumers try to order the product, which offers weight loss with no diet or exercise, they learn the ad is a warning from the FTC about diet rip-offs.

Sensa and Three Other Marketers of Fad Weight-Loss Products Settle FTC Charges in Crackdown on Deceptive Advertising [FTC.gov]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

JetBlue Promises A Return To Normal Today After Canceling Northeast Flights To Rest Crews

(Meg Marco)

If you’ve been trying to get into or out of Northeast airports including Boston Logan International Airport or any of the three New York City-area airports in the last few days on JetBlue, you’ve likely had a tough time of it. On the heels of heinous weather, JetBlue canceled almost all of its flights yesterday out of those airports, saying the airline needed to rest its crew members before sending them out.

JetBlue says the cancellations were in part due to the airline’s effort to comply with new Federal Aviation Administration rules on pilot duty time, and that the gnarly weather didn’t help. Starting earlier today and ramping up toward the afternoon, a spokeswoman said the airline will be “100% operational by 3 p.m. ET.,” reports CNN.

This will allow for 17 hours of rest for crews as well as time to service the aircraft, JetBlue explained, which is causing a bit of a backlog.

Some customers “aren’t seeing available seats for nearly a week,” and it’s not like the overwhelmed call centers can help much amid the current cancellations. JetBlue suggests travelers instead rebook or request refunds online.

“Delays or cancellations disrupt those handoffs placing crews or planes ‘out of position’ for their flights.”

“In the midst of us repairing those schedules disrupted by this week’s winter storms, we’re facing an additional challenge as new FAA rules went into effect for crew rest,” the spokeswoman explained in an email. “These rules further impact our ability to operate an already disrupted schedule, causing our pilots to ‘time out’ even sooner. As a result, additional cancellations are likely to occur as we work to reset the operation.”

But one pilots union is a bit skeptical of the excuse of the FAA’s new rules — those rule changes were announced back in December 2011, ostensibly giving the airline plenty of time to sort things out before they went into effect on Saturday.

“They had two years to anticipate this (work hour rule) and to adjust accordingly,” said the vice president of the Air Line Pilots Association. “So I think it’s overly simplistic to suggest that they could ascribe this disruption — which happens to coincide with this major, major winter snowstorm — and just hang it all on that rule-making change.”

JetBlue cancels Northeast flights to rest crews [CNN]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Breakfast Shrink Ray: Chobani Yogurt, Special K Shave Off Weight

When food companies need to work on their profit margin but don’t want to raise prices, they deploy the Grocery Shrink Ray. The Shrink Ray lets them charge the same amount for fractionally less food. Today, we have most of a Shrink Rayed breakfast: it’s been deployed on Kellogg’s Special K Protein cereal and Chobani yogurt cups.

Mark sent in these cereal boxes., which show an entire ounce removed from Special K Protein after a box redesign. Redesigns often provide handy cover for Shrink Rayage.

Sarra sent this photo of Chobani’s yogurt cups. It always was remarkable that Chobani offered a full six ounces: i suppose it was too wonderful to last.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Guy Who Slapped Toddler On The Plane Sentenced To 8 Months In Prison

(quinn.anya)

As if you need a reason not to tip back a few too many drinks and slap a toddler on a plane, know that at least one guy is going to prison for doing so. Early last year a Delta passenger was accused of hitting a 19-month-old who was crying near him and hitting the child across the face while using a racial slur. He pleaded guilty in October and has now been smacked himself, with eight months in jail.

The 61-year-old former aerospace executive is off to prison for eight months, despite the fact that prosecutors had asked for a six-month sentence, reports Reuters. But a federal judge decided he should get a little bit of extra time and added two months on.

“You don’t have the right to raise your hand against another human being,” the judge said, noting that the man had a previous assault conviction and was on probation for drunken driving at the time.

The man apologized in court to the child’s mother for the incident last February, which took place on a Delta flight from Minneapolis to Atlanta.

“I’m very sorry,” he told the child’s mother during the court hearing in Atlanta. “I made the most terrible day in my life much worse for myself and others.”

His attorney had said before that her client was on his way to remove his dying son from life support and was emotionally distraught, adding that his alcoholism contributed to his behavior on that flight.

The adoptive mother of the little boy explained that she had also gone through losing a child after she and her husband had to remove their three-week-old baby from life support. But that was no excuse to react violently in grief, she said, calling the man a “socially underdeveloped racist” and a bully.

“He treated me and [my son] like we were less than human and he deserves to be punished,” she said.

U.S. man gets eight months in prison for hitting child on plane [Reuters]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Easter Creep Spreads To CVS, Looks Delicious

Since shortly after Christmas Day, we’ve been tracking the spread of Easter Creep across the country. That’s when chocolate eggs and plastic bunnies hit store shelves before all of the unsold Christmas decorations are off the clearance shelf.

Normally, Kroger does some very innovative things in the Easter Creep field. In 2011, they even dragged out the chocolate eggs during the first week of December. You know, for your Easter stocking. Reader Gail sent us the above photo from her local CVS, though, and I spotted a similar display right at the front door of my CVS.

As much as we decry holiday merchandise being available on store shelves earlier and earlier here at Consumerist, we’ve never really had a problem with Easter Creep. This is probably because we like Cadbury’s Creme Eggs and candy-shelled chocolate eggs. It’s a sickness.

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Roku TV Is The Connected TV Your Parents Might Actually Use

The Roku TV home screen puts all your inputs and streaming video sources on the same, easily navigated page.

In an era where connected TVs and apps on gaming consoles mean consumers don’t need to clutter their living rooms with additional boxes to access streaming video, makers of streaming devices like Roku need to adapt or die. The logical solution: Roku TV.

On the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show, Roku showed off the upcoming TV sets that use the company’s clean and simple interface, making the streaming apps — Netflix, YouTube, HuluPlus, MLB.tv, among others — front and center, alongside whatever devices (cable box, gaming console, etc.) you have plugged into the set.

So rather than having the “smart” aspect of the set hidden on a separate menu, or having to toggle between inputs via a separate button. Everything video source is right there on the home screen.

That simplicity continues to the design of the remote, which is the typical, stripped-bare Roku design. It’s the kind of remote that some gadget-philes would sneer at but which may be welcome to those who spend too much time studying their overly complicated TV remotes just looking for the mute button.

While Roku has not yet announced pricing for the sets — which will range in screen size from 32″ to 55″ — reps for the company tell Consumerist that it expects the pricing to be competitive with other affordable brands, presumably taking aim at Vizio’s market share.

As for the manufacturing of the TVs, Roku is doing something similar to what Google has done with its line of Chromebooks, which are made by multiple manufacturers but all contain the same operating system.

In the case of Roku TV, the initial manufacturing partners — TCL and HiSense — are not household names to most Americans, but are both among the largest manufacturers of TV sets in the world.

On paper, the deal seems to make sense for all involved, with Roku making a move to avoid the inevitable disappearance of streaming boxes, and TCL and HiSense being able to leverage the Roku brand and name-recognition to get a foothold in the North American market.

Having said all of this, our interactions with the TV were based solely on the interface. We’ve done no testing or comparison of picture/sound quality or formed any opinion about the design of the set; all of which may change by the time these TVs actually hit the market in the fall.

However, if Roku TV is able to carve out a piece of the market in the coming years, it could be a disruptive force for good in the market, giving consumers a lower-cost Web-connected set and showing other manufacturers that they don’t need to make user interfaces complicated or cute.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist