AdWeek asks if the new H-P campaign cuts too close to the recent boardroom scandal. Here.

While the self-inflicted carnage at H-P continues to run its course, (see this front page article from Thursday’s Journal "I spy. How H-P kept tabs on me for a year." by a Journal reporter. Ouch. Here.)

Mortarmark has to wonder what kind of questions are being raised about positioning a H-P Personal Computer as the best place to keep personal information, when, well, HP is probably the last company we should trust with our personal data.

Pity poor Goodby. One hopes the brand cops at HP can withstand the flack. As we have noted before, the new campaign for HP is thrilling. See "H-P’s computers are personal again". Here.

Since I work at an advertising agency, it is kinda part and parcel with the job to be aware of ads. Being a woman, I am acutely aware of body image issues, how society views beauty, discussions on "what is beautiful?", etc. and the role they play in advertising. Add to that the fact I have a 4 year old daughter, and I have begun seeing things of that nature with new eyes… and trying to see them through my daughter’s eyes.

I just came across these Dove videos/ads that are part of their Campaign for Real Beauty which has been around for a while now. They are boldly making a direct statement on the subject of "beauty" in advertising.

The first is "Evolution" and it is an interesting comment on the reality of advertising, and how UNrealistic the final images we see truly are. It is worth watching, as it is actually pretty cool to see the transformation. Watch the "Evolution" Video (opens in new window – 1:18).

BEFORE

AFTER (SKIN AIRBRUSHING, NECK STRETCHING, EYEBALL ENLARGING, ETC.)

The end line of the ad is "No wonder our sense of beauty is so distorted." Hear! Hear!

This "Daughters" video is great too… it is lots of girls talking about their feelings on their weight, beauty, acceptance, etc. Made me a bit sad for the state of things. But it also made me hopeful to how I can work with my daughter to keep her self-esteem strong she grows up. Watch the "Daughters" Video (opens in new window – 2:41).

Feel free to check out the Dove website to see what the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty and the Dove Self-Esteem Fund is doing about the problem of low-esteem in young girls.

Fans of "Talking in Her Sleep" rejoice. Hugh has updated the site with more barely coherent ramblings from his somnambulistic spouse. Posted this week: accurate surf reports, cornmeal, the three stooges, and a large fish. Here.

Sarah Thompson here… Interactive Producer at Mortar. My first post on the Mortablog – big day for me!

I had to share my small world tidbit and do some name dropping:  One of the 3 gals that won top prize at Yahoo Hack Day, Diana Eng, daughter of Doug and Dorian Eng, is the former neighbor of my mother-in-law, Angie Thompson (Worthington Glen subdivision in Jacksonville, FL).  I met Diana Eng and her family back when she was like 11 years old… Now look at her, all-growed-up and winning brainiac contests, her face plastered all over the blogosphere.

Props to the ladies!

The winning project, called Blogging In Motion, combined a camera, a handbag, a pedometer and the Flickr API to create a device that takes a picture after every few steps and then automatically blogs those pictures. The device was created by Diana Eng, Emily Albinski and Audrey Roy. Read the full story on TechCrunch.

Check out Diana Eng’s blog, entitled “Popular Transit: the story of a nerd who aspires to be a fashion designer.” Diana is/was also a designer on Project Runway Season 2 – what a multi-talented gal!