Topic: Ad Age

The prevalence of reverse mortgage and pharmaceutical advertisements on mainstream news networks is noted as an indicator of an aging audience. Tom Selleck's role as a pitchman for reverse mortgages is highlighted. The hosts joke about the potential for creating their own "how-to" videos for seniors to capitalize on these financial trends.

Aaron Hall, a professional namer at Siegel and Gale, published an op-ed in Ad Age suggesting that "climate change" and "global warming" are too neutral to inspire action. His team proposed more visceral names such as "Global Meltdown," "Climate Collapse," and "Scorched Earth." The hosts find the term "Pre-Extinction" particularly notable as a more accurate description of the current environmental narrative.

The rise of native advertising—ads designed to look like editorial content—is discussed as a threat to traditional journalism. Politico recently hired a "native officer" to lead its branded content department, following the lead of The Washington Post and The Atlantic. The hosts argue that outlets like Vice are essentially advertising agencies disguised as news organizations, where high production budgets are used to obfuscate the promotional nature of the content.

Italy implemented new austerity measures including a Value Added Tax (VAT) increase from 20% to 21%. Other measures include a freeze on public sector salaries until 2014, raising the retirement age for women to 65, and new taxes on the energy sector. The hosts debate the mathematical impact of the 1% tax increase on consumer costs.