So here's a question a reader just posed. Take a look at the "Pretty Makeup Ideas" feature in the December Seventeen, out last week, and tell us: Is it editorial or advertising? It sure doesn't say "advertisement" on it anywhere, and it's got a byline, which makes you think it's edit. But, then, it also has spreads like this one, which make you think it's got to be ad:

We've never voted for a Republican before in our life, and there's a decent chance we never will again. (When we were 12, we and a bunkmate made a giant "Duke '88" banner in arts and crafts class, which hung over our beds at camp.) Even so, not for a moment have we ever considered voting for Fernando Ferrer for mayor. Until, perhaps, now:

Jesus, what happened here? Why is every item in Page Six similarly coated in the pink molestation of Sex and the City? Is this advertising? Pop-cultural html vomit? Gossip column date-rape?

The image at right (click to enlarge) is not, as you may suspect, the backpage porn typical of our city's free weeklies — despite being from the New York Blade. It's really a simple advertisement for a Vespa store in Queens.

Because the greatest tribute is always to be posthumously whored out to sell flimsy, overpriced, glorified walkmen to yuppies and aging boomers.

An emailer reminds of an unintentionally hilarious ad in last week's New Yorker:

In an incredibly demeaning stunt of promotional stupidity, Bank of America has installed a 20-foot wide, 7-foot tall sofa in Grand Central, which will contain "loose change." You know what's coming next: Those pitiful folks in attendance will then have an opportunity to go digging for change in the giant couch. The change can be turned in for MetroCards and gift certificates — but, if you're actually going to go couch diving in public, with your face in the cushions and your ass in the air, you really don't deserve to eat or use public transportation. In fact, we're going to have to ask you to get some freaking pride or leave Manhattan altogether.

Having abruptly booted Kate Moss from their fall campaign after the supermodel was photographed hoovering cocaine, cheapie clothier H&M is currently looking for her replacement (models Erin O'Connor and Mariacarla Boscono are on the short list).

• At Puerto Rican confab, ASME updated its church-and-state guidelines on advertising. We're sure the one man in America who can't tell New Yorker content from a Target ad — and who happens to have a column in the Chicago Sun-Times — is still unhappy. [Folio:]
• And what's a media yakfest without a panel appearance by our slutty sister? She's in Puerto Rico, natch, this time commenting on Millerpalooza: "As I've said before, it's OK to be in bed with your source, but then you have to fuck him." [WWD]
• Now that his News Corporation is a U.S. company, Rupert Murdoch will stand for election to its board of directors for the first time ever. We bet he wins — but, then again, we also said that about Al Gore. [Bloomberg]
• What do editor's-letter photos really mean? An exegesis on why Janice Min shows leg, David Granger crops his head, and Graydon Carter is smirking. [Radar]
• Paul McLeary doesn't like cliches. [CJR Daily]

Usually, "Adrants provides marketing and advertising news and opinion with a continually updated website and daily email newsletter." But today, they have other things on the brain.

A sampling of the swag "reportedly" included in the highly coveted Advertising Week gift bags:

Well, you always knew no one goes there for the mediocre lectures.

It's Advertising Week in New York this week — which strikes us as a touch redundant — and it kicked off this morning with a "Procession of the Great Icons," in which all your favorite legendary advertising characters marched from Times Square to, natch, Madison Avenue. Adweek's AdFreak was there, and the 'Freaks provide some excellent coverage of the event — including photos of the Burger King, the Energizer Bunny, Tony the Tiger, Charlie the Tuna, the Keebler Elves, and even Juan Valdez.

In the October issue of Vanity Fair, we found the following print ad:

From London's Guardian:

Found on Craigslist today:

• Martha Stewart to launch fashion mag. Oh, the endless opportunities for orange-jumpsuit jokes. [NYP]
• New Orleanian Doug Brinkley, who made his pundit name on his pal JFK Jr.'s death, unsurprisingly signs first Katrina book deal. [MSNBC]
• Hearst and Hachette — gasp! — work together on an ad deal. [NYT]
• What's new about the new Paris Review? Um, what isn't? [NYO]
• Michael Kinsley leaves LAT editorial page after a little more than a year; no one was considerate enough to leave news of his firing in a Xerox machine so he could learn about it in advance. [NYT]
• Wenner Media redecorates, and Jann isn't happy with the paint colors. [NYO, second item]
• NYT, WP give each other sneak peaks of their front pages. Sputters E&P's scoopy Joe Strupp: "Are you aware of what a serious breach of security that would be? They'll see everything, they'll — they'll see the Big Board!" [E&P]
• ASME barely slaps The New Yorker on the wrist for Target single-advertiser issue, and crazy columnist in Chicago bursts a blood vessel. [CS-T]
• The lowest blow: In wake of Katrina, public dislikes Bush more than it dislikes press. [E&P]

Tired of all those AmEx advertisements featuring tennis hottie Andy Roddick, asking if we've "seen Andy's mojo?" You're not alone. Our favorite cranky copywriter has had more than enough, especially after seeing Andy's mojo as follows:

An ad currently in rotation on Queerty:

Found on the RSS feed of our serious-minded brother.
Maybe it's time to tweak our ad feeds.