Havelock Scoop

The year’s barely started, and I’ve got two nominations for the Havelock Scoop’s 2008 Irresponsible Advertising Award.

Lunging out of the gate first is Taco Bell with its TV commercials, placards and coupons touting a new addition to breakfast, lunch and dinner — “Fourthmeal.” The theme is meant to emphasize that Taco Bell is open late, and diners can stop by for a midnight snack between dinner and breakfast.

Great message. Let’s encourage a country chomping and slurping its way closer to national obesity to eat still more.

My second nominee is paint company Sherwin Williams’ logo, which depicts an overturned paint can atop the Earth with a gooey, viscous substance coating this terrestrial ball. Cover the earth with Sherwin Williams paint!

Yeah, that sends a positive environmental message. “Pave paradise, put up a parking lot,” anyone?

These are just two bad ads I’ve noticed this week. Send me your nominations for the worst sales pitch, and we may find something still less socially responsible.

Havelock and Craven County residents this month will have two opportunities to weigh in on the Super 70 Corridor Commission’s plans for U.S. 70.

As detailed in Wednesday’s paper, a public work session for Havelock residents is scheduled from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Jan. 17 at the Havelock Tourist and Event Center. A work session for New Bern and James City-area residents is planned for 5:30 p.m. Jan. 31 at Brinson Elementary School.

The Havelock News will be there — scribbling and snapping furiously, I’m sure — and we hope you’ll be there to tell the engineers what’s right and wrong about their plans for a streamlined 70. Click here for the Super 70 Web site, which includes updated information and corridor concept maps.

HaveNews.com, the online home of the Havelock News, premiered its new look today. All Freedom ENC newspapers are getting a facelift in order to make information easier to find and more attractive for our readers.

Along with the new look comes a homepage link to the Havelock Scoop, so I’ll try to update more frequently as Web traffic to the blog increases. Your blog comments, e-mails and phone calls are always welcome!