Misplaced stripes. Okay, we admit it. After making fun of everyone else for their misplaced automated advertisements we here at Crikey produced our own delightful juxtaposition yesterday with this:

The worst thing is that it wasn’t even an automated ad. We put it there. Deliberately. How embarrassment.

Where is the party and why are we not invited? There must be a really really big party in Victoria this weekend, what with the number of half or full page alcohol ads in the Herald Sun today: Page 16, Page 20, Page 26, Page 32, Page 40, Page 45, Page 100. You’d think it was the AFL grand final weekend.

Meet China’s tastemaker. Given the media’s newfound love of China and the impending doom of the GFC, this Global Post interview with FHM China editor in chief Jacky Jin is worth a watch.

While you’re there, admire the beauty of the Global Post site — is this the future of journalism?

How digital marketing can move the masses in India. The Tata Tea brand team stood conventional wisdom on its head and used digital to connect with mass India. The brand message is an intrinsic part of this movement to “wake up” the slumbering Indian voter and get him to take part in electing his leaders. And then digital is integrated seamlessly to deliver on the proposition. As a matter of fact, it is only digital which could have delivered on the brand’s proposition to an entire nation. The entire campaign was made possible because someone understood the possibilities offered by the digital medium. — Advertising Age

White House gets s-xy. Journalists seeking to talk a little foreign policy with high-profile Obama administration officials live from the G20 meetings in London this week were solicited for phone s-x instead after ringing up the toll-free number given by the White House. In a press release, the White House accidentally listed a s-x line number for journalists seeking an “on-the-record briefing call with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and National Security Advisor Jim Jones to discuss the NATO summit.” Asked for comment about this mishap, Deputy White House Press Secretary Bill Burton responded: “A corrected phone number on a press release is probably one of the stupider things FOX News has covered lately.” — Fox News

The news is breaking — who will fix it? Less than a decade ago, at the dawn of our brave new century, the American newspaper was doing a robust business. Newsrooms at major publications like the New York Times and the Washington Post were brimming with reporters; advertising rates were healthy; and, despite the rapid rise of electronic media in the late ’90s, news websites, still in their infancy, were no match for a fully formed print publication. The future of the news would involve the Internet, an average editor might concede, but it seemed a long way off before the new medium would do battle with the old one. How times have changed. — Favourwire

Huffington Post investigative team a nonprofit model in the making. Beneath the surface of the new investigative unit announced this week by Arianna Huffington lurks a business model that could work for other outfits and other forms of news — but not without some complications. In this case, American News Project founder Nick Penniman is setting up the investigative group in ways that suggest how nonprofit and for-profit ventures may be able to collaborate in pursuit of news. — Poynter Online

Don’t lick the newspaper.

It reads: “please lick responsibly”, “Russia’s No. 1 premium vodka Russian Standard has created the world’s first, ‘lickvert’ (vodka dipped advert). Enjoy the taste of Russia.” Look, this is just dumb. Can someone please make an official announcement that vodka has less brand differentiation than gasoline? Thanks. Also, it’s not the first lickvert or whatever. Welch’s did one like a year ago and I’m sure there are others but this ad is lying all over the place. Russia’s No. 1 Premium? Who gave you that qualification? Damn commies. — Media Bistro