Every weekday, PR Daily associate editor Alan Pearcy highlights the day’s most compelling stories and amusing marginalia on the Web in this, #TheDailySpin.

It’s tough to reach your peak in childhood—just ask Jodie Foster. No disrespect to her performance as an awkward shut-in in “Nell,” but Foster’s finest performance is, was, and forever will be her acting debut as the Little Miss Coppertone sunscreen girl. Let’s hope Alaina Thompson doesn’t suffer the same fate. The five-year-old, who revives the iconic ad after winning a Facebook contest search, tells her new employer she eventually sees herself in all kinds of jobs, “like a 'hair saloner,' a McDonald's girl, or a dance teacher.” Dream big, little one.

Meanwhile, if you’d thought the “Call Me Maybe” trend peaked with the strategically spliced rendition of the Carly Rae Jepsen earworm featuring President Obama, think again. A new parody of the tune—and ode to one of Team USA’s current swimming sensations—might soon have everyone singing “Call Me Lochte.”



Ryan Lochte has already claimed a gold medal in these Olympic Games, but for those of us still reaching for our own, Hostess (“NOT A SPONSOR”) has something special for you that’s perhaps even sweeter than a gold medal.



A Twinkie is certainly tastier than any old medal—something that Brazilian Olympic judo bronze medalist Felipe Kitadai learned the hard way. The athlete literally takes his hardware with him everywhere he goes, and marvelously damaged his medal while taking a shower.

Before the start of their competitions, U.S. track athletes are staging a tweet-protest against the International Olympic Committee’s #Rule40, which says that while participating at the games, contestants are prohibited from promoting any brands that aren't permitted by the IOC or a national Olympic committee, nor can they post tweets promoting said companies.

A spokesman for the IOC has also asked fans to cool it on all of the social media spoiler alerts because it’s interfering with the delayed telecasts of respective events.

Looks like Guy Adams won’t be spoiling any results soon. The Independent’s Los Angeles correspondent—an outspoken critic of NBC’s coverage of the games—had his Twitter account frozen after he shared the email address of an NBC exec.

Another critic is behind bars for his tweets. Authorities in the U.K. located and arrested a critic who tweeted at the host country’s Olympic diver Tom Daley that the athlete has let his father down during the men’s 10-meter synchro event on Monday. Reports Mashable, the decrier later threatened to drown the Olympian in a pool. That’ll get the attention of police.

The Olympics aside, social media has provided an ample environment for companies, with sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Foursquare all serving as an extensions of a brand's in-house research department.

[Related: Got a new potato chip recipe? Lay’s has $1 million for you]

Speaking of Foursquare, if your brand is struggling to get customers to check in using location-based services, perhaps it ought to consult this infographic from Intuit with tips on how a number of small businesses are using such networks.

Ricki Lake, on the other hand, has decided to set up her own social network when the host returns to television in September following an eight-year hiatus.

Eight years seems like a blink of an eye compared to the lifetime we’ve spent without a Louis Vuitton waffle maker. Oh yeah—that exists.

Is there something you think we should include in our next edition of #TheDailySpin? Tweet me @iquotesometimes with your suggestions. Thanks in advance.

(Image via)