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

I’ve often thought: If only my dead grandmother had left me her diamond engagement ring so I could hawk it for some crispy cured pork strips. Actually, I’ve never thought that. I prefer my bacon limp. Then again, I’ve never faced the temptation of a Bacon Barter—the delicious new campaign from Oscar Mayer. To prove how delectable its Butcher Thick Cut Bacon is, the brand is sending comedian Josh Sankey on a cross-country road trip with nothing but its bacon to pay for his expenses. Follow his journey on Twitter or Facebook to learn when the Bacon Barter will be in your neck of the woods.



If the allure of bacon can power a man across the United States, it’s no surprise our government would use food as a diplomacy tool.

Of course, the diplomacy didn’t last long for Florida pizzeria owner Scott Van Nuzer, who is at the center of a Democrats vs. Republicans Yelp war since famously bear-hug lifting President Obama when the commander-in-chief stopped by Van Nuzer’s Big Apple Pizza along the campaign trail last Sunday.

By the way, has anyone else noticed the quasi Al Bundy Ed O’Neil peering through the door in the original bear hug photo?

Negative restaurant reviews and Creepy McCreepersons aside, there is a definite upswing to the story: The birth of our newest Internet meme—the bear hug. From skydiving out of a airplane to breastfeeding on the cover of Time magazine, I can’t wait to see where this one goes.

[Related: Time magazine’s new cover is quite the PR stunt]

It was a breastfeeding cartoon posted to The New Yorker’s Facebook page that launched what the magazine dubbed “Nipplegate” after the social network temporarily banned the publication from the site.

Meanwhile, UNICEF is receiving accolades for its latest social media efforts. The nonprofit’s most recent Pinterest campaign highlights the fictional profile of Ami Musa, a 13-year-old girl from Sierra Leone who pins her less-than-lavish desires and needs, such as rice and soap, to a board titled “Really want these.” Each pin links visitors to a donation page to help fund the organization’s work to end child poverty.

[Related: How 3 nonprofits successfully use Pinterest]

Speaking of children, something I know my kids would go without is pole-dancing class. Alas, the owner of a fitness studio in Vancouver insists parents are demanding them.


Elsewhere in Canada, a corn maze created at a family farm in the province of Alberta has set a Guinness World Record as the largest functioning QR code measuring 32,000 square feet.



Marketers are also using technology to test new advertising platforms. Levi’s, for example, debuted a digital magazine-esque ad treatment via Flipboard, blending elements of print’s glossy pages with social content.

On the other end of the spectrum, advertising might be too complex. Imagine if it was stripped down to its most fundamental components, such as the art for this awesome collection of minimalist movie posters.

As for a film’s audio components, men and women are battling it out for which gender provides better sound effects.



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