Marketing

PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine's staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.

• By Candace Butera
• Member Exclusive

New research suggests a shift in pro-environmental messaging.

• By Tom Jacobs

Experiments in a convenience store laboratory suggest the influence of the "tobacco power wall."

• By Nathan Collins

What the company can learn from its recent E. coli outbreak.

• By James McWilliams

And what does it have to do with the largest refugee crisis since World War II?

• By Lisa Wade

When it comes to the obesity epidemic, athletes are part of the problem.

• By Sam Riches

On our farms, in our stores, and at our dining tables, aesthetics and efficiency are at war. Everybody loses.

• By Tracie McMillan

Even our most personal health conditions are part of a vast but hidden market for our medical data. Don't we deserve to know about it?

• By Adam Tanner

An early look at a Pacific Standard story that's currently only available to subscribers.

• By Pacific Standard Staff

Sometimes, the best stuff shocks its audience, but brands are still figuring out the smartest way to navigate the scrum of the viral age.

• By Rick Paulas

Alcohol-related deaths are most common among middle-aged white men with disposable income, so why are all of the PSAs aimed at kids?

• By Lisa Wade

The merger of online and offline data is bringing more intrusive tracking.

• By Julia Angwin

Macs might be cool and exciting, but PC users just don't care.

• By Tom Jacobs

When a cartoon character gazes into our eyes from a cereal box, it increases our trust in the brand and our connection with it.

• By John Upton

New textual analysis of Billboard Hot 100 hits shows that certain themes are more likely to be No. 1.

• By Bettina Chang

Paul Hiebert talks to the moderators of the community that tries to keep the site's exchange free from marketers disguised as honest users.

• By Paul Hiebert

Carol J. Adams argues that dressing up food distracts us from ethical issues.

• By Lisa Wade

On the most powerful aspect of the computer giant’s emotional branding strategy.

• By Nicki Lisa Cole

What is Apple promising consumers in its famous "Silhouette" commercials?

• By Nicki Lisa Cole

You wouldn't know it from the advertising, but young mothers are among the biggest consumers of carbonated pick-me-ups.

• By Sarah Sloat

Paul Hiebert talks with the co-founder of the country's first Masters in Branding program.

• By Paul Hiebert

In marketing and branding materials, the computer giant promises to strengthen your relationship with loved ones.

• By Nicki Lisa Cole

Companies that market products as a way for consumers to improve the world through their purchases not only appear to give less than we expect, but they might actually be hurting their own sales.

• By Michael Fitzgerald

Overwhelmingly positive commercials that inspire happiness can go a long way.

• By Nicki Lisa Cole