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2012 Super Bowl Commercials

Videos of all the Super Bowl commercials are available online. If you missed a few, you can always check for good ones, or review favorites you saw last night. Here are some of the ones that I liked:

The Overpowering Fear of a … Sports Bar

Perhaps some fret all day, dreading the prospect of a sports bar in a business district in a town that has too few businesses of any kind. I am not among them. In small-town Whitewater, the main thoroughfare is called, creatively, Main Street. Along it one finds dozens of commercial businesses. Fast-food restaurants, strip malls,…

AppleInsider: Apple’s Santa TV spot deemed best ad of holiday season

What do you think? (I’d say, very good, indeed.) According to viewer reactions measured by TV ad analysis firm Ace Metrix and released on Friday, Apple’s commercial collected enough points to be named the most effective ad during the crucial holiday season, beating out advertising veterans like Coca-Cola, Pillsbury and Nintendo, reports GigaOM. See, AppleInsider…

F.L.O.S.S: Protecting You from Low-Cost Teeth-Whitening Services

It’s not health, but favoring some businesses over others (and over consumers) that’s the concern of Connecticut’s regulators: Here’s the description of the Institute for Justice’s video: Teeth-whitening services are popular and increasingly available at spas, salons and shopping malls. This has been a boon for consumers because these businesses offer whitening services at a…

Idaho legitimizes small-scale raw-milk producers

The potato state bests America’s Dairyland in common sense and consumer choice: “There were a lot of illegal raw-milk sales throughout the state,” Patten said. “Across-the-fence sales, let’s say.” So, in early 2010, instead of drawing guns and raiding those operations, the state of Idaho–with the help of raw-milk advocates and a less-enthusiastic dairy industry–modified…

Small Business Saturday

It’s Small Business Saturday in America on 11.26.11. I’ve been critical of government’s intervention in the marketplace (between chains and local stores), but there’s much to recommend local merchants who find success through their own, private efforts. Shoppers don’t need a politician or bureaucrat’s guidance. (“Consumers should be able to decide for themselves without the…

Adventures in Phone Shopping

I asked readers last week whether I should get an iPhone or stick with an Android one, having previously had three Android phones and more than that number of BlackBerry models still earlier. Comments were mixed, with some support either way. Poll results heavily favored the iPhone, and The Phantom Stranger’s recommendations (always reliable) made…

How Anti-Dumping Laws are Bad for American Jobs

Here’s a brief video (perfect for classroom use!) on how anti-dumping laws – designed to protect American jobs from foreign competition — actually inhibit American production, raise Americans’ prices for goods, and stymie domestic job creation. Restrictions on importation may not be sensible as economic policy, but they’re a great gain for a few protected…