NPR: Lexus Ad Gums Up My 'New Yorker'

Lexus Ad Gums Up My 'New Yorker'

Filed under: Media

The latest Lexus hybrid ad.

Photo by MJ Davis

I was sipping my third morning coffee today (hey, if you're going to get up at 3 a.m., make it count), when I lifted up the cover of my New Yorker, and -- behold -- I discovered leaves neatly tucked between the pages ... leaves with delicate phrases printed on them like "Fewer nitrogen oxide emissions" and "Fewer carbon monoxide emissions." Ah, the poetry flows like hydrocarbon.

These earthly ads (which left sticky disks on the pages of my mag, permanently pasting essential pages together) are a pitch for the latest Lexus hybrid. The obvious question was: What are these things made of? Having razor-sharp BPP reporting instincts, I jumped on the case.

Each leaf was unique, smelled like something derived from the earth and tasted -- yes, I'll admit it -- like your average dirt. Then the New Yorker called and told me that the insert, at page 54, includes the following disclaimer:

No plants were harmed in the making of this advertisement. The leaves, from the Salal bush, are harvested annually and are completely renewable. Once harvested, the leaves were then treated with a simple glycerin solution to temporarily preserve shape and color.

Another mystery solved by the BPP investigative journalism team. And doll face, beware the sticky goo.

MJ Davis

2:20 PM ET | 11-13-2007 | permalink

Comments (Send a comment)

Aha! We come full circle. Salal is one of the plants that thieves go after in the piney north woods. Remember Deputy Ted Drogmund, who patrols the forests? He told me about salal, but I didn't realize what it looked like. Here's a link to an article featuring a pic of the good deputy questioning a salal picker: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003042206_salal06m.html

Not that I'm accusing Lexus or the New Yorker of poaching greens.

Sent by Editor Tricia | 6:50 PM ET | 11-13-2007

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