I’ve mentioned before that I’m an avid skimmer of Parade magazine. Not a reader, just a skimmer. And the one feature I skim more closely than others is Walter Scott’s Personality Parade.

It’s right there in the front of Parade. Readers send in questions; the anonymous Personality Parade guy (Walter Scott is a pseudonym) answers them. Often the questions could easily be found with a simple Google search. But I’m guessing most of the readers have, shall we say, a pre-Google mindset (i.e. they’re really old).

Many submissions fascinate me because they ask for answers to seemingly unanswerable questions. For instance, a few weeks back, Pat Darbo of Bozeman, Mont., inquired, “What’s the greatest rock ‘n’ roll song of all time?”

The Personality Parade guy replied with characteristic certainty: “Otis Redding’s ‘Respect.’” OK, then. We’ve definitively determined the greatest rock ‘n’ roll song of all time! That was surprisingly easy.

Now that that’s settled, we’ve compiled a list of questions for Personality Parade – along with the certainty-laden answers we’d expect to receive. Here we go …

Q: What’s the greatest movie of all time?
A: Ben Hur.

Q: Who’s history’s most beautiful woman?
A: Cleopatra.

Q: Do we have free will, or are our actions predetermined?
A: Until his death in 2005, our actions were predetermined by Bob Denver. We now have free will.

Q: If God is omnipotent, can he create a boulder so big he cannot lift it?
A: Yes.

Q: I have a lump on my back. Is it benign or malignant?
A: Benign. But you do have a malignant tumor in your lung that won’t be diagnosed until 2012.

Q: Who really was responsible for breaking up the Beatles?
A: Charo.

Q: Why doesn’t my husband respect my career needs?
A: Because of the way you treated him that time in Zurich.

Q: Why is my car making a weird clicking noise?
A: The rear axle is shot.

Thanks to Matt Donlan for contributing.

Since Slate.com is my home page, I’m not sure why I haven’t stumbled upon Slate’s brilliant “culture blogger” Seth Stevenson before. But after reading his post “Don’t Believe the Wipe” (about the new “Comfort Wipe”), I need to check in more regularly.

I really don’t feel comfortable telling you what Comfort Wipe does, but maybe you can guess. And if not, the complete blog post is here. 

Here’s a link to the infomerical if you want to skip right to finding out how 18 inches of plastic can change you life … or at least allow you to “Maintain your dignity while maintaining your personal hygiene.” 

I agree with Stevenson; that older lady really does look like she’s about to wink at the audience.

The other day a colleague forwarded me a really interesting article by Amy Corr at Media Post entitled “Agency Taps YouTube For Corporate Use.” 

Now the title itself might not seem particularly newsworthy — agencies have been using YouTube since forever to promote products and build community. But I’ve never seen anything like what Charlotte-based ad agency BooneOakley has done. They took what is a traditional format for a website — you know, Home, About Us, Case Studies, etc. — and turned each page into short videos that live on YouTube.

We learn about the company through a character named Billy, a marketing director whose untimely death is a direct result of his shortsighted decision to hire a “run-of-the-mill” agency. The takeaway: Unless you want to meet the same fate as poor Billy, hire BooneOakley instead. 

While some have argued the actual creative could be more, um, creative, the idea is brilliant. And personally, I thought it was very entertaining. Okay, I didn’t love that Billy had to suffer such a violent death. But I also have to close my eyes during even vaguely scary movie previews, so maybe it’s just me. 

Regardless of the detractors (who in my opinion are just jealous that they didn’t think of this idea first), BooneOakley’s approach has been a huge success, generating new traffic and even getting a video response from one would-be job candidate.

You can watch it here and tell us what you think. Do you like this new format?

A couple in a swanky restaurant informs the waiter that they haven’t budgeted for their meal. Apparently, they didn’t expect the filet to cost so much more than their recent meal at a taco stand.

A customer explains to the video clerk that he only has seven dollars set aside for a DVD priced at $19.99. But he might be able to go up to $8.50.

A woman tells the hair stylist she wants highlights – but can only pay for a trim. Of course, she’ll “pay for the highlights next time.”

These three scenarios play out in my new favorite YouTube video: “The Vendor Client relationship – in real world situations.”

I’m not sure who the creative genius is behind this film; all I know is his YouTube handle is zeorge497. But his observations ring oh-so-painfully true to anyone who has worked in a creative agency and dealt with clients making outrageous and unreasonable demands.

Looks like zeorge497 has a lot of other admirers, too. The video was posted on May 22 and had well over a half-million views two weeks later. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

We already know that advertising is everywhere. In fact, in a typical day, the average eight-year-old is bombarded with 1.2 million ads. Okay, maybe not 1.2 million, but it’s a lot. Unless the ad is monumentally creative, it’s all just white noise.

In response, consumers have gone old school … sort of. They’ve stopped listening and instead ask their friends what to buy. And here’s the “sort of” part: That friend might be someone they never met, but feel they know intimately. Yes, I’m talking about bloggers — specifically, people who blog about personal things. The “mom blogger” is a great example.

Yes, you’ve never actually met the mom blogger. But you did commiserate with her last week when her kids had the flu and her husband was away on business. You cheered for her when little Ava (or Emma or Sophie) finally graduated into “big girl” underpants. In fact, sometimes you feel like you know her better than your real-life friends. So when she tells you which brand of pull-up diapers she likes best, you believe her, right?

Not so fast. See, advertisers have caught on that popular bloggers have become the new tastemakers, which makes said advertisers’ collective mouths water. Imagine: Being able to reach a huge, highly targeted audience of potential consumers just waiting for advice about what to buy next.

Here’s what’s been going on: Advertisers have started sponsoring blogs with highly targeted banner ads and giving bloggers “free” products. The blogger is supposed to write about the product, and if she wants to keep the supply coming, it better be a glowing review. This all makes advertiser and blogger very happy. But unless they start thinking long-term and paying attention to their audience, it’ll be a short-lived love affair.

What’s happening now is a lot like what happened about 10 years ago with email spam. It used to be that if something landed in your inbox — even if you didn’t recognize the sender’s name — you’d open it, read it and maybe even click on whatever offer was inside. Now we just delete those emails. The game is over.

So, here’s my advice to all the bloggers out there and the companies that rely on them to promote products: This can be a fine arrangement, but if you don’t follow a few rules, you’re going to lose trust, followed by your audience.

For the bloggers: You’re providing a helpful service – new moms do want to know which diaper you liked best. However, you need to be upfront about your relationship to the product. Tell your audience that such-and-such a company asked you to try it out, and then tell us what you really think. If you give some negative reviews, we’re more likely to believe your positive reviews. And don’t worry that your supply will dry up. After all, who wants crappy products anyway, even if they are free?

For the advertisers: People (at least for now) really do pay attention to bloggers and take their opinions seriously, so you’re smart to give products to bloggers. But that’s where your relationship must end. If you try to control what they say, people will be on to you and your credibility will be blown. Besides, if you do get a negative review, maybe it will help you create a better product next time.

We’d love to hear from you. If you run a blog, has anyone approached you to promote product? Or can you think of any egregious examples of bloggers abusing their power for product?