Bill Gates to Now Control Pop Culture, Push For "Healthy Living"
Blogger and film critic extraordinaire Alan Vanneman points to this New York Times story about the latest initiative from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation:
The Gates Foundation is set to expand its involvement and spend more money on influencing popular culture through a deal with Viacom, the parent company of MTV and its sister networks VH1, Nickelodeon and BET. It could be called "message placement": the social or philanthropic corollary to product placement deals in which marketers pay to feature products in shows and movies. Instead of selling Coca-Cola or G.M. cars, they promote education and healthy living….
Among the initiative's successes have been plotlines on E.R. dealing with HIV and organ donation.
