So since I removed all of my interests from Facebook, it's been intriguing to see what "the system" assumes about me based on the few things it does know (my gender, age and marital status) and revealed by the pattern of ads that appear. Apparently, I'm dying to lose weight and save money, even if it means taking a risk on a scam. I love diamonds and visual puzzle games, especially when they feed my competitive nature. I also have young children. Yeah, not so much.

I haven't decided yet whether it's wise to take the opportunity to designate ads as irrelevant, offensive, etc. or if that just feeds into the targeting of my own demographic of one. I also should confess this is all a verrrrrry gray area for me as an advertised-to and advertis-er; I use Facebook regularly in my work to communicate possibilities for participation to the likeliest people to be involved. I'm haunted by a statement from the PBS film The Persuaders--that when there are no stories left that exist simply to move us, when all stories are attempting to sell us something, we cease to be a "culture." Is this possible? Is this impending?

Chevy is currently advertising that its Silverado pickup has "unbeatable" gas mileage. Ford has a commercial for its new F-150 that claims "you can't get better gas mileage" in a truck. Both get 21 miles per gallon. So ... they aren't lying, really.

I've been catching up on my commercial viewing during the NFL football season and, as per usual, I've been surprised by the stories advertisers are telling us. Some of the most egregious lies seem to be coming from the much-maligned auto industry.

Automakers, instead of actually building more fuel efficient vehicles, have decided instead to try to convince us that 24 miles per gallon (mpg) is fuel efficient--which is patently absurd. 24 mpg is only about 2 mpg more than the average, which has been stagnant for almost 30 years. The fuel efficient label, such as it is, should only apply to cars with a 35 mpg rating or higher (highway).

In the ad above, by the way, that's 24 mpg highway (always read the fine print); the city rating for the new Ford Flex is actually 17 mpg. Seriously.