BP ad-pull letter

OK, here's a prediction for editors: One more thing you'll be juggling will be telling the ad department about every reference to every major corporation in your pages -- before the pages hit the plates.

Stupid, you say? Well, yes, but then again read Ad Age's story "BP Institutes 'Ad Pull' Policy for Print Publications." First Morgan Stanley, now BP, which Ad Age says wants prior review of all content mentioning its name or a competitor.

The oil giant says well, gee, we didn't really mean it to seem all that draconian, the agency kinda did that on its own, etc. Hey, whatever you say.

When Ad Age reported earlier on Morgan Stanley's foray into the same area, the general wisdom was "with the editorial/advertising wall at most publications, the guidelines could prove nearly impossible to accommodate."

That wall isn't made of steel and doesn't reach to the heavens. A few big advertisers making the same demands, and it falls.

Go ahead, prove me wrong. Please.