15
To receive greatness, believe all the lies you tell yourself.
I may have walked out on Wesley after our almost one-night stand, so I'm not scratching my head with confusion while waking up alone, drooling on my couch. I blink a few times, urging my vision to clear from the morning fog, and I find Layla seated at her desk in the corner, staring at me with a cocky smirk.
“Whatcha doing over there?" she asks, sounding way too happy for this early hour of the morning.
I pull the throw pillow into my chest and press my face into the center. “Did you get walked out on?"
“Kind of, but not really," I mutter against the fabric.
“Did you almost but not quite sleep with him again?" she continues.
“No, we watched a movie and fell asleep."
“Lame." Yup, it was lame, but nice at the same time. I can't speak for Wesley, but at least I did nothing I'd regret, despite me pleading for more lovin' last night.
“So, first, take a deeeep good morning breath, ahhhhh," she says, stretching her arms over her head. “Then say, ‘Today will turn out A-Okay!'"
“Layla …"
“Take your morning breath," she peeps.
“When did you become such a chipper person? Did you steal my book?" I'm the one up and ready to go in the morning while she resembles a zombie that just crawled out of a grave.
“And breeeeathe," she says again.
“What the hell are you doing?" I whine.
“Forget it," she says, clicking on her mouse a few times. “Your lover boy is all over the internet right now."
“What? What are you talking about?" I laugh because I feel a little crazy and want to hope she's blowing smoke up my butt.
“The Boston Local Gazette, baby," she says. I close my eyes, already tired of the guessing game. “Lacto Natural Central sues Wesley Moon and Virtual Generation for defamation of branding."
Oh my God. “You have to be kidding?"
Layla nods her head, and her lips straighten along her face. “Sorry, Mads. This isn't good, chica."
I stand up from the couch, tossing the throw pillow behind me and rush to Layla's computer. “Can I read it?"
She moves from her chair and heads over to the kitchen. “Coffee I assume?"
“Sure, thanks," I mutter while scrolling to the top of the article.
Virtual Generation, a local startup, ventured into the advertising business using sharp tactics which revolved around social media and online advertising. After paying off initial investors, Virtual Generation earned their reputation by promising a significant return on investments for any company who joined their collaboration. With strict contracts put into place to protect Virtual Generation, they offer their clients and vendors little protection. They swept these issues under the rug for months because of their lack of litigation members and small budgets. Some anonymous collaborators are calling Virtual Generation‘s contracts scams and fish bait.
Just over a week ago, Lacto Natural Central, another local startup, who specializes in the distribution of breast milk, signed a contract with Virtual Generation for a series of ads and online promotion. Virtual Generation outsourced former child-star model, Wesley Moon, best known for his ‘Get Milk' campaigns back in the nineties.
With the detailed overview that Lacto Natural Central supplied Virtual Generation before the start of their collaboration, confusion regarding the product is not a likely situation. However, before Lacto Natural Central was shown the designed ads, some of the photographs markedwith Lacto Natural Central's branding were leaked through social media by a former employee of Virtual Generation. As you can see in the photos, the branding of Lacto Natural Central was being poked fun at by promoting the product with a half-naked man, Wesley Moon, who is seen sporting a milk mustache while holding a young baby. The photograph depicts the image of a man consuming the breast milk instead of the baby, sexualizing the advertisement.
While the photographs were taken down from social media soon after release, the damage of branding was irreparable, and Lacto Natural Central is beginning the proceedings for recourse with a lawsuit in product and brand defamation. The only statement we could obtain comes from Heather Marks, CEO of Lacto Natural Central, who states: “We are mortified and ashamed to have trusted Virtual Generation with the sensitivity of our brand and product awareness. The defamatory outcome of the representation for our product is an insulting joke to parents who are struggling to supply their children with breast milk. We have already endured a complicated road while striving for success, but we are passionate in offering a unique service to those in search. After years of trial and error, success was in view until this week, leaving us in a state of shock and repulse by the improper attention."
Lacto Natural Central holds Wesley Moon and Virtual Generation accountable for their improper actions. More information to follow soon.
The photos I saw on Instagram the day of the shoot are next to the article, adding insult to injury.
Wesley is taking blame for this, just as much as Virtual Generation. The press needs to get their facts straight and so does Lacto Natural Central. He didn't know what he agreed to, but then again, he's the only one to blame for that too. As scared as I am to see how far this went on social media, #WesleyMoon and #Milkman are trending words on Twitter in the local area. After a minute of searching through Instagram and Facebook, I can see these platforms aren't looking any better. That could be why he left.
