A subtle kind of advocacy for Obamacare may be behind the popularity of Skloot's The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, which tells of Skloot's quest to find about the poor black woman whose tumor cells became a mainstay of medical research.
But for First Amendment watchdogs, it is a troublesome trend that they've been trying to stave off through a mix of advocacy and subtle legal threats.
Publishers and advertisers are becoming more creative about such ads, and are running games, contests and events where the advertiser has only a subtle presence — exactly the opposite of what some of the advocacy groups were aiming for.
It also reported spending $27 million on "issue advocacy," which the Post notes is "often a subtle distinction, since the ads inevitably help one political figure or party".
This form of advocacy was engaged more often for children with subtle or invisible needs, such as students with learning disabilities, than for children with clearly visible or physical disabilities, such as cerebral palsy.
So, the automated announcements are intended to be Metro's quick, subtle heads-up to those riders, who may have heard through disability advocacy communities that the 7000-series trains pose an extra safety risk for them.
"The language in very subtle ways has gotten a bit mushier," said Bill McGee, a travel consultant to Consumers Union, the advocacy group.
"It's subtle — after all, it is an advertisement," said Erminia Cozza, a legal consultant to the Italian consumer advocacy group Codacons.
Although none of the events crossed the line into direct advocacy, each one found a way to link up with the film's not-too-subtle message: Researchers keep adding to the growing body of scientific evidence that human-induced climate change is happening, and the world needs to act on that knowledge.
