Who can forget the advertising campaign a number of years back that threw social watch dogs into fits over Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF). That particular advertising foray employed the lithe bodies of teen and preteen boys and girls in a way which, while certainly drawing attention, underscored today's excessive use of underage sexuality in advertising. Parent groups and child protective agencies were enraged, as well they might be. However, a recent ad campaign launched by Beyonce and her House of Dereon, clothes for girls, makes Abercrombie's misadventures look about as harmless as a day at the zoo.

A blog post presented by our sister blog Styledash, reveals the shocking truth about the clothing ad campaign, which is the brainchild of Beyonce and her mother, Tina Knowles. Blogger Kristen Seymour espouses the danger in this type of advertising by describing the presentation in the terms of "Go on, baby, and earn your lunch money the old-fashioned way."

The gallery provided by Styledash is self-explanatory and might serve to turn the stomachs of little girl's parents everywhere. Certainly, Beyonce and her advertising agency have accomplished what they wanted to. We can also believe that Abercrombie & Fitch shall benefit slightly with a parallel focus to its own questionable advertising strategy. However, we need only to remember the enigmatic fate of JonBenet Ramsey to realize down which road this type of advertising strategy may lead.

(Thanks to Styledash for the tip, Additional thanks to Gawker)

This post is part of our Money Face-Offs feature. Let us know who you think comes out ahead in this head-to-head match-up, and check out our other Money Face-Off posts.

It's small wonder hip-hop stars and brand empire builders Diddy and Jay-Z are known as much for their rap sheets as their balance sheets; after all, they have more AKA's than most mafiosos.

P. Diddy is only "P." in New Zealand and the U.K., and I'll always know him as "Puffy" (and "Puff Daddy," "Sean Combs," and "Sean John"). He's gone through more name changes than Prince and all those formerly-known-as such.

Jay-Z, whose given name was also "Shawn" (though spelled differently from Diddy/Daddy/Puffy's "Sean"), also goes by "Jiggy," "Jazzy," and "Jay Hova." While it seems obvious that Jay-Z would win in a battle of the boys from the block (after all, he's dating Beyonce), and he is, after all, officially richer, still there is controversy. Whose business empire is more diverse and eclectic? Whose criminal record is more sordid? Whose clothing line is more inappropriate for the toddlers they market toward?

Putting criminal records aside for the time being (and for the record, I think Jay-Z, with a stabbing incident on his rap sheet, beats Diddy, whose gun controversy ended with an acquittal and -- most importantly -- zero bullets actually connecting with human flesh), let's compare the rappers' empires:

In what may be a first, a company is buying air-time to show infomercials without the intent of really selling us anything. The world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is buying late night airtime on cable stations like Lifetime and USA Networks to show infomercials, basically with the intent of convincing employees and consumers that the company really isn't so bad after all.

They've pulled out all the stops. You get to hear from Wal-Mart workers serving in the military, watch footage from the company American Idol-like competition for employees, hear about the company's organic initiatives, and even listen to singer Beyonce talk about how much she "loves" Wal-Mart.

If this seems bizarre, it is. It's unheard of, but it might not be such a bad idea. It will show the company's employees that they want to do something about their reputation, and may even win over a few consumers who are on the fence about the company. A Wal-Mart spokesman said that the infomercials weren't that expensive, and that this is seen as a kind of low-risk gamble.

This seems smart. Since there is so much coverage of Wal-Mart in the media (BloggingStocks's Brian White has an excellent Wal-Mart Weekly feature on the company), much of it highly negative, it seems right for Wal-Mart to air its side of the story.

It would be pretty exciting if this catches on -- Will anyone facing negative press start buying airtime to defend themselves? Could Paris Hilton film infomercials of herself teaching chess to her fellow inmates to win over public opinion?