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Nestle Quik Flipbook Ad On DC Metro Walls Is Kinda Magical

As the DC red line train I rode last week shot through a tunnel, a happy brown bunny jumped up and down on the walls, lofting up a bottle of Nestle Quik. It wasn't a video, it was a series of back-illuminated panels, each one a successive frame in the animated cartoon. It was like running through flipbook in real life. I found a clip of it on YouTube, posted inside, the cartoon starts at 15 seconds in. More »

4:13 PM on Tue Dec 2 2008
By Ben Popken
9,797 views, 75 comments

Most discussed Hamtronix: They have something similar in the Boston T underground. more »

upselling

Best Buy Really Does Not Want To Let You Buy The Advertised Special

Reader John writes in with a story about "upselling" at Best Buy. He saw a TomTom GPS unit for $99.99 on sale at Best Buy, so he headed over to the store to pick one up. What follows is his account of how much trouble it was to actually buy the item. We think we counted 9 times that John had to tell various and sundry Best Buy employees that, yes, he was sure that he didn't want to buy a slightly more expensive model of the same device. More »

3:17 PM on Mon Nov 24 2008
By Meg Marco
32,521 views, 215 comments

Most discussed blkhrt1: Funny thing about the whole: "No act or practice should be engaged in by an advertiser to discourage the purchase of more »

christmas creep

New York Times, 1908: 100 Years Of Christmas Creep!

Reader Annie spotted this early Christmas ad while browsing through the New York Times Machine. It's from November 11, 1908. More »

4:55 PM on Wed Nov 12 2008
By Meg Marco
10,238 views, 22 comments

badvertising

Old Cigarette Ads: Doctors, Nurses, And Rock Hudson Say It's Good For You

Man, cigarettes were awesome in the past, if these old ads collected by Stanford University are to be believed. They calmed your nerves so you'd stop humming nervously! They soothed your throat! They made you a movie star and helped you capture animals on your big game hunt! We don't know what tobacco was made of before the mid-80s, but no wonder everyone smoked. More »

5:20 PM on Fri Oct 10 2008
By Chris Walters
8,873 views, 62 comments

Most discussed Corporate-Shill: My City has a smoking Ban. Life if good. more »

nutrition information

Lawsuits Claim Applebee's Weight Watchers Food Has Too Much Fat

Awhile back we posted about some testing done by a group of local news affiliates that showed that the actual amount of fat (and calories) in certain "healthy" menu items from a variety of restaurants was different than what was listed on the menu. More »

1:34 PM on Fri Oct 10 2008
By Meg Marco
7,217 views, 38 comments

Most discussed Git Em SteveDave loves this guy->★: When dealing with meat, is it possible to get the exact amount of fat? I mean, if they switch more »

corn refiners association

High Fructose Corn Syrup Research Paid For By HFCS Industry

CBS says that they took a look at the research cited by the marketing campaign from the Corn Refiners Association — which features "people-in-the-know" rolling their eyes and scoffing at befuddled anti-corn-syrup zealots — and realized that "three were sponsored by groups that stand to profit from research that promotes HFCS. Two were never published so they’re funding sources are unclear. And one was sponsored by a Dutch foundation that represents the interests of the sugar industry." More »

12:39 PM on Wed Oct 1 2008
By Meg Marco
11,021 views, 134 comments

Most discussed AmericaTheBrave: The problem with HFCS isn't that it doesn't send a signal to your brain that you are full. Sugar doesn't more »

unfortunate marketing

These Pennsylvania Lottery Mascot Costumes Were Poorly Thought Out

Quinto is a new lottery game from Pennsylvania, and their mascot is a bunch of fingers, we're guessing. We can't figure out how these mascot costumes made it from concept to on-the-street reality, though. We like how the guy in this photo seems to be thinking, "What exactly am I posing with?" More »

11:02 AM on Fri Sep 26 2008
By Chris Walters
14,441 views, 42 comments

Most discussed eekfuh: They look more like burn victims, than phallic "devices". more »

freecreditreport

FreeCreditReport Hires Ed McMahon To Rap In "Viral" Videos

We're warning you now, so that you won't bother to fall for the "you-gotta-see-this!" absurdity of an 85-year-old former talk show announcer and sweepstakes pitchman reduced to self-mockery in order to make some money. We don't begrudge McMahon his career, but as you know we deeply begrudge "free"creditreport.com for its misleading name, commercials, promises—well, pretty much everything. More »

7:03 PM on Thu Sep 25 2008
By Chris Walters
3,281 views, 29 comments

Most discussed oncebittwiceshy: Instead of being misleading I found the website to be rather straightforward and self explanatory. There is absolutely nothing misleading more »

toys r us

Toys "R" Us Unable To Explain Why "All Video Games" Means "Some Video Games"

Toys "R" Us is not doing a very good job of explaining why an ad advertising a special that applies to "ALL Video Games $19.99 or less" only applies to some video games that are "$19.99 or less." Reader Laura says that not only are they unable to explain how "ALL" means "some," they aren't able to understand why she is upset. More »

10:59 AM on Tue Sep 23 2008
By Meg Marco
18,012 views, 69 comments

Most discussed dieselman8: Srry Cnsmrst, bt knw 'm nt ln whn sy tht th d s prtty dmn clr. Y gys shld more »

badvertising

Spirit: Now With Mind-Numbing In-Cabin Advertising

Kick open the exit doors and release the inflatable slides, Spirit is outfitting their entire fleet with cabin-saturating ads. Billed as Spirit's "latest innovation," the ads will litter "seat backs, window shades, overhead bins, tray tables, drink carts, napkins, cups, menus (what menus?) boarding passes, trash bags, soap dispensers," and probably even barf bags. More »

12:00 PM on Sat Sep 20 2008
By Carey
5,026 views, 54 comments

Most discussed EricLecarde: I can't help but feel this is a double edged sword. On the one hand, if it means Airfare pricing, more »

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