Fashion Fever Shopping Boutique, the correctly named Barbie toy, features a built-in credit card swiper and a life-size credit card for young children to use when buying outfits for their dolls. According to the Amazon website, “Once the balance hits zero, it will reset so you can continue to shop.”
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FlyJumper Ad Promises To Make You Awesome, Then Rich, Then Dead
By 10.4.07
In the U.S. they’re called PoweriZers, but in the U.K. those springy pogo-boot things are called FlyJumpers, and the company that sells them has come up with a bizarre ad that appeals to… materialistic and amoral fame-seekers who are suicidal, we guess? The commercial—which is available on the Amazon.co.uk product info page—shows a bank robber making an amazing escape on his FlyJumpers, and getting away with thousands of pound notes. Then, inexplicably, it turns into a scene from “Final Destination.”
FTD.com: Sorry, We're All Out Of Roses
By 9.22.07
Online florist FTD.com, “the world’s oldest floral services organization,” told reader Sean that they were out of roses. Sean had ordered a flower arrangement for his wife to celebrate their sixth anniversary. When he presciently called on the day of the anniversary to verify that his order had been received and processed, Sean was told that his flowers were not available, but not to worry, since FTD still had five minutes to deliver his arrangement. Puzzled, Sean instead tried to order a simple bouquet of roses. He writes:
Would You Let This Guy Pay You To Wrap Your Car In Ads?
By 8.27.07
We’d always heard rumors that there were companies that would pay you to wrap your car in their ads… but we thought it was a bunch of hooey. That’s right. Hooey. It’s not. There really are guys like Brian Morris of Pheonix, AZ who will pay you to wrap a big vinyl ad around your SUV.
AT&T Stops Pretending To Be The Network With The "Fewest Dropped Calls"
By 8.25.07
AT&T is no longer claiming to be the network with the “fewest dropped calls,” according to a company insider. The assertion was widely panned as a lie:
The ad campaign, which launched last March, was based on a Telephia report that actually noted AT&T Wireless (then Cingular) did not have the most reliable network in New York, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. A recent JD Power report gives that honor to T-Mobile in most markets. Similarly, a report from Consumer Reports placed Cingular/AT&T at the bottom of their rankings for reliability and satisfaction.
AT&T will instead boast that they have: “more bars in more places.”
Ads In Video Games: Annoying Intrusion, Or Welcome Dose Of Reality?
By 8.3.07
Advertisers are expected to quintuple the amount spent placing ads in video games over the next five years. Beyond mere brand placement, consoles with an internet connection are capable of displaying dynamic billboards that can advertise The Simpsons Movie today, and The Simpsons Movie Sequel: The Return Of Spider Pig, in two years. From the LA Times:
The player’s ability to don, kick, toss or use products is part of the appeal. In “Super Monkey Ball,” players try to get their monkey characters to collect Dole-branded bananas. And in “Tony Hawk’s Project 8,” players use Nokia phones.
After the jump, tell us whether you greet ads in video games with skepticism and disdain, or appreciate them as a dose of reality in an otherwise virtual world.
User-Generated Content Won't Displace Madison Avenue Anytime Soon
By 5.26.07
Many people see ads and think they could do better. According to the New York Times, no, they can’t. The Times is following the struggle of H.J. Heinz to find five user-generated ads to air on TV sometime this September. Companies like Heinz are discovering that user-generated content doesn’t save time or money. For the foreseeable future, Madison Avenue will be responsible for creating the ads we love to hate.
Many entries are mediocre, if not downright bad, and sifting through them requires full-time attention. And even the most well-known brands often spend millions of dollars up front to get the word out to consumers.
We prefer YouTube’s user-generated content to the schmaltz spewing from Madison Avenue. What do you think: is the content really worse, or are companies unwilling to step away from their comfort zones? Tell us in the comments. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
United Ad: Some Of Our Best Businessmen, Are Women!
By 4.12.07
American Airlines getting “female marketing” totally buck wrong isn’t anything new. This United videos shows airlines have been wacky about women since at least 1968. At least. Here’s the transcript:
PayDay Loans' New Ad About How Payday Loans Are For Upstanding Citizens
By 3.8.07
“Please borrow only what you feel comfortable paying back when it’s due,” says Darrin Andersen, president of the Community Financial Services Assn. A new emblem will tell borrowers which lenders meet his trade group’s requirements, Andersen says in the ad.
Top 10 Worst Marketing Gaffes, Flops, and Disasters
By 3.2.07
The Consumerist’s guide to the top 10 worst gaffes, flops, and disasters in the history of American marketing and advertising.
Impotence Ads Air Alongside Kids' Shows
By 2.18.07
- “In December alone, an ad for impotence drug Viagra aired at around 9 p.m. during “Prancer,” a G-rated movie about a young girl who nurses one of Santa’s reindeers back to health; another spot for rival medicine Levitra appeared during an afternoon showing of the comedy “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure;” and another for Cialis graced an early-evening presentation of the holiday classic “Miracle on 34th Street.”
Super Bowl Ad Spoilers
By 1.26.07
Finally, this year there is a Super Bowl worth watching for the game, rather than the ads, which promise to be boring and lame. If you’d like to spoil them for yourself, check out USA Today.
Chinese National Anthem to Used to Sell Wrigley Gum
By 1.16.07
Well, hey, the song is catchy. The Chinese certainly seem to like it. —MEGHANN MARCO
TiVo Fast Forward Ads Are Back
By 1.15.07
- While not quite as bad as their original design, the fast forward ads are back. I was fast forwarding through the commercials of tonights episode of 24 and I noticed a still image applied over one of the commercials.
We don’t have a TiVo and we never have, but we understand that these ads annoy TiVo-ers. True?—MEGHANN MARCO
Airport Security Trays To Feature Advertisements
By 1.12.07
- Travelers nationwide could soon see ads for laptops, expensive cars and other products in the trays that carry their shoes and cell phones through X-ray machines at airport security checkpoints.
ThisIsDumb: “Rome” Promotional Wine is From California
By 1.10.07
- Though intended to give diners an authentic taste of the show’s premise, the “Rome” wine was not shipped in from Italy; it was produced in California. HBO’s senior VP-consumer marketing, Courteney Monroe, was unable to secure an Italian wine vendor, but she doesn’t believe the promotion fails logistically.
Uh, right. —MEGHANN MARCO
New Annoying TiVo Ads
By 1.10.07
- When I finished watching this weeks episode of Scrubs, I was prompted by a rather annoying TiVo message. “Are you done with this program?” But this was not the regular TiVo deletion prompt. I am usually given two options, “Delete now” or “Keep this recording”, this time I was given a third, “Get your BK Xbox games today!” followed by the Burger King logo.
Um, this is annoying and lame. —MEGHANN MARCO
Cingular: What The Merger Means To You
By 1.2.07
With the merger between AT&T and BellSouth, AT&T has total control over Cingular wireless. What does this mean to you?
