I enjoy the regular watching of many TV shows, but I tend to let episodes of these shows build up on my DVR until they reach a critical mass (or wait until the episodes are about to vanish from on-demand) and I spend an entire Saturday in the Morran Cave (patent pending) binge-watching while skipping over all those old ads for movies/sales/TV premieres that have already come and gone. But if Comcast has its way, I’ll soon be skipping over completely new, more relevant ads. [More]
advertising
Dodge Durango Pitchman Ron Burgundy: “It’s A Terrible Car”
By 11.22.13
You’ve probably seen any of the dozens of commercials that legendary San Diego anchorman Ron Burgundy has recently made for the Dodge Durango. But the tell-it-like-it-is newsman isn’t going to hide his distaste for the vehicle. [More]
This Ad For An Ad Agency Is More Honest (And Funnier) Than Most Ads For Actual Products
By 11.13.13
If you think you’re sick of seeing the same types of stunts, buzzwords, messages, and gimmicks showing up in TV ads, think of how it must be for the folks paid to come up with advertising ideas. Even when you have fresh ideas, the client might be too timid to take a chance, choosing instead to opt for whatever has been shown to work before. But one Toronto-based agency is doing its best to undercut annoying ad trends, all in the name of promoting itself. [More]
Company Markets Stun Gun iPhone Case In Detroit, Where It Would Be Illegal To Use
By 10.28.13
A company that sells iPhone cases that double as low-powered stun guns has selected Detroit as a target market, disregarding the fact that such a device appears to be illegal in Michigan. [More]
Instagram Ads Start Next Week And This Is What They’ll Look Like In Your Feed
By 10.25.13
Because no social media service can ever stay ad-free forever, the inevitable is upon us: Instagram will start rolling out ads next week in paid posts. But Instagram is trying to be gentle, well, at least at first. [More]
UN Ads Point Out How Bizarrely Sexist Google Searches Are
By 10.23.13
The auto-complete suggestions on Google searches are often good for a laugh, but they can also provide some measure of insight into the scary collective psyche of the Internet. And a new series of ads from the United Nations uses these auto-complete results in an effort to demonstrate just how pervasive some sexist attitudes are. [More]
Your DVR Can Probably Skip Over An Ad With A Single Button Push
By 10.3.13
While many of us immediately hit the FF button on the remote control at the first indication of an ad, some folks aren’t as vigilant. But there are always those few ads that you just want to bypass when they come up (Geico camel, I’m looking at you), and your remote probably has the ability to skip that commercial with a single button push. The folks at Lifehacker have created this handy guide on setting this up for a variety of DVRs… or you could just fast-forward through the entire ad break like a sensible person. [Lifehacker] [More]
Hulu May Let You Pay More To Go Ad-Free
By 9.26.13
One of the biggest knocks against Hulu Plus is that, in spite of the $7.99 monthly subscription, users are still subjected to ads on most of the premium content. Meanwhile, Netflix and Amazon Prime offer competing streaming services for about the same amount of money but without the annoying ad interruptions. The solution? Charge more for an ad-free tier! [More]
Barilla President Says Ads Will Never Feature Gay Families, Gay People Switch Pasta Brands
By 9.26.13 — Updated: 9.27.13
Barilla is the world’s largest manufacturer of delicious boxed pasta. Their marketing features a cuddly family eating delicious pasta, associating pasta with “home.” Not all homes, though. In a radio interview, company president Guido Barilla said that the brand would never put out an ad featuring a family headed by a homosexual couple. Gay rights supporters have concluded that Barilla doesn’t want their business, and called for a boycott. [More]
For Some Reason, More Consumers Trust Ads Now Than They Did 6 Years Ago
By 9.25.13
From using a DVR to installing ad-blocking software, many consumers go to great lengths just to block advertising on their TVs, phones, and computers. One might look at this trend and infer that people distrust advertising. But a new survey claims that a growing majority of North American consumers trust most advertising formats (except online and mobile ads, because everyone knows those are crap). [More]
Is Bounty’s DuraTowel Really Better Than A Dishcloth?
By 9.24.13
You wouldn’t wipe up the surface where your toddler strews her food before eating it with a gross, germy dishcloth, would you? That’s the message of a new commercial from Bounty for their DuraTowel, a paper towel that they claim is tough enough to perform dishcloth-like tasks, yet disposable enough to guarantee a continuing revenue stream. How accurate are these claims? [More]
The Many Ways Of Hiding An Ad As A “Sponsored Post”
By 9.19.13
Advertisers have always sought seamless integration of their brands into consumer-targeted content, driven by the notion that the audience is less irritated by a commercial if it doesn’t scream “I’m a commercial.” But at what point does that line get so fuzzy that it’s hard to tell the difference between the two? [More]
Feds To Investigate The Fuzzy Line Between Advertising & Editorial Content
By 9.16.13
Call them “advertorials,” “sponsored stories,” “brand journalism,” or — the latest nonsense term — “native advertising,” but it’s all the same: An ad that looks an awful lot like — and is often not distinguishable from — a website’s editorial content. Since consumers have long stopped even noticing banners, click away from pages with auto-play video ads, and increasingly use mobile devices to go online, advertisers have turned to these ad-wolves in editorial sheep’s clothing. [More]
Kmart Forgets It’s Still Summer, Begins Airing Holiday Ad
By 9.10.13
Perhaps Kmart panicked after having a nightmare that it was November and had forgotten to put together a holiday ad campaign, or maybe some prankster at Sears changed a Kmart marketing exec’s desk calendar. Why else would the beleaguered retailer start airing a holiday shopping ad while it’s still summer? [More]
New LG TVs Will Be Telling Marketers What You’re Watching
By 9.5.13
Your co-workers, friends, and maybe even your loved ones might not know you obsessively watch marathons of House Hunters International, but your TV soon will, with LG and others looking to launch Internet-connected sets that tell third-party marketers about all the horrible TV shows you watch. [More]
AdBlock Raising Money For Ad Campaign. Wait, What?
By 9.5.13
Depending on who you ask, ad-blocking browser extensions are either the only thing that makes the Internet tolerable, or instruments of evil that are strangling digital media to death. (Or maybe both.) The maker of extension AdBlock counters that the real problem is that not enough people know that they can banish ads from their browsers. So they’re raising money through crowdfunding to get the word out. Through ads. [More]
It’s Against The Law For Car Dealers To Not Give Consumers All Relevant Info About Deals
By 9.3.13
Take a look at the ad to the left promising $12,000 off MSRP for a 2013 Ford F-150. That’s a heck of an offer for a truck that starts at around $24,000. But what you don’t see — and what you don’t find out until you try to buy the vehicle — is that the discount only applies to the $47,000 F-150 Lariat version, so instead of getting a 50% discount on a reasonably priced new truck, you learn that it’s around a 25% savings on a high-end vehicle. [More]
Facebook’s Policy Changes Will Mean Your Content Can Be Used In Ads If You Use Facebook
By 8.29.13 — Updated: 8.30.13
Facebook has learned its lesson about not explaining what content it will use in ads, after that whole Sponsored Stories legal saga that finally concluded recently, but that doesn’t mean the social media company doesn’t still want to use your pretty mug to market products and services to your pals. It’s just explaining ahead of time that it’ll happen, and if you want to use the site at all you’ll have to be cool with that . Oh, and you won’t be compensated. Facebook is free, after all. [More]
