You’ve got your chicken wings ready, the remote has fresh batteries and the perfect spot is staked out on the couch. Does it even matter that there will be a football game airing during the Super Bowl, or are you just excited to see the ads? A new survey says 91% of consumers gearing up for the big day are also pumped about seeing the commercials. [More]
advertising
What Is This “Football” You Speak Of? Survey Says 91% Of Consumers Excited For Super Bowl Ads
By 1.31.13
Survey: Top Brands For Buzz In 2012 Were Subway, Amazon And… Cheerios?
By 1.24.13
When you think about popular fast food chains, Subway is certainly among them. And Amazon.com is without a doubt the leader in online retail. But apparently the U.S. brand with the third-best “buzz” from consumers in 2012 was a cereal we’ve all been eating since the dawn of time. [More]
Ten Years Later, Maybe The ‘You’re Getting A Dell’ Dude Can Save Dell
By 1.24.13
Some of our younger readers may not recall the “Dude, you’re getting a Dell” television spots where an extremely knowledgeable college-aged guy intervenes during shopping trips to talk parents into buying Dell PCs for their kids. The spots ran from 2000 to 2003, and were pretty memorable. (Memorable enough that readers still refer to them, ten years on, when complaining to us about Dell.) As Dell’s sales and reputation have fallen, they’re considering going private, and even Microsoft might invest. But maybe there’s another solution to the company’s woe’s. Bring back the Dell Dude. [More]
Best Buy Banking On Amy Poehler To Break Its Super Bowl Ad Losing Streak
By 1.23.13
In 2011, Best Buy joined the exclusive club of Super Bowl advertisers to promote a buy-back program (which we spoiled weeks in advance) that has all but vanished. Last year, it hired a roster of tech biggies to bolster its image as a knowledgeable electronics retailer — and was greeted by chirping crickets. [More]
Doritos, Pepsi & Bud Light Join Forces To Form Huge Supermarket Display Voltron
By 1.10.13
Sick of going separate sections of the supermarket to buy beer, soda and snacks? Then the folks at PepsiCo and Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V. have created the monster one-stop display for you. [More]
Get The Latest News Headlines… With Your Restaurant Receipt
By 1.10.13
Because you weren’t already getting enough news from your TV/radio/computer/phone/electronic highway billboards (and occasionally newspapers and magazines), someone has come up with yet another way to provide you with the latest headlines — your restaurant receipt. [More]
Hollywood Realizing That Facebook Likes Don’t Result In Box-Office Bonanzas
By 1.8.13
For years, Hollywood studios have been tossing piles of cash at Facebook in the hopes that getting people to “like” a movie or TV show would somehow translate into box-office returns or high ratings. But some studio executives are reportedly wondering if this might be a waste of money. [More]
Competitors Accuse Walmart Of Providing Inaccurate Price Comparisons In Ads
By 1.4.13
For several months, Walmart has been running a series of ads touting its Low Price Guarantee and calling out specific competitors for their higher prices. But those retailers are now fighting back with complaints in several states. [More]
Putting Jay Glazer’s Perfect Punch And Other Infomercial Workout Systems To The Test
By 12.27.12
If those jeans you got as a gift this holiday season don’t fit because of the all the food you devoured in the last few weeks, you might be tempted to buy one of those exercise devices advertised on TV. But some of these products aren’t worth the price — or effort. [More]
Facebook Announces Another Change To Dislike: Letting Strangers Pay To Message You
By 12.20.12
One of the positive things about Facebook’s messaging system is that you can set it up so that only users you are connected to can send messages directly to your inbox. But now Facebook is testing a service that lets marketers pay to have you receive their messages. [More]
More Online Ads Should Require Users To Confirm They Meant To Click
By 12.19.12
Last week, Google introduced a new feature on its mobile ad network that seeks to cut down on accidental ad clicks by requiring the user to verify they want to visit the site linked in the ad. We think this is a great idea that the entire Internet could use. [More]
Facebook Really Wants To Be Hated, Will Launch Auto-Play Video Ads In 2013
By 12.18.12
You know how much fun it is when you’re browsing the Internet and you get to a page where a loud video starts playing while you frantically try to stop it or mute your computer? Several hundred million Facebook members should prepare themselves for this thrill when the site launches auto-play video ads next year. [More]
Now You Can Watch Game Of Thrones While Drinking Game Of Thrones Beer
By 12.17.12
Have you ever been drinking a beer while watching Game of Thrones on HBO, or while reading one of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice & Fire novels and thought to yourself, “If only this brew I’m enjoying were also somehow named after something from this story I’m enjoying”? Well, then you’re in luck. [More]
Lucky Charms Wants To Remind Adults Of Their Sugary Sweet Childhoods
By 12.3.12
In case all the recent Twinkie talk hasn’t been enough to turn your thoughts to a youth spent gorging on sugary snacks without a care, General Mills is hoping you’ll want to ride a sweet wave of nostalgia back to a past where breakfast included a rainbow of rock-hard marshmallows in your bowl of Lucky Charms. [More]
Dunkin’ Donuts Can’t Trademark “Best Coffee In America”
By 11.27.12
People might love Dunkin’ Donuts coffee — some might even say it’s the best around, and no one is saying the donut chain can’t call its brew America’s best. Regardless, DD’s application to trademark the phrase “Best Coffee in America” has been nixed for now. [More]
Regulators Ask Mortgage Marketers To Please Cut Down On The Lying In Their Ads
By 11.19.12
The 2011 Mortgage Acts and Practices Advertising Rule prohibit mortgage lenders and brokers from making misleading claims about government affiliation, interest rates, fees, costs, associated payments, and the amount of cash or credit available to the consumer. Shockingly, some folks just didn’t listen. [More]
Anthony Bourdain Says Cadillac Is A Great Car For Stashing Dead Prostitutes
By 11.13.12
Anthony Bourdain is many things: chef, author, TV host, and hero of all who simply don’t give a crap. But he’s not a shill for Cadillac, and he’s less than chuffed about one of his “No Reservations” episodes on Travel Channel turning into a long-form ad for the car brand. [More]
Finally, A Use For Pennies: Glued To A Billboard
By 11.7.12
Finally, a use for those copper-colored zinc discs of filth: decoration! For a promotional campaign they’re calling “penny-a-print,” printer/copier leasing company Zeno Office Solutions put up a billboard in Winter Park, Florida decorated with 120,000 hand-polished actual pennies. [More]
