“Let the wiener wars begin.” That’s what a judge in a legal battle between the nation’s two biggest hot dog brands declared earlier today, as the makers of Oscar Mayer and Ball Park franks each accused the other of misleading and deceptive advertising practices. [More]
advertising
Badvertising Hall Of Fame Store Moo & Oink May Have To Liquidate
By 8.10.11
Even if you’ve never lived near Chicago, longtime readers of Consumerist may remember Windy City grocery store Moo & Oink for its so-bad-it’s-friggin-awesome TV ad that launched our Great Moments In Commercial History series. But now comes sad news that the dancing cow and pig might be headed to the liquidation slaughterhouse if Moo & Oink doesn’t find a buyer. [More]
Quiz: Who Is That Celebrity Trying To Sell Me Something?
By 8.8.11
While there is certainly no shortage of celebrities willing to step in front of the camera to shill for a product, there are countless ads featuring the unidentified voices of famous folks. [More]
Budweiser Slaps A Bow Tie On The Can And Hopes You'll Buy More
By 8.3.11
As Budweiser, the self-dubbed King of Beers, feels competitors chomping away at its spot in suds sales ranks, it has tried a number of things — like giving away 500,000 freebies — to remind people it is a product available for purchase. Today, the folks at Anheuser-Busch InBev N.V. RFD PDQ WTF announced their master stroke that will surely work wonders: A new can. [More]
Real Estate Ad: Fancy Apartments Lead To Sex With A "Better Quality Of Woman"
By 8.3.11
It’s not a shock that some people find a luxury home — especially something like a tricked-out, multi-million dollar NYC apartment — to be a bit of an aphrodisiac, perhaps to the point of overlooking the other person’s less attractive qualities. But a NYC real estate broker has decided to do more than just hint at this behavior in its new ad. [More]
Need Cheap Wheels? Rent A Rolling Ad From Budget In Atlanta
By 8.1.11
If you want cheap car rentals this summer, Budget Rent a Car in Atlanta might have a deal for you. That is, as long as you don’t mind driving a rented car that seems more like a rolling billboard. [More]
UK Bans Ad Featuring Julia Roberts' Overly Photoshopped Face
By 7.27.11
While we can definitely say that 43-year-old Julia Roberts still looks pretty darn good, it’s safe to say that no one on this planet, regardless of age, has the flawless glow of the woman pictured in the Lancome ad seen here. In fact, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority found the retouching work on this ad, and others, so misleading that it has banned them. [More]
Colbert Makes Dude Version Of Summer's Eve Hand Puppet Ads
By 7.26.11
In order to rectify a troubling imbalance in the world, the Colbert Report made a spoof commercial of the Summer’s Eve talking vaginal hand puppets, just for men. [More]
Ad Agency Denies Summer's Eve Ads Show Stereotypes
By 7.21.11
The advertising agency behind the Summer’s Eve ads that feature talking vagina hand puppets of various ethnicities says he’s surprised that some people are offended by the clips. Here’s what agency founder Stan Richards, of The Richards Group, said: [More]
Summer's Eve Ads Use Talking Vertical Hands
By 7.21.11
Summer’s Eve is catching some flack for a series of ads that use hand puppets, titled vertically, to promote its line of feminine genital cleansing products. With three puppets, each portraying a different ethnicity with phrases like “”ay-yi-yi” (Latina) and “do you really want to be itchy down here? Mmmmhmm” (African-American), and “Just a little love for your vertical smile,” (Caucasian), for some viewers the clips are managing to hit that magical advertising sweetspot of being both sexist and racist. [More]
1950's Kool-Aid Commercial Drinks Itself
By 7.11.11
Here’s a retro Kool-Aid commercial from a simpler time. Back when the Kool-Aid man was just a jug with a condensation face that talked. No busting through walls. he just chilled there like a good friendly value sitting on a table. Children and adults just whistled at one another to signify that it was Kool-Aid time. And mothers spoke very precisely and articulately. Ahhh. [More]
TV With 2011 "Country Strong" Promo Inserted Into 2009 HIMYM Rerun
By 7.8.11
Looks like the ad sales team over at CBS sold more than one digital insertion ad slot on “How I Met Your Mother reruns.” Now here’s one with CGI television running a promo for the 2011 Country Strong injected into the background of a replay of a 2009 episode of “How I Met Your Mother.” [More]
Coca-Cola Plants Living, Breathing Billboard
By 7.8.11
Advertising, especially of the outdoor variety, is often viewed as being anti-green, a signifier of befouled outdoor spaces. But this Coca-Cola billboard is trying to turn that image on its head — and sell some Coke while it’s at it. [More]
Finally, A Feminine Hygiene Product Ad Acknowledges The Existence Of Blood
By 7.7.11
Finally, an American ad for feminine hygiene products implying that shed uterine linings are not a thin blue liquid. This print ad for Procter & Gamble’s Always brand acknowledges, if only in the form of a tiny red dot, what actually happens to the pads that they once marketed by showing women doing cartwheels in white pants. Or something. [More]
Magazine With Ad For "Zookeeper" Digitally Inserted Into "How I Met Your Mother" Rerun
By 7.6.11
For the past few years, networks have been digitally inserting ads and product placements for new products into old reruns. Shannon just noticed one in a rerun of a 2007 episode of “How I Met Your Mother.” In the background on the shelf is a magazine with an ad on the back for the new “Zookeeper” starring Kevin James. Here’s the original shot, which shows no books on the back shelf. [More]
User-Generated KFC Ad More Likely To Inspire Serial Killers Than Sales
By 7.5.11
I kind of love this very unofficial ad for KFC made by comedian Peter Serafinowicz. It juxtaposes a loop of a 70’s father cutting a chicken for his family with a staticy voiceover instructing how to serve a chicken. An ominous drone pulses underneath. At the end you feel like you’ve just witnessed the mental filmstrip of a serial killer right before he creatively dismembers his latest victim. Pass the mashed potatoes! [More]
You're 475 Times More Likely To Survive A Plane Crash Than Click On A Banner Ad
By 7.1.11
New data shows that there’s a slew of things you’re more likely to do than click on a banner ad. For instance, you’re 475 times more likely to survive a plane crash. [More]
Distracted Shoppers Buy More When There's Some Negative Info
By 6.30.11
Established wisdom is that you should only talk about how awesome your product is. But a new study finds that shoppers in distracted settings tend to buy more when products are marketed with a touch of negative info, what is known as “the blemishing effect.” [More]
