KTXL in Sacramento is toking tooting its own horn a bit this week, claiming that they are the first TV station in the US to air an ad for a medical marijuana dispensary. [More]
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Sacramento TV Station Airs First Ever Ad For Medical Marijuana Dispensary
By 9.2.10
Stripping Chatroulette Chick Morphs Into Last Exorcism Hell Spawn
By 8.20.10
It’s a given that anything real, raw or underground will eventually be coopted by advertising. Exhibit A: In a viral marketing push for new horror flick Last Exorcism, unsuspecting boys think the hot chick they are Chatrouletting with is going to take off her top, when all of a sudden her eyes roll back into her head, her face cracks, and she attacks the camera. The reactions are priceless. NSFW. [More]
Shake Weight Inventor Doesn't Think It Really Looks Like You Know What
By 8.18.10
The inventor of the Shake Weight is actually a pretty casual guy and in a recent Q&A with Inc. mag he really downplays the innuendo-factor. “it depends how you shake it as well,” says Johann Verheem. “If you do it based on the three exercises that we have laid out, it’s not that suggestive.” See, you’re just doing it wrong, you pervy-pervs. [More]
"Up To" Broadband Speeds Are BS, FCC Study Shows
By 8.18.10
Just like you’ve suspected/known all along, the “up to” broadband speeds providers offer – “up to 10 mbs!” – are nigh unattainable. A new FCC report finds that broadband users are, on average, only getting half of the advertised “up to” speeds. [More]
Taiwan's Cartoon Version Of Dodge's Invisible Ape Ad
By 8.16.10
Taiwan News has decided that the best way to cover the story about how Dodge swapped out an ape in their ad that PeTA was pissed about with an invisibile monkey is through the magic of animated reenactment. Watch for the animated flames shooting out of the phone. [More]
Notorious Alleged Stolen Credit Card Data Reseller Arrested, But His Promo Cartoon Remains
By 8.12.10
An alleged big-time old-school credit card data reseller was arrested in France and extradited to America after Department of Justice investigators arranged to buy some credit card data off him via ICQ. His reign as king jerk may have ended, but the flash cartoon he used to promote his netherworldly services is still online (NSFW). [More]
Dodge Complies With PETA By Replacing Ape With Invisible Ape
By 8.12.10
PETA was mad at Dodge for running an ad that had a chimpanzee in it, considering the history of abuse monkeys have suffered in the entertainment industry. Not that any happened to this monkey, just to monkeys before it. In any event, in the revised version Dodge complied and digitally erased the monkey in the track suit…. but now there’s just a disembodied suit walking over and pressing the dynamite lever. Dexter’s Michael C. Hall monotones in the voiceover, “Oh wait, there’s an invisible monkey.” Hilarity! [More]
Whole Grain Wheat Thins Are No Healthier Than Regular Ones
By 8.4.10
Here’s a perfect example of why you should ignore what’s on the front of a product package and go straight to the nutritional info instead. Kraft’s Wheat Thins now come in a “100% Whole Grain” variety, which you might think translates into more fiber for your digestive tract. It even says on the front that one serving packs 22g of whole grain versus 11g for regular Wheat Thins. It turns out, however, that both crackers provide the same amount of dietary fiber and fat–and the whole grain version also has more sodium and is made with high fructose corn syrup. [More]
Consumer Reports Tests The Ab Coaster
By 8.4.10
The Ab Coaster promises to give you rock hard abdominals within weeks, so Consumer Reports decided to put their claims to the test. Especially the one about its patented “bottom up” method. [More]
This Cellphone Ad Needs More Anxiety!
By 8.3.10
As any Mad Men fan can tell you, ads are all about creating the itch and then selling the cream to soothe it. You stoke the desire and then offer the solution. Sales ensue. But what the modern dreamweavers on Madison Ave have figured out is that the two don’t even have to be related. You could show a bunch of elephants trampling a village – an anxious event, indeed – and then “Pencils! Get 20 for $2” and you have yourself a great ad. Very Eisenstein, and for some reason, this tactic seems especially popular in cellphone ads. I remember a Verizon one where a girl had to have a llama and it was socially awkward. Inspired, I wrote up a short sketch to demonstrate: [More]
Jamba Juice To McD: Suck On Our Cheeseburger Smoothies
By 8.2.10
To fight back at McDonald’s jumping in on its smoothie game, Jamba Juice has launched a new line of “Cheeseburger Chill Smoothies.” [More]
Consumer Protection Bureau May Halt "Abusive" Financial Ads
By 7.30.10
The soon-to-be-created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has at least some Wall Street insiders worried. No, not the bank bigwigs or hedge fund managers. The latest hand-wringing comes from the advertising community, which worries that the new agency may create “overly cumbersome, cost-prohibitive and possibly even onerous requirements” for financial ads. [More]
Social Media Bigwigs Reveal Advertising Tactics
By 7.25.10
Back in the day, advertising was supposed to be kinda sneaky — yeah, we knew companies were directing ads at us consumers in an effort to get us to buy stuff, but no one talked about it. Now, social media heavies like Twitter, Zynga (makers of Farmville, Mafia Wars and other time leechers) and LinkedIn are being totally open about their efforts. [More]
What's Creepier, New Chevy Volt Ads, Or John Carpenter's Christine?
By 7.14.10
At first I thought it was a horror movie trailer coming out of the dashboard radio. There is a wall of droning sound, then an intense voice overlays with, “Listen. Hear that? That’s the sound of the status quo crumbling.” I wondered what new machete-wielding maniac would be gracing the theaters this summer, until I realized that his name was Chevy Volt. What? That’s your electric car ad? Why does it sound so much like the trailer for the 1983 cult classic Christine in which an otherworldly-possessed car goes on a murderous rampage? [More]
Hulu Plus Reviewed: Is It Worth Your Money?
By 7.12.10
Staci D. Kramer at mocoNews tested Hulu Plus, the forthcoming “pay us $10 a month to watch commercials” subscription offering from Hulu, and reports that it’s okay-to-disappointing depending on your needs: “Given that I’m a subscription addict, I was fairly sure I’d wind up keeping it after my free review month. One week in, not so much.” [More]
PepsiCo Buys Its Way Onto Science Blog Network As A Food Nutrition Expert
By 7.7.10
Update #2: On Thursday morning, July 8th, ScienceBlogs contributor PZ Myers posted that the founder and CEO of Seed Media (which owns the blog network) has announced that the PepsiCo sponsored blog has been removed–although as of this update (10:44 am EST July 8th) it’s still online. [More]
Brand Fail: Not Just Bagels
By 6.28.10
They may want to think about a new name. (Thanks to Andrew!) [More]
This Japanese Ad Will Initially Confound You
By 6.23.10
See if you can guess before this Japanese ad is over what the product is they’re actually advertising. Go on, I dare you. [More]
