If you don’t want Apple collecting data on you and using it to target you with ads starting July 1st, you can opt out from “any device running iOS 4,” says AppleInsider. The opt-out is automatic when you hit up http://oo.apple.com from an iOS 4 device, and as far as I can tell you can’t undo it, so don’t click the link unless you really want to opt out. Also, it’s not working at the moment. [More]
advertising
Coming Soon, A Way To Find Out How That Online Ad Knows What You Like
By 6.22.10
Last year the FTC asked online marketers to regulate targeted advertising, so in an attempt to avoid new regulatory policies the major ad industry groups have gotten together to launch a new service. Starting late summer, when a targeted ad from a participating marketer appears on your screen, you’ll be able to click a small icon somewhere on the ad and see your profile on that marketer’s site. You’ll also be able to then opt out of future ads from that ad network, reports Wired. [More]
Manufacturers To Market To You Via Messages Hidden In UPCs
By 6.22.10
Stickybits is a social network that combines your phone’s camera, a web connection, and UPCs to leave virtual notes and images scattered all around you like invisible sticky notes. The important question, as always, is can it be used to sell stuff? Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Campbell’s, Frito-Lay, and Ben & Jerry are all planning to find out in social media campaigns this summer, reports Brandweek. [More]
Big Brother Is Watching You — And He Has Ice Cream!
By 6.21.10
If you happen to be going to Cannes this summer (and, really, if you aren’t, you should be) mega-conglomerate Unilever is ready to tempt you with a treat straight out of Minority Report. The company has set up a vending machine that lets anyone who walks by score some free ice cream. The price? Just smile for the machine’s facial recognition software, which will determine your age, gender and emotion. Only the most happy will get ice cream. The rest? We don’t really know, but we seem to remember something having to do with stolen eyeballs that can be used to trick such systems. [More]
Try New Tylenol Cheesesteaks
By 6.21.10
Curing a headache shouldn’t be a headache. That’s why there’s new Tylenol Cheesesteak Rapid Release pain-relievers. It’s a delicious Philly Cheesesteak whose savory juices have been doused in the Paracetamol you love, but without the hassle. Plus a cheesesteak! [More]
Are Electronic License Plate Ads The Next Rage On The Road?
By 6.21.10
Because we all know that the two things the world lacks these days are (1) advertisements and (2) car accidents, a California State Assemblyman has put forth a bill we kill both birds with the same 23-car pileup on the freeway by replacing our boring, non-revenue-generating license plates with fancy electronic ones complete with advertising. [More]
HP And Yahoo Want To Put Ads On Your Printouts
By 6.21.10
Google’s not the only company that wants to put ads on everything you read. HP’s new web-connected printers will let you send pages or photos directly from websites or phones and schedule recurring printouts from content partners–and the company is pilot testing a program with Yahoo’s advertising network to deliver targeted ads on those scheduled printouts. [More]
What's The Most Annoying Type Of Online Ad?
By 6.16.10
As more and more web surfers become inured to standard banner and box ads, the designers and developers of online advertisements continue to find new ways to engage consumers. Unfortunately for advertisers, many consumers tend to find each new evolution in ad tech to be more aggravating than the last. [More]
ABC Doubling The Commercials On iPad App, Online Streams
By 6.16.10
If you watch ABC’s shows online or with an iPad, your limited commercial interruptions are about to get a little less limited. So far, most of ABC’s streaming shows contain 5 to 6 ads of 30 seconds each, but mocoNews says one of ABC’s executives just confirmed that the network is going to double that ad load, perhaps leading the way for other networks to do the same. [More]
What Do You Think Of Ads In Video Games?
By 6.14.10
In the recently released Xbox 360 video game Alan Wake, players can’t help but notice that — in addition to playing the game — they’re also being heavily advertised to by Verizon. At one point, they’re even fooled into watching a Verizon ad. [More]
Idealistic Apple Developed iAds To Keep Apps Affordable
By 6.7.10
Why did Apple come up with iAds, the company’s new platform for mobile advertising? It had nothing to do with the $60 million Apple has already taken in from companies like Nissan, GE and Best Buy. And it apparently didn’t have anything to do with Apple’s plans to control nearly half of the market for mobile ads. No, the real reason is simple. As CEO Steve Jobs explained it today, Apple created iAds “for one simple reason: to help our developers earn money so they can continue to create free and low-cost apps for users.” [More]
New Billboard Smells Like Steak, Sort Of
By 6.7.10
If you find yourself driving down River Highway in Mooresville, NC this summer and suddenly smell a vaguely steak-like odor, don’t worry, you’re not having a stroke. You’re passing by the billboard for Bloom, a supermarket chain that’s owned by Food Lion. The billboard went up last Friday and poots out a charcoal-and-pepper fragrance from 7 to 10 a.m. and again from 4 to 7 p.m. [More]
Unfortunately Named Products: Aciphex
By 6.2.10
Remember how when you were writing essays in school teachers would say that you should read your work aloud before handing it in? To see if you could catch any typos or strange-sounding phrases? Well, the nomenclature-smiths who came up with heartburn drug “Aciphex,” seem to have forgotten that important lesson. Watch the ad and you’ll hear what I’m talking about: “Fred, you have acid reflux disease. I want you to try prescription ass effects.” [More]
Tech Pundit Sneers At Your Online Privacy Concerns
By 5.30.10
While the public outcry about Facebook’s complicated privacy tools recently pushed the company to simplify its user interface, at least one industry insider believes that peoples’ concerns are overblown and that, for all the hype and media coverage, the vast majority of users don’t seem to care. [More]
25 Incredibly Sexist Ads From Back In The Day
By 5.28.10
Perusing this roundup of unintentionally hilarious old-school advertisements that might have made Don Draper and crew wince brings a few thoughts to mind: [More]
Apple Finally Drops "I'm A Mac" Ads
By 5.22.10
Apple has finally caught on to something many of us have known for years: John Hodgman’s befuddled “PC” is far more appealing than Justin Long’s smug “Mac,” so the “I’m a Mac” ads aren’t really very effective at converting PC-users to Mac fans. Well. maybe that’s not the official reason, but the company is still killing the long-running campaign
The ads have already been removed from Apple’s site, and have been replaced by the company’s “Why you’ll love a Mac” promos. Last month, Justin Long signaled the end when he told an interviewer: “You know, I think they might be done. In fact, I heard from John, I think they’re going to move on.”
Retire This: Ronald McDonald Ain't Going Nowhere
By 5.20.10
A group of concerned individuals have politely suggested that Ronald McDonald should be retired along with the Marlboro Man and Joe Camel. McDonald’s has responded calling the clown “a force for good.” [More]
Sex And The City Sequel Is Just A Really Long Commercial
By 5.20.10
Wonder why Sarah Jessica Parker’s character in Sex And The City 2 is using a HP laptop? HP paid for it. Why are they drinking Skyy vodka? Well, that’s the films “official vodka.” According to the NYP, “every aspect of Carrie’s life is reduced to a vignette that can be monetized.” [More]
