One might think it would be embarrassing to shill for a non-FDA approved herbal “male enhancement” remedy. Jimmy Johnson doesn’t think so. Is he broke or something? [More]
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Dealership Ad Fail
By 2.4.10
Bill found negotiating with the dealership to be a little one-sided. [Craigslist via Failblog] [More]
Ellen Can't Open The Make-Up She Endorses
By 2.2.10
A viewer recently wrote to Ellen DeGeneres asking if she’d ever tried to open the Cover Girl Simply Ageless foundation that she endorses. The answer, it seems, is no. [More]
How Can I Make The Newspaper Stop When I Don't Subscribe?
By 1.31.10
We know that the newspaper industry is suffering. Subscribers are fleeing, ad revenue is down, and things are generally dark and terrible. However, this does not mean that it is a good idea to throw sacks of junk mail on the lawns of people who won’t subscribe to your paper. It will not endear you to them. We’re looking at you, Baltimore Sun. [More]
This Ad Was Built To Be DVR-Proof
By 1.20.10
This commercial, for virtual phone system grasshopper.com, is meant to resist being zapped away by your DVR fast-forward button. [More]
Pumpkinhead New Raisin Bran Crunch Spokesthing?
By 1.13.10
When I first watched Pumpkinhead–an Alien-style monster who’s rampaged through a few B-level horror movies–go on and on about finding inner peace and online dating, I thought of The Office. Now that I think about it, it’s probably closer in style to Aardman’s Creature Comfort animations. Either way, if you like horror movies, breakfast cereal, British accents, and very silly advertising, you’ll appreciate this clip. [More]
Weight Watchers, Lean Cuisine Meals Have More Calories Than Advertised
By 1.8.10
If you’re a fan of using frozen Weight Watchers, Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice and South Beach Living meals to control your caloric intake — you might be interested to know that a news study says the dinners have eight per cent more calories than the labels said. [More]
AT&T Drops Tiger Woods
By 12.31.09
AT&T ended its sponsorship of Tiger Woods today. As a driving force for the ditch, company sources cited “increased fraudulent activity” inside his pants. [BBC] [More]
Consumerist's Top 10 Ads Of 2009
By 12.30.09
Advertising is all about optimism, aspiring to a better tomorrow that’s just a barcode scan away. So just because the economy is in the tank doesn’t mean we stop selling dreams, it just means we have to pimp a littler harder, together. For America. Common among this year’s best ads, in my view, is that they acknowledged the retardedness of their medium, and then got really real, or completely ridiculous. Here’s the top 10! [More]
Who Is This Banner Ad Targeting?
By 12.30.09
The man at left appears in banner ads for mortgage refinancing. He looks like a person most people would avoid. So why does this ad network think that he will persuade us to refinance our mortgages? [More]
Would You Try The Taco Bell Diet?
By 12.30.09
A direct answer to Subway’s Jared, Taco Bell’s new spokeswoman Christine says she lost 54 pounds in two years in part by substituting the restaurant’s lighter fare for her usual fast food splurges. [More]
What Were The Top Ads Of 2009?
By 12.29.09
What were the top ads on TV this year for you? For me, it’s got to be GEICO’s googly-eyes-on-a-pile-of-money bits. At first I didn’t like them but after the 20th viewing or so, I got it. [More]
Madden Blitzing Gamers With In-Game Ads
By 12.23.09
A recent update has apparently released a downloadable patch on Madden NFL 10 that forces players to stare at ads before every snap, Ripten reports. [More]
Kraft HQ Lobby Sports Droopy Boob Joke
By 12.18.09
Female Kraft employees are “furious” and the men “embarrassed” by this ad inside their headquarters lobby, reports the ANIMAL blog. It has a mirrored surface and below that it says, “You look smashing, but your chicken breasts could use a lift,” followed by an image of Shake N’ Bake. Hidden behind that faceless oblong red white and blue logo, Kraft has got some cheeky pranksters! [ANIMAL] [More]
FTC Online Mall Teaches Tweens About Online Privacy, Scammers
By 12.14.09
This month, the Federal Trade Commission unveiled You Are Here, a virtual mall where kids can learn to avoid online scams, spot misleading ads, and learn good habits to be smart consumers. [More]
Announcing Sportswear For America's New Sedentary Lifestyle
By 12.14.09
Back in 1951, American were clearly excited to no longer have to go outside in order to amuse themselves — and McGregor was happy to provide them with sportswear designed specifically for “America’s New Way Of Life.” Couch potatoism. [More]
10 Great Commercials Of 2009
By 12.9.09
Time just published its “Top 10 Any Category We Can Think Of” issue, and buried in there is a group of 10 great ads from the past year. Well, maybe not “great”–I would rather shove Norplant in my eyes than watch Evian’s rollerskating babies spot, but some of the other ones are pretty good. There’s also some great music in the list, including “Rapper’s Delight,” a Radiohead track, Bach, and Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf. [More]
New Droid Ad Goes For iPhone Jugular, Misses
By 12.8.09
A new ad for the Verizon Motorola Droid tries to savage the iPhone for being more concerned with looking good than working great. Does it work? [More]
