A bit of advice to gadget-makers out there: If you’re going to claim that your ultraviolet light product can ” kill 99.9% of germs and bacteria in 10 seconds or less” or eradicate disease-spreading fungus and drug-resistant MRSA, then you should have the science to back these claims up. [More]
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Makers Of Ultraviolet “Disinfectant” Devices Penalized $1.3M For Making False Germ-Killing Claims
By 8.20.15
Ad Blockers Will Prevent You From Seeing $22B Worth Of Unwanted Ads This Year
By 8.10.15
Are you using an ad blocker on your web browser? If so, you probably don’t care what’s behind those grayed-out boxes where the ads are supposed to be. The folks who do care are the websites you visit, because they aren’t getting ad revenue from those grayed-out boxes. A new report says that ad-blocking will result in nearly $22 billion in lost ad revenue worldwide this year. [More]
UPDATED: Critic Publicly Calls Out Movie Company For Editing His Negative Review Into A Rave
By 7.27.15
Everyone knows that when a movie trailer or poster is peppered with single-word review quotes — “Wow,” “Thrilling,” “Meh” — there’s usually a good reason why the full sentence from the reviews aren’t being quoted. But when you see something resembling a complete thought on a DVD box, you might be misled into thinking it accurately represents the reviewer’s opinion. [More]
Comcast Should Pay You For Sitting Through All Its Product Placement In Sharknado 3
By 7.21.15
If you’re one of the 1,743 people who are still amused by the whole Sharknado phenomenon, then you should consider yourself warned that the latest entry into the self-consciously trashy TV franchise is apparently not much more than an extended commercial for numerous Comcast-owned brands. [More]
Hulu May Finally Offer Ad-Free Subscription Option, But It Won’t Be Cheap
By 7.17.15
After years of hoping that consumers would eventually come around to the idea of paying for streaming video content that is still interrupted by obnoxious, repetitive commercials, the folks at Hulu may finally be willing to give folks the option of paying for an ad-free version of the service. [More]
Marketer Of “As Seen On TV” Products To Pay $550K For Allegedly Forcing Customers To Pay For Stuff They Didn’t Order
By 7.14.15
In 2014, the state of New Jersey accused Telebrands, a company that markets “As Seen on TV” products like the Pocket Hose and Instabulbs, of forcing customers to pay for items they did not want or order. Yesterday, the company agreed to pay more than half a million dollars to settle the lawsuit. [More]
Walmart Also Selling Mislabeled “Made In America” Products In Stores
By 7.7.15
Last week, an advertising watchdog group called out Walmart’s website for selling more than 100 products labeled as “Made in the U.S.A.” even though they were manufactured in other countries. Now comes a local news report showing that the confusing problem isn’t relegated to Walmart.com. [More]
Comcast’s New Remote Control Now Advertises Comcast-Distributed Kids Movie
By 6.29.15
Hey kids, isn’t vertical integration awesome? Thanks to Comcast’s acquisition of NBC/Universal, the cable giant can now use its latest high-tech remote control to advertise its feature films directly to your living room! Let’s all cheer for cross-promotional, cross-platform, market-targeted, gibberish-spouting synergy!! [More]
Why Do Websites Refuse To Label Sponsored Content As “Advertising”?
By 6.11.15
Looking back at our breakdowns of so-called “native advertising,” the ad-world terminology for an advertisement made to look like a news story, you may have noticed that these execrable, nauseating (but profitable) ads were labeled things like “Sponsored by…,” or “Promoted,” or the blatantly vague “From our partners,” but none of them simply said “advertisement.” And the people who make money off this insidious nonsense say there’s a good reason. [More]
Amazon Now Selling Ad Space On Shipping Boxes
By 6.9.15
Amazon has been using its boxes to advertise its own products and services for years, but now the e-commerce giant is realizing that there might be some money to be made by shipping customers’ packages in cartons branded by paying advertisers. [More]
Roofing Company Sends Me A Postcard Of My Own House
By 6.5.15
Rebekah received an advertising flyer in the mail recently from a local roofing company. It was addressed to “Current Resident,” and she glanced at it before throwing it away. Wait…that house printed on the postcard looked familiar. It was her house. Unnerved, she sent the postcard over to us, asking, “Is this common?” [More]
John Oliver Pledges To Eat McDonald’s, Drink Budweiser If They Use Sponsorship Power To Change FIFA
By 6.1.15
Last week, the soccer world was rocked when numerous current and former FIFA officials were arrested and charged with accepting illegal kickbacks and bribes. Only days later, FIFA President Sepp Blatter, under whose oversight these alleged crimes have occurred for nearly two decades, was reelected. That’s why John Oliver has called on FIFA’s high-profile sponsors to use their financial leverage to effect some change in the most powerful soccer organization in the world. [More]
Visa, Coca-Cola Respond To Human Rights Concerns About Qatar World Cup; Not Pulling Out As Sponsors
By 5.20.15
Since the mysterious cabal that is FIFA announced that the 2022 soccer World Cup would be played in Qatar, there have been rumors of graft, concerns about the exceedingly high temperatures, and most importantly multiple reports of human rights abuses at worksites for the new stadiums and other facilities being erected around the country. As more people call on the event’s largest sponsors to pull their support, some are responding, though none are giving any indication that they won’t slap their name on the wildly popular tournament. [More]
Exec Behind Nationwide’s “Dead Boy” Super Bowl Ad Steps Down
By 5.6.15
Not too many ads from the most recent Super Bowl will be remembered years from now, perhaps with the exception of the Nationwide insurance commercial that was instantly dubbed the “dead boy” ad by the Internet, because… well, the star of the spot is an adorable moppet who also happens to be dead. Now the Nationwide exec who signed off the infamous commercial has stepped down from his top-level job at the insurance giant. [More]
“Injected Ads” Are An Annoying Security Risk Affecting Millions Of Internet Users
By 5.6.15
Legitimate advertising is an annoyance that most of us tolerate and do our best to ignore. But there are more pernicious forms of advertising that aren’t just a nuisance but actually pose a potential security risk, like the “injected ads” that find your way into your web browser through software and extensions. [More]
Philip Morris International Uses Copyright Claims To Quiet Marlboro Critics
By 5.1.15
Earlier this year, John Oliver thrust Philip Morris International — the New York-based cigarette giant that markets Marlboro and other brands in hundreds of countries outside the U.S. — into the spotlight for its questionable legal efforts to delay and block tobacco regulation around the globe. And this morning, the company used copyright claims to have videos posted by critics of Marlboro removed from the Internet. [More]
MillerCoors Sued For Selling Blue Moon As A Craft Beer
By 5.1.15
To some people, the term “craft beer” implies that the brew is made in limited quantities and implies some level of independence from industry giants like MillerCoors and AB InBev. To others, it may mean just any brand that runs fewer than 10 commercials during your average Sunday NFL game. A recently filed lawsuit raises the question of whether anything made by these giant beer behemoths can justifiably be labeled a craft beer. [More]
Bud Light: We “Missed The Mark” On Bottle Suggesting That “No” Is A Drink Away From “Yes”
By 4.28.15
Earlier today we told you about the Bud Light “Up for Whatever” bottle tagline that suggested that the drink was the “perfect beer for removing ‘no’ from your vocabulary for the night.” While Bud Light has not responded to our multiple requests for comment, its parent company has released an apology of sorts. [More]
