We might have unicorns in Wendy’s commercials but in the 1950’s, they had magical fairies, and Mary Tyler Moore. Before she became Mrs. Dick Van Dyke, Moore was was Happy Hotpoint, a blithe, dancing, 3-inch pixie shilling for Hotpoint appliances on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
clips
Comcast is Nice, Frustrating Man
By 7.7.06
We’ve been fielding some inquiries lately from news organizations, asking our thoughts about recording customer service interactions. Will Vincent and the Sleepy Comcast guy inspire copycats? Will people try to game the system for kicks and national acclaim? Well, some guy tried to goad a Comcast rep during an intent to cancel call…
Chrysler’s Final 0% Solution
By 6.30.06
There are absolutely no new ideas in advertising. In this latest proof, Chrysler rips off Volkswagen ripping off Mitsubishi by playing up the combustible engine’s ethnic heritage, in this case, as in VW’s, German. The campaign introduces Dr. Z as CEO and spokesmensch. To cries of “I can’t see any lederhosen,” Daimler replies, “Farfegcocca.”
Comcast, The Bedazzler
By 6.29.06
Comcast hopes that you will be distracted by these new ads and forget about how much their customer support sucks. What they should really do is capitalize on the sleeping tech fiasco. Do a campaign about how Comcast techs are your buddy. They’re so friendly, you want to hang out with them and play Halo2 and smoke weed and pass out on the sofa together. That tech shouldn’t have been fired, he should have been made company spokesman. Four spots here, found via Adfreak, with hipster mermen, hipster loggers whose jobs have been taken by robots, hipster Das Boot (sucks), and hipster Japanese game show. Whether being cross-bred with sheep and eating skittles or attending officially PRB sanctioned concerts, hipsters are the roxor.
We Interview Vincent Ferrari, AOL Canceller
By 6.29.06
Vincent Ferrari was nice enough to come down to Gawker HQ and answer a few questions about his ordeal, AOL and what’s next for our famous AOL canceller. He may have been nice on national broadcast, but we get him to open up and talk a lil’ smack-a-roony. Plus, he’s got some things up his sleeve that might put the hurt on AOL even more so than his Dear John call…
Avery and Phil Oozinate ShopWiki
By 6.29.06
On Tuesday, we invited all of our readers to head on over to ShopWiki and let them pay you 50 clams for an Oozinator review. Two days later and we’re happy to report that the first video review of the Oozinator is already up, filmed by the very funny Avery and Phil.
An Evening Phone Call with British Telecom
By 6.27.06
When you get an unwanted phone call from a telemarketer, we don’t really recommend letting one exasperated hand slowly run down your insanely jactitating visage right before your knuckles all pop and you tear your own face clear off. Nor do we recommend threatening to pull the telemarketer inside out by his rectum. That is not responsible consumerism.
Head On!
By 6.22.06
We saw this on TV and wanted to snag it. Then we stopped watching TV. Luckily, someone else had the frame of mind to video tape this bizarre commercial for a headache relief stick that you, well, apply directly to forehead.
Catherine Zeta Crab Walk
By 6.22.06
Not just her train tunnel gaze or air of casual refinement, but Catherine Zeta Jones has certain je ne sais quois captivating us towards her ouevre, most recently her dramatic turn as spokesmodel for T-Mobile.
AOL Canceler on Today Show
By 6.22.06
Vincent Ferrari showed up on the Today Show for a little morning chat with Matt Lauer. Props to NBC for playing a huge chunk of the conversation, which we haven’t seen done in other media outlets. Of course, they do cut out the part in the call where Vincent says, “you’re annoying the shit out of me” but that’s the breaks of prime time. Matt seems amused and befuddled at Vincent’s affair, guess the networks have decided to sympathise with the little guy on this one.
Delta Tells Ze Frank Off
By 6.21.06
Videoblogger Ze Frank was promised $600 in remuneration from Delta after some abysmally bad customer service had him not flying and staying in a hotel room with a total stranger. He got a letter in the mail today and instead of a check, he got a big fat go f*** yourself letter. The best part is Ze Frank in an adult diaper. The second best part is that in the letter, Delta refers to an online policy that outlines their responsibilities in these matters (none), and the link is dead upon arrival.
Consumerist on G4, Small World Podcast
By 6.21.06
We did a good a whole bunch of media-whoring this week. In addition to CNBC, we also hit up G4’s Attack of the Show to talk about viral marketing.
Oozinator Ooze Tested
By 6.21.06
Captivated by the Oozinator squirt guns possibilities, mainly those involving its ability to shoot ooze, we ordered one. Here is the money shot. It fulfills all your hopes and dreams. This is but a preview of a longer ooze opus. Enjoy.
Comcast Tech Falls Asleep on Customer’s Couch
By 6.21.06
Brian had a Comcast tech come to his house to replace a router, one of two broken ones they provided. The operation shouldn’t have taken but a moment. Instead the tech was on hold with Comcast for 90 minutes. And he fell asleep. Brian made a video documenting the affair.
HazMat Protesters Drop Mad Science
By 6.21.06
Here’s another version of the DRM protest involving hazmat suits and the San Fran Apple store. It’s got less Talking Heads, more people speaking about (or, heads talking…) about why DRM is bad. If you don’t know why it is, watch. If you do and would like to have your beliefs affirmed, watch. If you like sweaty geeks, watch. All we know is DRM prevented us from easily transmogrifying our sister into the next Grandmaster Flash, so now we’re totally mad against it, even more than we were madly before.
