Gag-inducing man-spray Axe is fighting back at Old Spice’s recent buzzed about, equestrian-themed campaign with this billboard that says “Axe is for men who’d rather be with a woman than on a horse.” [More]
marketing
Guess Which Charter Envelope Has Important Billing Information?
By 9.29.10
Here’s an excellent example of how a company will put more effort into getting you to notice its junk mail than any important account related information. David says this happens to him all the time, and it’s usually a serious notice (as in “impending disconnection”) thanks to a recurring billing error. [More]
FDA Does Spit-Take Over Mouthwash Labels Saying They Fight Gum Disease
By 9.29.10
The FDA just smacked the taste out of the mouths of Johnson & Johnson, Walgreens and CVS over advertising that their mouthwash fights gum disease, without having science to prove it. [More]
JCPenney Switching To Priceless Catalogs
By 9.28.10
When JCPenney killed off its traditional Big Book catalog last year, the result was a drop in sales on its website, says the retailer’s chairman. Based on that successful strategy–wait, what?–JCPenney says it’s killing off its remaining 12 specialty catalogs as well. Instead, it will start mailing out thinner “look books,” which will contain a subset of merchandise and no prices. [More]
Colleges Reap Big Bucks Selling Student Addresses To Credit Card Companies
By 9.24.10
Colleges are making bucket-loads of cash selling their alumni mailing lists to credit card companies. In some cases, they’re even getting a cut on every credit-card purchase or debit-card transaction a student makes. [More]
To Make A Good Lady Logo, Choose A Squiggle, Tree, Ribbon, Or Spiral
By 9.22.10
If you’re going to make a logo for some kind of lady group, you have four leitmotifs to choose from: squiggle, tree, ribbon or spiral. In her entirely .jpg-based essay, artist Shana Moutlon looks at how we reinforce gender stereotypes through bad logo design. [More]
Next Stop, TV Ads Inside The Subway Car
By 9.22.10
Mark another “safe from motion-based commercial messages” area off the list. New York is trying out adding TV screens inside subway cars as a way to bolster flagging revenues. The first campaign is a “full body wrap” – what graffiti artists used to call “bombing” – on the 42nd street shuttle for TBS’s baseball playoff coverage. The (silent) monitors will show highlights from previous games. [More]
When Online Stores Get All Email Smothery
By 9.10.10
Some places you buy stuff from online are so super duper excited about your new business that they can’t stop emailing you about every little thing. The Brads webcomic does a cute little skewering of the overly communicative online store that even gets clingy when you try to unsubscribe. Relationship tip for companies trying to hook up with customers: desperation is a turnoff. Hit the link to get the full monty. [More]
Snoop Dogg Partners With Norton To Fight Cybercrime
By 9.3.10
Security software maker Norton has hired rapper Snoop Dogg to be the face of a new contest that asks people to upload to “hackiswack.com” a 2 minute videos of themselves rapping about cybercrime. Winners get to hang out with the Snoop Dizzle, free tickets to his concert, and a new laptop preloaded with Norton Internet Security 2011. The partnership makes sense, as computer on Norton runs as fast as if you “smoke weed everyday.” [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]
Coffee Shops Say Free Wi-Fi Is Bad For Business
By 8.9.10
A recent story in the LA Times says that some coffee shops are pulling the plug on free wi-fi because freeloaders are taking up large tables and only having a single cup of coffee. [More]
Sign Up For MSN Internet At Best Buy? You Could Get $75
By 8.5.10
If you signed up for MSN Internet at Best Buy between 1999 and 2004, you could be entitled to up to $75. [More]
Foods That Pretend To Be Drugs
By 8.4.10
“Medical attention does not come from a Cheerios box,” Steven Nissen, head of cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic, told Forbes. See, one of the biggest trends in the food industry are these so-called “functional foods,” water that helps you sleep, yogurt that regulates your digestion, pomegranate juice that cures cancer, etc. But most of the claims are bogus, or at best, misleading, and the FDA is cracking down. [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]
