A new holiday season ad from PayPal aired across the UK during “The X Factor,” peak family-viewing time. Its premise is simple: two brothers wait to sneak glances at their Christmas presents as their parents bring them in the house. The ad has drawn hundreds of complaints to the national ad watchdog because it ignores the existence of Santa Claus. No, really. [More]
outrage
Creative Backs Down, Reinstates Spurned Developer
By 4.5.08
Creative Labs heard your chest-beating across the internet and decided to reinstate spurned developer Daniel_K less than a week after booting him from their forums. Unlike Creative, Daniel_K issued drivers that allowed Creative sound cards to work properly under Vista, and even enabled previously crippled features. The drivers were downloaded over 100,000 times. The company thanked the developer by accusing him of “enabling our technology and IP to run on sound cards for which it was not originally offered or intended, [in] effect, stealing our goods.” Even though he has been reinstated, Daniel_K is still pissed.
Parents Think Bratz Baby Doll Says “Fuck You”
By 12.29.06
Is there no end to the foul things parents hear their children’s toys say? Already this season Ariel the Mermaid has been accused of calling people “sluts.” Now the Bratz baby is saying fuck you to people. Could it be that the doll is singing “So Cute?” That’s what the lyrics posted on the Bratz website say, but that didn’t stop parents from alerting the media. In the news reports they actually beeped out “So Cute” when they played the song, as if that was going to help parents make an informed decision about whether or not “so cute” sounds too much like “fuck you” for their tastes.
35 Most Outrageous Fees and How to Avoid Them
By 12.27.06
CNN has broken down ” the most outrageous” fees levied on consumers and how to avoid them. Unsurprisingly, quite a few have to do with travel, banking, and airlines. Paper ticket fees, flight change fees, ATM fees, etc. Some good travel tips are to be had: Southwest airlines doesn’t charge to change a flight, and JetBlue only charges $25-$30.
