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Man Who Drank Glass Of Fat Walks Off Can Of Soda
By Ben Popken on October 31, 2011 2:00 PM
55 Comments
The same guy who drank a glass of fat to demonstrate the lard-inducing effects of soft drinks is back. This time he shows how long you have to walk to burn off the calories from a can of soda. It takes three miles! That's the distance from Union Square to Brooklyn in New York. More »
DirecTV DVR Makes Me Watch Ads... But Only For DirecTV
By Laura Northrup on September 29, 2011 9:30 AM
42 Comments
We always knew that the cable companies that rent us our DVRs would eventually find a way to let customers time-shift, but still us all to watch commercials. DirecTV subscriber Dan wonders whether he's alone in being unable to use his 30-second skip button only on his satellite provider's in-house ads. More »
Skype Starts Running Ads, Says You Won't Notice
By Phil Villarreal on March 8, 2011 9:45 AM
29 Comments
Looking to dial up another income stream, Skype plans to start running ads on its home tab, and promises they'll be unobtrusive solicitations from the likes of Groupon, Visa and Universal Pictures. More »
21 Super Bowl Ad Previews
By Ben Popken on February 4, 2011 4:00 PM
42 Comments
For some (me), the best part of the show on Sunday will be the ads. But now I don't even need to suffer through a sport that stole its name from an already established and much better game, which you know as soccer, because Adfreak has got the goods on the Super Bowl ad spots, with 21 teasers and full ads. Darth Volkswagen is already an early contender for best of the night, and first place in my heart: More »
CBS Won't Air NFL Players Union Ad
By Phil Villarreal on February 3, 2011 9:45 AM
81 Comments
The NFL Players Association tried to buy some airtime the day before the Super Bowl on CBS's College Sports Network, but CBS is refusing to air their minute-long commercial. Intended to stir fans' emotions before the impending owners' lockout, the ad shows an empty stadium and asks the NFL to "let them play." The union says CBS, which airs NFL games, is kowtowing to the will of the league. More »
(RAWRZ!)
Nielsen Partners With Facebook, Other Websites To Measure Ad Views Online
By Chris Walters on September 28, 2010 11:30 AM
21 Comments
If you don't like the concept of having your online actions tracked for marketing purposes, you can add Nielsen to you list of sworn enemies. The audience measurement company is better known for its TV viewer ratings, but yesterday it announced a new partnership with websites like Facebook where it will access user info (age and gender only, it says) to collect aggregate data on ad views around the web. More »
(AdAge)
CAPTCHA Codes, Now With Ad Slogans
By Chris Walters on September 22, 2010 12:30 PM
61 Comments
A company called Solve Media is rolling out a new CAPTCHA interface that requires you type in an ad slogan instead of a nonsense word, reports AdAge. Advertisers are looking for message comprehension," says the company's owner, "And you know what they say, 'If you write something down, you remember it.'" And if you force a customer to repeat your slogan during an unrelated transaction, does he resent you for it? More »
Summer's Eve To Ladies: If You Want A Raise, You'd Better Wash Your Hoo Hoo
By Chris Walters on August 30, 2010 8:00 AM
92 Comments
Maybe you thought bizarre "fix your naughty bits!" ads for feminine hygiene only appeared back in your grandparents' era, but no. This Summer's Eve ad from Women's Day magazine says that if you want a raise, one of the first things you can do is shower with "Summer's Eve Feminine Wash," although it might also be a good idea to bring some "cleansing cloths" with you "for a quick freshness pick-me-up" right before you ask the boss for more money. That's all in tip #1; tip #7 says "Don't let the conversation stray or get personal." More »
MTV News Becomes Paid Shill For FreeCreditScore.com
By Chris Walters on August 11, 2010 11:30 AM
28 Comments
Maybe you didn't take MTV News too seriously to begin with, but if you did you might want to reconsider. BrandChannel started noticing that MTV News was posting articles about FreeCreditScore.com's contest for a new sellout band for its TV spots. (This is the same company as FreeCreditReport.com; both charge for their services and generally suck.) The problem with the paid MTV sponsorship is that it's not disclosing that the "news stories" are just advertorials. More »
"Magic Pleasure Bed" Only $300
By Meg Marco on July 12, 2010 3:45 PM
20 Comments
We have to admit this is creative, but there is no possible way we'd ever buy a bed from an ad that mentions the Slovakian curling team. (Nothing against them, we just don't want to cheapen the sport.) Reader Melissa thought you might, however, so we agreed to post it. More »
How To Opt Out Of Apple's iAds Service, Eventually
By Chris Walters on June 22, 2010 11:30 AM
10 Comments
If you don't want Apple collecting data on you and using it to target you with ads starting July 1st, you can opt out from "any device running iOS 4," says AppleInsider. The opt-out is automatic when you hit up http://oo.apple.com from an iOS 4 device, and as far as I can tell you can't undo it, so don't click the link unless you really want to opt out. Also, it's not working at the moment. More »
Coming Soon, A Way To Find Out How That Online Ad Knows What You Like
By Chris Walters on June 22, 2010 10:30 AM
13 Comments
Last year the FTC asked online marketers to regulate targeted advertising, so in an attempt to avoid new regulatory policies the major ad industry groups have gotten together to launch a new service. Starting late summer, when a targeted ad from a participating marketer appears on your screen, you'll be able to click a small icon somewhere on the ad and see your profile on that marketer's site. You'll also be able to then opt out of future ads from that ad network, reports Wired. More »
Old Thermos Ad: Use Our Product Or Your Baby Will Die!
By Chris Walters on June 22, 2010 9:30 AM
44 Comments
I know we all like to laugh at old homemaker ads, like where bad coffee will make your husband have an affair or the wrong douche will let the communists win, but here's one that pushes it a step further. How? Dead babies. As the scary ad explains, a thermos keeps filthy germ-ridden flies away from the milk, and keeps the milk cold, and that means the milk won't kill your baby. If you don't buy this thermos, you may as well make your baby into terrible tasting instant coffee and use it to drive your husband into the arms of his secretary, because that's what you deserve. More »
Manufacturers To Market To You Via Messages Hidden In UPCs
By Chris Walters on June 22, 2010 9:00 AM
19 Comments
Stickybits is a social network that combines your phone's camera, a web connection, and UPCs to leave virtual notes and images scattered all around you like invisible sticky notes. The important question, as always, is can it be used to sell stuff? Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Campbell's, Frito-Lay, and Ben & Jerry are all planning to find out in social media campaigns this summer, reports Brandweek. More »
HP And Yahoo Want To Put Ads On Your Printouts
By Chris Walters on June 21, 2010 10:30 AM
55 Comments
Google's not the only company that wants to put ads on everything you read. HP's new web-connected printers will let you send pages or photos directly from websites or phones and schedule recurring printouts from content partners—and the company is pilot testing a program with Yahoo's advertising network to deliver targeted ads on those scheduled printouts. More »
ABC Doubling The Commercials On iPad App, Online Streams
By Chris Walters on June 16, 2010 11:03 AM
45 Comments
If you watch ABC's shows online or with an iPad, your limited commercial interruptions are about to get a little less limited. So far, most of ABC's streaming shows contain 5 to 6 ads of 30 seconds each, but mocoNews says one of ABC's executives just confirmed that the network is going to double that ad load, perhaps leading the way for other networks to do the same. More »
Watch Jane Lynch Make Fun Of The iPhone 4
By Chris Walters on June 8, 2010 12:21 PM
26 Comments
Jane Lynch is a funny woman, so even though a parody of the iconic (and now dead) Mac vs. PC ads is a little tired, it's fun to see her going all Sue Sylvester on the iPhone 4. If you enjoy spoofs of ads and want to see why Jane Lynch dislikes Gizmodo as much as Steve Jobs, take a look. More »
New Billboard Smells Like Steak, Sort Of
By Chris Walters on June 7, 2010 12:08 PM
41 Comments
If you find yourself driving down River Highway in Mooresville, NC this summer and suddenly smell a vaguely steak-like odor, don't worry, you're not having a stroke. You're passing by the billboard for Bloom, a supermarket chain that's owned by Food Lion. The billboard went up last Friday and poots out a charcoal-and-pepper fragrance from 7 to 10 a.m. and again from 4 to 7 p.m. More »
(eschipul)
Harper's Magazine: Insider Reveals How You Get Jacked When Selling Jewelry
By Ben Popken on May 19, 2010 9:56 AM
51 Comments
Struggling to make next month's rent, you might be tempted to dig out some necklaces and rings you don't wear and try to sell it to your friendly neighborhood jeweler. But you might actually be buying a ticket to a sick magic show. The jeweler performs a blistering series of slight of hand tricks, whipping out calculators, spouting off fees, keeping your eye on the supposedly worthless diamonds under a tenth of a carat while double-deducting for the base metal. By the end, you slink out in a dizzied blur, accepting 1/5th of what the piece is actually worth. In this exclusive excerpt from the latest issue of Harper's, ex-jeweler Clancy Martin takes you on a journey to the dark underbelly of the jewelry game. More »
(AMagill)
Ex-Jeweler Dissects "Buying Roadshow" Ads
By Ben Popken on May 18, 2010 1:00 PM
27 Comments
The ads are cheesy as all get out: "Buying Roadshow" "Instant Cash For All" "Will pay up to 1100%" in giant block letters and starbursts. And the crazy thing is that they're really good at packing in suckers eager to sell their "scrap jewelry," dreaming of riches, but eventually convinced to be happy walking away with a few bucks. Over at Harper's Magazine, ex-jeweler Clancy Martin takes apart these ads piece by piece and reveals what really goes on behind the black curtain. For instance: More »
