When we received this press release about the Halo Vaccuum, we at fist thought it was some twisted new multi-tasking version of the game. Alas, it's just a regular vacuum but a very special one. One that kills germs with ultraviolet light. Created by BooneOakley, the campaign initially had the headline, "It doesn't just suck. It Kills." But, apparently, that was a bit too harsh and the ads ended up carrying a tamer headline like, "Is it a vacuum cleaner that kills germs? Or a germ-killer that vacuums." We think they should have gone with their initial thinking.
The campaign consists of print, TV and a Times Square billboard. We have no idea what Consumer Reports will think when they get their hands on this thing but to us it at least looks pretty cool. And we'd love knowing all those nasty critters living in the bowels of our carpet were meeting their maker rather than disgusting us.
So last night, we're three quarters through yet another now shitty episode of the once-brilliant Heroes and what do we see a few minutes after a commercial break? No, not one of those banners that promotes some new show that will likely suck or some news tease that will make it impossible for us not to "stay tuned for more" at 11. No, we see a big black banner fill the bottom fourth of the screen touting the new Denzel Washington, Russel Crowe movie American Gangster. WTF?
So this is what it's come to, people. The nets aren't going to take any more of our ad skipping shit and they're now going to bombard us not only with annoying in-program promotions but with ,annoying, unskippable in-program ad banners. Apparently taking a cue from YouTube's video advertising efforts, NBC is going to get is ad revenue no matter what it takes.
While we can't fault a media company for protecting its revenue stream, it's beginning to reach the point of insanity. Watching a show recorded on a DVR is now going to be just as annoying as watching one live with commercials. Maybe worse. With old-school commercials, at least you could miss the ads by getting up to take a piss or grabbing something out of the fridge. No longer. And this isn't the last (and likely it's not the first) we'll see of these DVR-fighting tactics. Protecting that revenue stream is a very powerful motivator.
Sorry, we didn't get an actual screenshot of the banner.
Next week, Target will host a fashion show November 6 and 7 at Grand Central in New York City. The fashion show will be model-less and automated with holograms which will "walk" down a runway. We hope the models who likeness were used to create these holograms got their fair share of green. We wouldn't want Target to be targeted (yes, we did just use a lame pun) by the United Models of America or something over royalty payments or whatever the fashion industry calls them.
Target expects over a million people to see the event in addition to web and mobile viewing. And, just so people don't miss the event, Target has set up text messages to remind people of the event and to send video to their phones.
Look: a bunch of women making noises. And they seem to have forgotten their shirts. See more at the Playtex Fits YouTube channel.
One actually pulls a harmonica out of her bra and starts to play it.
Until we did more research, we thought these (bra) ads were for tampons. Boy were we confused.
If you happen to have a funny bra story lying around, you can upload it here.
People like to over-care about stuff. That's why we have the PC police monitoring everything movie stars say, and Arianna Huffington.
But if saving toast seems like too futile a mission for you, try your hand at saving tile.
Save the Tile is a Delta Faucet campaign by Young & Laramore. The idea is to promote quality tile that's aesthetically friendly (so you don't hammer it all away at your first opportunity).
The campaign includes print ads narrated by disgruntled bathroom items. See Scent Stick (who owns these?), Loofah and Toothbrush.
Or, you know, go out and try saving something you actually care about. (Like puppies or hungry kids.) But who actually does that?
With virtually no load or lag time whatsoever, today we blew two hours of our workday watching Sideways online.
We didn't need to pay for, illegally download, or sacrifice precious computer space for it.
And while the occasional :15 or :30 ad cuts through our experience, we're willing to deal. The content is worth the trouble.
This is all part and parcel of Hulu beta, a valiant joint effort between News Corp. and NBC Universal.
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Advergirl is examining Web 1.0 versus Web 2.0 sites. Aside from the fact, the distinction is pointless and made up by geeks with nothing better to than invent a trend and slap a label on it, Advergirl (who we are most certainly not faulting here for trying to further explain the goofiness of the Web 2.0 thing) has collected nine categories of sites and asked readers to help come up with a better definition for and distinction between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 sites. For us, the distinction is easy. Web 2.0 sites have bigger buttons.
OK, can we now move on to more important topics such as why the hell the brains behind sites like Firebrand think people give two shits about viewing and sharing ads social network-style. They're ads for fuck's sake!
This brainteaser killed about 45 seconds of our time. It is part of a new effort called Save the Toast, where a bunch of characters try saving toast by defaming stick butter.
The campaign, for Country Crock, is orchestrated Presidential election-style and only slightly less ridiculous than Election '08. Each animated character has a MySpace. See Bobby Biscuit's.
A petition and -- more to the point -- digital coupons are available at the website.
Of all the forms of product advertising in the world, we hold a special place in our hearts for personal hygiene efforts.
They walk this terrific moral and social line that's bound to result in lots of misunderstandings and wince-worthy ads. (Consider the moral dilemma sparked by the Dove and Axe campaigns. And the ads from when Lysol used to be a douche!)
For client Ban, Enlighten gives us Feel Ban Fresh. Follow the drama of small town Stinkton Heights, where everyone smells terrible and our protagonist, An Inconvenient Girl, tries unraveling the underlying problem. (On her MySpace, of course.)
It's times like this when we actually see Peyton Place in an idyllic light. Because while it housed plenty of skeletons, it lacked cheesy product promotion. ("Go Skunks!" Really?)
Last week a group of federal employees served as proxy reporters for a press conference regarding the California wildfires with the deputy chief of FEMA.
Why would FEMA want to stage a fake conference about the California wildfires? It's not only unethical; it's ... lame. It's like something you'd get in trouble for in elementary school ("Sorry, Mrs. Jewls, I couldn't actually find a famous person to interview, so I made one up.")
FEMA's excuse: it had no time to wait for real reporters.
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