So as is the case with every large brand at SXSW, Chevrolet has a large booth set up just as you walk inside the Austin Convention Center. Part of that large booth is a giant set of...balls. OK, it's a Newton's Cradle.
If you're not familiar with a Newton's Cradle, it's that thing with five balls hanging from a string and when you swing the ball on one end, it makes the ball on the other end swing out without the middle three balls moving.
A giant Newton's Cradle. Just begging to be used by everyone passing by. Except no one in the Chevy booth wants anyone to...ahem...touch its balls. How unfriendly, we say!
OK, so she's not in a neglige and her pendulous boobs aren't spilling out of her top but there's no need for that. Jennifer Love Hewitt looks hot no matter what she's wearing and that's the case here in this Old Navy commercial. Along with Julie Hagerty, who appeared in another new ad from the brand, JLH introduces new hoodies and crews.
The ad follows the brand's most recent "style upgrade" theme which takes place in a tricked out airplane cabin.
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Attending SXSW can be a whirlwind of live performances, big announcements, and networking. Keeping track of what's going on can be a challenge even for the most connected individual.
We offer five suggestions for attendees that want to know about the latest social buzz before the crowd:
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Writing in Advertising Age, David Berkowitz, vp of emerging media at 360i, say we shouldn't be looking for The Next Big Thing this year during SXSW. And he's right. SXSW has become so big that it is nearly impossible for any one company to stand out. But, as David argues, seeking the next big thing isn't why you should attend SXSW.
You should attend SXSW to connect with those in your industry who are doing interesting, albeit not earth shattering things, that you can learn about and perhaps put to use in your own business.
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This guest post on the topic of Do Not Track is written by Tim Stoute, Co-CEO & CTO of Toronto-based eyeReturn.
Online advertising is appealing because it is effective and measurable. The "Ad Tech" industry is a competitive and innovative space, where disruptive new techniques are frequently introduced to provide advertisers new tools, reports, and efficiencies for their advertising dollars. One of these new technologies is behavioral advertising. Behavioral advertising allows online systems to classify web-surfing habits and target specific advertisements based on the classification - this, as you know, makes the advertising more efficient for the advertiser, and more relevant to the end user.
While behavioral advertising is both anonymous and a benefit to all parties, some people perceive the practice as intrusive and infringing on user privacy. Recognizing these concerns, the online advertising industry has worked together to form standards, regulations and opt-out systems. One of these standards is called Do Not Track (DNT).
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Consumers are bombarded with more commercial messaging than ever before from countless sources, but it's also easier than ever to tune ads out. People fast-forward past multimillion-dollar commercials or subscribe to web-based, commercial-free TV platforms like Netflix. They view more content on the web than ever, but online ads have become virtually invisible to them.
New advertising concepts like native monetization are revitalizing online advertising. Connections between brands and potential customers are more effectively fostered when they add value to the user experience, rather than distract or interrupt. While traditional contextual targeting looks at the entire page (an increasingly noisy signal), native monetization can be relevant to the micro-context: the section, the paragraph, even the sentence. This is native monetization at its most effective - and often it's just a humble link.
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