Comments on: Message Forum Spam

Message Forum Spam

jca — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 10:24:59 -0800

Not only is pop star Ashlee Simpson lip syncing and manufactured, but so are some of her fans:
"I just read about Ashlee in us weekly. Those guys at the football game were total jerks." -- mandyc19

Welcome to the world of message forum viral marketing, "street team" advertising, and corporate shills. That "fan" posting in forums about Court TV, The Smoking Gun, or shows on Fox isn't a fan at all -- just another type of spammer -- only this time employed by giant media corporations.

By: bardic

bardic — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 10:32:20 -0800

Awesome post. And I just read last night that her album sold 4 million copies. Americans deserve their slop (speaking as an American).

By: elpapacito

elpapacito — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 10:32:40 -0800

Welcome to the spin zoooooone

By: thedevildancedlightly

thedevildancedlightly — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 10:33:17 -0800

Everything on the intarnets isn't true? What's next, professional wrestling is fake?

By: Pretty_Generic

Pretty_Generic — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 10:33:25 -0800

That's not true at all. I suggest you chill out with a Pepsi.

By: jsavimbi

jsavimbi — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 10:33:34 -0800

I don't believe that for a second.

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 10:33:45 -0800

What an interesting phenomenon. Truly. (What's with your Fox link? I don't understand how the google search is related...)

By: Armitage Shanks

Armitage Shanks — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 10:40:32 -0800

It would be awful if someone posted a link to this page on each of those forums.

By: jalexei

jalexei — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 10:42:39 -0800

Yo - have you guys heard about this????!!!! There's this metafilter thing that is SO cool!!!!! I totally heard from my friend that you get like a dollar off if you say, like "matt haughy" real loud when you order a Bacardi Knicker Twister® before February 28th!!!

By: greasy_skillet

greasy_skillet — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 10:43:27 -0800

Those guys at the game *were* jerks though.

By: theFlyingSquirrel

theFlyingSquirrel — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 10:45:41 -0800

Ack! They've already gotten to greasy_skillet!

By: santiagogo

santiagogo — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 10:47:45 -0800

only this time employed by giant media corporations. I don't doubt this really, but for the FPP's sake, it'd be better if you backed this up with just one more link to back this claim up... Good post.

By: petebest

petebest — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 10:48:42 -0800

so - it's official now? *checks watch*

By: the theory of revolution

the theory of revolution — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 10:51:17 -0800

I just read about Ashlee in us weekly. Those guys at the football game were total jerks.

By: gwint

gwint — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 10:52:28 -0800

I just read about Ashlee in us weekly. Those guys at the football game were total jerks.

By: Armen Tanzarian

Armen Tanzarian — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 10:53:37 -0800

I just hope she gets to tell her side!

By: fandango_matt

fandango_matt — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:01:13 -0800

I just read about Mandy on MetaFilter. Those guys at the viral marketing firm were total jerks!

By: five fresh fish

five fresh fish — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:03:54 -0800

I saw Ashlee on some stupid tv show last night. What a stone-cold no-talent dumbshit. The premise was something to the effect of recording a new album. They wrote songs in an hour, she sang tunelessly, the producer told her she was garbage, she spazzed, she sulked, she ranted, there was ass-kissing ("I meant the band Garbage!"), there was more tuneless, talentless singing, and then the kids thankfully changed the channel. Ashlee is only fit for working at McDonald's. And at the fry tanks, not the front counter.

By: fleacircus

fleacircus — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:05:54 -0800

Ashleyturfing? Is it time to scream like a triffid?

By: fleacircus

fleacircus — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:06:33 -0800

or was that bodysnatcher, er...

By: tsarfan

tsarfan — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:06:43 -0800

bob dylan got booed when he went electric prince got booed when he opened for the stones in 20 years, ashlee will look back at this and laugh. paid for by the swift boat amateurs for ashlee

By: Hands of Manos

Hands of Manos — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:06:49 -0800

manufactured sanging *_*

By: fenriq

fenriq — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:07:32 -0800

Can they please at least find some freakin' pop tart who's decent looking? This annoying twit is ugly, talentless and stupid but then, I guess that's the new mantra for America, isn't it? But then, I'm curious, how can I get a job just speading whatever manure someone tells me to all over the internet? And did they actually sell those albums or did they hire kids to buy them?

By: orange clock

orange clock — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:10:15 -0800

The Internet is like Echelon for fake celebrities.

By: dabitch

dabitch — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:11:33 -0800

is this a bzzzagent of some sort? (NYT article)

By: orange clock

orange clock — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:11:37 -0800

This annoying twit is ugly, talentless and stupid but then, I guess that's the new mantra for America, isn't it? It's not nice to insult someone for not being attractive, it's not like they had a choice when they were born. It's pretty cheap also.

By: graventy

graventy — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:19:41 -0800

That's not true at all. I suggest you chill out with a Pepsi. posted by Pretty_Generic at 12:33 PM CST on January 25 It's Pepsi Blue, PG, Pepsi Blue!

By: pyramid termite

pyramid termite — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:22:45 -0800

fenriq - i think she's cute ... i also think she ought to quit singing hey ... did you know that you can get an apple i-pod free?

By: octobersurprise

octobersurprise — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:25:02 -0800

"Great," I thought when I first heard about Simpson getting booed, "we're a country that boos Ashlee Simpson and elects George Bush."

By: Mike D

Mike D — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:27:48 -0800

"bob dylan got booed when he went electric prince got booed when he opened for the stones in 20 years, ashlee will look back at this and laugh." Well yeah, but... it'll be an alcohol-hazed hysterical laugh. (Of course, Kylie Minogue has shown us there is life beyond "Locomotion".)

By: gompa

gompa — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:28:09 -0800

It'd be better if you backed this up with just one more link to back this claim up... Well, santiagogo, the Electric Artists website is on hiatus for retooling, it appears, but here's an article about how the company built online buzz for Christina Aguilera back in '99 using viral-marketing techniques such as planting info in chatrooms. Aguilera was the breakthrough for Electric Artists, and its client list now features practically every major media conglomerate on the planet. Wouldn't surprise me if they - or some other firm just like them - were responsible for these Ashlee posts. Also, I'm pretty sure I just read about Ashlee in us weekly. Those guys at the football game were total jerks. just became the So this broomstick . . . it vibrates? of 2005.

By: evening

evening — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:30:08 -0800

Where is the link that shows this person is a corporate lackey? I missed it. considering that is the point of the post, shouldn't there be more of that? (agree with santiagogo)

By: evening

evening — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:30:33 -0800

d'oh

By: XQUZYPHYR

XQUZYPHYR — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:37:42 -0800

In the spirit of viral marketing, self-link Ashlee Simpson cartoon.

By: Specklet

Specklet — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:37:59 -0800

I'm with frenriq: I need to know how I can become a cog in the viral marketing machine...

By: moz

moz — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:42:52 -0800

you can't really stop this sort of thing. which is ok ... i mean, obviously, there are a few people who recognize this form of marketing. the fact that it bothers some of us is that the recognition of it requires the use of critical thinking. it reinforces the notion that we have to be mentally on-guard, and it frustrates us that there are those with no consideration of that. but -- it beats falling for propoganda.

By: fandango_matt

fandango_matt — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:44:10 -0800

WTF?! Wannabe (2005/II) A group of aspiring entertainers try to establish careers for themselves in the city of Los Angeles. Tagline: She thought she'd do a hoe-down.

By: 327.ca

327.ca — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:50:02 -0800

bob dylan got booed when he went electric ...and yet he didn't get booed when he made a commerical for Victoria's Secret. It's a funny old world.

By: juiceCake

juiceCake — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:50:22 -0800

Nice imitation of Faze tsarfan! Does anyone feel that the viral marketing mentality is also related to the censorship mentality?

By: juggernautco

juggernautco — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 11:55:11 -0800

Please, for a moment, think of Mandy. Exactly what does that copy/paste moment look like, what are her/ his surroundings, what Dilbert cartoons grace Mandy's pod, what air conditing units hum for Mandy as he enters one chat room after another. What price freedom, Mandy?

By: davy

davy — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 12:01:24 -0800

"Those guys at the game *were* jerks though." The excerpt I got to download ended before the booing started, unless they were booing very softly, but from what I saw I'd've booed too. "You make me wanna la la" makes me wanna upchuck. As for "manufactured celebrities", what about the Gabor Sisters?

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 12:06:10 -0800

"As for "manufactured celebrities", what about the Gabor Sisters?" Come on, Green Acres was fucking awesome, and it's available for pre-order on DVD for just $20.99!

By: MrMoonPie

MrMoonPie — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 12:07:57 -0800

Is this really new? I mean, this sort of thing has been going on in movie reviews ("The best movie of 2005" -- John Shiller, Ackron Screen-Door Manufacturers' Weekly), and even Amazon, for years, right? I came across an ex-girlfriend's screen name in the comments section of a Washington Post restaurant review. Her comments sounded a bit too enthusiastic, so I did some googling. I found out she's the new marketing rep for the restaurant being reviewed. I reported the review to the Post, but it's still there. I'd link it, but, really, this girl had some serious stalker tendencies, so I wouldn't want her to think I'm, um, stalking her.

By: Sparx

Sparx — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 12:08:09 -0800

Ashlee Simpsonis apparently a regular on 7th Heaven - looking after the stepford twins. Who scare the hell out of me. No, I don't watch it. Unless I'm so hung-over it hurts to turn the channel. Which is basically my Thursday. Anyhow - apparently one of the kids - the other scary aryan blond one, is back from college soon and looking to have some freaky pre-marital sex. Possibly with his old flame Cecilia - played by a certain person a bunch of football jerks were just really mean to. You heard it hear first. Just because I love you - I won't post the theme song. Oh, all right: Seventh heaven,when I see their happy faces,smiling back at me Seventh heaven,I know there's no greater feeling that the love of family Where can you go,when the world don't treat you right The answer is home,that's the one place that you'll find Seventh heaven, oooh Seventh heaven Truly I am of the darkness.

By: homodigitalis

homodigitalis — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 12:12:34 -0800

Life imitates marketing - marketing imitates life.

By: b_thinky

b_thinky — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 12:15:31 -0800

If I were at the game I would have booed her no-talent having ass too. I don't think there are any football fans who actually *like* Ashlee Simpson, N'Sync or Paul McCartney, so why do the networks constantly put them on extended halftime performances? Are the networks that out of touch? Why don't they just have Toby Keith do every halftime show? He was the only one not jeered at the Rose Bowl

By: MrMoonPie

MrMoonPie — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 12:18:06 -0800

It seems to me that ad execs don't care if football fans like the show; football fans are already watching. The execs are trying to bring in new viewers, folks who'll tune in just for the show. I know I watch the Super Bowl for the commercials, not the game.

By: Joey Michaels

Joey Michaels — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 12:22:03 -0800

You know, doing this in such a ham fisted way only makes Ashlee look more lame. The marketing wonks that were responsible for this really should lose their jobs. Seriously, "Mandy" should have at least written a bunch of original messages, altered her name on different boards and made an attempt to *appear* like they were going to be regular participants in those forums. This cut and paste method is too easy to track and, like I said, makes the "artist" look bad.

By: jeffmik

jeffmik — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 12:22:54 -0800

Checking out a couple of those links makes me happy that we aren't allowed signatures on the Blue.

By: lord_wolf

lord_wolf — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 12:22:57 -0800

this kind of thing has been happening for years, far longer than ashlee simpson has plagued us. i remember way back when the psx first launched and was competing against the n64 and whatever sega's superior but poorly marketed system was. you could go over to the rec.videogames boards and see people posting who were obviously employed by one of the three companies. now, i don't know if they were doing this on company time or their own time, but they usually would include highly conspicuous claims that they didn't work for any of the companies involved, then make posts about how such and such system was obviously better than system x, backed up with specs that only somebody on the inside could have known. i think this sort of thing also happens in political discussions: i swear i've seen some people who preface their arguments with "i'm not a bush supporter, but..." use wording that was lifted from whatever talking points memo was passed around that day. not saying they all do that, but it's happened enough to make me say "hmmm." btw, although i'm not connected to it's manufacture or sale in any way, i hope people are enjoying a nice cold red stripe while reading metafilter. hooray beer! (seriously, i'm not connected, but if anyone from red stripe is reading and needs a viral marketer, i'm your huckleberry.)

By: fandango_matt

fandango_matt — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 12:24:21 -0800

Manufactured celebrities owe everything to Rula Lenska.

By: fandango_matt

fandango_matt — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 12:27:55 -0800

Why don't they just have Toby Keith do every halftime show? The only thing worse than a Toby Keith halftime show would be a Toby Keith wardrobe malfunction.

By: Sticherbeast

Sticherbeast — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 12:47:31 -0800

A certain somewhat well-respected film producer used to have legions of kids storm chatrooms, exhorting people to see certain films. "MAN, CHANGING LANES CERTAINLY IS AWESOME. I MUST SEE IT AGAIN AFTER I SEE ORANGE COUNTY AGAIN." Although, I think he's gotten rid of that little task force. I don't think it was particularly effective.

By: jlub

jlub — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 12:48:23 -0800

Since the invention of Tivo, nobody with money watches commercials any more. Marketing people still want to get paid, so they're trying different stuff. Expect more of this, along with product placement (e.g. the overly conspicuous Ford usage in Alias). See also Pattern Recognition

By: namespan

namespan — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 12:49:53 -0800

If I ever see a Toby Keith nipple, somebody's gonna get a boot in the ass.

By: Armen Tanzarian

Armen Tanzarian — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 13:01:10 -0800

Just when I thought there wasn't anything worse than a Toby Keith halftime performance...there he is on stage, bumping and grinding with Justin Timberlake, exposing himself. uuuuuggghh.

By: lord_wolf

lord_wolf — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 13:18:31 -0800

If I ever see a Toby Keith nipple, somebody's gonna get a boot in the ass. isn't this the title of one of his albums?

By: monkeyboy_socal

monkeyboy_socal — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 13:23:50 -0800

Best response to the post I read: I just read about evil in AdAgency Scumfuck weekly. Those guys who didnt follow a basic rule to aim the marketing at the right target audience were total jerks. Do you think emptv is gonna play the sounds of a million souls screaming at this annoying form of sadvertising on the soulless dollar zombie show? It's on after TheWrongForum show again right? I hope they roast on the other side!

By: fenriq

fenriq — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 13:27:06 -0800

Is it just me or is MTV running the Ashlee Simpson show 24 hours a day now? Not that I ever watch NotMusic Television anymore but it seems like it is always on when I flip past. Hilary Duff may not be much better but she's at least cute to look at. Oh wait, she can sing, dance and act too? Nevermind, Ashlee is the inverse of Hilary Duff but I bet she drink her under the table and do waaaay more lines too! Woot! On Preview: monkeyboy_socal, I like that "EmpTV", it fits.

By: dabitch

dabitch — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 13:34:49 -0800

Ha, suckered in by marketing! That's from FUELs first posters, the ones with Sally Struthers and the campaign asked "Where's the M in emptee-vee?" Diclaimer: self link

By: PinkStainlessTail

PinkStainlessTail — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 13:44:03 -0800

(Of course, Kylie Minogue has shown us there is life beyond "Locomotion".) Where I can respect Kylie is that she ultimately embraced the campiness of her genre of music (something that I think Britney was starting to do with the video for Toxic). Ashlee and others are still playing it straight, and deserve all the scorn they get.

By: b_thinky

b_thinky — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 13:45:20 -0800

Seriously though. Is the Ashlee disaster at the Orange Bowl somehow good for ABC?

By: graventy

graventy — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 13:48:30 -0800

Haha! jlub, you've noticed that? My friends and I always joke about how often she's in her Focus. If they're chasing someone in cars, it'll be Focus versus Focus. Look at those cars handle! Can anyone catch a Focus?

By: Harry

Harry — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 14:01:37 -0800

I won't be surprised to see Ashlee Simpson becoming the first female US president.

By: destro

destro — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 14:08:28 -0800

Makes you wonder who else is a plant.

By: Hobgoblin

Hobgoblin — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 14:17:07 -0800

You young folks are so funny with your pop culture and all...

By: petebest

petebest — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 14:17:33 -0800

By: haqspan

haqspan — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 14:25:24 -0800

Not to nitpick, dabitch, but I've seen MTV referred to as EmptyV, and its many iterations, since bread cost a nickle.

By: mrgrimm

mrgrimm — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 15:17:40 -0800

...and yet he didn't get booed when he made a commerical for Victoria's Secret. there was plenty of booing at my house.

By: jonknee

jonknee — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 15:31:34 -0800

Leave it to Ashlee to screw up something as simple as forum posting.

By: modofo

modofo — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 15:47:17 -0800

Surely some of these forums are logging IP addresses? I'd be curious to see where Mandy is posting from.

By: Heatwole

Heatwole — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 15:55:57 -0800

1st j-lo and ben and now this.

By: drezdn

drezdn — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 16:14:12 -0800

1st j-lo and ben and now this. At least Brad and Jen are still together.

By: mr_crash_davis

mr_crash_davis — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 17:26:19 -0800

"Not to nitpick, dabitch, but I've seen MTV referred to as EmptyV, and its many iterations, since bread cost a nickle." Not to nitpick, haqspan, but if you're paying for bread with birds perhaps you ought to move up to nickels.

By: Dark Messiah

Dark Messiah — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 20:23:30 -0800

I don't understand. How are mindless forum posts going to change the fact that Ashlee Simpson is a talentless wretch riding on her disgusting sister's name? If anything those football fans should have crucified her in the name of good taste.

By: madman

madman — Wed, 26 Jan 2005 05:47:11 -0800

StopAshlee.com - now with more than 140000 signatures

By: dabitch

dabitch — Wed, 26 Jan 2005 06:26:00 -0800

haqspan, I was joking and thought that was obvious considering the threads topic. Remind me to use smileys more often.

By: SisterHavana

SisterHavana — Wed, 26 Jan 2005 07:28:52 -0800

Manufactured celebrities? Hello, Pia Zadora.

By: justgary

justgary — Wed, 26 Jan 2005 08:15:24 -0800

Hilary Duff may not be much better but she's at least cute to look at. Oh wait, she can sing, dance and act too? Hilary Duff has about 10 percent more talent than Ashlee, which means she has very little. They're different sides to the same coin. Both only around for the amusement of old men and young girls, one not caring about talent and the other ignorant to the definition.

By: firemouth

firemouth — Wed, 26 Jan 2005 12:43:56 -0800

manufactered celebrities=sex pistols?

By: eljuanbobo

eljuanbobo — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 08:36:38 -0800

She's on the cover of cosmo. I'd still do bad things to her. But no talent hack sums it up. Anyway, does this really affect organic search as many message boards uses session IDs or cookies to browse and with the dynamic content, and google really doesn't dig too deep with that kind of stuff. It's definitely more so controlled spin in the public face, but besides suppressing the din of disenchanted individuals, what's the point?

By: modofo

modofo — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 10:33:24 -0800

I got this email in response to my question about logging IPs: ...the post was about "Mandyc19" and his/her spamtastic post frenzy about Ashlee Simpson. You wondered if any of the message boards had logged the IP address, and where she was coming from...well...it just so happens that they hit a board I moderate, and I am happy to report that the IP address the post came from was: 70.23.46.31 We did some checking into the user when we also got someone named "islandchica" with virtually the same message, and best we could tell, "mandy" is a Verizon customer in eastern New York state. Yeah, so feel free to share that information...

By: AloneOssifer

AloneOssifer — Sun, 30 Jan 2005 23:06:05 -0800

Reading this post made me a member..

By: juanjamon

juanjamon — Fri, 04 Feb 2005 11:57:41 -0800

They showed up on a couple boards I look after this week - thanks for the heads up :)

By: nanojath

nanojath — Thu, 24 Feb 2005 19:28:20 -0800

Wait, celebrity news is unreliable?

By: seanyboy

seanyboy — Fri, 25 Feb 2005 03:58:50 -0800

foiled