MetaFilter posts tagged with Advertising

Want to change the world? There's nothing to it.

goodnewsfortheinsane — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:15:08 -0800

This YouTube video seems to break my browser. Does it play alright for anyone else?

"No credit card needed to receive FarmCash within minutes."

jbickers — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:35:13 -0800

"I funded the company myself but I did every horrible thing in the book to, just to get revenues right away." So said Mark Pincus, CEO and founder of Zynga, the company behind social games like Mafia Wars and Farmville. It's the latest revelation in a week-long bit of drama between TechCrunch and the companies running the shady virtual currency that makes the games profitable. At issue are the in-game offers to receive points/currency in exchange for filling out surveys, taking IQ tests or agreeing to trial offers. Many result in a recurring and unadvertised charge on the user's mobile phone bill, while others are even more brazen. Especially entertaining in all of this: Michael Arrington from TechCrunch confronts Anu Shukla, CEO of Offerpal Media, at a virtual goods summit two weeks ago. He says her services facilitate fraud, punish legitimate advertisers and create a self-perpetuating cycle of deceit. Her response: "shit, doubleshit, and bullshit." Her company blog later responded in more CEO-like fashion. Also fascinating: A former Facebook spammer talks about how it's done, and the underlying technology that makes it all possible.

I know hosting costs are high, but...

Vhanudux — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 13:33:48 -0800

Ad agencies often have bizarre, unorthodox websites. But how about an agency that moves its entire website over to YouTube?

Google answers data transparency concerns with Dashboard

zarq — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:18:56 -0800

This morning, Google launched a new feature called "Google Dashboard" that lets users view (and in some cases control,) what data is being stored on a range of more than 20 Google services, including Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Web History, Orkut, YouTube, Picasa, Talk, Reader, Alerts and Latitude. Services not currently included -- Analytics, AdWords, AdSense, and Book Search among others -- will be added in later versions. This new service may help address privacy concerns that have been raised over the years regarding various Google services. More from: * The Unofficial Google Blog * TechCrunch * The New York Times * CNET

Comrade Draper, we have a new account from Acme Caviar.

grumblebee — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:23:47 -0800

Mad Men: Soviet Style. Beautiful advertising posters from the USSR.

It's not a product, it's a lifestyle

four panels — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:59:02 -0800

Lee Clow, the Chief Creative Officer at Apple’s ad agency TBWA, BFF of Steve Jobs, and “advertising’s art-director guru,” has decided to step down from his post. (Clow is also responsible for the Energizer Bunny and the Taco Bell Chihuahua.)

Here are ten of Flavorwire's favorite Apple campaigns.

Battle for Milkquarious

East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 07:46:45 -0800

Battle for Milkquarious - The greatest Rock Opera ever made. About milk. [Flash, dairy advertising] From the California Milk Processor Board. There is also a director's commentary.

Long Long Ago, before Google AdWords...

Lutoslawski — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:48:52 -0800

Happy Birthday, Digital Advertising! 15 years ago today, the first banner ads appeared on HotWired.com - and had a 78% click-through rate.

No Census, No Feeling

twoleftfeet — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:03:54 -0800

Time was, even the Three Stooges didn't fear the Census. But now, turbulent political and economic times roiling the nation are expected to diminish initial participation by households in next year's Census. To counteract this, the Census will spend an unprecedented $326 million in marketing, including a Super Bowl ad, and will appear in a Spanish-language telenovela. The decennial Census, conducted every ten years since 1790, has always had to explain itself. There were PSAs in 1980, an outreach in 1990, and a whole campaign in 2000 (with its first Super Bowl ad). The 2010 Census has already led to a number of crazy conspiracy theories and possibly the death of a Census worker (previously) so the job may be harder. The Census provides a wealth of data (previously: 1, 2), but can the need for interesting facts keep us from fearing the people who come to our door?

Soundville

acb — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:54:23 -0800

Juan Cabral, the commercial maker behind the Sony Bravia bouncing ball ad has completed a new piece: this time, he and collaborators, including Múm, Richard Fearless (of Death In Vegas) and the people behind Sigur Rós' live concerts, transformed the Icelandic town of Sey∂isfjör∂ur into an ambient sound installation, placing speakers throughout the town, playing music (from folk to electronica to ambient orchestral) and filming the reactions of the locals as they went about their lives. The resulting short film, Soundville, is ostensibly an advertisement for Sony's audio products, but can stand on its own as an art installation.

How To Save Media

reenum — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:56:09 -0800

How To Save Media Jason Ponti from Technology Review offers some suggestions as to how traditional print publishers might save themselves from becoming irrelevant.

"Want to play a chord? Try not to die."

zarq — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 09:46:28 -0800

Piano Stairs! (Not everyone thinks they're a good idea.) Also see "The Deepest Trash Can". Both videos are from Volkswagon Sweden, whose new English-language website, TheFunTheory is still under construction. But here's the Swedish-language version.

Microsoft have the Bestest Ads

minifigs — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 07:44:44 -0800

Microsoft attempt to recreate the magic of the Songsmith commercial (previously) with Windows 7 Launch Parties

More Madness

mattdidthat — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:03:36 -0800

The Footnotes of Mad Men explores and discusses the historic events, themes, and cultural mores of the show.

Advertising in the public interest

Rhaomi — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 09:54:54 -0800

"What if America wasn't America?" That was the question posed by a series of ads broadcast in the wake of the September 11th attacks, ads which depicted a dystopian America bereft of liberty: Library - Diner - Church. Together with more positive ads like Remember Freedom and I Am an American, they encouraged frightened viewers to cherish their freedoms and defend against division and prejudice in the face of terrorism (seven years previously). The campaign was the work of the Ad Council, a non-profit agency that employs the creative muscle of volunteer advertisers to raise awareness for social issues of national importance. Founded during WWII as the War Advertising Council, the organization has been behind some of the most memorable public service campaigns in American history, including Rosie the Riveter, Smokey the Bear, McGruff the Crime Dog, and the Crash Test Dummies. And the Council is still at it today, producing striking, funny, and above all effective PSAs on everything from student invention to global warming to arts education to community service.

Additional resources: A-to-Z index of Ad Council campaigns - Campaigns organized by category - Award-winning campaigns - PSA Central: A free download directory of TV, radio, and print PSAs (registration req'd) - An exhaustive history of the Ad Council [46-page PDF] - YouTube channel - Vimeo channel - Twitter feed

Controversial WWF September 11 Advertisment Causes Outrage, Goes Viral

Effigy2000 — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:20:49 -0800

Brazil-based agency DDB BRASIL, contracted by the WWF to make an ad which would drive a "Respect the Planet" theme home, thought that making a 9/11 themed ad would be a good idea. After the video somehow makes it to the internet (some say it was leaked by the agency itself to win an award at Cannes), outrage predictably ensues. DDB Brasil insists the commercial was nothing but a rough draft and the WWF has not endorsed the ad made in their name, although evidence exists suggesting WWF Brazil endorsed a similar print ad a while back. Stupid, bad ad and a comedy of errors? Or the latest viral ad strategy?

The Immaculate Consumption

jtron — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:59:04 -0800

The amazing products and lifestyles that would be at your fingertips if you lived 50 years ago and had a magazine subscription .

Billboarding

mippy — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 10:15:18 -0800

Striking Billboard Ads. Note that while one is horribly sexist (can you guess?) the others are pretty cool

The Horrific End of Banner Ads

hermitosis — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 08:05:00 -0800

The horrific end of banner ads! In preparation for Rob Zombie's Halloween II, The digital design agency Heavenspot declares war on the insipid animated people who live inside our banner ads.

Constipation is murder! and other gems from early advertising of the West

mudpuppie — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 13:14:41 -0800

The University of Washington Library's Early Advertising of the West, 1867-1918. Browse the collection or search by keyword. Some favorites:

It's in Town! Have you seen it? The AEROCAR. The smartest and most graceful looking car yet seen on the streets of Seattle. $2,150.00.
Alfalfa-Nutriment makes thin people plump.
I will send my aluminum eye cup FREE.
Animal Crackers are put up in lithographed cartons that will make a decided hit with the children...After it is emptied, the carton is to be cut into a circus wagon for which full directions are printed.
Prohibition Increases Drunkenness. But, Even moderate drinking hurts health, lessens efficiency
The Reed School for Nervous and Backward Children
Avoid trouble by having your kitchen boiler covered with asbestos
"I'se in Town, Honey!" (Aunt Jemima's Pancake Flour)
Too much sleep will increase the flesh...
A Black Kid for your window
Brown's Worm lozenges
Constipation is murder!
Cook stoves for Alaskan miners
A cure for the rupture
The Devil
Nearly two-thirds of all the chronic diseases spring, directly or indirectly, from some derangement of the sexual system...
Dr. Pierce's Body-Battery (for man and woman!)
1910 shower ad (Warning: Victorian nudity)
Remedy for alcoholism (contains milk sugar, starch, capsicum and ipecac)
Artificial limbs
Budde's water closets
Yet another racist ad, this one for gelatin
Neitro Sanatorium (Not A Bake Oven!)
Ostrich farming
School of Phrenology
Radium insect killer and Radium household cleaner

The films of Jam Handy

Upton O'Good — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 20:20:17 -0800

Back of the Mike | Around the Corner | Behind the Bright Lights | Sky Billboards | Just a Spark Henry Jamison "Jam" Handy was an Olympic medalist and a creator of thousands of short films. His company, the Jam Handy Organization, was hired to create training and advertising for both American companies and the US military, including many educational films which showcased the technological cutting edge of the 1930s (and doubled as advertising for Chevrolet). Many of them are now in the public domain and can be found in the Prelinger Archives at the Internet Archive.

Persuasion: Why men in ads are dumb, goofy or completely inept

five fresh fish — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 09:47:44 -0800

Persuasion: Why men in ads are dumb, goofy or completely inept. Several YT commercials and a thoughtful essay.

Consider the Source

Miko — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 12:49:25 -0800

"It's a different way of thinking about 'local' that's not quite as literal," says a consumer research consultant in an article running this week in alternative newspapers nationwide. The piece (by Stacy Mitchell of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance) describes the response of global and national companies to the reality that consumers are moving more of their dollars into purchasing at locally owned businesses, representing both a threat, and an opportunity for companies that can successfully rebrand themselves as 'local'. As with greenwashing before it, 'localwashing' seeks to lure customers based on perception of values alone, resulting in such phenomena as Frito-Lay highlighting farmers from 27 states as the "local" growers for its potato chips and Hellman's Mayonnaise piloting a campaign in Canada to present its product as 'local' because most of the ingredients are from North America.

Jack Interviews January

philip-random — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 09:34:25 -0800

Jack Nicholson and January Jones. Together at last. Talking about acting, Mad Men, other stuff ...

Talking Cards

tellurian — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:23:41 -0800

Used as postcards and for advertising, phono postcards were a single-sided phonograph record stuck on a card with a hole punched through. The Weco cards stand out with their use of photography (with the clothes sometimes painted on) and see-through vinyl.