MetaFilter posts tagged with tv and advertising

Pepsi Review

Rhaomi — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:38:23 -0800

The 27 Best (Non-Super Bowl) Commercials of the 2000s: Balls [Bravia] - Birthday [Got Milk?] - Bubble Boy [Volkswagen] - Bus Station [Starburst] - Carousel [Phillips] - Cog [Honda] - Dangerously Low [Levi's] - Diorama [Halo 3] - Evolution [Dove] - Freestyle [Nike] - Gorilla [Cadbury] - Grrr [Honda] - Hello Tomorrow [Adidas] - Lamp [IKEA] - Like [Volkswagen] - Mountain [Playstation] - Noitulove [Guinness] - Odyssey [Levi's] - Rabbit [Comcast] - Sheet Metal [Saturn] - Stork [Monster] - Swear Jar [Bud Light] - Tag [Nike] - Tea Partay [Smirnoff] - Touch [Skittles] - Wedding Toast [Budweiser] - Yes We Can [Dipdive]. Part of Adweek's "Best of the 2000s" competition, which also includes rundowns of the 22 Best Super Bowl Spots and the 15 Best Print Campaigns of the last decade, among many other voting categories.

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

When Ad Placement Goes Wrong

furiousxgeorge — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 20:35:59 -0800

A shocking scene from the season premiere of Battlestar Galactica was paired with a rather unfortunate commercial. Warning: Big spoiler in the scene if you follow the show and have not caught up. Graphic violence. If you haven't caught up, check out the Webisodes and the premiere itself on Hulu.

Product Placement Banned in U.K.

jeremy b — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:26:32 -0800

Product Placement Banned in U.K. Minister says it 'contaminates programs'.

Life Is Sketch Comedy and God and the Bible

boost ventilator — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 11:29:23 -0800

Mr. Show skits that became reality . (Warning: mature language)

Drink up, baby!

DiscourseMarker — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 11:27:13 -0800

NBC is once again dipping its toe into the waters of liquor advertising. Although liquor ads have been running on cable since 1996 their presence on broadcast TV remains controversial, due to the presumed influence of alcohol ads on underage drinking . However, at least one expert disagrees. Previous discussion.

Making a Cereal Killing...in Real Estate

jonp72 — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 19:40:34 -0800

In 1954, the producers of the radio show Sergeant Preston of the Yukon needed a gimmick to make sure its radio audience would watch the TV version of the show. Meanwhile, the show's sponsor, Quaker Oats, needed a follow-up to their ad campaign about how Quaker Puffed Wheat is shot out of guns. So Chicago adman, Bruce Baker (later the creator of Captain Crunch), dreamt up a wildly successful PR stunt for both Sgt. Preston of the Yukon and Quaker Oats by buying up one-inch plots of land in the Yukon (with legal assistance from future British Columbia senator George van Roggen) and giving away deeds to the land for free in copies of Quaker Oats cereal. (For a picture of the deed, click here and here) Although the ad campaign was phenomenally successful in the short term, it also had some long-term blowback. While looking at land in the Yukon, Bruce Baker developed minor frostbite injuries that later led to his leg being amputated. As for the land itself, it reverted back to the Canadian government in 1965 after nonpayment of $37.20 in taxes, but that doesn't stop owners of the Quaker Oats "deeds" from pestering the Yukon government about their land claims. Filmmaker David McDonald made the documentary, Cereal Thriller about the whole bizarre saga, which also raises interesting questions in property law. Ironically, although the Quaker Oats deeds have zero value in terms of property rights, their value as collectibles proved to be several times more than the stock price of Quaker Oats when it was bought by PepsiCo in 2001.

All the World Loves a Bronson

brownpau — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 13:58:46 -0800

Playboy. Cowboy. Mandom. The late Charles Bronson and his perfect chest, in one of his finest early pre-Death-Wish roles. And look out for Percy Helton. Here's a shorter version with more horse. Via here. (Who the hell takes off his shirt or unscrews a bottle of cologne like that anyway?)

"Livin' out some ad man's dream in Idiot Joy Show Land"

Burhanistan — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 14:22:41 -0800

Watch Frontline's "The Persuaders" . Then read up on "neuromarketing". Previously

We're Gonna Have A TV Party Tonight

fandango_matt — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 13:33:17 -0800

Light Criticism is the newest project by Graffiti Research Lab and the Anti-Advertising Agency.

"The greatest art form of the twentieth century"

CunningLinguist — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 09:32:25 -0800

BestAdsonTV.com Browse TV spots from around the world at this industry site highlighting new creative work. Highly rated ads include this one for Carlton beer, this sober PSA, this lovely one for the California lottery and a fun take on evolution for Guinness. And then there's this, um, sausage ad. Browse the controversies (mostly complaints about copycats), ads from Romania and Iceland and Belgium, or last year's best ads. Many of the most amusing seem to be for beer.

Superbowl Ad Roundup 2006

FeldBum — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 22:17:22 -0800

Is is just me, or have Superbowl ads gotten way too predictable. Here's hoping this year offers something new. 2006 brings Fabio sinking a gondola, an approved(!) GoDaddy ad, the first ever bilingual ad, and the commercials being offered on DVD and PodCast. Also keep an eye out for muppets, macgyver and machetes.

I hate linking to heavy, but they have all the banned ads, some of which are funny (especially the anti-mac one) and some were just made to be banned. You can see previous years' ads at iFilm.

You will NOT criticize the Great Leader!

dejah420 — Fri, 16 Jan 2004 13:19:22 -0800

Viacom's CBS today rejected a request from liberal group MoveOn to air a 30-second anti-President Bush ad, saying the spot violated the network's policy against running issue advocacy advertising. This, despite running anti-drug and anti-smoking ads. So, is it only issues about which they disagree?

the118118experience

ginz — Wed, 06 Aug 2003 07:15:20 -0800

Channel 118. The 118118 experience. [possibly nsfw]

Graphic domestic abuse PSAs from Calgary

mcwetboy — Wed, 21 May 2003 06:54:21 -0800

"How do you talk about domestic violence without portraying violence or having some statement about violence?" PSAs about domestic abuse developed by the Calgary-based HomeFront Society have been judged too graphic to show on television. Violent acts from actual domestic-abuse investigations are depicted in public settings: a boardroom, a restaurant. They will not be broadcast, but are available for download online (MPEG format). Warning: These ads are extremely difficult to watch. They hit you like a ton of bricks. But isn't that the point?

dejah420 — Tue, 16 Jul 2002 09:21:26 -0800

Popup ads on your TV So, the media moguls have decided that they're tired of you ignoring their advertising...and thus, they will now insert popup ads into the live feeds. And you thought product placement was annoying. From Slashdot

BarneyFifesBullet — Wed, 19 Sep 2001 10:42:02 -0800

Bill Maher calls U.S. cowardly; FedEx pulls ads from show It looks like that "Freedom of Speech" thing is too much for some people to handle. What do expect from a show like this? If you can't handle it, don't watch it.

aflakete — Sun, 27 May 2001 20:51:50 -0800

Brand virus leaps to another level. Law & Order episodes on TNT next month will have ads digitally inserted.

Which reminds me--I was thinking about a device that would remove objects (say, Bruce Willis) from any channel I pick. . .I say we should get paid for watching ads customized to our specifications. (via Q)

subpixel — Sun, 29 Apr 2001 14:08:24 -0800

Survivor is filled with crap for sale - so why can't I find that groovy Panama hat Colby wears for sale, anywhere?

bkdelong — Wed, 31 Jan 2001 15:14:57 -0800

The truce shortlived. I thought what I was hearing was great news. But watching TV this afternoon I've seen a Caring Foundation and NARAL commercial back-to-back at least 3 times. It's been years since I've seen it this bad.

gluechunk — Wed, 06 Dec 2000 16:35:07 -0800

USA Network complies with Tylenol's request to halt production of a drug-tampering movie.

physics — Tue, 15 Aug 2000 14:30:27 -0800

"Ahhhhh the atmosphere" should get at least a giggle out of you. Commercials at their best.

dcehr — Mon, 07 Aug 2000 09:19:37 -0800

I approached this review expecting it to be of the "major media providers are the problem, not the solution" sort, but discovered something somewhat different: "It’s not that the medium of the modern political campaign–television advertising–failed to do justice to men of substance, but that men of substance failed to adapt to television advertising..."

da5id — Mon, 07 Aug 2000 06:17:05 -0800

CBS said NO! Reebok said yes.

If you have watched survivor, many of you may have noticed the ads for Reebok that push the limits of your imagination... somewhat. Now, watch the ad that CBS won't air. But Reebok has kindly put up on their website.

Is this a new low for TV? Or just another barrier being breached?

jenett — Sun, 13 Feb 2000 12:41:04 -0800

Adventures in Consumer Stalking: Interactive TV "Broadcasters and advertisers, meanwhile, have long been eager to fire up interactive services, because they can know more about who is watching (and doing) what, and what consumers are buying. Targeted advertising with better response rates has long been a goal in the television industry."