Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: commercials

commercials stories: 42 news summaries

1 - 20 of 42 Stories | 1 2 3 Next >>

Switch to grid view »

not-so-mean joe greene

Steelers Legend Cops Award for 30-Year-Old Coke Ad

'Mean' Joe Greene, child co-star receive Clios 30 years later

Nov 16, 09 5:37 PM CST
(Newser) - Already a Hall of Fame-bound football player, Joe Greene of the Steelers became an advertising legend 30 years ago with the release of the Coca-Cola commercial that ends with him tossing his jersey to a starstruck young fan. The spot won the ad industry's highest honor, but the stars had... More »

MORE ABOUT:
advertising • Pittsburgh Steelers • commercials • Hall of Fame • Pittsburgh • Coca-Cola • television advertising • ads • pro football • Coke • Joe Greene • "Mean" Joe Greene • Tommy Okon • Clio Award • Pro Football Hall of Fame • Joe Greene Coke commercial

AT&T Sues Verizon Over 'Misleading' TV Ads

Spots wrongly suggest a lack of coverage in large areas, it says

Nov 3, 09 5:31 PM CST
(Newser) - AT&T went to court today to try to stop Verizon from mocking its wireless coverage in new TV commercials. The lawsuit contends that Verizon uses "misleading" maps to suggest that AT&T customers get no coverage at all in large swaths of the country. Verizon's "There's a... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Verizon • Apple • commercials • lawsuit • AT&T • 3G network

WATCH THE AD

 Spade Got $200K for Farley Ad 

Controversial DirecTV commercial is a 'tribute,' reps insist

Oct 30, 09 9:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - Why did David Spade agree to the recent DirecTV ad that uses a scene from Tommy Boy, starring his departed costar Chris Farley? "To honor Chris's memory," his publicist tells the New York Post —but the $200,000 sources say Spade was paid... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • DirecTV • commercials • celebrity • David Spade • Chris Farley • celebrity death

 Beck Weeps for 
 'Simpler America' 

He recalls kinder, gentler football players

Oct 16, 09 4:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - Glenn Beck had a weepy "Kodak moment" when he shared old commercials with viewers yesterday and recalled a "simpler" America when "we used to be united." One of the oldie ads he played—a day after fellow right-wing commentator Rush Limbaugh was bounced from a Rams... More »

MORE ABOUT:
NFL • St. Louis Rams • Rush Limbaugh • conservative • Kodak • commercials • Glenn Beck • right wingers • New Coke

AD CAMPAIGN

 Dominatrix, 
 Levi Johnston 
 Sex Up Pistachios 

New commercials hope to erase recall stigma

Oct 5, 09 2:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - Can sex sell nuts? Pistachio growers sure hope so. With sales off more than 20% following last year’s nationwide recall, they’ve launched a risqué $15 million ad campaign. How risqué? In one ad, a real-life dominatrix cracks open a pistachio with a whip, USA Today reports.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
nutrition • advertising • diet • commercials • sexy • pistachios • nuts

 'Save the Boob'  Ads 
 Turn Heads, Spark Complaints 

Cutting-edge ads seek to reach younger women

Sep 24, 09 3:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - Just because breast cancer is serious, does that mean PSAs have to be?  "Save the boob" is the tag line on one irreverent video in a campaign for breast cancer awareness that's drawing fans—and furious complaints. Designers of the public service announcements aim to grab the attention younger... More »

MORE ABOUT:
breast cancer • commercials • advertisements • breasts • Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation • Breast Cancer Research Foundation • controversy • breast self examination • man boobs • public service announcement • boob


 How TV's Trying 
 to Woo You Back 

...and back on the couch where you belong

Sep 23, 09 11:36 AM CDT
(Newser) - Networks know we’re watching our favorite shows online instead of on TV, but they’re not taking it sitting down. Here’s what they’re doing, smart or otherwise, to bring us back, writes Stephanie Schomer for Fast Company:
  • Cutting commercials: ABC is going to do without
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
television • list • commercials • Hulu • TV industry • Twitter • Neil Patrick Harris

 Stay Tuned for Ads 
 During TV Shows 

Advertisers to paste commercials on sides of screen

Aug 10, 09 9:10 AM CDT
(Newser) - A new strategy aims to grab the attention of viewers now using DVR to skip commercial breaks: in tests, so-called “in-show ads” are run on the top or bottom of the screen—and even on occasion in the middle—during the action, Advertising Age reports. Execs are betting... More »

MORE ABOUT:
television • advertising • marketing • commercials • television advertising

 Microsoft Ad 
 Campaign Gets 
 Under Apple's Skin 

Laptop-browsing spot may be boosting Microsoft's 'value perception'

Jul 16, 09 2:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Apple demanded Microsoft ditch TV ads featuring shoppers mulling the relative value of PCs and Macs, CNET reports. In the ads, which Microsoft’s chief operating officer calls “completely unscripted,” shoppers get to keep money they save by choosing a PC over a Mac. “We got a... More »

MORE ABOUT:
retail • Microsoft • shopping • Apple • commercials • laptop • ad campaign • MacBook • notebooks • comparison shopping • Kevin Turner

Ad Exec Scores as UPS 'Whiteboard Guy'

Whiteboard guy prompts FedEx parody

Jun 23, 09 11:32 AM CDT
(Newser) - He’s an ad exec by trade, but Andy Azula displays his acting chops—not to mention his drawing skills—in UPS commercials so popular a rival is spoofing them. In the ads, the long-haired Azula diagrams UPS service on a whiteboard. FedEx recently launched a website that features a... More »

MORE ABOUT:
parody • commercials • FedEx • United Parcel Service Inc. • ad campaign • Andy Azula • UPS

(AP) - Mexico is protesting what it says is a whopper of an insult. An advertisement for Burger King's chili-flavored "Texican" burger that has run in Europe shows a small wrestler dressed in a cape resembling a Mexican flag. The wrestler teams up with a lanky American cowboy who boosts him... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Spain • Mexico • commercials • advertisements • Burger King

ShamWow Guy's Other Claim to Fame: Ex-Scientologist

Infomercial pitchman used group connections to make comedy film

Mar 30, 09 1:59 PM CDT
(Newser) - Vince Offer Shlomi, the ShamWow pitchman who gained infamy after being arrested for badly beating a prostitute last month, is also a renegade ex-Scientologist, Gawker reports. Shlomi joined group in 1982, made connections with Scientology’s many entertainment-industry adherents, and found financing to start filming The Underground Comedy Movie, featuring... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Scientology • commercials • infomercial • hooker • ShamWow

ShamWow Guy Arrested After Hooker Fight

Pitchman Shlomi allegedly punched
call girl repeatedly

Mar 28, 09 10:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - He may seem like a nice man with a magical towel, but Vince Shlomi—better known as the ShamWow guy—was arrested last month for punching a prostitute, the Smoking Gun reports. Shlomi, 44, told police he took 26-year-old Sasha Harris back to his hotel room and paid her $1,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
commercials • infomercial • arrest • prostitute • hooker • Howard Stern Grid • ShamWow

Sick of Booming Ads?
Help's on the Way From DC

Calif. rep introduces law for balanced volume

Mar 16, 09 7:07 AM CDT
(Newser) - If you’re tired of being blasted by a loud commercial right after a quiet scene in your favorite TV show, a California representative hears you loud and clear—and wants to do something about it, Advertising Age reports. US Rep. Anna Eshoo introduced legislation in June to bar commercials... More »

MORE ABOUT:
television • Congress • advertising • legislation • commercials • television advertising

China Bans Actors From Medical Commercials

Health Ministry calls drug commercials misleading

Feb 18, 09 2:06 PM CST
(Newser) - Stung by the appearance of a single actor playing four different medical experts, the Chinese government has prohibited actors from portraying doctors or patients in commercials, Variety reports. The outrage stemmed from a Beijing Times article that also revealed one actress had posed as someone suffering from lung, liver, kidney,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
China • drug companies • commercials • ban • actor • acting

 The 10 Best Super Bowl Ads 

Animals, violence, catchphrases fuel success

Jan 27, 09 12:17 PM CST
(Newser) - Sure, the economy's in the toilet, but there’s always $3 million in the couch cushions for 30 seconds come Super Bowl time. But it remains to be seen whether this year’s crop stick to a reliable winning formula: Include “animals, potty humor, violence, celebrities, sentimentality,” or... More »

MORE ABOUT:
television • McDonald's • Super Bowl • Apple • commercials • Budweiser • Reebok • E Trade • Super Bowl ads • Coca-Cola • television advertising • Super Bowl XLIII


 Tough Times  
 Put Cheap Ads 
 in Prime Time 



Low airtime costs offer big audience to low-budget spots

Jan 27, 09 9:35 AM CST
(Newser) - The recession has pushed TV advertising rates to a relative pittance, and that’s great news for tools like the PedEgg—a callous remover—and the Snuggie—a blanket with sleeves. Though it may hurt shows’ profiles, “Act Now!” infomercial-style ads have recently broken into primetime, the Washington ... More »

MORE ABOUT:
television • advertising • commercials • recession • infomercial • advertisements • economy

DUI Bust
Costs Barkley T-Mobile Gig

Phone company benches ex-hoop star 'for the time being'

Jan 14, 09 9:08 AM CST
(Newser) - In the wake of his DUI arrest—during which he told a cop he was in a hurry to get oral sex—Charles Barkley has lost another job, Advertising Age reports. T-Mobile has pulled spots featuring Barkley “for the time being,” a rep said, adding, "As he... More »

MORE ABOUT:
NBA • basketball • crime • DUI • oral sex • drunk driving • commercials • arrest • T-Mobile • Charles Barkley • TNT

(Newser) - Singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter admits that the presidential election intruded on her life. But she found an unlikely source of inspiration amid her hours of obsessive TV watching—in a Liberty Mutual ad. Its old-fashioned carnival scene and music by the band Hem "evoked a nostalgia" for "a... More »

MORE ABOUT:
commercials • Election 2008 • television advertising • election coverage

Saved by Zero? Or Sick to
Death of It?

Toyota's relentless 0% APR ads wear thin ... and will continue

Nov 6, 08 2:30 PM CST
(Newser) - “Saved by zero?” Try bored. Toyota’s 0% APR ad campaign has left TV viewers annoyed—by both the jingle and the fact that it airs seemingly incessantly, AP reports. Though some might appreciate the extension of 0% financing, originally set to expire this week, most viewers are bemoaning... More »

MORE ABOUT:
television • Toyota • commercials • advertisements • advertising campaign • automobile • financing

1 - 20 of 42 Stories | 1 2 3 Next >>


from our news partners