Va. Beach has second thoughts about widely disseminated image
Virginian-Pilot Feb 5, 08 12:20 PM CST
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The city of Virginia Beach will not pursue obscenity charges brought against an Abercrombie & Fitch store manager because of posters depicting scantily clad models. One offending poster—used all over the country—showed three shirtless men, one with his jeans pulled well below his waist. A city lawyer said it would be difficult to prove the material was obscene, reports the Virginian-Pilot .
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Match-up pulls a record 97.5 million viewers
Bloomberg Feb 4, 08 7:40 PM CST
(Newser)
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Super Bowl advertisers scored big last night as the Giants-Patriots match-up pulled a record 97.5 million viewers, besting the 1996 high of 94.1 million. "You could argue this might have been a perfect game from an advertising perspective,'' said a marketing analyst—who noted that the game's close score and slow pace "really put the focus on the commercials," Bloomberg reports.
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Entertainment Weekly Feb 3, 08 2:56 PM CST
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There's probably supposed to be a game or something on tonight, but for legions of Americans, Super Bowl Sunday is all about the commercials. EW jumped in its way-back machine and dug up the 11 most memorable big-game distractions. They were: Cindy Crawford drinks a Pepsi (1992) The Ridley Scott-directed 1984 Macintosh ad (1984) Jordan and Bird's Shoot-off (1993)
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Sandwich-maker offered $10K to fan that best mocked competitor
New York Times Jan 29, 08 7:30 PM CST
(Newser)
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Subway is suing Quiznos after the sub-maker invited fans to drum up ads for an online contest, the New York Times reports. Two years ago, Quiznos offered $10,000 to the fan whose ad best compared Quiznos subs to Subway's "with Quiznos being superior." Subway fumed after seeing its sandwiches kicked, mocked, and destroyed on a website that has since been taken down.
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NAR campaign claims slumping market is a can't-lose investment
Advertising Age Jan 28, 08 7:58 PM CST
(Newser)
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Apparently, real estate is a can’t-fail investment right now. Or at least, that’s the questionable gospel the National Association of Realtors is preaching, in a blitz of new commercials claiming that home values, on average, double every 10 years, and that a home is “the key to building long-term wealth,” Advertising Age reports. Housing crash? What housing crash?
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OPINION
Boom times inspire better ads, MSNBC reports
MSNBC Jan 21, 08 6:40 PM CST
(Newser)
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Super Bowl ads reveal the economic tenor of our times, MSNBC reports. Boom times spark creative commercials, like Apple's famed Ridley Scott-directed "1984" plug, which aired as economic confidence was rising. “Every year it really does mirror the biggest trends that year—what’s happening in the economy and what’s happening in the culture,” says an Adweek critic.
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Writers strike wipes out the competition
Bloomberg Jan 14, 08 3:25 PM CST
(Newser)
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"American Idol"—TV's undisputed ratings champ with its biggest competitors sidelined by the writers strike—is setting records for ad prices. "It's the biggest thing in a landscape where there aren't as many big things as there used to be,'' an ad buyer tells Bloomberg. The price of a 30-second spot bought now rather than in advance tops $900,000.
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Campaign reportedly low on funds after Florida advertising spree
New York Daily News Jan 13, 08 12:16 PM CST
(Newser)
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Rudy Giuliani's campaign is urgently requesting funds, the New York Daily News reports, seemingly contradicting the camp’s denials of financial hardship. While staffers are going without paychecks this month—voluntarily, they say—Giuliani’s campaign manager emailed a plea to prospective donors yesterday. “I am asking you to dig a little deeper," he wrote. "Will you help us one more time?"
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Doritos plug was marketing home run
USA Today Jan 1, 08 8:28 PM CST
(Newser)
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The best ad of 2007 cost 12 bucks to make. The winner of the Doritos Super Bowl commercial contest took best ad honors in USA Today 's poll of ad pros and couch potatoes. And that wasn't even the most authentic or irreverent item on the list. The winners are: Best Ad: Doritos Best Viral Video: Dove's Evolution
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Carriers love targeted marketing, but are afraid to tick you off
Associated Press Jan 1, 08 7:50 PM CST
(Newser)
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With the mobile Internet and GPS location-based services expanding, marketers and mobile phone companies are anxious to tap into a new level of targeted advertising. But, the AP reports, carriers are proceeding with caution in implementing the ads because they don’t want the perception of a privacy invasion to spook customers.
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YouTube's giggling babies now starring
in latest crossover
ad campaign
Slate Dec 31, 07 5:34 PM CST
(Newser)
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Babies with belly-laughs are the darlings of YouTube—one video has been seen by more than 35 million viewers—and now AIG is deploying them to sell financial instruments. Slate finds the AIG giggling-baby campaign instructive of what works and what doesn't in adapting YouTube videos to TV. For one thing, the ad co-opts a whole genre, not a single beloved video—which risks backlash.
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Internet viewers find content, advertising more 'engaging' than in conventional spots
Ars Technica Dec 27, 07 3:33 PM CST
(Newser)
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Online video advertising is dramatically more effective than conventional TV commercials, a new study finds. Individuals viewing television shows online were found to be 47% more engaged by advertising than other viewers were by commercials during traditional broadcasts, and 25% more engaged by the programming itself, Ars Technica reports.
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Chemistry.com slams eHarmony over lack of gay matching services
New York Times Dec 24, 07 12:46 PM CST
(Newser)
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Dating site Chemistry.com is again blasting rival eHarmony in an ad campaign, this time for its lack of gay matching services and links to evangelical Christian values, the New York Times reports. The ads show “eHarmony is out of sync with what is happening in America,” Chemistry.com’s GM said. Chemistry.com wants to catch up to the online giant, whose 17 million customers easily bests Chemistry.com's 3.7 million.
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70% of $3B spend will still go to television
Wall Street Journal Dec 14, 07 11:46 AM CST
(Newser)
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This cycle's presidential candidates may have embraced grassroots web campaigns, but they have yet to spend significant sums on web advertising, the