Aug 19

CBS’s video ad for print not much better than its video ads for TV

Posted in: ad, advertising, Today's Chili, video
Call us crazy, but this whole idea of embedding video in magazines (like we’ve seen on the cover of Esquire in the past) seems rather callous. Really, what better way is there to rub publishers’ noses in the “death of print media” than by taking a perfectly good magazine and embedding a TV commercial? Apparently CBS doesn’t see it that way, so they’re taking Americhip’s “multisensorizing” technology to an ad insert that will run in the September 18 issue of Entertainment Weekly. The ad, which will only be seen by subscribers in the New York and LA markets, plays about 40 minutes of video and, presumably, some crappy audio. We’ve tracked down a YouTube demo of the device (or similar), and although it does little to change our ornery opinion of the matter, we suppose that if it results in one more Ghost Whisperer fan it’ll be worth it. Decide for yourself after the break.

Continue reading CBS’s video ad for print not much better than its video ads for TV

Filed under:

CBS’s video ad for print not much better than its video ads for TV originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: ,
Aug 18

Palm’s bodhisattva says something meaningful in latest Pre ad

Posted in: ad, ads, advertising, palm, pre, Today's Chili, video

Having created an aura of surreal creepiness around its handset, Palm seems ready to talk about the Pre’s features (not just its feelings) in its latest video ad. Whether the change is in response to viewer unrest or a natural progression of the advertising campaign is unknown. But if princess waiffy pants could send a calendar late notification while pulling into a downward facing dog, well, that would be an ad worth watching. Maybe next time. Check the latest after the break.

Continue reading Palm’s bodhisattva says something meaningful in latest Pre ad

Filed under:

Palm’s bodhisattva says something meaningful in latest Pre ad originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Aug 2009 05:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: , ,
Aug 11

Controversial Palm Pre ads judged to be effective, still creepy

Posted in: advertising, palm pre, PalmPre, pre, Today's Chili
Controvercial Palm Pre ads judged to be effective, still creepy
Palm’s slightly disturbing Pre ads continue to make news, putting to rest any doubts about their effectiveness. Hot on the heels of ad agency Modernista totally loving that you’re “creeped out” by them, analyst MediaCurves has done a little online study –“little” meaning a small sample group of only 305 viewers. Still, the results are interesting, with half of all respondents feeling inspired or happy after viewing the commercial, nine percent feeling disturbed. Sixteen percent were, however, confused, but that didn’t stop 21 percent from saying the commercial was “extremely effective,” and 46 percent indicating “somewhat effective.” At the read link you can watch the ad with a line graph drawn over it rating peoples’ interest realtime, generally going up when the phone is shown (the “bing, bing, bing” segment) and down the rest of the time, perhaps inspiring a new series of Pre adverts with more time for demos and less for dazed-sounding, tight-haired, 60-foot-tall women.

[Via everythingpre]

Filed under:

Controversial Palm Pre ads judged to be effective, still creepy originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags:
Aug 06

Best Buy goes 3D, even augmented reality isn’t safe from advertising

Posted in: ad, advertising, augmented reality, AugmentedReality, BestBuy, Today's Chili

In its never-ending quest to sell you more things, Best Buy has added augmented reality to its Sunday ads. The printed missives can now be used, in conjunction with a webcam and a purpose-built website, to create 3D representations of the latest product being pimped. Yes, it’s probably easier to walk to a store and handle the goods in person, but that’s hardly the point of AR now, is it? We’re not sure where to rank this effort in the pantheon of quirky promotional ideas, but we’ll give credit to the big box retailer for stepping outside itself and trying something new to separate you from your hard-earned cash.

[Via Coolest Gadgets]

Filed under:

Best Buy goes 3D, even augmented reality isn’t safe from advertising originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 01:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: , , , , , ,
Aug 04

Palm’s ad agency ‘loves that you’re creeped out’ by new TV spots

Posted in: ad, advertising, palm, palm pre, PalmPre, pre, Today's Chili

Advertising Age has taken a deep dive into Palm’s latest string of unsettling, polarizing ads — you know, the ones with the girl — in an attempt to explain the company’s intention with the creepy spots. The industry paper spoke with Gary Koepke, the co-founder and executive creative director at Modernista, the company which developed and produced the short clips. According to Gary, he’s happy that viewers find the commercials upsetting, stating that “The Pre is probably being talked about more than other phones right now because of the marketing and advertising, and that’s a good thing. Could the ads work harder to show exactly how the phone works? Yes, but we knew it would be polarizing people to have a woman not shout at them and tell an interesting story.” Apparently the agency is taking its own stab at Microsoft’s Seinfeld / Bill Gates strategy, which means viewers don’t necessarily have to like (or even understand) the ads… as long as they keep talking about them. Of course, that game plan may work for a company like Microsoft, which arguably has nothing to lose if they run a few ill-received spots. Palm, on the other hand, won’t get a second chance to make a first impression with a lot of people, and since its fortune is currently riding on the device these ads attempt to sell to consumers, it’s a pretty risky proposition. C’mon, how could the folks that brought you the Foleo be wrong?

Continue reading Palm’s ad agency ‘loves that you’re creeped out’ by new TV spots

Filed under:

Palm’s ad agency ‘loves that you’re creeped out’ by new TV spots originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Aug 2009 09:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: ,
Jul 28

Verizon Wireless and AT&T engage in legal fisticuffs over ad slogans

Posted in: advertising, att, Today's Chili, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless
Verizon Wireless and AT&T engage in legal fisticuffs over ad slogans

Which North American wireless provider do you think is telling the truth in its advertising? If you answered “none of ’em,” you’re probably right, but that’s not stopping Verizon Wireless from going to court to uphold its commercial honor, having been called out by AT&T earlier this month. VZW took the A train down to US District Court in Manhattan asking that its slogans like “America’s Most Reliable 3G Network” be validated, claims AT&T earlier said were false. We’re not quite sure why ‘ol Blue and White is getting feisty, since it’s had its fair share of issues, but maybe this is just some attempt to make the two look like they hate each other in public while exchanging sweet nothings and text messaging price hikes in private. All we know is this isn’t the first time carriers have battled over such claims, and it sure won’t be the last.

Filed under:

Verizon Wireless and AT&T engage in legal fisticuffs over ad slogans originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Jul 2009 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: ,
Jul 24

Microsoft alters Laptop Hunters “Lauren” ad after Apple calls to complain

Posted in: advertising, Apple, Microsoft, Today's Chili

In a continuation of the saga that began about ten days ago, Microsoft has altered one of its Laptop Hunters ads to reflect Apple’s recent price changes. Last we’d heard, Microsoft COO Kevin Turner was boasting that the ads had been so successful that a rep from Apple had called to ask that the ads be pulled. Turner pointed out that Apple’s complaint — that the prices were no longer correct — was the result of a price cut of “$100 or something.” Now it appears that one ad — the one featuring the second Lauren — has been re-edited so that she no longer mentions the price of the MacBook Pro (“over $2,000”), which has been dropped to $1,700. We’ll be honest — we don’t care how this turns out, just as long as we can keep on using the words “Apple” and “Microsoft” in the same sentence.

[Via Apple Insider]

Filed under:

Microsoft alters Laptop Hunters “Lauren” ad after Apple calls to complain originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: ,
Jul 15

Microsoft exec says Apple asked them stop airing Laptop Hunters ads

Posted in: ad, advertising, Apple, Microsoft, Today's Chili

Apple may have publicly responded to Microsoft’s Laptop Hunters ads with a counterpunch of its own back in May, but it looks like it may have been singing a slightly different tune behind the scenes more recently, at least according to Microsoft’s Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Turner. Speaking at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference earlier today, Turner said that he knows the ads are working because “two weeks ago we got a call from the Apple legal department saying […] ‘Hey, you need to stop running those ads, we lowered our prices.'” Turner further went on to note that “they took like $100 off or something,” before stating to applause that it “was the greatest single phone call in the history that I’ve ever taken in business” — though he did apparently take a minute to ask: “Is this a joke? Who are you?” In case you’re wondering, Turner also confirmed that Microsoft is indeed “just going to keep running them and running them and running them.”

[Via Ars Technica]

Filed under: ,

Microsoft exec says Apple asked them stop airing Laptop Hunters ads originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Jul 2009 21:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: , ,
Jun 26

Sprint Ad Attempts to Bait iPhone Owners

Posted in: advertising, iPhone, palm, palm pre, Phones, Smartphones, Today's Chili

5064_96783253510_8389383510_2081632_1728361_nTalk about targeted marketing. A new ad published by Sprint (right) is forward enough to include the word “iPhone” in big, bold letters.

Similar to Microsoft’s Laptop Hunter ads, which bash Apple for its premium computer prices, the Sprint ad plays up the Palm Pre smartphone by stressing how much money iPhone customers can save by switching over.

“The Palm Pre does things the iPhone can’t,” says the ad, posted on Sprint’s Facebook page. “Run multiple applications at the same time with real-time updates and even save $1,200 over two years.”

Cleverly timed targeting, because original iPhone customers should be done with their two-year contracts by around now. But it also comes off as a desperate move, considering an analyst’s estimation that Palm has sold 150,000 Pres — minuscule compared to Apple’s new iPhone 3GS reaching one million sales in just three days.

See Also:

Facebook [via PreThinking]


No Comments | Tags:
Jun 05

iPhone owners getting control of digital signage

Posted in: advertising, iPhone, Today's Chili

Ever dream of controlling a billboard with your phone? Us neither. Nevertheless, it is coming thanks to an unholy partnership between CBS Outdoor and Clusta. Using WiFi or 3G, iPhone owners (and others, apparently) can pinch, swipe, and poke at the objects on digital posters to make them zoom, spin, and change color. The idea here is simple: captive consumers buy more stuff. Perhaps, but without video or a detailed explanation describing how easy/hard it is to connect, well, we’ve already lost interest.

Filed under: ,

iPhone owners getting control of digital signage originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Jun 2009 07:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: