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Apr 08

Dai Nippon Printing’s Joe Walsh approved OLED poster

Posted in: advertising, LED, OLED, Today's Chili

We have to admit that we got excited when we saw this poster, but that’s only ‘cos we thought it was for the dinosaur rock band from the 1970s — an appropriate object of some good-natured ribbing, if ever there was one — instead of some baseball team from Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Manufactured by the Dai Nippon Printing Co., this “light emitting poster” is currently on display at the exhibition space of the aforementioned sluggers. Combining an LED backlight for graphics and OLED panels for scrolling text, energy use is sixty percent that of fluorescent light, and the OLEDs have lifetime of 20,000 hours. Expect commercial availability sometime in April 2010, by which time the Eagles should be ready for their next “farewell” tour.

[Via OLED Info]

Filed under: Displays

Dai Nippon Printing’s Joe Walsh approved OLED poster originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 03

Effective Ads from WidgetBucks

Posted in: advertising, Today's Chili

Silicon Valley Watcher: Online advertising is becoming less and less effective. Eric Clemons has some ideas on why this is happening, and there are many startups trying to fix the problem.

And it is a very significant problem because it affects the business model for nearly all types of online publishers. If online advertising continues to fall in its effectiveness then there will less and less revenue support for content creators, such as newspapers and magazines.

WidgetBucks, based in Seattle is one of those companies that are working on making Internet advertising more effective. It offers clients an advertising “container” or widget, that provides better contextual delivery of adverts, and a much richer user experience, which results in more effective advertising.

This part of its business has already been extraordinarily effective, helping publishers gain higher revenues than through advertising networks such as Google AdSense, etc.

“What we do is we optimize the ad networks so that they deliver ads that are more relevant to the site, and that can make a big difference for advertisers and the publishers,” says Matt Hulett, CEO.

The company is also working on making the content of its advertising “containers” more interesting and it is experimenting with combining ads with online games and other types of media that engages Internet users. “Engagement” is the term du jour these days as advertisers seek new formats that will work better than current ones.

WidgetBucks: Fixing Online Advertising – A $9bn Opportunity [Silicon Valley Watcher]

Mar 30

Someone Found Microsoft’s Lauren! And She’s an Actress

Posted in: ads, advertising, Apple, HP, Laptops, Microsoft, Today's Chili, top

We were hoping to catch up with Microsoft’s “Lauren,” a regular gal who Microsoft surprised with $1,000 to buy a laptop…in a national commercial. And it ends up she’s an LA-based, SAG-eligible actress. UPDATE

Tracked down by TechFlash, “Lauren” (who is really Lauren De Long) says on her site “[she] booked what she thought was a “Market and Research” job regarding laptops. But that’s not all she booked…actually Lauren found out they were shooting a national commercial! Tears, laughter and excitement greeted this new development.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Microsoft test group had been assembled from “recruited prospective computer shoppers.” Shoppers are distinctly different from people looking for jobs. Regardless-

Reading through De Long’s resume, you find that her “special skills” include Cheerleading, Ear Prompter, Hula Hoop, and Stage Combat. So wait, she’s an actress AND a cheerleader AND a stage combatant, but she’s STILL not cool enough to use a Mac? No way. We just don’t buy it.

We were unable to reach Lauren De Long, but we did leave her a message mentioning one of our readers’ offers to give her a free 17-inch Apple PowerBook. When site TechFlash called, apparently De Long said she had signed an NDA restricting her from speaking about her experiences with the HP laptop.

UPDATE: Lauren De Long just returned our call. She said, “Thanks for tracking me down and everything…I’m humbled and honored by all the attention, but I’m trying to gracefully turn down any interviews.” She then confirmed that an NDA sealed her from talking about anything pertaining to the commercial (which means that our own Mitch is out of luck—Lauren can’t do any sort of Mac vs. HP value comparison). But we have good news, Mitch. A number of our readers wrote in letting us know that they’d be happy to take the laptop off your hands! [Lauren’s Site and Lauren’s Bio via TechFlash]

Mar 28

Video: LG’s LGenius presentation lays out totally fake, remarkable TV advancements

Posted in: ad, advertising, LG, marketing, Today's Chili, video

Not that we haven’t seen completely off-the-wall viral marketing ads before (including one from LG, in fact), but this one just takes the proverbial cake. In a perfectly staged LGenius presentation, we’re informed about a few astounding up and coming TV advancements. The first one intelligently replaces all swear words with baby laughter or eerie silence, while the “Happy Time” feature automatically detects when a program is too sad for one’s health and adds random images of cute puppies and kittens. Finally, the “Family Time” feature turns any sensual scene into one with cartoon characters, making even the steamiest bedroom romance seem perfectly acceptable for innocent eyes. Seriously, this one has to be seen to be believed — mash that play button and have a gander.

[Thanks, Kellen]

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

Video: LG’s LGenius presentation lays out totally fake, remarkable TV advancements originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Mar 2009 03:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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