A 20-year-old US man is selling advertising space on his forehead to the highest bidder on eBay, BBC News reports. Andrew Fisher, from Omaha, Nebraska, said he would have a non-permanent logo or brand name tattooed on his head for 30 days. “The way I see it I’m selling something I already own; after 30 […]
Category: Advertising
Online ad market in Europe set for shake up
New York Times: A motor scooter in Manchester, an apartment in Amsterdam, a poster in Paris. All are available via Craigslist, an online bulletin board that presents a new challenge to the established players in the estimated $100 billion global market for classified advertising. This story in today’s NY Times highlights changes in a relatively […]
Maybe this is the future of search
Yesterday Microsoft announced the release version of its new MSN Search tool, and, as reported by CNet News, gears up for a marketing and advertising blitz to imprint its offering in consumers’ minds: As expected, MSN, a unit of the software giant, has taken its Web search technology out of the laboratory, and placed it […]
The genius of Apple coolness
I had my first true iPod experience today. You know, the feeling of coolness as you’re out and about in public with those little white buds sticking in your ears with the white cables dangling down that disappear under your jacket. Yes, I did succumb to strong temptation when I was in the US last […]
Superbowl advertising is the hot conversation
So the Superbowl happened yesterday. In scanning my RSS feeds this morning, I see that sporting event has occupied the written oupourings of just about the whole blogosphere across the Atlantic. (In case you’re not sure what the Superbowl is – it’s “a football game played each year to determine the championship of the [American] […]
McDonalds deceives with fake blog
What do you make of this? Kevin Dugan writes about a website and faux blog from McDonalds as part of their advertising in yesterday’s Superbowl: […] Anyway, I dutifully visited the site and was intrigued initially to see it also had a blog. Then I realized it is a fake blog. Even the post comments […]
Firefox NYT ad poster delays
As one of the contributors to the ground-breaking Firefox double-page ad in the New York Times in December, I ordered the poster version from the Mozilla store expecting to receive it in early January. A couple of emails in early January reported on delays finalizing and shipping the poster as corrections were being made (name […]
Fake blog cheapens Diageo brand
In writing about how lame he thinks the Captain Morgan’s Rum fake blog is, Joël Céré says: I think it is less bad than the Mazda experiment as at least it allows for comments, and there are regular postings. Although there are some speculations on how such new blog got so many comments so quickly. […]
Firefox blush at browser protection ad
CNET News: The Mozilla Foundation passed on using a condom-themed poster to tout its Firefox browser, but volunteers want to revive the ad to emphasize the software’s security features. And here’s the Firefox poster that isn’t going to run, at least for now (click on it for larger image): Why isn’t it running? Because it […]
Will Paris’ podcast have character?
I’ve heard this already described as a ‘character blog’: Podcasting is hot. But it just got hotter. Paris Hilton invites you to join her on "The Paris Hilton Podcast — Countdown to House of Wax," beginning on April 29. Join Paris and friends as she shops, parties, poses and publicizes in the days leading up […]
Podcasting is disruptive for radio advertising
Fast Company: Podcasting is the newest disruptive technology threatening traditional radio — and making the satellite guys nervous, too. Intro to a well-written short piece in Fast Company on the threat podcasting presents to radio, which also says: Podcasting has the makings of an audio version of the blog phenomenon, allowing any bum with a […]
RSS as the self-contained information experience
Following my post a few days ago on getting more from your RSS feed, in particular on using Feedburner’s new Total Stats Pro service, I read a very interesting report on ClickZ about RSS advertising. In the report, ClickZ managing editor Pamela Parker interviews Feedburner CEO Dick Costolo to discuss his company’s experimentation with advertising […]
PR gaffe burns Wal-Mart PR director and agency
Daily Telegraph: The Wal-Mart publicity manager behind an advert that equated the retail giant to victims of the Nazis has resigned. Peter Kanelos, who had overseen public relations in Arizona and southern California on behalf of Wal-Mart, left his job yesterday, a few weeks after the company apologised for its PR gaffe. And what a […]
Ducati sponsors motorcycle blog
Italian blog portal Blogo.it formally launched Motoblog.it today, a new consumer blog on motorcycles with Ducati as the launch sponsor. This is the first sponsorship for a commercial blog in Europe, says Blogo.it’s Luca Lizzeri, and the first big sponsorship for a blog in Italy. It also represents Ducati’s first step into the blogosphere. Ducati […]
Anti-drug web ads grab attention
Eye-catching, isn’t it? I spotted this web ad on the US News.com site when reading an article about corporate blogging (a very good and well-written article, by the way: see separate post). The ad certainly grabbed my attention. Not only this one – the page also displayed two banner ads, one horizontal the other vertical. […]
Logo nostalgia
If you have fond memories of some of the greatest corporate symbols of the past century that are no longer with us, Logo R.I.P is a terrific website to visit for a trip down memory lane. This logo, for instance – the Robertson’s Golly, a famous symbol in the UK for a range of market-leading […]
Great resources for communicators
One blog that’s in my RSS reader and which I regularly scan is Adverblog by Martina Zavagno. A great resource always full of interesting news and info about campaigns and on the global advertising and marketing scene. Martina’s put up two useful lists – one that lists advertising and marketing blogs, and another that lists […]
More than ego-stroking the Top 500
ClickZ News: Feedster is floating a new top 500 list of blogs, ranked according to their accumulation of inbound links. Media buyers say they’re watching the list, but they disagree on its value as a consideration tool for ad placements in blogs. The “Feedster 500,” which challenges the long-standing Technorati 100 list and claims to […]
Mars dog blog gets it right
With the focus on blogging in Europe and North America, it’s good to have an opportunity to broaden one’s horizon and gain some insight into contrasting uses of this medium in Asia from a business and marketing perspective. Niall Cook reports on what two consumer product companies are doing with blogs as integral elements of […]
Alfa Romeo sponsors car blog
Italian blog portal Blogo.it has secured another first – Italian car maker Alfa-Romeo is sponsoring Autoblog.it from today, 1 September. This is the first blog sponsorship deal for a European blog by a major automotive brand, Blogo.it said. In a press release, Blogo.it’s Luca Lizzeri said, "in January 2005 Autoblog.it had 20,000 page views in […]