When we received this press release, we responded to the sender there'd be two ways to go with this story. Neither complimentary to the company in question. Still, we were urged to provide coverage. Obligingly, we are happy to do so. Here's the two headlines we came up with. You can choose which one suits your take on the story. AdBumb to Ban Spam, Spyware, Adware Ads From Newsletter, Lays Off Staff As Ad Revenue Plummets. [Ed. Well, not yet, at least] And now , the release: ADBUMb, Inc., (http://www.adbumb.com) the #1 Online Advertising newsletter, today announces its decision to ban from its pages advertisements that promote spam, spyware or adware installed without user permission. In so doing, ADBUMb, the industry leader, becomes the first publication in online advertising to adopt a formal policy prohibiting such advertisements.
"The editorial team at ADBUMb came out long ago as being strongly opposed to the prevalence of spam and spyware in this industry," explained Elizabeth Hines, the Editor-in-Chief of ADBUMb. "We consider ourselves a watchdog publication, protecting the community from precisely these kinds of bad faith initiatives. Formally adjusting our advertising policy to reflect our beliefs is simply a natural progression, and we hope to see other publications take a similar stance in their own policies."
According to Arthur Barbato, Director of Advertising at ADBUMb, "ItÂ’s important to remember that the vast majority of online advertisers do not support the use of this kind of technology. Our advertisers are professional businesspeople who do not care to be associated with unsolicited email and other illegal operations, and this move will go a long way in helping advertisers feel comfortable with the company they are keeping when they advertise in ADBUMb."
The proliferation of spam, spyware and non-permission based adware has of late become a central challenge to the integrity of online advertising. To assist in cultivating a law abiding industry that refuses to condone non-consensual actions taken against consumers, ADBUMb has made the choice to take a firm stand on what kind of products it will promote in its ad space.
In adopting this new policy, ADBUMb hopes to encourage fellow industry members to move toward a prosperous future in legal, permission based usages. Well, which headline is better?
While it would be so much fun to jab McDonald's for its recently launched, duplicitous eat healthy ad campaign, we're going to restrain ourselves.
We're not going to call it a veiled effort at heading off lawsuits or a double-talk marketing strategy similar to tobacco company funded anti-smoking campaigns. We're not going to call attention to the fact that maybe, just maybe, the millions spent on this campaign are simply being spent to further increase McDonald's market share. We're not going to point out the ludicrous analogy of showing animated fast food paraphernalia demonstrate proper exercise in the ads. We're not going to suggest a great headline for this campaign would be, "Don't Eat At McDonald's." And, we're not going to point out that it's parents, not McDonald's, that need to be hit over the head with a nutritionally balanced 2 X 4. No, we're just going to sit back, smile, and enjoy one of the most expensive, grasp at survival, PR campaigns launched in recent history.
As we go through our day wondering aloud if we should lose some wait and exercise or whether or butt or boobs are too big, we often forget what sort of messages that sends to kids, or so goes the thinking behind a new ad campaign from Toronto Public Health. The currently running campaign, called "Your Kids Are Listening," shows pictures of kids beneath commonly utter adult phrases such as, I never seem to find time to exercise," Does my butt look too fat in these jeans," and I could stand to lose a few pounds."
While well intended, it's unlikely parents are going to start saying, "Damn, baby. I love your fat, floppy ass!" or "Honey, don't go workout today, I love that your beer gut crushes me when you're on top of me."
or "Babe, you don't need a reduction. I love that your boobs hang to your waist." The campaign includes brochures that explain how to live a healthy lifestyle by example so parents don't have to worry about comenting on their thunder thighs within earshot along with some beneficially squishy copy on self esteem.
In what could be a turning point for marketers yearning to re-connect with jaded consumers, Wrigley's has brought back the Doublemint Twins of yester-year when all that mattered was whether or not you went to the prom or if you had The Preppy Handbook. Rather than take the lowbrow Coor's hottie twins approach, Wringley's and its agency, BBDO Chicago, chose, smartly, to go with nostalgic kitsch factor. The television commercial shows two impossibly innocent looking - by today's standards - twins dressed in cutsey 60's dresses anachronistically riding their bicycle through vignettes of today singing, "You didn't double your pleasure, you just doubled your pain" and, in a nod to today's oddities, "Deodorant's extreme, water's got caffeine, even the news is mean."
As part of the campaign, Wrigley's is holding an online and physical casting call in search of other pairs of twins for future campaigns.
UPDATE: Footage from the old campaign.
In what could be a turning point for marketers yearning to re-connect with jaded consumers, Wrigley's has brought back the Doublemint Twins of yester-year when all that mattered was whether or not you went to the prom or if you had The Preppy Handbook. Rather than take the lowbrow Coor's hottie twins approach, Wringley's and its agency, BBDO Chicago, chose, smartly, to go with nostalgic kitsch factor. The television commercial shows two impossibly innocent looking - by today's standards - twins dressed in cutsey 60's dresses anachronistically riding their bicycle through vignettes of today singing, "You didn't double your pleasure, you just doubled your pain" and, in a nod to today's oddities, "Deodorant's extreme, water's got caffeine, even the news is mean."
As part of the campaign, Wrigley's is holding an online and physical casting call in search of other pairs of twins for future campaigns.
UPDATE: Footage from the old campaign.
Insuring it is part of the growing conversation on viral and buzz marketing, particularly as it applies to children, the National Institute on Media and Family has launched an offline and online ad campaign targeting marketing and parent-related websites. The campaign appears on ClickZ, Ad Age.com, AdWeek.com, MediaWeek.com, Child.com and Parents.com and directs people to a recently launched weblog calling attention to a viral and buzz marketing code of ethics just launched by the Word of Mouth Marketing Association.
A full page print ad appeared in the print version of Ad Age as an open letter to execs at agencies that have been involved with viral marketing.
As we've said before, we don't think viral and buzz marketers are shoving dangerous messages down kids throats anymore than other marketers have done for years. Kids are smart. They are not duped easily. Viral and buzz marketers are not pedophiles. NIMF isn't John Hathorne during the Salem Witch Trials. All parties just need to go have a drink together and get over this overblown animosity.
In fact, WOMMA should, if it hasn't already, extend an invitation to members of NIMF to attend its upcoming Word of Mouth Marketing Summit in Chicago March 29-30.
The knitting needles and glue guns come out tonight for the debut of the Style Network's Craft Corner Deathmatch, a show in which dueling crafters are pit againts each other in a battle of stitch and bitch. What's next? "Bolt Tightening Brawl?"
We're a sucker for repetitive Jerry Bruckheimer theme music and the blatant use of kids for manipulative emotional appeal. We admit we're a fan of all things Mark Burnett and Sylvester Stallone. And we can appreciate a good, kick ass face pounding from time to time. NBC's The Contender, the latest Mark Burnett reality show, delivered all that last night leading us to believe another hit may be in the making. Unfortunately, according to overnight ratings as published in Marc Berman's MediaWeek Programming Insider, that's unlikely to happen."The Contender debuted with a disappointing 5.3/ 8 in households (#2), 8.40 million viewers (#2) and a 4.1/10 among adults 18-49 (#2) from 9:30-11 p.m."
So much for Bruckheimer's swelling French horns.
To promote itself, do-it, a UK-based volunteer organization created a website called the National Job rejection Database, a site where those who recently interviewed for work but were not hired can search for reasons why they weren't hired. Of course, it's all a joke and after you've entered your name, job applied for, company and date, you are taken to a page with a humorous description as to why you were not hired. That is, until the page automatically progresses to another with the gigantic headline, "Just Kidding!" and the sub-head, "We made up the NJRD. But volunteer work really is a great way to improve your CV."
This is an intriguing viral. (There's a send-to-a-friend form) It's engaging enough but doesn't keep you guessing too long before it reveals its true self and takes you to a site where you can sign up for volunteer work. While funny, it might not be all that funny to someone who has been unsuccessful at finding a job only to be presented with an unpaid opportunity but we think everyone will see the humor.
It's not that the name of this particular race horse sounds odd - they all do. It's that the name of this horse is central to a New Zealand-based, anti drunk driving campaign. The Land Transport Safety Authority plans to use the name, Dontdrinkanddrive, for a race horse bred by Sir Patrick Hogan. No, not that one. That was Paul Hogan.
The apparent strategy of race fans hearing the name, Dontdrinkanddrive, over and over and over again before, during and after horse races, might cause that sixth beer not to be consumed before heading home.
Clemenger BBDO is behind the naming strategy.
Not everyone thinks it's a good move. National MP (some sort of high ranking government official, we guess) said, "I haven't come across anyone who has heard this story and hasn't fallen about laughing. I'm not sure that's how they want road safety messages taken." What do you think?
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