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Articles: Advertising Industry

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Super Bowl Ads 2012: New Heights of Depths

By ⋅ February 6, 2012 ⋅ Post a comment

Advertising Industry Newswire COLUMN: The ads in the 2012 Super Bowl had big production values and mostly good music. Missing were strong concepts and marketing savvy. With one exception, the Super Sunday telecast was a festival of lame, dumb, and insulting advertising. In other words, business as usual.

Robo-calling Scum of the Week: StormofWealth.com (Chris Hogan, et al.)

By ⋅ March 28, 2010 ⋅ 3 comments

COLUMN: Well, friends and fans, we have another scumbag using robo-calling tactics to call my home phone number (about 2:20pm PDT today, Sunday). Expecting me to be home to listen to your call, frak you, here’s what you get: this week’s award for being one of the lowest bottom feeders in the ad industry. Why [...]

Robo-calling Scum of the Week: TurboATM-dot-com

By ⋅ March 18, 2010 ⋅ 11 comments

COLUMN: Well, it looks like the scammers keep on calling. This week the abusive law-breaking robo-caller is the scum suckers calling themselves “Turboatm(.com)” and calling after 7pm Pacific Time, and calling those numbers on the “do not call registry” in violation of both Federal and California law. The calls originate from 206-350-9029. In going to [...]

Spammer of the Week: ‘MyPRGenie, Inc.’

By ⋅ February 3, 2010 ⋅ 3 comments

COLUMN: From time to time I have to laugh at the idiocy of SEO companies and Web startups who are constantly trying to pollute the Web with their crap, and take to spamming companies when they apparently have no clue what they’re doing from either an ethical or business perspective. To take these cretins and [...]

The ‘New’ Domino’s Pizza – oh yes they did, or did they?

By ⋅ January 26, 2010 ⋅ 4 comments

COLUMN: Well, as somebody who used to enjoy Domino’s “once upon a time,” and who gave up on the poor quality (really, Papa John’s was so much better, it’s just not even a comparison), I was intrigued by the somewhat unusual step for the pizza chain to fess up and admit in their new ad [...]

The Verdana Monologues – When Ikea’s Designers go Kabookskik

By ⋅ August 30, 2009 ⋅ 8 comments

COLUMN: I got my Ikea catalog last week, and like many in the design field, thought something had changed but wasn’t quite sure what. Due to the fact I have been working on the Web more than the printed design space the past five years, it actually took me a little bit to notice the [...]

Microsoft is for Cheap?

By ⋅ April 3, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

COLUMN: Do you congratulate an ad agency account team when they talk a client into a bad campaign? What if they can do it a second and third time? From the standpoint of salesmanship, you have to respect the suits at Crispin Porter & Bogusky who got Microsoft to shell out for three disastrous campaigns [...]

Communication Nation: Badvertising Strikes Big Corporations

By ⋅ February 27, 2009 ⋅ One comment

COLUMN: Oil rigs, city lights, rock bands, icebergs, crummy animation, and on-camera presenters wearing perfect make-up and phony smiles all made appearances in the 10 commercials that ran during Sunday morning’s episode of “Face the Nation.” But what were they selling, and to whom were they selling it? ExxonMobile Before discussing their slickly produced spot, [...]

Google Brings Text Ads into Google News … again

By ⋅ February 26, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

COLUMN: For those of you who use Google News (the news portal that is a subset of the megalith that is the Google content universe) regularly, you might have noticed a month ago (end of January) that Google “flirted” with the idea of ads on their news search pages, with the same look/feel as normal [...]

Communication Nation: Not-So-Super Super Bowl Ads 2009

By ⋅ February 2, 2009 ⋅ 2 comments

COLUMN: An exciting Super Bowl game may be great for sports fans but it is weird for those of us in marketing, advertising, publicity and communications. The ads and promotions are the whole point of the afternoon and a good game just gets in the way. Anyone watching NBC during the day would have seen [...]

Communication Nation: Apple Wins Olympic Gold

By ⋅ August 14, 2008 ⋅ One comment

COLUMN: Billions in bucks are being paid out to be official sponsors of the Beijing Olympic Games but there is already one big winner: Apple. Capitalism comes to communist China and both ideologies are the worse for it. According to Advertising Age magazine, sixty-three sponsorship and/or partnership arrangements have been made between corporations and the [...]

Communication Nation: Missing Janet

By ⋅ February 13, 2008 ⋅ One comment

COLUMN: With caustic comments about the addled advertising and mixed marketing messages in Super Bowl XXMVIILVXIVIVMVVVIII or whatever, Scott G also offers a Remembrance of Super Bowls Past.

Communication Nation: We Are Now Transmitting Directly to Your Brain

By ⋅ January 4, 2008 ⋅ One comment

COLUMN: After predicting direct-to-brain advertising years ago, Scott G takes a look at the latest schemes to beam advertising and marketing communication inside your skull.

Communication Nation: Phone Ad Fury

By ⋅ December 17, 2007 ⋅ Post a comment

Scott G is doing a lot of phoning latelyCOLUMN: Advertising is everywhere, but does it have to clog up the phone lines? Scott G has a message for marketers using the phone as a sales weapon.

Communication Nation: Unspeakable Ad Techniques

By ⋅ September 25, 2007 ⋅ Post a comment

COLUMN: Google monitors e-mails for contextual advertising matches, and few people seem to mind. Scott G wonders if these are the same people who will allow Pudding Media to monitor their phone calls.

Outrage in Your Mailbox: A Peek into Direct Response Advertising

By ⋅ September 2, 2007 ⋅ Post a comment

Scott G speaking at an industry functionCOLUMN: Ever since the invention of mail delivery, we have had to endure direct response solicitations. These ads-to-your-door may be informative, helpful and economical. But as Scott G points out, they can also be sneaky, intrusive and surprisingly distasteful.

Mad Men May Save the 30-second Commercial

By ⋅ July 27, 2007 ⋅ One comment

Scott G recording a commercial voiceoverCOLUMN: The one-hour drama, ‘Mad Men,’ part of AMC channel’s original programming, has many attributes and can be quite entertaining. Scott G says what’s truly intriguing about the series isn’t in the show but during the commercial breaks.

In Praise of the Product Demonstration

By ⋅ July 8, 2007 ⋅ Post a comment

Scott G of Advertising Industry NewswireCOLUMN: Dating back to the days of cave dwellers, the humble product demonstration can be one of the most persuasive sales techniques. Scott G examines this method of selling in the light of today’s new media realities.

Smile, You’re on the iPhone

By ⋅ June 13, 2007 ⋅ Post a comment

Scott G on the iPhoneCOLUMN: With the nation’s collective craving for Apple’s iPhone, the product seems poised for the most consumer-friendly product launch in marketing history. Scott G speculates about that little ‘camera’ button in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

Carl Doesn’t Know Jack or Dick

By ⋅ May 29, 2007 ⋅ 4 comments

Scott G in the studioCOLUMN: Dick Sittig, the marketing genius behind the Jack-in-the-Box ad campaigns, has created a commercial concept so powerful that he now has rival Carl’s Jr. helping him spread the word. How? By being so funny and acerbic that Carl’s is trying to sue for relief.

Take Aways: What Consumers Learn From Ads

By ⋅ May 21, 2007 ⋅ Post a comment

Scott G casts a shaded eye on current advertisingCOLUMN: Advertising and marketing executives say their business is art, craft and science, and Scott G admits that may be true about a third of the time. Consider a few current ad campaigns that leave potential customers exhilarated or puzzled, intrigued or disgusted.

Ad Industry Thinks You Are an Idiot

By ⋅ April 29, 2007 ⋅ One comment

Scott G looks askance at bad adsCOLUMN: Scott G often works in the advertising industry and he’s frequently appalled by what he sees, as when large corporations insult your intelligence with misleading marketing, or when they treat you like absolute morons with super-silly or saccharine-sweet ads.

Ideas, R.I.P.

By ⋅ April 9, 2007 ⋅ Post a comment

Scott G doing a voiceoverCOLUMN: A manifesto entitled 100 Ways to Kill a Concept is currently bouncing around the Internet. It is being sent in anger, frustration and/or glee by anyone who has ever had the misfortune to present an original idea to a boneheaded boss or calcified committee. Scott G lauds author Michael Iva for his horrific hundred.

Smart People in Advertising – Please Step Forward

By ⋅ March 24, 2007 ⋅ One comment

Scott G insisting he's in the music bizCOLUMN: Curiouser and curiouser, weaker and weaker, stupider and stupider. That describes much recent advertising from major brands. Clogging the airwaves with badvertising is nothing new, but it does seem as if idiocy is lately on the rise. Scott G lists a few of his least favorites from the past couple of weeks.

Superliminal Advertising

By ⋅ March 17, 2007 ⋅ Post a comment

COLUMN: Sponsored messages worm their way into entertainment and news. Tracking of consumer purchases allows for precise targeting of those messages. Computerized production technology enables marketers or government agencies to control what you see and when you see it. Scott G plays George Orwell by putting these 3 ideas together.

Your Brand Here: The TV Show

By ⋅ March 11, 2007 ⋅ Post a comment

G-Man on and off the wallCOLUMN: With the announcement that the Geico Insurance Cavemen are being written into a script for a television series pilot, the issue of branded content again rears its ugly head. Scott G speculates on some of the oddities surrounding this silly side of advertising.

All Data Fox-Checked For Accuracy

By ⋅ March 4, 2007 ⋅ One comment

COLUMN: The news is no longer the news. Scott G points out that we are in the midst of some bodacious blending: information & invention, data & political agenda, fact & fiction, actuality & publicity, and truth with whatever else comes to mind.

Contextual Counter Branding: Your Pizza is My Pizza – Why Search Engines Want to Sell Your Trademark to Your Competitors

By ⋅ March 3, 2007 ⋅ 2 comments

COLUMN: While the subject of contextual branding against other company’s trademarks will not be a new issue to some people, and I had been aware of the problem from the past couple of years of litigation between major companies and search portals like Google and Yahoo!, nevertheless I was a bit surprised when my brand was targeted by an upstart competitor.

Ad Backlash

By ⋅ February 25, 2007 ⋅ One comment

Scott G pretending to look thoughtfulCOLUMN: Too many ads in too many places appearing way too often. Product placement invading content. Messages triggered by RFID chips. Advertorials. Sponsorships. Hype. Spin. Noise. Scott G isn’t the only person who thinks we’ve gone too far. Some consumers are fighting back.

What Do Creatives Do?

By ⋅ February 18, 2007 ⋅ One comment

Scott G making a client presentationCOLUMN: When an ad agency gets a new client, a lot of people swing into action. Account managers assess the brand, competition, positioning, and strategy. The media department finds target audiences. And the creatives, well, just what are they DOING back there with that loud music and riotous laughter? Scott G tells all.

Vista Spot an Ow not a Wow

By ⋅ February 11, 2007 ⋅ One comment

G-Man at the MicCOLUMN: Microsoft once paid the Rolling Stones millions for the use of “Start Me Up” to inject some excitement into their campaign for a new operating system. Scott G tells why MS better buy the rights to a whole bunch of rock, electronic, county and hip hop songs because the launch of their Vista OS is currently dead in the water.

Ads Masquerading as Content

By ⋅ February 4, 2007 ⋅ One comment

COLUMN: Paid placement is a dirty little secret of advertising and public relations. Scott G explores a few of the subversive, sneaky, snaky, snarky, sleazy and very profitable methods of putting your product in front of the public in just the right light.

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