Amid announcements of mass layoffs (around a third!), AOL revealed that it’s now “Aol.” to you, punk.

Arigato, running man.

Industry News

The problem of making money on Internet video isn’t any closer to being solved but Google just took one step towards a better user experience on its YouTube website by adding a skip button to pre-roll advertising. The company says is wants to learn which ads users decide to skip as a measure of quality. It would make sense that this development is a step towards performance based pricing.

Industry News

So this ridiculous Cocoa Krispies Box implies that eating sugary cereal will protect your kids from H1N1 aka Swine Flu. Obviously this is a dubious claim but the fact is, of course, that H1N1, while scary, is a only a minor threat to the well-being of America’s youths.

This fact did not deter USA Today from publishing an article resulting in Kellogg’s removing the claim from their box. Perhaps a compelling argument for self-regulation?

I’m reminded of this cartoon by xkcd which serves as proof that marketers will always find a way to irritate me via cereal boxes.

Industry News, Trends

The Texas Tribune, a non-profit news website, launched this week. It’s hard not to be cynical about the future of a such an organization while traditional journalism is struggling to define its raison d’etre to the YouTube generation. It’s made especially difficult for the Tribune after it gets called out by the Austin Chronicle for paying its top 5 employees a total of more than $800,000 per year, a hefty sum for a nonprofit startup.

Industry News

According to this report from AdGooroo, Google charges $99.44 per click on ads accompanying search results for the keyword “mesothelioma”. Yikes! I guess all the ambulance chasers have finally made it online. Mesothelioma, it turns out, is cancer caused from exposure to asbestos.

Industry News

I just discovered The Beancast which is a really quality marketing podcast. The latest episode covers the new FTC endorsement rules, Twitter premium accounts and Facebook gifts among other things and features as guests, Åsk Wäppling of Adland.tv, Ken Wheaton of AdAge.com and Alan Wolk of Toad Stool Consultants.

Industry News

Ralph Lauren has turned an advertising blunder into a PR crisis. The designer sent a cease-and-desist to two blogs, Boing Boing and Photoshop Disasters, regarding the insane advertisement above.

Of course the blogosphere has latched on to the debacle increasing the embarassment.

Creative, Industry News

The ad above was apparently created expressly to fool judging panels. Agencies creating potentially harmful ads about clients to get accolades from peers is a best counter-productive and at worst self-destructive.

Here’s what BBDO Chile, the responsible party, had to say about it:

This creative design did not involve and was never approved by Sony Computer Entertainment or Sony. This ‘mock campaign’ was developed by BBDO Chile staff and was submitted to various creative competitions/festivals without prior notification or approval from SCE/Sony, and it is not representative of the views or advertising policies of SCE/Sony. BBDO Chile apologizes for using this creative concept without authorization or prior approval, and for its misrepresentation of the PlayStation brand.

(Via .)

Agency News, Industry News

Warner Music Group, one of the few remaining major labels, has apparently struck a deal with YouTube that will bring back music videos from popular artists like Green Day and U2 that were removed in December.

Industry News

In an article on TechCrunch Shelby Bonnie, the CEO of Whiskey Media and co-founder of CNET, lays out an argument that publishers and buyers reliance on CPMs is stifling creativity. The language gets pretty inflammatory at times but isn’t entirely unconvincing.

“OK, Advertising Week just ended… does anyone else feel like the online advertising industry is the orchestra, playing on while the Titanic is sinking?

We have a problem, folks. And I, for one, think we should start to fix it by killing off the CPM, once and for all.”

Industry News