Advertising

TiVo Reportedly Rolling Out Pre-Roll Ads That Play Before Users Can Watch Recorded Video

TiVo is introducing skippable pre-roll ads before customers can watch shows taped on their retail DVRs, Light Reading reported, with a spokesperson telling the site it will be a “permanent part of the service.” According to Light Reading, the spokesperson added that the company expects the tech “to be fully rolled-out to all eligible retail…

Television Tom McKay Sep 21

Apparently, Facebook Had to Crack Down On Major Pro-Trump Advertiser. But That’s Not the Weird Bit…

Facebook banned the second-largest supplier of pro-Trump ads on its platform, the Epoch Times, after the group tried to sneak thousands of ads past its review system, according to an NBC report Thursday. The conservative and vehemently anti-communist publication has purportedly spent more than $1.5 million on Facebook advertising supporting President Donald Trump in the…

Social Media Alyse Stanley Aug 22

Facebook Yanks Another Trump Ad for a Laughably Obvious Policy Violation

Facebook has pulled another Donald Trump campaign ad for blatantly violating its advertising policies, but it only did so after being reached by the progressive Popular Info newsletter for comment, according to a Monday report by the newsletter. The ad in question, below, featured an image of a crowd of women accompanied by the caption,…

Social Media Tom McKay Aug 20

Instagram Boots Ad Partner HYP3R for Reportedly Scraping Huge Amounts of User Data

Instagram has banned one of its owner Facebook’s official marketing partners, San Francisco-based HYP3R, after “a combination of configuration errors and lax oversight” on its behalf allowed HYP3R to scrape massive amounts of data on Instagram users, Business Insider reported on Wednesday. HYP3R, which has raised tens of millions of dollars in funding, relies on…

Social Media Tom McKay Aug 7

We Regret to Inform You the UK’s Ad Regulator Has Deemed Anyone With 30,000 Followers a Celebrity

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the UK’s independent industry self-regulation group, has officially determined the lower boundary for who counts as an internet “celebrity”: It’s anyone with over 30,000 followers on social media. Per the Telegraph, the decision comes by way of a case involving pharmaceutical company Sanofi, which paid mommy blogger Sarah Willox Knott…

Tech News Tom McKay Jul 3

A Coconut Water Brand Is Offering Free Piss on Twitter Because This Is the Future

When they looked to the future, some in the 20th century imagined wondrous technological advancements. Others foresaw a world of global totalitarian control. The future we ended up with, however, has had a little bit of both—plus a beverage company offering to send a hater some human urine on social media. On Wednesday, coconut water maker…

Tech News Hudson Hongo May 15

Amazon Says It Told Some Sellers It Was Blocking Ads With ‘Religious Content’ By Mistake

Amazon mistakenly told some sellers that it had launched a prohibition on ads with “religious content,” with one seller claiming “serious loss in revenue” and others reporting similar issues on seller forums, CNBC reported this weekend. According to CNBC’s report, some sellers saw ads blocked and were told via email that a “new policy update”…

Commerce Tom McKay May 11

You Know How This All Ends, Don’t You?

Brands—they’re just like us, only thirstier. Just last night, Pornhub sent out a press release claiming it was “extremely interested” in buying Tumblr, the distressed blogging platform Verizon is reportedly looking to unload. TechCrunch explained why this is a bad idea, but there’s a more fundamental question here: Sure, it has the money, but is…

Tech News Hudson Hongo May 3

Pepsi Mercifully Spares Humanity From Its Space Billboards—for Now

If there is one thing no one needs, it’s additional spaces for brands to overwhelm humanity with even more advertising. But thanks to capitalism, the sky is evidently the limit. One startup claims it will offer brands the chance to pollute our night skies with a system of teeny, reflective satellites used to replicate the…

Tech News Catie Keck Apr 15

The Weird Machine That Measured Radio Audiences in the ’30s and ’40s

In the early days of radio broadcasting, there was no easy way to tell how many people were listening to the soap operas and prestige crime dramas, and, subsequently, how many were actually hearing the radio ads for tooth powder and name brand coal for your furnace—information that advertisers desperately wanted. It wasn’t like counting…

Tech News Matt Novak Apr 5

The Annoying Posts in Your Facebook News Feed Will Soon Come With an Explanation Box

One of the enduring criticisms of Facebook is that the News Feed is a black box. Starting this week, however, the box will suddenly take on a shade of dark gray. No one outside the company fully understands why they saw this post or that one. We do know that Facebook’s News Feed algorithms are…

Social Media Patrick Howell O'Neill Apr 1

No One Knows How Users Will Pay for Google Stadia Yet, But an Ad-Supported Model May Be Tricky

This week, Google announced its fancy new Stadia game-streaming service to the world—though the question of just how the tech giant is planning on monetizing it remains quite open. It’s not clear whether users will gain access to Stadia’s stable of games by purchasing individual titles, paying a monthly subscription fee, or even be able…

Games Tom McKay Mar 23

Elizabeth Warren’s Ad Saying Facebook Has Too Much Power Briefly Taken Down by Facebook

Facebook removed advertisements by Senator Elizabeth Warren calling for the breakup of Facebook and other American big tech companies, a newly major issue for Warren’s 2020 presidential campaign. That’s the kind of irony you can only dream up, sparking the kind of smirking outrage that quickly spins beyond comprehension all over social media. The takedown…

Social Media Patrick Howell O'Neill Mar 11

YouTube’s Commenter Controversy Is Putting Creators in a Tricky Position

As YouTube scrambles to tackle a network of child exploitation in the comments section of its platform, some creators have voiced concern about what will happen if their videos are demonetized amid advertiser pull-outs and crackdowns on content. The Verge reported Friday that a tweet from the Team YouTube account sent creators further spiraling after…

Tech News Catie Keck Feb 22

Brazilian Carrier Comes Up With Tricksy ‘4.5G’ Logo—and Now It Might Get Fined

Yes, 5G is coming, but it’s definitely not here yet. Brazilian carrier Claro seems to by trying to get around that pesky fact with a sneaky “4.5G” marketing campaign that could result in fines for misleading advertising. There’s nothing blatantly devious about Claro labeling its faster-than-4G-but-not-5G speeds “4.5G.” What’s ridiculous is the logo its using…

Tech News Victoria Song Feb 22

AT&T and Hasbro Become Latest Companies to Yank Ads From YouTube Over Pedophilia Content

Amid reports that a pervasive network of pedophiles is operating in the comments of YouTube videos of children, several major companies have paused their ad campaigns. AT&T and toy maker Hasbro have now become the latest advertisers to follow suit, CNBC reported Thursday. A spokesperson for AT&T told CNBC in a statement that it is…

Tech News Catie Keck Feb 22

Companies Halt YouTube Ads Following Reports of Commenter Pedophile Network

Companies are pulling their advertising campaigns from YouTube amid reports that a network of pedophiles is openly operating in the comments sections of videos of young children, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. Disney and Nestlé are among those who have reportedly yanked spending after a YouTube video surfaced the ongoing problem. A video shared by YouTuber Matt…

Tech News Catie Keck Feb 20

Jon Pertwee Swaps His TARDIS for a Much Stranger Phone Box in This Retro TV Ad

Don’t ask why the third Doctor suddenly got his TARDIS’ chameleon circuit working. It’s the least bonkers thing going on in this delightful ad. Back in its heyday, Doctor Who ended up doing all sorts of weird and wonderful tie-in advertisements, where the stars of the show got in character to shill things like Prime…

io9 James Whitbrook Jan 16

Facebook Offered Advertisers ‘White Genocide’ Option

Honestly, guys, this shouldn’t be so hard. With billions of dollars, thousands of employees, and some of the finest engineering minds on the planet, Facebook just can’t seem to figure out how to stop profiting from advertising categories that don’t comply with its advertising principles. And a new damning discovery was just made by The…

Tech News Rhett Jones Nov 2

Advertisers Suing Facebook Allege It May Have Committed Fraud on Video Ad Metrics

A group of advertisers suing social-media giant Facebook in California over bungled video metrics now alleges in court filings that the platform failed to disclose data errors in a manner that could “[rise] to the level of fraud and may warrant punitive damages,” according to Ars Technica. The case, LLE One LLC et al. v.…

Social Media Tom McKay Oct 17

TiVo Reportedly Rolling Out Pre-Roll Ads That Play Before Users Can Watch Recorded Video

Apparently, Facebook Had to Crack Down On Major Pro-Trump Advertiser. But That’s Not the Weird Bit…

Facebook Yanks Another Trump Ad for a Laughably Obvious Policy Violation

Instagram Boots Ad Partner HYP3R for Reportedly Scraping Huge Amounts of User Data

We Regret to Inform You the UK’s Ad Regulator Has Deemed Anyone With 30,000 Followers a Celebrity

A Coconut Water Brand Is Offering Free Piss on Twitter Because This Is the Future

Amazon Says It Told Some Sellers It Was Blocking Ads With ‘Religious Content’ By Mistake

You Know How This All Ends, Don’t You?

Pepsi Mercifully Spares Humanity From Its Space Billboards—for Now

The Weird Machine That Measured Radio Audiences in the ’30s and ’40s

The Annoying Posts in Your Facebook News Feed Will Soon Come With an Explanation Box

No One Knows How Users Will Pay for Google Stadia Yet, But an Ad-Supported Model May Be Tricky

Elizabeth Warren’s Ad Saying Facebook Has Too Much Power Briefly Taken Down by Facebook

YouTube’s Commenter Controversy Is Putting Creators in a Tricky Position

Brazilian Carrier Comes Up With Tricksy ‘4.5G’ Logo—and Now It Might Get Fined

AT&T and Hasbro Become Latest Companies to Yank Ads From YouTube Over Pedophilia Content

Companies Halt YouTube Ads Following Reports of Commenter Pedophile Network

Jon Pertwee Swaps His TARDIS for a Much Stranger Phone Box in This Retro TV Ad

Facebook Offered Advertisers ‘White Genocide’ Option

Advertisers Suing Facebook Allege It May Have Committed Fraud on Video Ad Metrics

Amazon Is Sticking With ‘Rings of Power’ to the End

Trump Is Reportedly Going Full Steam Ahead with the Golden Dome

‘Kamen Rider’ Is Ready to Take on the World

Twitter Just Can’t Stop Leaking Movies

The ‘Mass Effect’ Show is Getting Rewritten to Get Greenlit

See the Early Stages of How ‘Project Hail Mary’ Brought Rocky to Life

‘Cognitive Surrender’ Is a New and Useful Term for How AI Melts Brains

HP Omen Max 45L Review: 4K60 Gaming Has Never Been So Easy

Ecovacs Winbot W3 Omni Review: Window Cleaning Robots Have a Long Way to Go

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Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

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