Advertising

Apple’s New “iAd Gallery” App Violates Apple’s App Guidelines and Probably Should Have Been Rejected

Apple’s new “iAd Gallery” iPhone app, which shows off the iAds that its advertisers have purchased, is theoretically in violation of Apple’s own App Store guidelines, which the company published last year. Let us direct your attention to guideline 2.13: Apps that are primarily marketing materials or advertisements will be rejected. This was probably included…

Tech News Dan Frommer - Business Insider Apr 6

Apple’s iAd Gallery App: Finally, All Your Favorite iAds in One Place!

No more wasting your money collecting all those apps just so you can watch the lovely, revolutionary, magical, emotional, whatever-happened-to-those iAds contained therein. Apple has deigned to slap together iAd Gallery, a free app that promises “Great ads. On-demand. In your pocket.” I don’t think it’s a belated April Fools joke! I think they really…

Tech News Kyle VanHemert Apr 5

I Wish This Hot Wheels Loop Were Real

The loop is, without a doubt, the most exciting part of any Hot Wheels track, and it’s the beloved racetrack feature that ad firm Ogilvy & Mather & Mather recreated for this clever ad in Bogota, Colombia. Quite realistic! But if you really want me to buy into the illusion, Hot Wheels, you’re going to…

Tech News Kyle VanHemert Apr 5

At Last, A Superheroine Who Fights Against Herpes

This blonde woman is just a mild-mannered lady, until herpes strikes… and then she becomes the superheroine you see here. This new advertising campaign for cold-sore medication Herpotherm was filming in a German parking garage over the weekend. So yes, this is a treatment for cold sores inside the mouth, rather than other types of…

io9 Charlie Jane Anders Mar 28

Facebook Is Reading What You Write to Sell Ads. Live.

Ugh, you know, I love Facebook, but sometimes it’s really frustrating how the targeted ads aren’t relevant enough to me and my consumer lifestyle. Like, yeah, I enjoy pizza and videogames, but couldn’t it be more precise and creepy? Yes. Ad Age reports Facebook is currently testing a beta model of info mining on 1%…

Social Media Sam Biddle Mar 24

How to advertise your business: trap thousands of cockroaches in a sign that says E. Coli

Well, this tactic only works if you’re an exterminator. On Monday in Dallas, Terminix filled a billboard emblazoned with the words “E. COLI” with several thousand roaches (the roaches got 15-minute breaks as a reprieve from the heat). As Copyranter points out, this stunt is right up there with a New Zealand advertisement for Knocked…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Mar 16

A beautiful but creepy vision of the “smart glass” future

Materials mnufacturer Corning put together a futurist video last month called “A Day Made Of Glass,” which has spiraled into stratospheric popularity on YouTube. The premise of the video is that we’re about to live in an era of ubiquitous touchscreens (made with glass) and smart windows (made of glass) as well as appliances like…

io9 Annalee Newitz Mar 14

New study reveals how Tony the Tiger is controlling children’s minds

If you give a kid a choice between a healthy and a sugary cereal, the kid will tend to choose the healthy option. But what if you stick a beloved cartoon character on the box? Then all bets are off. Lots of breakfast cereals and other foods that are primarily targeted at children like to…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Mar 8

How the Old Spice Guy Seduces Your Lady In One Take

The Old Spice Guy’s got a pretty good life, doesn’t he? Smells great, makes us laugh, really good posture. But those amazing space-shifting commercials he stars in don’t just happen by magic. Here’s a behind the scenes look at how a go from a mountain to underwater to your fondest dreams, all in a single…

Tech News Brian Barrett Mar 3

Why Are Facebook and Google Are Trying to Stop Online Adultery?

AshleyMadison.com, the largest online “dating” site made for adulterers, has their advertising actively blocked by Facebook, Google and Microsoft. They’re not letting the site buy keywords and ads, even though they let competing sites do so. What’s weirder, Facebook even blocked the URL for ashleymadison.com in Facebook messages temporarily, saying it was used in spam.…

Tech News Jason Chen Feb 24

Apple Placed Its Products in One-Third of Last Year’s Box Office Hits

We’ve seen plenty of posts rounding up screenshots of weird Apple product placements in movies, so it should come as no surprise that Brandchannel, the website of global brand consultancy Interbrand, deemed Apple as the brand with the most total product placements in movies last year. To be specific, Brandchannel determined that Apple managed to…

Tech News Rosa Golijan Feb 23

A map of Chicago’s phantom signs for vanished businesses

Nicole Donohoe of Chicago’s School of the Art Institute has created an interactive neighborhood map where you can search for the city’s “ghost signs,” or ancient advertisements for goods and services that may not exist anymore. You can also check out her links for more pages about ghost signs that might be in your neck…

io9 Cyriaque Lamar Feb 20

LG Keeps It Classy By Kicking Steve Jobs In the Face

LG’s apparently feeling so confident about its Optimus Pad/G-Slate—despite not much evidence they should be—that they decided to go and make a promo video wherein a flying ninja kicks Steve Jobs in the face. Starts at around the 1:00 mark. Apparently this proves something about tablet superiority. Which—aside from being entirely inappropriate, even if Jobs…

Tech News Brian Barrett Feb 14

Groupon Pulls Plug On Questionable Ad Campaign

Oh, Groupon. After an ad in poor taste brought all the bad publicity (which I guess is also good publicity?) you can heap on a coupon website, the company has decided to pull the campaign completely. So long, insensitive Timothy Hutton. I liked you better in Beautiful Girls. [Groupon]

Tech News Brian Barrett Feb 11

Apple iAds Platform Fizzling Out

According to Techcrunch, Apple’s play for the mobile advertising market isn’t hitting as hard as it needs to. “The general consensus among the advertising community is that [iAd] is a product they don’t want.” [Techcrunch]

Tech News Joel Johnson Feb 10

Groupon Responds to Super Bowl Commercial Controversy

Yesterday, Groupon dipped into its $950 million piggy bank, and spent a bit of that dough on a couple Super Bowl ads. The group-discount service touted the spots as a way to give in to its “Napolean complex” and “invade the rest of the world” with a proper primetime commercial. Groupon sure did make a…

Tech News Austin Carr - FastCompany Feb 7

The Xoom Super Bowl Ad: 1984 Meets 2011

Xoom’s coming soon, but how is Motorola going to introduce its iPad foe to the general public? The Super Bowl, of course! And the biggest tech ad to invoke 1984 since… well… hmmm, let’s see. Oh, right. Apple. Motorola’s Super Bowl spot—of which we only get to see a short clip here—doesn’t share much in…

Tech News Brian Barrett Feb 4

PBR Jetpack Ad (1976)

In 1976 Pabst Blue Ribbon ran this TV ad of a man flying effortlessly with a jetpack.* Though the man we see at the end who takes off his helmet is just an actor, the man who actually flew in the ad was none other than William P. Suitor. You know how we’ll know when…

Tech News Matt Novak Feb 1

Face to Face Phone Calls (1957)

In this ad from the March, 1957 issue of Scientific American we see John Q. Businessman making a “face to face” telephone call. The ad declares that thanks to the Hughes Tonotron and other products from the Hughes Aircraft Company people will soon see “on the wall television, electronic control of factory production, and countless…

Tech News Matt Novak Jan 30

What happens when advertisers try to control your mind

Yesterday Facebook rolled out a new ad system where people’s updates get converted into “sponsored story” ads fed to their friends. But this is hardly the first time advertisers have tried to feed us ads stealth-style. Let’s get subliminal Before we tackle this latest Facebook social media apocalypse, let’s consider the history of stealthy high-tech…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jan 27

Apple’s New “iAd Gallery” App Violates Apple’s App Guidelines and Probably Should Have Been Rejected

Apple’s iAd Gallery App: Finally, All Your Favorite iAds in One Place!

I Wish This Hot Wheels Loop Were Real

At Last, A Superheroine Who Fights Against Herpes

Facebook Is Reading What You Write to Sell Ads. Live.

How to advertise your business: trap thousands of cockroaches in a sign that says E. Coli

A beautiful but creepy vision of the “smart glass” future

New study reveals how Tony the Tiger is controlling children’s minds

How the Old Spice Guy Seduces Your Lady In One Take

Why Are Facebook and Google Are Trying to Stop Online Adultery?

Apple Placed Its Products in One-Third of Last Year’s Box Office Hits

A map of Chicago’s phantom signs for vanished businesses

LG Keeps It Classy By Kicking Steve Jobs In the Face

Groupon Pulls Plug On Questionable Ad Campaign

Apple iAds Platform Fizzling Out

Groupon Responds to Super Bowl Commercial Controversy

The Xoom Super Bowl Ad: 1984 Meets 2011

PBR Jetpack Ad (1976)

Face to Face Phone Calls (1957)

What happens when advertisers try to control your mind

‘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

Marshall Acton III Home Speaker Drops to a Record Low, the Deal Countdown Has Already Started

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

I’m Worried About the Helpless AI Disruptors of the Future

Russia Allegedly Swung at VPNs but Accidentally Hit Its Own Banking Sector Instead

Ryan Coogler Is Shifting ‘Animorphs’ Into a Disney+ Show

No Fooling, ‘Spaceballs 2’ Will Hit Theaters April 2027

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

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