Entertainment - Thursday, October 15, 2009 10:15 - 2 Comments
Dear Yahoo: That Awful Advertising Campaign is So Y!ou
Dear Yahoo,
You must have missed the memo, but this happens to be the 21st century.
It’s great that you’ve been trying to improve yourself, but your new ad campaign looks like it came straight out of the 1980’s (the internet barely existed then, so how is that even possible?). The bright colors, the stupid hats, the statements about the internet being “personal” again – what were you thinking? Are you really stupid enough that you believe you can win me back like this?
I mean, sure, you’re the [PDF] “second most visited home page” on the internet (and at one point were the first!). But let’s be honest with each other: the only reason that’s true is because of your email service, which actually sucks and is one of the reasons I dumped you.
National - Tuesday, February 24, 2009 14:36 - 4 Comments
Tropicana Returns To Old Design Because New Design Is “Ugly” And “Stupid”
NYU students who still have their meal plans probably won’t know what I am talking about, but anyone who buys their own orange juice probably noticed that Tropicana orange juice recently changed the design of their cartons. I actually found out by not noticing, because I couldn’t find the Tropicana in my bodega without the giant orange in the middle of the package. Until I realize that it had changed, I honestly thought it was a cartoon of some flavored tea brand.
According to Gothamist, I was not the only one who found Tropicana’s change perplexing. After only one short month of why-can’t-I-find-my-OJ, Tropicana has decided to return to its old packaging, retaining the cute orange-shaped caps which was the only fun thing about the new design.
City - Tuesday, November 11, 2008 14:39 - 6 Comments
Taxi TVs Force Us To Watch
New Yorkers are complaining about taxi TVs – those screens on the back of the drivers seat that blare commercials at you – that supposedly can’t be turned off, according to Gothamist. A spokesperson from the Taxi and Limousine Service said that the screens weren’t being designed that way, they were just malfunctioning. But could this really be part of a massive public transportation plot, along with those changing bus ads, to make us watch commercials all the time?
City - Wednesday, October 22, 2008 15:58 - 5 Comments
New Bus Ads Change By Neighborhood – One Step Closer to Big Brother!
Whoa, did you just see the picture on the side of that bus turn from a Coke bottle into an Oreo? Don’t worry, it’s not the acid. Gothamist reported that the MTA is replacing the ads on the sides of its buses with GPS-controlled screens that change with each neighborhood’s demographic. You know, so that every bus starts flashing its American Apparel signs as it passes by Washington Square Park. Right now, MTA is testing out the technology on the M23 route, which runs East-West in Manhattan on 23rd street.
City - Tuesday, October 14, 2008 10:46 - 1 Comment
Big Brother on Your Cell Phone
Gawker has a scary story today about new cell phone software that can record what you’re hearing and report back to the companies that want to know. If you hear an ad on the radio, for example, the software will store that data so that companies will know how effective their advertising is. The company, IMMI, has this ominous message on its website: “The ad experience has changed. Measuring ad effectiveness hasn’t. Until now…” (Cue Darth Vader theme.)
Photo: Flickr courtesy of wanderingone
