advertising

Stories 341 - 360 | << Prev   Next >>

Conan Woos Far Younger Tonight Show Crowd

O'Brien lowers median age of Tonight viewers by 10 years

(Newser) - In just one month, Conan O’Brien has lowered the median age of the Tonight Show audience by 10 years, from 55 to 45, the New York Times reports. Conan has radically reshaped the demographics of the program by drawing an unprecedented number of new viewers aged 18 to 34—...

Nun-Priest Snog Gets Ice Cream Ad Banned

Image of 'forbidden Italian temptation' sparks UK furor

(Newser) - An ice-cream ad showing a priest and a nun apparently about to lock lips has been banned in the UK after readers complained, the Daily Telegraph reports. People told an advertising-standards group that the magazine image, promoting Antonio Federici gelato, demeaned those who pursued a “religious vocation.” The...

Mays Autopsy Shows No Drugs, No Trauma

(Newser) - Initial autopsy results suggest that infomercial celebrity Billy Mays died of heart failure, the medical examiner announced today. The autopsy didn’t reveal any head trauma or drug abuse, both rumored causes of the 50-year-old's death, but did find hardening of his arteries, the St. Petersburg Times reports. He was...

Infomercial Icon Mays Dead at 50

TV Pitchman wasn't wearing a seatbelt: FAA

(Newser) - Television pitchman Billy Mays was found dead in his Tampa, Fla., home today, the St. Petersburg Times reports. He was 50. The promoter of everything from baking soda to cleaning supplies said he felt unwell last night after landing in a 737 airplane that blew out a front tire. Mays...

Ballmer: Old Media Won't Last a Decade

Microsoft boss says papers, TV won't bounce back

(Newser) - The ad revenue media companies lost in the downturn won't be coming back when things turn around, Steve Ballmer told an advertising conference yesterday. The Microsoft boss said the industry has been "reset" at a lower level, and media companies are going to have to learn to survive on...

UK Shop 'Sorry' for Using Iran Tags in Twitter Ad Campaign

The messages had nothing to do with unrest

(Newser) - A British furniture store has apologized for tagging its Twitter promotional messages with Iran-related hash tags, AFP reports. The store may have been trying to maximize the number of people viewing its tweets, but instead provoked outrage at the misuse of Twitter, a key media tool for Iranian protesters. “...

BK Goes Crude With 7-Inch Burger Ad
BK Goes Crude
With 7-Inch Burger Ad
comment
Jun 24, 2009 9:43 AM CDT

BK Goes Crude With 7-Inch Burger Ad

Yes, they really want to 'fill your desire for something long, juicy...'

(Newser) - Burger King’s “edgy” ads have reached a new low, writes Cajun Boy for Gawker. The ad for its 7-inch-long burger screams fellatio—from the “piping hot beef laden with creamy mayo” to the “open mouth of a wide-eyed blond.” The slogan—“It’ll blow...

Black Eyed Peas: Sellouts in Post-Sellout World

(Newser) - It is still possible for a musician to “sell out” in this hyper-commercialized world, says Seth Stevenson, who hangs on to the concept partly because of the pain he feels when a favorite song is co-opted—it’s like finding out a smart, cute girl “spends her weekends...

Bruno's Blitz Turns MySpace Into 'MeinSpace'

(Newser) - Sacha Baron Cohen has partnered up with MySpace to promote his new film, Bruno, in a move that could help revive the struggling social networking site, Advertising Age reports. MySpace is hosting a movie site for the gay Austrian fashionista—MeinSpace—and the parent site has started running an unrestricted...

Obama Sees 'Victory' in Passage of FDA-Tobacco Bill

(Newser) - President Obama praised the passage of a bill allowing the FDA to regulate tobacco products as “a long time coming," the Hill reports. The legislation, which sailed through the House this morning, grants the agency new power to regulate tobacco ingredients and marketing. "After a decade of...

Microsoft Blows It With Bizarre Bing Ads

Blame Google for the collapse of global financial architecture

(Newser) - Microsoft is thrashing Google in new TV spots for its "decision engine" Bing—understandably, since from Microsoft's perspective their rival is single-handedly responsible for the global financial crisis. "While everyone was searching, there was bailing," says an announcer, as images of fleeting Internet memes give way...

Bud Ad Takes Porn Mainstream

Internet commercial suggests Bud drinkers buy porn

(Newser) - A new Bud Light ad—a viral video too risque for TV—points to the fact that pornography has “soaked so far into the fabric of mainstream culture that it's no longer seen as a stain,” writes Belinda Luscombe in Time. The ad suggests Bud Light drinkers are...

Miller Pulls Mafia Ads Amid Italian Complaints

Commercials show Sopranos actor offering 'protection'

(Newser) - Complaints from Chicago’s Italian-American community have prompted MillerCoors to pull a Miller Lite ad campaign in which Sopranos actor Frank Vincent plays a stereotypical Mafia type, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. In the two spots, he asks a store clerk and bartender if they need “protection.” They say...

Allen, American Apparel Settle Suit for $5M

Filmmaker had sued over the use of his image in advertising

(Newser) - American Apparel has agreed to settle Woody Allen’s lawsuit for $5 million, a spokeswoman for the filmmaker said. Allen appeared today at a Manhattan courthouse, where he had sued the Los Angeles-based clothing manufacturer over its advertising last year for $10 million. He claimed the company did not have...

Ladies, Mars Wants You to Have a Fling

'Naughty' new candy bar has really, really, really suggestive ads

(Newser) - Mars has introduced its first new candy bar in 20 years—and a racy marketing campaign to go along with it, NPR reports. The Fling is a "chocolate finger" of meringue and truffle painted with a "shimmering" chocolate coating, and both the 85-calorie size and the very pink,...

Bloomberg Drops $18.7M on Campaign

(Newser) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has already spent $18.7 million in his bid for a third term, outpacing his own 2005 campaign by 55%, the New York Daily News reports. The billionaire's three main competitors have spent a combined total of about $2.5 million, with controller William Thompson...

Ads Tap Into US Bitterness
 Ads Tap Into US Bitterness 
May 15, 2009 6:31 AM CDT

Ads Tap Into US Bitterness

Commercials get angry at CEOs, uppity lifestyles

(Newser) - Seeking to key into the national mood, the latest spots from Madison Avenue are uncharacteristically angry, the New York Times reports. “We’re turning up the volume in relation to what our customers are feeling,” says the marketing head at Kodak, whose new printer ads slam the “...

Ill. Sheriff: New Craigslist an Improvement

Lawman will monitor 'adult services' section as lawsuit proceeds

(Newser) - The Illinois sheriff who pushed Craigslist to dump its “erotic services” section says the replacement, now called “adult services,” is a step in the right direction, the Chicago Tribune reports. “The postings are definitely toned down a lot. My goal was to get the over-the-top stuff...

Google's Radio Ad Conquest Falls Flat

Automated advertising plan not music to industry's ears

(Newser) - Google has hit a stumbling block in its quest for world domination: A bid to “conquer radio” with its advertising program didn’t go as planned, and the firm is dropping the effort at the end of the month, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Internet giant bet its...

Google Brings Online Chrome Ad to TV

With browser far behind competitors, innovator goes traditional

(Newser) - In a desperate bid to heighten the visibility of its little-used web browser Chrome, Google has launched its first American television advertising campaign, the Guardian reports. The TV ad was made by a Google Japan team and uses stop-motion animation. Google says it’s “excited to see how this...

Stories 341 - 360 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser