Archive for: Advertising
Google TV really looked like a legitimate contender for my living room until these words were confirmed by Google TV project manager, Rishi Chandra: “Google TV ads will not be skippable”. Bummer. If you think about it though, Google is a company that thrives off of advertising. Of course they’re going to do anything and everything in their power to get ads in your face. Except with Google TV, these ads will supposedly be more targeted than ever, somehow equating to a winning solution for end users.
We’ll see about that.
Still think Google TV is all it’s cracked up to be?
Ubergizmo
Leave it to Sony to come up with a head scratching comment that honestly doesn’t make much sense. Peter Dille, head of Sony marketing, has gone on the record to say that “Sony has at last lost the arrogance it had a few years back”. Hmmm, pardon me if I ask what exactly Sony’s definition of arrogance is.
Dille also goes on to highlight how the change in the weird original PS3 advertising is moving back to styles reminiscent of the PS2 days. These new adverts Oddly enough tout the PS3′s increasing functionality over the competition. How Sony justifies this “greater functionality” after removing one of the core advertised features — Other OS install/Linux option — is beyond me.
But hey, it’s Sony. That right there will get anyone familiar in the world of tech to step back shrug and accept whatever fate is coming their way.
Do you feel Sony has finally, truly changed ways?
Bit-Tech
Watch Hulu much? I partake of the online greatness via Boxee on my Mac and have all but moved away from traditional cable. The few shows I watch I’m fortunate enough to be able to find via Boxee and Hulu. Amid the economy downturn, Hulu, like many other online media companies, started incorporating advertisements in several different forms. Most apparent however are the video ads (read: commercials) that play either before your show or in multiple chunks broken down into 30-second clips. So which one is winning out with consumers?
Shocker: Hulu users prefer the longer 1-2 minute commercial at the beginning of their Hulu viewing instead of the smaller, more frequent breaks 2 : 1 — this is according to Hulu CEO Jason Kilar. I say “shocker” with sarcasm as I personally see it as more seamless and less intrusive to get the advertising done and out of the way in the beginning and only makes sense that end users prefer it more. That way I can enjoy whatever it is that I’m watching in its entirety all the way through and uninterrupted.
Seeing as how customers actually prefer this pre-show advertisement block, I’d like to see how long it lasts. I mean, generally when we consumers attach ourselves to a particular media/business/online model, those in charge tend to side with the things that makes them the most money — not want consumers actually want. We shall see how it progresses…
I’m interested though to see what you guys and gals think — longer and early or short and sporadic — in regards to Hulu ads. Leave your thoughts in the divinely crafted boxes below.
AlleyInsider
- November 17, 2009 6:39 pm
Love your cellphone/smartphone because it gives you relatively ad-free hours of internet exploration and usage? I’ll admit it’s not my first praise for using a smartphone for getting around the internet, but it’s certainly one of my top reasonings. That’s all set to change for the worse in the near future. The impending doom is coming to us thanks to AdMob and their new “Interactive Video Ad Units” which more or less translate to “pain in the ass” for you and I. Ads make freemium models possible and allow end users to enjoy many fruits at free or reduced cost. So ads certainly have their place. But AdMob’s new “Interactive Video Ad Units” are anything but pleasant. The first category of IVAU consist of your typical manually activated video ads in which the end user has to initiate playback. But the second category is the one that really has me not looking forward to the day these arrive — automatically activated videos.
Navigating the web (as often as I do) has me wasting minutes upon minutes per day sitting, waiting, and watching stupid video ads that I can’t skip or even “look around”. My smartphone is the last frontier if you will as it is unbound or polluted with this digital filth. Such joys won’t be enjoyable much longer. Gee I can hardly wait, sitting on the train/bus/walking around town trying to read a quick review on a restaurant only to be greeted with an un-skippable 60 second ad seems like a blast. /sarcasm.
Mobile ads are good in certain instances. Automatic, forced video ads? Not so much. Are you dreading the day?
Internet Evolution
{Image Source}
- November 16, 2009 3:43 am
“Free” is a term that in this economy, draws people in scores. Not necessarily because we’re “cheap”, but more so frugal. There’s less money to go around and being a gadget nerd is not exactly cheap. We (us nerds) will often skimp on basic necessities just so we can have the latest in technology. Hey, it’s what makes us tick…don’t judge. With that sad, many programs, software titles, and even some hardware can be had at a significantly reduced cost when ads are thrown into the mix. I hate ads. The only time I tolerate them is in the instance of Hulu. It’s a great free service that finds me not really caring too much for the occasional 30 second ads. Heck, I’d even wait a minute or two (albeit at a lesser frequency) between actual clip viewings if it meant keeping Hulu free. But Hulu and all other areas where ads have crept a single, small programs. What about a full blown, free, ad-supported OS?
A recent patent by Apple highlights this very idea. Now Apple has for a long time been against obtrusive and hideous ads blanketing their products. Not to mention, It seems kind of strange that Steve Jobs is the first name listed on the patent. I mean, looking at the image above seems to indicate that the ads would be on the longer side and some even un-skippable — a philosophy and ideology that the Jobs has been more or less opposed to. I don’t know about you, but I don’t mind ads in software and between movie clips because I watch them infrequently for short bouts of time. But an OS I interact with for hours at a time. Having to deal with an obtrusive, full-screen, un-skippable ad when I’m trying to get a big post done or some other time sensitive material would be a major pain in the arse.
Could this be the sign of changing times? Or is Apple merely protecting themselves and future ideas with a patent for the time being? I guess the more important question is, “Would you use a free, ad-supported OS”?
9to5 Mac
So you’re a verizon customer and want an iPhone. Switch. That’s your only hope. Why do I say that? Well, besides the sign above which sends a pretty blunt message, after Verizon get’s down with their whole DROID marketing campaign bashing AT&T and the iPhone, do you really think Apple will want to crawl into bed with them and be friends? Stranger things have happened and the repeated rumors of a 4G/LTE iPhone could be true. But are we merely dreaming the impossible dream? Usually when a company competes against a certain competitors product only to offer their own version further down the road, they tip toe a fine line between bashing and politely highlighting current faults. Have you seen any of Verizon’s commercials or posters so far for DROID? They relentlessly mock Apple, the iPhone, and AT&T. To me, that signals that they are just fine and dandy with Android. Which by the way isn’t a bad thing. Way back in 2005/2006/2007 when Apple was hunting around for a carrier and made the reported first stop at Verizon, did talks really go that sour to cause the two, or at least Verizon to act out so negatively? Who really cares? All I know is this fight is rather amusing with the outcome being sweet, succulent choices for myself and gadget freaks alike.
Digital Daily
We all know how “influential” Apple can be when it comes to products and service integrating with their own that aren’t exactly “Apple approved”, or those that actually give the customer some freedom. While such examples of influence aren’t always obvious, this latest example is pure blatant bias and favoritism. BART, a popular retailer that happens to be next door neighbors with a San Francisco Apple Store. The proximity and large window space that BART offers of course leads to many advertising ventures shared between them and Apple with numerous Apple-esque ads. However, DVD Jon’s Double Twist software was something that opened and informed the general public of other options they have with their personal property – music files. The plot thickens after the click.
- February 15, 2009 5:06 pm
Image recognition sounds like some future tech from a Sci-fi movie. In reality it is a new service that Alcatel-Lucent is developing and currently in the process of testing on a U.S. GSM carrier. Which carrier is not certain as calls from RCR Wireless were unreturned. The new image recognition technology would allow marketers to reach cell phone users without using archaic barcodes or other interactive methods. The new service is being given the name “Mobile Enhanced Reality” and will be used in conjunction with video calling technology to bring more media rich advertisements to cell phones in connection with virtually any medium such as posters, billboards, and magazine ads. I know what you’re thinking. ”Awesome, I get enough spam texts from companies now, in the future I’ll be getting “commercials” every time I pass a stupid poster/advertisement”. What does this new fangled technology hold for the future? Jump in…feet first.
- January 12, 2009 10:41 am
Microsoft has taken the wraps off of a new $150 million add campaign made cheap in order to show the general population that software, particularly theirs, can save you money when there’s little to spend. Their marketing term is “It’s everybody’s business.” They are trying to show that their products are affordable and can help you save money. Head over to Alley Insider to see the new ad in action.
Source: Alley Insider, Wall Street Journal
