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Facebook introduces a scam ad reporting tool in the UK
Facebook has launched a new reporting tool designed to tackle scam ads. The feature lets UK Facebook users flag online ads that link to dubious get-rich-quick schemes or questionable cryptocurrency sales, which will then be reviewed by a dedicated anti-scam team. Facebook has also earmarked £3 million for anti-scam initiatives run by financial charity, Citizens Advice.
Twitter goes incredibly meta for its UK Christmas ad
Twitter has a new Christmas ad highlighting how an infamous case of mistaken identity generates tens of thousands of conversations on its platform every year. It stars user @JohnLewis -- no, not the UK department store, but a lecturer at Virginia Tech who shares the same name.
Facebook uses newspaper ads to warn WhatsApp users about fake news
The devastating consequences of fake news are apparent around the world, but in recent times India has felt them most keenly, with the spread of misinformation resulting in the deaths of 12 people in the last two months. WhatsApp, and its parent company Facebook, have taken a number of measures to stem the tide of fake news, from making short films to handing out grants to support research into the issue – now they're appealing directly to their users.
UK ISP rapped for disguising flyers as missed delivery slips
It's fairly common for the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to wag a finger at ISPs and mobile operators for misleading claims or poorly worded fine print. Every now and again, though, the watchdog deals with a slightly more unusual complaint. The latest company giving the ASA a headache is fibre broadband provider Hyperoptic, which is in trouble for a snail-mail marketing campaign that looked a little too similar to the cards you get through the door when you've missed a parcel delivery.
EE disputes Three's 'undisputed' reliability claim, wins
The UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned a billboard advert for Three's mobile network, after a six-month complaint from rival carrier EE was finally upheld. The ad, which features a purple Muppet-like character called Jackson being held aloft in a Rocky-style pose, featured the tagline: "The undisputed. UK's most reliable network. Again." EE claimed Three couldn't state it was the "undisputed" market leader without saying it was based on YouGov sample data and the ASA agreed.
BT Sport ads banned for promoting 'free' Champions League coverage
Once again, BT has been criticised for promoting its BT Sport channels with "misleading" TV ads. The UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has told the company to pull a number of adverts, including a prominent one on TV, which promises free BT Sport access for BT TV and BT broadband customers. For BT, this is particularly bad timing. The company finally has the rights to broadcast live Champions League and Europa League football in the UK, after snatching them from Sky back in 2013. The two prestigious tournaments didn't come cheap, so BT needs BT Sport -- and specifically its new BT Sport Europe channel -- to be a resounding success. With that in mind, BT has been heavily promoting its European sports coverage as a "free" extra for all BT TV customers.
How PayPal stole Christmas (according to 233 Brits)
Halloween has passed and November is here. For advertisers, that means it's about time to debut this year's festive adverts. PayPal jumped straight in, airing its own during an X Factor ad break on Sunday night, but for hundreds of Brits, it's already destroyed the magic of Christmas. The Guardian reports that the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has received 233 complaints from viewers arguing that PayPal's advert implies that Father Christmas isn't real.
Toyota wishes the Prius was a 'Final Fantasy' chocobo
In Japan, Toyota has a history of tapping classic Japanese role-playing games to sell its latest vehicles. The company has previously used the music from Dragon Quest and Monster Hunter in its TV ads, and now it's leveraging Final Fantasy to promote the petite Aqua Urban-X (known as the Prius C in the US). As Kotaku reports, the unique commercial shows three yellow cars tearing around the countryside, while the Chocobo Theme plays jubilantly in the background. For fans of the franchise, it's a clever nod to the beloved flightless bird, which often feature in the games as mythical modes of transport. But how many Final Fantasy fans are in the market to buy a new car? Probably not many -- Toyota is presumably banking on the idea that such an iconic Japanese franchise will be recognisable to even the most casual of video game enthusiasts. It's certainly more effective than this terrifying Mercedes-Benz ad featuring Nintendo's popular plumber.
Charity ads subvert Facebook to highlight the UK's lonely elderly
If you live in the UK, you've probably seen Facebook's new "Friends" ads on TV or the London Underground. They're refreshingly simple and focus on what the goliath social network was originally designed for -- staying connected with the people that matter most in our lives. However, soon you might see some new billboard ads, featuring a few subtle but incredibly powerful tweaks: namely, the use of the phrase "No Friends." They were designed by the J. Walter Thompson London communications agency for the charity Age UK, and highlight the loneliness experienced by many older citizens. We suspect more than a few passersby will do a double-take after seeing these, and hopefully they'll raise awareness for an important issue and the organisation trying to tackle it.
Japanese carrier 'cooks' shrimp in three seconds to sell you on LTE
NTT DoCoMo's LTE is so fast that ordinary life can seem slow by comparison. That's why the company's latest bizarre advert is showing you how to make a dinner of battered shrimp in under three seconds. All you'll need is an air cannon, some flour, batter and an open flame, as well as the mechanism to spray all three into the air. Then, just firing the creatures through each one will produce some tasty-looking, if microbiologically-unsound fare. Something, something, buy some LTE?
Japanese Mario Kart 8 ad showcases the Luigi Death Stare
Is that a subtle Nintendo endorsement of the Luigi Death Stare? After the House of Mario's understated acknowledgment in its E3 presentation, a new Mario Kart 8 commercial in Japan seems to presents the plumber's ice-cold eyes with another knowing wink. Or is this just inadvertence layered over inadvertence? Meanwhile below the break, Fire Emblem: Awakening's Lucina remains unamused.
Aaron Paul is messing with people's Xbox Ones
If you sell a voice-activated console, it's probably wise not to have people in your advert uttering the key phrase. Someone at Microsoft missed that point when they asked Aaron Paul to bark "Xbox on" at his TV to promote the Xbox One. More than a few people have commented on Twitter that the Breaking Bad star has inadvertently activated their consoles thanks to Kinect's well-tuned microphones. Cheaper faster and now immune to celebrity interference? The reasons to buy a Kinect-free Xbone are stacking up.
Party with Japan's new TV spot for next week's PS4 launch
Of all the world's many TV spots for the new consoles, we want to be in Japan's latest for the PS4. It barely shows off the games, and it's oddly preoccupied with the DualShock 4, but it just looks like fun - and everyone seems really happy to see us! While the PS4 has been out in North America and Europe for nearly three months, Japan has to wait just a bit longer to get its launch party started on February 22. Admission is priced at 39,980 yen, which converts to $392. [Image: Sony]
Microsoft puts the focus back on gaming with Xbox One 'Invitation' ad
Sony exploited the nostalgia of the PlayStation brand a few days ago and now it's Microsoft's turn to slosh some ad money around. The latest clip to be released on the official Xbox YouTube channel is simply called "Invitation," and it might be best be summed up as the exact opposite of the original Xbox One launch event. Instead of emphasizing Kinect, HDMI in/out and TV overlay features, what's being sold here is straight-up gaming immersion, with titles like Titanfall and Fifa 14 dominating the first part of the clip, leaving just a few seconds of screen time for movies, Skype and voice commands. This focus tallies with Microsoft's wider effort to re-jig its image among gamers, but it probably also has a lot to do with geography: this looks like a global advertisement and some parts of the world may not benefit so heavily from Microsoft's US-centric TV and content deals.
Sony vid takes you through 18 years of PlayStation in one bedroom
Above you'll find a clever video that touches on the cultures of three decades and experiences of four different PlayStation consoles, all from one London bedroom. It's so weird to think the PlayStation brand is 18 years old, going on 19, which means I've been enjoying PlayStation games for more than half my life - and I'm ooooold. My earliest memory of PlayStation is really getting into the self-explanatory Destruction Derby, a game made by the studio that's now Ubisoft Reflections, and a franchise that has been in the wilderness for far too long. Also, while I'm so very ooooold now, I was (almost) young and wimpy enough to find the first Resident Evil kind of scary. No really, I did ... okay, stop laughing now. Some 6,922 days after the first PlayStation hit Japanese retail shelves, the PlayStation 4 arrives in North America on November 15. Time to share your earliest PlayStation memories in the comments. Anyone have to do the "turn it over" trick?
PlayStation 4 commercial chronicles a perfect day
Remember those early, ever-so-artistic PlayStation 3 ads? You know, the crazy cackling baby, this is living, all that stuff? Well, this PlayStation 4 commercial isn't quite as subtle, but it works a treat all the same In case you missed it, the disclaimer during the Driveclub-esque portion says, "Professional drivers on closed course. Do not attempt. Enhanced with visual effects." We'll take that to mean slicing axes into torsos and shooting everything to smithereens is totally fine, so we're off to do a bit of that. Or maybe we'll wait for the PS4 to arrive on November 15 in North America, and November 29 in Europe, priced $399/£349/€399
Japanese broadcasters reject Panasonic Smart TV advert in fit of jealousy (video)
As technology adverts go, this new one from Panasonic isn't bad. We've certainly seen worse. From the POV of some major Japanese broadcasters, however, it's apparently too dangerous to air. According to AFP, they've refused to transmit the ad because viewers might be confused by its demonstration of Panasonic's Smart TV interface, which mixes terrestrial TV with web content courtesy of a rather ordinary split-screen feature. This semi-justification has inevitably led to speculation that the privately owned broadcasters are actually trying to slow the growth of IPTV in Japan, because they're not quite ready to compete. Panasonic seems to have taken the knock-back on the chin, saying that IPTV is a "new area of service" in its home nation and that it's currently in talks to "create new rules for broadcasting." Meanwhile, the mind-boggling material is embedded after the break if you're sure you can handle it.
Nokia Malaysia video teases April 25th announcement, loses us in the process
Flickering hospital lights. A man going ballistic in a padded cell. A hooded ghoul. These are the images Nokia Malaysia wants to put into our heads in the run-up to a mysterious Lumia-related launch coming on April 25th. That date has also been linked to Verizon's launch of the Lumia 928, but we're not sure how that might be relevant. Alternatively, it could be a countdown to the Malaysian launch of the Lumia 720 or Lumia 520. The thing is, we're intimately familiar with both those handsets and neither can be described as even remotely spooky. Unless it's another Batman Edition? Update: The video on Nokia's official YouTube channel has been pulled. We've added a different embed in the hope of preserving this curious piece of marketing for future generations. [Thanks, Piaget]
HTC One launch vid disappears, but not before claiming it's 'everything your phone isn't' (video)
We've commented before on how HTC always seems to come in second to Samsung -- not because it has inferior hardware, but because its marketing budget is comparable to what's fallen between the cushions of Sammy's sofa. We might have seen the start of a new strategy from HTC, however, as the company appears to have collaborated with Funny or Die on a comedic promo for the HTC One. It surfaced at the end of last week, but seems to have since been removed from the site. (It's possible HTC deliberately pulled it for some reason, and we've reached out for comment.) In the meantime, copies have found their way onto YouTube, and AdAge reports it'll start showing up on some websites today, and in a bunch of movie theaters from April 26th. A spoof of The Bachelorette, hosted by James Van Der Beek Dawson Leery, the clip depicts the leading lady deciding on her next handset, with the One winning out against feature-lacking peers -- or rather, people dressed in phone costumes. HTC even go as far as coining a bold tagline for the flagship: it's "everything your phone isn't." Whether it's actually funny is up to you, so check out the full skit below.
Sony patent wants to make advertising more interactive
We all know adverts are a necessary evil, which is why different companies are trying to make them more personalized, more engaging or just plain get rid of them. In a recently granted patent, Sony outlines its ideas for next-gen advertising on network-connected devices -- essentially to make it more interactive. Many of the instructional diagrams involve PS3 accessories in the home setting, but the focus isn't just on adverts as mini-games, which itself is nothing new. Other suggestions for keeping your interest include in-ad purchasing, casting votes or selecting the genre of commercials. To speed up, or get ads off your screen, Sony would have you performing small tasks or -- more sinisterly -- shouting brand names when prompted. Whether such immersive advertising will ever be employed is anyone's guess, but we're sure you're smart enough to know they're just tricks. So who's up for a McDonald's then?
