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Facebook's new mobile ad network goes into beta, serves advertisements on third party sites and apps
Facebook already sports advertisements baked into its own website and mobile apps, and now it'll begin serving ads on other handset-optimized websites and smartphone applications. TechCrunch reports that the firm has begun testing a new ad network that leverages user data to display hyper-relevant ads on third party turf. Instead of relying on vanilla tracking cookies to gain insight into visitor interests, the platform accesses information including age, gender, likes, location, which apps friends have used and other data points when users are logged into a site or application with Facebook credentials. Zuckerberg and Co.'s solution lets advertisers bid on certain demographics and uses existing networks such as iAds and AdMob to serve appropriate ads based on anonymous ID's tied to Facebook accounts. For now, Menlo Park's new program is limited to the all-important mobile market, but don't be surprised if the service finds its way to the desktop.
President Barack Obama campaigning in EA games again
Much can change in four years, but apparently President Barack Obama's campaign avenues haven't. For his upcoming campaign towards a second term as President of the United States, Obama will once again advertise through video games – specifically, EA games. Madden NFL 13 across various consoles and other undisclosed EA games are on deck to dish out Obama ads, including EA's casual games portal Pogo and EA Mobile games like Tetris, Scrabble and Battleship. These ads will show up for gamers in Ohio, Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, New Hampshire and Virginia.Four years ago, Obama paid $44,500 for in-game advertising in Burnout Paradise and other games. You can see some mock-ups in our gallery below. %Gallery-165666%
Every new Kindle Fire model is ad-subsidized with lock screen 'Special Offers'
Amazon's roster of fresh Kindle Fire slates won't just be delivering content for your entertainment, they'll also be serving up ads. That's right, each of the new tablets will greet users with "Special Offers" on their lock screens like some of the firm's other e-readers, which matches previous rumors nicely. While the low-end Kindle and Paperwhite devices come in both subsidized and ad-free flavors, its tablet brethren aren't getting the same treatment. Also, there's no word if you'll be able to avoid gracing the advertisements with your eyeballs in exchange for some additional cash once you have the hardware in hand. Alongside messages from other companies, the folks in Seattle promise to offer a $5 credit for both the Amazon MP3 and Instant Video Stores.
YouTube heralds arrival of in-stream ads, built-in annoyance for mobile devices
If you've made it a habit of viewing YouTube videos on your mobile device in an effort to flout the site's pre-roll ads, your days of bliss are quickly drawing to a close. Today, the site implemented TrueView in-stream ads for the mobile platform, and like you've become accustomed to on the desktop, you'll begin to notice these commercials on your smartphone and tablet. Now, we get the need for content producers to make some coin, but the move certainly represents the end of an era. Fortunately, just like on the desktop, you'll have the ability to skip these ads after five seconds. Maybe now, you can take pride in making an independent producer rich beyond imagination -- or, at least helping them buy some lunch.
Boingo snaps up Cloud Nine Media to expand its ad-sponsored WiFi network
Boingo tried its hand at free WiFi with Google earlier this summer, and now it's acquired Cloud Nine Media to help it claim a larger slice of the sponsored internet access pie. Though Boingo's 500,000 subscription-based access points vastly outnumber its acquisition's 6,000 ad-sponsored locations, it hopes to use the newly purchased company's hotspot sponsorship and ad-sales expertise to increase its free WiFi footprint. "This acquisition allows us to bring that capability in-house to better serve our growing need to deliver sponsored WiFi," Boingo CEO David Hagan told AllThingsD. Naturally, the firm's $9.95-a-month plan will live on, but it's good to know that Boingo will enable more folks to surf the web free of charge from here on out. [Image credit: Charleston's TheDigitel, Flickr]
Draw Something wants you to draw ads with latest update
If you've noticed a lot of a hockey-themed subjects cropping up during your Draw Something playtime lately, it's not just because its hockey season and Zynga is trying to stay topical. Rather, it's all part of Draw Something's new advertising initiative, which allows sponsors to insert their brand/product/whatever into the game's list of drawable somethings.The NHL is the first major sponsor to hop onboard, posting hockey-related doodles to an official Pinterest board. The concept was tested using recognizable brand names like KFC, Doritos and Nike, with the response being positive enough to implement the system for real. Whether this type of integrated, subtle advertising experience is preferable to banner ads remains a matter of personal preference, but we do love the idea of drawing a box of Toaster Scrambles®.This post fictionally brought to you by Pillsbury® Toaster Scrambles®. "They're practically food!"
Twitter Promoted Tweets: coming to an iPhone, Android app near you
Roughly two years after first launching Promoted Tweets on the desktop, Twitter is rolling out the ad revenue model to its iOS and Android apps. The feature, which places sponsored tweets in users' timelines, is already available in the mobile web version of the site. Updates to the app will bring the ads to a select number of users who already follow those businesses in the next couple of weeks, followed by a wider rollout to users who don't. #ka-ching
Android apps on the PlayBook can keep their built-in ads, won't support RIM ads
Let's face it: a free PlayBook is nice, but it's not enough. If Android developers are to be persuaded to give up soccer practice and hot dates to stay home and re-package their apps for PlayBook OS 2.0, then they're going to need some advertising income too. Which is why a report over the weekend, claiming that ported apps would not support mobile ads, caused no end of fuss. Fortunately, it was the result of some kind of miscommunication and RIM quickly clarified that the updated PlayBook OS would support the ad services that come built into Android apps, but wouldn't support RIM's own BlackBerry ad services in that context. So what's it to be, the shin guards, the cologne, or the keyboard?
Samsung's master plan: the AdHub platform for Smart TVs
Cunning move, Sammy! Taking advantage of your Smart TV prominence to start up your own global ad platform is pure textbook, and calling it 'Samsung AdHub' is equally shrewd. It'll enable both mobile and big-screen smart TV app developers to embed ads that exploit features like HD and 3D, and Samsung -- never shy of talking money -- hopes it'll become a "lucrative new business model." The logical next step? A Kindle-style discount on that nice little TV set in the picture, please.
Samsung's Smart TV SDK reaches 3.0 with support for USB controllers, payment and ads
Even though all signs indicate Samsung will be joining the Google TV party shortly, it's not going to give up on its own existing Smart TV platform just yet. We don't know if it will run the two side by side as it has operated with Yahoo! Widgets, but the Korean manufacturer has announced it plans to release version 3.0 of its SDK January 5th. The new Samsung Apps toolkit supports mobile devices and TV sets, and lets developers build in support for remote controls, as well as USB mice, keyboards or gamepads. Of course, not all devs will work for free, so they're also adding a way for them to get paid through the built-in payment system or advertisements. Currently, Samsung claims 25,000 developers from 140 countries in its forums, but we'll have to wait until CES 2012 to find out if its products live up to the hype and attract more innovative software to the segment.
Vault Decoration 101: Free printable Fallout posters and vectors for the masses
Let's face it, a nuclear fallout shelter isn't exactly the brightest, most cheerful place to spend an eternal global winter. The walls are cold and metal, the halls echo and there's a terrible draft from the oxygen recycler, not to mention the dog-sized cockroaches. There are some things you can do to spruce the place up a bit, however. If your shelter is equipped with a printer, for instance, printing out and hanging up these free safety posters and advertisements will give your new home a little bit of the consumerist flair that has now been turned to ash on the surface. Scalable vector logos are available as well, which means you'll be able to keep your Vault-Tec home looking good as new as its logos and markings fade over time. Be sure and join us next week on Vault Decoration 101, where we'll teach you over 1,000 different games to play by yourself in a pitch black room. See you next time!
Google promises 'greater transparency' for targeted ads, gives users more control over them
Chances are you've visited at least one Google site or another today, and chances are you were delivered some ads tailored just for you while you were there. Exactly how those ads got from the advertiser to you hasn't always been clear, but Google's now announced a new effort that it promises will provide "greater transparency and choice" regarding the ads you see. The most immediate change is a new "Why this ad?" link that will be displayed in search results and on Gmail -- click on it and Google provides a brief explanation of how that particular ad came to appear on your screen (based on your current search terms, your location, etc.). You'll also soon be able to access a new Ads Preference Manager, which will let you block specific advertisers or opt out of personalized ads entirely. Google says those options will be appearing "over the coming weeks," but you can get a peek at what's in store in the video after the break.
Apple's most popular ad online isn't "Think Different" or "1984"
Much of Apple's advertising is as iconic as its devices and even people. But which is the most popular online? Research firm Visible Measures says it has the answer. Many people remember 1984, the Ridley Scott-dircted TV ad that aired on January 22, 1984 during the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII. The Think Different campaign featured the "Crazy Ones" essay read by actor Richard Dreyfuss over footage of notable people like Amelia Earhart, Alfred Hitchcock, Martha Graham and Jim Henson, complete with Kermit the Frog. Interestingly, Web tracking company Visible Measures (VM) reports, neither of these spots is the most popular online (based on number of views). Instead, it's this six-minute video used to introduce the iPhone 4. VM claims that spot has garnered 17.3 million views across several outlets since it debuted in June, 2010. By Visible Measures' calculation, 1984 has pulled in 10.3 million views will Think Different ranks in with "nearly" 3 million. You can view the full list here and see where your favorite spot ranks. [Via All Things D]
Motorola Xoom rooted in two hours flat, sinister transforming exoskeleton jetpack returns in Verizon ad
What's the first thing you're going to do with your Motorola Xoom? If you're Koush, the answer's clear -- install your very own ClockworkMod recovery image and ROM Manager, and grant the latter superuser permissions. That's right, on the very day of release, the Motorola Xoom's all but ready for custom builds of Android and all the joy they bring. Meanwhile, Verizon's decided to bring us the latter half of the abruptly cut Xoom TV ad, which actually differs significantly depending on whether or not Spanish is your primary language. Either way, it's a fairly sordid affair, with no Iron Man feats of stratospheric skill to be found, merely a short demonstration of gaming with the accelerometer and a few quick swipes through Honeycomb. You'll still watch it if we tell you it's after the break though, won't you?
Interactive storefront displays show up at Canadian Starbucks, window licking discouraged
Starbucks has given the caffeinated crowd a new reason, other than the free WiFi, to stop by a couple of locations in Toronto and Vancouver -- interactive window displays! Taking sidewalk passers-by on a journey to assemble their favorite Tazo teas, the interactivity comes via a vinyl screen, projector, and gesture controls. We've already seen an interactive storefront in the US, so its about time our friends up north got some geekified advertising of their own. Vid's after the break.
Google testing display ads in Gmail, our patience
Oh, woe is us. Users of Gmail's web client are reporting a most unwelcome new visitor to their communication service: display ads. The right-most column that Google reserves for ads has heretofore been populated only by easy-to-ignore text links, but as of the past few of days, image-based advertising has also been sneaking out to unsuspecting emailers. The guys over at Search Engine Land have done a bit of digging and received the following statement from Google: "We're always trying out new ad formats and placements in Gmail, and we recently started experimenting with image ads on messages with heavy image content." This little trial does seem to be taking place on a very limited basis, which is why there's been no outrage since it began last Friday. Let's just hope that the Google Display Network that's responsible for these pictomercials thinks better of it and leaves our Gmails alone. We'd hate to have to leave the beautiful web for some impersonal mail-serving app. [Thanks, Greg]
HTC Thunderbolt has 8 megapixel camera and video chat, according to the ad up there
HTC's slogan is "quietly brilliant," and the company's living up to it right now -- it snuck new details about its mystery handset directly under our nose. What you see above are three screencaps from a banner ad running on the pages of Engadget even as we speak, hinting at an 8 megapixel imager, a sizable screen, and perhaps even 4G video chat. Why, hello there HTC Thunderbolt / Mecha / Droid Incredible HD, and hurray for controlled leaks! [Thanks, Taylor S.]
Hollywood's love affair with the iPad
The New York Times reports that the iPad is catching on in Hollywood, attracting actors, writers, producers and other personalities looking to alter their workflow or even get in a few rounds of Angry Birds between takes. The Times begins by describing a meeting between director JJ Abrams, Damon Lindelof and producer Bob Orci (among others) about the upcoming Star Trek movie. As the group talked, Orci used is his iPad to flip through potential location photos, stills from the first movie and a picture of an actress under consideration. He told the Times, "When you're carrying a little TV around, you bring the power of imagery to places that you don't normally have it." Scenes like this are becoming increasingly common. The Times notes that former American Idol judge Paula Abdul has used an iPad to show off her new music video, while actress Julie Benz enjoys Angry Birds during downtime. "It's perfect for the long hours here," she said. Apple is also enjoying a good amount of product placement lately, which the company claims it doesn't pay for. A recent episode of NBC's The Office had a character use his iPad to find the time, and ABC's Modern Family devoted an entire episode around the tablet in March.. In fact, the Nielsen Company reports that Apple products have appeared about 2,438 times on television programs through September of this year. All of that adds up to buzz and free advertisement for Apple.
First (legitimate) Windows Phone 7 television ads unveiled (video)
Steve Ballmer's already working the salesman magic, but Microsoft won't try to sell you Windows Phone 7 solely on stage -- find a pair of familiar-looking debut TV spots for the new platform right after the break.
YouTube to intro skippable ads, world to never watch another ad on YouTube
Google's senior product manager, Baljeet Singh, has announced that YouTube will introduce skippable ads later this year. Singh said YouTube has been "playing around" with skippables for the past three quarters, and it's decided to allow users a choice of which ads they see within videos. Apparently YouTube's research shows that user's viewing of an ad varies dramatically based on the quality of the ad, which is not surprising in any way. We'll say this, though: no matter how high quality the ad, we have a feeling we'll be skipping it.
