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Facebook and Google reportedly helped set up anti-Muslim election ads (updated)
It looks like Russia wasn't the only one buying ads online to help sway the election last year. Facebook and Google worked closely with conservative non-profit Secure America Now and advertising firm Harris Media on ad campaigns targeting swing state voters with anti-Muslim and anti-refugee messages, and linking Democratic candidates to terrorists, according to a report from Bloomberg. "Unlike Russian efforts to secretly influence the 2016 election via social media, this American-led campaign was aided by direct collaboration with employees of Facebook and Google," the publication says.
You say advertising, I say block that malware
The real reason online advertising is doomed and adblockers thrive? Its malware epidemic is unacknowledged, and out of control. The Forbes 30 Under 30 list came out this week and it featured a prominent security researcher. Other researchers were pleased to see one of their own getting positive attention, and visited the site in droves to view the list. On arrival, like a growing number of websites, Forbes asked readers to turn off ad blockers in order to view the article. After doing so, visitors were immediately served with pop-under malware, primed to infect their computers, and likely silently steal passwords, personal data and banking information. Or, as is popular worldwide with these malware "exploit kits," lock up their hard drives in exchange for Bitcoin ransom. One researcher commented on Twitter that the situation was "ironic" -- and while it's certainly another variant of hackenfreude, ironic isn't exactly the word I'd use to describe what happened.
Caption contest: this is why grocery stores shouldn't sell smartphones
"We call it a very nice phone and you can get it on a 12 month contract." Oh, really, Tesco? Nifty! So, how much is that bag of day-old doughnuts... with and without a contract? Don: "Knowing my luck, if I buy this now they'll have an iPhone 4 with a Bold keyboard on sale next week." Darren: "Do you guys sell a vegan model?" Michael: "At Tesco, we've got raspberries, strawberries, and... ThunderBerries?" Tim: "With Android, are you supposed to squeeze it or shake it to tell if it's ripe?" Chris: "You can find it in the toothpaste aisle of your local grocery store." Myriam: "Behold the Desire Torch, a new AndroBerry phone from HTRIM... now available in the cheese aisle." Richard Lai: "By popular demand we have extended our Tesco Mobile Rewards offer to our shanzhai range." Sean Hollister: "And Tesco embraced fragmentation, the only way it knew how." Vlad: "Hey, if RIM's gonna use our apps on its tablet, then we're gonna use its buttons on our phones. Fair's fair." [Thanks, Matt O.]
Vextini interactive ad campaign: no thanks, we don't need to see what's behind there
It's hard to say what the worst aspect of what we're seeing is here: the tired, generic, Sex and the City-style group of girls who love martinis that make up this ad campaign, or the campaign's pitchman who seems to genuinely believe that pre-mixed martinis will sell better because of a cheesy, "interactive" ad. The idea here, of course, is that you see the above shot in a magazine, then hit up Vextini's website, and use the QR code to watch a full video of the hilarious events unfold. Vextini? Sure, it vexes us plenty. Enough to make us want to drink in fact... so what flavors does this come in again? Hit up the source for the pitch video: believe us, it's worthwhile.
GameStop weekly claims UFC Undisputed 2010 'coming May 25'
The Spike VGAs this evening may very well reveal the first gameplay of upcoming MMA-er UFC Undisputed 2010, but the most recent GameStop weekly is dropping release date bombs on us well before tonight's festivities kickoff. According to the ad, the game will be grappling onto store shelves on May 25 and, as you might imagine, you're welcome to "pre-order now!" While we're normally reticent to trust release dates from retailers as absolute truth, the prominence of this information among a weekly advertisement -- and the fact that the game is getting "World Premiere" treatment on tonight's award show -- puts some confidence in our normally skeptical perception of situations like this. Either way, we're likely to confirm this report's veracity when the VGAs roll this evening. [Thanks Erik!]
Poll: What's the most annoying form of advertising?
We spotted something this week that really got our heads spinning: a fairly fail proof method to keep ad skipping (at least partially) at bay. During a re-run of Family Guy on TBS, Bill Engvall casually walked onto the bottom of the screen, paused Family Guy and proceeded to pimp his own show for a solid 15 seconds. Yeah, TBS is known for self-promotion, but this just feels downright slimy. It prompted us to fire up this poll, however, which beckons you readers to cast your vote for the most annoying form of advertisement. Feel free to chime in below with specific experiences if you feel led, and make sure to use the heck out of that DVR while you still can -- clearly, these guys are all too ready to institute workarounds to hinder ad skipping. The Bill Engvall violation video is waiting after the break. %Poll-15224%
The "missing" iPhone ringtone
We've all seen the iPhone ads. As my wife says, "I get it! The iPhone is for sale! I GET IT!"Like I said, we've all seen them.None are identical, but most have something in common. Namely, that peculiar ringtone. We call it peculiar because it isn't actually included with the iPhone. Luckily, most of us have it installed on our computers already.As LifeClever points out, those with iLife '08 installed can find the ringtone in /Library/Audio/Apple Loops/Apple/iLife Sound Effects/Work - Home/Cell Phone Ringing.aif. Converting it to a ringtone is simple. First, drag a copy to your desktop. Launch GarageBand and import the clip. Next, click the Cycle Region button and drag the yellow indicator to the end of the clip.Finally, select "Send ringtone to iTunes" from the "Share" menu and you're all set. If that seems like too much work for you, just download the file as a ringtone here. Incidentally, there are a lot more sound files in Loops directories that would make good ringtones as well.
Today's future-of-advertising-video: Yaris game
Remember that Yaris XBLA game to be released free on Wednesday? Gametrailers user, warchiefgrim, uploaded a clip. We hope this video convinces you to save the precious bandwidth of the internet and pass on the game; even "free" costs too much. Things we learned: The 4-Door Sedan Yaris comes in such focus-group-approved colors as "Jade Sea Metallic," and "Flint Mica." Northbound on 101 goes straight up (and straight down) as often as it goes north. The Yaris is powered by the constant desire to catch a cat toy mounted on its roof. Sadly, the toy is always just out of reach. See the video, and add your own observations after the break.
Stewie Griffin iPod ad
Last night while watching The Family Guy on Fox I was very surprised (and equally amused) to see character Stewie Griffin's "iPod commercial." For a few seconds he was dancing around in a sequence much like Apple's famous ads. Pretty funny, and got me thinking of the other prime time cartoons I can remember lately featuring Macs and Apple products. Homer Simpson has been portrayed as using a fruit-colored computer on more than one occasion, as have characters on the ill-fated "Futurama." Seems that a lot of animators (or writers) are staring at Macs all day.
