Posted 07/10/09 at 04:49:15 PM by Andy Salisbury

 

Microsoft’s adverts have been getting stranger and stranger, and their offering for Office 2010 is no different.

The advert comes packaged as a trailer for the action flick, “Office 2010: The Movie.” The basis for the film is simple, there’s a rogue font on the loose that causes anyone reading it to fall into a state of hypnosis and believe everything that they read. It’s then up to a mentally scarred agent to save everyone, despite the recent loss of his partner (Clippy). The trailer is filled with enough special effects to be a Michael Bay movie, and comes with nerd humor all along the way. So, if you’re interested in checking it out, you can do so here.

As for actual information about Office 2010, Microsoft will be offering a technical preview later in the month. If you’re interested, you can find additional information on their site.

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Posted 03/12/09 at 03:49:30 PM by Andy Salisbury

Google’s adverts have long been a prevalent part of surfing the net. While the ads that we normally see on blogs featuring AdSense and the text based ads on the sidebar of our Google search page seem like they’re looking out for us, the powers that be at Google are planning to make these ads a bit more sophisticated.

“Today we are launching ‘interest-based’ advertising as a beta test on our partner sites and on YouTube,” writes Susan Wojciciki (Google’s VP of Product Management) on Google’s blog. “These ads will associate categories of interest — say sports, gardening, cars, pets — with your browser, based on the types of sites you visit and the pages you view. We may then use those interest categories to show you more relevant text and display ads.”

Tailoring advice such as this to each user does allow for audiences to be targeted easier when advertisers take aim, Wojciciki believes “that interest-based ads will create the same virtuous cycle, by giving users more relevant ads, while generating higher returns for advertisers and publishers.” We’ll just have to wait and see!

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Posted 12/17/08 at 05:31:47 PM by Andy Salisbury

For as long as there have been magazines, there have been ads to put inside them. All of them mostly text and graphics, and always confined to the page – until now.

The folks at Mini have been printing a brand new advertisement that looks like a black and white page with simple instructions in German automotive magazines. But the ad, as it turns out, will provide anyone with a webcam the ability to check out their own 3D model of a new Mini Cabrio right on their computer screen.

While the advertisement might not be available here in the U.S. (easily), it will provide most readers with an opportunity to check out something unique and interactive. Want to see the ad in action? Be sure to check out the video.

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