Posted 10/20/08 at 02:35:29 PM by Paul Lilly

While it seems most PC users got a kick out of watching Seinfeld inquire about the future of chewy computers and Bill Gates doing the robot, I've remained critical of Microsoft's $300 million ad campaign and have yet to be impressed with one of its commercials, including the "I'm a PC" segments currently being aired. By contrast, I found myself chuckling at Apple's initial round of ads, not because I thought they were accurate (they're not), but because they managed to throw humorous jabs without going for that impossible knockout punch. For those of you who follow baseball, it's like being a Red Sox fan (which I am) and tipping your hat at the Tampa Bay Rays for outplaying your team last night (which they did), even though you despise them (which I do).

But lest anyone accuse me of sleeping with the enemy (you know, those whiny Mac losers), let me go on record as saying that the new Mac ads suck too, and not just because I've developed an urge to want to punch Justin Long-in-the-tooth square in the face (I bet he's a Tampa Bay fan too, the smug bastard). 

Hit the jump to read my beef with the new Mac ads.

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vista, operating system, Software, pc, apple, OS, ads, commercial, Mac

Posted 09/25/08 at 11:12:53 AM by Paul Lilly

As part of a new ad campaign called "Make face time," Dentyne, the No. 2 gum maker in the U.S. (Wrigley is No. 1, in case you were wondering), is making a plea for you young hipsters to "power down, log off, unplug" and chew some gum instead. The ads, which have already appeared in several major cities for the past month, are gearing up to go nationwide, kicked off with a web campaign this week followed by TV ads next week.

According to market research company Mintel, Dentyne Ice sales have fallen 9 percent from 2005 to 2007, with Dentyne Fire tumbling 26 percent in the same time period. The new campaign will seek to reintroduce the Dentyne Ice line and reverse the sliding sales figures by targeting young people who would rather play with their internets than each other.

"Everyone loves technology and everyone uses it," said Josette Barenholtz, the marketing director for Dentyne. "What's meaningful is being reminded that being face to face can't be substituted."

Launching a web campaign would seem to contradict the very message Dentyne is trying to send (you know, the one that says get offline and, um, chew some gum), and so the company has created a 3-minute website (Protip: Be sure and check out how Dentyne feels about smileys). A timer sits in the upper right corner letting you know how much time you have until the site shuts down, because "when people are surfing the web, they're missing the best part of life - being together."

Can't wait to see your comments on this one.

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Internet, commercial, dentyne, gum

Posted 10/04/07 at 06:06:18 PM by Erin Simon

After unwittingly licensing his photograph to permit commercial uses, a Flickr user's photo gets remixed into a cellphone ad campaign in Australia. And, of course, sues.

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Licensing, flickr, lawsuit, copyright, law, license, advertising, commercial, creative commons, attribution, virgin mobile, ad, derivative work

Posted 09/02/07 at 09:32:13 PM by Erin Simon

Viacom sends a DMCA takedown to a YouTube user for pirating material Viacom had pirated from him first. Infringement is a two-way street.

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star wars, piracy, copyright, law, infringement, youtube, viacom, commercial, fair use