Posts Tagged ‘advertising’
The baddest ad…
Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority publishes an annual list of the broadcast commercials that generated the most complaints. The Guardian recounts this year’s “winners”… but reminds readers that none of them came close to achieving the opprobrium earned by the most complained-about ad of all time, this 2005 KFC spot:
And while we’re on the subject… “one in eight American workers has been employed by McDonalds,” and 25 other interesting fast food facts.
[TotH to Next Draft]
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As we supersize that, we might note the proprietary of the fact that this is the feast date of St. Justin Martyr… (the patron saint of apologists and speakers).
The Quest for Verisimilitude…
Brandalism: Any advertisement in public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It belongs to you. It’s yours to take, rearrange and re-use. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head.”
— Banksy (Wall and Piece)
The good folks at Behance pondered the ways that familiar logos might be revised better to reflect their subject’s essence…
More at “Honest Logos.”
As we wonder if it can be printed on a tee shirt, we might recall that it was on this date in 1864 that the first instance of mass unsolicited electronic commercial communication occurred. As The Economist recounts: “several British politicians were disturbed by a knock at the door and the delivery of a telegram—a most unusual occurrence at such a late hour. Had war broken out? Had the queen been taken ill? They ripped open the envelopes and were surprised to find a message relating not to some national calamity, but to dentistry. Messrs Gabriel, of 27 Harley Street, advised that their dental practice would be open from 10am to 5pm until October. Infuriated, some of the recipients of this unsolicited message wrote to the Times. ‘I have never had any dealings with Messrs Gabriel,’ thundered one of them, ‘and beg to know by what right do they disturb me by a telegram which is simply the medium of advertisement?’ The Times helpfully reprinted the offending telegram, providing its senders with further free publicity. This was, notes Matthew Sweet, a historian, the first example of what is known today as ‘spam’.”
The Culture of Commerce, Advertising and Marketing Edition…
In an infographic!
click the image above, or here, to enlarge
More of creator George Ellis’ work on his website, The George Report. [TotH to Mediabistro]
As we insist that the bartender reach for the top shelf, we might recall that it was on this date in 1964 that the Beatles’ stranglehold on the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 was broken. From the leap of “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” to #1 in early February, the Fab Four held the pinnacle for three and a half solid months– longer than any popular artist before or since. Over the course of those months, the they scored three consecutive #1 singles (also a record); held all five spots in the top five in early April (another record); and had a total of 14 songs in the Hot 100 in mid-April (yet another record). But on this date in 1964, they were pushed off the peak by an unlikely challenger: 63-year-old Louis Armstrong and “Hello, Dolly!”
85% confusion and 15% commission*…
Advertising is about selling desire, dreams. But compared to the dreams that animate the creators of advertising, well…
More glimpses into the fantasies of the Marketing-Industrial Complex at Things Real People Don’t Say About Advertising.
* “Advertising is 85% confusion and 15% commission.” – Fred Allen
As we console ourselves with Thomas Jefferson’s observation that “the most truthful part of a newspaper is the advertisements,” we might recall that it was on this date in 1985 that Playboy, a periodical valued by its loyal male readership for its enriching articles and informative advertisements, announced an end to the stapling of “centerfold” spreads.
1985 issues, unfettered by staples (source)
It’s never too early…
… to start thinking about those Holiday gifts. In a search for inspiration, your correspondent has returned to the site of a prior post to peruse “Xmas Advertisements of the 1930s“…
More nifty gift ideas at Vintage Ad Browser’s “Xmas Advertisements of the 1930s“…
As pause in our trick-or-treat preparations to make a list and check it twice, we might recall that it was on this date in 1517– All Hallows (All Saints) Eve– that Martin Luther, a priest and scholar in Wittenberg, Germany, upset by what he saw as the excesses and corruption of the Roman Catholic Church (especially the papal practice of taking payments– “indulgences”– for the forgiveness of sins), posted his 95 Theses on the door of Castle Church. Thus began the Protestant Reformation.
Martin Luther (source)
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