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The BadAds Weblog: November 2000
A Hole in One for Ads
We always think we've seen it all, but each BadAds newsletter manages to top the last one! This time it's about advertising in the one tiny place that until now has been, God forbid, advertising free: the bottom of golf holes. A franchise called "Ad in the Hole" will place your ad in the bottom of the golf hole so that innocent golfers are besieged with ads even as they stoop to pick up their ball.
We're not sure which companies are taking advantage of "ad in the hole" golf advertising, but if you're subjected to such an ad, you can probably use Hoovers or Companies Online to get the advertiser's contact info and send them a letter. And if you manage to get the scoop on golf advertisers, please let us know!
November 27, 2000
Kids = Walking Ads?
Would you turn your child into a walking, talking advertisement for $5,000?
Well, ten sets of proud parents this year named their children "Iuma" in order to win $ 5,000 from the talent agency IUMA.com. This is so sick that I don't even need to add any biting commentary.
Unfortunately, it's too late to do anything about it. However, you could always contact founder Jeff Patterson and ask him not to run this contest again:
IUMA
1991 Broadway St. 2nd Floor
Redwood City, CA 94063
Phone: 800-850-IUMA
E-mail: jpatterson@iuma.com
November 20, 2000
Would You Like Pepperoni on That Ad?
Yesterday we sent out a newsletter about advertising on coffee sleeves. Just when we thought that couldn't be beat, we found out about companies selling advertising on pizza boxes.
Pizza boxes used to be simple and charming, with pictures of chubby pizza chefs or the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but soon they'll be just another vehicle for companies to ask for your money. According to an article on the topic in Media Life magazine:
To many media people, watching the boom in out-of-home advertising, it might seem that every surface where an ad might be placed has been taken. Think again. Or better, call out for pizza. If you are in a major market, the pizza you get may well be boxed with a message not from the pizza parlor but an advertiser whose market has nothing to do with pizza, or even food.
So far, Office.com has advertised on 200,000 boxes in New York city.
If you don't like the idea of being subjected to advertising every time you buy pizza, here's what you can do:
1. Contact Office.com and tell them that you think their pizza box campaign is inappropriate.
Frank Jules, president & COO
685 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10017-4024
Phone: 212-995-7700
Fax: 614-932-8060
E-mail: custsat@office.com
2. Businesses in New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles may soon be taking advantage of pizza boxes supplied by Promo Cup. If you run across an ad-laden pizza box, you can use Hoovers or Companies Online to get the advertiser's contact info and send them a letter.
3. You COULD e-mail Promo Cup president Marc Friedman. It probably won't do much good, though, since selling ad space on things like pizza boxes is how they stay in business.
4. Tell the manager of the pizza shop that has advertising on its boxes that you don't appreciate having ads wrapped around your pizza.
November 15, 2000
Ads for Hot Hands
Try to think of one space in a coffee shop that doesn't have ads. The walls? Nope. Napkins? Nope. Coffee sleeves? Yes...
...but not for long. God forbid there should be a blank space anywhere that doesn't carry advertising, so Brite Vision Media of San Francisco is selling advertising-emblazoned coffee sleeves – those cardboard tubes that separate the steaming hot cup from your bare hands.
We're not sure which companies will take advantage of this advertising method. But if you run across an ad-laden coffee sleeve, you can use Hoovers or Companies Online to get the advertiser's contact info and send them a letter.
In addition to complaining to advertising company, be sure to drop a line of complaint to the coffeeshop owner as well. Tell him or her that you're already paying for the coffee; you shouldn't have an ad forced upon you to, in effect, make you pay again.
November 14, 2000
Playing Games with Ads
If you thought you'd seen it all – now advertisers are pushing their products in arcade-based video games. Here's an excerpt from a press release we received today:
VIRTUAL ADVERTISING OFFERS MARKETERS A NEW COURSE TO PLAY
Marketers are getting into the swing of virtual advertising, thanks to signage opportunities offered by a popular coin-operated video golf game, says Gary Colabuono, marketing director of Incredible Technology. Anheuser-Busch's Michelob Light – whose logo appears on a blimp that soars over the virtual reality golf course – is one advertiser that is taking advantage of Incredible Technology's Golden Tee Fore! "This technology is so advanced that advertisers can target specific bars, regions of the country and actual times to promote their product or message.
To take action, write t o Incredible Technologies, who create and sell video games, and Anheuser-Busch, one of their first advertisers, to tell them what you think about advertising in video games.
Incredible Technologies, Inc.
Elaine A. Hodgson, President & CEO
1600 Hicks Road
Rolling Meadows, IL 60008
Phone: 847-710-1348
Fax: 847-870-0120
E-mail: eahodgson@itsgames.com
Anheuser-Busch
August A. Busch III, Chairman & CEO
1 Busch Place
St. Louis, MO 63118
Phone: 800-342-5283
Fax: 314-577-2900
E-mail: Online feedback form
November 8, 2000
Pink Contracts
According to an article on Yahoo, "Troubled Internet service provider PSINet acknowledged providing access to a sender of bulk unsolicited commercial email, bolstering critics' claims that some of the world's largest ISPs knowingly do business with spammers in violation of stated antispam policies."
Please write, fax, or call John LoGalbo, PSINet's vice president of public policy, and ask him to stop doing business with spammers. Here's the contact information:
44983 Knoll Square
Ashburn, VA 20147-2692
Phone: 703-726-4100
Fax: 703-726-4200
November 7, 2000
Pepsi High
Charlotte, NC schools are considering corporate naming rights. Below is an excerpt of the AP release, dated 10/24/2000, the contact information for the NC and Charlotte boards of education, and the e-mail we sent them today. Please write, call, fax, or e-mail these officials and ask them not to allow corporate naming rights in their school district! Feel free to use the letter below.
CHARLOTTE – Corporations forced their names into the minds and onto the lips of sports fans by paying to give their name to stadiums and arenas everywhere.
Now Charlotte-Mecklenburg school officials are considering selling naming rights to classrooms and cafeterias.
Could the future feature the Gateway computer lab or the Nike gymnasium?
The school board is considering a policy to allow some campus areas to be named after a corporate entity that makes "significant contributions" to the school or district.
Several board members are expected to vote on the proposal today.
Although the proposed policy could apply to any school, Superintendent Eric Smith said it was crafted with a particular one in mind, the technical high school now under construction in west Charlotte.
Officials with the state Department of Public Instruction didn't know of any examples of schools naming campus areas after businesses, although there are plenty of instances in the Carolinas and elsewhere of schools teaming up with businesses for everything from school supplies to computers to pizza lunches.
The California-based Center for Commercial-Free Public Education argues that schoolchildren become easy targets for advertising when their school districts use scoreboards sponsored by soda companies, or cafeterias contract to sell a company's product.
Contacts:
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
301 N. Wilmington St.
Raleigh, NC 27601
Phone: 919-715-1000
Fax: 919-715-1021
Mike Ward, State Superintendent
E-mail: mward@dpi.state.nc.us
Phil Kirk, Chair
E-mail: information@dpi.state.nc.us
Eric Smith, Superintendent
E-mail: information@dpi.state.nc.us
Our letter:
Dear Sirs:
I read that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district is considering corporate naming rights. As a representative of BadAds.org, I beg you not to allow it. Schools are a place for kids to learn to be good citizens, not for them to learn to be good consumers. Corporate sponsors certainly don't have the students' best interests at heart; they're merely looking for a captive audience to buy into their advertising.
Would you allow corporations to advertise in your church or your home, no matter how much you or your church need the money? Of course not. Then don't allow corporations to advertise in your schools.
Thanks, and I look forward to your reply.
November 7, 2000
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Where you draw the line is up to you – but we feel that an ad meeting any one of the following criteria qualifies as intrusive: 1. You can't turn it off. You can close a magazine and turn off the television, but billboards tower overhead night and day. 2. It enters your home without permission. Pardon me, Mr. Telemarketer, may I see your invitation? 3. You're a captive audience. This can be in schools, in movie theaters, at a urinal, or waiting for your receipt at the ATM. 4. It doesn't support anything, or it costs you mon ey. Radio ads support free programming, but you pay, directly or indirectly, for faxed ads and junk e-mail. |
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