Skip to main content

ad

See All Stories
Site default logo image

Google acquires Spider.io for its ad fraud detection technology

spider-io-google

Google today announced on its DoubleClick blog that it has acquired spider.io, a company that has been developing technology to fight online fraud related to advertisements. While noting that it has also been investing in developing its own technologies to fight fraud, Google said it would first implement spider.io’s technology into its video and display ad products to help detect fraudulent activity:

Our immediate priority is to include their fraud detection technology in our video and display ads products, where they will complement our existing efforts.

Google adds that the long-term goal for the technology it acquired is to provide advertisers and publishers with more accurate methods of measuring a campaign’s results. “Also, by including spider.io’s fraud fighting expertise in our products, we can scale our efforts to weed out bad actors and improve the entire digital ecosystem.”

More on the DoubleClick advertisers blog here

Samsung mocks iPad Air & iPhone’s screen size in new Galaxy Tab Pro & Note 3 ads (Video)

Site default logo image

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fThtsb-Yj0w]

Like it has done on several occasions in the past, Samsung is directly mocking Apple in its latest advertisement for the new Galaxy Tab Pro 10.1. The commercial, posted to Samsung’s YouTube page, is a clear parody of Apple’s Pencil ad for the iPad Air that has been airing on TV since Apple debuted it for the introduction of the new tablet in October of last year. Another ad for the Galaxy Note 3 (below) takes on the iPhone’s small screen size.
Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

Samsung’s new Galaxy Note 3 & Gear ad is a musical short film starring footballer Lionel Messi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nwuk90Gc2A

Samsung has aired some interesting new ads for its Galaxy Gear and Note 3 since the launch of the two devices, and today it’s posted perhaps its most creative yet with a new musical short film starring footballer Lionel Messi. The ad, titled “The Developer”, is “a dramatic retelling of actual projects completed by the Messi Foundation” and stars Messi using his Note 3 and Galaxy Gear to mastermind the construction of a new football field for neighbourhood kids:

Told from a child’s perspective, “The Developer” is a musical short film by Samsung featuring Lionel Messi and the hit single “Royals” by Lorde.

A mysterious stranger arrives in a low income neighborhood and captures the imaginations of the children who live there. He is “The Developer” and the children view him with a deep suspicion.

Together with his Samsung GALAXY Note 3 and GALAXY Gear, the Developer effortlessly masterminds a secret construction project. Using the latest in Samsung technology including Action Memo, Pen Window, Scrapbook and hands-free call capability on the Gear, the Developer orchestrates and executes his mysterious mission.

The children watch in awe. They reflect on their current situation by singing Lorde’s breakout hit “Royals,” a song about overcoming her own humble beginnings.

The spot concludes with a beautiful new pitch that has been constructed in the toughest part of town. The Developer is revealed to be the world’s reigning football star, Lionel Messi, fulfilling his personal mission to help under privileged children.

Samsung goes after iPhone’s lack of language support in new Icelandic Galaxy S4 ad

Site default logo image

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhM-DuM2WgE

Above we see a new ad that Samsung recently aired for its flagship Galaxy S4 in Iceland. The ad itself is a little on the strange side, but what’s not surprising is the fact that Samsung is once again not so subtly going after Apple. The point of the ad, in case you don’t speak Icelandic, is to drive home the fact that Apple doesn’t yet support the language for Siri or dictation features. Samsung’s YouTube description for the ad notes that the S4 allows users to dictate emails and messages in Icelandic, while the tagline for the ad reads “Get a phone that understands you.” We’re not exactly sure where the ninjas fit into that message, however. 
Expand
Expanding
Close

Motorola shows off first ad for Moto X Phone, teases a phone “designed by you”

Site default logo image
Screen Shot 2013-07-02 at 3.30.44 PM

Click to view the full ad

Motorola’s latest flagship device, the Moto X Phone, is set to be released sometime this fall, but despite not having released any images of it, the company is getting ready to run its first ad for the phone. The ad, as shown by Ad Age, shows some definite Google influence, as well as the logo we reported on last month.

The ad is centered around the Fourth of July festivities and focuses on the fact that it is made in the United States.

“What we are doing which is very different is assembling [Moto X smartphones] here in the U.S. in our assembly plant in Ft. Worth, Texas,” Motorola’s VP-global brand and product marketing Brian Wallace said in an interview. “What better time than July 4th to come with a message like that?”


Expand
Expanding
Close

Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. reportedly inks $12 million marketing deal with HTC

Site default logo image

robert-downey-jr-tony-stark

It’s no secret that HTC does not have the marketing budget of a company like Apple or Samsung, but according to a report, it has inked a deal that will greatly increase its commercial marketing presence. HTC is prepping a substantial two-year marketing campaign with Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr, according to two sources speaking with Bloomberg.  The deal is reportedly worth $12 million and will include television spots, as well as print and billboard advertisements. Downey will have a say in all decisions and maintain a level of creative control.

The campaign will feature Downey as himself, not any of the characters he has portrayed in films.

Downey will feature in the campaign as himself, not the characters he plays in movies including Iron Man and Sherlock Holmes, and will have final say over creative elements, the people said, declining to be named because the talks aren’t public. The maker of the slim, metal HTC One handset will likely feature Downey in television, print and billboard ads, they said.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Microsoft’s latest Scroogled ad warns against downloading apps on Google Play

Site default logo image

[protected-iframe id=”c528ab847bd1105bebfbbc1620586798-22427743-18874939″ info=”http://hub.video.msn.com/embed/5ca0a386-f0c2-4a4f-bdea-bd971e54a3b0/?vars=Y29uZmlnQ3NpZD1NU05WaWRlbyZsaW5rb3ZlcnJpZGUyPWh0dHAlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cuYmluZy5jb20lMkZ2aWRlb3MlM0Zta3QlM0Rlbi11cyUyNnZpZCUzRCU3QjAlN0QlMjZmcm9tJTNEJm1rdD1lbi11cyZzeW5kaWNhdGlvbj10YWcmY29uZmlnTmFtZT1zeW5kaWNhdGlvbnBsYXllciZsaW5rYmFjaz1odHRwJTNBJTJGJTJGd3d3LmJpbmcuY29tJTJGdmlkZW9zJmZyPXNoYXJlZW1iZWQtc3luZGljYXRpb24%3D” width=”640″ height=”360″ frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no”]

If you don’t know by now, since early February Microsoft has been running its “Scroogled” smear campaign spending 7 figures on a series of print and online ads attacking various Google services. The ads originally focused on Gmail and how Google displays ads based on the content of user’s emails, but Microsoft’s latest Scroogled ad (above) takes on another Google app– Google Play.

The ad is currently featured on the front page of Microsoft’s Scroogled website and features a warning that Google passes off personal information about users to app makers without consent from users:

When you buy an Android app from the Google app store, they give the app maker your full name, email address and the neighborhood where you live. This occurs without clear warning every single time you buy an app. If you can’t trust Google’s app store, how can you trust them for anything?

We expect Google will be issuing a response to Microsoft’s claims shortly. Another Scroogled ad claiming Google Play sends personal data to app makers below:
Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

Virgin offers T-Mobile pre-paid customers $100 to switch with new ad campaign

T-mobile-vs-Virgin

Despite some carriers already showing interest in T-Mobile’s new no-contract strategy, it was only a matter of time until the competition started going after the carrier’s new Uncarrier unlimited plans with new promotions and marketing. Today, Virgin launched its “Retrain Your Brain” campaign offering T-Mobile customers $100 to switch their number to one of its no-contract, $35 unlimited plans:

It’s pretty simple:  just choose your Virgin Mobile Beyond Talk smartphone.  Transfer your existing T-Mobile number before May 31, activate your new phone and become a Virgin Mobile customer by May 31 and receive $100 credit.

You can check out Virgin’s comparison of its plan vs T-Mobile’s below and get more information on the promotion here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpgWXzC8a54

Google launches four short Chrome ads — but maybe shouldn’t have

Site default logo image

Google has launched four new 15-second ads for Chrome that seem incredibly mundane compared to the high quality, inspirational fare we’ve grown accustom to. They are such a stark contrast to some of the better ads we’ve seen for any technology over the last few years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Aflrbwna44&feature=player_embedded

It goes downhill from here…
Expand
Expanding
Close

Samsung releases another Galaxy S4 teaser with part two of Jeremy campaign (Video)

Site default logo image

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YzkfC7–jog#!

Samsung started a new ad campaign to tease its upcoming next-generation Galaxy smartphone earlier this month. We weren’t huge fans of the ad that featured a top-secret meeting with Jeremy, the 13-year-old “secret messenger of Samsung Unpacked 2013.” Today, Samsung has released part two of the ad. It continues with Jeremy’s story but doesn’t reveal anything new.

Site default logo image

Google+ VP of Product lambasts Facebook’s ad strategy, says ‘social recommendations’ are more useful (Video)

[ooyala code=”E0ZWxhNzq9qQl6P3adOSIPxG9vcxuNKU”]

Google+ Vice President of Product Bradley Horowitz sat down with Business Insider at its Ignition conference today to discuss Google+ numbers and diss Facebook’s latest ad scheme.

The numbers haven’t changed (400 million registered users, with 100 million visitors coming back at least once a month), but the most interesting tidbit from Horowitz concerns his opinion on Facebook integrating ads into the news feed.

According to BusinessInsider:

He used the metaphor of a guy with a sandwich board running in between an intimate conversation between a man and his daughter, an obvious allusion to the ads and promoted brands you see in your Facebook news feed.

Instead, Horowitz said it’s much more useful (and less annoying) to users to show social recommendations instead of ads. For example, if you search for a product in Google –– say a microwave –– you can see which one your Google+ contacts recommend.

Watch the interview with Horowitz above.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Site default logo image

Samsung’s interactive Galaxy S III posters begin to surface [Photo]

Samsung let New Yorkers experience the all-new Galaxy S III at a release event in Manhattan earlier this week, but it seemed the company’s primary goal was to announce a fresh, cutting-edge marketing campaign for its latest Android offering.

“We are launching the biggest marketing campaign in Samsung’s history,” bragged Chief Marking Officer Tom Pendleton.

He then discussed “never been done before” executions for the S III strategy, including 50 kiosks and 40,000 interactive posters that will surface around the country over the next few weeks. They will serve as stations for S III users to download free music, eBooks, and other content directly to their smartphones via Near Field Communications.

9to5Google already spotted two of Samsung’s interactive posters. The first ad is located in New York City’s Lower East Side and offers a free Goodie Mob and CeeLo Green song (as seen in the picture above).

The second ad is live at Port Authority in Manhattan. It is a giant screen, which is the size of a wall, and it shows dozens of Samsung Galaxy S IIIs rotating in air. Upon touching the screen, the display transitions to a different scene with three big Galaxy S III selections. Each option features downloadable content. A huge crowd surrounded the interactive poster, so it was hard to get a close look or take a picture.

Samsung is clearly taking interactive and marketing to a completely new level this summer; it even plans to run a 3D advertisement before blockbusters in 55 theaters across the United States. The ad is actually a Kinect-like game that detects audience movements as each viewer works together, waving their hands in the air, to control a large S III on the cinema’s screen.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Peter the elephant plays with a Galaxy Note

Site default logo image

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBrmaE82uY4&feature=youtu.be]

We are not entirely sure if Samsung was behind this footage of an elephant playing with the Galaxy Note, but it could very well fit into an upcoming advertisement. The elephant does not make much use of the Note’s S Pen stylus, but it is entertaining nonetheless. Go past the break for outtakes of Peter the Elephant playing drums and piano on the device.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Google replaces Reader ads in empty Gmail inbox with Google+

Site default logo image

If you ever happen to have no messages in your Gmail inbox, you might notice Google’s subtle way of promoting Google Reader with the small ad for Google Reader (below). Now, Google has removed the “Try Google Reader” link and replaced it with a new message promoting Google+ (via Google Operating System blog). The message now reads, “No new mail! See what people are talking about on Google+” (pictured above). Within the new message is a link to the “What’s Hot” stream of Google+.

With the launch Google+, and its incredible growth (about 750,000 new users a day), many warned the growth was attributable to Google’s ability to pull in Google+ users. So, what happens when it runs out of Gmail users to bring in? Google may have already thought that through with a recent update to the Google account creation process requiring users to both create a Gmail account and automatically create a profile and Google+ account. In other words, not only is the company pulling in Gmail users, but also anyone that wants or needs a Google account for other services.


Expand
Expanding
Close

Verizon and Motorola hit the streets to hand out new Droid Razrs

Site default logo image

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tP9duHWDmLc]

It’s Droid Razr launch day today and in addition to a price tag of $111.11 ($11?) for today only on Amazon, Motorola also gave us a look into the engineering behind the device’s 0.28 inch “impossibly thin” design, and now Verizon is hitting the streets to hand out free Droid Razrs to probably the last remaining original Razr owners. You can check out our full review of the Motorla Droid Razr here.

Yesterday Verizon launched their ‘Payload’ commercial for the Razr where they continued with their typically masculine ad style in an ad appearing more like a Hollywood action movie trailer than the usual iPhone commercial clone.

Expand
Expanding
Close

‘Feel free’ to check out the new Samsung Galaxy Note commercial

Site default logo image

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fhuyJIj5ZBo]

We first got a look at the Samsung Galaxy Note at IFA in Berlin early last month. While they’ve teased a November release date since, we haven’t heard much from Samsung regarding their stylus-equipped, hybrid tablet/smartphone until today.  The advert above, which in our opinion is done quite well, proves Samsung’s marketing team might actually be headed in the right direction.

Focusing mainly on the 5.3-inch Super AMOLED display and “S Pen” stylus apps, the advert shows off the advantages of apps designed specifically for the stylus. The user in the ad starts with an image, uses the S Pen to draw, saves and crops an image, adds that the cropped image to the drawing, and finally sends it.

The ad ends with the tagline, “Phone? Tablet? Feel Free, It’s Galaxy Note”, an obvious hint at making your own decision as to whether you consider it a tablet or phone. Either way, as the gimmick and shock value of the stylus wears away, the Galaxy Note is starting to look more and more enticing. If you’re unfamiliar, the device sports a 1.4 GHz dual core processor, runs Gingerbread (ICS?), 5100 mAamp battery, native 720p video, and is 7 and half mm thin. We’re expecting to learn more when Samsung takes the stage at their Galaxy Note event in London tomorrow. Stay tuned for the latest.

Expand
Expanding
Close

Virgin Mobile mocks T-Mobile and AT&T in new ads, thinks it’s the best Android carrier

Site default logo image

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbP7wQBJ35E&feature=player_embedded]

Debating which carrier to sign up with for that new Android-powered handset you’re thinking about? Virgin Mobile is about to launch a new advertising campaign directly taking on T-Mobile and detailing exactly why it’s the better choice for Android smartphone users.

Virgin Mobile USA’s president of Marketing Bob Stohrer explains:

“T-Mobile has anointed itself as the value leader in wireless, yet they’ve conveniently left Virgin Mobile out of their comparison set, so we’re crashing their party. No matter how you dress their plans up, they’re no match for Virgin Mobile’s no-contract, Unlimited Data offering at $35/month coupled with Android-powered phones like the new Motorola Triumph.”

The commercials set to launch today and run through September feature a faux hollywood couple known as Sparah, a fake T-Mobile spokesperson, and portray a party-like atmosphere and lifestyle in contrast to their competitors’s run-of-the-mill offerings. In the spot, the fake T-Mobile spokesperson also takes a stab at AT&T by noting, “imagine us being taken over by AT&T, who’s last in customer satisfaction.”

Expand
Expanding
Close