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Adobe gets into advertising biz, teams up with Gigya

by Jay Hathaway Sep 21st 2009

After Adobe's recent acquisition of analytics giant Omniture for $1.8 billion, there was a lot of speculation that Adobe was beginning a foray into the advertising. Now we've got some more clues, since Adobe's partnering with Gigya, a company that distributes widgets and advertising. Now, Adobe's got its fingers in every part of the process, from content creation to ads to analytics.

Adobe's new Distribution Manager lets developers share their Flash widgets on 70 sites, tracks traffic for the widgets, and serves ads. Destinations include Facebook, MySpace and iGoogle, amongst others. It also supports mobile devices, including Windows Mobile and Symbian phones. The iPhone is also (sort of) supported, but without Flash, the widgets have to be part of approved app store apps. Developers can follow their traffic and ads with - what else? - an Adobe Air app.

[via Techcrunch]

Tags: adobe, ads, advertising, distribution, false, flash, widgets

Filed under: E-mail, Productivity, Google, Humor

Lifehacker starts Gmail Ads bloodbath

by Jay Hathaway Aug 5th 2009

What do massacres and bloodbaths have to do with your Gmail account? Lifehacker has discovered that they could be the key to getting rid of the pesky, hard-to-block text ads that show up next to your messages in Gmail's web interface. It turns out that advertisers don't like being associated with certain keywords, falling into categories like profanity and tragic violence. Rather than risk an amusing (at best) or offensive (at worst) ad placement, Google just doesn't display ads next to messages that have a certain density of these keywords.

Lifehacker was able to take advantage of this filtering system to create an email signature that should eliminate the ads. Rather than going the profane route, they whipped up the following innocuous statement: "I enjoy the massacre of ads. This sentence will slaughter ads without a messy bloodbath." If you can live with a violent email signature, you can probably come up with your own variation.

Tags: adblock, ads, email, gmail, hack, lifehacker

Filed under: Fun, Internet, Weird Wednesday

Weird Wednesday: Internet advertising

by Victor Agreda, Jr. Aug 5th 2009

Remember back in the early days of the web when all you had to do was punch a monkey to win? Millions of pummeled simians later the online ad industry had to evolve... And evolve it has, with two distinct paths for display advertising:

1. In-your-face gigantic ads or ads that "do something" significant to distract you. Common examples include full-page "interstitial" ads that interrupt your browsing, anything that flies around the screen or busts out of its little box or anything that expands when you hover over it.

2. Creative, "viral" ads that are so clever, weird, gross or unusual that they are passed around despite their more than obvious marketing nature. Let's look at some of these, shall we?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, I prefer the latter. Unfortunately tracking down "weird" ads isn't easy. Ad campaigns, by their nature, are dynamic and ephemeral. The Internet Archive doesn't cache dynamic ads, either, so some of those golden oldies may be lost forever. If you snag a pic, please let us know in the comments.

A few of the more clever online ads are presented for your consumption on the next page.

Tags: ads, advertising, web, weird wednesday, WeirdWednesday

Filed under: Business, Social Software, web 2.0

Digg's latest business move: digg it, or bury it?

by Jay Hathaway Jun 4th 2009

Digg recently introduced a new advertising program that allows its advertisers to buy ads on the front page that look like stories and appear in the regular Digg "river" of content. The catch is that the ads can be dugg or buried, and the results will affect how much it costs the advertisers to keep running their content. Comments from Digg users on the new system are already split, so let's take a look at the pros and cons.

PRO:

This is great! If I see an ad I don't like, I can bury it. It's satisfying to have some control over the kind of advertising I see on a site, and this will lead to the most annoying ads and advertisers getting buried right off the site. Plus, seeing ads that fit in with the Digg layout is more tolerable than traditional banners or animated garbage.

CON:

Are you kidding? Not only will the ads pollute the river and be confusing to casual users, but Digg wants me to do the work of deciding which ads are the best and worst? Sounds like a scheme to attract more advertisers. I mean, who wouldn't want to buy ads that millions of users will not only see, but interact with by voting? If I bury something, it's already too late: I've seen the ad. Plus, these cheapskate advertisers won't even have to pay a designer.Ridiculous.

What do you think, Download Squad readers? Are the new Digg ads going to be a winner, or fall flat?

Tags: ads, digg

Filed under: Linux, Open Source

Linux Foundation picks "We're Linux" video finalists

by Brad Linder Apr 7th 2009

Microsoft and Apple have been spending millions of dollars on sleek advertising campaigns. Linux, on the other hand is an operating system maintained by a worldwide network of volunteers. Nobody's really promoting it as a desktop operating system other than enthusiasts spreading news by word of mouth.

So the Linux Foundation decided to put together a video contest asking some of those enthusiasts to develop their own ads. The odds of any of these commercials showing up on prime time TV aren't great. But this week the Linux Foundation picked five finalists from more than 90 entries. Tomorrow the winner will be announced, but all five of the finalists are worth a look if you're interested in open source software development.

The video at the top of this post wins my vote for the funniest of the bunch. But I'm not sure it's the best at conveying what makes Linux special. You can find the other four entries after the break.

[via OStatic]

Tags: ads, linux, videos

Filed under: Business, Adobe

Adobe cancels in-PDF advertising program

by Brad Linder Jan 13th 2009

Just over a year after launching a program that allows publishers to place targeted advertisements in PDF documents, Adobe is ending the experiment.

I'm not particularly shocked by the decision. First of all, I have to say, I didn't exactly run across many PDF files online that were making use of the technology. And second, it wasn't particularly hard to avoid the ads if you wanted to. So I can't imagine anyone was getting getting rich here.

Publishers will no longer be able to upload ad-enabled documents after January 16th, and ads embedded in existing documents will stop displaying after March 31st.

[via Digital Inspiration]

Tags: adobe, ads, advertising, pdf

Filed under: Windows

OpenCandy - Would you like fries with your software installation?

by Brad Linder Nov 12th 2008

Because no space in this world is immune from advertising, you're about to see ads start popping up in software installers. OpenCandy, the company providing the technology says software developers can use their software in one of two ways. During the installation process, users will either see:

An option to install a similar application
An ad

But if you ask me, both options are an ad. Not that there's anything wrong with that. In one case, you may see a paid advertisement, while in another case you may see a recommendation to download an application. Whether the developer of that application paid to get the software title in front of you or not, there's clearly an exchange of value taking place here.

Anyway, the offers to install additional software are always opt-in. So you won't accidentally install unwanted software just by clicking Next over and over. And the way OpenCandy handles additional software installations is actually pretty nifty. Near the end of the install process, you're asked if you want to add an extra application. If you choose yes, the first installer will finish up, and then you'll automatically download the new program and its installer will launch.

Tags: ads, installer, opencandy

Filed under: Business, Internet, Google

Google goes ad-crazy with video game ads, YouTube purchase links

by Brad Linder Oct 8th 2008

There's a saying that "advertising abhors a vacuum." In other words, if there's a blank space on a wall, telephone poll, or the back of your eyelids, eventually someone will figure out how to put an advertisement there. With that in mind, Google has rolled out two new features this week intended to help fill the vacuum.

First up, the company continues to try to justify its massive investment in online video. Making money from YouTube videos has proven surprisingly tricky. May viewers are resistant to pre-roll and post-roll video ads. And in-video pop up ads can be even more annoying if not handled properly. One possible solution? Affiliate links.

YouTube is rolling out "click-to-buy" links on some videos allowing you to purchase music featured in a video from Amazon or iTunes. Even if you're not planning to buy the song, the links can help you identify the music playing in the background of some popular videos.

Google is also rolling out a beta of Adsense for Games. Basically, these are ads designed to be integrated with web-based video games. Ads could include video, image, or text ads that will appear within the game.

No word on the AdSense for eyelids thing yet.

Tags: ads, adsense, advertising, amazon-mp3, google, itunes, music, youtube

Filed under: Microsoft

Microsoft's latest ads don't suck

by Brad Linder Sep 19th 2008

Microsoft has rolled out phase two of its new advertising campaign. As expected, it's Jerry Seinfeld-free and Bill Gates-light. And it's surprisingly charming. While Apple's Mac vs. PC ad campaign tries to paint Mac as hip and cool and PCs as stodgy and difficult, Microsoft's new campaign shows that many different kinds of people use PCs in many different ways.

The ads don't mention Windows Vista. But the goal isn't necessarily to get you to rush out and buy a copy of Microsoft's latest operating system. Instead, this is a brand-building exercise. It's a way of getting people to feel good about the company.

Of course, the problem about tying your message to the term "PC" instead of Windows or Microsoft is that there's more than one operating system that you can run on a PC. Still, I'd rather watch these ads than the Seinfeld/Gates show anytime. You know, if I didn't just skip past the ads on my PVR.

What do you think? Are the new ads better than the old ones? Better than Apple's? Do they make you want to go out and buy a PC? Or hug Bill Gates?

You can check out some of the new ads after the jump, courtesy of TechCrunch.

Tags: ads, microsoft, pc

Filed under: Internet, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Search

Yahoo and Google go on a date: we'll see where it goes from there

by Danny Mendez Apr 9th 2008

It seems Yahoo! recently lost faith in its ability to advertise, and it almost seems desperate to try something very different. In fact, the company seems so desperate in a Web-world increasingly dominated by Google, that it's going to give AdSense a shot. Yes, Yahoo! will host Google ads on its own site.

Though the mini-partnership is cute and we're sure they'd make a fun but powerful couple, don't make any assumptions about their intentions yet. As much as Google would like to get in that pair of pants, Yahoo will only support AdSense in up to 3% of all search results for now. If AdSense does what it promises to do -- make more money than Yahoo's advertising services -- the two companies should enter into a more committed relationship.

It feels like Yahoo's just giving up, but you can't blame 'em. Google's an innovative monster, and how do you compete with that? I guess if you can't beat 'em, catch a ride on their coattails.

Tags: ads, adsense, google, microsoft, panama, partnership, yahoo

Filed under: Internet, Video, Google, Search

Google to roll out video ads in search pages

by Brad Linder Feb 15th 2008

You know how Google's been shaking up it's old fashioned search engine by adding image and video links to its formerly text-only results page? Well, according to the New York Times, the company's about to go one step further and introduce video advertising.

Google has reportedly already begun displaying video ads on a limited number of pages, but we haven't run across one yet. Eventually we may also see image-based ads and interactive map ads showing up on search results pages.

The idea is that the ads are tailored to the page you're seeing. When Google's search page was populated with text-only links, video ads would have stood out like a sore thumb. But now that you can find a bit of everything on a Google search results page, text only ads are pretty easy to ignore as your attention is drawn to images and videos.

Tags: ads, advertising, search-results, text, video-ads

Filed under: Business, Internet, Google

Googleholic for February 12, 2008

by Romeo Wahed Feb 12th 2008

Welcome to Googleholic - your bi-weekly fix of everything Google!

This edition covers:

Google "hijacking" 404 pages
Gmail surveys the connection between love and e-mail
T-Mobile: Goodbye Google, Hello Yahoo
Why the Google Logo looks how it does
Google Ad share drops

Google "hijacking" 404 pages

It looks like Google Toolbar beta 5 carries a little surprise for 404 pages - a new default view. Instead of being served up a vanilla browser generated page when you encounter a 404, the Toolbar will come to your rescue with alternate recommendations and a Google search bar. If this is not to your liking, the Toolbar does enable you to disable this feature. But, webmasters that have custom 404 pages will have to make sure that their 404 pages are larger than 512 bytes if they want to keep users with the Google Toolbar able to see the custom pages.

Gmail surveys the connection between love and e-mail

According to the survey, Gmail (and other webmail services) have been helping Cupid with his work - with 1 in 3 people having used webmail for sending love-related messages. As might be expected, the age group of these users tends to be on the younger side. But as the young get older, will e-mail become standard fare in the game of love?

T-Mobile: Goodbye Google, Hello Yahoo

T-Mobile users in Europe will no longer have Google be the default search for their mobile phones and will find themselves with a slice of Yahoo instead. Of course, Google isn't one to be dumped without a fallback - as Google will have it's mobile search be the power behind Nokia search.

Tags: 404, ads, gmail, google, google toolbar, googleholic, GoogleToolbar

Filed under: Business, News, Search

Amazon sends shoppers away with Product Ads

by Emily Price Feb 8th 2008

Amazon has launched a trial of a new program called Product Ads. The program allows retailers to purchase ad space on Amazon without selling their products on the site. When a user clicks on the ad rather than being taken to a product within Amazon, the customer will instead be sent to the companies 3rd party site to make a purchase.

Product Ads will show a 3rd party competitor, along with the price they're offering an item at right on the same page as the Amazon item. Reminiscent of PriceGrabber, different sites and their price for a particular item are listed below the item and description on Amazon. Users can see all the prices at the same time and make a decision whether to continue with their purchase on Amazon, or click over to the 3rd party website to make a purchase.

Much like other advertising programs advertisers only pay for their ad when a user clicks on an ad and is taken to the advertisers site. Both Google Product Search and Shopping.com run similar programs, but neither is the selling powerhouse that Amazon is. By combining advertising along with their extensive product catalog Amazon is setting themselves up to be even more of a leader in the online shopping arena.

The new program also forces Amazon to stay extremely competitive in its pricing in order to make users want to purchase items from them, however it also gives them the ability to make money off users who do choose to shop somewhere else. It will be interesting to see if the program survives. No doubt the program is great for shoppers, but how do you think Amazon will do with Product Ads? Do you think it will make it through the trial?

[via VentureBeat]

Tags: ads, amazon, online advertsiing, online shopping, OnlineAdvertsiing, OnlineShopping

Filed under: Business, Microsoft

Microsoft now serving ads on shopping carts

by Simon Kerbel Jan 16th 2008

If you're the type of person that detests video screens placed in the grocery checkout line: those incessant, unavoidable peddlers; then you might want to start avoiding the grocery store altogether.

In a new partnership with MediaCart Holdings and Wakefern Food, Microsoft has signed up to deliver personalized ads to shoppers through computerized shopping carts. Customers can scan their "customer loyalty cards" at the machine and receive ads and electronic coupons according to their buying history (you did know those cards recorded your purchase history, didn't you?).

Microsoft's part is to serve video ads to the computers through their Atlas technology, which they recently acquired with the $6 billion purchase of aQuantive last year.

In addition to ads, customers will be able to view the specials on the aisles in which they're shopping, and total all the items in their shopping cart prior to checking out. Do they not trust people to find the specials tags or perform simple addition? Maybe they've taken a deep look at our educational system...

MediaCart is expected to begin customer trials in ShopRite stores in the second half of this year.

[Via Yahoo! News]

Tags: ads, aQuantive, Microsoft, shopping cart, ShoppingCart, video ads, VideoAds

Filed under: Internet, Macintosh, Apple, Freeware, Open Source

Safari 3 AdBlock: no internet ads for me please

by Danny Mendez Dec 16th 2007

Safari 3 AdBlock: no internet ads for me please

The world of web browsers is a very unfair place. Internet Explorer isn't the best, yet everyone's using it, and it seems like Firefox gets all the cool add-ons and customizations. The Opera web browser is popular, but primarily with the mobile crowd, and as for Safari, well, it's nice. Safari add-ons aren't exactly the latest craze, but the few that exist are fairly useful.

Introducing: Safari AdBlock, the open source way to avoid internet ads. It's free and (like someone we know on too much rum) easy. To install, simply point your browser to the Safari AdBlock page at SourceForge and hit "Download." The rest is pretty self explanatory. Safari AdBlock should successfully block most ads, although one may get through on occasion. Theoretically, this should decrease a page's load time since you'll no longer have to load ads, but there's a lot that goes into load times so you may not see any increase in performance at all.

Safari AdBlock works with Safari 3 and runs on Leopard (not Tiger and Windows). Those looking for a paid option should check out Pith Helmet, which costs $10 and works with both Tiger and Leopard. If you'd like to further customize your Safari, check out Pimp My Safari.

[via tuaw]

Tags: ad block, adblock, add on, add ons, AddOn, AddOns, ads, advertising, avoid, customization, customizations, customize, safari

Graveyard Shift - zombie-busting Time Waster

With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet. They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...

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