Items tagged with commercial
Let’s just say, the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) would have a field day with Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr. ads. The ASA this week came out with guns blazing in an attempt to cut down on the objectification of women in media, and smartphone maker Kazam was the unlucky recipient of a headshot. The ad for the Tornado 348 smartphone, which Kazam claims is the world’s thinnest smartphone, actually places more of an emphasis on model/actress Camilla Hansson than the smartphone in question. The commercial starts off with Ms. Hansson walking around in her skivvies, caressing her body as she slowly puts on her pants and irons a shirt. And it’s this focus on the “female form” that drew the ire of the...
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This is just getting awkward, leaving me more convinced than ever that Microsoft needs to tap into its riches to hire some creative folk who's collective task, and only task, is to come up with commercials that don't suck. Remember when Apple blitzed the TV screen with its Mac vs PC ads? Those were funny, even if largely misleading. Microsoft's answer? Hire Jerry Seinfeld and have him shop for shoes. Seriously. More recently, Microsoft's attempted to sell the world on its Surface RT and Pro tablets/notebooks/hybrids with a series of ads that failed to inform the public what these devices really are, choosing instead to focus on that wonderful CLICK sound when you slap a cover to the devices....
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Strange. Bizarre. Odd. Unique. All of those words could be used to describe Facebook's newest advertisement, but "attention-getting" would work as well. Shortly after introducing the HTC First and Facebook Home, the social networking giant is engaging in an advertising blitz across many of the major networks. Aside from being downright curious (and perhaps even uncomfortable), it highlights a trend that's actually pretty important: technology is becoming less and less about hardware, and more about software and the overall experience. While the HTC First is mentioned at the end, the ad in general focuses intently on the experience. If Facebook is your first stop each morning and your final stop...
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Here's one for anybody feeling nostalgic this weekend. An unaired commercial for Apple's original Macintosh from way back in 1983 has landed on YouTube courtesy of Andy Hertzfeld, currently a Google software engineer who co-created the Mac nearly three decades ago. The ad features snippets of interviews from the design team talking up the Mac and why they built it. According to Hertzfeld, the reason it never aired is because "Apple deemed it too self-congratulatory" (yes, we spewed coffee all over our monitor and keyboard as well). The ad was, however, sent to some dealers as part of a promotional package. One interesting tidbit that stands out from the ad is a Nostradamus-like prediction from...
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Acer introduced a new 24-inch commercial display with premium IPS technology, the Acer B243PWL. This ergonomic display offers wide viewing angles up to 178 degrees horizontally and vertically. The LED-backlit monitor offers a resolution of 1920 x 1200 and a 60Hz refresh rate. Connectivity options include DisplayPort, VGA, and DVI (w/HDCP). The Acer B243PWL is EPEAT Gold registered. The B243PWL also offers a 100,000,000:1 contrast ratio and a brightness of 300 nits. The display is available for about $329. ACER’S NEW B243PWL COMMERCIAL DISPLAY IS PICTURE-PERFECT FROM EVERY ANGLE Editor’s Summary: IPS technology delivers consistent images at wide angles - up to 178 degrees horizontally...
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Lady Gaga uses Chrome, would you have known? Or, at least she claims to in a new Google ad. Airing first during this weekend's episode of Saturday Night Live, the latest Chrome ad is likely the longest yet, and undoubtedly the most starstruck. It's a 1.5 minute ad, which is wildly long for a TV spot. It's an ad that showcases Chrome and Chrome OS' ability to help you easily share your thoughts via social networks and your videos via YouTube, amongst other things. If you're a fan of the artist, it's pretty catchy, and as with all Google commercials, it does a great job of making an impact even to non-fans. Have a look -- does it influence your decision to start / keep using Chrome? But first,...
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Our preview of Valve’s upcoming puzzle-platformer Portal 2, at PAX East this past weekend, proved to be quite popular. If you liked that preview, you’re definitely going to get a kick out of this one. Valve just gave us early access to a new Portal 2 TV spot that is about as cool a commercial as you’re ever going to see... If that doesn't make you want to get your sci-fi geek on, we don't know what will. Valve wants you to pre-order now at https://thinkwithportals.com. You do what you gotta do or wait it out until release -- which is soon obviously. * Note to self: Be sure to check out the latest Two and a Half Geeks Webcast!...
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Hey, you there, out from under that rock. Have you heard? Verizon's going to carry Apple's iPhone 4 starting February 10, 2011. Oh, you have heard? Alright then, here's something you probably haven't seen just yet. It's Verizon's first commercial promoting the new partnership with Steve Jobs and Co., a 30-second spot the wireless carrier tossed up on YouTube. There's just one line in the entire spot, though Verizon manages to say just enough: "To our millions of customers who never stopped believing this day would come, thank you." You can bet there will be plenty more commercials to follow, but what will really be interesting is how AT&T responds, and whether or not another tit-for-tat campaign...
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Asus has without doubt made a name for themselves over the years, whether you consider the long-standing brand name recognition in components like motherboards, or their more recent storm of the market with netbooks and notebooks like the hugely popular Eee PC series. Formerly a Taiwanese ODM brand more recognized by techies in the know, now Asus adorns competitive shelf space at Best Buy, product feeds at Amazon and plenty of other mainstream retailers. In fact, (an inside tip for you Gents; thank us later...) as the case may be, carrying an Asus machine may just get you noticed with the ladies. Hey now... let's roll it. Asus Break Loose with Asus contest entry, not an officially...
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You heard it here first: 2010 is the year of the tablet, and the year that 3D went overboard. Most of the world hasn't even decided if they want to view content in 3D, and already companies are making extreme efforts to bring more and more of it into the public view. CBS has just introduced its first-ever high-definition 3D projection display as part of a wild new out-of-home advertising campaign.The board utilizes "state-of-the-art 3D technology and a custom theatre-like environment created exclusively for this outdoor advertising campaign," which is used to bring 3D commercials to around 70000 commuters that pass by the display every day. It will only be active from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM each...
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A new commercial PC game came out two days ago from a brand new game development and publishing company. The game is called CellZenith and the company is called Faramix Enterprises. What make this a unique story is not actually the game (full disclosure: we've not played the game, so we cannot comment intelligently about it), but the story behind the game's making and the genesis of the company... Credit: Faramix Enterprises Three young men in their twenties, from three different states, enrolled in the online bachelor's degree program for Game and Simulation Programming (GSP) with DeVry University. Their mutual interest in games development quickly clicked with each other and they not only decided...
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Size isn't everything. At least when it comes to electronics. Driven by popular demand and semiconductor process technology, cell phones, MP3 players, motherboards, and other devices have evolved to become smaller, more powerful, and more portable. At just 10cm x 7.2cm, the pico-ITX VIA EPIA PX10000 motherboard is currently the smallest commercial motherboard available. Of course, it seems that one must always sacrifice performance for a smaller package, and the PX10000 does indeed have many ups and downs. It supports the VIA C7 NanoBGA2 Processor, which runs at just 1.0 GHz. Moreover, the board only has 1 x SATA input, 1 x 10/100 LAN input, and 1 x IDE (UltraDMA) input. UniCrome Pro II AGP graphics...
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