Aug

26

Gay Dating Site Billboard Ad Too Much?

Filed Under Gays, Marketing, Sex and Sexuality | 7 Comments

A Twitter follower just pointed me to this billboard ad in Los Angeles:

Some of the comments posted about this picture are a bit juvenile and homophobic, like “Come to philly man..we dont play that homo shyt out here..100% real.. ” or “That kind of shit do not need to be on a big ass billboard.”

You have to hand it to ManHunt, that’s very bold. A blatantly homosexual ad hanging up in what appears to be a very busy area of town.

From the comments I’ve seen, I’m guessing most people would be okay with this ad if it celebrated straight male sexuality. For example, if that ad featured a straight couple with the slogan “Last night was hot,” none of those juvenile homophobes would have a problem with it. If that same billboard was a Viagra ad that featured a straight couple and used the slogan “Last night could have been hot,” none of those juvenile homophobe pricks would have a problem with the ad. I’m also willing to bet if that ad featured a lesbian couple using the same slogan “Last night was hot,” none of those juvenile jerks would have a problem with the ad; instead, they would be saying stupid shit like, “Why didn’t you call me so I could watch?”

Now, I’m sure some of the more conservative gays among us probably have a problem with the ad. They’re probably thinking, “That’s a bit too much” or “Why do gay people have to be so over-the-top with their sexuality?” And I’m sure there are both straight people and gay people who are bothered by sexually suggestive ads of any kind that are visible in places where children can see them.

What do you think? Is this billboard ad a bit too much?

Feb

23

AFA Boycotts Pepsi (Again) Over Gay TV Commercial

Filed Under Gays, Marketing, Religion | Leave a Comment

The anti-gay religious organization AFA has stepped up their Pepsi boycott after they discovered this gay Pepsi ad (airing only in the UK):

This 2005 Pepsi Super Bowl ad still has the AFA’s panties in a bunch too:

The AFA is asking its members to boycott Pepsi “until it stops supporting homosexual groups which are pushing homosexual marriage.”

Whatever. The AFA has always hated gays – long before our community ever started aggressively pushing for marriage rights.

Feb

2

This Fat Girl Commercial is So Funny and So Wrong

Filed Under Marketing, Social Media, Women's Issues | Leave a Comment

This Amp’d commercial has been edited by AllYourPrices.com, creating a new re-purposed video designed to market their web site during the last few seconds of the video.

What’s wrong this video? A couple of things come to mind: (a) making fat women the butt of a joke (again!) and (b) using fat jokes to promote a product.

What Amp’d and AllYourPrices.com did right: (a) using humor to create some outrageously contagious viral marketing (b) posting the video on YouTube and (c) making sure that the embed option remains available so people like me can post their video all over the web.

I’m still laughing, even though the feminist womanist in me knows it’s wrong.

If it makes anyone feel better, Amp’d filed bankruptcy and closed down in July 2007. I guess fat jokes didn’t help their company much at all. AllYourPrices.com might want to learn a thing or two from Amp’d; humor is great, but re-purposing Amp’d commercials might not be a good idea.

Jan

30

Facebook Lifts Some Advertising Restrictions

Filed Under Marketing, Social Media | Leave a Comment

While checking on my GayWallet.com ad campaign on Facebook, I saw the following notice:

In an effort to communicate our policies more clearly, we’d like to share some minor adjustments to our Advertising Guidelines. We are lifting the restrictions on some content including quizzes, surveys, some ringtones and other business opportunities. We’ll begin rolling out these changes over the next few days and the official details will be posted to our Advertising Guidelines early next week.

Know what that means? It means you’ll see more and more junk ads on Facebook – including multi-level marketing/pyramid scheme “business opportunities.”

I realize Facebook needs to make money to keep their site up and running, but come on! What’s next? Gambling ads? Webcam whores? Cigarette ads?

Jan

26

Is This a Sign That Advertisers Aren’t Happy With MySpace?

Filed Under Business, Marketing, Social Media | Leave a Comment

It appears MySpace’s advertisers are forcing MySpace to step up their game. While checking my email there, I noticed a survey ad in the left sidebar. I love marketing and I really, really enjoy watching MySpace’s new marketing challenges. Once the King of social networks, MySpace now has to prove to its advertisers that their web site is worth an inclusion in the company’s advertising budget. It’s not enough anymore to simply brag about their huge membership numbers.

I just love the wording on MySpace’s banner ad: Stop and be friendly. We want to get to know you. Pfft! Bullshit! Myspace needs quantifiable and verifiable information to pass on to their advertisers. Here’s MySpace’s latest attempt at marketing research:

myspace desperation In what year were you born?

Please indicate your gender

How often, on average, do you visit MySpace?

How often, on average, do you visit MySpace Music?

Have you heard MySpace launched a music service joint venture with the major record labels on September 25?

If you answer yes to that question, these are the questions you see:

From which of the following online sources have you heard about the MySpace Music joint venture?

From which of the following non-online sources have you heard about the MySpace Music joint venture?

Did you notice Toyota was a sponsor for the MySpace Music joint venture?

Which of the following Toyota models listed in alphabetical order do you recall are currently sponsoring the MySpace Music joint venture? If you can’t recall, please select “don’t know” at the bottom of the list.

Using a 5-point scale, where 5 means “very excited” and 1 means “not at all excited,” how excited are you about the new MySpace Music joint venture?

Have you used any of the features of the MySpace Music joint venture?

Have you heard about the “Toyota Tuesday” sponsorship, where every Tuesday there is free music download on MySpace?

What is the likelihood that you will buy a vehicle within the next 3 months?

What is the likelihood that you will buy a vehicle within the next 12 months?

Which of the following music digital services do you currently use?

Are you the parent of a child or children in your household under the age of 18?

Which category best represents your total annual household income (before taxes)?

Which of the following best describes your race/ethnicity?

Jan

25

Marketing Idiots Have Taken Over MySpace

Filed Under Business, Marketing, Ranting, Social Media, Women's Issues | Leave a Comment

I’m one of the few Twitter and Facebook lovers who still use MySpace – although I don’t do much more than post bulletins and flirt with my baby girl.

Critics are predicting that Facebook and Twitter will be the death of MySpace. That may be true, but I’m guessing one of MySpace’s problems is the ridiculous amount of stupid advertisements all over the place. Poorly written copy. Spelling mistakes. Washed out backgrounds and images. Blatantly offensive ads about weight loss, dating and bad teeth – to name a few – all targeting women over the age of 30 (that would be me!)

35 years old and overweight?
Obviously, the person who placed this ad decided to target women over the age of 35. Taking jabs at a woman’s age and her weight all in one swoop is not cool – and it won’t sell the product. It’ll just piss us off and create an opening for companies like Weight Watchers who take a much more sensitive approach to advertising to the female market.

single over 30?

Why yes! Yes I am over 30 years old and single. Am I bothered by that fact? Absolutely not.

gold diggers are us

This advertiser didn’t do a good job at targeting the right audience. I’m a lesbian. I’m not looking for a sugardaddie. The single straight girls ought to be bothered by the fact that this advertiser thinks you’re a gold digger (and stupid enough to believe that wealthy men are actually using the internet to find women who just want them for their money).

Obama

This ad is very misleading because once you click on it, it doesn’t have a damn thing to do with Obama! This ad links to a web site that claims it will show you how to receive thousands of dollars in grants from the government – all for a small fee, of course. This ad is right up there with all the multi-level marketing/pyramid scheme scam artists that are hoping there’s enough stupid and desperate people in the world who will fall for this kinda crap.

Facebook allows advertising and it’s rumored that Twitter will soon start selling ad space. I’ve seen some ridiculous ads on Facebook too, but they’re not so big and annoying. They seem a lot less intrusive than the ads I see on MySpace. No one knows if Twitter will implement text-based ads, banner ads, or ads in their members’ update streams. I certainly hope they use MySpace as an example of what they shouldn’t do.



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