advertising
Stewart Brand once prophesied a world in which a faked video of Ronald Reagan punching Boris Yeltsin in the nose would look real, obsoleting phrases like "photo proof" and "the camera doesn't lie." This
compilation of product inserts by UK firm MirriAd shows just how seamless video hacking has become. In 2008, the camera lies
and it adds ten pounds.
online advertising
One of Julia Allison's
posts to NonSociety yesterday began: "Today Meghan and I met with the most amazing real estate broker in Manhattan (and I’ve met a few) — Dain Lee from Corcoran." Allison's cofounder and fellow NonSociety blogger, Meghan Asha
quoted the post on her blog and added, "Dain knows REAL ESTATE the way he knows fashion, have you ever seen a more pimp Broker? He SAVED us today, by showing us spaces that literally made me drool. NICE JOB DAIN!" Believe it or not — I didn't, at first — Allison and Asha tell us the dreadfully buoyant copy wasn't paid for by Lee, or Corcoran. But when NonSociety does start selling ads, they won't look much different.
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acquisitions
San Francisco-based blog network Sugar Publishing
has bought StarBrand Media, a company that works with television producers to highlight and sell clothing and furnishings that appear in popular shows such as
Gossip Girl, making every moment in every show an opportunity to place a product. One network it doesn't work with yet is NBC, which just happens to have invested in Sugar Publishing.
product placement
ROFLcon, the Internet-in-joke gathering in Cambridge, Mass., has accepted corporate sponsorship — perhaps the most pervasive of all Internet memes. The giveaway bag all attendees received included a can of Brawndo, the faux "thirst mutilator" sports drink from
Idiocracy, an obscure dystopian comedy whose popularity online far exceeded is theatrical run.
Redux Beverages, whose other product is a drink called Cocaine, gave LOLcats fans a nod by informing them, "Yes, you can has caffeine."
(Photo by dantekgeek)
daily show
Nerdy humorist John Hodgman, who plays a bumbling PC in Apple commercials, will get a chance to rub shoulders with nerdy billionaire Bill Gates on Monday, January 29. That's when Gates
will be appearing on Jon Stewart's
The Daily Show, where Hodgman is the "Resident Expert." Geeks will be looking forward to seeing whether Gates and Hodgman combine to create some kind of nerdy critical mass. Valley flacks will be marveling at Microsoft's ability to get prime exposure just one hour before Vista goes on sale at midnight.
Valleywag
