The Stackpile

February 19th, 2009

Facebook Fury

If you haven’t heard yet, Facebook attempted to change their Terms of Use under the radar to say that they OWN everything on Facebook, even if you cancel your account. Needless to say the 150 million users were not happy about the new terms saying Facebook owned their information for “forever”. The response was immense in the fight against the new terms of use. 64,000 users joined a group to fight it and thousands of people canceled their accounts.

I think its remarkable to see what an effect this has had on the social networks and how quick users are to react – in a matter of a day or two, online protests became a fury and forced Facebook to make a change. Amazingly, Facebook listened and reverted back to their original terms of use. The power of blogs and groups should not be undermined. This is the first I have heard of an online uproar at this scale and think that it can change the way we market. Getting a reaction from your audience is always the hardest thing to do but it looks like if you are dramatic enough, you will get the feedback you want (or don’t want).

Posted by Nirali on February 19th, 2009
Filed under Fun, Media, Miscellaneous | Comments Off

February 2nd, 2009

Are the Cards stacked against advertisers to Steel time during the Super Bowl?

Most American auto companies announced they are not going to advertise in this year’s Super Bowl because of a slumping economy. It’s my guess they don’t want over sixty million people to think the bailout plan included a marketing budget. Sensitivity to the current economic climate seems to be the common strategy.

But the slumping economy hasn’t affected the juggernaut known as the biggest game of the year. Surprisingly, thirty seconds of ad time hit its highest spending threshold to date – 3 million dollars. Last year, during one of the highest rated games in history, commercials fetched 2.7 million.

Who has extra cash to burn? Well you have your beer brewers who have strong sales during the recession. How else are we supposed to get through this difficult time? Budweiser’s ad featuring “party starter” Conan O’Brian was one of the few that I care to remember. And if you recall seeing a one-second Miller High Life commercial you were one of the few that didn’t blink during commercial breaks.

Movie studios also brought their A game. Although at times I felt as if I was in a theater forced to watch twenty minutes of previews before the main attraction. And I’m not sure anyone remembered to pick up their 3D glasses, much less wear them.

Soft drink maker Pepsi walked away with the “W”. McGruber was the favorite over Tony Polamalu.

And last but not least, the dot com job search engines. With so many people looking for work or to make a move, it is not surprising Monster spent over three million dollars on a commercial featuring a stuffed moose.If the slumping economy doesn’t turn around we all might find ourselves having to trade in our gold for cash.

To see your favorite ads from the Big Game visit: http://video.yahoo.com/network/100076996?v=4409180&l=5499020

Posted by Trudy on February 2nd, 2009
Filed under Advertising, Fun, Media | No Comments »

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Facebook Fury

Are the Cards stacked against advertisers to Steel time during the Super Bowl?