Entries from October 2011 ↓

"Reverse graffiti," a trick used to draw art or advertising into filthy city surfaces, is a trend we've been watching for a few years now. And while some like the idea of advertising that actually makes the world a bit cleaner, San Francisco regulators appear to be cracking down on what they see as unlawful marketing in a public right-of-way. In the news clip below, reverse graffiti pioneers GreenGraffiti make the case that they're providing a service, one that cities could theoretically monetize to help support schools and other government programs. Most cities don't technically have laws against cleaning sidewalks and walls, but San Francisco Public Works spokeswoman Gloria Chan says the city is looking to close the loophole and officially prohibit such advertising on government property: "We're going to be investigating and taking a look at what enforcement code this falls under."

The strangest thing about GOP candidate Herman Cain's recent "smoking man" ad? It seems to be working. The Wall Street Journal Reports that Cain's ad, featuring mustachioed campaign manager Mark Block, is credited with a massive surge of donations for the candidate. “Our donations online have shot up a lot since that ad,” Block tells the WSJ, which tallies the campaign's October fundraising at $5 million. "Yes, the smoking part of that ad was controversial—and I don’t in any way condone smoking—but the message that Herman Cain is a different kind of presidential candidate is certainly resonating across the country.” The viral effect has even gone past the Cain campaign, with fellow Republican Jon Huntsman's daughters creating a parody "Smokin' Ad" (shown below) that has been viewed more than 128,000 times on YouTube. You can watch the original after the jump. 

The 10 most-read stories on AdFreak in the past seven days:
1. ChapStick Gets Itself in a Social Media Death Spiral
2. Siri Stars in First Apple TV Commercial of Post-Jobs Era
3. The 11 Most Ridiculous Job Titles in Advertising
4. Student Ads Take Aim at Racist Halloween Costumes
5. Conan O'Brien Rewrites Apple's Siri Commercial
6. Apple Really Doesn't Like Other People Using Apples in Logos
7. 'Paranormal Activity 3' Slammed Over Misleading Trailer
8. Sally Draper Makes an Excellent Child Psychologist
9. Lego Man, Not Endorsed by Lego, Washes Ashore in Florida
10. Patrick Swayze's 1979 PBR Ad, Like You've Never Seen It Before