Entries from February 2012 ↓

Advertising people have long been derided as snake-oil salesmen. Nick Bergus, a writer, multimedia producer and teacher from Iowa, pitched a very different substance to glide into his 15 minutes of fame. The product: a 55-gallon drum of Passion Natural water-based lubricant, available on Amazon for $1,495 with "reasonable" shipping of $20.95. Bergus says he was amused by the offer and posted it on Facebook, adding the copy, "For Valentine’s Day. And every day. For the rest of your life." Soon, his "ad," which was never intended as such, began appearing as a sponsored story in friends' newsfeeds—"meaning Amazon is paying Facebook to highlight my link to a giant tub of personal lubricant," Bergus explains on his blog. Some commenters suggest that with his social-media savvy and creative bent, Bergus knew (or at least hoped) his post would gain sponsored-ad status and help him generate some personal buzz. He hasn't exactly complained about the situation, and he's made quippy Internet in-jokes on the subject with tweets like, "Can you imagine what would have happened if I'd posted the link to the 55-gallon drum of lube on Google+? No one would have seen it." Yup, Google+ is a ghost town—penetrating insight, ace. In a broader sense, his intention is irrelevant. The episode serves notice that to grease the wheels of e-commerce, just about any connection can serve as a come-on and any conversation converted into an ad. Not so long ago, this would have been cause for concern. For now, the vast majority of us have chosen to let it slide.

Would the Lorax ever love an SUV, even one with something called "revolutionary SkyActiv technology"? Environmentalists sure don't seem to think so. Bloggers and YouTube commenters are accusing Mazda of greenwashing with its new spot below, featuring the tree-loving Dr. Seuss character, now the star of a Universal Pictures film, alongside a Mazda CX-5 that gets 35 mpg on the highway. "Your attempt to associate your environmentally destructive product with The Lorax is deceptive and misleading," says the author of one Change.org petition, called "Stop forcing the Lorax to sell dangerous, polluting cars." And while YouTube is always awash in caustic critics, this clip has really brought out the hate. "Whoever thought this commercial was a good idea should definitely be fired," notes one commenter. "And advertisers wonder why people hate them so much," writes another. In fairness, the Mazda ad—created by ad agency Garage/Team Mazda—isn't the only aspect of Lorax commercialization that is sparking controversy. Students in a fourth-grade class gathered more than 57,000 signatures in successfully petitioning Universal to add an environmental message to the Lorax film site. With the movie opening this Friday, the studio is expected to announce a few environmental partnerships as well. To be safe, you might want to leave your SUV at home and take the kids to the multiplex on your six-seat tandem bicycle.

"Googlighting." Who greenlighted that? Microsoft takes a swipe at Google's cloud-based productivity/collaboration software in this send-up of Reagan-era TV series Moonlighting, with a slimy Bruce Willis-type salesman glibly pitching to an unimpressed Cybill Shepherd-type corporate boss. Ha ha! Whatever. Microsoft scored twice last year with two fairly funny videos, attacking Gmail in one and "obsolete" IT plans in another. Here, however, the concept falls flat (three times as many dislikes as likes on YouTube), with most detractors pointing out that Moonlighting is simply too old and obscure for many viewers to appreciate the central joke—even some boomers, at whom it's targeted. (Thank goodness they avoided Goog Times. Dy-no-mite!) Critics also decry the underlying hypocrisy of exchanges such as this: Unimpressed Boss: "But I could come to work, and the software could be different from the day before?" Slimy Salesman: "Different, better, completely gone. Who knows what the future holds for Google Apps?" Ha ha! It's funny because Microsoft never issues pricey upgrades of Office that aren't compatible with older versions, right? Google's software, while admittedly a bit, um, malleable, is available for free. What's a salesman's commission on $0 … 5 percent? Hey, take 10 percent. You've earned it!