Tags: | myspace | ads |

2007-03-30 00:00

Wacky Advertisements on the Internet

There are some really, really weird Internet advertisements out there on the web. Almost every time I log into myspace I see the worst of the bunch. These myspace ads are the ones that promise free ring tones, as long as the user completes the crazy task which has presented itself in the flash animation that is the ad. I remember a few years ago this type of ad started out simple enough - make a mini-game for the ad-viewing public to participate in and you'll get more clicks; these ads used to always have the "shoot the moving object" type games, but they have completely evolved beyond that now, and have become weird mutations of what once was. Almost every time I see one of these ads I have the same thought, "Who in the world is paid to sit around and think of this crazy nonsense?" - I can't help but imagine a very messy office, littered with copies of all the latest tabloids, piles of cartoon sketches, and a computer screen with a man barely hanging onto his sanity hunched over the mouse, frantically designing his latest pop-culture-inspired, ringtone-promising, crazy-game advertisement. Now you might not know what I am talking about, but I imagine you have seen these ads, you just don't remember - here are a few to refresh your memory:

I imagine these ads must get a great click-through rate, or there wouldn't be such a wide variety of them, but really, isn't the promise of a free cell phone ringtone enough (whether true or not)? Do we really need the crazy game? Am I uncommon in my complete lack of desire to actually DO the task these ads demand of me? If I wanted a free cell phone ringtone, I think the pointless game would actually keep me from pursuing the opportunity of getting one. Maybe it's that barely-sane ad designer who demands that the ringtone-ripoff company never veer from this ad campaign, but if they ever asked for my input, I would say they really need a new gimmick. I may be way off base, and they may have the quintessential form of advertisement figured out and perfected, but it's going to take a lot of convincing before I believe it.

- Kevin
Kevin (at) Upcsite (dot) Net

If you enjoyed this post, Please consider subscribing to my full-post feed, or subscribing to receive my posts by email. Have anything to say? I love feedback on my posts, so feel free to leave a comment below.

< Next Post | Previous Post >

Post A Comment: