The US Election Campaigns in Graphic Novel Format

If you've not had enough of the US Elections then here is a great round-up of the whole campaign.

The Guardian has produced an interactive graphic novel format of the candidates' campaigns with all the highs and lows.

A good read for any politics junkies.

Click here to read.

Funny ads do no better that straight ads

Here's some interesting research from the States that funny ads are no more effective than others.

Ace Metric looked at the ads that ran during the Super Bowl. Apparently one in five TV ads in the States are funny, and Super Bowl ads are three times funnier than the rest. But none of this makes much difference in selling stuff, according to new research by syndicated ad-testing firm Ace Metrix

The Index compares brand to average, so Doritos ads had 6.35 times as many people who found them funny as an average ad in the study. The Ace effectiveness score takes into account a variety of rating factors, including how much consumers like the ad, pay attention to it, and are persuaded by it to want the product or service.

Find out more about this study on AdAge. Makes interesting reading.

Does anyone know of similar studies in the UK?

See one of the funniest ads below:

A world without textiles - Ouch!

Just imagine a world without texttiles - this is what this ad for IKEA from the States does - tin foil knickers and all!

Makes you thankful for a nice soft towel and comfy pillows.


By McCann New York

A smiley ad to brighten your day

Here's a really sweet ad for Nest, a thermostatic control company in the US.

It made us smile in a very rainy London.

Enjoy!

From giant rats to hand fishing, US reality TV bites

If you thought that TV reality programmes could not get much worse than 'My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding' then think again.

Cable TV programmes in the US beat us hands down for niche and outrageous content. Here are a selection of unbelievable programmes:

"Hillbilly Handfishin" 
Some amazing people catch catfish by hand and feet. A net is a lot easier.  

"Cajun Justice"
Crazy times with Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office, Louisiana, that promises a range of reports including one of a shape-shifting swamp creature called the Rougarou. It must be a swamp thing.  

"Tattoo School"
Following students who take two weeks to learn "what most tattoo artists spend years learning" in Louisiana. Watch out for the spelling mistakes.  

"Rat Bastards"
Follow the hunters of nutria, which are large, ecologically ruinous rodents. Set in Louisiana - there's a theme here.  

"Full Metal Jousting"
Medieval jousting is back as an extreme sport with modern steel suits and "big money" prizes. A train crash in the making.  

"Texas Multi Mamas"
A programme that follows the lives of mothers of twins, triplets and quadruplets in Texas. Double, triple and quadruple trouble.  

"Doomsday Preppers"
Hunting out Americans that are getting themselves ready for the end of the world. An expert joins in advising them whether their survival tactics would work in the face of Armageddon, the Rapture or a mile-wide asteroid. Good to be prepared.  

"Confessions: Animal Hoarding"
Visiting people who have a compulsion for accumulating various critters. Move over Doctor Doolittle.  

"American Stuffers"
Don't say goodbye to your pets with the taxidermist in this programme. Time to run away and hide we think.  

Bring back Rogue Traders, all is forgiven.

Measuring Online Advertising Response

We recently found a very interesting article in AdAge by Kathryn Koegel looking into measurement of online advertising and calls for definitions to be changed for when an ad is viewed.

Making Measurement Make Sense, or 3Ms, is an initiative backed by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, 4A's, the Association of National Advertisers, the Media Ratings Council, MediaLink and Bain Consulting and calls for a whole new definition of an ad, based on whether anyone actually saw it.

According to a recent study by ComScore in the US of 18 campaigns from advertisers including Kellogg's, Allstate, Ford and eTrade, up to 31% of online ad impressions served were never viewed, even though they counted as impressions in the campaigns.

This is because whether an ad is viewed or not is based upon whether the ad technically loaded on to a page rather than whether someone had the opportununity to see it.  

IAB Senior VP of Research, Analytics and Measurement Sherrill Mane commented,  "We want to put display-ad units on an equal footing with other media. The adoption of viewable impressions will ... give the media community comfort and security for brand advertisers to move forward."

Linda Abraham, CMO of ComScore commented, " Typically, top-of-page placements command highest prices, but research shows that in many cases these are overlooked in favour of in-content or below-the-fold placements -- it all depends on the type of content and how people consume it. What's surprising is how little of these publishers know and use.

"As an example, recipe sites actually have higher viewability rates of ads below-the-fold than top of page placements and we're now "able to unearth the gold below the fold."

This may be US focussed but an interesting article on measurement of online advertising and how it is being addressed.

Read the full article here. And you can find out more about 'making Measurement Make Sense' and their five principles here.

A great ad for Bounce? Or is it?

This is a great ad for Bounce with a few surprises! We'll leave it at that.

Good viewing.

View in full screen for the full impact.