Zeiger confronts the U-bahn ads

03.04.2011/06.35

A while back, in Desktop, I wrote about subvertising. This video, found via Rock Rodgers’ Tumblr, destroys the ads altogether, by means of a mirrored contraption that turns the projected images from a Berlin U-bahn station into rather nice art. Of course it isn’t legal, but one has to hand it to these chaps […]

Apple’s brand evangelism can have a negative effect, providing an opportunity for rivals

01.04.2011/00.07

What a great post today from Eric Karjaluoto on his blog about Macs v. PCs. He outlines his gripes on a number of ﬁelds and doesn’t believe Apple holds a great advantage any more. I have to say I agree with him. On his Facebook, I wrote the following. Well said, Eric. […]

Cortina, outdoors

31.03.2011/03.46

I was peering through Ford’s archive as it celebrates 100 years in Great Britain. This brought back a few memories: the Araldite glue campaign. Right next to it is an outdoor ad for the 1982 Cortina—Taunus 80 to those outside the Empah. The Araldite ad showed how commonplace the Cortina had become. And back […]

Some positive news a month on from the Christchurch ’quake

21.03.2011/05.19

Tomorrow, it will be one month since the Christchurch ’quake. It’s tempting to argue scale—the Japanese earthquake and tsunami versus our own—but at the end of the day, people are people, and our nations have both been hurting. We have become united, through disasters that emphasized that we live in an emerging global community. […]

Three out of three: Google’s Ads Preferences Manager does not work

19.03.2011/23.19

I know you’re sick of reading three of these blog entries on three consecutive days but here’s what my Google Ads Preferences Manager has shown me today. I’m sick of writing about it, but Google’s being so damned predictable. First, the cookie is back, though it hasn’t picked up preferences yet this morning: […]

Google advertising doesn’t understand that opting out means opting out

/01.25

Yesterday, I wrote about Google’s Ads Preferences Manager. I mentioned that I had opted out before, but had found myself having to repeat the exercise. I did, however, stop short at levelling blame at Google for another privacy gaffe, despite its behaviour with Web History, Buzz, Reader, Notes, etc., just in case I had ﬁddled […]

Check that your Google ad opt-out has been honoured

18.03.2011/10.35

I have opted out of Google’s Doubleclick (and others’) advertising cookies many times. In theory, you only need to do it once, but I have been to Google’s opt-out page many times to ﬁnd that the company has set another new cookie on my system. I ﬁddle around with my cookies a lot, so […]

Chloé chief sees China moving to more understated luxury—or is it?

28.02.2011/09.17

Geoffroy de la Bourdonnaye of Chloé believes the mainland Chinese market is moving toward more understated luxury. I believe there’ll always be a mixture. The understated buyer is emerging probably because of saturation by more extrovert brands—and often, buyers want to get something different, rather than conform. And the top-end luxury brands have […]

Volvo unveils its China strategy

26.02.2011/03.04

Volvo has announced that it will build a plant in China, and seeks approval for a second, in what it calls its second home market. It was inevitable, though for the long-term survival of the brand, it’s not a bad idea. Through Geely’s acquisition, it can potentially leapfrog other foreign car brands inside […]

Air New Zealand acts in the wake of the Christchurch earthquake

22.02.2011/09.58

Good on Air New Zealand for ferrying emergency supplies to Christchurch, for its $50 special to and from Christchurch till Friday 8 a.m., and for extra 747 ﬂights to and from the disaster-struck city tomorrow (subject to the airport reopening down there). I’ve also learned that there is an extra Wellington–Christchurch A320 service departing […]