street-view-murder

Men Troll Google Street View with Fake Murder Scene

Dan Thompson, 56, who owns Tomson Motor in Edinburgh, Scotland, had to say sorry after receiving a visit from the police.

The mechanic had lain on the road while his colleague stood over him with an axe handle after spotting the Google camera car from a distance.

However, a web user saw the image and made a complaint.

The incident happened in August 2012 but it was not until a year later, once the pictures had been uploaded onto the Google site, that police were alerted.

Mr Thompson told the BBC Scotland news website: “By complete fluke I saw the Google car coming along the road but it had to loop the block so I had one minute to rush back inside the garage and set up the murder scene.

“There are pictures of men on Google flashing their bums but we thought we would be more classy.

“We had forgotten about it when the police arrived a year later and we apologised for wasting police time. They found it funny.”

Mr. Thompson is still very much alive, as evidenced by this photo:
streetview-dan-thompson

via BBC

watch

Is That a Discount Coupon on Your Wrist?

At the Mobile World Conference in February, the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer Samsung unveiled two sleek products in the second generation of its watches with internet capabilities. The Samsung Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo will land on the market April 8. LG and Motorola have unmasked their own devices. Qualcomm also has its own. So do a gamut of companies, from hardware veterans Sony and Intel to Pebble Technology, a small, scrappy company financed by the crowdfunding site Kickstarter. (And then there’s China, where one analyst said “hundreds” of manufacturers are in the mix.)

The potential for advertising on such devices ratcheted up in March when Google — which earns 90% of its core revenue from ads — released Android Wear, a software-development kit for wearables. Google is tying up with HTC, LG, Motorola, Samsung and Asus, along with chip-makers Broadcom, Intel and Qualcomm, among others.

Marketers salivate at wearables’ data-collection potential. When it comes to advertising, any ads would need to show immediate, tangible value. For example, pushing a discount on a latte when you’re near Dunkin Donuts. Any ads must have a utility that will enhance what you’re doing.

small-biz-guide

Twitter Guide for Small Business

So many small businesses struggle with understanding social media and especially making money from it. If you’re thinking of jumping into social media, the best thing to do would be to consult a professional. But, if you’re still on the fence, it can’t hurt to learn a thing or two on your own so you can talk the talk.

Twitter has recently published an interactive presentation tailored to small business owners. It spans from “What is Twitter?” to how to start using Twitter ads. Take it for a spin here.

subway-girl

Innovative Subway Ad Reacts to Train Arrivals

This fun digital subway ad in Sweden for hair-care products was rigged up to recognize when trains entered the station—and then showed a woman’s hair blowing all around, as though windswept by the train. It’s a simple, delightful effect—playful, responsive and seemingly magical in the way it erases the line between ad and environment.

Ad agency Akestam Holst and production company Stopp produced the ad for Apotek Hjärtat’s Apolosophy products. Stopp in Stockholm says the ad was scheduled to be just a one-day stunt. But Clear Channel loved it so much that they kept it live for five more days “as a way for them to show the opportunities their screens can offer.”

via AdWeek

roger

The Complete Canon of Quips from Roger Sterling

Vulture has a complete list of quotes from Mad Men’s Roger Sterling. Roger, played by John Slattery, is my favorite character on the show because he adds sharp wit and dry humor to every scene he’s in. I’ve selected a few of my favorites below.

(Mona: Margaret’s run away.) “To where? Bergdorf’s?” (S7, E4)

(On his California trip) “It was a series of busts, and not the kind I like.” (S6, E11)

(Danny Siegel: I know these lugs from my days in advertising.) “More like a day, wasn’t it?” (S6, E11)

“Sunkist, Carnation, the avocado people: My biggest job in these meetings is to keep them from saying ‘golly’ too many times.” (S6, E11)

“I’m afraid she left everything to the zoo. She’s making them name the animals … Her will looked like a manifest from Noah’s Ark.” (S6, E2)

“As a wise man once said, the only thing worse than not getting what you want is someone else getting it.” (S5, E1)

(Don: “I’ll buy you lunch.”) “I’m stuffed. I had a jar of olives.” (S4, E6)

(Paul Kinsey: “He might lose his foot.”) “Right when he got it in the door.” (S3, E6)

“Last time Freddy Rumsen had a cup of coffee, it was one of five being poured down his throat by a cop.” (S2, E1)

“Look, we’ve got oysters Rockefeller, beef Wellington, napoleons. We leave this lunch alone, it’ll take over Europe.” (S1, E6)

“I’ll tell you what brilliance in advertising is: 99 cents. Somebody thought of that.” (S1, E3)

Read them all here.

dwayne1

Jet Magazine Packs Its Bags and Goes Digital

The full-on sprint to digital is on for yet another publication. Jet Magazine, published since 1951, is heading to the digital domain as a result of slipping ad revenue. All subscribers will be given digital access and shifted to the better-performing Ebony magazine.

“The purpose of Jet 63 years ago was to deliver news in a faster format,” said Cheryl Mayberry McKissack, chief operating officer and head of digital at Johnson Publishing. The move to all digital is a natural extension of this idea, she explained. “Now people want to be able to get their info wherever they are,” she added.

Jet’s ad pages in the first quarter of this year fell 25.6% from the equivalent period last year, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. Ad pages dropped 18% last year.

In case you missed it, Ladies Home Journal has changed from a monthly to a quarterly publication – and will probably soon go all digital when that shift doesn’t change their fortunes either.

Source: AdAge

latimes

LA Times Website Goes Mobile-First

The Los Angeles Times is introducing a redesign tonight that moves the 132-year-old newspaper closer to the vanguard of mobile-first web design, with a look more closely resembling digital-only publications like The Verge than the ink-on-paper model it replaces.

Articles in the site’s various sections are displayed as tiles and feature “sharelines,” which are three very brief summaries that can be easily shared across social media. To try to better keep those readers who arrive from social media, pages can scroll forever with additional content.

L.A. Times mobile and desktop unique visitors reached 27.5 million in March, a 30% increase from the same time last year, according to ComSore.

What does it all mean?

Major publications and websites have started the digital shift. The LA Times has gone all in for mobile readership and their analytics show it to be the right move. It may seem bold, but the trend will continue. Are you doing all you can to understand your analytics and plan for the future?

Let us know if you need some help.