Dish Network’s Hopper Fights the Future of Traditional Advertising

Posted by Jon Thomas, 30 May 2012

The commercials for Dish Network’s ad-skipping DVR, the Hopper, are quite memorable and humorous to a native of Massachusetts, like me. The actors have thick Boston accents, and they repeatedly pronounce the name of the device the way any good Red Sox fan would: “Hop-ah.”

It’s ironic, though, that the Hopper’s commercials are so memorable. The device’s primary function is to eliminate commercials altogether. The Hopper automatically records the entire prime-time lineups for ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC. With a little user programming, however, many digital video recorders (DVRs) can do that. What sets the Hopper apart is that it enables playback completely sans commercials (versus fast-forwarding over them). Score another point for ad-slaying technology in the post-advertising age.

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5 Ways Online Communities Drive Offline Behavior

Posted by Katie Edmondson, 23 May 2012

Online social media is essential for any business hoping to gain favor among today’s consumers. An active Facebook page can mean the difference between serious buzz and being ignored. But for all their amazing qualities, do online communities really drive offline behavior? We say yes. There are plenty of innovative techniques for pushing consumers to act outside the digital sphere and providing results. Here are five of our favorite examples, pulled from a variety of areas.

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We’ve Elected the Demon Sheep and Aqua Buddhas

Posted by Karen Nagy, 03 Nov 2010
Now that the mid-term elections are over, at least we can be glad about one thing: we get a break from the incessant political advertising. As usual, the ugly spots have been plaguing airwaves with negativity, nastiness, and ludicrousness. A January Supreme Court ruling lifted spending restrictions on political ads, and what did we get? The most expensive elections in US history (a record $3 billion dropped by candidates and supporters). Seems like a lot of money for demon sheep and aqua Buddhas.
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Who Thinks Advertising Works?

Posted by Kirk Cheyfitz, 08 May 2009
Nancy Hill celebrated her first anniversary as CEO of the 4As (the new name of the recently rebranded American Association of Advertising Agencies) by giving a speech that demonstrates she has trouble making sense of opinion polls and statistics. Not a very good showing for someone who wants to lead the advertising industry into an era when measurement of everything is fundamental.
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