Advertising & Online Controversies: Social Media Upgrades, Personal Security Risks & How Not To Advertise to Women

This week Twitter and Facebook both showed off platform improvements. However, you may not have heard much about them given media have been preoccupied with the risks of a major online security bug, Heartbleed. The other major news item? An ad that probably made sense in the boardroom but in practice only served to infuriate the very target audience they were looking to attract.

Brands Test Out The New Twitter
If you still see Twitter as being just about 140 characters of content, think again. Get ready for a new, far more visual Twitter – which has already being tested by a number of brands. Although the rest of us will need to wait a few more weeks before the revamped layout is available to everyone, we can still take a sneak peek at what brands like Ford and Chobani are doing for inspiration.
[Digiday]

Facebook Improves Ad Layout
Have you ever wondered who clicks on those right-rail ads next to your Facebook News Feed? Apparently not as many people as Facebook would like. The company has just announced big changes coming for this ad position – making the spot more enticing for marketers and more lucrative for Facebook.
[AdAge]

The Risks of Heartbleed
Personal online security has never been more important – and potentially more at risk – than it was this week. A small oversight in commonly used security system, OpenSSL, has led to a lot of panic around how each of us can take the necessary precautions to protect ourselves from compromised online bank accounts, email accounts or worse.
[CBC]

Dudeness and Hair Removal
Telling women that having any hair on their body makes them unattractive and unfeminine in a cheeky ad was a harried attempt by Veet to capture some new attention in the marketplace. But the dude dressed up in negligée featured in the ad ended up garnering attention, but probably not exactly the kind Veet was looking for.
[Washington Post]

Posted on: April 11th, 2014 by

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