Ad News and Views from around the Web

Altered ad ethics; tweeting for fun and profit; get your phone to yodel; marketing that breeds like bunnies, and more

Should altered photo ads carry warning labels?
“Truth in advertising” is mandated by the Federal Trade Commission. And we’re all for it. But what if an ad does not contain an explicit promise—such as “contains zero grams of fat”—but merely an implied one? What if the ad is just an image of a pretty girl or boy plus a brand name? New York Times columnist Randy Cohen (“The Ethicist”) thinks ads that use digital enhancements to make fashion models look so thin they seem in desperate need of a sandwich should carry the equivalent of a warning label.

Tweet all about it!
Unless you live in L.A. or have an expense account fat enough for your company to fly you there, you’re probably missing the 140 Character Conference (#140), yesterday and today. Well, never fear, Twitter is here. Follow the Tweets by conference-goers, including our own Jeff Sweat.

Dialing for yodels
OK, most phones don’t actually “ring” anymore. They chirp, ping, buzz, vibrate, and sing “Crazy Train” or just about any other song. But now you can get your phone to actually yodel. Not only that, you can make it yodel in just about any style you want: hip-hop, a cappella, R&B, reggae, bluegrass, what-have-you. To get your own yodel and for info on other Yahoo! innovations this week, click over to Yodel Anecdotal.

Viral marketing…with Bunnies!
Here’s a quick case study on how to make your viral marketing breed like rabbits: At the recent premier of “Rabbit Fever,” a funny documentary about competitive bunny breeders, the producers gave out bunny ears to everyone in the theater, and took photos. Then they put the photos on Flickr, knowing that everyone in the audience on Facebook or Twitter or with a blog would post about it (like we are right now). Talk about cheap, effective viral marketing. (Full disclosure: The author of this post was in that audience. See if you can find him in his rabbit ears on Flickr.)

Oh, the stories they could tell
Over at Search Engine Land, Ciarán Norris talks about the best (and worst) stories that brands have told via social media.

A close shave
Kate Kaye of ClickZ complains that she “may have stumbled on the most bizarre, indeed grossest image yet” in digital advertising. The image is of a woman shaving her face, as a man would. (The ad is for laser hair removal.) Note to Kate: Relax. It’s a riff. It’s been done before: Esquire cover, March 1965, with Marilyn Monroe-lookalike Virna Lisi, and again by Rolling Stone in March 2008, featuring Jessica Simpson. It’s fun. It’s provocative. It’s advertising.

And, if advertising ain’t fun, why do it?

— Michael Mattis

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