Windows XP SP3 sends PCs into endless reboot | The Register: “” Here comes Groundhog Day again for PC users. This ‘final service pack for XP’ (which will be retired from July) has caused havoc on hundreds of PCs, just hours after it was released as an automatic update. On the Windows XP message board, a user ranted: “After three attempts [to install XP SP3] with different configurations each time, System Restore was the only…
Businessweek reports that Dove improved the appearance of some of the models in its ‘Real Beauty’ campaign. Pascal Dangin, a retoucher, told The New Yorker: “Do you know how much retouching was on that? But it was great to do, a challenge, to keep everyone’s skin and faces showing the mileage but not looking unattractive.” Digital manipulation in advertising is common; even in actual shoots acrylic dummies make-do for soap cakes and god-knows-what else for…
Sick of hearing terms like User Generated Content and viral videos? Here’s another unlikely brand that has jumped into the foray: Microsoft. They are underwriting an online movie competition in the US. Here’s how it works: Kyle Newman, a Hollywood director kicks off his story with the first video. Users are then asked to submit scripts for the following segments. The contest community then decides which script is selected for the finalist videos. The finalists…
YouTube has launched it’s India version. India has become the 20th country to have its own domain in YouTube. This emphasises the growing importance of India in the web world. And the timing seems to be right. I remember, CNET launching an India specific site many years ago(now licensed by ZDNETIndia). International publications too are making a beeline here. Adweek and Forbes are expected to launch soon. I better check for domain availability of these…
The imaginary world of kids includes spotting animal shapes in clouds (‘look ma, a bear’!). All that may change soon. A US-based company is offering creation of brand logos, called Flogos, in the form of clouds. Yes, clouds. The attempt is to create anything from the Mickey Mouse head to any brand logo, as a floating 4-feet wide cloud up in the sky. Visitors to Disneyland may well have fun under the benign watch of…
Heard about the ‘non-commercial’ deal between PepsiCo India and the Indian Medical Association? In a first for PepsiCo across all markets, doctors will be endorsing Tropicana and Quaker Oats in India. Apparently the IMA also endorsed Eureka Forbes, Dettol and Disprin in the past. Reports say that the IMA was paid Rs.5mn towards a general fund. Ahem. Said IMA’s immediate past president, Dr Ajay Kumar, who negotiated the deal with the company in India: “After…
As a parent, I can understand when people fret about keeping their kids occupied during the summer holidays. Typically, summer camps and activity programmes are seen as answers to keep the kids out of your hair during summer. Today, I heard a radio spot inviting children to take part in a creative activity at the Apple reseller outlets in Bangalore. The spot invited kids to make movies and get creative with digital photos on the…
This has nothing to do with advertising or business but I am compelled to write about it. There have been a spate of suicide pacts and incidents of filicide in Bangalore. Parents seems to think that the easy way of out their problems is to take their own life and worse still, kill their own children. How can parents mentally prepare themselves to do this? What goes through their vile minds when they lure their…
One of the popular ads of all time is the John West one, where a John West employee wrestles with a bear to get the ‘freshest’ salmon. They’ve had sequels too, which weren’t as funny – trouble with all sequels, eh? View them here, here and here. Their print ad won an Epica in 2005. Sea And they have followed it up with this new print ad. Pelican It is remarkable that they have stayed…
Do clients and agencies play safe by relying heavily on traditional media like TV & print? Yes? Are you sick of buzzwords like social networking & integratgion? Join the gang. A bunch of influential CEOs of US corporations and agencies were interviewd by Businessweek and they too agreed. These were the judges of the Effie Awards and not really a huge sample, but hey they are the ones who decide on pathbreaking stuff for clients…