Perhaps they lacked a crackshot marketing team, the URL they wanted was camped by someone unreasonable, or — sadly — they just thought it was a good idea at the time. For whatever reason, these products and companies actually made it to fruition for our sheer enjoyment.
More Best of the Worst
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Source: Barb Dybwad
Filed under: CES
Mind you, we’ve seen no shortage of crazy antics to grab attendee attention out on the show floor (P.T. Barnum would be very, very proud), but this year’s award for randomest booth gimmick goes to wall mounting solutions company Vantage Point, who (rather successfully) drew their flock via this oxygen bar in their booth. We did overhear them get a lot of product inquiries out of the deal… about where to buy an oxygen bar (but we’re sure the mental road to wall mounting curiosity is super short).
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Source: Barb Dybwad
Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Peripherals
If you somehow managed to hold off on picking up a Toshiba HD DVD player along with eight free titles, and you eat, sleep, and breathe Star Trek, we’ve got a feeling your resistance is futile. In an admittedly interesting promotional move, Toshiba has teamed with CBS to offer those who purchase Star Trek: The Original Series HD DVD box set and any Toshiba HD DVD player a “limited edition Star Trek Phaser remote” that will operate Tosh’s HD DVD players. Regrettably, there’s no mention as to how many of these things will actually be handed out, but if you’re even remotely (ahem) interested, we’d be on the ball as soon as the set lands.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Source: Darren Murph
Filed under: Cellphones
Sure, we’ve seen a myriad of interactive billboards before, but Mark Ecko’s latest eye-catcher could seriously make you miss your ride. This brilliantly designed ad sports an LCD that can be painted up by your Bluetooth cellphone, as it allows passers to use their mobile as a spray can to decorate the screen as they please. No word on whether this thing accepts multiple connections or not, but a tagging duel would be mighty fine entertainment whilst waiting on the next bus.
[Via AdGoodness, thanks John]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Source: Darren Murph
Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment
The seesaw match between DirecTV and Time Warner (parent company of AOL, which owns Engadget) over those blasted “superior HD” spots has reached another milestone, as a US appeals court has “upheld a lower court’s decision that prohibits the satellite television operator from airing advertisements that claim superior service in markets where Time Warner Cable operates.” Notably, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit did, however, “set aside part of the lower court’s order, saying the way it had been worded could be construed to prohibit the unfavorable comparison of even Time Warner Cable’s analog programming.” Ah well, it’s not like those ads were exceedingly enthralling to begin with, right?
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Source: Darren Murph
Filed under: Home Entertainment
Not that getting all up in our proverbial grills in order to provide specialized advertising is a new concept or anything, but Microsoft in particular has been on the warpath of late in this very realm. On the heels of a similar ad-based patent application comes documentation that reveals plans to use “biometric sensors, cameras, remote controls, or other accessories” to detect and identify an individual before doling out targeted plugs. Yes, this certainly does insinuate that your television would be watching you just as often as you viewed it, but unless it becomes lawful to stuff monitoring devices into our homes for the benefit of marketers, we’ll consider ourselves safe — for the time being.
[Via TechDirt]
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Source: Darren Murph
