Tacky advertisements
We’ve all worried about those strip ads our publishers are asking us to put across the bottom of some of our section fronts. Several newspapers are taking these ads but, reportedly, maintain design and content standards for them. No ugly or inappropriate ads on section fronts, we’re told.
Too bad that doesn’t apply to our web sites.
In my wanderings over the weekend, I went to a particular newspaper’s web site to read about a big news story. My eyeballs, however, were immediately diverted to his little gem:
Yes, dear reader. You came to us in order to read good, serious, hard-hitting journalism on topics of great importance to you and our region. But before you settle in with your coffee and bagel to enlighten yourself, please help us pay our bills by looking at this ad — which is apparently conceived by our crack staff of sixth-grade delinquents.
Read our post from last week about embarrassing ad juxtapositions here:
http://www.visualeditors.com/apple/2007/07/really-bad-advertising-juxtapositions/
Read NewsDesigner’s post about page one and section-front ads here:
http://www.newsdesigner.com/archives/002801.php
August 8th, 2007 at 11:13 am
I’m certain the newspaper didn’t design that ad, CheapFlights’s national agency must have done it for them.
And they probably accepted it because it would “appeal to young audiences.” Hey isn’t that what we’re all about nowadays?? :-P
As they said in “Hudsucker Proxy”:
“You know. . .for the kids!”