Guerrilla Marketing

Buzz Marketers Told to Disclose

by Diane Farsetta — December 12, 2006 - 2:04pm

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission directed "companies engaging in word-of-mouth marketing, in which people are compensated to promote products to their peers," to "disclose those relationships." Otherwise, it could be deceptive marketing, as people are more likely to trust product endorsers "based on their assumed independence from the marketer," according to the FTC.

Main Source: 
Washington Post, December 12, 2006

No Space for Reality Ads

by Bob Burton — October 30, 2006 - 1:48pm

Animals Australia advertisement

Plans by the non-profit group, Animals Australia, to run full colour advertisements in major magazines highlighting cruelty to factory-farmed pigs received a setback when several publications refused to accept the ads.

Main Source: 
Sydney Morning Herald, October 28, 2006

TV Newsrooms Air the Darndest Things

by Diane Farsetta — September 13, 2006 - 5:24pm

Should "viral" videos, produced and placed online by marketers but circulated by amused viewers, be labeled as advertising?

Main Source: 
Advertising Age, September 11, 2006

Neil Young Clobbers the Thought Police

by John Stauber — April 28, 2006 - 11:05am
  • Topics: Activism, Iraq, Guerrilla Marketing, War / Peace

    • I'm listening to Neil Young's new album, Living With War. It's not my first time; I was lucky enough to be at a private listening last week in California. But now, along with millions of others connected to the Internet, I'm hearing it free of charge through my computer speakers, courtesy of Mr. Young and his absolutely brilliant bunch of guerrilla marketers and movement builders.

    Product Placement: It's Not Just for Movies Anymore

    by Diane Farsetta — January 4, 2006 - 9:46am

    A "stealth marketing campaign" by Sony in Philadelphia, San Francisco, New York and other large U.S. cities is generating controversy. The "ads" are "black-on-white graffiti" with "wide-eyed cartoon characters riding a PlayStation like a skateboard, licking it like a lollipop or cranking it like a Jack-in-the-Box." A Philadelphia official sent a cease-and-desist letter to Sony, due to its zoning violations.

    Main Source: 
    Associated Press, December 29, 2005

    Buzz Blog

    by Sheldon Rampton — November 7, 2005 - 6:11pm

    Walter Carl, a communications professor and advisor to the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), has a weblog where he follows the scuttlebutt and media coverage relating to buzz and guerrilla marketing.

    Main Source: 
    Word-of-Mouth Communication Study blog

    Sells Like Teen Spirit

    by Sheldon Rampton — November 2, 2005 - 11:59pm

    "There's something truly creepy about the notion of marketers manipulating what ordinary people say to one another," writes Jeff Gelles.

    Main Source: 
    Philadelphia Inquirer, October 31, 2005

    Revenge of the Teletubbies

    by Diane Farsetta — July 7, 2004 - 10:00pm

    "When a beautiful girl walks up to you, and she's wearing the TV commercial on her chest, you just can't get away from it," enthused Adam Hollander, head of The Brand Marketers and creator of T-Shirt TV. The shirts contain speakers and 11-inch TV screens, which can show video ads, flash animation or slides.

    Main Source: 
    Christian Science Monitor, July 8, 2004

    Mooning the Masses

    by Sheldon Rampton — June 23, 2004 - 10:00pm

    Outside Grand Central Terminal in New York, six men and women plan to spend six hours advertising for a health club by flashing their underwear at strangers, in the hope that passersby will notice that the club logo appears on the garment. It's part of the growing use of guerrilla marketing, which the Times describes as "a broad range of advertising methods that strives to strike when people least expect it."

    Main Source: 
    New York Times, June 24, 2004
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