"Green Lantern" promoted via flashing green bike wheels.
(via)
The movie opened in Brazil last Friday. So last week, 50 tools riding these insidious bikes hit the night streets of Rio and São Paulo to push the panned film to the locals. YOU WILL BE ADVERTISED TO. The relentless 21st century Ad Creep invasion into every nook and cranny of your daily lives continues...
posted by copyranter @ 10:00 AM
20 Comments:
This is a cool stunt. Those who work in advertising and don't like it should go do something else (crunching numbers perhaps?)
By the way..
- Why are all these people (initially dudes) tools now?
- How are these bikes "insidious"? I love the use of fancy words (copywriters forever using them) as long as it makes sense.
- And finally, how is this stunt a) creepy and b) invasive? The tools didn't barge thru your front yard, did they?
Your opinion is valued here.
Thanks. Still, it would be nice if you explained the "insidious" nature of these bikes.
They could cause car accidents, pedestrian deaths, I'M BEING HYPERBOLIC.
How are you being "hyperbolic"? Please explain this. Are the bikes only slightly "insidious"?
Love the way a completely invalid statement is explained away by "I'M BEING HYPERBOLIC". In CAPITAL LETTERS. Just in case you thought about disagreeing.
Your opinion is also valued here.
I have to go do my real job now? So, sorry, your comments won't be posted for a few hours. Maybe tell me why this is such a great promo? I say it was completely useless.
You won't let me have my vacation, will ya?
I don't mean to be nit picky, but you cannot use insidious here.
The reason the word is not used often is because it's sort of technical, meaning, you can ONLY use it in certain situations.
Insidious does not mean just "harmful". It means something *ultimately* harmful happening - pay attention - over time *without* you knowing it.
Getting hit by a car as you were crossing the street because you were looking at these bikes (actually this does not make sense) does not happen "over time". It happens instantly.
Finally, you also cannot say "you are being hyperbolic". YOU are not the ONE (thing) that was being exaggerated.
You can say "I was exaggerating." or "I was speaking hyperbolically."
Pay attention to the Grammar Cunt, others: this is how you do useful criticism.
Although...you are wrong about "fucked market" GC. It's a widely used informal phrase. This is not a term paper.
hey please, i am a fan of comic book series. even though the movie sucked, but it's ok. Probably DC should start selling this on their online store. In India, this would be way above cool. And thanks for posting the video.
Dear GrammarCunt
while in principle I agree with picking on this half-arsed post (just calling something insidious don't make it so), your arguments are deeply flawed. Something that is insidious need not occur over prolonged period of time. It can be something that is simply regarded as harmless and/or seductive but in the end kills you. We all know that cars can kill you (one can hope) -- that's why they're not insidious.
And yes one can say "I'm being hyperbolic" as long as one is capable of non-literal thinking.
Unless, of course, you are a literal cunt.
The stunt itself strikes me as probably useless, given that either these bikes will be whooshing past you (if you're on foot), or you'll be whooshing past them (if you're in a vehicle). I guess if you were travelling by bicycle in the same direction and at the same speed as them, and right beside them, you'd see it. That could be, what, zero people once you've made room for the camera crew?
So the ad seems to be aimed at people who will watch this youtube "making of" video, and thus it's more of an ad for the promotion company than for the film.
And maybe that's what's insidious about it. The company has duped a client into paying them to make a self-promotion video.
Dear cheeseonearth,
You can argue with me about lots of things, but proper English usage is NOT one of them.
I repeat you cannot say "I am being hyperbolic". That's equivalent to saying "I am being exaggerated". Huh?!?
And yes something insidious must happen over a period of time (HIV is insidious). It does not have to be 38+ years. By definition, insidious things "develop gradually".
So go eat your fucking cheese, and don't mess with the Grammar Cunt (character) or my virtual friend Copyranter (character).
Oh, I saw that you used the word "arse". Well, we know now you are a British twat.
I think it's worth trying as a marketing piece. I'm a copywriter and yes I know this can't be tracked.
But I'm not going to say these campaigns simply don't work.
There are lots of branding ideas that do work and that do drive response and action. It's just usually very expensive and/or fuzzy ROI tracking.
To me this promotion would get the attention of those out and about ...walking in a big city... or in a town center... perhaps near a movie theater.
And in this day and age attention is hard to come by.
I like it. I can't say it's the best thing I've seen lately, but I can definitely see people sharing it. It does have the potential to go viral. Also, we have no information as to what media coverage, if any, it attracted. If it did, then we can't say it was totally useless. Sean is right. This can't be tracked in terms of ROI, but then again that's not something you can really do with ambient advertising.
Regarding "hyperbolic": I checked the OED. (Yes; I AM a dork. So?)
The first definition simply redirects the reader to the synonym "hyperbolical" (the other two relate to geometry).
Under "hyperbolical," definition 1(a) is "Of the nature of, involving, or using hyperbole; exaggerated, extravagant (in language or expression)." Citations include "He is too hyperbolical in praising his own Countrey (T. Fuller, Worthies, 1662)."
There is also an obsolete definition of "hyperbolical" which includes the following charming citation: "This Hyperbolical Fop whom we stand amazed at (A. Cowley, Of Greatness in Ess. in Verse & Prose, 1669)." Copyranter?
> I checked the OED.
from a recent huff post:
> This year, the lords of lexicons
> have eliminated archaic terms like
> "brabble" (which is a "paltry noisy
> quarrel") and "growlery" (a private
> room or den), but also terms still
> in common use until recently like
> "cassette tape."
i am going to start using 'brabble' and 'growlery' from now on!
I-)
Dear Grammarcunt,
may I recommend this wonderful invention called a dictionary. You might be surprised to know that most words have more than one meaning.
"You can argue with me about lots of things, but proper English usage is NOT one of them."
Obviously. I cannot argue with you about something you do not understand. So, point well made!
Ok, Cheese. When I get back from my vacation, I shall purchase 36 dictionaries.
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