Articles about Advertising

Facebook Watch may sound like it's going to be a cheap alternative to the Apple Watch, but it's really just Facebook's latest jump into video. Launched a month ago, Facebook Watch is now available to everyone in the US.

The initial launch was a limited one, and just last week the rollout expanded to a wider group of users. But now everyone in the US is able to see the Watch tab on desktop and mobile platforms, giving access to original video content.

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Lenovo has settled with the Federal Trade Commission after selling laptops with VisualDiscovery adware pre-installed. The Superfish-developed adware was installed without users' consent and made machines vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks.

On top of this, the adware shared users' browsing data with third parties. As part of the settlement, Lenovo must gain explicit consent from users before engaging in similar tactics in the future, and must not misrepresent software that serves to inject ads into browsing sessions. The FTC did not, however, prohibit Lenovo from installing adware on its hardware, nor did it impose a financial penalty on the Chinese company.

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While digital advertising is increasingly popular, it suffers from a lack of trust due to fraud and, despite predictive technology, has relatively low accuracy. As a result, a high percentage of spend gets wasted.

Advertising ecosystem Papyrus, launching today, aims to bring together users, publishers, advertisers and developers of decentralized applications in a new way that permits them to interact in an environment with built-in fraud prevention and which offers an unprecedented level of control.

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Through the use of an advertising software development kit contained in 500 apps on the Google Play Store, cybercriminals were able to spy on users and even infect their mobile devices with malware.

That's according to security firm Lookout, which discovered that the Android apps in question all had the lgexin ad SDK built into them which gave unauthorized third parties access to user devices.

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One of the ways developers can boost the popularity of their mobile apps is via pay-per-click advertising. But this leaves them open to fraud where bots can be used to generate large numbers of hits.

Mobile advertising technology firm AppLift is launching a new Fraud Buster tool, which combats app install fraud in real time to ensure users are genuine and deliver increased return on advertising spending.

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It is hard not to fall asleep watching promo videos for smartphones. That's why we rarely write about them. Today we make an exception for the new OnePlus 5 camera ad, which, depending on how you look at it, is either really stupid or brilliant -- but memorable nonetheless.

Called Lake Blood, it's the story of a chainsaw massacre. The promo features a teenage girl, a bloodied man and the chainsaw killer that's following him. It's not your typical combination of characters, is it?

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Facebook has introduced a ban on address cloaking, a technique used to bypass review procedures and display content that violates the social network's policies.

Cloaking is used to disguise the true nature of posts and ads from reviewers, so they will see different contents to real-world users when they click through. Facebook says that it will be working with other companies to find ways to fight cloaking and implement punishments. AI will be called upon to do some of the legwork.

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When Twitter revealed its Q2 earnings yesterday the figures weren't quite as bright as people would have hoped. With growth stalling, the company is seeking new ways to bring in money, and its latest idea is a tweet promotion service for a fixed monthly fee.

Twitter is testing a new ad program which automatically promotes tweets and profiles for $99 per month. The program is currently in private beta, but it could be rolled out to a wider audience at any stage.

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Over the weekend, distress rippled around the HTC community as advertisements suddenly appeared in the TouchPal keyboard. The keyboard is installed as the default on many of HTC's Android phones, including the HTC 10, and users took to social media to voice their unhappiness and concerns about privacy.

Despite the ire directed at the Taiwanese company, HTC is not directly responsible for the keyboard, or the update that pushed ads onto people. Rather, the developer issued an update resulting in the SNAFU that upset so many people.

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Following a more limited testing phase in Thailand and Australia, Facebook is rolling out ads globally in Facebook Messenger. The beta program is being extended meaning that Facebook is now able to target Messenger's 1.2 billion monthly users.

When users click or tap an ad in Messenger, they will either be transported to the advertiser's website, or taken to a chat with the company in question. Facebook's latest ad drive is the company's attempt to squeeze money from its Messenger platform.

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Some people don't like advertisements, but I do. They are a great way to learn about new products while also helping to pay for "free" content. People think I am crazy when I say this, but many times I don't bother fast-forwarding commercials when watching my DVR. Heck, in 2017, there is so much great content that is subsidized by ads, such as news articles, YouTube videos, and of course, both television and radio. If it weren't for advertisements, you would probably be "nickle-and-dimed" at every turn.

A great example of advertisements helping consumers is Amazon's 'Prime Exclusive Phones' program. The consumer gets a discount on the smartphone by agreeing to see ads on the device's lock screen. It is not forced on the buyer -- they get to choose if it is worth it to them. It actually empowers the consumer. Today, Amazon is introducing five more handsets into the scheme from Motorola, Alcatel, and for the first time, Nokia.

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Somewhat controversially, Google has always scanned messages in Gmail in order to be able to present users with relevant, personalized adverts based on the email content. That’s something that has always worried people who are concerned with what personal information the company might be gleaning from their inboxes.

In a surprise announcement, the search giant today declares its intention to end the long-standing policy.

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Using the word 'fibre' to describe broadband services which are partly delivered using copper cable is misleading consumers according to the UK's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

Conducted by specialist research agency Opinion Leader, using focus groups and in depth interviews with residential and business broadband users, the research shows that adverts using the word fibre don't enable people to make an informed choice.

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Since the dawn of time, watching TV has always been an exercise in patience and frustration. Just as you're beginning to enjoy the unfolding storyline in your favorite shows or movies, they are interrupted by a series of commercials that you most likely are not going to find useful or interesting.

That has been starting to change over the past few years as the entire advertising landscape has undergone massive paradigm shifts, but there's still a lot of work to be done in the prehistoric landscape that is traditional TV ad buying. Enter Adobe.

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It has been a few weeks since advertisers started to pull out of YouTube after concern about the placement of ads. Since then, the company has been scrambling to earn back trust and it says it has "held thousands of productive conversations with advertisers, and implemented additional controls to restore advertiser confidence."

Now YouTube has set out what it classifies as hate speech, and says that any content that falls into this category will not be eligible for monetization. It's a move that's designed to calm the fears of advertisers, but there is concern that the rules being put in place are now too strict and could affect the incomes of large numbers of YouTubers.

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