In this Mobile Badvertising series, I regularly pick on the Guardian. I don't have anything against them - they're my favourite mobile news resource. It's such a shame that the advertising they have on the site is atrocious. Samsung Galaxy S The Galaxy S is Samsung's latest Android handset. There are so many Android phones out there that you need a really great advertising campaign (or a really great product) to stand out from the competition. Let's take a look at the Samsung campaign. Sm…
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Once again my wrath is targeted at The Guardian, Barclays and Apple. Three massive companies - each one of whom could have stopped this advertising disaster. Mistake #1 Take a look at this rather charming advert on the Guardian's mobile site. The more astute among you will recognise the problem. I'm being advertised an iPhone game when I'm browsing the site using an Android phone. This is the fault of the Guardian - or, more likely, whoever runs their advertising department. Well, let's…
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It has been a while since I last posted in the Mobile Badvertising section. Mobile adverts are slowly improving. By every once in a while, I spot an advert of such mind numbing ineptitude that I am compelled to post. Orange Take a look at the latest offering from Orange - a large UK mobile network operator. Orange Advert on Guardian Spot it? It's the microscopic banner hidden away on the mobile site of the Guardian newspaper. The advertiser has little choice in the poor placement. And it's …
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If you're outside of the UK, you will see adverts on the BBC site. This also happens on the mobile site. Here's a typical example. BBC Advert Intercontinental are a premium brand. No doubt their mobile advertising is really good. Right? First Impression Intercontinental Advert Page 1 We start off with a mobile friendly page. Almost. There are five flaws here. Large image. While visually appealing, consider that not everyone has a fast mobile Internet connection. They may also h…
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We all know and love the humble banner advert. That little rectangle of joy which seeks to distract our attention. It's a ubiquitous format on the web. It's a format that, for better or worse, has migrated to mobile. Here's the mobile Guardian showing off its latest advert for STA travel. A Normal Banner Ad? Or Much, Much More? This being a super-whizzy smartphone, the advert has a surprise up its sleeve. Clicking on it doesn't take you away from the current page - it displays an overlay …
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If you're the sort of person who reads the Financial Times, you probably already have a good idea of who Capgemini are and what they do. That's just as well because their advert is almost illegible. Take a look. Capgemini Advert in the FT Lest you think I've been monkeying around with screensizes, let me assure you that the image above is at exactly the same resolution that it appeared on my BlackBerry Bold. One of the most popular business devices. Let's take a look at the advert by…
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Ahhh.... Nokia. Remember them? Once upon a time they were a global power-house. But now, with BlackBerry, iPhone and Android nipping at their heels, they are a shadow of their former self. I mean, Nokia "only" have a market share of 38% - and they "only" sold 108 million devices in the last quarter.... Hmmm.... Still - you know what will kick the arses of those American and Canadian rivals? A Kick Arse Advertising Campaign! That's pretty strong stuff. For those of you with poor…
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I wander around the world in a perpetual state of confusion. Why is the world the way it is? Why do people make bad decisions? Why - when there are so many better alternatives - do people choose the worst of all possible worlds? Rather than getting bogged down in philosophy, I refer to the reason people choose Microsoft Windows to do anything public facing. Advertisers obviously care enough about their message to craft 30 second videos, they invest millions on infrastructure to support…
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I feel a bit guilty about including NatWest's latest mobile advert in my Badvertising section - because it's mostly very good. But it shows exactly why you need to carefully examine every link within your site and see how useful it is for your customers. You may have noticed this animate banner as you wander around the mobile web. NatWest Advert Here it is in context NatWest Ad on Times Site So, what do we see when we click on it? The Good NatWest Mobile Site Now, this is pretty good! …
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America and Canada both celebrate a holiday called "Thanksgiving". Although, for complex reasons, the celebrate it at different times of the year. Outside of North America the holiday simply doesn't exist. Much like the US doesn't celebrate Guy Fawkes night - the British don't celebrate Thanksgiving. So, I was a little surprised to see this advert for #tweetsgiving on my mobile. What is tweetsgiving? For now, let's ignore the perils of assuming that your country is the entire market…
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How do you indicate that something on the web is "clickable"? The W3C - the body which sets the standards for the Web - recommend you don't use "Click Here" for link text. Normal text is usually underlined and / or a different colour when it is a hyperlink - images don't have any specific decoration to indicate you can click on them. In this animated GIF, an advert for Lexus, we see a call to action which says "Click Here". Lexus Advert Would it not be obvious to readers that this is an a…
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Organised by CamerJam, this was the first MobileSQUARED Roadshow. I was extremely proud to be ask to represent Vodafone on the "Operators' Panel" - but I'll let others review my slot. I want to concentrate on the four aspects of the day I found fascinating. As ever, these views are my own. Mövenpick As some of you know, I boycott Nestlé. So I was unable to try any of the sponsor's ice-cream. However, what they said about their mobile strategy shocked me. They don't have one. The CEO ta…
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