Take Shelter from this Crap QR Code

Terence Eden — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:05:37 +0000

To whoever is responsible for this QR code marketing monstrosity: go home.

Seriously, pack up the tools of your trade, go home, pour yourself a stiff drink, and weep at what you have done.

The Poster

Here's a fun game for all the family! Play "spot the QR code" on this poster...

Bzzzzzt! Time's up! Did ya see it? What? No! How could that be?

Let's zoom in...

There! Right beside the warnings of "mild peril" lurks the QR code. Tiny, overly dense, and with no call to action.

Try scanning it. To make things slightly easier, I've given you a straight shot of the code.

Not easy, is it?

The Contents

It's usually best to use a short URL in a QR code. The smaller the data, the less dense the QR code, the bigger you can print each individual square.

Let's look at what this code contains

http://www.findanyfilm.com/Take-Shelter-custom_film~39285?
   utm_source=sonypictures&
   utm_medium=QRcode&
   utm_campaign=takeshelter  Cinema_BookNow

A few things to note.

This code is ridiculously long.
Is all that tracking data really needed?
There is a space which hasn't been URL encoded as "%20"

The Site

Let's assume that you've seen the QR code. And that you've managed to scan it. And that your browser will open such a malformed URL. What reward awaits you? Something good, right?

Nope. This festering pile of shit.

A non-mobile site, flash heavy, poorly thought out, abomination of a site.

But, let's play along and try to find a screening near me.

Oh great. A pop-up.

So, no easy way to find a screening, see a trailer, or buy tickets. Just what is the point of this site?

If I were one for conspiracy theories, I'd say this marketing campaign was generated by someone who hates QR codes and wants them to fail. Putting Hanlon's razor in to action, I think this is more likely the work of someone who just doesn't understand what they are doing.

If you're interested in avoiding this sort of catastrophic blunder - give me a call. I can work with you to craft a QR campaign which doesn't suck.

take shelter – Terence Eden’s Blog

Take Shelter from this Crap QR Code

The Poster

The Contents

The Site