The party’s over
A magazine ad depicting a man vomiting into a dustbin may not be the most conventional tactic to use in order to sell sportswear, but then boo.com was hardly the most conventional company. The September 1999 advertising campaign, in which this image appeared, was designed to let everyone know that the first […]
One of the best ways to generate publicity for a brand is to deploy unconventional tactics. For instance, when London nightclub the Ministry of Sound projected its logo onto the side of the Houses of Parliament, the media attention was immense. Indeed, it was considered such a successful trick that a few years later FHM […]
Problem? What problem?
In 1997, a professor of mathematics found a glitch in Intel’s Pentium chip. He discovered that the mathematical functions for the chip’s complicated formula were not consistently accurate. The professor decided to send an article about his findings to a small academic newsgroup. Word spread through the university community and the editor of […]
Not quite a net gain
In late 1999, computer manufacturer Dell launched the Web PC. The computer was small (a mere ten inches in height) and came in five different colors. The aim of the computer was to simplify the experience of surfing the Internet, while at the same time being attractive. ‘The quality of the […]
Why another protocol?
In order to gain public awareness new technologies are now promoted as brands, by technological companies and organizations. However, often those technologies that receive the most hype die an early death while those that are launched with no fanfare gain mass acceptance.
Nowhere has this been more evident than with mobile phone technology. In […]
Bad branding @ work
There was a time when Excite@Home was considered to be one of the ’safe bets’ of the Internet revolution. Based around one simple service offering - the delivery of high-speed net access - investors were quick to see its potential. Then, bolstered by investment dollars, Excite@Home decided it wanted to be something […]
Failing to be heard
Technology company Altec Lansing learned the importance of marketing with its failed VoicePod digital recorder. As the leading maker of computer speakers, Altec was sure it had a hit on its hands with its innovative recorder that attached audio messages to e-mail.
PC World magazine said the VoicePod looked like ‘a mouse on […]
In the mid-1990s, when the commercial potential for the Internet was beginning to be realized, people started to register Internet addresses with no intention of using them. This so-called land-grab was fuelled by a desire to sell these addresses at a later date.
Indeed, names such as business.com and sex.com proved to be so attractive to […]
