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New on Add-Art: Net Art 1.0

Steve Lambert — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 01:41:22 +0000

Add-Art is the Firefox addon that replaces ads on the internet with rotating curated art images. Developed by myself and several others surrounding Eyebeam over the past 2 years, it’s free, will speed up your browsing, and features contemporary art that changes every 2 weeks. We just released a new version, so install it now!

The current show (an excerpt is in the image above) is curated by Steve Dietz and features the work of Vuk Cosic, Graham Harwood, Lisa Jevbratt, Jodi, Jennifer and Kevin McCoy, Melinda Rackham, Vivian Selbo, and Paul Sermon.

Online Ad/Promo/Content Map

Steve Lambert — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 19:02:38 +0000

Ironically, from an article titled 10 things that won’t survive the recession

via “The Triumph of Bullshit” on Tumblr

Add-Art is now Firefox 3 compatible!

Steve Lambert — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 13:38:09 +0000

Great news; Add-Art, the Firefox browser extension that replaces ads with art is now Firefox 3 compatible. The extension blocks advertising and replaces it with art images that change every two weeks. The art comes from contemporary artists and curators – read a review from Rhizome.

If you’ve been waiting for Add-Art to work in Firefox 3, now is the time to update.

Introduction to Add-Art from Steve Lambert on Vimeo.

Product Placement “oppertunity” from adamkluger@inbox.com

jeff — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:58:01 +0000

One of my lifelong dreams has been to turn on top 40 radio and hear some pop tartlet subtly dropping product placements for my fake sweatshop products into their newest hot single. So you can imagine how excited I was when I read this email yesterday from Mr. Kluger, wherein he offered me an oppertunity I just couldn’t pass up.

from Adam Kluger
to me
date Thu, Aug 21, 2008 at 1:17 PM
subject RE: Product Placement oppertunity

Hi,

I’m writing because we feel you may be a good company to participate in a brand integration campaign within the actual lyrics of one of the worlds most famous recording artists upcoming song/album.

Lyrics play an important part in the use of music as marketing, Just as a catchy tune could assail your senses, a good “jingle” or cute lyrics could become a part of society for quite some time, imagine your brand name being a part of that.

This is the opportunity of a lifetime, the chance to make your product a house-hold name. The artists demographic is typically 16-35 and once we get a chance to speak further, i’m sure you’ll be glad we contacted you. (emphasis mine)

Get back to me at (949) 379-2008.
Best Regards,
Adam

And my reply:

Dear Mr. Kluger,

Thank you very much for contacting Double Happiness Jeans. Let’s cut right to the chase. We are extremely interested in having our product promoted by some of the worlds most famous recording artists. No question about it. We’re sold.

One question though: Can we choose the artist? Of course, my first choice would be the Jonas Brothers. Their Disney-fresh style just screams “Virtual Sweatshop Jeans” to me. I could also settle for Avril if necessary. It’s the youth that I’m after, if you get me. Heavy on the “16″. Light on the “35″, if you know what I mean.

On a personal note, I’d like to say that I simply don’t understand all of the fuss about product placement. I say: if you can deliver me a catchy tune while simultaneously informing me about a new hot Axe body spray fragrance, well you have just saved me precious time! Words are words, whether they are about axe body spray or “hitting me one more time”.

Hey, let’s get this deal done. My brand is ready for top 40 radio. I want to be a part of society via my brand of virtual sweatshop jeans. I want to be a house-hold name! And I believe that you are the guy who is going to make that happen. Let’s put some pen to paper and make marketing history.

Sincerely,
Mr. Jeff Crouse
Director of Operations,
Double Happiness Jeans
http://www.doublehappinessjeans.com

Editors note: Through a separate email Adam Kluger claims that, while this email is signed by him, it was sent by a sales rep through the use of automated software, not him personally.

Read more about this post on Wired’s Listening Post blog

UPDATE: A representative from Adam Kluger Public Relations in New York City (http://www.adamklugerpr.com/) contacted wired.com to say that there should also be no confusion over the fact that their New York City based PR Firm, founded by a former television producer (CNN, FOX), also coincidentally named Adam Kluger, is not involved in this issue in any way and should not be confused with the Adam Kluger quoted above in this article.

Dangerous Business

Anne Elizabeth Moore — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:17:24 +0000

Now, I like your freedom of speech as much as the next gal—technically more, probably—but i’m not about to get all up in arms because some ad industry blog has been receiving death threats for discussing a campaign that links government-backed violence, human rights violations, the Olympic Games, and the Chinese government. Especially when journalists, activists, and the Swedish Red Cross have been suffering worse, for years.

The alleged death threats were aimed at “a beyond-a-blog, commercial-laden delirium of heaven and hell for advertising addicts around the world, gossips about advertising stunts and marketing mishaps. The latest advertising news from a creative point of view served fresh daily since 2000″—barf—that builds buzz around such brilliant campaigns as Saatchi and Saatchi’s hilarious and spot-on campaign about human trafficking—in which humans were actually advertised for sale! My god the genius! It’s funny because it’s true! And also because it might have appeared first in the Onion!

The ads, for a Swedish Red Cross campaign, depict citizens being beaten, choked, attacked, and otherwise threatened by allegedly Chinese enforcers. Chinese ad enthusiasts and death-threateners, however, charge that the abusers are actually Nepalese. The images are accompanied by the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games logos. Some can be seen here, but because the charming ad blog above has imprinted its own logo on the images, I’m not going to repost. Human rights violations and abuses of activists and journalists have been tied directly to the 2008 Olympic Games.

Apparently the Swedish Red Cross tired of the death threats and opted to remove the images from its own site. Because, one assumes, the Swedish Red Cross isn’t surprised when violating long-held Chinese mandates restricting press freedom results in death threats. But apparently, the ad world is.

I’m not going to link to it

Michael Mandiberg — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 06:30:44 +0000

I’m not going to link to it, because if I do, they win.

There is a mock-scandalous advertisement out there for cologne, or underwear, (or cologne-and-underwear) that has some actress showing some nipple. They submitted it for TV, got rejected, and are now all mock-righteous.

OF COURSE IT WAS GOING TO BE REJECTED! That was the whole plan. And then a bunch of bloggers would write about it, and the YouTube video would get millions of free impressions. Cheap advertising.

Which is why I’m not going to link to it.

But I will say that I slowed it down to check, so you didn’t have to, and frankly the web video quality was so crappy that I couldn’t even see the nipple. Maybe on HDTV (but it ain’t ever gonna get on HDTV…) So it is double hype.

N.B. this is the first AAA post tagged “sex.” Steve, how did that happen?

IllegalBillboards.org

Steve Lambert — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:43:23 +0000

IllegalBillboards.org is a new effort launched by the Anti-Advertising Agency with IllegalSigns.ca to help organize and support the removal of illegal billboards in New York (we’ll get to the rest of the country soon I hope!). IllegalBillboards.org consists of a forum and blog where you can learn how to investigate an illegal sign and track progress.

This project got started at last months Illegal Billboard workshop at Eyebeam (se e photos above) and we’re just beginning. We want to welcome you to join us. We’ll soon be going on a field trip to identify signs – that will probably end at a bar – so join the email list. I’ll be out of town for a couple weeks, so Jordan from Public Ad Campaign will be in charge.

YouTube: Monetizing Alleged Copyright Violators—And Skirting the Law

Anne Elizabeth Moore — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:14:07 +0000

My friend Franklin Lopez—videomaker extraordinaire—recently received a bizarre notice in his inbox regarding a show he produced reusing some Universal Music Group (UMG) imagery. The note stated in part, “Your video is still live because UMG has authorized the use of this content on YouTube. As long as UMG has a claim on your video, they will receive public statistics about your video, such as number of views. Viewers may also see advertising on your video’s page.”

Now forget that Lopez’s show, It’s The End of the World As We Know It And I Feel Fine, is a news program. (In my opinion a very good one, although unlikely to attract a mainstream audience due to its radical politics and volume of swears.) Here, he’s even commenting—favorably, nonetheless, on a popular song. These facts, in a normal copyright infringement allegation, would make Lopez’s show a good candidate for the Fair Use defense.

Forget it, though, because this case won’t ever go to the courts. Lopez—unwittingly, perhaps, maybe even regretfully—agreed to such terms when he posted videos to the site. And now UMG, the company he refers to as one of the “corporate bloodsuckers that dominate the culture industry” in the episode in question is targeting and, potentially, profiting from his audience. And skirting the law.

(Incidentally, they’re targeting mine too: the song leads into an interview about Unmarketable. See the whole thing here.)

But anticorporate radicals aren’t the only ones being subjected to this profitable new plan for subverting the Copyright Act of 1976—even with those fancy pro-corporate provisions that favor businesses at the expense of creativity. Blogger John posted a jazz video, apparently never having realized he may (or may not) be committing a crime.

“Ooh,” he wrote when he got his note. “I just came close to being sued for posting copyrighted songs on YouTube! That’s crazy!”

In full, Lopez’s note—and maybe one headed toward your inbox soon, too—reads like this:

Dear YouTube Member:

UMG has claimed some or all visual content in your video It’s the End of the World as We know it #31. This claim was made as part of the YouTube Content Identification program.

Your video is still live because UMG has authorized the use of this content on YouTube. As long as UMG has a claim on your video, they will receive public statistics about your video, such as number of views. Viewers may also see advertising on your video’s page.

Claim Details:
Copyright owner: UMG
Content claimed: Some or all of the visual content
Policy: Allow this content to remain on YouTube.
* Place advertisements on this video’s watch page.

Applies to these locations:
Everywhere

UMG claimed this content as a part of the YouTube Content Identification program. YouTube allows partners to review YouTube videos for content to which they own the rights. Partners may use our automated video / audio matching system to identify their content, or they may manually review videos.

If you believe that this claim was made in error, or that you are otherwise authorized to use the content at issue, you can dispute this claim with UMG and view other options in the Video ID Matches section of your YouTube account. Please note that YouTube does not mediate copyright disputes between YouTube owners. Learn more about video identification disputes.

Sincerely,
The YouTube Content Identification Team

Which raises the question: What sort of “program,” exactly, is YouTube’s Content Identification program? The answer appears on YouTube’s Help Center page, and includes the following description:

The Video Identification tool is the latest way YouTube offers copyright holders to easily identify and manage their content on YouTube. The tool creates ID files which are then run against user uploads and, if a match occurs, the copyright holders policy preferences are then applied to that video. Rights owners can choose to block, track or monetize their content. [An ID file is a] digital content identification file which corresponds to a reference file (a piece of content like a movie, music or other audiovisual material). This file is generated using Google software and is also known as a “fingerprint.” . . . If Video ID identifies a match between a user upload and material in the reference library, it applies the usage policy designated by the content owner. The usage policy tells the system what to do with the video. Matches can be to only the audio portion of an upload, the video portion only, or both. . . . There are three usage policies — Block, Track or Monetize. If a rights owner specifies a Block policy, the video will not be viewable on YouTube. If the rights owner specifies a Track policy, the video will continue to be made available on YouTube and the rights owner will receive information about the video, such as how many views it receives. For a Monetize policy, the video will continue to be available on YouTube and ads will appear in conjunction with the video.

And don’t overlook the disclaimer:

WE ARE NOT YOUR ATTORNEYS, AND THE INFORMATION WE PRESENT HERE IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. WE PRESENT THIS INFORMATION FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.

So what are your options as a law-abiding devotee of the Fair Use defense, when you find your work is now both promoting and criticizing copyright owners? Well,if you’d been accused of copyright infringement, and your work was removed under the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, you could file a counter-notice. But since we’re working here outside the law, you can file a dispute with YouTube, who will forward it along to the company claiming copyright ownership. They’ll sort it out for you—privately.

But this is all a little different than the plan alluded to by Google CEO Eric Schmidt in the spring to monetize YouTube’s success. When revealed last month, the plan promised to award the videos of certain “content partners”—record labels, movie studios, and TV networks who presumably pay for the service—an “about-to-go-viral” honorific, and attach ads to them. It’s called “buzz targeting,” and according to Silicon Alley Insider the user-generated content for which YouTube is so celebrated is not eligible.

“One of the greatest aspects of YouTube is how it has democratized the way in which videos are discovered and promoted,” Shiva Rajaraman, YouTube Product Manager, states in the press release. “On any given day, a video from a top-tier content creator or an ordinary YouTube user can become the next big thing.”

Of course, YouTube now has a vested interest in turning certain videos from certain “top-tier content creators” into the next big thing, which isn’t any longer a “democratizing” project. And the company has still found a way to monetize its more democratic aspects, for the benefit of those in the top tier.

And the only one losing out here is that “ordinary YouTube user.”

Saving the Planet one Facebook Ad at a Time

Michael Mandiberg — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 13:00:39 +0000

Several people have sent me invitations to this Facebook application called (Lil) Green Patch. The invitation says “Here is a Jenny Appleseed plant for your (Lil) Green Patch. Could you help me by sending a plant back? Together we can fight Global Warming!”

So a little research later, I have learned that this game is a tamagotchi garden, where you share plants with people. It is one of the most popular Facebook games, with either 500,000 or 50,000 daily active users (there was a typo on the page!) It is driven by ad revenue, and the maker of the game gives a portion of the ad revenue to The Nature Conservancy to buy rainforest land. So far they have given $33,600. So that is less than ten cents for every active daily user. They are probably making 10 cents per active user every day. Does the carbon offset from buying the trees cover for the server farm required to run the application? To play annoying nay-sayer, what in the world is this teaching people about how to ‘Fight Global Warming?” It is teaching them that advertising will save the day, and that greenwashing is the way to go.

Okay, that was a rant.

Intro to Add-Art

Steve Lambert — Wed, 28 May 2008 00:43:54 +0000

This video will give you a brief intro to Add-Art and demonstrate how to install the add-on to your Firefox browser. If you have any additional questions, check out the forums – http://forum.add-art.org.

Intro video Remix Contest on http://fffff.at – $100 prize.

Introduction to Add-Art from Steve Lambert on Vimeo.