Digital shop enjoys slaughtering magazines

Carrot Creative, a digital shop in Brooklyn, is using Halloween to celebrate the media industry's woes. It posted this photo on Twitter, showing "digital" stabbing to death magazines like Domino, PC Magazine and Blender. Granted, I doubt we'll find many mourners for Cookie. I'm completely biased considering my job, but the glee with which digital people welcome the supposed demise of "traditional" media is perturbing. Yes, the industry is going through a wrenching transition and paying a heavy price for a business model that should have been transformed many years ago. That's meant lots of layoffs and even magazines and newspapers with storied histories shutting altogether. It's a sad picture. I'm not suggesting we hold a candlelight vigil for Condé Nast or get the government to bail out newspapers. Still, it can't hurt to keep the giddiness in check just a bit.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

Published on October 30, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (14)
Filed under Digital, Halloween, Magazines, Morrissey

Be hilarious! Go as Billy Mays on Halloween

Freshly deceased celebrities are always a big hit on Halloween. There's no shortage of them this year, but for any self-respecting advertising person, the choice is clear: You must go as Billy Mays, the infomercial king who died in June. It's a ridiculously easy costume to pull together, and the louder you get as the night goes on, the more realistic you will appear. The weird thing, however, is that Mays's son, also named Billy, who is honoring his father's memory on the Web site Where's Billy Mays?, is embracing the idea of Billy Mays Halloween costumes—and has even announced a Billy Mays "Hallow-clean Contest." God bless him. Here are the rules:
  1. Send a photo of your costume to wheresbillymays@gmail.com along with your contact info.
  2. Be tasteful. (Zombies ARE permitted)
  3. Project your voice.
  4. Have fun.
  The deadline for entries is Nov. 4. Via Consumerist.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Previously on AdFreak:
Billy Mays sells Chipotlaway from the grave
Iconic TV pitchman Billy Mays is dead at 50

Published on October 23, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (4)
Filed under Halloween, Infomercials, Nudd

McCain masks doing no better than McCain

With the dismal economy providing an extra incentive for people to escape from reality, a whopping two-thirds of Americans say they will celebrate Halloween this year, and worsen their own personal economic situation by spending nearly $67 per person doing so, according to research by groups that are way too into this particular holiday. Consumer spending on Halloween 2008 will rise to $5.8 billion, up more than $700 million from last year. That's a lot of pumpkins, mini Milky Way bars and Jason masks! And speaking of, Barack Obama masks are outselling John McCain masks nationwide by about 57 percent to 43 percent. That's somewhat surprising, as McCain is a much scarier candidate, and it pretty much deals the Arizona senator a defeat in the last contest he realistically had a chance of winning. I haven't decided on my costume yet. Some co-workers have suggested I'd make a great Sarah Palin, but I suspect they just want to plaster my image on the Web or add it to my "Bad Hire" file in human resources. Besides, I like to give the heels and stockings a rest at least one day of the year!

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on October 15, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (5)
Filed under Gianatasio, Halloween, Politics