It took three days, but CNN has succumbed to pressure and suspended commentator Roland Martin after his arguably homophobic Super Bowl tweets about David Beckham's H&M ad. Somehow we don't think this spat is over just yet? more ›

Scantily clad ladies, Clydesdales, over-paid celebrities. Yup, last nights' Super Bowl brought with it a barrage of big budget ads that were, sadly, far less thrilling than the game itself. There were a few diamonds in the rough, sure, but for at least one of them you had to live in Nebraska. more ›

Last year, the Volkswagen Vader ad was declared the most entertaining non-football part of the Super Bowl, and it was well deserved: a Star Wars-obsessed kid is gonna be more entertaining than a Black Eyed Peas halftime show 11 out of 10 times. But how can they follow up such a masterpiece? We already knew from their teaser that the scientists at Volkswagon were up to something involving Star Wars and dogs. But have they taken things too far to achieve the ultimate level of synergetic viral cuteness? Watch below and decide. more ›

A person almost starts to feel sorry for Paula Deen. Not only does the Butter Queen have to deal with the internet being angry over her diabetes cover-up but she's also lost her publicist and is getting flack for having high blood pressure, too. And now local gyms are making fun of her in the Paper of Record! more ›

Taxi drivers bothered by racy ads on top of their rides are about to have another thing to worry about. The Taxi and Limousine Commission today votes on whether or not advertisements should be allowed on taxi receipts [PDF]. We have a very strong feeling it'll pass. more ›

Oscar-winning movies have been made about the noble struggle of the dazed motorist, but there is a point when comedy turns to tragedy, and that point is probably two days. After finishing last week's marathon in 3 hours and 16 minutes, Albany resident Charles Petraske couldn't remember where he parked his car in Manhattan for 48 hours. "I was completely disoriented. I had no idea where the heck I was, or where my car is parked, and I had no phone and no money," Petraske tells the Post. This is exactly why we never exercise under any circumstances. more ›

Back in the end of September Amazon made a big splash when it announced its Android-based Kindle Fire tablet. But what caught our eye at that media event was the much cheaper, ad-supported Kindle which the company now sells for $79. At that price point, how could we say no? And since we got ours in the mail we've been pretty smitten with the device. Until, that is, it started butt-buying Amazon Local deals for us without our permission! more ›

Yesterday, reader AV sent us an email with the subject, "Columbus Circle subway corridor of horror." She was referring to "freakishly nauseating Crest supergraphics," noting how the campaign "features pores, hairs, tongue textures and skin crevices in eye-gouging detail" and deemed it "a ghastly misappropriation of vinyl output!" AV also sent us some photographs! more ›

Given that soon you won't be able to escape the nonstop barrage of images selling you sex and mole removal from jail, it's nice to know that the city is still enforcing an advertising ban in the only place that isn't plastered with a poster for Horrible Bosses: the sidewalk. The Times reports that despite the Sony Corporations's best efforts to cheerily inform us that it's the "Era Of You" around their headquarters on Madison Avenue, the city's DOT slapped them with a cease and desist order for their removal. "The sidewalks are intrinsic public space, and there are very few parts of our city that really are still sacred," a Rudin Center professor at NYU tells the paper. more ›

One year ago today we wrote about protesters calling for the retirement of McDonald's mascot Ronald McDonald. And, for a while, he did seem to be less omnipresent. But that was then. The hamburger-pushing clown is back in a new set of McDonald's ads starting to air next week and now he wants to make some home movies for your kids. Naturally, some parents groups that were already concerned about obese American children are not amused. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg has no qualms spending buckets of dough get his way—third term, anyone?—but that doesn't mean he has a clue how his current million-dollar ad buy is doing. That's buy was just a drop in the ocean of his massive wealth after all! more ›

Just because New York State is set to have its first on-time budget in six years doesn't mean that much of the state isn't still desperate to make ends meet. And so we guess we have to give the Erie County Holding Center upstate some credit, they've come up with a means to make more money that we really weren't expecting: advertising. more ›

What is a plutocrat to do with his fortune when his city is in debt, his third term seen as illegitimate, and his ratings are their lowest in eight years? Shut up and get to work Spend $1 million vanity ads trying to save face! Our billionaire mayor bought $1 million worth of TV ads with images of him talking to construction workers, hanging out with kids and arguing that his "solution is built on our core values." Mayor Bloomberg, he's just like us, only fabulously wealthy. Watch and learn: more ›

We understand why Super Bowl commercials are such a big deal/big business for advertisers, especially in this age of TIVO, DVR and Netflix; what we do get is when did Super Bowl commercials become their own freakishly well-oiled medium? Last year, a Snickers commercial featuring Betty White shot her back into stardom and made her the feel-good story of the year. Now this year, we get previews (some teasers, some full spots) of the commercials, and some websites are even live-blogging the ads on Sunday! Ad aficionados can check out the teasers here, and (spoiler alert!) see the schedule for their airings here. If that doesn't satiate you, you can also see a gallery of the "greatest" Super Bowl commercials here. more ›

Earlier this month, Walmart representatives refused to attend City Council hearings on their planned invasion of East New York, citing how unfair it was that everyone was ganging up on them while giving other chains an easy time. Now on the eve of another public hearing this Thursday, Walmart has decided to go on the offensive, with a series of radio, newspaper and mailer ads to try to appeal to people directly, while ignoring the Council and other politicians/critics. And they're kind of bitchy ads. more ›

We're drawing ever-closer to the Philip K. Dickian dystopia paradise in which all advertising is personalized according to the purchasing power of each individual consumer. (That means YOU, Kevin Spacey fan and likely Casino Jack ticket-buyer!) In a report on the booming taxi ad biz, the Times notes that people riding cabs through the East Village can now expect to see backseat TV ads for Blue Man Group, which performs on Lafayette Street. The theater troupe is just one of the advertisers "using the GPS devices in cabs to pinpoint when and where its commercials should play." They know where you are, and they're coming for you. more ›

Of course the people behind the time-suck games on Facebook are responsible for offline trash as well. Zynga, the developer of Mafia Wars and Farmville, went the illegal route for their latest marketing campaign, sticking fake dollar bills to the sidewalks of both New York and San Francisco. Yesterday NYC the Blog called attention to their tactics—which have been getting criticized by local blogs all week—noting it's unlawful to deface any street or sidewalk with printed matter, including advertisements. more ›

The city's Health Department has backed away from a directive that would require any retailers selling cigarettes to display graphic warning signs about the dangers of smoking. The ads were to have been posted near the cash register, and would have provided information about how to quit smoking. But big tobacco put up a big fight about the requirement, and they're suing to stop it in federal court. So the city has agreed to stop enforcing the rule until the case is heard, NY1 reports. Tobacco companies argue that the requirement deprives retailers of their right to free speech. more ›

The Georgi Vodka ads that were banned from city buses back in 2006 eventually returned a year later—but now they're being removed again, at least in some Brooklyn neighborhoods. The company's ads have consistently featured a bikini-clad butt, and back during the first ban of aught six, Georgi CEO Martin Silver admitted it was his daughter Laurie's butt, relaying this charming anecdote: "Best buns in the city. Her friends call her 'Buns' now." It's unclear whether or not "Buns" was featured in the new ads being pulled, which show a similar bikini-clad butt sitting in the sand. The MTA's Aaron Donovan told us this morning:

"At the request of community leaders, the Georgi vodka ads were removed from buses that are likely to serve Brooklyn's Hasidic neighborhoods. It has been our longstanding practice, when and where possible, to be sensitive to neighborhood concerns about potentially suggestive advertising. Although it is not always practicable, we try to limit more suggestive ads upon neighborhood request."

So, how 'bout those commercials? USA Today has a ranking of all the Super Bowl ads, which places the Snickers commercial featuring Betty White in the #1 slot. A bit further down, that car commercial that's narrated by Michael C. Hall, has Noah Kalina staring into a camera again and lets women across America know their husbands f*cking HATE THEM and just want to drive their Dodges, baby... placed #23; the Simpsons shilling for Coca-Cola comes in at #30; and the Christian group's (actually not all that controversial) anti-abortion commercial placed #54. You can watch all 63 commercials there, or at CBS. more ›