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iAnnoy
Apple has filed a patent application for a system that could compel users to submit to advertising. Apple has developed what it calls an “enforcement routine,” which, if deployed, could prevent a device from working until the user watches an ad. After the news broke, the company refused to comment, though some Apple-shining bloggers pointed out the technology appears to have been developed with an eye to giving away iPhones to consumers in the developing world. Seeding a desire for a trophy brand in a poverty-stricken market? Apparently, there's an app for that.

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OLYMPIC WOW MOMENTS

Samsung, a Vancouver Winter Olympics sponsor, this week unveiled its theme for the Games: "Discover your every WOW moment." WOW stands for Wireless Olympic Works and the plan is to have fans use their Samsung mobile phones to receive real-time Games updates, an Olympic first.

The company also unveiled its Samsung Olympic Visual Identity System, to be used during Samsung's Games-related marketing events and promotional activities. The design is inspired by the shape of a mobile phone, the natural scenery of Vancouver, and incorporates the "Inukshuk," a symbol of harmony.

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HUH? A NEW STUDY SUGGESTS that we enjoy television shows more when they are accompanied by commercials.

Most of us would say we prefer TV without ads, but in fact viewers tend to enjoy the experience more when ads are included, according to a study by New York University's Stern School of Business. The likely reason, researchers say, is that interruptions of a television show help freshen the novelty of the program. The study was not paid for by the ad industry.

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Interbrand-creation Brandchannel.com has just announced the winners of its fourth annual Brandcameo awards.

"A total of 52 films were No. 1 during their respective weeks at the U.S .box office during the period of January 2007 through June 2008. Several films reigned for more than one week.

"In these..., [we] spotted 1,251 brands. This works out to approximately 24.1 discernable brands per film, completely average for the millennium."

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While most films offer marketing and merchandising tie-in opps, few give marketers the chance to connect high-end product to a plotline the way Sex and the City will.



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Here's something fun for a Friday: the LA Times' 2007 Best & Worst Online Movie Gimmicks.

In addition the Times' witty assessments of promo sites for flicks like the Simpsons Movie, Superbad and Evan Almighty, you might find a few ideas worth "borrowing."

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