As a marketer I'm certainly concerned about making sure online ads for my products don't inadvertently appear in inappropriate locations. Earlier this year when I considered placing some banner ads on an at-the-time up-and-coming, kids-oriented website run by a well-known company (trust me, you've heard of them), I expected to be hit with a standard list of "dos and don'ts." Well, when I received their "Specific All Ages Ad Content Guidelines" I couldn't help but wonder if the inmates hadn't taken over the asylum. I'll let you be the judge by showcasing a handful of highlights taken verbatim from the dozen-item, page-long list.
· No guns (only possible exceptions are ray guns or tranquilizer guns – as in, sci-fi or non-lethal – guns kids would not view as real or truly harmful in any way)
· No knives. Swords are taken on a case-by-case basis.
· The woman should not be overtly sexualized. Therefore, no boobs bigger than a B-cup, please
· Also, please avoid crop tops (as in no midriff skin/belly button showing), tiny tank tops or halter-tops.
· Please do not show underwear straps
· No low slung pants that might show ass cracks
That final bullet point I also assume eliminates any plumbers from... Read more
Archive for Jeff Berkwits 
Engagement – Why don't brands create their own virtual worlds or MMOs?
Listening to the latest words of wisdom from top marketing pundits, it seems that consumer engagement – with online advertising, with a brand, with just about every aspect of a product's marketing – is all the rage. Yet it has surprised me that, at least from recent articles I’ve read and conferences I’ve attended, not a single person is mentioning at length branded virtual worlds or MMOs as an advertising medium. What could be more engaging and immersive than creating an entire world that, at least online, the customer actually lives within?
At Upper Deck I work with games every day, and we're hyper aware of the online gaming space, in part because two of our products – the World of Warcraft Trading Card Game and the soon-to-launch World of Warcraft Collectible Miniatures Game – exist solely because of the popularity of the World of Warcraft MMO. Still, between World of Warcraft, which has nearly 11 million subscribers worldwide, Lineage, Habbo, Gaia Online, EverQuest, Eve Online, There.com and the hundreds of other virtual worlds and MMOs either already running or currently on the drawing boards, there is clearly interest and demand for such immersive realms. In fact, a study released... Read more
