AdPulp

AdPulp.com was created in 2004 with the purpose to make the communications industry a better place. Adpulp covers all sorts of advertising, from television commercials to magazine ads, and any other forms of marketing communications. The website includes an expansive archive of reviewed advertisements broken down by either month or subject, and a fruit juice theme with words like "Raw Pulp" and "Juice Your Inbox". Users can provide their email for additional unpublished content, or just browse the page while commenting on whatever post they like. There are also many social media links to share content, along with a search box to navigate more easily.

We chose this blog specifically because it is so welcoming to new viewers, allowing anyone to comment on the subjects of their choice. The blog is also updated very frequently, with at least two new posts every day on a vast array of different advertisements. What do you think of Adpulp's open minded approach to marketing communications? Do you like the "pulp" theme of the blog? Do the ads on the blog relate in any way to the actual content?

Coolhunting

Coolhunting.com is a blog created in 2003 for global ideas on design, technology, art, and culture. Maintained by a group of editors and contributors, this site provides daily updates on these topics. When visited, one will see that the site provides numerous images and videos as well as informative posts to describe a new product or design. The blog presents multiple tags and tabs to locate more specific topics of interest. Advertising is a major aspect of this blog. Specific tactics are used through the layout of this ad (i.e. advertisements at the top of the page, the right sidebar, and frequently at the bottom of the pages). The location of these ads are consistent in that they are always in the same place, each time one goes to the blog. Consistency is an important tactic used in advertising. Does the regular placement of these ads increase the likelihood of them being noticed? Is there another style of advertising that would be more effective on this type of website? Are there any other interesting possible advertising tactics being used on this blog?

Columbus Underground

Columbus Underground is a blog created by Walker Evans in November 2001. Evans made the site to get the word out about different events going on around Columbus. The site is a "community-driven resource" that quickly became a popular place to find out what is new and trendy in Columbus. The topics of blog posts grew to cover "local developments, restaurants, politics, civic issues, transit and a range of general interest topics..." about the 15th largest city in the U.S.

The homepage shows the most recent stories, usually one or two posts a day, about various topics. The color scheme is simple yet with a fun skyline picture of Columbus at the top. There is a table of organized subtopics at the top also, making it easy for a site-goer to find what they are looking for. One can contribute their own opinion or review to the blog by simply hitting the submit button in the table.

Does the site have more posts that are advertising or more posts that are reviews? Could these reviews be an effective way of advertising though? How reliable is a community-driven blog?

Adrants

http://www.adrants.comThis blog, titled "Adrants", is a website that is committed to all marketing and advertising news, perfect for what we are studying in our class. It provides insightful, and relevant feedback on the most current and interesting advertisements in the public. It also comments on current trends, and patterns it sees in advertisements of our time, which provides much credibility to the website, showing how "Adrants" keeps up with what's fresh. On top of that, the the site looks at factors that affect advertising strategies, new company campaigns, and viral videos. Overall, it is a site that offers up to date, intelligent advertisement feedback, but in a very trendy way.

"Adrants" presents its most recent advertisement feedback on its home page. And then offers different categories of advertisements presented by different factors on the right side of the site. I found this to be very interesting and organized! Comparing it to "Adverblog", our previous blog assessment, it is way easier to navigate, and a lot more pleasant on the eyes. It also seems as if the site offers every type of advertisement possible. A very nice collection.

What is your opinion of the layout of "Adrants"? Do you think the information following the advertisements is quality feedback?

Candy Blog

“Open your mouth and expand your mind,” is the slogan of Candy Blog. Created in 2006 by candy critic, Cybele May, this blog features reviews of every type of candy possible. The home page of the site is designed in bright cheery colors with various pictures of delicious sweets lining the side columns. The bubbled side boxes contain featured news items and interactive polls. The main persona of the website is lighthearted and happy.

We specifically chose this blog because it does not appear to be a site that is focused around advertising. However, exploring further around the site, one finds that it is a different venue for advertising. The site owner will review candies for fun and certain candies if asked by companies. By simply reviewing them and posting her thoughts, she seems to be providing an outlet for advertising even though it is different than mainstream advertising. Who would be most likely to visit this website? Also, sometimes advertising is not simple commercials on television or pages in a magazine. Where else do subtle, nonchalant advertisements appear? Have advertisements become such a normal part of life, that we don’t notice we are directly viewing them? Is there anything else unconventional or interesting about this site?

Adverblog

The blog we’ve chosen is Adverblog, a blog dedicated to analyzing advertising ideas. The blog has been around since 2003 and has many examples of creative advertising campaigns. The front page has a comprehensive news feed with links to blogs on each individual story.

We thought this blog was particularly interesting because it not only has ad campaigns from this country but from others as well. For example, posted on April 6^th was the Mexican Red Cross’s Fundraising campaign. Were there any entries that you found particularly interesting? Why? Do you think the blog has a good variety of sources?

For my post to this to our 110 class blog, I've selected Jezebel.com. Search this blog for potential primary and secondary sources, and please comment upon what links and information you found useful to our class. Detail why they were helpful and connect them to some aspect of our course theme. Also ask how the presentation of the material influences the meaning of the content. Ask how does it look? How do the visual aspects of this blog affect its rhetorical message?