Of course, that's what the advertiser, restaurant chain Applebee's, wanted me to think. In fact, it's one of the new integrated ads USA Today has introduced with the beta version of its new website. The ads occasionally pop up between stories, occupying the entire screen on my laptop -- just like on a tablet.
The headline, "A lunch at your desk is no lunch at all," is formatted to look like the kind used on news stories, such as the one on BBQ in Memphis -- right down to the hard-to-read white text on a too-light background. The restaurant logo didn't clue me in right away because USAT occasionally uses logos in news columns.
The headline, "A lunch at your desk is no lunch at all," is formatted to look like the kind used on news stories, such as the one on BBQ in Memphis -- right down to the hard-to-read white text on a too-light background. The restaurant logo didn't clue me in right away because USAT occasionally uses logos in news columns.
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ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, the stock market closed two hours ago, and the beta version of USAT's homepage still shows that the three leading indices -- Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq and S&P 500 -- all closed up and down.
ReplyDeleteFor example, the Dow is shown as +-40.27 against a green background. The Nasdaq: +-5.28, and the S&P: +- 4.58.
In fact, all those indices closed lower.
Plus, I realize that green is the color of the Money section. But it also suggests positive, when a red background would indicate negative.
Popup ads with a transparent background, ugh.
ReplyDeleteHope this works for folks:
http://download.cnet.com/windows/popup-blocker-software/
Really? There's an Applebees logo and "Choose any two" copy and the advertising come-on of all time "New" and you thought it was a story? Good lord we're grasping at straws for things to gripe about at this point.
ReplyDelete7:36 Please. The use of the same headline typography shows the advertiser and the advertisement department are trying to trick the reader.
ReplyDeleteWhat's more, the word "advertisement" appears nowhere in the ad -- not even in small type. How come?
I just found that ad on the travel front. Not shown on your frame grab are two orange blocks with white reverse type.
ReplyDeleteThey say "VIEW OUR FULL MENU" and "FIND YOUR CLOSEST APPLEBEE'S"
How you come up with "trying to trick the reader" is baffling.
Whose brainchild is this? They're going to do well for themselves. This is exactly what other sites aren't doing.
ReplyDeleteI think you're really grasping at straws here. The font is not the same at all and the ad copy is in ALL CAPS. Do you get confused by ads on TV because they don't say ADVERTISEMENT on the screen? Give readers a little credit for intelligence. Are those things down the right side of your blog news stories?
ReplyDeleteSorry, Jim. I think you're reaching too hard on this one. I looked at Applebees' site, and the typography is their own (it's all over their site), and significantly different than USAT's style. I don't think this is a case of "the advertising department trying to trick the reader."
ReplyDeleteJim, you just can't bear the fact that USA TODAY kicked ass on this new site, can you?
ReplyDelete11:21 I like the new site a lot. That's why I wrote yesterday: "I think the online redesign is a big improvement over the one USAT has offered for many years. It feels more like a tablet application, the platform that's quickly being adopted by news consumers, especially young ones."
ReplyDeleteAs long as I don't have to hunt down the "X" I'm OK with this stuff.
ReplyDeleteWhat people have to get past is the whole "News" vs "Advertising" debate. That ship sailed a lo-o-ong time ago. News doesn't pay the bills. Heck, it barely gets you in the tent any more. If that last sentence conjures up images of a peep show, just think "British press". Works for them.
How many full page "stories" about Amish fireplaces and European gold finds does YOUR local paper run every week. With luck, you can spot the word "Advertisement" in the first couple seconds of viewing. Maybe it's a little harder to find.
As with any consumer item, there has to be a certain presumption of competence and sophistication on the part of the purchaser. We don't sit around the radio at night waiting for FDR or Fiorello to tell us the news.
Some would say that a lunch at Applebee's also isn't lunch at all...
ReplyDelete