Rocket Talk: Can Sunday Subway Service Start Sooner?
Newsstand: November 19, 2009
Gender Studies Coming to a High School Near You
Please Insert Station and Try Again
The Art of Not Knowing
So we're, uh, pretty sure that Bell's behind those mystery "er" ads after all.
A poster at RedFlagDeals leaked some second-phase ads yesterday—including one for the Samsung Instinct that proclaims it an "apple eater"—which have since been confirmed by a few Torontoist readers as the real deal. The second phase is being revealed all around the city now (one revealed one is near where the Don Valley Parkway and Gardiner Expressway meet; others are in GO trains). Just a few hours ago, Bell issued a press release about its "much-anticipated new corporate brand" and claimed ownership of the "er" ads; the ads' blue shapes—"Bell-ements"—were all parts of the new Bell logo. Silly us, thinking that the ads might be Olympics-related, or otherwise remotely interesting!
Thanks to Jason Wager and Jen for the tips.
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What a waste of paper/vinyl/cardboard/labour/etc.
Buzz campaigns like this are a huge waste of resources.
I always hate when corporate shmucks feel like they can appropriate the "rock" thing into something decidedly "unrock". The sadder thing is that it often works (on people like Suede from the latest season of Project Runway).
Is there anyone who doesn't work for a carrier or Samsung who thinks the Instinct is a realistic iPhone substitute?
I think that the Instinct is a realistic iPhone substitute.
http://reviews.cnet.com/4370-11399_7-501-102.html?tag=lnav
I don't have a cell phone or ipod though.
Mystery solved. We can all go home now.
O! I SEE WUT U DID THAR!
Seriously, this corperate whoring is annoying. It only tells the public Bell is PO'd with the iPhone.
At least they got rid of that stupid "face" in their logo.
That's great that you're giving Bell free publicity.
Bah, doesn't this new font face remind anyone of the Bell company from the States that changed their name a few years back? The name is on the tip of my tongue...
I guess "uh..." and "um..." were taken so they had to use "er..."?
Waster
Loser
Scammer
Hater
I was really hoping someone would deface the ads before the 'mystery' was solved.
Failure?
At least the beavers are gone.
Worst. Mascots. Ever.
Proven fact: no self-proclaimed X-killer (or X-eater, in this case) has ever actually been better than X.
I think the logo used looks anti-technology. Nothing about it screams cutting edge technologically advanced.
n0wak is probably right. I mean, if you become an X-killer, then you're advertising X right there. If you truly ARE an X-killer, you usually get their without referencing the other thing and become X yourself.
Anyway, what really annoys me about the ads is the position. Everyone seems to be on the bus/streetcar/subway by the way they're holding the bottom of the "B". Super, except (a) some people sit and (b) there's still no cell service on the subway unless you're above-ground. Yay beauracracy!
Bell end, more like.
Disappointer
Saul Bass is smugly sitting somewhere murmuring to himself, "I win."
@Vaneksa:
You forgot Throttler.
I like the new font.
And the totally unsubtle "apple eater" tagline.
And yeah, that's about it.
Anyway, what really annoys me about the ads is the position. Everyone seems to be on the bus/streetcar/subway by the way they're holding the bottom of the "B".
They're probably subway station "takeover" ads, and Bell probably wants to imply the devices are for more than making calls.
I think the logo used looks anti-technology. Nothing about it screams cutting edge technologically advanced.
Actually, that makes sense to me. Technology is evolving into "lifestyle". Boundaries are dissolving. It's no longer the geek's domain, it's just "there".
Now, I'll just be waiting for someone at Bell to open a press release with "Er..." as their first syllable.
Only Toronto's liberal hippies would get so flustered about an advertising campaign. If you guys hate ads so much why not just ignore them?
Their new slogan is "er"?
I think you mean "er!"!
PickleToes,
Because it's fun to speak out against what you don't like. I have a question for you though.
If you don't agree with out point of views, why do you pay attention to our comments?
Full disclosure-- I work for the agency that did the Samsung Instinct launch party last night.
If you want to know what actual people are saying about the Instinct, blog reviews/tweets/youtube vidoes/pics about it are all aggregated here:
http://conversationbytes.com/theinstinct/
Gaulder, don't feed the troll.
Rek, I don't see why I shouldn't. Every blog needs a mascot, I nominate the grumpy apple headed man.
No troll left behind.
The people so against ads are the only ones paying attention to them. I don't even pay attention to them.
Some serious self loathing going on in here...
I guess my differing opinion will warrant someoone calling me a troll... lol, cool.
>If you don't agree with out point of views, why do you pay attention to our comments?
Unlike the majority of people on this site, some people actually have tolerance for people who's opinions differ from their own. It's called debate, or conversation. You know, the ability of regular people to communicate and offer another perspective on something? I think it's why I love this comment so much! Projection is one of the funnier psychological things we do as humans.
This blog already has a mascot and it's x_the_x.
Torontothegreat,
Sorry for confusing you, but I was putting a spin on Pickletoes' comment. That was a question meant for just him, not a question for the public so again I appologies for any confusion.
I was just stating that his complaining about our complaining isn't that different from each other. If I didn't appreciate his opinion I'd just ignore him as I am sure many people ignore me.
I would have to also add that I am no stranger to self loathing, as it a part of my every day routine.
I have yet to meet this x_the_x you speak of therefor my vote still stands with the angry apple headed man.
Gauldar: I thank you for your nomination. However I must respectfully decline. If my friends and family ever found out that I posted on a site filled with so many hippies I would surely be disowned.
I post on this site because I believe that, contrary to the Human Rights Commissions, the "progressive" liberal agenda deserves to be challenged during its quest to create the ultimate communist-revival mega state.
PickleToes,
Meh, whatever floats your boat.
PickleToes: With all this perpetual talk about hippies, Communists, the Red Star, pink lefties, eco-fascists, Toronto's gestapo, etc., you do realize it's 2008, right? Or are you a time traveller from the past, sent as a last-ditch attempt to salvage a dying breed?
Marc: It may be 2008 but the forces for statism and radical leftism are still at work.
Damn straight.
I was really hoping for a culture jam along the lines of: HARDER BETTER FASTER STRONGER. KANYE LIVES
Brand New weighs in and gives the new identity a thumbs up. The commenters, however, do not.
Maybe Bell could hire a Kern(er) What's up with that type setting in the logo?
11 people at 4 different agencies kerned it, that's what's up.
When it comes to trying to be clever with an ad campaign,
your guess is as good as mine. A teaser is always good,
but it's hard to make any sense of the new Bell campaign.
Their tag lines ending in "er" bold and blue, so it really
stands out, emphasized. Still.....there has been no reference
to what it means........not yet anyway.....
In the mean time let's try to figured it out on our own......
ok....so the most commonly known "er'" that we know
stands for Emergency Room......ok so it's not that!
Someone who is an Engineer will use Er to abbreviate
their degree.....it's not that! Could it be mean the chemical element
Erbium - Er on periodic table.....I don't think so.........
How about Entity-Relationship - is an abstract conceptual representation
of structured data.........sounds good....but...no.......
What about Er as in the Cyrillic alphabet....uhhhh......NO
Er as the Biblical name - was the eldest son of Judah......sorry
Er as in Earned Run - a concept in the game of baseball.....No chance
How about the suffix "er" as degrees of comparison......example when something is
green-er, or fast-er, bright-er, you can see where I'm going, but it doesn't
work with the words they are using......tasker,rocker or invader.......oh well....
Alright, so what about "er" a filler word used in dialogue displaying uncertainty
you know what I mean "uh", the way kids talk "um" like yknow, s'up eh....
"er" is one of those gap fillers...........could work....appealing to the youth market
I think the best one would be the following
Extended Range - "er' - usually referring to missiles or aircraft......
but this could work, referring to communication...uuuhhmmmm???
Or prehaps it means actually nothing at all......just to get people like me and you wondering
and talking about the new Bell campaign. I guess they'd rather spend millions
on a stupid ad campaign than keep valuable dedicated employees who've worked
super hard for years, it's disrespectful and disgraceful.
Hello Bell !....In the near future I'll be disconnecting everything....
cell, satellite and even my land-line...... goodbye!!!