Is Annoying People The Best Way To Get Them To Drink Coors Light?

from the train-go-away dept

Flash-based ads, or other irritating ones such as those delivered by Intellitxt, are almost guaranteed to annoy internet users, since nobody likes to have the page they're reading suddently be covered up. Still, sites continue to run them, so you never know when the screen is going to become momentarily useless as the corner of the page gets pulled back to reveal an ad. The latest company to embrace this kind of advertising is Coors, which has plans to blanket several websites simultaneously at 4:53 each day with a Silver Bullet train racing across the screen, beckoning workers to get a Coors a few minutes later at the traditional post-work happy hour. It's hard to believe this will have the desired effect. When people see the ads, they're not going to think to themselves, "ooh, that makes me want to order Coors Light when I get to the bar"; they're going to think, "how can I make that damn train go away". Furthermore, we wonder if Coors is a little out of touch with the times. After all, who really is done with work by 5:00 anymore?
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  1. identicon
    Noah, 20 Mar 2007 @ 8:54am

    Follow Your Own Standards

    [Disclaimer: as a Flash developer -- a good one, not an ad creator -- I represent a certain bias here.]

    Shame on you: you're as guilty here as those knee-jerk lawmakers you regularly ridicule. Flash technology is not the problem, it's the ad-makers who make these annoying pieces, and the site owners who buy and display them, that are to blame. By singling out Flash, you are contributing to the myth that Flash equals annoying ads. Besides, it is not Flash, but div layers that allow the annoying ads you describe to cover up page content. Flash has absolutely nothing to do with that. HTML developers should be ashamed.....

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Dan, 20 Mar 2007 @ 8:55am

    I'm done with work at 5, but I am allergic to beer that tastes like a frat urinal. Looks like I'm not the target demo!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Chronno S. Trigger, 20 Mar 2007 @ 9:26am

    Re: Follow Your Own Standards

    He's singling out flash because that's what everyone uses. He's not saying flash is bad just the ads are.
    "Flash-based ads, or other irritating ones such as those delivered by Intellitxt"

    I'm sure if everyone used Java to put the ads on the pages some java developer would be bitching because every one would be saying "those dame java ads."

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    The infamous Joe, 20 Mar 2007 @ 9:32am

    Questions.

    So, am I the only one that wonders why Dan knows what a Frat urinal tastes like?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    Peter, 20 Mar 2007 @ 9:42am

    I think so

    I think you are Joe. I don't really want to know, and don't spend too much time thinking about it. Why's it such an appealing thing for you to think about?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    Steve, 20 Mar 2007 @ 9:52am

    I get out at 5:00PM, but Coors??? Hell no man. Bud Ice It's STRONGER!!! YEAH!!!!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  7. identicon
    jeff, 20 Mar 2007 @ 9:54am

    or

    Is Annoying People The Best Way To Get Them To Drink Coors Light?


    no, it's the only way. i live in colorado. if you ever saw the water supply coors uses, you'd understand why it tastes like it does and you'd never drink another coors again in your life. normally the small reservoirs are a very unnatural shade of green.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  8. identicon
    TheDock22, 20 Mar 2007 @ 9:59am

    Re: Re: Follow Your Own Standards

    I totally agree that the article specifically says Flash-based ads, and whether you like it or not many Flash developers use Flash to not only create annoying ads, but they also create annoying websites! Just because the article mentions Flash does no indicate Flash is evil, but when misused it sure can be like any other technology.

    As far as the ad, they must work somewhere along the way since Flashed-based ads are so dang popular. I hate them and think they're extremely annoying only because when I'm looking at something on a website, I want to find it quickly. When an add pops up I have to take time to click it away. I'm sure for some casual internet users, they think it's cool so maybe it'll work.

    I don't really care if Coors signed up to do a flash-based ad, it's advertising. All companies need advertising to thrive. Beside I don't agree that Flash-based ads would be "out of touch with the times" since they are a relatively new technology. And a lot of people still do get off work at 5:00.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  9. identicon
    Atlas Shrugged Guy, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:03am

    IF you're out at 5...

    your premise - "who's really done with work by 5:00 pm anymore?" says more about who you are than the vast majority of people in this country. There are a lot more people who are done with work by 5:00pm than you realize..you just don't move in those circles. But it's because of those freeloaders and their attitude that society owes them something rather than taking care of themselves that the government has to continually steal my hard earned $ and give it to them in the form of payments to individuals (welfare / medicare , social security, unemployment, gov't social programs, etc). Don't believe me - just ask yourself what happens when China decides to no longer hold onto all of the $ we've been giving them for years in exchange for all the crap we've all got to buy at Walmart.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  10. identicon
    Jesus, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:08am

    Re: IF you're out at 5...

    Wow, you really ran in a new direction completely unrelated to anything being discussed here. Neat.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  11. identicon
    Bryan, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:08am

    Re:

    You know what a frat urinal tastes like? Ew.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  12. identicon
    Bryan, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:10am

    I can actually see this ad campaign working very well. First, everyone in my company (which is very large) gets off by 5. On a Thursday or Friday, when most are already planning on going to go to happy hour and counting down the last few minutes, I can just imagine IMs popping up all over at 4:53 saying something like "there goes the happy hour train, time to go!" I can even see some starting to conjugate around a screen at 4:53 as a way to kick off happy hour.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  13. identicon
    TheDock22, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:11am

    Re: IF you're out at 5...

    There are a lot more people who are done with work by 5:00pm than you realize..you just don't move in those circles. But it's because of those freeloaders and their attitude that society owes them something rather than taking care of themselves that the government

    Uh...WTH? You're saying people who work 8 hours days (8-5 w/ 1 hr lunch) are lazy and freeloaders? Maybe you need to take a look at the welfare program causing your taxes to be high rather than blaming people who actually work for a living.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  14. identicon
    charlie potatoes, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:11am

    hey Ayn

    you're saying that i'm a parasite because i get my work done by 5:00 each day? I doubt you pay half the taxes i do.. so fuck you, towel head....harsh email to follow.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  15. identicon
    Philip, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:13am

    5pm and I'm gone ...

    well, sometimes upto 5:30, but same general time frame. Once the clock strikes, I step out of work and into personal life. I have a pretty strict code in work doesn't impede on my time. If it does, I push back with all my might rectify what caused it to impede in the first place.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  16. identicon
    TheDock22, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:14am

    Re:

    IMs popping up all over at 4:53 saying something like "there goes the happy hour train, time to go!"

    Oh that actually made me laugh there. You're right! People would probably like it and it could become a fad thing for people to get excited about the workday ending. Never underestimate the power of the Happy Hour.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  17. identicon
    SM, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:16am

    @Noah Er... where did the article say that flash was the problem? It says "Flash-based ads, or other irritating ones such as those delivered by Intellitxt..." Getting a little defensive, aren't we?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  18. identicon
    billy, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:17am

    Well ..

    I get out of work at 4. So ha!

    But, are they encouraging people to drive drunk by wanting to them to go out right after work and drink?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  19. identicon
    CasperIV, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:24am

    Re: IF you're out at 5...

    WTF, tirade? I agree, but that was about as random of a paragraph as I have ever read.

    People now a days are lazy, spoiled, and stupid. If I here one more person say they can't get a job because there are none, I think I'm going to lose my mind. I have never had a hard time finding work... because I am willing to WORK! We spent so much time telling people they are important and it's ok to fail as long as you tried, that we created a bunch of freeloading losers.

    While on this topic, let's discuss the English language shall we? If you use the words "aint", "caint", "cuz", "git", "homie" on a regular basis, you probably are one of the people I am talking about. If your too damn lazy to learn to speak correctly, why do you except to be handed a job? Maybe you shouldn't have been smoking pot while the teacher was covering grammar.

    When will people figure out that they are enabling this pathetic behavior. When I see an able bodied person on welfare because they can't keep a job, I always find myself asking why I have to pay for their parents mistake.

    On a related note, people need to stop making excuses. There is no excuse for robbing a house, doing drugs, getting knocked up at 15, or killing someone. I am so sick of hearing people telling me that examples of the before mentioned acts are "mistakes" and that everyone makes mistakes. How do you mistakenly rob a house? Did you mistake the crack pipe for a straw? These are choices! Live with them! You make a "mistake" of killing someone, you pay the consequences. If you want to complain to someone, complain to your parents for not doing a better job.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  20. icon
    Jim (profile), 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:33am

    suddently

    Did the spell checker get turned off?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  21. identicon
    ehrichweiss, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:34am

    Hooray Beer!!

    After a Beer Festival, in London, all the brewery presidents decided to go out for a beer.

    The guy from Corona sits down and says, "I would like the world's best beer, a Corona." The bartender dusts off a bottle from the shelf and gives it to him.

    The guy from Budweiser says, "I'd like the best beer in the world, give me 'The King Of Beers,' a Budweiser." The bartender gives him one.

    The guy from Coors says, "I'd like the only beer made with Rocky Mountain spring water, give me a Coors." He gets it.

    The guy from Guiness sits down and says, "Give me a Coke." The bartender is a little taken aback, but gives him what he ordered.

    The other brewery presidents look over at him and ask, "Why aren't you drinking a Guiness?" and the Guiness resident replies "Well, if you guys aren't drinking beer, neither will I."

    link to this | view in thread ]

  22. identicon
    Overcast, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:35am

    Yeah, those ads annoy the crap out of me - sometimes, the only thing I will remember is something that annoyed me about a particular product - I don't really care what... with 1000+ beers out there, it's not hard to pick an alternate.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  23. identicon
    James, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:46am

    Re: Follow Your Own Standards

    Please get a clue.

    As a web developer who WRITES ACTUAL CODE, Flash is the BANE of the internet.... ruining it like an Applebee's in every strip mall.

    Personally I download add-ins for the browser to block most of the crap guys like you "create".

    As for the article... stupid Coors no one is drinking that swill you call beer no matter how many annoying ads with which you come up.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  24. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:48am

    Re: Hooray Beer!!

    humorous. But Guiness ain't beer. It's stout.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  25. identicon
    whiteyonenh, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:50am

    Hmm.....

    How about the blocking of flash at the corporate firewall, I am not sure on how hard it would be, or whether it's possible, but I would assume that it is based on the fact that you can block activex at the firewall.

    Better yet, don't install flash, and don't give employees the right to install programs.

    Then the flash ad at 4:53PM would be absolutely pointless, as they wouldn't have the plugin to run it.

    Unfortunately, I can see the corporate NAZI's blocking or disallowing flash if it doesn't pertain to any type of work that the company does, and isn't needed for the job.

    On a side note, I hate those flash ad's too, and I also hate most of the music websites that are based on flash, which prevents me from going to those sites, or I just find out what site the ads are being loaded from and block them in my home router. Kinda nice to be able to browse the web without ads.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  26. identicon
    tim, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:52am

    overtime

    As one of the schmucks who works at least 10-20 hours of unpaid overtime a week (a lot more when I'm actually working "overtime") I can hardly begrudge someone a regular 8 hour day. At least that's how I feel... But it doesn't mean I have to like it. There just isn't any point in being pissed off at someone who had the good sense to get a job in a better industry than me.

    Some people are just overworked and underpaid, but at least I don't work in a "real" sweatshop somewhere.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  27. identicon
    BananaFish, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:54am

    Re: Re: IF you're out at 5...

    haha...haha.....hahaha.....
    What kind of fuck writes the following two statements in a single response!?!
    Oh...., right... it's CasperIV

    "People now a days are lazy, spoiled, and stupid. If I **here** one more person say..."

    "While on this topic, let's discuss the English language shall we? If you use the words "aint", "caint", "cuz", "git", "homie" on a regular basis, you probably are one of the people I am talking about. If your too damn lazy to learn to speak correctly, why do you except to be handed a job? Maybe you shouldn't have been smoking pot while the teacher was covering grammar."

    link to this | view in thread ]

  28. identicon
    Roy, 20 Mar 2007 @ 10:59am

    Re:

    [I can even see some starting to conjugate around a screen at 4:53 as a way to kick off happy hour.]

    I think you mean "congregate", but, if not, how can I get a job there?! :)

    link to this | view in thread ]

  29. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 20 Mar 2007 @ 11:13am

    Web pages have ads?

    Between Firefox flash and ad blocking extensions, I haven't seen an ad on a webpage in years.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  30. identicon
    Cixelsid, 20 Mar 2007 @ 11:15am

    You americans and your piss

    that you drink. I live in bavaria where its illegal to serve beer at less than a liter. Also you shouldn't be able to see through your beer. You want to see trains running across your vision? Give your liver a workout and drink 9 liters of hefe. Wooohooooo!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  31. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 20 Mar 2007 @ 11:17am

    Re: Re: Hooray Beer!!

    since when is a stout not a beer.

    According to Webster:
    Main Entry: beer
    1 : an alcoholic beverage usually made from malted cereal grain (as barley), flavored with hops, and brewed by slow fermentation

    Stout is a STYLE of Ale, which is Top-Fermented beer.

    Check out the beer style chart at:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beer_style

    sorry...getting off topic I know, but as a brewer I feel the need to educate.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  32. identicon
    skeener, 20 Mar 2007 @ 11:17am

    who can see the ads?

    I don't know about most of you, but our corporate security blocks almost all ads, we don't have flash installed or the right to install it, and even above that, most web pages that serve ads are blocks. They have our net access on an "allow list" rather than a "deny list". We must travel to the bowels of bureaucracy just to get access to a site we might need.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  33. identicon
    Vincent Clement, 20 Mar 2007 @ 11:20am

    Re: Re: Hooray Beer!!

    Stout is a type of beer.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  34. identicon
    Proud Canadian Beer Drinker!, 20 Mar 2007 @ 11:44am

    Re:

    Come to Canada and drink REAL BEER!!!!!!!!!

    Drinking American beer, to us Canadians, is like having sex in a boat....They are both f'n near water!

    Oh, and I hate those "flash" ads too!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  35. identicon
    PhysicsGuy, 20 Mar 2007 @ 11:49am

    Re: Re: IF you're out at 5

    hear* ... you're* ... ?* ... parents' ... aforementioned* ... oh, and comma splices are bad.

    i guess you shouldn't have been smoking pot during grammar class.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  36. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:01pm

    Ahh... another day of insightful comments and witty repartee on Techdirt. Sigh...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  37. identicon
    syzygy, 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:11pm

    Re:

    I prefer to work earlier, so that I'm out at 3:30. Although Coors is not the best beer, I don't find Bud or its variants any better. Hoegaarden, on the other hand, is a beer that I could drink all day long.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  38. icon
    Peet McKimmie (profile), 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:16pm

    Flash ads at 4:53

    Now, correct me if I'm wrong... 4:53 is pretty much exactly the time you want to look up a couple of websites before you can go home. Time is critical, and pretty much the last thing you want is any sort of delay.

    Great plan, Coors.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  39. identicon
    mlvassallo, 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:33pm

    In at 7a out at 3:30p

    Wooo Hooo!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  40. identicon
    johnson, 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:33pm

    Re:

    its a sad state if this comment is true.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  41. identicon
    Anonymous Jerk, 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:34pm

    RE: Dan

    Nice one, Coors was ok when I drank for the very first time, but now, it's like cold-filtered wizz...

    And, as for the silve-bullet-train-flash-animation-crap? I already try my best to avoid sites that allow 'outside of the box' ads (outside of the standard ad-box), now I get to avoid more of them? Nice...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  42. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:36pm

    Theyre a little confused. The 4:53 thing is a cool idea, among people that can respect a bit of ad nuttiness. But those same people will rage at your animated advertisements (if they even see it, through their layers of adblocking)

    link to this | view in thread ]

  43. icon
    John (profile), 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:38pm

    Breaking usability

    Does it ever occur to the website that these ads (whether Flash or Java or div tags) disrupt the usability of the web page? Is it really work a few advertising dollars from Coors to ruin your website by having it covered (or partially covered) with an ad?
    I remember when Yahoo would run full-page ads (again, using Flash) which covered 90% of the screen. So what if you were actually trying to click on a link on Yahoo: watch or close the ad if you want to use the site.
    And people wonder why Flash got such a bad name.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  44. identicon
    earl stone, 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:38pm

    Re: You americans and your piss

    it also used to be illegal to be jewish in bavaria...

    link to this | view in thread ]

  45. identicon
    Tom Foolery, 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:44pm

    Re: Follow Your Own Standards

    He's not bashing Flash, but the Flash ADVERTISEMENTS! (geez... it just goes to show you, that 50% of the population is below the median intelligence.) ;)

    link to this | view in thread ]

  46. identicon
    Americans for Real hearty beer, 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:53pm

    Re: You americans and your piss

    Not all Americans like the light (piss) beer. There are many of us who cannot stand it, no matter where it was made. Many of my friends like good heavy Ales, which are a bit heavy for my tastes. I like a good Hefeweizen, and so does my wife. We don't let our son drink yet, but when he's old enough, I'm sure he'll drink Hefe as well.
    Cheers!
    Oh, and I ride the bus home, so I can stop for drinks and not drink and drive.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  47. identicon
    Drunk Bastard, 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:56pm

    US Beer no Beer?

    Who is saying that America doesn't have good beer. Never had a Sam Adams before?

    In the meantime, can someone start a story about how no one uses grammar well, or knows how to spell check? That way all these hyper intellectual, better than you, condescending educators can get off for once talking about the the topic for once?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  48. identicon
    Matt, 20 Mar 2007 @ 12:59pm

    Re: Hooray Beer!!

    I thought "Hooray Beer!" was the slogan for Red Stripe beer?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  49. identicon
    keenedge, 20 Mar 2007 @ 1:21pm

    Re:

    I have to ask... How do you know what a frat urinal tastes like?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  50. icon
    Kal Zekdor (profile), 20 Mar 2007 @ 1:40pm

    Timezone?

    These ads will run at 4:53 in which timezone exactly? Unless the targeted sites are mirrored by location, which narrows down the ads to a handful of larger sites, some people will be seeing those ads at 3:53 or 5:53 etc. local time. It could be even more annoying to see this ad run and remind you that you still have to work another hour.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  51. identicon
    David, 20 Mar 2007 @ 2:11pm

    Re: or

    And if you had actually taken that tour, you'd realize that the green water is cooling water, and is NEVER put into the beer. But hey, why not spread lies instead, because it's more damning?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  52. identicon
    EdB, 20 Mar 2007 @ 3:20pm

    Flashing should be done by cute chicks with nice knockers. Not webs, and certainly not ads.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  53. identicon
    Dr. Klahn, 21 Mar 2007 @ 1:34am

    There's yet another reason I've permanently disabled Flash on all my machines.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  54. identicon
    aj, 26 Apr 2007 @ 1:15am

    I'm the Sr. Art Director on the Coors Light 4:53 t

    I hate ads that are big, ugly, not relevant to me as a consumer, and most of all, keep me from getting at the content I'm there to truly seek out. SOME TRUTHS FOR THE RECORD: The ad is timed so that nothing interrupts the user for the first approx 8 seconds. By that time, we've all scrolled down to what we were looking for in the first place, and probably already clicked on a story link. The train in the far majority of media placements doesn't go over any content whatsoever. None. In some, it overlaps a 25 pixel horizontal strip of Yahoo's black bar graphic that interferes with no html links. Mind you, this quick moving train graphic moves across the screen in less than 3 seconds from engine to caboose off the screen. Each user will only see the full, large train version once per day. We don't want to beat anyone over the head with annoyance. We tried to craft the ads to be very distinctly speaking to a younger, technologically savvy internet crowd. We're not blasting "Love Train" at 10 decibels over your desktop speaker system. As you see the entire 3 phases of the campaign unfold over the coming summer months. It actually reminds us all of a core truth. There are days when you just can't take the mundane, or the agony of monotony a moment longer, and it's time to call it a day. Technology both bugs me and is exciting. But how simply "cool" is it that before 5 o' clock a banner is going to drop out a map of your zip code geographically targeted to bars near you? It's just fun. In short, we would just love to be responsible for the millions and millions of minutes and production dollar drop as we all cut out 7 minutes early to grab a cold beer.

    link to this | view in thread ]


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