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When Jets (Not Pigs) Fly (Or Not)
Philly.com is currently running ads for Derrie-Air, a new airline where you pay based on your weight. (Get it?) The airline has also planted trees, in the hopes the company will offset the carbon the planes produce. But, ha ha, it’s a fake ad campaign made up by Philadelphia Media Holdings “to test the results of advertising in our print and online products and to stimulate discussion on a timely environmental topic of interest to all citizens.” Wait, what? Yes, apparently the new ads running on Philly.com are completely fake, and just for fun. Romenesko writes there are at least 18 fake ads in today’s Inquirer. As you can see, the paper is taking ideas from Something Awful by running gag ads. |
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Just what is this supposed to prove? That you write up some obviously phony ad copy, put a picture of a hot chick with it, and then tell advertisers, “See? Newspapers still work!”? Well, at least it’s not like newspapers are supposed to be about trust and accuracy. Oh, wait.
The Evening Bulletin does something similar. Revenue-less ads: the way of the future for the newspaper industry!
I saw something on the news that mentioned one of the things that airlines are thinking about is charge people based on their weight. It was on last night and poor Brian Thompson had to go around EWR finding some fat and not fat people to ask about it.
Now any newspaper (I use that term very very loosely here) that puts fake ads in itself makes you wonder about what else they are faking.