Comments on: Heads up: The Windorphins are coming

By: bitinthehead » Blog Archive » Sleazy marketing and the joy of Windorphins

Tue, 28 Aug 2007 16:17:26 +0000

[...] It kinda looks like that other ad campaign that’s been plastered all around NYC, promoting “the joy of Windorphins” — yep, another sleazy campaign, this time for eBay, a company famous for succeeding without the need of expensive SuperBowl ad campaign (read this comment from GigaOm). [...]

By: Armen

Armen — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 20:21:38 +0000

Nicely said. Your thoughts bear out: I just posted a rough quantitative analysis of the success (er, failure) of the Windorphin campaign thus far here:

(link)

By: Davis Freeberg

Davis Freeberg — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 21:16:29 +0000

I don’t get why Ebay doesn’t at least have a logo on their ads. I was sure this was a Window’s ad trying to compete with Apple until I read this. Not very good branding if you ask me.

By: Vinit

Vinit — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 17:06:15 +0000

Sorry, but I don’t think us techy types (who know Web 1.0 from AJAX) are the right target for this.
Case in point …

(link)

It’s the compulsive shopper types who have Amazon Prime membership and EBay super-buyers (if it existed) and buy everything online.

By: Jason

Jason — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 20:39:40 +0000

Jazz hands rock. I’ve always felt my online identity lacked a certain Tommy Tune-ness.

By: Patricia

Patricia — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 19:57:52 +0000

I had the same reaction as durf — that it was supposed to get me all warm & fuzzy over some alternative energy. I see the ads all over SF and keep meaning to visit the site, so thanks, Om, now I don’t have to.

Seems like this one can join Ask.com’s algorithm campaign in the category of crummy advertising for online companies. That said, there are plenty for offline companies as well.

By: durf

durf — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 18:40:21 +0000

I glanced at a windorphins billboard and assumed it was an ad from a utility or energy company touting wind power and the benefits of green energy.

By: yaromir

yaromir — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 16:48:46 +0000

I checked their website and it looked very amateurish. The selection of colors is disturbing and those freaks are just creepy, imho.

And yeah, when I tried to hit the back button, their site kept reloading, which pissed me off even more.

But it won't make me stop using eBay though.

By: Nate

Nate — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 16:29:20 +0000

i think you’re all a bunch of whiners. i thought eBay’s brand was a massive unorganized auction of random crap (that’s not a bad thing - it’s where i go whenever i want to buy or sell random crap). i hardly see how windorphins are going to tarnish that image. i think pitting laettner vs. field is a riot, and shows the spirit of the people behind this campaign. i am curious if legal verified whether those video clips were uploaded to YouTube by their copyright owners. i totally agree that jazz hands are absolutely nauseating, but they’re also hilarious, which i think is a fine way to stay in the minds (and stomachs) of consumers. i wonder how many times the developers got ill while perfecting the “hand in your face” action.

By: mikeelliott1

mikeelliott1 — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 15:09:32 +0000

See, when you warn about things like the "Jazz Hands" tab, it just creates extra incentive to check it out for the car wreck factor.

And yes, that was truly nauseating.

Anyone else having flashbacks to the "I'd Hit It" McDonalds marketing campaign?

http://mikeelliottsblog.wordpress.com

By: John Fan

John Fan — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 12:01:02 +0000

I saw it on a bus in Palo Alto, and thought it was from a hot bay area startup. Then I saw it in New York, and thought it was a well-funded internet media company launching some new funky service. When I finally went to the windorphins website, I was very disappointed that it was just an advertising gimmick for ebay, apparently without any new functionality or services...

Windescribable. Winconceivable. Winsane...

By: Kevin Kelleher

Kevin Kelleher — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 08:18:14 +0000

Oops, dangling modifier above. Well, I hope you get the idea....

"As a doctor, I think what you are doing is morally wrong." - Tony Soprano.

By: Michael Moncur

Michael Moncur — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 07:01:10 +0000

Wow. Just, Wow.

The big question is how eBay can spend millions on something like this without a clue and yet ordinary people like me can know in an instant that it was a bad idea, and that it will fail utterly.

I hope eBay realizes their mistake soon.

Also, those videos may be the most disturbing thing I've seen this year.

By: Kevin Kelleher

Kevin Kelleher — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 06:42:10 +0000

Jonathan, you have a good point. I tried to address it by pointing to Apple, etc., as well as eBay’s old TV spots.

That said, I don’t think TV commercials are aimed at other ad creators - which I am not - but at consumers - which I am very experienced at. As a consumer, eBay’s old commercials got me excited about the site. The new ones don’t.

By: Om Malik

Om Malik — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 06:05:07 +0000

Like Kevin, I was also under the impression that this might be a new kind of product from Windows people. Oh well.

By: Jonathan Marcus

Jonathan Marcus — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 05:34:37 +0000

Refreshingly blunt and candid article. Awesome!

However, its easy to point out flaws. How about outlining a couple of suggestions - excuses about not being an "advertising" guy are unhelpful :)