Fake Gilette NASCAR video

Yes, video editing has come a long way and you can make things that are completely fake look real. Yes, this has been done to death. But Gilette doesn't care, here is their fake stunt NASCAR video:

Marketing: It's why your car speedometer goes so high

This is a great letter to a car blog on Marketplace.com. This guy wants to know why your car speedometer shows that you could theoretically do 140mph, when A. Your car can't, and B. It's illegal anyway.

The answer, as Tom and Ray correctly point out, is marketing. It just looks better. Chances are you aren't going to go much above 80, but this she-beast of a vehicle you are driving could if it wanted to.

You could also make the case that manufacturers would rather purchase one speedometer for use in all their vehicles regardless of how fast they go. But if that was the case, why did this guy get the two horrific answers from Toyota and Nissan?

Thank you for contacting Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. We appreciate this opportunity to address your inquiry. Some states within the United States have higher speed limits than other states. We hope you will find this information helpful. Thank you for taking the time to contact us with your inquiry.
Sincerely,
Toyota Customer Experience

What a stupid response. No, that wasn't helpful thank you very much. Nissan wasn't any better.

Thank you for taking the time to contact Nissan North America, Inc. and allowing us the opportunity to read and respond to your e-mail inquiry.
All vehicles are designed in this fashion, regardless of make or model. If you are seeking an exact reason as to why vehicles are designed this way, no further information can be provided.
I apologize if the response given is not satisfactory. Unfortunately no further information regarding vehicle/speedometer designs can be offered.
Sincerely,
Nissan North America, Inc.

What stupid and half-assed response. This is why people can't stand large corporations.

Advertising revenue is up?

According to NBC executive Jeff Zucker and the owner of every media outlet every created, Rupert Murdoch, things are looking up for advertising spending.

“Almost in every property at the moment [there is] a slight lift,” Murdoch said at an annual Goldman Sachs conference. “It’s very much better than it was a couple of months ago. It’s everywhere,” he added, noting an 8% fall in revenues at News Corp’s television stations in September. There was expected to be a 20% fall at this point, so the fall is technically a good one.

Zucker added: “There’s no question – advertising feels better.”

We admit that we are seeing things start to turn up as well. We might finally be pulling out of this thing.

KGB texting service is a joke

Have you seen the ads for KGB's texting service? You text them a question, and then they reply with an answer for you. They use the example of "who played first base for the Boston Red Sox in 1986?" It's $0.99 for each question you submit and it's the dumbest thing we've ever heard of.

First of all, how do you not know that Bill Buckner was the first basemen for the BoSox in 1986? Let's start there.

Next, the reason I know about KGB and their stupid texting service is because of television ads, which I've seen on some decent-sized TV networks. So that ain't cheap. They are investing a lot of money into this business model, and we don't see any way in hell that this succeeds.

Picked up a cell phone lately? Many, many people have decent cell phones with an internet plan so they can surf the web. Why in the hell would I pay to text these folks when I just do a Google search on my phone?

This is one of the most poorly timed business models we've seen in a long time. Google is releasing Google Wave shortly, which is very forward thinking way to enhance the way we all communicate online. Meanwhile, these geniuses are coming up with an antiquated texting service that no one will use. How are they going to recoup all the ad money they spent?

Simple. They won't.