Clever Ad Celebrates Honda's History From Motorcycles to Robots

Honda isn't turning 65 years old until September, but the company is already starting its celebrations with this video that deftly details some of its greatest accomplishments.

The ad lightheartedly illustrates the highlights as toys manipulated by a man's hands.

First the ad shows a nut, which morphs into an engine and then a motorcycle — the product that put Honda on the map. Next, the ad zooms through Honda's first car, a leaf blower, a boat and the NSX driven by legendary Formula One racer Ayrton Senna. Others mentioned in passing include a water-powered car and robots.

What do you think of Honda's latest ad? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Image courtesy of YouTube, Honda

Free Wi-Fi Is Coming to Select Airports via MediaShift

Free airport Wi-Fi sounds too good to be true, but a select group of 20 U.S. airports will soon be offering the service as part of a partnership with the digital advertising company MediaShift.

It's called the Premier Airport Network and the deal will place ads throughout a user's surfing session.

MediaShift, which has more than 23 million users, is known for monetizing private Wi-Fi networks for travel companies and hotels, and providing detailed info on information that could help boost vendors' bottom lines, such as click-through rates, conversions and behavioral data. It has not yet revealed which airports are participating in the network.

“MediaShift provides the technology at no cost to the airports," Brendon Kensel, MediasShift's president, told Mashable. "For the first time, airports can participate in ad revenues that have traditionally eluded last mile online access providers. Airports receive incremental revenue with no start-up costs, investment or capital expenditure for airports.”

The average traveler's airport browsing session is already at 57 minutes, and MediaShift is betting those numbers shoot up if travelers don't have to pay to surf. And it gives merchants a new way to monetize those users with the addition of targeted ads.

MediaShift expands its reach, airport economies get a shot in the arm, and users get a new tool to improve their journey.

"This would make a world of a difference for travelers, especially international visitors, who don't have data plans in the U.S. and rely solely on Wi-Fi access to connect to the world," says Aigerim Shorman, the cofounder and CEO of Triptrotting, a social network linking travelers withauthentic in-country experiences.

Shorman says this addition gives travelers the flexibility to plan and make decisions on the fly. And it allows travel companies to better target potential customers.

"Imagine being able to land in any airport and make a decision on where you want to stay based on what mood you are in, the weather, cool event or anything else that affects you," she says. "Limited access to data and Wi-Fi has been one of the major issues for travel companies' ability to provide deeply personalized experience. I think what MediaShift is doing is the first step into the future where Wi-Fi will be just available everywhere."

Image courtesy of Flickr, Martin Abegglen

Study: Amazon's Ad Business Is Bigger Than Twitter's

Many are aware of Amazon's robust retail and web-hosting businesses, but less are familiar with its advertising business, which is rapidly becoming a significant player in the space.

Amazon brought in $450 million in advertising in revenue last year, according to eMarketer estimates published Tuesday. The company managed to increase its advertising business by nearly two-thirds between 2011 and 2012, and is expected to grow it by another half this year — to $660 million. This makes Amazon's ad business even bigger than Twitter's, which eMarketer previously estimated would generate $580 million this year.

By 2015, Amazon is predicted to bring in $1.1 billion in advertising revenue, about one-fifth ofFacebook's earnings last year. Advertising is still rather small part of Amazon's total revenue picture however: The company reported $61.1 billion in net income last year.

How exactly is Amazon making so much from advertising? For one thing, it has a lot of inventory: Amazon is the sixth most-trafficked website in the world, according to Alexa, and runs multiple display ad units on every page. That's in addition to the ads it runs on other Amazon-owned sites like Zappos and Shopbop, Kindle devices and websites of ad network partners.

Amazon also has a unique targeting advantage, thanks to the customer purchasing data it has collected through its retail sites. As eMarketer points out, this is data that competitors such asGoogle and Facebook lack.

eMarketer believes that the majority of Amazon's ad dollars come from ads placed on search result pages. It makes sense that these would be particularly lucrative: According to Forrester,twice as many Internet users begin researching online purchases at Amazon over Google, and advertisers want to target consumers who are actively seeking to purchase products.

Images via Mashable, eMarketer

Apple Doubles Down on California Focus in Print Ad

It looks like we're going to be hearing more this summer about how Apple's products are designed in California.

9to5Mac spotted the two-page print ad above in the Toronto Star. The ad features a paean to Apple's famously exacting team of engineers and designers. "We don't believe in coincidence. Or dumb luck," it reads. "There are a thousand 'no's' for every 'yes.'"

Apple rolled out the new campaign shortly after its Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month. Like other recent Apple ads, the new spot focuses less on particular features of the company's products and more on the way these products are used in everyday life.

The ads come after years of product-oriented ads haven't slowed the rise of Google's Android software, according to a report in Bloomberg. That report added that "he campaign will emphasize the quality and reliability of Apple’s ecosystem of products, apps and content" and there will be more in coming months. The emphasis on California may also be designed to deflect some criticism of the company's outsourcing of manufacturing to China. Apple is moving some of that manufacturing back to the U.S.

Apple strayed from its product-oriented message before. Last summer, the company rolled out ads celebrating its "Genius" employees, but pulled them within a few weeks after much criticism.

Below is a full-size version of the latest ad:

Images courtesy of Apple

Social Makeover: A Cheese Merchant Sees Results on Facebook

As the old saying goes, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. For a Virginia-based cheesemonger, though the equivalent might be when the FDA takes away your cheese, create a Facebook contest.

Back in March, the Food and Drug Administration began a total cheese lockdown with regard to mimolette, a French gouda rival. The FDA reasoned that mimolette might trigger allergies in some whose systems can abide the tiny cheese mites needed to aerate mimolette.

Jill Erber, the owner of Cheesetique, a business Mashable profiled earlier this month decided to capitalize on the controversy by offering a 1/4 lb. of her company's dwindling stock of mimolette to fans who posted a pic of themselves "frowning pathetically" on Cheesetique's Facebook Page. The result was overwhelming. Some 80 people posted photos and the stunt caught the attention of national media including Fox News and The Washington Post, which Erber says plans to run an article this week on the topic.

That was the highlight of a productive three weeks or so for Erber, whom we had paired up with a member of Mashable's Small Business Panel, consultant David Wittlinger, the web designer and social media strategist behind Colomark Media. As previously mentioned, Wittlinger proved himself to be a consultant extraordinaire by preparing an exhaustive plan of action for Erber. Erber mostly followed it and was very happy with the results.

The gist: Cheesetique added 359 fans to its main Page over the period, and 64 to its smallerCheesetiqueShirlingtonPage. Wittlinger prepared charts showing the growth for both Facebook Pages:

It's impossible to make a case that the activity improved business, but Erber says sales in Shirlington were up 20% for the month. "I can’t tie directly to Facebook," she says. "But I can say anedotally that a ton of people came in asking about [mimolette]." Sales in the main location, however, were flat. "We may have reached a saturation point there," Erber says.

You may conclude that Erber was just lucky to have stumbled on a rare international cause célèbre this time around, but she chooses to believe that it was the Facebook activity that triggered the media coverage. In other words, when you sow your Facebook Page, you may reap unexpected benefits.

In either case, Erber is satisfied that the half hour to two-and-a-half-hours she spent daily cultivating the Page was time well spent. "I just literally sit all day long and do Facebook stuff," she says. "As a result it completely changed my way of thinking about how to use social media."

At Wittlinger's suggestion, Erber didn't create more status updates, she just did them better. Part of that was a change of mission. Instead of using social media for promos and offers, Erber began positioning herself as a cheese expert. Another strategy was to use the company's blogThe Cheeselog as her primary mode of communication. Instead of trying to come up with pithy status updates, Erber spent a longer time writing blog entries and then condensing her thoughts for Facebook.

"The blog is more expository," she said. "Setting aside that time to write more lengthy blog posts resulted in better posts overall."

Erber also dabbled in Facebook advertising, spending $87 over the period to get the word out on Facebook. She tried about five different types of ads over that time, and the performances varied greatly. A video post explaining what stinky cheese is (see below) got hundreds of views, but resulted in few likes because there was no explicit call to action. An offer for 25% off cheese platters through July 4 that was posted a day before this writing has so far gotten zero clicks. Nevertheless, Erber is sold on Facebook advertising. "If I were to do this again I would devote more time and energy to the ads," she said.

By all appearances, Erber will do it again. For her, even three weeks provided ample time to illustrate the benefits of a smart social media strategy. However, Erber says that she couldn't have done it by herself, which is why she recommends that small businesses like hers hire a consultant. "The thing was having someone help me do it," she said. "It really was having someone sit with me and teach me a bit. For someone not familiar with [social media], it can all be too overwhelming."

Image via Getty, Emmanuel Dunand

Google Breaks First Ad for Moto X Smartphone

It looks like Google is playing up its "made in America" credentials just as Apple appears to bedoubling down on a similar strategy.

Google's Motorola unit is planning to break ads for its Moto X phone on July 3 in The New York Times, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal, according to Advertising Age. The ad, fromDroga5, bills X as the "first smartphone designed, engineered and assembled in the U.S." Tagline: "Designed by you. Assembled in the USA."

The "designed by you" is a reference to the phone's ability to be customized to fit each consumer's personality, VP-Global Brand and Product Marketing Brian Wallace told AdAge.

Image courtesy of Google

Dove Latest Ad Asks: 'Why Are Women Camera Shy?

Dove has followed up its hugely successful "Real Beauty Sketches" campaign with another video that makes a similar point: Many woman tend to be uncomfortable about their appearances.

The 60-second spot, from Ogilvy & Mather, London, shows various women dodging the camera to jazzy strains of "Peek-A-Boo" by Rose Murphy. Although the ad's tone is lighthearted, it makes a serious point: "When did you stop thinking you were beautiful?"

"Sketches," which the Unilever brand released in April, became the most-watched ad ever a month later, according to the company. That ad, created by Ogilvy's Brazil office, featured women describing their appearances to a police sketch artist. The sketches turned out to be much less attractive than those based on descriptions provided by the women's acquaintances.

Image courtesy of YouTube, Dove

About 30% of Facebook’s Advertising Revenue, Or $375M, Came From Mobile Platforms

Almost one-third of Facebook’s advertising revenue is now coming from mobile platforms, according to the company’s latest earnings release. About $375 million of Facebook’s $1.25 billion in advertising revenue came from products like the company’s new mobile app install ads.

That’s up from last quarter, when Facebook said it made 23 percent, or $305.9 million, from mobile ads. So this is a nice 22.5 percent quarter-over-quarter increase in mobile advertising revenue.

Because Facebook now sees about three quarters of a billion users per month on mobile devices, the company has to make a commensurate amount from these platforms. Analysts and investors are closely watching to see how well Facebook makes this leap from desktop-based ads to mobile ones.

Unlike Apple and Google, Facebook doesn’t own its own smartphone OS or sell its own hardware. It doesn’t have a way to earn a cut of app sales or in-app purchases like it does with games and apps on the Facebook platform.

Advertising is the key way that Facebook will monetize its mobile users. Up until the middle of last year, Facebook didn’t really have a program to earn revenues from mobile devices. But then it aggressively stepped up ads for apps in the mobile news feed. It’s well-positioned to do this as app discovery and user acquisition is still a hairy problem for mobile developers across the board.

Yesterday, Facebook’s product director of advertising Gokul Rajaram said at TechCrunch Disrupt in New York that mobile install ads were “performing well, and we’re seeing them deliver really high quality users that take actions.”

App Install Ads Earned Facebook “Real Revenue” And Helped 3800 Developers Drive 25M Downloads

Facebook  app install ads were the star of Facebook’s earnings call today. Sheryl Sandberg said 3800 developers used the ads to drive over 25 million installs. 40% of the top 100 iOS and Android app developers bought these ads in the last week of Q1 alone. Mark Zuckerberg meanwhile said, “We’re starting to see real revenue from selling mobile app installs.”

As I detailed yesterday, the app stores are becoming increasingly overloaded as every type of business goes mobile. Developers need a way to get their apps discovered, creating a massive opportunity of for Facebook’s app install ads which launched in October. These lets developers promote their apps in the mobile news feed with a large image, description, and “install now” button that opens the app’s page in appropriate app store. By combining Facebook’s massive mobile user base with its app install ads, Facebook is becoming the paid gateway to app traction.

Zuckerberg noted that with the rise of iOS and Android which it doesn’t own, it wasn’t clear how Facebook would add value to developers. But now Facebook has settled into helping developers build and growth their apps.

In terms of building apps Facebook already offers free SDKs that make it easier for developers to build in Facebook login and sharing options. Then just last week, Facebook acquired mobile app backend platform Parse, which handles servers, data storage, and more for developers so they can focus on creating enjoyable mobile app user experiences. While a relatively small business now, Parse subscription fees could contribute a few million dollars per quarter to Facebook in the future.

Where Facebook really stands to earn money is app discovery. Sandberg said “We’re uniquely positioned to offer developers massive reach”, alluding to its 751 million monthly users. Regarding app install ads, Zuckerberg explained that “Even if every recommendation isn’t one you take….we think [app discovery] is good for the community.”

Facebook’s CEO went on to note that the ads work well because they’re mobile by design. “Most ads make you visit website”, said Zuckerberg, while app install ads just open the app stores which users are already used to visiting. And since people already have their payment info loaded into these stores, the commerce experience is quick and easy.

App install ads also a good bang for developers’ buck, as Sandberg said “Our costs per install are highly competitive.” Meanwhile, CFO David Ebersman said this ad format is”early in its development but really doing quite well. We’re pleased with the experience we’re providing and the revenue we’ve seen.” They’re getting new businesses hooked on Facebook too, as Ebersman detailed, “A lot of the mobile app ads purchasers are new advertisers.”

Zuckerberg sees the app ecosystem continuing to get larger and more competitive, which will make Facebook’s app install ads increasingly more crucial. They helped Facebook boost its mobile ad revenue to $375 million, or 30% of its total ad revenue, up from 23% last quarter. Zuckerberg concluded that “this market is already big and I expect it to grow quickly.”

The only issue is that others see this too. Twitter just launched app install cards, which show big visual app previews and links to the app stores when people tweet about the download pages of apps. Meanwhile, some including Hunter Walk suggest that Apple might start offering its own native app install ads within the App Store.

Apps are proliferating, and developers need a way to rise above the crowd. Considering the amount they stand to make off of downloads, they could growing increasingly willing to put dollars directly into the pockets of Facebook and others if it gets them discovered.