Advertising in Kindle’s Future

The Kindle ebook reader, the newest gadget everybody wants but nobody needs, is planning on adding advertising to its ebooks.

According to patents filed by Amazon, the Kindle would include ads throughout the ebook, in its margins, between chapters or every 10 pages. The ads could be targeted based on the consumer’s profile as well as the content of the novel. Imagine settling down to read “Moby Dick” and being sidetracked by an ad for a whale-watching cruise from Expedia.com.

Users would have the opportunity to purchase the book at a lower price if they agreed to view the ads.

This is a novel (pardon the pun) way for advertisers to target their audience; but from the perspective of a consumer, I would have a hard time really losing myself in a story if ads were incorporated into the pages. It would be a distraction that may negatively affect my perception of the advertiser.

--Tessa G.

Howl at the Moon?

I had no idea an Amazon review could spark such a cultural phenomenon. Have you heard about the Three Wolf Moon T-shirt? It is all the rage on Amazon.com, thanks to a 32-year-old law student from New Jersey named Brian Govern.

Govern’s review of the shirt on Amazon sarcastically stated, “This item has wolves on it which makes it intrinsically sweet and worth 5 stars by itself, but once I tried it on, that’s when the magic happened.” His review generated nearly 700 similar comments and catapulted Three Wolf Moon from sales of two to three shirts a day to 100 an hour. Michael McGloin, creative director of the Mountain, the company that made the shirt, said, “You could not dream of getting this worldwide notoriety for a shirt, but it became a viral visual.”

This shirt has been Amazon’s top-selling item of apparel every day since May 19, perhaps because of some of the following reviews:

“As soon as I put this shirt on the Bank called to apologize for trying to foreclose on my home.”
“When I opened the package, the focused radiance of the shirt actually burned my shadow onto the wall.”

The sarcasm is almost irresistible! Kinda makes me want one, too. It’s even made the New York Times. See for yourself on Amazon.


--Kara W.