Total Drama is not afraid of our community and if we have something positive to say about TWiT we say it. Do not adjust your monitor. Buying ads on TWiT is a good business decision and here is why…
If your company is looking for an edge and you’re thinking about advertising on TV or radio—think again. When you pay for an ad in old media you don’t get anything close to what you get if you advertise on the TWiT network. Most companies in old media are bogged down with “standards and practices” and even cumbersome “morality,” but not everyone has this dilemma. When you buy an ad with TWiT you don’t just buy a commercial, you buy the man: the news and the content. It’s all included for one low, low price. Any broadcaster can simply endorse a product, but I challenge you to find one network that loooooooooooves the sponsors like TWiT does; on and on they go.
They will clarify to the imbecilic fans that it’s real opinion which they are spewing and not just an ad. They accomplish this by mandating that every advertiser receives one personal anecdote per ad, whenever possible. For example: Leo’s son and his Casper mattress, Padre recalling the days when he was hiring tons of employees. With Zip Recruiter it’s so easy. Mike and his (really super easy) Blue Apron meals. Has an actual policy been instituted ensuring that they all prostitute themselves and their lives into the ads with these honest tales? They will never just read an ad, all employees will use and love the products.
There’s another gem included in the ad package: Most every unsuspecting guest on their shows will be thrust under the spotlight and asked to chip in to the ad with a story of their own. They will literally put guests on the spot—live—for the sponsor. And fret not about the listeners, ads can take up to eight minutes—it’s all o.k. But you get even more than that, you can become the content, too!
Remember when Ford was a sponsor? Every other week Leo would talk about Allan Mullalay (his great friend) and quote him and talk about Ford in technology. Yes, he recites his disclaimer but then proceeds to give Ford air time on Premier and TWiT as coverage. Now that Ford is no longer a sponsor they have become just another irrelevant car company? And remember Carbonite? At least once a week a “Tech Guy” caller would serendipitously get through to tell a story about his woes of not backing-up and (disclaimer they’re a sponsor) #Soup would mention Carbonite. Does no one need to back up anymore?
If you’re a really big sponsor you may even be interviewed on “Triangulation.”
{Prosper and Harry’s shaving stuff are Silicon Valley companies} you get stuff like that said if you advertise with TWiT, they’ll say anything. They blur the line between content and paid commercial all the time. ‘Smooth transitions’ they call the blur. As the CEO of a sponsoring company, you also get to be a good friend of Leo; Lynda, Joe and Steve from ITP, Bill Harris, the great guys from Warber Parky, Carbonite founder etc etc etc etc. The fans eat that shit up. They will whore it all for you, if you buy ads..
Do you want an endorsement from Kevin Rose for Legal Zoom or from Amber MacArthur for Freshbooks? No problemo, he will throw that in free and you don’t have to pay them. Do you want the hosts to love and use your product? Easy, it’s part of every host’s job description, they have to use them. They’ll make wills, they’ll eat NatureBox nuts, they’ll install doorbells, they’ll do anything. And it’s legit, they really, really looooooove it all. Leave your dignity at the door please.
One employee dared to have an opinion against a sponsor and he no longer works at TWiT. Presently, all employees shave with Harry’s, all of them, they love it. And don’t worry, even if it’s old salami and a cracker for your pet (delivered once a month by barkbox) Ozzie the putrid pooch will love it. That’s right, Ozzie’s endorsement is for sale too. Oh, and if you want the ultimate sellout, we have one pitch man in a priest outfit telling you how great ProXpn is and how everyone loves it. TWiT has never hired anyone with Zip Recruiter, ever, never ever. But who cares? They list a job there so they can say to the catatonic fan base that they use Ziprecruiter. Would it kill them to just do the ad without the misrepresentations? BUT ALAS, I LOVE IT. Barbados vacation, here I come.
Did you ever wonder why they don’t prerecord ads? Think about it and you’ll know why sponsors prefer live. It’s all for sale if you got money. So call or e-mail TWiT and place an ad today!
Note* Paul Thurott doesn’t put up with this shit and will not be a part of the shenanigans. [Per commentor except audible]
Note* Much of this sponsor story was based on other stories found here and here.
Note* I have no problems with ad reads or advertising in general. It is easily and often done with integrity.
I still recall when Cory Doctorow blasted the scam that is Audible.com. He said he could not believe anyone would use this when you can get so many audio books for free. It was funny as Leo then blackballed him from future appearances.
This is a pure corrupt operation. What’s funny is Leo’s high and mighty talk about why they will not have Intel as an advertiser because it would compromise integrity. WTF? Hello Carbonite.
The Peacekeeper» Quote comment
Hello Intel. They are a sponsor.
BTW: BRAVO GHOST DOG!
Rene’s Apple Jizz Filled Lips» Quote comment
Yeah, and does Leo ever talk about that time Carbonite lost 10% of their customers’ data? Not a word from the fat fuck.
macsimcon» Quote comment
Nice satire 🙂 The Kevin Rose/Amber Mac thing is so true. They’ve not been on Twit for years, yet still the same old anecdotes get trotted out time after time.
Who was the host that no longer works there that spoke out against a sponsor? All I remember was that lady on TNT saying “ewww” to naturebox, heh.
Harry’s is copying the Gillette/P&G model. It’s all about marketing. The product is the same cheap junk sold at hugely inflated prices. Get a double-edged safety razor and proper shaving soap instead of spending a lot more for canned goop and the inferior cartridge system.
Zip Recruiter – recruiters just send any old resume to any old job post to see if the shit sticks, they don’t care about you as a job-seeker. And on the other end, spamming the same job post to a load of job sites is going to make your company look pretty desperate.
Poor Jason H with his new internet doorbell thing. He was saying on AAA that now he’ll have to buy an extra add-on to get an actual buzzer sound in his house that isn’t through his phone, as this new internet one is completely silent. Sounds really practical, sign me up.
Ex Twit Fan» Quote comment
In the morning –
Take no ad money and you can say what you like. Take ad money and you’re beholden – simple as that.
Ex-Fan» Quote comment
That’s rubbish.
SkiEast» Quote comment
No, it’s fact.
Listen to Dvorak talk about it. Editorial always bends to sales.
Ex-Fan» Quote comment
Amen Trumpbump.
Ken Sintek» Quote comment
Razors. Harry’s has amazing razors. They found the best factory in the world and bought it. I can’t tell the difference between razors, unless my wife’s leg hair is in it they all work the same.
(Tom Merritt was the guy who didn’t do a Hulu ad on Framerate)
dogpound exec» Quote comment
HelloWorld, hello well done post.
Zon» Quote comment
Thanks Zon, but I didn’t write this one. Can’t you tell my style? There’s no “cunt” in there.
HelloWorld» Quote comment
Also no far-fetched, absurd theories, flat-out lies, misogyny, or “I-forgot-to-take-my-Clozapine-this-morning” psychopathic rage.
Rick» Quote comment
My apologies, GhostDog, well done.
Zon» Quote comment
MIKE LOVES GAZELLE ITS SO EASY, AND BLUE APRON MAKES COOKING SO EASY EASY EASY AND PROSPER MAKES IT EASY TO GET A LOAN AND ZIP RECRUITER MAKES IT FUCKING EASY TO HIRE PEOPLE AND EVERYTHING IS FUCKING GOD FORSAKEN EASY WITH MIKE.
Andy Weir» Quote comment
Gazelle wouldn’t be useful in a world where eBay and craigslist don’t exist.
Sell your shit to Gazelle if you want to get ripped off for your old electronics. Even their ad copy outright says they take the best of the stuff they bought and sell it on their eBay store. How they read that copy with a straight face is beyond me.
e.g. The original HTC One in good condition goes around $200 on craigslist, $55 is what Gazelle is giving me. But hey hey hey, Gazelle does a factory reset if you’re too dumb to do it before you pass on your stuff, totally worth the $145 I’d miss out on.
Jimmy Jam» Quote comment
Thank You For Your Courage. I really enjoyed your post.
Ken Sintek» Quote comment
Great post!
I remember when Leo went out of his way to say he only endorsed products he uses. But now he whores for wealthfront and says he is legally barred from using them (SEC regulations) but they use techniques he has advocated for years?!? What a bunch of bullshit.
Local Cynic» Quote comment
Vacations ain’t cheap, you know.
The Patrick Klepto» Quote comment
The best is the Ring Doorbell ads, completely unscrupulous. Leo talks about how his Nest thermostats and Philips hue lights are just sitting in a box since he moved houses.
Buut, he’s so enamoured with a battery operated door bell that annoyingly rings his iPad? Yeah, right.
“Hey, have I told you about my new doorbell?” Yes you fat pig, you have told us about it before and we know it’s pure advertising for a product you would otherwise give no shits about.
Jimmy Jam» Quote comment
Oh, anyone remember the brief period when an herbal supplement was their sponsor? Nobody could even pronounce the name, it was like jacuna gavunensis or something.
Fucking Lisa needs to go back to University of Phoenix and get a clue. She will take any ad money from whoever will pay. Such is the life of a cunt that values money over everything.
Jimmy Jam» Quote comment
If you watch TWieT this week you will see
1) Bryan is looking for a Job <-#Scoop
2) Loumm tells how zip recruiter type companies just use keywords and tokens to get you great candidates.
PadreSJ» Quote comment
Not sure if first Note* is sarcastic or not…
https://youtu.be/0KxTTaALd0M?t=1h6m59s
TboneGreen» Quote comment
@Tbone
Paul does love audible or he is a great actor. So does Andy Inhatko. A lot of smart people like Audible so I exonerate Paul here. They barely sponsor twit anymore.
GhostDog» Quote comment
I agree. And from what I’ve seen, both Paul and Andy are perfect examples of guys who aren’t afraid to say a product is bad, or to stay silent during an ad read if they don’t support a product.
I just wanted to point out that Paul does participate in some ad reads on the ol’ sinking ship network.
TboneGreen» Quote comment
I have never seen a media company that literally drops to their knees and blows the sponsor as much as twit my god i remember one TWIG few years back where leo went on for almost 15mins about carbonite and it got so bad jeff was trying to move the show along
rocker182» Quote comment
Great Post Ghost.
I never minded the ads on TWIT until lately, there have been a spike it seems in them, and they seem to be for whoever gave TWIT money.
The Cory Doctorow thing is really funny, Leo blames it on Cory being busy but he only became “busy” after he blasted audible.
Moonchild» Quote comment
Honestly the integrated ads always bothered me when I started listening to twit and they started ads. I would pay more attention of they played am actual commercial. Otherwise I tune out or fast forward through the show.
Joe» Quote comment
The Pocketcast “skip 30 seconds ahead” feature is fantastic for this.
TboneGreen» Quote comment
Let’s examine the NEW sponsors that recently added TWiT to their advertising mix.
Intel
Sundance Doc Club
Digital Ocean
DX Engineering
Icom America
IGLOO Software
VARIDESK
Entire list at https://twit.tv/sponsors
Leo’s model of host read, integrated ads is nothing new. It was brought over from his experience at terrestrial radio (see Rush Limbaugh and Snapple http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/snapple-beverage-corporation-history/).
StevieD» Quote comment
I especially love how Leo used to throw Dropbox under the bus when he was pushing carbonite ads…
Now guess what product is the most amazing? Dropbox – the same product that was apparently shit when carbonite was paying the bills.
TboneGreen» Quote comment
“Ozzie the putrid pooch ”
Now you’ve gone too far, TD.
Rick» Quote comment
Why naturebox saw Leo doing their adverts as a good endorsement is beyond me.
Josh» Quote comment
I wouldn’t trust anything they endorse at this point. Not that they advertise anything interesting or relevant anymore
Chris» Quote comment
Love that this site is calling attention to the gray area ethics of TWITs advertising practices. As TWIT’s audience become accustom to the advertising style they will grow tired of it and look for other sources to get their tech news content without the hype.
Sponsors will tapper off when it’s no longer effective – in step with dwindling audiences.
Sig Kappel» Quote comment
Leo, on today’s TWiG, tossed not only his only blood son, Henry, under the mattress, but Henry’s apparent multiple female bed mates. During the Casper mattress read, Leo strayed off copy, and exclaimed, almost breathlessly, that Henry not only loved his Casper Mattress but also all of Henry’s lady bed mates were loving the mattress too… We can assume that the next Casper read will include Abby and all her bed mates … And Lisa blogged about her family getting trolled, etc???
John» Quote comment
The funniest TWiT scandal is yet to come. CEO and Owner’s son caught giving up the ghost on a Casper mattress.
‘My wife cheated on me on a Casper mattress…’
MyLisaIsHarry» Quote comment
Congratulations TWiT adds another new sponsor, Corning Optical Fiber. Things keep marching forward at The Brickhouse no matter what the trolls try to do.
StevieD» Quote comment