It seems DirecTV has gone out of its way to let Charter customers know about the cable company's bankruptcy proceedings, airing ads that said there was no way it could continue to provide more HD channels and that customers needed to be saved from its bankruptcy. Apparently the U.S. District Court in St. Louis agreed the ads went too far in implying the company might be liquidating or about to stop offering service, issuing a temporary restraining order barring the ads. This is far from the first time the law has had to jump in on one side or another of TV providers ads, we're just wondering when they'll jump in on ads touting "choices," highlighting broadband speed without mentioning bandwidth caps and pushing HD channels without copping to known overcompression issues.

Not that we haven't seen completely off-the-wall viral marketing ads before (including one from LG, in fact), but this one just takes the proverbial cake. In a perfectly staged LGenius presentation, we're informed about a few astounding up and coming TV advancements. The first one intelligently replaces all swear words with baby laughter or eerie silence, while the "Happy Time" feature automatically detects when a program is too sad for one's health and adds random images of cute puppies and kittens. Finally, the "Family Time" feature turns any sensual scene into one with cartoon characters, making even the steamiest bedroom romance seem perfectly acceptable for innocent eyes. Seriously, this one has to be seen to be believed -- mash that play button and have a gander.

[Thanks, Kellen]

Yeah, today's big game is but hours away, but if you're itching to put those newfangled 3D goggles to use beforehand, you're in luck. Reindeer has hosted up tonight's 3D SoBe ad on YouTube in high-def, and folks with those glasses -- which can supposedly still be picked up at hard-to-miss kiosks in grocery outlets and retail stores if any stock remains -- can tap the read link to have a look right now. Obviously we wouldn't do so if you're not much on spoilers, but we're betting your curiosity is going to get the best of you. Once you've watched, chime in below with your thoughts on the quality. Fair? Great? Just plain gimmicky?

Sony was smelling a world record when it constructed this beast, and sure enough, that's exactly what it set. The BRAVIA-drome was originally constructed to showcase its 240Hz Motionflow technology, and it has ended up being a continual source of interest even after the commercial shoot. This week, a Guinness World Records adjudicator affirmed that the structure was indeed the "World's Largest Zoetrope." We're not exactly sure that this proves / disproves the awesomeness / lameness of its 240Hz tech, but congrats anyway, Sony.

At least initially, Panasonic's Living in HD program seemed like a one-off promotion to hook a few crews up with some pretty sweet swag. Now, it has morphed into a running R&D experiment of sorts, with some 44 families having participated in order to give the outfit feedback on how its HD-related gear works / doesn't work in real life. In fact, applications are still being accepted for the next wave of winners, and in case you're interested, the company is also launching a new online community in conjunction with the initiative. The site contains a number of videos to get beginners started in their HD life, and there's also a forum for families to discuss such important matters as mounting / not mounting, surround system versus soundbar, etc. Sure, it may never top the mighty AVSForum in terms of breadth and depth, but it's probably not going to overwhelm and intimidate the newbies, either.

As the race to infinityHz continues, Sony is busting out the advertising checkbook to showcase its utterly mesmerizing 240Hz Motionflow technology. The BRAVIA-drome installation, which is modeled after a 19th century zoetrope, measures 10-meters across, spins at over 40kph and is the centerpiece in a new commercial designed to display soccer action in the sleekest, smoothest, silkiest way imaginable (or so it says). Have a quick glimpse at the filming of the spot just after the break.

[Via Geek]

Talk about a marketing catastrophe. Apparently no one told Pioneer's promotional firm what Black Friday is (hint: it's a day for unprecedented price cuts to get consumers to camp out in the cold for a deeply discounted blender), as it has inexplicably decided to re-coin the holiday "KURO Friday." Why do such a thing? To quote Pioneer, it's to "celebrate the creative visionaries" who helped bring KURO to life. In other words, KURO Friday is not being established to announce sweet, sweet price drops on all KURO wares. Two thumbs way down, Pioneer.

We can't say we spotted this one in person (sorry, Chuck lost its luster after about six episodes), but we'll still join in the chorus of laughter. The image spotted above was an advertisement for Microsoft's little 'ole operating system, known around the underground as Windows Vista. What you're supposed to see there is "Windows: Life Without Walls," but instead, you're missing the final "s." In fact, Michael Smith points out that most 4:3 set owners actually saw even less than that (think "Windows: Life Without"). The capture was taken from a locally broadcast 4:3 NTSC feed of the show, and amazingly enough, it wasn't the only commercial aired that night with some of the critical information hanging off in no man's land. Have any of you spotted this recently, or was this just a one-time screw up?

We've heard for years that the DVR was killing marketers' ability to inform and persuade, but a recent survey from IBM points out that advertisers would do alright if they'd simply keep with the times. The research revealed that more and more individuals are turning to their PCs and mobiles for content ingestion, and out of the 2,800 individuals surveyed around the globe, over 70% said they preferred "advertising-supported models as opposed to consumer-paid models." In fact, the majority of respondents admitted to preferring ads shown before of after a clip versus the "interruption" method currently used in TV broadcasts. Researchers also found that some 60% would be willing to provide personal information in exchange for valuable content, with "high quality music / videos, discounts to favorite stores and air travel / hotel points" being among the most desirable. More figures for number lovers are just down there in the read link.

Hunker down and find that tin foil cap, pronto! Privacy advocates, we've a new target for you to bang on: Integrated Media Measurement. The 4,900-person media research company is looking to take advertising measurement to a whole new level (or new low, as it were) by embedding tracking modules within cellphones. In short, the module picks up audio from ads and records information about the exposure; in the future, if you were to purchase whatever product you heard about (like seeing a movie that was plugged), it would register a hit and deem you a sucker. As of now, the only testers with these freaky phones are individuals who signed up for this stuff, but you better believe major marketing firms (and TV / movie studios in particular) are perking their ears up and begging to know more.

[Image courtesy of Corbis, thanks ugotamesij]

We know our evaluation is a few months old now, but we're pretty darn sure Comcast hasn't made up the huge gap between its HD lineup and DirecTV's in a few short months. Nevertheless, said cable company has apparently lost its mind with a new 30-second spot themed after Deal or No Deal. In the ad, a contestant is asked to guess which provider has more HD options at 7:12PM in Chicago, and after he correctly guesses DirecTV, the badly misinformed host tells him that he's flat-out wrong. Then, a graphic shows up touting "500" HD options for Comcast and just 95 or so on DirecTV, and as if that weren't misleading enough, the spooky narrator reminds us that "Comcast always has more HD." It's not that we don't believe the guy, we just can't figure out on what planet this scenario is actually true. The mind-boggling spot is after the jump.

[Via CNET, thanks Isaac]

You know those situations where everyone knows something yet no one is courageous enough to just blurt out the obvious? Pardon us, but yes, people do actually use their DVRs to skip commercials. In case our word isn't good enough for you, research firm Oliver Wyman has just completed a study which found that 85% of the 1,000 global participants used their DVR to skip at least three-quarters of all commercials. Furthermore, most viewers stated that they would not be willing to "watch advertising even when it underwrites free content," and they wouldn't want to pay extra (in addition to the DVR cost, we presume) to remove ads. Really though, we ad skippers are simply keeping those lucrative media marketing firms on their toes, and trust us, they have / will continue to find ways to circumvent our circumvention. Full release after the jump.

Here at Engadget HD, we've been watching TV for a long, long time, and we can't honestly say that we've ever viewed commercial time as content time. Nevertheless, MTV Networks is teaming up with Cadbury and DISH Network in order to launch its "first-ever advertiser-supported interactive television campaign." Available "exclusively" to DISH Network customers (a curse disguised as a blessing?), the campaign will debut during The N's reality series Queen Bees on July 11th at 9:00PM ET / PT. Put simply, it will present viewers with sets of questions to answer during the show (no, that's not distracting at all), and in the next commercial break, the poll results will be shown. According to the outfits involved, this is their attempt to "reinvent commercial time as content time" and "encourage viewer retention throughout the pod." We're curious -- does anyone at MTV / Cadbury / DISH actually believe this stuff, or does it just sound great on a conference call?

Light control is probably the biggest challenge to a good projection setup. The subterranean nature of London's subway is pretty much ideal in that regard, and now CBS Outdoor has brought its cross-track projection (XTP) system to the Tube. The Piccadilly Circus, Euston, Bank, Liverpool Street and Bond Street stations have been outfitted with a total of 23 14-foot screens that are getting HD video ads beamed onto them, sans audio (thankfully). There are plans to build out to 150 XTP screens and compliment them with 2,000 digital screens Tube-wide, which all fits in with CBS Outdoors' plans to bathe subway riders in advertisement. If ad-targeting tech is brought into the equation, we see some potential for really embarrassing hilarity. Meanwhile, London readers are encouraged to let us all know how the picture XTP quality is holding up!

You've got to have some serious firepower to attract eyes in Las Vegas -- after all, there's already enough neon in place to keep the average tourist distracted for hours. That being said, Samsung thinks it has what it takes, as it's teaming up with Outdoor Promotions in order to install eighteen 70-inch 1080p LCD panels "on prominent bus shelters spanning the Vegas strip from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino on the south side to the Rivera Hotel and Casino at the north end." The units will all be sunlight-readable and boast 2,000 nits of brightness along with localized audio. We're told that advertisements put up on the beastly sets will shuffle every 7.5- to 15-seconds in a continuous loop, and while the initial 18 are slated to go up in October, another 20 are planned for early 2009 (pre-CES, pretty please?)

[Image courtesy of IntelligentEconomy]