Adware company WhenU took another step this week to boost its consumer image by introducing public service ads warning Web surfers when they land on fraudulent "phishing" sites. For the initiative, WhenU sends consumers who visit known fraudulent sites a pop-up alerting them that the site they landed on is a "potential phishing site." WhenU drew its list of phony Web addresses--600 to date--from the Internet sites www.fraudwatchinternational.com and www.antiphishing.org. The program started on Monday, and is still being rolled out, said CEO Bill Day. So far this week, WhenU has sent users between 800 and 1,500 warnings per day. The program drew cautious praise from online security expert Bruce Schneier, founder and chief technology officer of Counterpane Internet Security, Inc. "It's a good idea," he said, adding that anything that makes it harder for scammers to operate is a plus. But, he warned, there are many possibilities for error--such as omitting some phony sites from the list of suspect sites. "The devil is in the details," he said. "To do this well is not easy." Day said that the plan might not be perfect, but is a step in the right direction. "Can we be 100 percent inclusive?" he asked. "It's more important we just do what we can." The move is one of several consumer-friendly initiatives WhenU has made since Day joined on Oct. 1. Last month, WhenU discontinued the controversial practice of serving pop-ups that resembled the Windows program message "Active-X." Active-X is a real program that alerts users to potential Internet security pitfalls, but ads disguised as "ActiveX" usually warn consumers that the computer may be infected with spyware, and then ask them to click-through. WhenU and other adware companies often come under fire from consumer advocates who charge that customers don't fully understand they'll be served ads when they download the companies' software. Chris Hoofnagle, associate director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center--a leading adware critic--said the potential benefit of warning consumers about online scams doesn't overcome fundamental flaws with the business. To Hoofnagle, a major problem is that consumers don't always understand what they're agreeing to when they download an adware company's software. "It sounds like a good service," he said of the anti-phishing program. But, he added, it "doesn't clean the company's hands in terms of not obtaining consent."
Nielsen Interactive, a unit of VNU's Nielsen Entertainment division, yesterday announced it will provide third-party measurement and accountability for advertising on the in-game ad serving network Massive Incorporated. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. "This is a major step forward for the advancement of video games as a viable advertising medium," Mitch Davis, Massive's CEO, said in a conference call with reporters. Davis predicted that the partnership with Nielsen will make video game ad serving so attractive to advertisers that by the end of next year, Massive would be able to rival "Monday Night Football" for ad dollars directed at men 18-34. He added that Massive will work hand-in-hand with Nielsen Interactive to create measurement data for ad impressions, dayparting, and reach and frequency (see related story in the traditional media news section of today's MDN). Michael Dowling, general manager of Nielsen Interactive, told reporters in a conference call that the deal with Massive will let advertisers plan video game campaigns as they do with television and other media. By auditing consumer interaction with video game ads, Dowling said Nielsen will be able to provide data on the aggregate reach of in-game ads, and create a general profile on game audiences in the Massive network. Nielsen expects the first set of standards to be ready by the second quarter of 2005. The audience measurement firm also has a video game measurement relationship with Activision, a prominent video game publisher. Dowling said the deal with Massive is an extension of its deal with Activision. Executives in the video game advertising community applauded the move, saying it will help establish video games as a valid advertising medium more quickly. "Everyone knows this industry is going to happen," said Darren Herman, founder and CEO of inGamePartners, a video game ad serving network and Massive rival. "The major issue is timing," he said, adding that bringing in a major player like Nielsen will bring the market credibility, and facilitate the growth process. Herman said he expects it will take "one or two quarters" for the major brands to locate the budget for in-game advertising. He emphasized the importance of keeping the metrics as similar as possible to other media. "A common language is the easiest thing to adopt," he said. "One thing they can't get caught up in is interactive--this is not about click-through rates." Brandon Berger, senior strategist of digital innovation, OgilvyOne, said that advertisers are particularly excited at the prospect of running and monitoring the same campaigns across different games. "The dialogue has started. Now it's about creating accountability," he said. Dave Madden, executive vice president of sales, marketing, and business development for interactive game marketing firm WildTangent, said a key component for advertisers is the ability "to compare video game spend from one media to another." "Ultimately it behooves everyone in the industry to have a rating system to measure impressions, time spent with a brand, and reach and frequency," he said. But, he added: "It's a little early to have a standard or definition of ad units." He said the emphasis on urgency in establishing such measures for the nascent ad medium is "probably a little bit of wishful thinking."
Zango Games said yesterday it teamed with game developer Zombie Studios to release 20 redesigned classics like Missile Command and Asteroids for free online play in the coming months. Ten of the games--a mix of arcade, board, and card games-were made available on Monday for syndication to Web publishers. The other 10 games will be released over the next three to six months. In October, 180solutions acquired Full Armor Studios, a downloadable games development firm that produces Zango Games, a component of the adware provider's Zango software. 180solutions offers users access to a wide range of content--screensavers, search bars, and movie and music utilities--in exchange for users' agreement to allow 180solutions to install Zango software on their computers. 180solutions redirects users to the actual Web pages of its advertisers in a separate pop-up browser window when users request further info about goods and services online. The company serves pop-ups two or three times during an average browsing session, said Todd Sawicki, senior director of marketing at 180solutions, an ad-supported software provider and Zango's parent company. "We prefer the term 'sponsorware' to adware," Sawicki said. "We're definitely not talking about 'advergaming' here, and we don't interrupt users when they're playing." Advertisers amount to about 6,000--and fall into various categories, including travel, insurance, e-commerce, and finance. "Our business model is no different from NBC's, really," said Sawicki. "We're both trying to offer the most interesting content possible in exchange for people's consideration of our advertisers." Separately, on Tuesday 180solutions announced the addition of more than 10 partners to its Zango Network. More than 30 Web publishers have joined Zango since its inception earlier this year. Partners receive revenue generated from the "Zango Search Assistant," which delivers advertisers' Web sites to users when they search and shop online.