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Hunting for advertisers on Gawker

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Oct 22nd, 2014
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  1. During our messaging of Gawker's advertisers, we have had a few advertisers tell us that they are not actually advertising on Gawker. We were messaging them because Gawker was lying on their partners page when they claimed they had all these partners that they did not actually have (I'm not a lawyer, but is that investor fraud?).
  2.  
  3. This means that we should try to dig out the advertisers who are visibly advertising on Gawker and target them. This morning I turned off my ad blockers and I surfed Gawker, taking notes and screen capping the ads I found to make a list of advertisers who need to be targeted right now.
  4.  
  5. I used Chrome and Internet Explorer with and without my VPN and changing nodes on my VPN from time to time (I use privateinternetaccess.com). I got the most ads with IE and no VPN. Protip: Don't bother surfing with a VPN exit node in a country like Romania unless you speak Romanian.
  6.  
  7. This entire process took me about 2.5 hours.
  8.  
  9. The biggest surprise for me was that most of the people we are messaging for this boycott are not actually advertising on Gawker, as far as I can tell. I didn't see some of these advertisers on any of our lists of companies to contact to boycott Gawker.
  10.  
  11. Here are all the advertisers that I could personally find.
  12.  
  13. LL Bean (by far their biggest advertiser)
  14. Discover
  15. Old Spice
  16. Ebay
  17. Keurig
  18. CNBC (The Profit)
  19. Dyson
  20. iRobot
  21. Comcast
  22. PayPal
  23. Save the Children (really? we need to do something about that)
  24. Swash
  25. SEGA (Alien Isolation)
  26. IBM
  27.  
  28. Edit: I found out that Gawker Studios made an ad for IBM. The reddit thread about it is here:
  29. http://www.reddit.com/r/KotakuInAction/comments/2k0pgv/gawker_studio_does_animated_ad_for_ibm_on_gawker/
  30.  
  31. I found their contact information and put it below.
  32.  
  33. For quick reference, here is a screen cap of Sam Biddle's tweets.
  34. http://i.imgur.com/6ssdX8x.jpg
  35.  
  36. Here they are in an archive, in case anybody thinks that screen cap is shopped.
  37. https://archive.today/AxmL5
  38.  
  39. Ask these advertisers to join companies like Adobe and oppose bullying during bullying awareness month. Here are Adobe's tweets:
  40. https://twitter.com/Adobe/status/524625011919708160
  41. https://twitter.com/Adobe/status/524727259844718592
  42.  
  43. Gawker's biggest advertiser is LL Bean. We should be hitting them as much as possible.
  44.  
  45. Gawker's easiest target is probably Save the Children. I highly doubt they want to endorse bullying. They just need to be made aware that they do endorse bullying. Screen cap of their ad: http://i.imgur.com/KEg9uvX.png
  46.  
  47. Here is a link to 27 screen caps of Gawker articles with ads in them:
  48. http://imgur.com/a/ywB50#0
  49.  
  50. Edit: Here is a link to a screen cap of IBM's ad on Gawker, on an article showing an ad Gawker made for IBM:
  51. http://imgur.com/URRCkoY
  52.  
  53. Here is a list of the advertisers I identified.
  54.  
  55. LL Bean http://www.llbean.com/
  56. PR contact: Laurie Brooks (Social Media Public Relations Program Manager)
  57. [email protected]
  58. contact source: http://i.imgur.com/m5m3iJo.png
  59.  
  60. Discover https://www.discovercard.com/
  61. PR dept: [email protected] or 1-224-405-1747
  62. contact source: https://www.discover.com/company/newsroom/?ICMPGN=FTR_ABTUS_NEWS
  63.  
  64. Old Spice http://www.oldspice.com/
  65. PR contact: [email protected]
  66. or use this feedback form http://www.pg.com/en_UK/contact-us.shtml
  67. contact source: http://www.reddit.com/r/KotakuInAction/comments/2ji8ji/the_full_list_of_gawkers_advertisers_as_well_as/
  68.  
  69. eBay http://www.ebay.com/
  70. PR contact: [email protected]
  71. If you email them also mention that their PayPal Braintree ads are on Gawker
  72. contact source: http://www.ebayinc.com/content/media-contacts
  73.  
  74. Keurig http://www.keurig.com/
  75. PR contact: Lynda McKinney (Director of Public Relations)
  76. [email protected]
  77. contact source: http://i.imgur.com/m5m3iJo.png
  78.  
  79. CNBC (The Profit) http://www.cnbc.com/
  80. Contact: Brian Steel (Senior VP of Public Relations)
  81. [email protected]
  82. contact source: http://i.imgur.com/m5m3iJo.png
  83.  
  84. Dyson http://www.dyson.com/
  85. PR contact: Lennard Hoornik (Chief Commercial Officer)
  86. [email protected]
  87. contact source: http://i.imgur.com/m5m3iJo.png
  88.  
  89. iRobot http://www.irobot.com/
  90. PR contact: [email protected]
  91. contact source: http://media.irobot.com/
  92.  
  93. Comcast http://www.comcast.com/
  94. Tweet: https://twitter.com/comcast
  95. email Jenniver Khoury at [email protected]
  96. contact source: http://corporate.comcast.com/news-information/press-industry-analyst-contacts
  97.  
  98.  
  99. PayPal https://www.paypal.com/home
  100. See eBay, since eBay owns them.
  101.  
  102. Save the Children http://www.savethechildren.org/
  103. Screen Cap: http://i.imgur.com/KEg9uvX.png
  104. tweet the ceo https://twitter.com/carolynsave
  105. media contacts list from http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6146421/k.292A/Contact_Us.htm
  106. [email protected]
  107. [email protected]
  108. [email protected]
  109. [email protected]
  110. [email protected]
  111. [email protected]
  112. [email protected]
  113. This should be an easy advertiser to talk to about bullying. Just cc: everybody in this email list to be safe.
  114.  
  115. Swash http://www.swash.com/
  116. Tweet: https://twitter.com/swashofficial
  117. Use this contact form. It's all I can find http://www.swash.com/contact-us
  118.  
  119.  
  120. SEGA (Alien Isolation) http://www.sega.com/
  121. tweet: https://twitter.com/AlienIsolation
  122. Derrek Peel is their senior brand marketing manager.
  123. Phone: +1.415.701.6000 +1.415.701.4147
  124. email: [email protected]
  125. contact source: https://connect.data.com
  126.  
  127. IBM http://www.ibm.com/
  128. Tweet: @IBM
  129. Contact: Use the form here http://www.ibm.com/scripts/contact/contact/us/en
  130. Contact source: http://www.reddit.com/r/KotakuInAction/comments/2ji8ji/the_full_list_of_gawkers_advertisers_as_well_as/
  131. Screen cap of the ad made by Gawker for IBM: http://imgur.com/URRCkoY
  132. Article about the ad Gawker made for IBM: https://archive.today/JhyDD
  133.  
  134. Here are my raw notes. They are messy, but if you want more info on how this data was compiled you can find it here. Every now and then I noted the time I was taking these notes. The times are all EST
  135.  
  136. =====================================================================================
  137.  
  138. Oct 22, 4:15 ~ 4:20 AM
  139. Gawker front page ads
  140.  
  141. 01. LL Bean
  142. 02. LL Bean
  143. 03. LL Bean
  144. 04. LL Bean
  145. 05. LL Bean
  146. 06. LL Bean
  147. 07. LL Bean
  148. 08. LL Bean
  149. 09. LL Bean
  150. 10. LL Bean
  151.  
  152. Same result at 4:30
  153.  
  154. Lifehacker 4:30 ~ 4:37
  155.  
  156. 01. Keurig & Old Spice
  157. 02. Keurig & Ebay
  158. 03. Keurig & Old Spice
  159. 04. Keurig & Old Spice
  160. 05. Keurig & Old Spice
  161. 06. Keurig & Ebay
  162. 07. Keurig & Ebay
  163. 08. Keurig & Old Spice
  164. 09. Keurig & Old Spice
  165. 10. Keurig & Ebay
  166.  
  167. GAwker Jimsonweed Article 4:40 ~ 4:47 AM (ad is at bottom)
  168. http://gawker.com/gawker-nature-moment-toxic-psychoactive-jimsonweed-gro-1642298683
  169.  
  170. 01. Keurig
  171. 02. Keurig
  172. 03. None
  173. 04. None
  174. 05. None
  175. 06. None
  176. 07. None
  177. 08. None
  178. 09. None
  179. 10. None
  180.  
  181. Now I can't find any ads on Gawker at all. The top article is Carefully Groomed Stubble is a Mark of Low Moral Character.
  182.  
  183. Changing my VPN exit node to Romania to see what happens...
  184.  
  185. 4:50 AM No ads on front page
  186.  
  187. Article on NBC Cameraman surviving ebola shows a couple ads in languages I can't read. Monoqi and ClinLife... seems to be a renal cell thing? I don't know what that means. IDK if these are actual companies or what, I can't research it. I should have gotten a screen cap but wasn't thinking. Won't make that mistake again.
  188.  
  189. Changing exit node to London to try to get something in english.
  190.  
  191. 4:54 AM Nothing on front page.
  192.  
  193. check article titled NBC Cameraman Declared Ebola-Free
  194. http://gawker.com/nbc-cameraman-declared-ebola-free-1649185775
  195.  
  196. No ads. Refresh a few times, same result.
  197.  
  198. Still no ads on these articles, either. I refreshed each 3-4 times.
  199.  
  200. http://gawker.com/police-release-audio-from-drunken-palin-family-brawl-1649194331
  201.  
  202. http://gawker.com/legendary-former-washington-post-editor-ben-bradlee-is-1649146710
  203.  
  204. http://gawker.com/giant-butt-plug-in-center-of-paris-deflated-by-prude-va-1647992463/1649085287/+cushac
  205.  
  206. It's now 5:01 AM I try Valleywag and a few other sites in the gawker network. Getting no ads at all or even the trending on kinja box. I turn off the VPN and surf normally.
  207.  
  208. Get LL Bean on the Gawker home page again.
  209.  
  210. Click a few articles on the popular on kinja box.
  211.  
  212. No ads here
  213. http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/how-do-you-launch-americas-newest-360m-ship-like-a-to-1648895883
  214.  
  215. No ads here
  216. http://cink.hu/ezzel-a-bena-terelessel-minden-hatart-atlepett-a-fides-1649235432
  217.  
  218. No ads here
  219. http://sploid.gizmodo.com/genius-app-solves-math-problems-by-pointing-your-phone-1649161239
  220.  
  221. This is annoying. I change to Internet Explorer, just to try something off the wall (because, really, who would think anybody would use it?). Still no VPN running.
  222.  
  223. 5:09 AM LL Bean is on the front home page of Gawker
  224.  
  225. LL Bean is advertising on this Renee Zellweger Pictures article:
  226. http://gawker.com/here-are-some-pictures-of-renee-zellweger-1648827025
  227.  
  228. Gave 10 refreshes on this article, got LL bean every time. Screen cap done with snipping tool rather than web cap plugin because I"m on IE and I used a chrome extension to get the full screen caps from before.
  229.  
  230. 5:14 AM LL Bean on Gawker front page again.
  231.  
  232. Click this article... get something new!
  233. http://morningafter.gawker.com/tuesday-night-tv-lashes-out-immediately-apologizes-1649033044/+laceydonohue
  234.  
  235. The CNBC TV show The Profit has ads on this article about Tuesday Night TV. The title is Tuesday Night TV Lashes Out, Immediately Apologizes.
  236.  
  237. Load the page 10 times, get same ads. There is an ad at the bottom that is also for the Profit, so they are running 3 ads on this article: Top, Left and bottom.
  238.  
  239. 5:21 AM Go back to Gawker home page. LL Bean is there again.
  240.  
  241. Click Shia LaBeouf article, get no ads, refresh a few times, back to home page. LL Bean still there
  242.  
  243. http://defamer.gawker.com/working-out-next-to-shia-labeouf-is-just-as-bizarre-as-1649097971/+laceydonohue
  244.  
  245. Sarah Palin article without ads
  246. http://gawker.com/sarah-palin-waited-in-the-limo-while-her-family-got-in-1644614042
  247.  
  248. LL Bean still on Home Page
  249.  
  250. Click article on Incredibly Handsome Serial Killer Confesses to 39 Murders, get an LL Bean ad in all 3 ad spots, screen cap it.
  251. http://gawker.com/incredibly-handsome-serial-killer-confesses-to-39-murde-1649020842
  252.  
  253. Refresh 10 times, get same ads.
  254.  
  255. 5:39 AM - LL Bean still on front page
  256.  
  257. New Trending on Kinja article: Genius app instantly solves math problems by using phone's camera. No ads. I'm on Chrome again. Back to IE and...
  258.  
  259. 5:42AM - Got ads!
  260.  
  261. There is an ad for Dyson hot + cool and a masthead that looks like a pharmaceudical ad but it takes you to the about sploid page. It has ads from Dyson, Discover and Comcast.
  262.  
  263. Click article titled This is how you actually break open a giant italian cheese, get ads from iRobot, Comcast and Dyson, the ads change places a bit and I got a ScanSnap ad, continued for 10 refreshes, screen capping results.
  264.  
  265. 5:54 AM
  266.  
  267. Check Gawker home page again. More LL Bean
  268.  
  269. Check some articles. N Korea releases American Detained for Placing Bible in Nightclub has LL Bean ads
  270. http://gawker.com/north-korea-releases-american-detained-for-placing-bibl-1648967644
  271.  
  272. SNL gets a little less white, adds leslie jones to cast has The Profit ads on it
  273. http://morningafter.gawker.com/snl-gets-a-little-less-white-adds-leslie-jones-to-cast-1648870040
  274.  
  275. 6:00 AM
  276.  
  277. Hit Valleywag, get PayPal ads for braintree. Refresh 10 times.
  278.  
  279. PayPal is at the top, left and bottom every time.
  280.  
  281. Go to article You Survived Summer, collect a $150 Visa Gift Card.
  282.  
  283. It has a Save the Children ad on it. Seriously.
  284.  
  285. Here is the article.
  286. http://valleywag.gawker.com/you-survived-summer-collect-a-150-visa-gift-card-1638054665
  287.  
  288. Here is the page the Save the Children ad links to.
  289. https://secure.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6239401/k.C01C/Global_Action_Fund/apps/ka/sd/donor.asp?_ga=1.13695543.1073756496.1392330112&msource=weanlgaf0214&utm_source=nl&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=nl-0214-brand
  290.  
  291. 6:09 AM Refresh the survive summer article a few times and get the same ad each time.
  292.  
  293. Get an ad for Swash on an article titled Infographic: Are you making the most of your 24-hour day?
  294.  
  295. http://swash.kinja.com/infographic-are-you-making-the-most-of-your-24-hour-da-1638267047
  296.  
  297. Swash looks like a clothing care product? IDK, never heard of it.
  298.  
  299. They advertise on top, left and bottom slots.
  300.  
  301. Refresh a few times, move on to a Studio@Gawker article titled Every Possible Apocalypse, From Worst to Best. No ads.
  302.  
  303. No ads on Ask the Gawker Staff article.
  304.  
  305. 6:15 AM
  306.  
  307. On What do you want to see more of on Gawker I got LL Bean ads.
  308. http://gawker.com/what-do-you-want-to-see-more-of-on-gawker-1612312332
  309.  
  310. Get LL Bean ads on home page again.
  311.  
  312. No ads on article titled ""Douchebag": The White Racial Slur We've All Been Waiting For"
  313.  
  314. Get LL Bean ads on "James Blunt Finally Admits "You're Beautiful" is Garbage""
  315.  
  316. Seriously, who reads this shit? I've never been exposed to this much bullshit in my life before, and I took sociology 101 in college and minored in philosophy. This is absurd.
  317.  
  318. Anyway, back to the hunt...
  319.  
  320. 6:20 AM
  321.  
  322. LL Bean ads on "All rise for John Oliver's All-Dog Supreme Court"
  323.  
  324. No ads on "The D-List Right-Wingers Who've Turned Gamergate Into Their Loser Army"
  325.  
  326. PayPal Braintree ad on "This Is How Whisper Is Tracking Its "Anonymous" Users"
  327.  
  328. Ads for LL Bean half loaded on an article then the page malfunctioned and loaded some other bullshit. After trying to get the page back for a minute I moved on...
  329.  
  330. LL bean ads on a little blurb without a headline, so I screen capped it to show you what I mean. The first sentence is, "Novelist William Giraldi wants you to know he would appreciate it very much if everyone would stop comparing him so much to Cormac McCarthy."
  331. http://gawker.com/novelist-william-giraldi-wants-you-to-know-he-would-app-1649045327
  332.  
  333. LL Bean is here also:
  334.  
  335. http://gawker.com/should-massachusetts-secede-from-eastern-time-to-get-aw-1645763348
  336.  
  337. Clicked onto this, it has no ads.
  338. http://disputations.gawker.com/this-seems-more-accurate-than-it-intends-to-be-maybe-1647809451
  339.  
  340. 6:27 AM
  341.  
  342. Get ads on article titles "No, Bram Stoker Did Not Model Dracula on Vlad the Impaler"
  343.  
  344. http://io9.com/no-bram-stoker-did-not-model-dracula-on-vlad-the-impal-1648969679/+laceydonohue
  345.  
  346. Get io9 masthead at the top of the page, an Alien Isolation ad on the left ad slot (bragging about 93% rating from PC Gamer, LOL), and nothing at the bottom. Screen capping it.
  347.  
  348. Refresh Vlad article a few times, get a Discover ad, screen capped it.
  349.  
  350. Click around a few more io9 articles, get alien isolation and Comcast ads. Alien Isolation is the primary sponsor of IO9.
  351.  
  352. 6:33 AM
  353.  
  354. Click some more IO9 articles get no ads or Alien Isolation ads, no new sponsors to report. Back to Gawker.
  355.  
  356. More LL Bean ads on all Gawker articles and Gawker home page.
  357.  
  358. Valleywag article - no ads
  359.  
  360. 6:39 I'm giving up and summarizing my findings. I can't take this bullshit any more.
  361.  
  362. The primary advertiser on Gawker is LL Bean.
  363.  
  364. Here is a complete list of advertisers I have personally confirmed this morning:
  365.  
  366. LL Bean
  367. Discover
  368. Old Spice
  369. Ebay
  370. Keurig
  371. CNBC (The Profit)
  372. Dyson
  373. iRobot
  374. Comcast
  375. PayPal
  376. Save the Children
  377. Swash
  378. SEGA (Alien Isolation)
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