-
Well this is new, 300x250 units from ad exchanges designed to look like Taboola/Outbrain units CC: robleathernPermalink On twitter.com
♻️ 8 Retweets
❤️ 56 Favorites
Mood +2 🙂
-
So it turns out this image, which I've been seeing all over goes to a link that has nothing to do with MIT graduates or those pictured.Permalink On twitter.com
♻️ 1 Retweets
❤️ 5 Favorites
Mood 0
-
Permalink
On twitter.com
♻️ 2 Retweets
❤️ 9 Favorites
Mood +5 🙂
-
Hmmm, selling US car insurance through tons of India economics and tech sites? Seems like a bad investment.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 3 Favorites
Mood -1 🙁
-
In case you were wondering, despite the logos on their shirts those two women aren't the MIT grads disrupting the car insurance industry...Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 6 Favorites
Mood -2 🙁
-
The two MIT grads are Seth Birnbaum ( crunchbase.com/person/seth-birnbaum-2#/entity ) and Tomas Revesz ( crunchbase.com/person/tomas-revesz#/entity )Permalink On twitter.com
♻️ 1 Retweets
❤️ 4 Favorites
Mood 0
-
Surely the sudden barrage of Outbrain & ad exchange spots w/this ad isn't some crass strategy to juice the numbers before raising capital?Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 9 Favorites
Mood 0
-
Surely not, bostinno.streetwise.co/2016/10/20/everquote-ipo-ceo-discusses-series-b-funding-and-revenue/Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 5 Favorites
Mood 0
-
Gee, I hope Stratim Capital, Oceanic Partners and T Capital Partners didn't base any their investments off web traffic numbers in any way.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 9 Favorites
Mood +2 🙂
-
Because it sure looks like the ad buy wasn't particularly targeted and therefore is pulling in a lot of likely BS traffic.Permalink On twitter.com
♻️ 1 Retweets
❤️ 12 Favorites
Mood +2 🙂
-
And the ad placement itself encourages traffic to come in with no knowledge of what they are clicking to.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 5 Favorites
Mood +1 🙂
-
Which means EverQuote seems to be driving a pull of a lot of traffic unlikely to create sales leads. *shrugz*Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 6 Favorites
Mood -1 🙁
-
Havvvvve fun selling car insurance to millennials who are decreasingly buying cars. ttfn dudes.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 11 Favorites
Mood +4 🙂
-
I don't own a car and I cannot escape this ad.Permalink On twitter.com
♻️ 2 Retweets
❤️ 16 Favorites
Mood -1 🙁
-
I like that they are A/B testing smiling ladies vs frowny ladies. The frowny ladies showed up on an article about harassment, so good call?Permalink On twitter.com
♻️ 2 Retweets
❤️ 18 Favorites
Mood +4 🙂
-
This is irritating me, so let's keep digging!Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 6 Favorites
Mood -3 🙁
-
These links go to a site called LiveSmarterDaily. Which despite being "daily" is really only the one article designed to look like a blog.Permalink On twitter.com
♻️ 2 Retweets
❤️ 11 Favorites
Mood +2 🙂
-
You'll note none of the things mentioned in the ad prompt are actually here except auto insurance. So this is right on edge of #contentfraudPermalink On twitter.com
❤️ 6 Favorites
Mood 0
-
I think the best part of this terrible fake site is that it has ads *INSIDE* the ad to make it look more real.Permalink On twitter.com
♻️ 1 Retweets
❤️ 16 Favorites
Mood -3 🙁
-
At the bottom is a nice notice so they don't break the law.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 8 Favorites
Mood +3 🙂
-
So what is Provide Insurance, besides reportedly awful at service: reviewopedia.com/provide-insurance-com-reviews & ripoffreport.com/r/provide-insurancecom/internet/provide-insurancecom-carprovide-insurancecom-Created-fake-websites-to-promote-Internet-911378Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 2 Favorites
Mood -3 🙁
-
Well, it's really the previously mentioned EverQuote!Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 7 Favorites
Mood 0
-
EverQuote is an "auto insurance marketplace was named to this year's Inc. 5000" that raised $23M in their B round 7 days ago.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 2 Favorites
Mood 0
-
EverQuote sure sounds like some sort of insurance company, but it is an insurance marketplace. What that means is unclear.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 3 Favorites
Mood +1 🙂
-
I know what it looks like... an affiliate links and data collection shop.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 8 Favorites
Mood +2 🙂
-
If I click on that link, it doesn't seem to pass much of the fake info I gave it along. I basically start new.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 4 Favorites
Mood -3 🙁
-
Also, their privacy policy makes it *very* clear that they are going to pass on your information in all sorts of ways.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 8 Favorites
Mood +1 🙂
-
Everquote was launched out of a startup accelerator in Cambridge according to their about page, Cogo LabsPermalink On twitter.com
❤️ 2 Favorites
Mood +1 🙂
-
But before they were EverQuote, they were AdHarmonics, a generic leadgen/affiliate companyPermalink On twitter.com
❤️ 7 Favorites
Mood 0
-
So yeah affiliate links, generated off a fake news site, through badly targeted Taboola/Outbrain ads. Oh and an app! everquote.com/everdrive/Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 11 Favorites
Mood -5 🙁
-
And now I leave you with this wonderfully descriptive comment by one of their customersPermalink On twitter.com
❤️ 13 Favorites
Mood +3 🙂
-
Oh one other thing! Their dubious app, with 73 review and 5-10k installs on Android and dropping downloads - appannie.com/apps/ios/app/1079104334/ ...Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 4 Favorites
Mood -2 🙁
-
They took their data collection, authored a study off of dubious samples and unclear users & got it in HuffPost! huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-most-dangerous-interstates_us_5811ef68e4b0390e69ce51d2Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 8 Favorites
Mood -3 🙁
-
And I guess that's how we make money on the internet these days.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 8 Favorites
Mood 0
-
"Disruption" in action eh?Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 5 Favorites
Mood -2 🙁
-
This time in CNN, I cannot escape this ad.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 8 Favorites
Mood -1 🙁
-
More on the now inescapable LiveSmarterDaily - adspider.io/details/ads/7546697/how-2-mit-grads-are-disrupting-the-auto-insurance-industryPermalink On twitter.com
❤️ 5 Favorites
Mood 0
-
So we can now confirm that they started running this ad *right* before they started to raise capital for their B round.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 9 Favorites
Mood 0
-
Now, the question is, was it only for that? Is this literally to just juice those numbers? Will it be running next month? Time will tell.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 4 Favorites
Mood 0
-
I gotta wonder, theoretically, what happens if VC invests on fraudulent numbers? Is there even a way to withdraw?Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 1 Favorite
Mood -4 🙁
-
So Everquote ad campaign has escalated. It's now marketing a BS service that likely resells user data in a huge ad at the top of a news sitePermalink On twitter.com
❤️ 4 Favorites
Mood +3 🙂
-
I guess MIT was too elitist so now it is 'Boston grads' as noted. aexm/801098888149106688Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 7 Favorites
Mood 0
-
To reiterate, this is a shit company & ad is a lie in at least 3 ways: 1. They aren't disrupting shit. 2. Those two women aren't the gradsPermalink On twitter.com
❤️ 6 Favorites
Mood -10 🙁
-
3. It isn't turning upside down. Yet note the ad design, white background that blends into the site, aping news site style, plain font...Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 2 Favorites
Mood 0
-
This ad is clearly trying to look like a news story on this site and the click-through brings you to a site that looks like a news site...Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 1 Favorite
Mood +5 🙂
-
So this is basically fake news running on a real news site. The problem with reader trust isn't on FB, it is on shit like this.Permalink On twitter.com
♻️ 1 Retweets
❤️ 8 Favorites
Mood -6 🙁
-
We are engaged in the active practice of trying to make it difficult for readers to distinguish truth from bullshit on our own sites.Permalink On twitter.com
♻️ 5 Retweets
❤️ 14 Favorites
Mood -4 🙁
-
Bullshit fake news-style Everquote ad now showing above the fold in giant block on guardian's website.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 9 Favorites
Mood -8 🙁
-
BTW, now I'm sure the ad buy is not strongly targeted because it showed up in an incognito window on an article about UK education policy.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 3 Favorites
Mood 0
-
This ad campaign, now on 4th month, specifically targets news websites & is designed to trick readers into clicking it, thinking it is news.Permalink On twitter.com
♻️ 3 Retweets
❤️ 9 Favorites
Mood 0
-
It keeps running. No news sites shut it down, despite it being purely designed to trick readers. This is why journalists are losing trust.Permalink On twitter.com
♻️ 3 Retweets
❤️ 12 Favorites
Mood -3 🙁
-
We invite them on to our pages and present them with a mix of well-designed advertising fakery and mix it in with our own content...Permalink On twitter.com
♻️ 4 Retweets
❤️ 7 Favorites
Mood +1 🙂
-
And then we in the media have the gall to ask 'why can't readers distinguish fake news from real news?' Because we trained them not to.Permalink On twitter.com
♻️ 6 Retweets
❤️ 26 Favorites
Mood -3 🙁
-
“Can you trust what’s put out in the digital news ecosystem when you have fake news mixed in?” shar.es/18T08K via lmosesPermalink On twitter.com
❤️ 2 Favorites
Mood -2 🙁
-
One more version of the Everquote ad for the books: lmoses/809411920306536452Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 2 Favorites
Mood 0
-
Some more detailed thoughts on this: medium.com/@aramzs/the-media-is-a-business-and-journalism-is-a-job-get-it-together-c1ba78a4df95#.p2zk0959qPermalink On twitter.com
♻️ 1 Retweets
❤️ 1 Favorite
Mood 0
-
Still being targeted by EverQuote, but now the ad thinks I'm in Bayside (wrong) and the background of the image seems to have changed.Permalink On twitter.com
Mood -2 🙁
-
Clearly someone at EverQuote looked at the previous image and yelled "More screens!"Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 2 Favorites
Mood +1 🙂
-
Also props to the graphic designer who used drop shadow to hide the cut lines and then blended to try and make it look like they didn't.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 4 Favorites
Mood -1 🙁
-
For fun, here's all the versions of the ad thus far. Part 1Permalink On twitter.com
♻️ 1 Retweets
❤️ 1 Favorite
Mood +4 🙂
-
Part 2:Permalink On twitter.com
♻️ 1 Retweets
❤️ 1 Favorite
Mood 0
-
Part 3:Permalink On twitter.com
♻️ 1 Retweets
❤️ 1 Favorite
Mood 0
-
Holy shit. Look at all the fake websites EverQuote is building. bit.ly/2hqxyHJ webster/813817046039400448Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 6 Favorites
Mood -7 🙁
-
At what point, warnings aside, does this become misrepresentation? Intent to deceive? False advertising?Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 3 Favorites
Mood -9 🙁
-
Fun stuff, here is EverQuote's Inc. 5000 page, which lists their 2015 revenue at $96.8M inc.com/profile/everquotePermalink On twitter.com
❤️ 2 Favorites
Mood +4 🙂
-
In light of all these different websites it is worth noting an earlier ver of the ad mis-reported the ad's source Chronotope/791804583253307393Permalink On twitter.com
Mood +2 🙂
-
You can see that, unlike the other versions of the ad which list EverQuote as the ad's source that ^ one lists "Provide Savings" as sponsor.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 1 Favorite
Mood +1 🙂
-
You know what would be useful? A lawyer who specializes in business or advertising law. Could get some of these legality questions answered.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 3 Favorites
Mood +2 🙂
-
Genuine question: is this someone else operating on behalf of EverQuote? These things do happen. dennishegstad/813862804205637633Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 2 Favorites
Mood 0
-
But, I don't think so, because guess what, the top four domains off that list are registered directly to EverQuotePermalink On twitter.com
❤️ 2 Favorites
Mood +2 🙂
-
And so do the next 4!Permalink On twitter.com
Mood 0
-
And low and behold, EverQuote acknowledges that they indeed have purchased and maintain multiple domains i/web/813865963363803136Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 2 Favorites
Mood 0
-
This ad is persistent in following me around the internet, it still won't go away! Either their buy is enormous or targeting is awful.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 3 Favorites
Mood -3 🙁
-
LOL, now other content marketing ads are stealing EverQuote's ad photo. gabedelahaye/814962011041886208Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 3 Favorites
Mood +1 🙂
-
Honestly, do you think this ad is just targeting me now with the express purpose of driving me insane? Fresh from today:Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 2 Favorites
Mood -1 🙁
-
It keeps getting larger.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 1 Favorite
Mood 0
-
And then reporting happens, great work by sonyaellenmann digging deeper into this mattermark.com/everquote-deceptive-advertising/Permalink On twitter.com
♻️ 2 Retweets
❤️ 6 Favorites
Mood +3 🙂
-
God. Literally not a single ad on this website loads except the Everquote one.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 2 Favorites
Mood +1 🙂
-
Hey look, here is an EverQuote ad clearly lying about being created by EverQuotePermalink On twitter.com
❤️ 1 Favorite
Mood +1 🙂
-
Honest to god... have they actually increased their buy?Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 1 Favorite
Mood +4 🙂
-
Turns out EverQuote has been scummy for quite some time hlauinfo/816444928914030594Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 5 Favorites
Mood 0
-
.TheAtlantic's article about media being careful what they publish has a huge link to EverQuote's fake news site in the center of it.Permalink On twitter.com
♻️ 9 Retweets
❤️ 17 Favorites
Mood 0
-
By the way, I just noticed another lie in this ad. The "small team of data scientists" is, according to LinkedIn, 200 people. So not small.Permalink On twitter.com
Mood 0
-
Can't escape EverQuote! profcarroll/819047135723266048Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 1 Favorite
Mood +1 🙂
-
*sigh*Permalink On twitter.com
Mood -2 🙁
-
Latest Everquote ad still lands on fake news page, but now URL is less deceptive, clearly labeled w/company name...Permalink On twitter.com
Mood -5 🙁
-
Perhaps this new-found semi-honesty is an after effect of sonyaellenmann's coverage of EverQuote's at-best-deceptive behavior?Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 2 Favorites
Mood 0
-
Looks like the EverQuote geo-targeting is vaguely working. quantumdotdot/821797429309833216Permalink On twitter.com
Mood +2 🙂
-
Everquote ad arrives to split profits with white supremacists. OFH_John/828968149169090560Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 3 Favorites
Mood +2 🙂
-
Never stop being shitty EverQuote hlauinfo/830426115823063040Permalink On twitter.com
♻️ 1 Retweets
❤️ 1 Favorite
Mood -4 🙁
-
Oh look... EverQuote has discovered Instagram aexm/833738376792645632Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 1 Favorite
Mood 0
-
And hey, Everquote thinks it is "brilliant" now webster/833452256150315008Permalink On twitter.com
Mood +4 🙂
-
Things that never endPermalink On twitter.com
Mood 0
-
Now linking to a fake news site on EverQuote's own domain.Permalink On twitter.com
Mood -3 🙁
-
The ever changing pitch and a new star "grad" for EverQuote's targeting. robleathern/842010241499766784Permalink On twitter.com
♻️ 1 Retweets
Mood 0
-
And yeah, EverQuote continues to call itself brilliant aexm/840941186043019264Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 3 Favorites
Mood +5 🙂
-
Everquote's Math Grads at it again robleathern/846929669341437952Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 3 Favorites
Mood 0
-
EverQuote has these multicultural young people so you won't think about their founders being two old white guys robleathern/846932750313504768Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 5 Favorites
Mood 0
-
I think my favorite part of this EverQuote photoshoot is the EverQuote branding on the water bottles robleathern/846932801618272257Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 1 Favorite
Mood +2 🙂
-
So, fun times in EverQuote land, despite statements to sonyaellenmann that they were going to shrink their fake site footprint...Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 1 Favorite
Mood +1 🙂
-
EverQuote continues to run a number of fake news sites with the same content bit.ly/2hqxyHJ Around 98 of them:Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 2 Favorites
Mood -3 🙁
-
Some of these sites don't mention they are another company on the front page anymore, but have it deeper into the sitePermalink On twitter.com
❤️ 1 Favorite
Mood 0
-
And while the privacy policy might state EverQuote's name, the copyright statement and the ToU don'tPermalink On twitter.com
❤️ 2 Favorites
Mood 0
-
And their remaining fake news site? No longer discloses that it is an ad.Permalink On twitter.com
Mood -4 🙁
-
Many sites on that list provide a front end to access EverQuote. Besides a logo on a robot, they don't disclose who they are on front page.Permalink On twitter.com
Mood 0
-
Is this illegal? I don't think so. Is this highly unethical? Yeah, yeah, it is.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 2 Favorites
Mood -3 🙁
-
I suppose we can at least be thankful that EverQuote has decreased the number of these sites that look like news sites, but still: yuck.Permalink On twitter.com
Mood +4 🙂
-
All new EverQuote ads! They seem to have dropped the misleading text about founders at least. aexm/882779603143716865Permalink On twitter.com
Mood -4 🙁
-
Worth noting how even more non-specific the copy is here. They're just looking for clicks, who cares if you want car insurance or not.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 1 Favorite
Mood +5 🙂
-
Now I'm seeing those Everquote ads again. They have returned!Permalink On twitter.com
♻️ 1 Retweets
❤️ 3 Favorites
Mood 0
-
"My phone started ringing within minutes of filling out the EverQuote form, and it did not stop ringing for days." linkedin.com/pulse/other-side-quality-leads-avi-ben-huttaPermalink On twitter.com
♻️ 1 Retweets
❤️ 7 Favorites
Mood +1 🙂
-
A tale of two bullshit crap lead gen companies disguised as insurance quote providers. EverQuote isn't alone in its misleading behavior.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 2 Favorites
Mood -9 🙁
-
And look QuoteWizard has been doing this crap for a year longer than EverQuote. I guess EverQuote isn't so "disruptive" after all?Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 2 Favorites
Mood -5 🙁
-
More EverQuote ads for the endless set. shansquared/894645576071081985Permalink On twitter.com
♻️ 1 Retweets
❤️ 1 Favorite
Mood 0
-
Apparently Massachusetts and Colorado both prefer clicking on dissatisfied-looking white dudes against a brick wall.Permalink On twitter.com
♻️ 1 Retweets
❤️ 3 Favorites
Mood 0
-
I guess only the northeast corridor gets the multi ethnic EverQuote ads?Permalink On twitter.com
Mood 0
-
Also, looking at the copy, I guess this bunch aren't Harvard grads?Permalink On twitter.com
Mood 0
-
Oh look, a new crew on the Everquote ad.Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 5 Favorites
Mood 0
-
lol, just noticed on bottom of the clickthru site: "If you do not agree to our terms and policies, then please leave this site immediately."Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 2 Favorites
Mood +2 🙂
-
Everyone is slowly seeing their EverQuote ads move to the all white people version, it seems. shansquared/920331182746820608Permalink On twitter.com
❤️ 2 Favorites
Mood 0
-
Also, no one is wearing EverQuote gear in the photo anymore, interesting. CC: shansquaredPermalink On twitter.com
❤️ 1 Favorite
Mood +1 🙂
-
shansquared Seriously, do they pay anyone at that company or does it all just go to Outbrain and Taboola?On twitter.com
Mood -1 🙁