I was watching MOD on MuchMusic the other day until I saw a series of random commercials featuring people filiming on a webcam. But there’s one “obvious” person that has these characteristics: He’s wearing green goggles, a green cowboy hat and a blue partial mask that one has eyes and nose parts. He’s holding a sign that says, “THIS IS THE NEW REALITY - Phreak615.com”.
There was some speculation going on about this viral advertising. Phreak615 decided to hack and intercept every television show that was aired on MuchMusic. This reminded me when there was a series of Obay advertisments popping around in my neighbourhood and it wasn’t until later that these ads were produced by Ontario Colleges - showing awareness for parents who is considering post-secondary opportunities for their children. Earlier, it reminded me when YTV’s The Zone (and the entire YTV network) back in 2001 was hacked by some kind of odd enemy named the “Freaky Fowl” (or something like that). This is from a wikipedia article:
“At one point during their tenure, a bizarre plotline emerged involving electronic insects known as yokomites that were under the control of a mysterious chicken-man named Fiendly Fowl. They were created by Fowl to destroy the station, should his demand to be given the station was ignored. At the end, there was an animated comic where Pat and Jenny went into the yokomite’s lair to defeat them. The hand in the toilet was “killed” saving them.”
Many bloggers, including mine were circulating rumours about Obay. Even many message boards has their own point of view about the Obay ads.
Back to the Phreak615 craze, there is a blog by the alias of “Phreak615″ and he unravels his plot to hack this year’s MuchMusic Video Awards, which will take place on June 15th, 2008. This is what he explicitly states on his blog:
“It’s no secret that I am going to hack the MMVAs.
It’s no secret that if you send me a video I’ll put you into the MMVAs
It’s no secret that MuchMusic and Mad Mark have the same initials.
And it’s no secret that CDs have a better sound quality than cassette.
CDs Nuts!”
Is that guy is some kind of retro brainiac who thinks that cassette or vinyl produces better sound quality than CDs? Or is he some kind of terrorist leader? Anyways, I was extremely slow on trying to get all the details on Phreak615, but I was able to find some videos on how MuchMusic suffered the effects of Phreak615. I spent almost day and night trying to research some information and provided an APB on Phreak615 until I realized that Phreak615 is some kind of MMVA advertisement teaser (or something like that).
EDIT:This is phreak615’s full and detailed information about himself (to view the original post, please go here):
So ADAM, BOBBY & HeatVision_and_Jack are wondering how I’m managing these phreaks. Sorry my little Phreaks and Phreakets but you’d need direct access to make it happen. That said; send me your videos, if they’re good I’ll make you famous.
First off, gone are the days of being able to simply “take over” an analogue broadcast frequency and hijack the feed that way - as you can see in my earlier blog here. Everything is digital now. That makes it harder for most, but in fact, easier for me.
Basically, the tech guys here have their thumbs up their asses. New technology plus old tech staff equals wiiiiiiiiiiiide open access.
I have direct access to our digital media server (the source for all outgoing broadcasts). I wired up a custom network cable similar to a RJ-45 cross-over cable and hooked it into one of the spare networking ports. Normally these ports are disabled or at least secured but as I said earlier, this is relatively new and not everyone is up to speed from a security standpoint. Plus, I’m sure they never anticipated me.
Anyways, I ran that cable out to a standard D-link wireless router (works better with Macs than Linkys) and set up a “hidden” wifi network. Now all I need to do is park my car across the street from the building and I can upload any audio or video directly to the server. The actual tricky part is the script that automatically runs an override to the current broadcast stream at pre-set times. Coincidently these times are when I’m out of the office.
Now I can upload and inject video snippets into the main broadcast feed from my wireless laptop pretty much when ever I’m feeling a little saucy. At least for now. I’m giving this whole thing a week tops before my little work around gets discovered.
Anyway, without direct access to the server there’s no way anyone could ever hope to gain access. So sorry. But again, like I said I’ll load your stuff in if you send it to me.
Anyways, I have some evidence that you may find (somewhat) disturbing - in the form of youtube videos! Right now, I’m in the process of trying to unravel and try to nick Phreak615’s operation once and for all! I wonder how loyal MuchMusic viewers will think about this…lol Who knows? Perhaps “Phreak615″ will appear on Road Wars!
Yesterday, I stumbled upon reading the Metro (and possibly the 24 Hours) daily commuter newspaper (both of which are free daily and very popular among commuters) until I stumbled upon an ad from Virgin Mobile Canada. The ad features former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and in the cloud he was thinking, “I’m tired of being treated like a number…” If you people don’t know Spitzer had resigned as governor of New York on Monday because of his involvement in prostitution line (or something like that) talking to a person named Ashley Alexandera Dupre (aka Kristen). He was criticized on his involvement with that person and that’s why it lead to his resignation. Eliot Spizter is known as “Client 9″. The people of the state is not impressed by this.
Anyways, changing gear back to the Virgin Mobile ad campaigns, The ad campaigns also feature Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton as well. The as describes as this:
“At Virgin Mobile, you’re more than just a number. When you call us we’ll treat you like a person, not a client. Whether you’re #9 or #900, you’ll get hooked up with somebody who’ll finally treat you just how you want to be treated.”
However to ensure that the good people at Virgin Mobile won’t get sued, they posted this statement: “You probably already guessed this, but no celebrity endorsement intended or implied.” Rest assured, Virgin Mobile is not planning to do a full-scale rollout with the ads featuring Spitzer, but because of that, the former New York Governor caught his attention to those ads.
The viral ads reminded me of when Ontario Colleges did some viral campaign called “Obay“. Some people think it’s a new medication, but in the end the viral ads revealed to be that the product doesn’t exist, but it offers parents to provide some post-secondary opportunities for their kids.
I laughed at the way Virgin Mobile did this, but it’s anyone’s guess if they will plan to do these types of ads if they were to mock Chris Avenir, the guy who got expelled from Ryerson for his alleged involvement on organizing a facebook study group. If Avenir suddenly detected this, he will sue Virgin Mobile for his unauthorized use of his picture. The same thing goes to Billy “Fish” O’neill (if you don’t recall, he got hit by a car when he did a trick during the conference team visit to Barcelona, Spain). He will possibly sue Virgin Mobile - providing if he did not authorize them to use his picture. But, if Virgin Mobile decided to make the ads featuring Billy “Fish” O’Neill, they will most likely get his attention.
After much speculation to some people, it seems that we finally got a conclusion to the Obay ads - it seems that Ontario Colleges were to blame for making this viral advertising campaign.
According to a news release, the particular ad campaign is targeted to mostly parents when it comes to post-secondary education.
“Students across Ontario can breathe a sigh of relief today with the news that a new product, ‘Obay’, purported to stop them thinking for themselves, or about their future, isn’t for real and won’t be appearing in their parents’ medicine cabinets anytime soon. A teaser campaign, featuring fictional ads and humorous, provocative messages about parental ‘mind control’ has been running across province for the past few weeks. They are part of the lead up to today’s official launch of a new marketing campaign by Colleges Ontario - the advocacy organization representing the 24 colleges of applied arts and technology - that is targeted primarily to parents, the group identified as having great influence when it comes to post-secondary education.”
It seems that everyone had got the message, but some of them got pointless…lol According to a representative of the Canadian Federation of Students, this is what he/she has to say:
“It’s ironic that Colleges Ontario has chosen to market itself this way If the colleges want to talk about obeying anything, students ask them to explain why they refuse to obey the law.”
According to another press release, two former post-secondary students filed a lawsuit against Ontario colleges to put a stop the collection of tuition-related ancillary fees and secure at least $200 Million CDN in compensation for current and former post-secondary students. Ancillary fees are charged in conjunction with tuition fees. These fees are used to fund student centres, athletic facilities, health/dental care insurance or other services that are supplementary to the basic operations of a college or university.
There were also some Youtube Videos dedicating to the campaign such as a new baby becoming a lawyer, a mother telling a young girl a bedtime story about anatomy and the group of kindergarden students divided into three groups: lawyers, doctors and chartered accountants. The ads can be viewed here: http://ca.youtube.com/user/obayCamp
Since the McGunity government has removed a freeze on tuition fees, the costs began to rise significantly. The biggest hit is for people with disabilities, they have to find a way on how (and their caregivers) to finance their post-secondary education. I’m not making any negative opinions, though. Just like when Billy “Fish” O’Neill said in an interview about his horrific ordeal while doing a rollerblading stunt in Barcelona, Spain:
“Seriously be careful. Obviously what had happened to me is avoidable, so just be aware it can happen and avoid it.”
To read the rest of that interview, please click here.
On another note, I will be away to Montreal with my mom and I will promise to provide an update about the current events that revolve around us. Keep up to date with my blog.
After many days of wondering who is the culprit behind the Obay ads and many views posted by various people (including mine), it seems we finally got a conclusion: The people at Colleges Ontario is indeed the culprit of those ads. The Torontoist blog vaguely confirms that and states that Colleges Ontario will be attending a media launch event next week to showcase about “the news about Obay and it’s side effects of Ontario’s Post-Secondary Education.”
Hey, I wonder how the side effects will effect many post-secondary students whether from College or University. Just like the song by Simple Plan:
Is everybody going crazy?
Is anybody gonna save me?
Can anybody tell me what’s going on?
Tell me what’s going on?
If you open your eyes
You’ll see that something is wrong
Edit (1:16p.m.): Be-mag.com has posted an online interview of Billy “Fish” O’Neill and his horrific ordeal about his incident. He also posted an advice to many aggressive skaters who are doing a stunt like that. He is currently in crutches and still limping, but he’s doing okay. I wish Fish’s best on his road to recovery. As always, always wear proper safety equipment when doing a certain stunt. You would not end up being like him….
Changing gears, tomorrow night I’m going to see Angels & Airwaves at the Kool Haus (The Guvernment) in Toronto with my sister. It’s going to be fun. To finish off this blog, I’m leaving you two music videos: “Crazy” by Simple Plan and “Everything’s Magic” by Angels & Airwaves.
Wow. I can believe more and more people are visiting my blog just because I posted my own view about the Obay ads that were sprouting all across Ontario. One of my responders told me it’s from Ontario Colleges and he/she told me that the 2nd phase of the ads will be starting soon. We’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, I tried to dialed the Obay hotline at 1-888-YOU-OBAY (968-6229) and when I dialed this number, it gives me nothing but this automated recording and at the end of the ad, it asks me to leave a message or press 1 for more options.
Here’s the transcript if anyone wants to see (I scoured that from a message board):
“Thank you for calling 1-888-YOU-OBAY. There’s nothing worse than a child who won’t do what they’re told. You raise them, feed them, cloth them, sit through their violin recitals; and how do they pay you back?? They go ahead and think for themselves!
It’s not right and it’s not what you had in mind… Thankfully there’s OBay! A new remedy from the makers of “why?BecauseIsaidso!” And “NotUnderMyRoof!”
Is your child ignoring your subtle suggestions? Are they not getting the hint when you tell them what to do!? It’s time for OBay; Are they making important life decisions without listening to your valuable irriputable input!? Hello OBay! OBay works where other parental controls, like shouting, don’t. Just one dose and you’ll see a difference… Your truculant teenagers will be transformed into dosile pussycats, open to your thoughts, your ideas and most importantly the future you’ve mapped out for them.
So order your supply of OBay today… Because YOUR Wish is YOUR command!”
The Toronto Star also posted an article about the mystery ads and had their correspondents called the mastermind of the ads, in this case Ontario Colleges. Ontario Colleges’ response: “No knowledge or comments on that campaign at all.” That’s one mystery solved for now. And while anyone is trying to guess which company (or companies) are responsible for this, it’s anyone’s guess on who is accounted for. I believe they won’t be having their Délice Artifice(Artific Delight) for sure.
Changing gears, I had a great time on seeing Simple Plan for the Live @ Much, but I didn’t stay for long. This is because of the colder temperatures and my feet were in the stage of numbness. I was also unsuccessful on getting a single autograph from the band, but I did manage to get a few shots of the guys meeting with the fans outside. I also saw my first “glimpse” of David Desrosiers of Simple Plan outside talking to the fans (he was also with his sidekick, Patrick Langlois (by the alias of Patrick Cunningham) who was outside at the same time), but I wasn’t quick enough to say a word from him. Oh well, better luck next time. MuchMusic’s blog offer the highlights of the Live @ Much in greater detail.
Anyways, I’ve posted a video if anyone wants to see what the Obay hotline sounded like when dialed and you can do so by clicking here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkqZ2Y4IDiA
If you think the Billy “Fish” O’Neill incident is somewhat of a laughing matter, then this one will sure laugh at you. The other day I was boarding a Durham Region Transit bus heading to Durham College, until one transit advertisement caught my attention. The ad was “claiming” to be from an undiscovered product called “Obay”. At first, I thought it was a funny advertisement until I decided to scour over the internet to find what the product exactly is. But to no avail, there wasn’t any “clear” evidence except the website Obay.info
The issue was spreading like wildfire, even on the transit fan communities message boards! Here’s are some examples of the Obay ads:
“When Amy started thinking for herself, we had to nip it in the bud with Obay.”
“Are your children starting to think for themselves? Put a stop to it now with OBAY.”
“My son used to have his own hopes and aspirations. Now he has mine. Thanks, Obay!”
Here’s the pictures of the ads shot by various people:
Before anyone tries to submit a complaint to Advertising Standards Canada, a spokesperson behind the ads assures everyone that “It’s a teaser campaign, I can’t say any more than that,” She also states the next phase will be revealed in the matter of a couple weeks. As for Billy “Fish” O’Neill, he should really “Obay” on what I had give some stern advice to him, when he is about to do this stunt that TheConference.org had uploaded to their blog. I also should told him that he should wear proper safety equipment when doing any extreme activity. He should be careful too! WhyBecauseISaidSo.
To Finish to this off, I’m leaving you a music video by Simple Plan called “When I’m Gone”. If Billy “Fish” O’Neill were to read my blog posting right now, he would be very complemented on my views about him. Also, if you guys enjoyed the Simple Plan music video quite as Billy “Fish” O’Neill (providing if he gets a “taste” of SP’s music), then I’ve been enjoying it quite as much as you. hahaha
