Adland.tv has been around since 1996. It was one of the few websites to survive the dotcom bubble popping, and the web 2.0 migration. However, the owner of Adland.tv is looking to hang it up after their host decided to pull the plug on them following a DMCA legal threat from a firm based out of Colorado.
It started with a takedown notice sent to Adland.tv’s domain host, Vultr. Vultr then responded by forwarding the message to the Adland.tv webmasters, demanding the site be removed from their network within 24 hours starting September 20th, 2019 at 2:45 PM EST.
Adland shared the message via Twitter.
Reminder, this is the email we got with orders to clear out in 24 hours.
Meanwhile, there are at least a hundred copies of this ad on Youtube. pic.twitter.com/RRBKzuts3m
— adland ® (@adland) September 20, 2019
So what was the ad that was so terrible that it had Amy Tindell from Holland & Hart LLP in Boulder CO send out a DMCA threat to Vultr? Well, Adland included the 45 second ad from Bridgestone that originally aired back in 2003.
So, to even things out here on the dear old interwebs, I figured I should host the DMCA’d Bridgestone ad that BBDO won the Asia-Pacific adfest award for back in 2003 here on Twitter! That way, the same lawyer who got us kicked off of @Vultr can start shutting down Twitter. pic.twitter.com/MXpIa5H1iS
— adland ® (@adland) September 20, 2019
There’s an archive of the notice on the Adland.tv website right now, where it explains the general gist of what happened, but a succinct and informative message was also made on the Adland LinkedIn page, where they explain…
“So, I’m shutting down Adland right now.
“Why? Because the server host (for the webserver, not the data) just gave us 24 hours to leave. To “remove the domain adland.tv from our network within 24 hours”
“Why are they requesting this? Because Amy Tindell at Holland & Hart LLP in Boulder CO is demanding we remove a Thai Bridgestone ad from the archives.
“Remember “a Dog’s life”? The ad from BBDO Bangkok that won silver in the Asia-Pacific Adfest in 2003? Yes, it’s that one. They also claim that by writing the name “Bridgestone” we are infringing on Bridgestine’s trademark. And that is why we are unceremoniously thrown off our web server host with a demand to get out in 24 hours.
“I’m not sure what BBDO thinks of this, but I would be curious to know. If we don’t find a solution in 24 hours, I don’t think I want to continue this any further. R.I.P Adland, the advertising archive of heaven and hell in the advertising world 1996-2019”
It seems kind of anti-climatic to have a website like Adland fold up shop at this point. They’ve been one of the only few outlets to push back during the Culture Wars, and fight for freedom and common sense.
I did reach out on Twitter to ask if they might be switching over to different hosts or if they would work things out with Vultr.
According to the Adland.tv account, they have already begun moving over content to a new host.
I spent all of yesterday , day *and* night, securing a new host and moving data off this host.
— adland ® (@adland) September 20, 2019
Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear as if there are plans right now to turn the site back on.
I’m not sure I’ll turn the site back on.
— adland ® (@adland) September 20, 2019
Seeing decades worth of work get flushed down the drain because of a litigious addicted lawyer and a trigger-happy domain host can be inexplicably disheartening.
It’s not so much that the threat happens – those usually happen all the time – it’s the fact that within the blink of an eye (or at least 24 hours) you could lose everything you’ve ever worked for as if it were about as valuable as a plucked feather in a cat 5 tornado.
Typically, most people who abuse the DMCA system are counting on these kind of responses because it makes it easier for them to bully people offline. Domain hosts have also become quite weak-willed in recent times, consistently and almost universally always bending the knee to cancel cultists posing the slightest of activism to deplatform an ideological opponent.
Hopefully, Adland.tv is able to weather the storm and we’ll see it back up and running soon. Regardless of this most recent incident – through no fault of their own – Adland.tv has been an invaluable resource and an archive for a slice of world culture. It’s a shame that we’re in an age where so many people are intent on erasing history and effacing culture.
