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Recently CNET reported that Avast (Anti-Virus) has tracked over 2.6 million instances of malware that have been delivered to unsuspecting web surfers since last December by ad services such as Yahoo’s Yield Manager, Fox Audience Network’s Fimserve.com and even some from Google’s DoubleClick. Some high-profile sites include The New York Times, Drudge Report.com, TechCrunch and WhitePages.com. The practice has been dubbed ‘malvertising.’ I usually suspect the users of ‘careless web activity’ when I delouse a PC, but now I’m going to have to give some the benefit of the doubt (maybe, just maybe). However, it’s interesting to note just how much promotional computer and technology products have had an effect on the advertising world. It seems the days of focusing on creating custom brochures and flyers to market yourself have taken a backseat to the internet.

Google has come out with a collection of funny posters all endorsing the use of their applications. It is quite humorous actually, when one realizes just how massive of an effect Google has had on the web. Their custom computer technology is extremely easy to use and has left its competitors green with envy. This promotional poster is excellent for all fans of all things Google and would make one seriously funny piece of office deco in the workplace!

Check out this awesome promotional puzzle from Google. It’s made up of metal links and is perfect for “hours of under-the-table fun”. Google even suggests that it’s the perfect solution for those stuck in boring meetings to avoid falling asleep! While this may seem like a weird type of personal gift to give someone, it would be perfect as a logoed tradeshow giveaway!

Check out this high-end schwag won by a Yahoo! employee during an internal promotion! This personalized digital camera is imprinted with the Yahoo logo and comes in the brand’s royal purple color. It’s not a no-name brand either - Yahoo went with the renowned Nikon brand for this corporate gift, which I’m sure was sufficient motivation to get employees to do whatever it took to win the camera!

This cool promotional cup was given out by Google at the Gnomedex Conference. The custom cup has a liquid trapped in its walls and special lights that give it an eye-catching glow. Leave it to Google to always look good at everything they do.

P.S. I found this on Flickr, and one commenter says they are even willing to pay for the schwag. I’m sure the Google marketing department would be happy to hear that!

Silverlight, Microsoft’s rich-media application plugin, saw a similarity between the plugin’s name and those iridescent glass rocks used to fill silk flower vases in restaurants and offices. I guess they thought this was a good thing, because Microsoft apparently gave them out at the SXSW music festival a few years ago to promote Silverlight. I’ve seen a lot of weird swag at festivals, but I guess the part that mystifies me the most about this promotion is the absence of any visible branding from the rock - they literally could have just raided an art supply store and hauled the bounty to the festival to hand the rocks out by the dozen. Where’s the promotional savvy in that?

[via Schwag Addict]

After the cute little Android camera backpack that made the rounds of tech and design blogs a few weeks ago, we knew it was only a matter of time before Google started tapping into the selling power of cute and releasing some quality Android goodies of its own. These collectible figurine toys, designed by Andrew Bell of Dyzplastic, will be available in twelve different styles, including business apparel, demonic red, radioactive beige, caution yellow, and of course classic green. Plush versions can’t be far away, I hope…

[via Geeky Gadgets]

To celebrate the release of the latest version of Firefox, I figured I’d see what is out there in the way of Firefox swag. The Mozilla store is full of custom t-shirts made by fans of the browser, which isn’t surprising given how easy they’ve made the customization process: simply create your design, upload it to their servers, and order your shirt, available in a variety of styles. There’s some great art on the site - I really like the metal-style design above, and they have something for everyone, from the cute to the abstract.

There’s been a lot of buzz surrounding Google’s entry into the smartphone game. The Google Android OS, unlike Apple’s iPhone system, is not restricted to one provider of hardware or service, and is therefore much friendlier to developers who might want to create apps or other software compatible with it. Did we mention it also comes with a really adorable logo?

This Android custom backpack is so far just a one-of-a-kind item, constructed to hold a digital camera (and complete with detachable arms and legs!), but it’s ridiculously cute and has been appearing on a lot of geek- and craft-friendly blogs, ensuring that someone is definitely going to pick this idea up and start making Android bags on a larger scale. Apple may have met its match - their logo is modern and sophisticated-looking, but it isn’t cute.

[via Phandroid]

A friend of mine who works for Google used to bring a few of these “Google orbs” around with him to warehouse parties and demand people pay attention to the color-changing promotional toys. It never really worked, socially, and he (thankfully) stopped doing it after a few failed attempts at picking up girls, but you have to admit that - outside of parties, of course - they’re pretty cool looking. The glowing bouncy balls cycle through shades of luminescent blue, green, and pink - a lot more interesting than the static stress balls most software companies slap their logos on.

[via The Internet Schwag Museum]