Good lord that is beyond belief... I've seen some horrible use of Flash in my time (being a web app. developer) but this is insane.

You can't even scroll naturally in Firefox, as soon as you scroll it shoves you back to the bottom of the page...

Like cool Dude!!!

It's very nostalgic - all those web designers etc from the first dot-com boom will be in their mid-to-late twenties by now, and will be starting to feel the first pangs of middle-age. They will be trying to recapture their lost youth, and this website will make them feel right at home.

It's clever.

Well after all these years someone has at last done something interesting with flash.

I'll still be leaving my flash blocker on though.

It may be the most ridiculous use of Flash I have ever seen, but just look at how much free advertising they have gained from it, hats off to their "high" spirited marketing campaign!

To be honest, I thought it was quite good...

Where's my..

Oh, thanks. I'll be off, then...

clicked on the link a couple of hours age, still waiting. Once it loads I will leave a comment :)

all show, no substance

Its a prank site for those of you who are slow, real website is http://www.hema.nl/

Made me smile though, thanks for the link.

The actual usefulness of most sites seems usually seems to be more or less in inverse proportion to the percentage of the content that is flash generated.

That's usually the case with sites more oriented at marketing than selling, if you get my drift.

I actually gave up with Fiat's latest edifice.

I hate being marketed at, rather than being sold to.

>sigh<

fuck me they must have been bored...

a) It's be around for yonks.

b) "abuse"? To me it seems exactly what Flash was designed for. It's amusing and has attracted a huge amount of traffic to their site (which is standing up to it remarkably well).

...I'm guessing this is a spoof, or jape, celebrating the launch of their new website. Or something. If you watch it all the way through it ends up with a kind of a "way-hey" look to it, if you see what I mean.

Actually, I find this mildly less offensive than those flash-powered navigation bars that beep and whirr and spin and stuff. Honestly...

Friend: i work there :|

ME: Really?

Friend: Yeah, lmao, i never knew they had a website like this!

Maybe they didnt want their employee's to moan that all they want to do is look at how much the plastic cup is!

That was pretty good actually...

That'll be all... Coat, Sharp exit.

On an e-commerce site, at least.

It's witty and not in the least annoying. Unlike some Flash ads that are embedded in the pages of a certain well-known IT news web site I could mention but won't. Some of those just want to make me put my fist through the screen.

but it does eeem to be designed simply to entertain, rather than act as a catalogue. In that respect it does it's job very well, and is much less offensive than 'Flash based navigation'

HEMA is the Dutch equivalent of Woolworths.

And the checkout ladies are known as Hematits.

I'm sure that's funny in Dutch too.

I've no idea what it is about either, but it amused me for 2 minutes so well worth a look :)

don't speak the language to understand the message at the end but that was funny :)

yonks ago when looking to purchase some kind of trophy in glass for a Ladies Golf Competition.

Said Arthur.

Like most here I rather liked it! better than the usual crap flash is used for.

Didn't go there, but why do site owners persist in creating user-hostile web sites?

If you want people to buy, then the most important thing is to describe your product CLEARLY, CONCISELY and without CAUSING ANNOYANCE to the user.

Unlike static pictures, which are indeed worth a thousand words or more if they are used properly, animations only DISTRACT from our ability to read the text, and if your text is so uninteresting that it NEEDS distracting from, maybe you should fix THAT rather than admitting it.

Have you properly described your goods? Sizes, weight and price are all-important. Do your products have photos from all 6 sides if necessary, so we can SEE what the inputs are instead of trying to guess?

But especially, do you show the PRICES ? A web site without prices isn't worth the paper its printed on. Please don't waste our time with pretty sites that are pretty useless.

The 'real' Hema site is here:

http://www.hema.nl/

One word of advice before shopping - avoid the rookworst (smoked sausage), it'll repeat on you for the rest of the day...

of why Flash is the complete and utter pain in the rear end.

This one has indeed been around for quite some time now.

It's actually a commercial for the launch of their new e-shop.

if you let it run thru, it ends with "you can now find all our products on www.hema.nl", which is their real website.

great stuff though ;-)

I think this is really good. It's a bit of fun - get over yourselves you moaning minnies.

I've been asked to point out (by my Dutch partner) that not all Dutch web designers, or even all Dutch people are pot smokers.

Bloody stereotypical cockney rag writers. Tsk.

The Dutch are, however, generally quite tall, wear bright clothes, like bicycles, call hills mountains, like the colour orange, have a bloody big airport for their capital, lots of canals, a few old windmills, lots of new windmills, quite tall, have a bloody big port, speak english better than most of the English, have only 2 male haircut styles (short and shortish), have decent roads, have decent trains, have a generally decent attitude to life, hate the French speaking world, lost an empire as well... and they are quite tall.

I like the place! :-D

It does, what Flash is designed for: Not e-commerce but entertainment...

;-)

yeah - that's not actually their *real* product page though - that's here: http://www.hema.nl/nl-NL/winkel.aspx?navmethod=menu - they've just made this for a bit of a laugh and as a viral... which of course you've now happily plugged on your site so all in all it's pretty successful really!

.. what was that about?

really confused by that,

Reminds me of this: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=FGngcQb_0qg

I have to say that I quite liked it. Gets your attention, anyway! Away with the moaners, I say. Lighten up a bit. It`s not meant to be serious!

I`ll get my haag.

... is where certain humourless Register commenters thought this was a real webstore.

C'mon, guys! It's a promo! It's not supposed to be usable!

To all of you are are complaining about the page - stop looking at it if you don't like it, and stop making everyone else's lives miserable with your constant moaning.

If you like your web experience dull and boring, try this site: http://lynx.browser.org/ or http://www.dgate.org/~brg/bvtelnet80/.

Lester - will you be writing an article about all the Flash adverts (which aren't even entertaining) on this site?

Now you can find Hema products at Hema.nl.

Nog een keer = once again or repeat.

Stuur door = post on... to whoever you feel like pointing this out to... like Lester.

Mine's the carnival jacket with clogs underneath.

Four day pish up in Southern Holland called Carnival finished yesterday!!

Stop whining people..... this is soooooo funny the first time you see it!

Who cares what Flash (or anything else for that matter) is for if it can be used to entertain like this?!?

Cool stuff, makes a nice break from reading how our Govt. is screwing us :-(

Now that everybody agrees on the fact that Flash should not be used in this way, I think we can also start actions against:

* the car (should only be used to transport people, not to drive fast in it!)

* paint (should only be used to paint real landscapes, not that rubbish Picasso, Bosch, or Munch).

And, while we're at it, let's ban patio heaters as well!

"It may be the most ridiculous use of Flash I have ever seen"

So you're saying that there is a non-ridiculous use for Flash? Like maybe forcing somebody to watch a 5 minute animated movie when all they want to do is download a driver or something?

It puts a smile on the face and is good PR for the company.

So ghettoblaster is the same in Dutch as it is in English?

I shit my pants.

Quite funny. Made me want to shop there.

Matthew

Ticket the the Netherlands booked.........

Munchies packed (but easily to hand)............

Taxi outside..........

Pass me coat dude, its the one with the hot-rock burns on the sleeve...........

"So ghettoblaster is the same in Dutch as it is in English?"

No, it's "ghetto blaster" in English - the Dutch like to run words together!

"I've been asked to point out (by my Dutch partner) that not all Dutch web designers, or even all Dutch people are pot smokers.

Bloody stereotypical cockney rag writers. Tsk.

The Dutch are, however, generally quite tall, wear bright clothes, like bicycles, call hills mountains, like the colour orange, have a bloody big airport for their capital, lots of canals, a few old windmills, lots of new windmills, quite tall, have a bloody big port, speak english better than most of the English, have only 2 male haircut styles (short and shortish), have decent roads, have decent trains, have a generally decent attitude to life, hate the French speaking world, lost an empire as well... and they are quite tall.

I like the place! :-D" ...... 'pot-smoking Dutch' By JASR Posted Wednesday 6th February 2008 13:43 GMT

And probably, because of the Intro Prompt, he forgot to mention Captivating Women who know what they want and how to get it, and in all Shapes and Sizes, for all Shapes and Sizes.

What's not to like in such a Place? :-D :-0 :-)

Here's the total experience for me:

> You need to upgrade your Flash Player

Ummm... I think not!

For a bit of senseless entertainment, it's not bad. Reminds me of the famous Honda ad.

http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/dailysucker/2008/02/06/daily-sucker-2-for-thursday-february-7-2008/

The Kent Reliance Building Society must be a close second.

http://www.krbs.co.uk/

"Unlike some Flash ads that are embedded in the pages of a certain well-known IT news web site I could mention but won't."

Obviously not THE REGISTER, which is absolutely perfectly behaved, no stupid animations etc.

Provided that you look at it exclusively with firefox and have flashblock enabled, that is.

I had to run it twice. I agree with the several who thought this was a better use for Flash than the usual stupid and time-wasting animations brought to us by the corporate mediocrity. And for those who thought this was lame, stupid or a waste of time, well, I bet you're a real blast at parties too...

that was *really* funny.

I like it, whether it's a prank or not. And I bet HEMA will like it too :)