There is a link to the "original" homepage in the top right corner of the Freedom splash page.
Edit: Actually there isn't, because the video is gone now apparently and www.cityofheroes.com takes you straight to the main site.
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Once upon a time I had a link to the COH website. It was a nice link, I'd click it, see the headlines, then head in to the forums from there.
Now, that same link leads me to a movie. It's nice enough, but I've seen it, so I skip that and get dropped on the Freedom homepage. It hasn't changed in a month and there's really not much there for me, so I finally figured out that "Community" would take me back to the original homepage that actually has up to date information about the game. Even the Official Site link on the forums has you jumping through hoops to get to the headlines.
So today, I just go straight to the forums and stay there. If there's anything important on the front page, I can usually find it via Community Digest. Not too good when it's too much trouble to even get to your main page. Do you ever type in cnn.com and NOT get their home page?
I get that marketing wants to get the Freedom brand out there, but this is an annoyance that is going to alter the traffic pattern for the site. Put the ads ON the main page, not in place of it. I'll update my bookmark to the newest address for the homepage, but let's try to eliminate this advertising tactic in the future, shall we?