My first cellphone came with another person's list of contacts in it. No wonder Circuit City is in bankruptcy. My wife's latest Blackberry constantly told her she had 2 messages waiting. Were they evil? Well, this new campaign from Net10 would say so.
This attempt to be viral and relate to cellphone users' historically woeful problems certainly does stand out. If you didn't know what the video was for, it sucks you in with that age-old curiosity of "what happens when we put X into the microwave?" And then takes you to a curiously morbid website called: www.no-evil.net.
At the site, you can learn about how evil your current cell phone service is, you can win prizes and you can see why Net10 might be a better choice. It's dark. It's a little contrived. But it's interesting and the viral video has nearly 1.5 million views on YouTube.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
BEWARE of the doghouse
Around this time of year, every guy has that "Oh crap!" moment. The moment where he realizes Christmas is not just on its way, but it's actually here and he really really needs to get his wife or girlfriend something. He'll think about what she's complained about around the house, ponder ideas that might have a nice emotional hook and then total panic will ensue.
Inevitability, many of these men will fumble big time by making absurd purchases like the Ron-Co Ultimate Potato Peeler or a nice new bouncy exercise ball or the very lame chocolate covered fruit. As a consequence of these poor purchases, our guys will spend the remainder of their 2008 snuggled up alone in the lovely confinements the infamous Doghouse.
Well, JC Penney and their very well put-together campaign Beware of the Doghouse sets out to help men everywhere avoid this predicament. And in the unfortunate case, how to get out of the Doghouse once you're in. They bring to life this metaphorical place in an Indie film sort of way. It's pretty funny. You can send warnings to those in doghouse danger or actually throw someone into this virtual setting.
However, my big complaint is that their wonderful solution to the Doghouse seems to be diamonds and only diamonds. Now I understand how diamonds could be a great help, but in this economy couldn't they offer a few more economical out-of-the-doghouse-tactics, please!
See more at: Bewareofthedoghouse.com
Inevitability, many of these men will fumble big time by making absurd purchases like the Ron-Co Ultimate Potato Peeler or a nice new bouncy exercise ball or the very lame chocolate covered fruit. As a consequence of these poor purchases, our guys will spend the remainder of their 2008 snuggled up alone in the lovely confinements the infamous Doghouse.
Well, JC Penney and their very well put-together campaign Beware of the Doghouse sets out to help men everywhere avoid this predicament. And in the unfortunate case, how to get out of the Doghouse once you're in. They bring to life this metaphorical place in an Indie film sort of way. It's pretty funny. You can send warnings to those in doghouse danger or actually throw someone into this virtual setting.
However, my big complaint is that their wonderful solution to the Doghouse seems to be diamonds and only diamonds. Now I understand how diamonds could be a great help, but in this economy couldn't they offer a few more economical out-of-the-doghouse-tactics, please!
See more at: Bewareofthedoghouse.com
Monday, December 15, 2008
Whopper Virgins Have Spoken
Crispin Porter broils up a fresh Whopper vs. Big Mac taste test. Not so juicy on the surface, however, for this challenge they travel to remote destinations such as Baan Khun Kiean, Thailand and Budesti, Romania to make it happen.
Yeah, I've never heard of 'em and they've never heard of a Whopper or Big Mac. That's the idea. Take "burger virgins,"serve them up some red meat goodness and get them to decide. Tasteologists might call bad logic. Others do call it exploitation of fastfood-deprived peoples. I call it interesting. It's a bit far-fetched and I kind of laugh at the sincerity of the BK/Crispin folks on how "this is a legitimate" anthropological study, but it is no doubt talk worthy. And that makes it good.
See WhopperVirgin for more.
Yeah, I've never heard of 'em and they've never heard of a Whopper or Big Mac. That's the idea. Take "burger virgins,"serve them up some red meat goodness and get them to decide. Tasteologists might call bad logic. Others do call it exploitation of fastfood-deprived peoples. I call it interesting. It's a bit far-fetched and I kind of laugh at the sincerity of the BK/Crispin folks on how "this is a legitimate" anthropological study, but it is no doubt talk worthy. And that makes it good.
See WhopperVirgin for more.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
And you thought your holiday lights were sweet.
As I strolled the neighborhood streets with my dog last week, I witnessed the annual labors of Christmas light gurus all over. I saw a guy stacking candy canes on his roof while another was busy hammering hooks up and down his front porch. Festive? Competitive? Crafty? Maybe it's a little bit of all those things.
Anyhow, I also recently stumbled upon this clip highlighting the artistic feats of projection video. Created by some French Artists, labled NEOPROJ, these projections are 3D and use buildings, sidewalks and even cars as their canvas. Yeah, it's no hot-air Santa with a motion detector Red Nosed Rudolph, but it's still pretty sweet.
Anyhow, I also recently stumbled upon this clip highlighting the artistic feats of projection video. Created by some French Artists, labled NEOPROJ, these projections are 3D and use buildings, sidewalks and even cars as their canvas. Yeah, it's no hot-air Santa with a motion detector Red Nosed Rudolph, but it's still pretty sweet.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Top Ads for Today
I love finding terrific advertising so here's a collection of some of the latest I've seen that fall into that category. Click on any photo to enlarge.
Screeeeeech! That's the sound of people stopping to check out what this campaign from Mercedes is all about. An ad about brakes that has stopping power. Nice.
How do you show off your lifelike printing capabilities? See below from HP.
Ikea continues its clever ways with this interesting outdoor campaign for storage solutions.
What a great way to get someone to start thinking about their next vacation. Malaysia Airline's very clever tray table ads here helps hype their vacation packages by first by getting the potential customers excited about that next trip.
A McYawn? Yes, this pretty cool use of billboard technology makes a nice tactic to get someone thinking McDonald's and its burgers.
I've never worried about split ends personally, but I still like this ad from Pantene.
Screeeeeech! That's the sound of people stopping to check out what this campaign from Mercedes is all about. An ad about brakes that has stopping power. Nice.
How do you show off your lifelike printing capabilities? See below from HP.
Ikea continues its clever ways with this interesting outdoor campaign for storage solutions.
What a great way to get someone to start thinking about their next vacation. Malaysia Airline's very clever tray table ads here helps hype their vacation packages by first by getting the potential customers excited about that next trip.
A McYawn? Yes, this pretty cool use of billboard technology makes a nice tactic to get someone thinking McDonald's and its burgers.
I've never worried about split ends personally, but I still like this ad from Pantene.
With all the bad news these days...
Here's another funny little greeting card site out there to help everyone get through it. The site's not so short title is Breaking Bad News with Baby Animals. Yes, what a better way to let someone you love know that you once were a man or that their newborn child is hideous looking than with the cute face of a tiny kitten. Pretty funny stuff. And just another good idea.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Getting in the holiday spirit
Before the sorry results of Black Friday and Cyber Monday pour in, before I find myself tired of snow and the pain it shovels in, before the hectic holidaze hits me like an eggnog hangover, I'd like to share some holiday fun and one of my favorite online applications from last year.
It's the OfficeMax Elf Yourself. Elf Yourself uses the infamous JibJab crew's expertise to enable you to create your very own Elf Dance. Users simply upload up to 5 photos and choose a musical style. Be it disco, country, charleston or classic. And voila, you're a dancing elf. This one stars my son and my dog.
It's the OfficeMax Elf Yourself. Elf Yourself uses the infamous JibJab crew's expertise to enable you to create your very own Elf Dance. Users simply upload up to 5 photos and choose a musical style. Be it disco, country, charleston or classic. And voila, you're a dancing elf. This one stars my son and my dog.
Send your own ElfYourself eCards
Monday, November 17, 2008
Can good advertising turn the auto industry around?
No, it cannot. However, this new campaign from Ford takes a step in the right direction. These spots stand out in a sea of sameness. They talk to the target in a very personal, straightforward, but entertaining voice. And the type treatment brings a big punch. The spots also tell me what's different about this truck in a simple, yet fun way. I have no need for a pickup truck these days (a rugged mini-van seems to be on my horizon), but I'm a fan of this new campaign. Can you guess the voiceover? Here's a not-so-tiny hint: his first name is Denis and he's on a show with the word Rescue in it.
They also have a great website www.fordvehicles.com featuring Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs comparing the Ford F-150 to the competition.
They also have a great website www.fordvehicles.com featuring Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs comparing the Ford F-150 to the competition.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Politically Creative
Freedom of expression no doubt ran crazy the last few months. From people ranting and raving on TV to the rallies both Republican and Democrat to personal postings on Facebook, people held very little back. Some were good. Some were bad. Either way, that freedom is the beauty of this country. Now to help sum up a little of that banter, here's a tiny fraction of millions of the designs, sayings and merchandise that people were selling, wearing, saying... perhaps even branding onto parts of their bodies. Creativity certainly blossomed as people strove to get their viewpoint across. Ah, freedom! I especially like the McCain and Obama flip-flop accessories.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Monster of a Campaign
What were you destined to do? Are you there? Or are you stuck in some job that defies everything that is you. A place that ignores your talent or at the very least is not interested in it. Monster.com, in this very nice ad campaign, asks you these very questions. If you're an artist imprisoned by data or a scientist concocting lattes or a chef cooking the books, it's time for change. This campaign fills us with clever imagery, an inspirational feeling and a solid foundation for many, many more great ads.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
There's something funny about this grass.
When you think about Wimbledon, what do you see? White shorts. White shirts. Rackets flying around. Grunting. Some crazy Brit streaking the court. And grass. Yes, grass. In honor of this famous turf, artists Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey created these interesting grass photos. They used the grass itself as the paper and then projected b/w photos onto it while it grew in a dark room. Yeah, who thinks of this stuff?
Anyhow, their technique is part biology, part art as they literally deprived the grass of light to develop the photographic shape. And as you can imagine, the art's lifespan is quite short. As soon as the grass sees the light of day, it begins to grow more evenly and the photos fade away. Kind of like, Anna Kournikova's tennis career.
Anyhow, their technique is part biology, part art as they literally deprived the grass of light to develop the photographic shape. And as you can imagine, the art's lifespan is quite short. As soon as the grass sees the light of day, it begins to grow more evenly and the photos fade away. Kind of like, Anna Kournikova's tennis career.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Things that make you go... really?
Just something to think about. And no, I have not fact checked this video.
Monday, November 3, 2008
This SpreadSheet Rocks!
Holy awesomeness. ACDC may have shook you all night long many years back, but now they're rocking your spreadsheet with this very cool music video that plays in Excel. Firewall-proof, the video is a great way to enable every cubicle dweller to easily download the most exciting spreadsheet since... yeah, I can't think of any others. This makes it not just a cool use an everyday application, but a great method to maximize the number of people to whom they promote their latest album.
Download the document HERE
Download the document HERE
Friday, October 31, 2008
Visualize It
Words. Numbers. Data. Depending on how they're served up can make all the difference. Many Eyes, part of IBM's Collaborative User Experience group, has developed all kinds of cool, interesting ways to take your data and look at it with a fresh perspective. You can take charts, spreadsheets, speeches, your resume, emails, whatever and transform them in a way that causes you to digest it all from a different angle. It's also just fun to play with. I took some of the contents and description of my book, Die Happy, and "Wordled" them as they call it. Click below to see it in all its glory and to learn more about Many Eyes.
A new candidate to consider
A buddy of mine and I had been debating the merits of both Obama and McCain over the last week. He then sent me a link detailing a rising new star in the political arena. Click HERE to discover who it is.
Anyhow, this is a great use of technology. Share it with your friends as it adds some much needed comic relief as the election tension hits its boiling point.
Anyhow, this is a great use of technology. Share it with your friends as it adds some much needed comic relief as the election tension hits its boiling point.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Nike does it again
Even if you're not a football fan like me, you have to love this commercial. It begins with an ultrasound of a little guy flailing his little legs and then goes on to tell the tale and the destiny of two future NLF players. One is a runner, with grace, agility and a catch-me-if-you-can attitude. The other is a hard nose crusher of furniture and anything else that happens to get in his way. Cinematic. Inspiring. Fun. Nike at its best. Watch the end, not only how we flashback to the 2 little kids, but how LT and Troy show respect to one another. Great finish.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Stop and Listen to the Music
We all know that if Eric Clapton showed up in Penn Station with a guitar, amp and microphone, there would be an instant crowd. Heck, if Madonna lip-synced any one of her dumb songs, the masses stop and wait for the next train.
However, what if we took a Joshua Bell, consider one of the greatest violin players of our time, sells out concert halls everywhere where people pay $100 and up to hear his genius, and placed in your train station?
Well, that's exactly what he did at the L'ENFANT PLAZA STATION in Washington D.C. And sadly, commuters hardly broke stride as he'd played masterfully. Very interesting experiment with an unfortunate outcome for both Joshua and our ears.
This isn't a new story, but in case you missed as I did, here's the full Washington Post article and the video can be seen below.
However, what if we took a Joshua Bell, consider one of the greatest violin players of our time, sells out concert halls everywhere where people pay $100 and up to hear his genius, and placed in your train station?
Well, that's exactly what he did at the L'ENFANT PLAZA STATION in Washington D.C. And sadly, commuters hardly broke stride as he'd played masterfully. Very interesting experiment with an unfortunate outcome for both Joshua and our ears.
This isn't a new story, but in case you missed as I did, here's the full Washington Post article and the video can be seen below.
Mentos and Carlsburg: Do Not Mix
Here's a pretty funny viral video... with a solid message that no one should be putting their good beer to waste.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Cars.com Plan B
You've all probably seen the cars.com commercials where people thankfully don't have to unleash their Plan B on various cars salesman. From the brownies laced with laxatives to the Witch Doctor with head shrinking power, these Plan B negotiation tactics are not to be messed. The campaign nicely positions cars.com as the place to empower yourself with car knowledge so that when you do buy a car, it's not that ugly back-and-forth BS that typically happens.
This campaign has now evolved with the Plan B characters pitching their oh-so-helpful services to you. Hilarious, indeed. See a few of them below. Great stuff.
Here's my favorite brownie spot.
For more go to cars.com/waitingroom
This campaign has now evolved with the Plan B characters pitching their oh-so-helpful services to you. Hilarious, indeed. See a few of them below. Great stuff.
Here's my favorite brownie spot.
For more go to cars.com/waitingroom
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Share It With Style
I just discovered a great website called smilebox.com. It enables you to take your photos/videos and instantly create slideshows, ecards, scrapbooks, postcards and more. They supply you with an nice range of designs to choose from. You can add music and words. You can then share it interactively or have prints made.
This "how to" video of theirs could use a little more "smile" and excitement, but it shows you a little of what they can do.
This "how to" video of theirs could use a little more "smile" and excitement, but it shows you a little of what they can do.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Is it Monday Yet?
Typically, Monday is the most dreaded day of week. It signals the end of the weekend. It means it's time to head back to work. And when you look at your day calendar, Monday is just so very far away from Friday. Plus, as we all know, how Monday plays out at the office generally dictates the rest of week. Bad news and more work generally finds its way to your desk on Mondays.
ESPN, however, has a different take on Mondays. And they're giving football fans everywhere a reason to celebrate this once dog of a day. Check out some of their campaign below. Will we soon being saying, TGIM? Great work.
ESPN, however, has a different take on Mondays. And they're giving football fans everywhere a reason to celebrate this once dog of a day. Check out some of their campaign below. Will we soon being saying, TGIM? Great work.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Is your butt worth $1,600?
Herman Miller has made a fortune off our sedentary lifestyles. His Aeron not only gave comfort to asses everywhere, but it changed the landscape of office furniture. Now old news and the prototype for copycats everywhere, the legendary Aeron is stepping aside as Herman launches the next big thing in sitting. The Embody is here.
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With a skeletal design, it certainly looks very frickin' cool. On top of that, it lets you change the size of the seat. It conforms to your spinal curve (not sure what direction mine goes). And it allegedly will reduce your heart rate. Could be awfully helpful for those on Wall Street right now.
Herman Miller's Embody is also earth friendly, as it's made with 96% recyclable materials. Yet another way to make you feel good. The only question that remains... "Is your butt worth the $1600?" If you calculate the time spent in the chair, say 20 hours a week over 5 years, it's really only 31 cents a day. Herman would say yes. Your CFO probably no.
See more of it with this video from Fortune magazine's Paul Keegan.
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With a skeletal design, it certainly looks very frickin' cool. On top of that, it lets you change the size of the seat. It conforms to your spinal curve (not sure what direction mine goes). And it allegedly will reduce your heart rate. Could be awfully helpful for those on Wall Street right now.
Herman Miller's Embody is also earth friendly, as it's made with 96% recyclable materials. Yet another way to make you feel good. The only question that remains... "Is your butt worth the $1600?" If you calculate the time spent in the chair, say 20 hours a week over 5 years, it's really only 31 cents a day. Herman would say yes. Your CFO probably no.
See more of it with this video from Fortune magazine's Paul Keegan.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Where did the time go?
Ever wonder exactly how many minutes you spent watching the latest Sarah Palin spoof videos or facebooking with your friends or writing a blog? Well, there are plenty of resources out there now happy to divulge the dirty details for you. Some more ready than others. The question is, can you handle the truth? Jack Nicholson might have that answer for you.
Flowingdata.com just listed 23 personal tools to track you online and computer life. Charts, graphs, twitter trackers... everything but mocking emails about your obsession with that one Family Guy clip or finding the truth about the island on Lost. Pretty scary, yet potentially a nice reality check for us all.
Plus, other online programs have been created to monitor your offline activity. Mint.com compiles all your spending in one place. Carchip.com follows your car. And yes, Bedposted.com can keep a tally on your carnal activities. You know, in case you forget that's it's been 2.5 weeks since you had reverse cowgirl sex in car with a co-worker... they'll thankfully remind you.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Top 5 Outdoor Ads Today
Some more creative use of space.
First, we have a very cool concept of personalizing your stamps. Although, it's a little egotistical for me, it's still fun. Then, we have this bus stop ad that so very clearly demonstrates that fun. Well done.
Ah, the "Simpson's living room" bus stop, if only Homer were there to serve you a couple cold Duff beers.
Beautiful demonstration of strong glass. I'll definitely be placing my very expensive collection of Hummels behind that glass. Kidding. However, I could see this idea expanding with the protection of the Holy Grail, the Constitution and of course the coveted and extremely valuable Honus Wagner baseball card.
Since this ad is foreign, I'm not exactly sure what it's for, but I believe is some kind of music station. Regardless, it makes me want to take my picture with it. And that's a sign of an effective ad.
Took me a second to figure this ad out. When I realized it was for a martial art studio, I instantly loved it. Total genius.
First, we have a very cool concept of personalizing your stamps. Although, it's a little egotistical for me, it's still fun. Then, we have this bus stop ad that so very clearly demonstrates that fun. Well done.
Ah, the "Simpson's living room" bus stop, if only Homer were there to serve you a couple cold Duff beers.
Beautiful demonstration of strong glass. I'll definitely be placing my very expensive collection of Hummels behind that glass. Kidding. However, I could see this idea expanding with the protection of the Holy Grail, the Constitution and of course the coveted and extremely valuable Honus Wagner baseball card.
Since this ad is foreign, I'm not exactly sure what it's for, but I believe is some kind of music station. Regardless, it makes me want to take my picture with it. And that's a sign of an effective ad.
Took me a second to figure this ad out. When I realized it was for a martial art studio, I instantly loved it. Total genius.
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