Entertain your inner child

I recently came across this website that offers the craziest, weirdest, most unique gifts I have ever seen.

Perpetual Kid is a website where you can buy knick knacks/toys/gadgets, etc. that will "entertain you inner child."

Some of the gifts they sell are things I remember from childhood, and others I never even knew existed!


You can browse by categories such as "Things that shoot" or "Shocking!" or browse by themes like "Gnomes" or "Bacon!"....

Here are some items from perpetualkid.com

finger monsters

the ex voodoo knife set
emergency yodel button

80's cube clock
shower light-turns red when it's hot water & blue when it's cold water
executive airzooka

Viral Benchmarks Prove Elusive, Study Says

LOS ANGELES Although 70 percent of surveyed advertising and media agencies plan to increase their spending on viral videos, benchmarks of success remain relative throughout the marketing business.

Those were two of the conclusions of a report released today from The Feed Company, Hollywood, Calif., which specializes in "seeding" viral videos on the Internet on behalf of agencies and clients. READ MORE

Miley Mania

So....
a cop visited my apartment last night during the Miley taping. I think my girls and I scared her away by our Madonna-esque outfits. Get excited.

See You Again,
Miley

"It's truly revolutionary!"

Usually, infomercials drive me crazy with the horrible acting, "Oh, this jar top won't come off! How will I ever get my jam?" or an annoying spokesmen, "But wait!", "But wait there's more!", or "But that's not all!"

But ShamWow is different. Yes, my love for ShamWow commercials is a bit inexplicable, but it's very real.

If you've not seen these commercials, I urge you to. But be prepared to want to spill stuff just to sop it up with your ShamWow.

The product isn't even all that innovative, but I love Vince, the spokesman. Why is he wearing a headset? Why does he say cola weird? Who is actually paying $20 a month on paper towels? Who decided ShamWow was a good name?

All questions I'll never find the answer to, but ShamWow commercials keeps me saying "Wow everytime!"

What your body language says about you...

I came across this article and thought it was interesting...


What Your Body Language Says About You
By N. BHATTA

When you walk into a room full of colleagues, bosses, or clients, you might not say a word in the first few minutes but your body language has already spoken volumes about the type of person and worker you might be. Well over half of all communication is projected through body language, though we frequently aren’t aware of the language our body is speaking in important situations. Make sure your body language doesn’t have your career speaking in tongues and learn the physical lingo of a successful worker with the advice below.



Body Language Says: Shifty eyes that avoid eye contact with others.

What Others See and Hear: A lack of eye contact hinders your ability to create a connection with the person or people you’re speaking with. This oversight (no pun intended) gives others few reasons to trust you and your ideas. To build bonds and trustworthiness, actively concentrate on looking people in the eye not only when you are speaking but when they start talking as well.

Work that Works for You: A career as a telemarketer or in data entry means that you can keep your eyes on your work—and not on your coworkers—for most of the time.

Body Language Says: Arms crossed in front of your body, holding your torso tight.

What Others See and Hear: Crossed arms make you appear guarded, unapproachable, and on the defense, as though you have something to hide from the people in the room with you. If you’re having trouble relaxing your arms, try folding them neatly in your lap instead of across your chest.

Work that Works for You: Being on the defensive works wonderfully with a career in insurance, where skepticism is a favorable trait.

Body Language Says: A broad grin showing all of your pearly whites.

What Others See and Hear: A smiling face suggests that you are eager, confident, and pleasant to work with. However, be careful to not smile too much when talking about serious subjects, as your grin might suggest that you aren’t taking the discussion seriously enough.

Work that Works for You: If you’re naturally a pleasant person, a career in sales is the perfect place for you to use your charm on customers.

Body Language Says: Fidgeting, tapping, or shaking incessantly.

What Others See and Hear: If you can’t remain still in a meeting or conversation, your constant movements make you look uncomfortable with yourself and others, which can cause a domino effect making other people in the room uncomfortable as well. If your hands shake, try discreetly holding a small object, like a pen. Keep your hands out of your pockets and your legs crossed to avoid other fidgeting and tapping.

Work that Works for You: Fidgeting is usually a sign of not having the ability to stand being cooped up in meetings, so try a field like healthcare or retail that takes you out of an office.

Body Language Says: A stance as strong as an oak-tree.

What Others See and Hear: Great posture suggests that you are confident, can lead well, are trustworthy, and are rooted in your beliefs. Just make sure that your excellent posture isn’t negated by a stiff, immobile upper body.

Work that Works for You: Perfect posture is a must for someone working as an executive or in marketing, positions where confidence is crucial to success.

Body Language Says: Legs wide open, arms stretched out, taking up lots of space.

What Others See and Hear: You’re clearly comfortable with yourself and don’t mind being noticed, but taking up too much space in a small room can be perceived as thoughtless and arrogant. Furthermore, your casual stance may limit the ability of others to take you as seriously as you might like. Try taking up less space by bringing your legs and arms closer to your torso and sitting up straighter in your chair for a more professional demeanor.

Work that Works for You: The need to be seen is a is a must for someone in command of a group of people, and as a teacher or in a management position you’ll find your need to spread yourself around to be an added bonus.

Body Language Says: Leaning towards the person who is talking.

What Others See and Hear: A subtle lean towards the individual who is presenting indicates that you are a gracious listener and are interested and respectful of that the other person has to say. Be sure to not dive too deeply into the other person’s space—leaning too closely may move the other person out of their comfort zone.

Work that Works for You: Any field like hospitality where a pleasant bond between two people is needed in order to have a successful outcome is a great choice for you if you’re a natural leaner.

Body Language Says: A shirttail out, a missing button, and other slovenly behaviors.

What Others See and Hear: You can’t expect people to take you seriously if you don’t take the time to put yourself together properly. A quick check in the mirror and a change of shirt could make or break your career trajectory in many fields.

Work that Works for You: If you’d rather people focus more on your accomplishments than your clothes, look to careers that are notable for their casual nature, like computer and internet-oriented jobs.

Free time

This past week I had so much leisure time, I didn’t know what to do with myself. As tired as I felt, my friend and I journeyed twice to the Rez. We kayaked/napped on Lake Bradford. My arms are still sore from it all. Aside from the lifeguards, we pretty much had the lake to ourselves. So with no one around, we pretended we were competing in the Olympics, and weaved in and out of the buoys, raced each other, rested in the sun, and paddled some more. It was relaxing to drift in the water, the sun out, but accompanied by a nice breeze. I don’t have any pictures from it, but if I had my phone with me, then that means I was doing it all wrong.

I do have a picture of the pizza we made over the weekend, from scratch. Rather than eating out, I had time to labor in the kitchen and cook! She made the dough, I provided the toppings: tomatoes, spinach, and mozzarella.

Chicken Poop

I am a chicken poop. I have been doing my job and the radio for a few weeks now. I've got editing bits down to a science, and I can now completely produce my own commercials. I write them, read them, edit the recording, put music under it, and add it into circulation for the computer to pull as needed. The problem is that, I AM FREAKING OUT!
My past two internships, my main critique has been that I ask too many questions because I am unsure of myself. This is completely true. That I am taking responsibility for something and would be the sole reason that it fails or gets messed up scares me. In class, I'm as confident as could be. I have a security blanket, nothing will really get ruined forever if I make an error. Once I put an ad on the radio, however, people will hear the mistake, and by then it will be too late.
My goal, that I made for myself at the beginning of Creative Strategy, was to have more faith in myself. Be fearless and unstoppable. I am really trying hard. I'm playing around more with my ads. I'm not scared to be clever or step out of the box a little. I mean, I think I got the job because I'm a performer, English major, and Advertising major, wrapped up into one neat little package. I know what I'm capable of, I just don't know if other people will like it.
It is a process, and hopefully, as I gain more experience, I will become more confident in myself and others confidence in me. I can't always be scared that I am going to fail everyone around me. Hopefully, working on the class project, I will be more experimental with my ideas, and try to kick the box away.

Our Economy

So I guess it could be safe to say that the economy isn't doing too good at the moment. I found this really funny picture online that pretty much sums everything up to me.

Tom Laughon for President!

I know you all know what viral marketing is, but it never hurts to give some more examples. Although the service it promotes is nothing to write home about, the video is right on target. It's fun, timely and people love to see their names where they don't expect it! In fact, because I used Tom's name and not my own, I should receive some major brownie points in the office! (Hint: He loves tattoos) So even though I would not use or support the product this marketing effort promotes, I am still perpetuating the "Viralness" of the campaign. This is what Viral marketing is all about, finding something that people will use and forward to their friends who in turn create their own version and forward to another set of friends and so on. And in all that time the company is driving traffic to their site, gaining exposer.

Enjoy!

Permalink

Shit you don't learn in class

This is my shameless plug for AD Club. Tonight, we are hosting our "Crash Course in Advertising" and we are going to teach people some of the millions of things we have learned about the industry outside of the classroom. I would really appreciate your attendance at this meeting. Everyone in this class has so much experience and has learned a lot since we started in this major. We want to be able to start teaching the younger Ad Clubbers so that they can gain more experience as well. This could really spark good discussion at the meeting and I'm sure we will have some good questions that you all can help us answer. Also, if you paid your dues and would like to be a mentor for a younger person trying to get into the major, come to the meeting and talk to Carrie (she's our awesome social chair). This kids are really excited about this and they really look up to all of you. Be proud of yourselves!

FOOD for thought :}

I know that lately we’re all so caught up in football games and homework and election 2008 that it’s just easier to grab takeout than it is to cook something healthy. I’m certainly guilty of this. But since it’s October and breast cancer awareness month, I began to think about, and realize, that it is just as easy to shovel a salad into my mouth when doing homework as it is to eat Teriyaki San. (Don’t think even for a second that I’m advocating dieting - good gracious I am sick to death of obesity reports and zone bars!)

However, I am worried however that I could be trading my long-term health for 7 pieces of Stevi B’s pizza. It’s not just the calories or the heart disease though. Think about it. A Baconator from BK Lounge seems like a good choice for it's low low price, but when your body gets worn down from going out 5 nights a week you’re going to want something a little more substantial in your stomach or you’ll be making a not-so-quick trip to Thagard. I know the news says spinach is the answer to all our cancer problems one day - and the next it’s fresh strawberries, which can get really frustrating; but, I’m guessing that most any vegetable has more nutritional value then Hooters hot wings.

The irony in this post lies that just typing this has given me a craving for junk food. While thinking of all the foods that are terrible for us - I have worked up a huge craving for some chocolately cupcakes, or maybe a little Taco Bell... You may see me eating my turkey sandwich on whole wheat today, but I have a sneaking feeling that there’s Gumby's in my near future. After all, I’m only a college student.

Working for Dunder Mifflin would be a dream come true!

I know I am extremely late for hoppin' on The Office bandwagon, but the show is absolutely hilarious! I am sad to say that most of my weekend was spent catching up on episodes from previous seasons. Actually, that is not a sad statement because if anyone has ever seen the show, they know how great it truly is.

Last night I did something I have never done before in my entire life...I laughed so hard, I cried! I always hear about the people who have experienced this, but had never done it myself. Well, yesterday as my roommate was studying and I was on disc four of season 3, I started laughing hysterically. Next thing I know I feel tears coming from my eyes. I honestly could not help it!

There's just something about the ridiculous Michael Scott, the insane Dwight, the adorable Jim, the likeable Pam, and all the other characters that just make the show my new favorite. I do not think I have ever watched a show and laughed during every episode. You would think the writers/actors(they do a lot of improv) would run out of creativity, but nope! With every episode comes more and more laughs.

If you have never seen The Office, I HIGHLY recommend checking it out. Hands down it is the funniest show I have ever watched.

Here's one of my favorite quotes from Michael Scott...
"Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy, both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me."

I hope you all had a great weekend!

Defensive Listener

I was recently appointed the position of Executive Coordinator for the executive board of the Hispanic/Latino Student Union here on campus, you know the organization I always blog about. One of my responsibilities is to oversee the Cultural & Educational Committee. Last night the committee had a poetry/literature event at the Student Life Building which should have been for the students to learn about the impact Spanish literature has made to the Hispanic culture. Instead it turned into an open mic poetry night. Don't get me wrong, it was a successful event but it wasn't what it was intended to be. At the end of the event I had tell my committee what was good about it and what they can improve on. I never knew how difficult it would be to give suggestions and my point of view.

The point is, don't be a defensive listener. We all did so well at our presentations last Tuesday; each and every one of us had something to offer. What was discussed during the private sessions afterwards was only to help us. If you think about it, we do get many opportunities that those already in the field will never get. Like Melissa pointed out, it is unusual to get to see everyones presentations and even more to get the whole "this is what I liked about your presentation and here's what I think you should improve on for next time." Take is as a professional suggestion and not a critic. Again, I think everyone did great and I'm already looking forward to our next project. See you all on Tuesday!

There is a time and place for Creativity...

I am going to preface my post by saying that I do not really take myself too seriously. I feel as if I am extremely laid back and try not to let the little things bring me down. Well, today something little has recently brought me down like crazy!

I got a haircut today that I absolutely hate. I know what you are all thinking..."Oh silly Andrea, it will grow back!" "It doesn't look bad!" "It's only hair."

Normally I would agree with all of the above statements but I am extremely disappointed. I understand that my hair will grow and it will be fine in the end but the part that frustrates me is the hair stylist's lack of communication skills. This post is not so much about a bad haircut but more so about bad communication. I felt as if I explained thoroughly what I wanted done. I wanted my hair a little longer than my shoulder, thinned out, and long enough to be able to put it up. What I got was hair two inches above my shoulder, my hair not long enough to put up in a ponytail, and it still being ridiculously thick.

Needless to say, I am upset! I love allowing people creative freedom but I think there comes a time when that freedom needs to be non-existent. When someone is paying for your services, such as a haircut, you should respect their wishes and give them a cut they will enjoy! If she thought my hair would have looked better short, she should have communicated that to me so I wouldn't have been so surprised at the end result. I don't mean to stunt her creative growth, but she could have still been creative while pleasing the customer. I am open to new things so if she would have expressed what she thought would look good, I would have thought about it and given her an answer. Instead I had to pretend to like it and leave in a hurry. I hate that.

Anyone else have bad haircut experience stories? I'd love to hear about them so we can relate. Sigh.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to the entire class for a job well done on Tuesday night. I can't tell you how impressed we were by the presentation skills (and it's only the first project). Thank you for all the time and energy you invested. This work isn't easy, but it can be fun! And, it made for an entertaining way to spend an anniversary. Thank you.

We have gotten lazy...

We have gotten lazy. I'm not sure if I mean Americans or humans in general, but I know that Americans at least have gotten lazy. I think it has been a steady progression from the combination of technology, prosperity, and a sense of entitlement. We have been the "best" nation for so long that we have fallen asleep and now every once in a while we wake up just enough to realize how far we've fallen; only to drift away again. Let me just say that I am not attacking individual people, I'm talking about the nation as a whole. I remember earlier on in the political season (You know, the one that's stretched on for almost a year now) a McCain adviser said that America had become a "Nation of whiners" and then everyone went into crisis mode to try and apologize and say that it was just the opinion of one crabby old man...Maybe they shouldn't be apologizing. Maybe what we need is for someone to slap us in our collective face and tell us how lazy and whiny we have become. The saddest part is that our generation is the one who has been impacted the most. We grew up during the late 80s and through the 90s periods of great economic success, few wars, and a generally easy life. Through that time we where trained to be a generation of instant gratification and self-entitlement. I see it every day and know that I'm guilty of it too. We feel that we deserve anything we attempt to get. If we come up a few points shy of an A we e-mail the professor asking for those points. There's no real reason for us to get those points, but we feel that we deserve them and use some excuse like "I never missed a class" as rational. Or we get a parking ticket and appeal it knowing very well that we really have no excuse. We knew that we shouldn't park there, but we did and now we don't want to face the consequences. So I guess I'm just challenging everybody to not fall into this trap of self-entitlement. You don't deserve anything by birthright, you have to work for it...just a thought.

goin out w/ out regrets!

Before I came to College I though about all the crazy times that were to come and the things that are the "epitome" of a college experience. Now, that I’m a senior I realize the clock is ticking and I’m almost out of time, so for the rest of the year here is my “To Do Before I Graduate” list:

10. go to “the Rez” (I always say I’m gonna go, but never do!)
9. Go to an away football game… or make it through an entire one!
8. eat in the athletes cafeteria
7. go line dancing at “Stetsons”
6. Run onto the FSU field (or just touch the grass)
5. Go to a LaX game
4. take a circus class (or at least try the trapeze)
3. eat at that weird metal BBQ cage on the corner of Tenn. And Ocala.
2. go skinny dipping in Landis
1. meet Bobby Bowden

If you guys have any other cool ideas or things I’ve left out add them on! We only have 6 months until our “college experience” is over, and I would hate to say, “I wish I had done ______”

KEATINGECONOMICS

My fellow Americans,

  November is almost here and you know what that means...  Election time!  Before casting your votes I urge each and every one of you to do some research and figure out for yourself who would make the best president.  With the war in Iraq and are economy in the dumps, it is very important that Americans cast educated votes and not blind ballots.  With that in mind I would like to share this informative video with all of you.   

Vote Smart

He's the King of Country-Western Troubadours

His name is Unknown Hinson (Named after his father: Unknown) and he is the undeniable King of Country-Western Troubadours. Celebrities everywhere are singing his praises (From www.unknownhinson.com): Billy Bob Thornton names Unknown as one of his favorite songwriters and a genius picker. Matt Groening (the Simpsons) labels Unknown as a guitar maniac (and funny as hell to boot!) Tom Petty came backstage at a Hollywood event to ask Unknown how he gets his "sound". The Rolling Stones invited him to participate in the soundcheck session for their latest show in Charlotte, NC.
So what is there to know about Unknown? Well he's a vampire that claims Hank Williams, The Beatles, and Jimi Hendrix (Among others) stole songs from him while he was doing 30 years in prison for trumped up charges including three counts of murder, 19 paternity suits, vampirism and random grave-robbing offenses. So take a look and enjoy the undisputed King of Country-Western Troubadours...

Who is totally excited

for presentations tonight!!!! Only 3 hours away!! I spent all night last night looking at the old videos trying to remember small tips for presenting and I'm totally excited to see what everyone did!!!

THe Anti-Creative Movement Winner of the Day

So this may be a tiny bit vent-ish....but my professor this morning really disappointed me. He's a cool guy but he lectured all class on how to write an essay. He wanted everyones paper to be the same. Same format..even same word choice!!!!! He literally wrote out the most elementary style format on the board: Intro: Include topic and thesis. Body: Have evidence to support; and Conclusion. After writing this on the board he literally said "this is how everyones essay is going to be." I was in pure shock!!

I can't believe a teacher would want to read the same thing over and over again. That is the epitome of anti-creative. He even told us what transitional words to use!!! He wrote them on the board!!!! He really wrote what words should be in our conclusion topic sentence. They were 'thus', 'as a result'..etc. I can't believe he wouldn't even let us be original with our own diction!!

Anyways he takes the cake today. I don't think anything can top that for being more anti-creative. If you can challenge it, please share so I can be closer to being cool with my teacher again!!

For Tony...

Repetition is something that needs used carefully. Don't use it right, and you've got yourself a can full of corny. The writers of The Office have managed to keep this joke up for 5 seasons. The same words "that's what she said" ridiculously old joke. Told in a different way every single time. All of them funny. I love it. Know-a-days, when I hear it, I crack up. So if I am laughing so hard that I cry tonight, just laugh along with me.

You are what you wear

Back home, my town was not small enough for everyone to know each other's name, but we always tried to pull it off anyway by calling people "sweetie" or "honey" or "kid" or "ma'am" or "sir" and so on. I took that with me when I moved up to Tallahassee, but up here it has become increasingly noticeable that people don't do that. They simply beckon you by what you are wearing or what you look like. I work in the Governor's Square Mall and every time I walk to and from work all the workers or the kiosks will beckon me over pending on the shirt I am wearing. "Hey, I-Heart-FSU come let me show you my hair straightener!" "Hey pink top would you like to have better nails?" It's incredibly annoying. But it doesn't just happen there. On campus people will do the same thing. Today this truck was following me out of a parking lot and as I was walking out of his way he yelled out "Thanks lady Spirithunter bagged girl!" It is incredibly annoying. The only exception to this, is when I wear my shirt that says Savannah. My name, being that of a city, is often on t-shirts, and ever since I can remember if a friend or relative went there they brought me home one. When I wear those shirts people never yell "Hey Savannah!" they yell "Hey...blondie!" Ugh.

I understand that especially in a town with this many people on it it would be impossible to learn every one's name, but I miss home where you just called each other small pet names or terms of respect. I'm not "blondie", "pink top", "Noles-For-the-Cure" or any of those things. It has made me extremely more conscious of the things I wear as a shirt now. Apparently I have become whatever words or logos imprinted on my shirt. So forget what your eating....You are what you wear.

monk-e-mail

Careerbuilder.com created this amazing website where you can send e-cards to your co-workers, friends, family, etc. But these are not just ordinary animated e-cards with cheesy quotes and pictures.

You pick a monkey, a location & you can even dress your monkey in crazy clothes & accessories like aviators or a life jacket...AND then you can make the monkey actually speak! I use option called "text to speech" which is where you type a series of sentences or random words, and then the monkey says it! There's also an option where you can chose which type of accent you want your monkey to have. The voice "Simon" is definitely my favorite...

If you are procrastinating or need to cheer someone up, this is perfect!!!

There is also a link at the bottom of monk-e-mail for another website from careerbuilder.com called "age-o-matic"...check that out too.. especially if you are not happy with your current job!

I think these websites are hilarious and really creative, has anyone else seen them before?

LINKS:

monk-e-mail
age-o-matic

Routan Boom

I know many of you have heard or seen the new commercials featuring Brooke Shields saying that the new minivan by Volkswagen called the Routan is the reason why people are having children and there is baby boom because of german engineering. At first I thought that it was a little weird, but I was looking on the AdAge website and they had an article about it. Even though they have made the tv and radio commercials they have also made a website that has a very non-traditional element to it. The article stated on their website you can upload different pictures to make your very own virtual baby and then they will strap it in to the back of the Routan. I thought so I went to the website and found it to be pretty entertaining and I think that it is really going to work. I think its a funny way to think about cars and really steps out of the box. Check it out and make your own baby if you want! 

article: http://creativity-online.com/work/view?seed=90d58d4d

website: http://www.vw.com/routan/en/us/#/video/

What is Cornhole?

Since I had a good time at happy hour playing Cornhole with a few of you I figured I would enlighten the rest of the class of its greatness! If you ever get an itch to play during the week, I know Monk's always has theirs set up and Birds Aphrodisiac Oyster Shack sets their up on Wednesday nights at 10m (sign up early!) and you can win a 50 dollar bar tab! I posted a link to the official website so you can get the rules and dimensions if you would like to build your own. Hope I see you behind a box soon, if not we can throw some bags at Happy Hour next Friday at CYL!

http://www.playcornhole.org/index.shtml


It has been called many things, Corn Toss, Bean Bag, Bean Toss, Soft Horseshoes, Indiana Horseshoes, but to many of us born and raised in Kentucky and the southern part of Ohio, the game is passionately referred to as Cornhole.

It has been said that the game originated in Germany in the 14th century, and then was rediscovered in the hills of Kentucky over 100 years ago.


The truth is, who really knows, but the game is great fun for all ages and can be played anywhere!

Cornhole or Corn Toss is similar to horseshoes except you use wooden boxes called cornhole platforms and corn bags instead of horseshoes and metal stakes. Contestants take turns pitching their corn bags at the cornhole platform until a contestant reaches the score of 21 points. A corn bag in the hole scores 3 points, while one on the platform scores 1 point.

Scoring can be swift and the lead may change hands several times in a match before the winner is decided.

The game is generally played tournament style with an individual or team being named the champion at the end of the tournament.

Real World...boo

Ok so my transition into the real world is quite comedic. This morning I woke up ridiculously early, still dark out, to do my hair and make up and get dressed to perfection for my interview. On my way to the interview, an hour early mind you, traffic is horrible. You would think getting to campus before 8 I could find a good parking spot by the Career Center, think again. I had to park in Egypt. During my voyage my heals got stuck in the grass a few times, so upon entering the Career Center I had to remove the chunks of grass from my heals. After removing the chunks of grass I discovered a runner in my panty hose. GREAT! So next interview no panty hose. It's a new day, women can rock bare legs, or at least this woman is from now on. On top of all of this my hair fluffed out due to the wonderful humidity level this morning. Oh well, what can you do?! Aside from these minor issues the interview went fairly well and got me pretty excited about graduating. Its amazing to think come January I might be living in a different city entering the first day of my new job. I'm pretty excited. I am nervous, anxious, and all of the above too. I will keep you posted on my interesting experiences, grass chunks and all!

Is this what a real job is like?

Dear Andrea,
I feel your pain, this working crap is for the birds. I work in a small office where we all know each other pretty well. My work here is pretty mindless and could be done by a monkey. I found this tip that might help us out..

Never walk down the hall without a document in your hands. People with documents in their hands look like hardworking employees heading for important meetings.
People with nothing in their hands look like they’re heading for the cafeteria.
People with a newspaper in their hands look like they’re heading for the bathroom.
Above all, make sure you carry loads of stuff home with you at night, thus generating the false impression that you work longer hours than you do.

You Should Know...

When I ran across this information, I immediately thought of Savannah's presentation...what is the most creative agency. Well, these might not be the most creative in your mind; however, here are some pretty interesting updates from two agencies. I just thought you should know...

TBWA Worldwide has won the 600 million dollar Visa global creative account. This comes after Visa decided to consolidate all it’s global efforts into one agency. The competing agencies all had a piece of Visa somewhere in the world. The finalists included the likes of BBDO, Grey, and Leo Burnett. (This campaign includes a really cool picture of a female gymnist from the Bejing Olympics...I couldn't get it to up load.)

Element 79, part of Omnicom Group, lost their last connection to PepsiCo with the loss of Quaker Oats. They were not invited to the review. This reported $120 Million account along with the other PepsiCo accounts, dropped from Element 79 earlier this year, combines an estimated $440 Million loss for the company. It is unsure whether this six year old company will be able to survive as an independent agency.

What's my secret?

Ever since Whitney blogged about Post Secret, I’ve tried to think of what secret I would reveal about myself. I finally thought of a response once I got caught in the act last week. At a restaurant. No silly, it’s not what you’re thinking either. My secret is that I LOVE taking pictures of my food. It’s weird, I know, but every time I eat a meal, I can’t help but think, “Wow, I should take a picture of this!”. I buy recipe books not to cook, but simply to look at the photos. When I take a trip somewhere, I take more photos of the food than the people/places there. Here are a few:

crepe..I think it had an orange/caramel filling


an eggplant/cheesy tart...I didn't think I'd like it, but I ate the entire thing


check out that GIANT block of cheese at a farmer's market!


some produce creep me out, like naval oranges, and this thing here

hands down, the BEST falafel I've ever had

patisserie

sandwich shop

and if you didn't know, I adore bread

I could go on forever.

Commercials!!

So, my comedy troupe and I are currently working on a show about commercials. Now, most of my troupe members see only the comedic side of the commercials, or currently, how they can be mocked or how we can turn it into something really funny. However, I am stuck analyzing every single one that is mentioned, because apparently, I can't turn my Advertising side off. For example, not to give too much away, for those of you who might come to the show, I was thinking of Mr. Clean commercials. They can easily be turned into a skit for obvious reasons, but as a regular commercial I was thinking about how it stood in the market. Personally, I hate commercials that are aimed at middle-age mothers and have a middle-aged mother in the commercial. It's as if the person is saying, "Here, this is you. This is the prototype of all middle-aged women out there. You should pay attention and buy this product." What makes me want the magic eraser is how well it cleans, how effective it is, not seeing a mom clean her kitchen with a bald cartoon character. Obviously, though, something is working or Mr. Clean would no longer exist.

I guess it's more the stereotypes of people moreso than anything else that really gets to me. Why does every woman in a cleaning commercial have to weat capris? Why do all their pants have to be light? Why can't I see a mom in jeans and a leather jacket hanging out with Mr. Clean. Apparently moms who wear leather jackets allow their children to live in an unsanitary environment. Maybe I'm overreacting a little, but commercials have been reinforcing stereotypes for over 60 years. Just watch the beginning of the Stepford Wives and you'll see what I mean. Most of these stereotypes are driven more towards women then men. Just observe next time you watch TV. See what kind of mother advertisers would like everyone to be.

I wonder what the future of advertising and commercials will be. In another twenty years will we still be displaying commercials which reinforce stereotypes? For all you Ad majors who plan on making commercials, please, when I'm middle-aged don't my market appear obsessed with cleaning products and my perfect sweater and light capri pant. I don't think I could handle it.

"I can't work with you people!"

I don't know about any of you, but I am currently in a horrible work environment. I dread going to work everyday, and that has NEVER happened to me. I have an office job and work with 5 other people so we all get to know each other pretty well. It's so crazy because this time last semester I was SO happy with my job! It was perfect--I was able to choose my own schedule, had the weekends off, and work with people I really got along with. Well, now it has all changed!

I've never been one for drama so when all the office politics started arising, I ran away from them like the plague. I dislike gossip and everything similar to it, so I thought it would be best to distance myself when co-workers started discussing our boss' work ethic. To make a long story short, all of my co-workers have since left because the work ethic of our boss was pretty horrendous. They keep on encouraging me to join them in the "away from *Boss' name here* World" telling me how liberating and glorious it is!

Although I would love to quit and join them in "freedom", I have gotten way too used to the money! Ha, it is horrible to say but so very true. Therefore, I suck it up and have to deal with our boss and the ridiculous office politics she brings around.

One thing that gets me through, though, is this HILARIOUS quote from the movie "Waiting for Guffman". In this scene, "Corky" is pleading with some big shots in town asking for money so he can work on a movie about the town. Well, the big shots turn him down and this is his goodbye to them! One day I wish I could just get up and walk out of work after saying this. I think it would feel incredible.


Warning--some language may not be appropriate for small children.

"So what I'm understanding here - correct me, if I'm wrong - is that you're not givin' me... any money... so now I'm left basically with nothin', I'm... left with ZERO, in which, in which, what can I do with zero, you know? What can I... I can't do ANYTHIN' with it! I need to, this is my LIFE here we're talking about! We're not just talkin' about, you know, somethin' else, were talking about MY life, you know? And it's forcing me to do somethin' I don't wanna do. To leave. To, to go out and just leave and go home and say, make a clean cut here and say "no way, Corky, you're not puttin' up with these people!" And I'll tell you why I can't put up with you people: because you're BASTARD people! That's what you are! You're just bastard people! And I'm goin' home and I'm gonna... I'm gonna BITE MY PILLOW, is what I'm gonna do!"

Hahaha, I don't know why it makes me laugh so much (maybe because my Aunt SWEARS she is going to do this the day before she retires) but it seriously gets me every time!

Here's a link if you wanted to actually watch it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De6AkndwRpM&feature=related

Christmas Trends for this year???

Hey everyone!

I know this Christmas is going to be a little different for most people, thanks to the economy. Even so, I have been researching trying to find what the "hot ticket" items are going to be this holiday season (it's for a project) but I am having a little trouble. I keep coming across articles about the economy and how many stores are cutting back on inventory for Christmas, but I can't find any direct research on specific brands/items that are going to be popular.

Since Google is my "go to" for just about everything (and I seem to be going in circles,) does anyone know of a specific website (or company) where I can go to find this information and other information about projected trends for this holiday season?

Thanks to any suggestions!

Debate this...

Ask anybody over 50 what’s wrong with America today and I’m betting that the words text messaging and rap music come out of their mouths. Our generation is seen as frivolous, more concerned with a good time then with the good of our country. Most often, we get blasted for getting our news from shows like the Colbert Report, or keeping current with SNL. I’ve never been too concerned with this, I figure if people are going to watch Fox for conservative views or CNN for liberal news I might as well watch Comedy Central where I can get my information and a good laugh for the day. But ever since the Palin/Biden debate of last week and Tina Fey’s subsequent sketch, the talking heads have been yelling about such satirists being harmful to the political climate of America. Call me crazy but with famine, war, and an economy that only Hoover would see as favorable, I’m pretty sure the people of America could do with a good chuckle, regardless of party affiliation. Maybe if the “legitimate” news sources debate political satire enough, they won’t actually have to have any discussion on… politics. So I’d like to point my finger at the older generation- give Generation X and our love of violent video games a break for once- as the biggest problem that faces society today, the fact that people take themselves too seriously. Because let’s face it, nothing is more annoying than that kid in class who always thinks he has the right answer but everyone laughs at behind his back… and right now, America is that kid.

An Internet Archive

There is a pretty neat web site out there called The Way Back Machine (located at archive.org). It is basically an archive of the internet. You can go back and find older versions of just about any web site. You should go there and try it, it's pretty cool.

Here's a couple of sites I looked up.

FSU (1998)


Apple (2001)


Best Buy (1996)

Corporate Crashers

I love weddings for a few reasons...

1. Being around family.
2. Older people dancing inappropriately.
3. Open bar.
4. Seeing two people in love promise to spend the rest of their lives together.

My sister was married this weekend in St. Augustine. It was incredible and I had so much fun. I want someone to be married every weekend!

Me, my mom, sister, and aunt.

See #2.

My siblings.

The bride.

Not so fun about weddings however, paying for them. Of course, luckily advertising knows no bounds. Apparently, there is a trend in corporate-sponsored weddings. In a New York Time's article a bride had "swapped advertising space on her 175 guests' programs for $5,000 white gold wedding bands and her diamond engagement ring, a $1,000 gown and a $250-an-hour Lincoln Navigator stretch limousine. She will pay only $3,000 of the $15,000 price tag." Companies of course aren't giving stuff away to every bride, they're looking for a "creative hook that will prompt news media coverage."

It's nice to know that nothing is sacred.

Here's the article, if you're interested.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/11/fashion/weddings/11fiel.html

Interesting Strategy by The Economist and Others

Brainy Brand Names Where They’re Least Expected

A FINANCIAL crisis, two wars, a presidential election. ... When there is so much for readers to think about, how do magazines aimed at thoughtful readers attract their attention?

The Atlantic is reaching prospective readers in “places where people’s brains are most at rest” — like the corner store.

New ads for The Economist juxtapose its name with a classic game.

One such magazine, The Economist, is spoofing the game Twister, distributing pizza boxes that improbably bear its name and sponsoring a performance of political satire by the Second City theatrical troupe. READ MORE

REGISTER TO VOTE!

Take a look at this video. It premiered on Ellen and is really powerful ... celebrities encouraging YOU to register. If you're not registered to vote, you need to be. If you don't know how to register, call us for help.

http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2008/10/breaking_news.php

Also, you all remember the basics - advertising is about AIDA - Attention, Interest, Desire & Action. Watch this - register - send to 5 friends. Rock the vote!

Creative Jealousy

Every now and again I will come across an idea that is so creative that I get jealous that I didn't come up with it first. Its a good jealousy though because it encourages me to excercise those creative juices (the taste is sort of like apple juice mixed with pineapple juice) a lot more often. Here is the latest example of beautiful creativity that just makes you say, "damn, that is a great idea, that is beautiful art, why the hell can't I do that." The non-traditional advertising implications of the 3d art are awesome. People will be able to get involved in the ad, physically. Take a picture, send it too their family. Sounds pretty viral. I don't think the Mountain Dew drawing was an intentional ad ( I think it may have just been inspired by the mountain dew machine in the Transformer movie, but who knows? Somebody does just not me.) The Aveeno sidewalk art was definately ...? What would you call that.. It doesn't seem like an ad. There is no call to action. I think it is more like product placement. The art exists without the product, but the logo can just be thrown in as placement. What do you think?

Creativity Secrets

I saw this today and since Whitney likes secrets so much I thought I'd post it here...

From this blog http://www.creativesomething.net/

Six confessions from creative professionals.
Posted October 1, 2008

Secret confessions, to be exact.

For the past thirty days thirty different creative professionals (who make a living by being creative) were asked to send their creative confessions to Creative Something.

From not really being creative, to thinking that creativity is incredibly hard, these creative confessions are an interesting look into the secret thoughts of some of the biggest creative geniuses of our time.

Without further ado, here are some of the top confessions from a creative professional.

* I don’t consider myself to be creative. Whenever I go out to conferences and am asked what I do for a living, my reply is almost always: “I solve problems”. The response is often wide eyes and a big grin. Most people don’t understand that I do what everyone else does every day of their lives, I just get paid to do it.

* When the going gets tough, I ask for help. My wife is like my own backup creative brain. If I need help coming up with a solution or a new product promo, I just ask her and she helps me come up with new ideas. It’s a bit embarrassing to call myself a creative “professional” yet always have to ask my wife for ideas.

* I still find it hard to be creative on the spot. If ample time is not given for me to come up with an innovative idea, I get stage fright. I find myself coming back to my team with new ideas because I’ve had time to relax and think. It’s hard for me to be creative just nitty witty; it makes me wonder if I am really the right man for the job.

* I don’t always use my talents for good. I can recall several different occasions when I created a fake ID badge or parking pass or “legal documentation” for a friend or relative. I know it’s illegal to use my talents for forgery or this and that, but there’s something especially challenging in creating something you know you are not suppose to be creating.

* I once stole a major award. I worked with a colleague to find an answer to one of our local cities major problems. My colleague came up with the solution by himself, I was the one who reported the discovery. A few weeks later I received a major award from the city and took it too. He said that he didn’t mind who the award was given too, just that we had found an answer. I don’t believe him.

* I am just like you. You may not realize it but I am just like you. I am just like everybody else. Even though I get paid to be creative, I am still just as creative as you and everybody else. What makes me different is that I have more experience being creative, but that’s it. You have just as much potential as I have, it’s just that I have done something with my potential.