Running In Circles With Scissors

Lifelogging: The Ability to Quantify Yourself

2011-12-22T10:27:00.000-06:00

With more and more data available and at our fingertips, it has become possible to track every area of our lives. We can track our finances, our location, our friends, our movement, our jogs, our calorie intake, and even, our sleep patterns via digital channels.

Below is a video of Hasan Elahi's Ted Talk on tracking his entire life in response to ending up on the FBI watch list by accident:

This trend towards tracking everything is impacting the health and wellness sector in a unique way. In the last few years, a new trend has emerged, Lifelogging. According to the Lifestream blog, Lifelogging is the process of tracking personal data generated by our own behavioral activities. While Lifestreaming primarily tracks the activity of content we create and discover, Lifelogging tracks personal behavior data like exercising, sleeping, and eating. Lifelogging revolves around analyzing and learning from data to help optimize personal behaviors.

Some interesting apps and devices are capitalizing on this trend:

UP by Jawbone is a wristband + iPhone app that tracks your activity and sleep. The idea is that the wristband inspiring you to move more, sleep better and eat smarter.
Nike+ is one of the best-known examples for tracking exercise. You can track your workouts via Sportband, iPhone, iPod Touch or iPod Nano as well as online.
BodyMedia FIT is an armband to track physical activity and sleep patterns. Tracking is done by iPhone or Android apps as well as online.
iHealth Blood Pressure Dock is the first blood pressure monitoring system for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch.
Meal Snap asks you to take a photo of your meal and then estimates how many calories your meal was. It tracks your meals and progress towards your diet goals over time.
Sleep Cycle is an iPhone app that acts as an alarm clock. It analyzes your sleep patterns and wakes you in the lightest sleep phase so you wake up relaxed and refreshed.

And, this Lifelogging trend even extends into tracking changes in personal appearance. People are tracking how their face changes over time with the Everyday app, an app that allows you to take a picture of your face every single day. As noted by Techcrunch, the app functions in the following way: “When you first load up Everyday, you’re asked to take a picture of your face. Once you do this, you’re asked to align a grid to where you nose, mouth, and eyes are. This means that for each picture you take, your face can be in the same position…. And there’s also an overlay photo mask of your original face picture (which can be switched on and off) to help you align your face. And the real key may be the alert system, which allows you to set a time each day to get a Push Notification to take the picture of yourself, so you don’t forget.”

Moreover, communities are developing around Lifelogging. For example, the Quantified Self community is an online community around the users and toolmakers who share an interest in self-knowledge through self-tracking. The community includes a forum, a guide to available self-tracking tools and projects, and videos around the subject. Additionally, it has even expanded offline into Quantified Self Show and Tell meet-ups and an annual conference.

As the ability to quantify yourself through real-time data becomes more and more engrained in society, it will be interesting to see the results. Will people gravitate to the idea that they more they know, the more they will be able to better themselves? Or, will it result in a backlash?

For more information on this topic, here's a link to a collaborative post I wrote for work with Alina Koyfman, "Mobile Devices: My Tool for a Better Me."

News: For the Masses, By the Masses?

2011-11-23T06:31:00.001-06:00

This is a repost of the latest article I wrote for my work blog on how digital tools are changing journalism.___________________________________________________________As social media gets more integrated into people’s lives, they’re demanding more control over the content they interact with. This behavior is happening organically in the digital space. In response, newspapers are changing the way they create content to include consumer participation – and consumers are changing how they interact with the news.

According to an eyetracking study by the Poyner Institute, the shift within newspapers towards focusing on more digital consumer participation makes a lot of sense:

Online participants read an average 77% of an article versus the 62% within broadsheet and 57% within tabloids.
People consuming news digitally also read more regardless of the length of the article.

This could directly relate to the fact that people have the option digitally to aggregate news in a way they rarely can offline.

And, people are taking advantage of this by personalizing the news for themselves:

Digg Newswire and Redditt both allow consumers to act as an editor by voting news stories up and down depending on the topic and its relevancy to the individual.
Trove creates personalized content based on individual user’s interests. It instantly builds a user’s personal home page by matching its channels to the user’s Facebook likes and interests. It then searches and analyzes articles and blog posts to find entities – people, places, things, or concepts – in text. Based on what it finds, Trove classifies the article into one or more of hundreds of topics.
XYDO is a news-based social network. It focuses on the social endorsement, prioritization and engagement of news. XYDO provides users with a prioritized view of articles/features, editorials, blogs and other news being shared within their social graphs, together with the ability to observe and track broad global news trends and specialized domain-specific trends. Personalized news emails, the XYDO brief, are sent to the users regularly.

Newspapers are also adapting to find real time, socially curated content. For example, New York Daily News is now requiring that every editorial computer has tweetdeck installed on it. This was mandated by Scott Cohen, the New York Daily News’ digital executive editor. Even more interestingly, the Guardian just began an experiment in which consumers helped curate the news. Beginning Oct 11th, the newspaper began publishing a live account of its news diary online, allowing consumers to see the scheduled news of the day as well as any upcoming breaking news. Consumers were encouraged to tell editors what they thought about individual stories and suggested stories using Twitter by tweeting with the hashtag #opennews. They could also follow the editor’s opinions about stories in a Twitter feed and add their own opinions to the conversation by tweeting to the hashtag #opennews. Editors dropped stories in the queue that received a lukewarm response. The purpose of the experiment was to increase readership, online conversation and positive sentiment around the Guardian’s news.

And, tools are coming out that change the definition of what it means to be a journalist. For example, Public Laboratory is creating a number of tools that are available to allow anyone to cover the news. These tools can take aerial photos or video of an event or story. These tools are facilitating the means for anyone to tell their story from a different standpoint.

However, this evolution in the news begs a question. Does news that is created or influenced by the informed public elevate certain stories like celebrity gossip over others such as the protests in Syria? Or, does it allow for truly unbiased reporting or information gathering? There are examples that point to both options as possible and indicate that the answer will probably lie somewhere in between. It feels like time will tell.

Tapping our Digital Behaviors to Ignite Social Change

2011-11-02T10:43:00.002-05:00

This is a repost of an article I wrote for my work blog in October on how digital technologies are being used to impact positive social change.
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The rise in digital technologies is empowering social change on an unprecedented global scale. While it is true that digital technologies fueling social change have allowed for some negative consequences such as increased surveillance and the ability to mobilize riots, this article is specifically focused around positive examples. This is evident in the use of social media to change regimes in Egypt and Tunisia, to monitor elections in Kenya, and to aid earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. One particularly interesting example is the Cairo Harass Map, which empowers women to report sexual harassment via email or SMS. The purpose of this project is to end the social acceptability of sexual harassment in Egypt.

Many social change projects focus around fundraising platforms that tap into existing digital behaviors:

50/50 is a 50-day creative collaboration fundraising campaign encouraging creative projects that generate awareness and raise money for the famine in East Africa. 100% of the donation goes directly to UNICEF.
Thanksforteaching.us is a 30 day campaign, hosted by tbd, dedicated to thanking teachers all over the world by sharing the actions, dreams and passions they inspired. This campaign aims to bring the spotlight back on the teachers that make our classrooms thrive in a time when funding for schools is being cut.
Africa Needs You is trying to raise money to combat the famine in East Africa through leveraging the cultural phenomenon of paid celebrity tweets and turning it upside down. It is asking people to challenge celebrities via twitter to donating a tweet – the equivalent of $10,000.
Charity Swear Box looks for swear words on twitter. When a person enters his or her twitter name in the search box on the Charity Swear Box homepage, it checks all his or her past tweets for any sign of a swear word. These are added up to a suggested amount to donate to a favorite charity such as Unicef, WWF (World Wildlife Fund), and Feed the Children.

Digital technologies are simplifying and enhancing the communication required to get social change moving. For example, in the past year, the Social Change Impact report stated:

110 million Americans expressed an opinion on an issue by posting a comment on a blog or Web site.
93.8 million Americans joined orcreated a group on a social networking site devoted to a cause.
82.1 million Americans texted to make donations, voted, organized a demonstration, etc. related to a specific cause or issue.

Digital technology is allowing people to get involved in social change issues faster and more frequently than ever before. And, digital technology as a conduit for social change is cross-generational. As noted in the Walden study: eight in 10 American adults, from Gen Y to through the Silent Generation agree that thanks to digital technology, people are getting involved in positive social change issues faster and more frequently than ever before. This belief is strongest among the Baby Boomers.

A number of brands are leveraging this momentum to align with specific social change campaigns:

Levi’s WaterTank game was a Facebook game that inspired consumers to participate in online water-saving challenges. Each challenge completed “unlocked” water from the Levi’s WaterTank and ultimately supported Water.org’slife-saving clean water projects worldwide. This game has evolved into Levi’s Go Forth Platform.
Aviva USA’s Status for Youth made the brand's new Facebook page a catalyst for good. "Status ForYouth" asked people to donate a status update to a youth-related charity. In lending their voice, people also influenced the amount of grant money givento each charity.
Pepsi Refresh is funding programs across a number of disciplines that “refresh” the world through local communities. Projects are focused around education, communities, art and music.
Chase Community Giving’s American Giving Awards is Chase’s ﬁrst-ever celebrity tribute to community heroes, offering 5 charities a chance to share $2MM in grants so they can continue their work helping others.
Starbucks’s Create Jobs for USA is a partnership with Opportunity Finance Network to create and sustain jobs through providing capital grants to select Community Development FinancialInstitutions. Additionally, this platform wants to build a community of interested people via Facebook and Twitter to express opinions and ideas aboutto improve and take action in local communities.

As the world becomes increasingly more interconnected, itwill become more important for brands to think about ways to incorporate socialchange platforms into their brand promise.

The Emergence of Digital Secret Social Clubs

2011-10-25T07:56:00.000-05:00

This is a repost of an article I wrote for my work blog in September on the rise of the secret social club in the digital space.
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The idea of the secret social club has been prevalent inthe real world throughout much of history. However, until recently, this wasnot replicated in the digital space. In the last few years, status stories sharedvia social platforms and in real life have become increasingly more attractiveand prevalent. Digital secret social clubs have begun to actively tap intothese status stories. These clubs unify members not only through theirexclusivity but also through shared passion points. They provide members a wayto be on the inside, “in the know” about specific passions from food to art totravel. These clubs also give their members the outlet to be able to lead theway to the “unique,” the “cool,” and the avant-garde in their community.

The idea of the secret social club taps into some key emotional needs of consumers:

The desire for unique stories to tell
The promise of “shared” experiences
And, the feeling of increased social status.

As noted, in Trendwatching’s report, Statusphere:"When individuality is the new religion, owningor experiencing something no one else has is the ultimate status fix.”Secret social clubs are directly answering that need by providing participantsstories that aren't common knowledge for the masses and helping consumers telltheir own status-yielding stories to other consumers.

Excursionistis a members-only travel site where travel is tailored to a consumer’s passionsand around unique experiences. The trips are curated by world-renowned expertsand guided by people in the local community.
The GlobalParty is a worldwide extravaganza featuring luxurylifestyle brands and 80,000 of the world's elite inspired by the adventures offictional character, PhileasFogg. 80 exclusive parties will take place in venues across the globe alllaunching within 24 hours. This is based around an effort to raise funds andawareness for a collection of charities around the world.
Diner enBlanc is an exclusive pop-up secret dining society. Members must dress inwhite to recognize each other and everyone brings hisor her own food, tables, chairs and glassware to a secret but public location,which is revealed shortly before the start of event.

Secret social clubs allow brands to reward loyalty in asmart way. Brands can provide well thought out and unique incentives. Forexample, the Patron Social Clubencourages consumer participation by promising the more a person participatesthe more likely he or she is to get an invite to one of the secret diningsociety events. This intrigues and engages consumers well beyond a simple offeror coupon.

The one of the strengths of these branded social clubs isthat they share credible and original content that’s engaging and relevant totheir target audience. They create compelling content their consumers actuallywant to consume. Moreover, thesesecret social clubs provide a holistic experience for their members by takingdigital experience off-line into real life social engagements and then bringingthe real life engagements back into the online experience. The branded secretsocial clubs have found clever ways to engage the social media audience toamplify an experience that already works well in the physical world.

The Convergence of Fitness and Digital

2011-10-17T16:51:00.000-05:00

Wow! It's been a while since I've had a chance to write anything. It's been a busy summer between moving from Minneapolis to Manhattan and starting a new job. Anyway, fall is finally here in New York and with it, I want to repurpose some blog posts I've been writing for my current employer. I hope you enjoy them! Here's the first one from August:
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Keeping fit while traveling has always been a bit of a challenge. While a lot of hotels have gyms and a person can always throw on sneakers and go for a run, it’s easy to lose focus on the road. Workouts get off track. And, it’s easy to get out of shape.

As noted in trendwatching’s 11 Crucial Trends to Watch for 2011 report, the convergence of wellness and health is an emerging consumer trend. Health has become as important as traditional status symbols and consumers expect health-related tools to “improve their quality of life, rather than merely treating illnesses and ailments.”

The convergence of fitness and digital platforms not only addresses consumers’ interest in improving their quality of life through wellness but taps into two seemingly opposed consumer trends: the increased interest in ultra-personalization and the emergence of inclusive, global communities of shared interests. Despite the obvious tensions between these two trends, fitness platforms appear to be capitalizing on the intersection of needs between the two.

Mobile apps are allowing for even more personalization and customization, giving customers added control of the information they receive, when, where and how they receive it. The ultra personalization trend has been instrumental in the creation of a number of fitness platforms:

Nike+ is one of the most well-known running platforms. Using a tracking device within your shoe or another GPS-enabled device, it tracks each of your runs and provides an endless about of information about each run including maps, calories burnt, stride, etc.
YogaTailor creates custom personalized yoga video workouts for you, maximizing the benefits within your available time and level of experience.
Jog.fm helps you create a playlist to match whatever pace you want to run, walk or cycle at based on beats per minute (BPM). It takes the existing music in your library and mixes it according to your requested pace. While options exist for listening to others’ playlists, it still revolves mainly around your music, your playlist, and mostly your desired pace.

While people want to personalize their options for working out, they also want to share their experiences and get support from a community with shared interests. Brands are tapping into people’s need to have a community of support around them as they reach for their goals. This need is especially strong in the fitness category and can be the missing link in terms of exercise for a person who has to travel regularly. Fitness platforms are focusing on creating inclusive communities that can be accessed anytime, everywhere and are based on similar fitness interests and goals:

Two weeks ago, Speedo rolled out their new platform, “Pace Club. Speedo’s Pace Club includes a mobile app that allows swimmers to sign up for training programs, log workouts, view professional athletes demonstrating proper technique and share their progress with friends through Pace Club’s virtual “Swim Team,” as well as on Facebook or Twitter. Additionally, “Splash Tags” allow consumers to search for and review pools – as of launch, 3,500 pools had already been entered into the system, the most comprehensive directory in the country. There’s also a blog featuring content by Speedo athletes and a product widget showcasing relevant Speedo products.
Endomondo is a social network for runners. At its core, it is a cross-platform running app with a huge network of fellow runners built in. It has apps across most mobile platforms and GPS-enabled devices including Garmin. With Endomondo installed on your mobile device, you can track where you run, how long you run, check your personal best times, and share them with friends. From the Endomondo site, you can view exercise summaries, issue invites and challenges to get your friends involved in your fitness push, and participate in site-wide challenges.
Track-a-thon is an app developed by mcgarrybowen labs to support a runner’s fans. The runner downloads the app onto his or her iphone and then carries it with him or her throughout the race. The spectator can then visually track a person’s race progress along the course including runners’ distance, speed elevation and the music they are listening to (assuming the race allows music).

According to trendwatching, “the ‘consumerization’ of health means that more consumers will choose products with embedded health benefits that are actually well designed, desirable, accessible, fun, tasty, interesting or storied.” So, the next time you are going on a trip, consider checking out a few of these tools and see if you find it easier to stay in shape while on the road.

Heineken Star Player Taps into Fan's Love of Prediction

2011-05-11T09:50:00.000-05:00

Soccer is my favorite sport. I've spent many Saturdays and Sundays at the pub watching soccer with my friends and strangers. And, I've definitely overheard and joined in many conversations attempting to predict the action on the field: "Oh, Gerrard is definitely going to score. There's no way he'll miss. I bet he goes for the top left corner." "How in the world did Rooney get a penalty there? I mean he didn't step on anyone's crotch this time!" So, it's not surprising that when Heineken StarPlayer by AKQA launched I would be interested.

Fans of sports love to predict what their team, their rivals, the refs, etc. will do. Through predicting behaviors and actions on the field, fans feel connected to the action, almost like they themselves are calling the shots. It opens the door to being part of something larger than oneself. It creates a community. A perfect example is the Boston Red Sox Red Sox Nation. Heineken StarPlayer taps into this existing behavior and expands it from the real-world into the digital space via mobile (iPhone only for the moment) and Facebook. It creates a game within the game.

As noted in the Creativity Online write-up, here's how the app works: "Heineken StarPlayer is a 'dual screen' soccer app that lets fans watch UEFA Champions League (UCL) matches on TV while they play the game in real-time.

The game can be played on a PC, iPhone or iPod touch and is downloaded from iTunes or played on the Heineken Facebook page. To score points, players anticipate events unfolding on the pitch live and make decisions on what will play out. When a key event occurs, the app triggers in real-time a 'Match Moment' and gamers are asked to choose from outcome options (for example, will that goal go in?). Players can compete and share scores with their friends, via Facebook, as well as other players around the world."

Online game results in an offline solution

2011-05-05T17:04:00.001-05:00

I am always interested in seeing how digital trends and emerging technologies manifest themselves in the real world. I love the idea of taking the online world offline and the offline world online. This is already happening in city-wide scavenger hunts using tools like Foursquare and Twitter to pass on clues and through billboards like GranataPet dog food billboard in Germany.

Now, we have another interesting idea coming out of the UK - "Real Life Farmville." According to an article today in PSFK, "a large working farm will be taken over for the first time by web users across the world on Wednesday, who will vote on every key decision taken on its cattle, pigs, sheep and crops. The MyFarm experiment hands over power at the National Trust’s 2,500-acre Wimpole Estate farm in Cambridgeshire, UK. Up to 10,000 farming novices will choose which bull to buy, which crop to plant and whether to spilt fields to resurrect lost hedgerows."

MyFarm experiment capitalizes on the existing popularity of Farmville, which currently has 47 million players a month and is the second most popular game on Facebook, to help people understand where their food comes from.

As stated in the article: "'The National Trust is the UK’s biggest farmer,' said Fiona Reynolds, its director-general. 'This is all about reconnecting people to where their food comes from. Our TNS poll showed that only 8% of mothers feel confident talking to their children about where their food comes from. That’s really poignant.'"

It will definitely be interesting to see how the MyFarm experiment shapes up. Personally, I would love to see it succeed.

Back from the dead

2011-05-03T16:17:00.001-05:00

So, it's been about a year since my last post. Needless to say, it's been a pretty busy year with work and living life (yes, I did run a marathon while not writing my blog). This, of course, has resulted in my choice to almost exclusively use tumblr to post quick videos and comments on things I find interesting.

However, lately I've found myself thinking about the idea of mentorship, professional development and the workplace. Throughout my career, I've had different mentors at different times. In one job my boss was a mentor. In other jobs, my team members were. And, in several cases, my mentor has been someone working in the industry but not at my company (this can be refreshing because it allowed me to be truly open and honest about situations, concerns and questions). Traditionally, the belief is that your boss should mentor you. However, this is not always the case and frankly doesn't always work (even though it can be great when it does).

As my friend, Anya Kamentz, states in her Fast Company article, A Case for Changing the Way We View Mentors: "We need a new model of mentorship. We're living in an age of networks, not hierarchies; knowledge and wisdom is distributed, rather than concentrated among the gray hairs. Moreover, we're bringing more of ourselves to work and we're often chasing meaning over profit. The new model has to be more flexible and forgiving, to allow for the fact that mentorships, like any relationship, come in different flavors and change over time."

Thanks to digital communications, we can connect and learn from people all over the world in meaningful and effective ways. Blogs, conversations on LinkedIn (both personal and within groups), Facebook groups and Twitter are opening doors that previously weren't visible. That being said, there are currently a few blogs I look to for industry advice and growth within the planning discipline. Additionally, I have also connected with some of the writers via LinkedIn and Twitter, allowing me to continue the conversation in a more meaningful way. Here's a list of some of my favorites, in no particular order:

Gareth Kay's Brand New: Head of Planning at Goodby in San Francisco
Carlos Henrique Vilela's BR Planning: Planning Manager at Filadelfia in Brazil
He has a really awesome series in his blog that any aspiring and junior to mid-level planner should check out - Advice for the Next Generation Planner
Mark Pollard's Life. Then Strategy: Strategy Director at McCann Sydney in Australia. *He just became the SVP, Global Planning Director at Saatchi & Saatchi in New York as of May
One of my favorite posts is his post, "Why the World Doesn't Need Another Digital Strategist."
Heather LeFevre's Buy Me, I'll Change Your Life: Head of Planning for Strawberry Frog in Amsterdam
She's also the mind behind The Planner's Survey, a great tool to assess what's going on in planning around the world, what salary ranges are in different locations and in different positions, etc.
Ana Andjelic's i [love] marketing: Senior Planner at Huge in New York

Who are some of your favorites?

My favorite soccer advertising campaign of all time

2010-06-25T10:38:00.000-05:00

I'm a huge soccer fan and love advertising. So, needless to say, the World Cup is my favorite event. Every four years, I not only get awesome soccer but I also get awesome ads connected to the game. This year we got the amazing Nike campaign, Write the Future. While I'm energized by this campaign (I do think it is one of the top ones), I have to admit that I do not think it is the "best" soccer campaign ever created despite all the coverage claiming that it is.

The best soccer advertising campaign I've seen is the Adidas +10 campaign. This campaign was created for the 2006 World Cup, before the idea of social media and audience engagement were as popular within the advertising/marketing community. What makes this campaign great are two specific things. First, it is inspirational. Everyone can relate to the two kids who are playing a game and imagining their heroes are playing along with them. They get to choose their team, not just see these stars playing on a TV screen. They are the captains, not the followers. The stars of this ad are Jose and Pedro and the stars these ads usually focus on are the sidekicks. The +10 campaign taps into the imagination of the "everyman," unlike the Nike "Write Your Future" campaign which focuses on the dreams/aspirations and outcomes of the superstars. To quote 180 Amsterdam's co-executive creative director, Andy Fackrell:
“The Adidas commercial for the FIFA World Cup is based on our own childhood memory… After watching a football game, we used to run outside, recreate our own teams and re-play the match we had just seen. We tried to make every little kid’s dream come alive – getting to pick your own team and being able to choose from the world’s biggest football stars!”

Second, it was the first campaign I remember tapping into the now popular idea of audience engagement. The +10 idea was open-ended enough to function well in the new media space in 2006: video shot exclusively for web, asset downloads, UGC video sweepstakes, blogs, integrating meaningfully with the MySpace community (definitely still a huge player in 2006). They truly maximized on content distribution and user-generated content to enhance the grassroot aspects of the campaign.

Here are some quick screenshots of the interactive site (courtesy of The World of Advertising blog) as well as one of the TV spots. The +10 Adidas campaign was an integrated global advertising campaign including global and local versions for TV, cinema, print, outdoor, point-of-sale, public relations and online.

Do I get points for that?

2010-05-13T14:18:00.001-05:00

Lately, it seems like every time I'm on Twitter I see a post where a person states what he or she did for the day and then proceeded to award his or herself points: "I'm finally getting my office cleaned up. It is way past time that I get things organized. #dapts +200." Additionally, a number of mobile apps are springing up, allowing users to gain "points" for checking in to certain locations (a personal favorite for this is CauseWorld which allows you to collect and donate karma points to certain causes). I find these trends very interesting.

#Dapts or Daily Achievement points are all about scoring points for "doing what you do." So, what does that mean? According to the Daily Achievements site, you can give yourself or your friends points for "anything from eating a sandwich to winning an Olympic medal in curling." Um, okay. Cool. So, I can get whatever amount of points for whatever I feel like. That's appealing, but arbitrary. Oh, and you can "win badges by performing certain tasks. New badges are added all the time to give you ways to bug your terrible friends." Definitely an interesting concepts, but it doesn't seem like the same activity would be rated equally by all so the system appears to have some flaws. However, #Dapts have become increasing popular which leads to certain questions about what all of this means.

Have we become obsessed with scoring points for our daily activities? Does everything we do need to be scored? Are daily activities a contest? If so, how can these point scoring systems be used to change situations such as getting people to eat more fruits and vegetables for more points, to donate money to causes for more points, to generate more sales of certain products?

Here's some thoughts from a friend, Jordan Smith: "You'll earn 30 points for being a baby on the internet, but those points are worth far more than your self respect."

And, here's an awesome podcast from DICE 2010 by Carnegie Mellon University Professor, Jesse Schell, diving into the idea of points-based gaming:

Oh, and I'm giving myself #dapts + 500 for writing this post ;)

What do Google TV ads mean for advertising?

2010-03-21T00:21:00.020-05:00

Earlier today I saw the video below about Google TV ads, a new service that "makes it easy for anyone to buy and measure national cable television advertising." As illustrated in the video by Slate ad critic, Seth Stevenson, people to upload their own ad to the site and then buy air time on various networks. The ad is then played on TV. Of course, a person's budget will depend on the amount of air time one can buy and the time slot, but this definitely is an interesting idea. While I do not see this service significantly undermining ad agencies or media buyers, it adds previously unavailable access to media buying on a national scale for any interested party. While I see this as a potential positive, I question some of the ramifications. If anyone can upload any video and just buy the time, will the service end up as an outlet for someone like a hate group to advertise their agenda? Is there any way of monitoring the videos being uploaded? Should there be?

Yes, Football=Love in the new Puma campaign

2010-02-11T15:45:00.007-06:00

As is fairly apparent from some earlier posts, I'm a sucker for soccer ad campaigns. I'm also a huge fan of everything done by Droga5. I still think their bike version of Guitar Hero, "Bike Hero," was one of the more brilliant pieces of alt advertising I'd seen. I'm a huge fan of the integrated campaign they created for the Unicef Tap Water Project and I still have fun playing on the Puma Lift website. So, it probably won't come as a shock that I love Droga5's latest Puma campaign, Love=Football campaign.

This year Valentine's Day falls on a soccer game day. So as part of the Love=Football campaign, Droga5 and Puma decided to help you send Valentine's Day wishes to the one you love. After all, they know where your heart will really be.

The brilliance of the campaign lies in the ridiculous, yet true to the soccer culture, idea of a bunch of tough guys singing what could be a fight song together. However, the traditional British soccer "hooligans" (there's an Italian soccer fan version as well if you want some variety) are actually singing a cheesy love song by Savage Garden to express their love. It's a perfect parody.

For those of you less familiar with the culture, here's a scene from the movie, Green Street Hooligans (a personal favorite movie), that illustrates the idea.
Definitely impressive work by Droga5 for Puma yet again

Update: For those Rugby fans out there, Droga5 and Puma have followed up the soccer "hardchorus" with a rugby theme. In honor of the Six Nations Cup, Puma introduces the Chabal bear, clearly the perfect Valentine's Day gift. After all, love also equals rugby :)

ParkShark: A practical app for city drivers

2010-01-31T20:51:00.001-06:00

It seems like every day tons of new apps show up. Some are fun. Some are cool, but very few offer a tangible, practical benefit. ParkShark is one of the few.

I've lived in a number of cities where finding a parking spot is next to impossible. Driving into downtown Boston or really anywhere in Boston/Cambridge and finding a parking space is one of the most frustrating experiences a person can have. Washington D.C. was hardly better. I remember one weekend day during the winter I needed to go into my office in downtown D.C. and naively decided to drive. After two hours of circling the Farragut Square and Logan Circle areas looking for any parking spot, I gave up and drove home. Even now, in Minneapolis, finding a parking spot can be a challenge.

What I like about ParkShark is that it attempts to offer a solution. According to Creativity-Online's write-up, "independent software developers Peter Cetinski and Dimitriy Frenkel hope to temper your road rage—and help the environment too, with ParkShark, an app that promises to land you a parking spot, as soon as you need it. And it works anywhere in the world, not just Manhattan." The purpose of this app is to "optimize the use of limited parking resources, reduce pollution, reduce congestion and eliminate the frustration that comes with searching for a parking space." I'm not sure about anyone else, but that sounds like a dream come true to me.

Currently, ParkShark is only available for the iPhone. However, there are plans to develop Android and Blackberry versions.

Happy New Year

2010-01-03T19:49:00.001-06:00

I know it's a few days late, but I wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year by posting a reel by one of my favorite digital agencies, North Kingdom. I find their work inspiring (I already wrote about their awesome advergame, Teamgeist, for Adidas). I hope you enjoy this reel as much as I do. I can't wait to see what comes next from these guys!

North Kingdom Showreel 2009 from Designchapel on Vimeo.

Facebook Connect expands the Interactive Experience

2009-11-13T10:47:00.006-06:00

In the last few days, I've noticed an emerging trend in promotional websites - the use of Facebook Connect to expand the user experience. This is part of the emerging trend of Social Context which involves more contextual content, media and ads based off social profiles. Here are some impressive examples I have seen in the last week or so:

The Flash Forward Experience allows viewers to become a part of Mosaic (the fictional site from the TV show in which people can connect about what they saw during the "blackout"). Using information from your profile, your location, your friends, etc. the site creates your vision during the "blackout." Viewers also have the option to become members of the Facebook fan page. Overall, the site seems like a great way to actively involve its audience in the TV show.

The Prototype Experience uses Facebook Connect for the new blockbuster game by Activision: Prototype. One aspect that makes this site more interesting than the Flash Forward site is that one does not have to log into Facebook Connect in order to interact with it. Viewers have the ability to read the story, view artwork, watch non-targeted trailers and pre-order the game independently from Facebook Connect. Facebook Connect is used primarily for the "Prototype Experience" - a short teaser trailer which uses your own social information in Facebook from your profile picture, your profile information, and photos from your friends. It's definitely worth trying it out for yourself. Here's an interesting post on the development of the site.

Welcome to Fight Club pulls your info from Facebook and turns you into a different person (in other words, you get to see yourself living the movie - pretty awesome idea). As a fan of the original movie, this site automatically appealed to me. I like the idea of being directly involved in the movie. Welcome to Fight Club was created to advertise the 11/17/09 release of 10th Anniversary Edition of Fight Club on Blu-ray disc.

I want to be part of Teamgeist

2009-11-12T17:56:00.002-06:00

It's already fairly apparent from earlier posts that I love soccer. I also openly admit I love almost all of Adidas' soccer campaigns. So, it is not exactly a shock that I instantly fell in love with the latest advergame for Adidas.

The game which also serves as a graphic novel is called: Teamgeist. (Teamgeist is the name given the ball used at the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany.) Teamgeist invites players to partake in the story of German football team Die Manschafft's jersey. In the intro to the game, Die Manshafft is stripped of its identity. From that point forward, it is the player's goal to help the team recapture its three World Cup stars, thereby reclaiming Die Manshafft's identity. Here's the intro in German (you can watch it in English here):

In general, I'm not a huge gamer (sure, I liked the Oregon Trail and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego, but I never really moved past that) so I wasn't sure if I would find Teamgeist engaging or easy to navigate. It manages to be both without being so simple that someone who is a gamer would become easily bored. The graphics and videos are stunning and the story is compelling.

The site also features an interactive graphic novel with an augmented reality component. In addition, the campaign includes a blog with all the making of the videos as well as a twitter account.

This new Adidas campaign was created by North Kingdom and is in partnership with the German Football Federation.

Social Media and Human Rights

2009-10-24T10:37:00.004-05:00

Here's the presentation I gave at the Unsummit in Minneapolis this October. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Social Media and Human Rights

View more documents from judyabel.

And here's the video from the presentation in case you are interested in learning more about the New Tactics in Human Rights program.

Remembering 9/11/01 from eight years out

2009-09-11T07:58:00.025-05:00

As I was driving into work today, I saw some people holding a sign, "Remember 9/11." While the thought is never far from the surface on September 11, I started to think about where I was and what the day had meant.

Looking back at the last eight years, I find it amazing how much the events on September 11, 2001 changed my life in fundamental ways. At the time, I had virtually no interest or knowledge about international relations. Even though I was living in Boston at the time, I barely knew New York. I had never been to Washington, DC. I didn't directly know anyone who worked in the World Trade Center or in the Pentagon.

When the first plane hit the World Trade Center, I was in an art history class learning about the Taliban (at the time I thought they just sounded like a bunch of sexist creeps - Okay, I got that one right, but didn't know the history behind them) blowing up the Colossal Buddhas of Bamyan. Walking back to my apartment from class, I had no idea that something horrific was happening. Around 9:30 that morning I checked my email. My inbox had a ton of forwards about planes and the World Trade Center. Since chain letters were popular at the time, I thought it was a sick joke or a virus and deleted all of them. Then I got the same email from my mother (she never really forwards anything so I realized at this point I should probably read it). I was floored. My first thought (and one to this day that still embarrasses me) was that the planes taking off from Logan airport hit the World Trade Center in Boston. It is right by the airport so maybe the plane (at this point there was only one) had a mechanical problem and hit the building. I had no idea.

As the day continued, everything became clear. As everyone is now aware, two planes hit the World Trade Center in Manhattan. It collapsed. There is tons of horrific footage of people running away in terror. A third plane crashed into the Pentagon - something was still evident that years later when I lived three blocks from the Pentagon in Pentagon City. A fourth plane crashed into a field near Shanksville in rural Pennsylvania, after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane, which the hijackers had redirected toward Washington, DC.

No one I personally knew died in September 11. However, it had a profound impact on my life. I started to see cultural misunderstandings and prejudices that I had not previously seen. Muslim students, including my best friend, were harassed on campus. One student even had his room broken into and his wall spray painted with anti-Muslim graffiti. This became an emerging trend throughout America and the western world.

I started to see a shift in my career possibilities and interests. Before September 11, I was planning to move to New York and work in the advertising field. With the fall out of 9/11, those opportunities evaporated. My future became uncertain. We went to war with Afghanistan because the Taliban had sheltered Osama bin Laden and allowed al-Qaeda training camps in their country (we still conveniently ignore these camps in Pakistan since they are a U.S. ally). I realized I needed to have a better understanding of international relations. I felt that since I was having a hard time with the direction the United States was moving it was important to expand my knowledge base and perhaps, even contribute to changing this course. This lead to my decision to move to Washington, DC in 2003 and attend American University's School of International Service. I got a master's degree in International Peace and Conflict Resolution with a mixed focus of human rights and intercultural communications.

Ironically, my master's degree led me back into the communications field. I love international relations and human rights work, but I feel that the work and messages are often lost. I feel that the working as a communications professional I can help reshape perspectives and shift paradigms in a positive way that allows these messages to be heard.

So, September 11, while a horrific day, changed my path and opened my mind to new possibilities and world views.

Homesick for DC

2009-06-12T10:48:00.007-05:00

Lately, I've been feeling a little homesick for DC. I think a good part of that is coming from my friends (thanks, Jon!) sending me awesome videos like this one:

I still love Arlington!

Remy (the songwriter/rapper) has some other cool songs. He's awesome!

2009-05-29T12:26:00.005-05:00

Even though I don't really have the time to write anything today, I wanted to share this new song/video by EELS. I absolutely love it. It was directed by Jesse Dylan, Bob Dylan's son. Anyway, I've been listening to it over and over again for hours and figured others might enjoy it as well. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Doug finds a new home

2009-05-26T11:01:00.002-05:00

Courtesy of some of my other coworkers, my friend and cube mate, Doug Hamlin, now has a new home away from home. Welcome to the Doug Shack!

"Don't waste a good crisis."

2009-05-12T08:39:00.011-05:00

Last night I attended the final Conversations about the Future of Advertising (#CATFOA) event for 2009. I was excited to go to this particular event because the founder and CEO of Big Spaceship, Michael Leibowitz, was speaking.

Michael's presentation focused on evolving from the mindset of creating "ads that people will love" to one of creating a value exchange between brands and their audiences. I agree that marketing is value exchange. It is not about capturing attention but about earning attention through respect.

He also discussed the major infrastructure issues facing advertisers and agencies. These challenges encourage opportunistic thinking: "Never waste a good crisis." In other words, NOW is the time to try something new and different. Take some chances. Push your boundaries.

Probably the most interesting aspect of the presentation was his views on work-place culture. Culture is key to creating great work. People need to feel comfortable expressing their opinions and appreciated for the work they are doing. To quote Michael indirectly, he wants his employees to feel like they work in the best place on earth. By creating an atmosphere of collaboration in which all employees are considered "creatives," they are able to create internal and external projects that push boundaries. Also, another great piece of insight: "Don't hire assholes no matter how talented. They will kill your culture."

I've been a fan of Big Spaceship's work for years. So, getting the opportunity to hear about their work, their culture and their founder's views on advertising/interactive marketing was great! I'm impressed with almost all the pieces of work I've seen.

Just to give you an idea of some of their work, here's a few internal pieces they produced:

And here is a motion demo of one of their best-known and award-winning pieces, HBO Voyeur:

A full recap video of Michael's presentation can be found here. I'd love to know what others think of his insights!

Dancing with furbies

2009-05-07T15:28:00.007-05:00

Because summer is almost here and this commercial made me laugh outloud multiple times, I wanted to share it.

This is the latest Coca-Cola Summer ad playing in Europe - filmed in New Zealand - featuring music by Calvin Harris. The ad was created by Mother, London and produced by Blink. I really want one of the Gremlin-like characters as a pet. I can't stop dancing to the song!

Who are your career "heroes?"

2009-04-17T13:07:00.031-05:00

Last night, I attended an event for the Minneapolis chapter of the Interpublic Group's Women's Leadership Network. A panel of three senior-level women, Nancy Knutson, senior marketing communications manager at Jack Link's, Maureen Bausch, executive vice president for Mall of America and Sona Mehring, founder and executive director of CaringBridge, shared the story of their career trajectory and advice for others wishing to benefit from their expertise. It was moderated by KMSP anchor Robyne Robinson.

In addition to getting multiple packets of Jack Link's beef jerky (a definite plus!), the event got me thinking about my career role models and mentors. One consistent theme among all four women was the role that mentors and their professional heroes played in helping them realize their goals. So, naturally, I started thinking about who my "heroes" are.

The list I came up with surprised me a little. One of them was an obvious choice as a leader in the advertising industry, but the other three were people I know personally who have inspired me - definitely not a conclusion I expected. The list below is in no particular order.

1) David Droga (the obvious choice): David Droga, the founder of Droga5, runs an advertising agency that consistently comes up with some of the most fun and engaging work in the industry. He's smart, creative and uses his influence for positive change (not something that is common in advertising). I love his work for the Tap Project.

Also, love the awesome viral stunt, "bike hero."
Plus, we can't forget the latest Puma website, which I just ran into today - Puma Lift. It's brilliantly fun.

2) Nick O'Neill, creator of AllFacebook.com and the Social Times: I met my friend, Nick, when we both worked at Fleishman Hillard Digital in Washington, DC. At the time, Nick was always talking about how he was starting his own company - not something you usually hear from someone in their mid-twenties with no expendable income. Nick went out, found funders and did it. Two years later, he's a successful entrepreneur.

To directly quote his profile on Facebook, "being highly active in the web and entrepreneurial communities, locally and nationally, Nick helped to bring the first Tech Cocktail to Washington, D.C. With the opening of the Facebook platform, Nick saw a huge opportunity and has become fully dedicated to covering the social networking phenomenon and developing creative applications for clients looking to gain exposure. Since the launch of the platform Nick has been featured on NPR, Fast Company, Practical Ecommerce, The New York Times and multiple other national publications." Nick sets goals and finds ways to accomplish what often doesn't seem possible.

3) Mark Clark, Deputy Program Manager at SAIC: Hands down, Mark is the best boss I've ever had. I worked with him originally at the Fund for Peace. There, Mark developed the Conflict Assessment System Tool (CAST), a computer-based model to assess vulnerable, failing and failed countries. Even though, I was only an intern, Mark included me in the work, which ended up providing the background for my Master's thesis. When Mark moved on to his next job at SAIC, he brought me with him as a short-term contractor.

Mark is one of the most intelligent people I've worked with and inspires intellectual curiosity in his coworkers. In addition, Mark has been consistently supportive throughout my professional growth. He is a friend as well as a mentor.

4) Grant Eull, Senior Interactive Art Director at Colle+McVoy: Grant's passion for all things interactive is amazing. It inspires me and excites my passion for the digital field.

Grant was one of the best teachers I had in my time at Brainco. He brings excitement both about the field and his students' work to each class. He is an instructor who truly cares about his students. And, he's a creative who truly loves the interactive field.

I'd love to hear who other people's career "heroes" are. Who are the people that inspire you?

Social media for social change

2009-04-16T11:46:00.017-05:00

Yesterday, it was announced that Hugh Jackman is pledging $100,000 to charity based off of Twitter appeals. This seems to be part of an emerging trend of using social media to impact positive social change.

Throughout my life, I've been involved in numerous charitable organizations. I currently volunteer at three - The Center for Victims of Torture (CVT), Street Soccer USA and Global Youth Partnership for Africa. The emergence of social media has opened the door for organizations such as these to communicate with much wider audiences and connect more easily with interested parties on a global scale.

One program that has excelled digitally is the Tap Project, a UNICEF project run by the New York-based office of Droga5. The campaign is based on the following premise:

Every day, 4,200 children die of water-related diseases and nearly 900 million people worldwide lack access to safe drinking water.

Solution: Restaurants would ask their patrons to donate $1 or more for the tap water they usually enjoy for free, and all funds raised would support UNICEF’s efforts to bring clean and accessible water to millions of children around the world.

For this year's World Water Day (March 22) and World Water week, they created Tap Project Radio, an internet radio station to benefit the Tap Project for UNICEF. The project was a week-long collaboration between DJs, musicians, celebrities and advertising icons to raise awareness for the issue. DJs included OK GO, Rilo Kiley, Duran Duran as well as celebrity DJ’s like Elijah Wood and Rosanne Arquette. The goal was to raise $10,000 to give 10,000 kids clean drinking water for 40 days. In addition, they created a Facebook fan page and Twitter feed for the radio station.

There is also a Twitter account for the organization in general. And, they are currently running a video submission contest for "What Water Means to Me" to be featured on their YouTube channel. If you are interested in submitting, you can email your entry to tapproject@unicefusa.org.

More information on the thought process behind the Tap Project can be found here.

Social marketing as an integrated process

2009-04-15T08:51:00.017-05:00

Frequently, when people talk about social marketing, the discussion centers on online interactions - facebook, twitter, all the usual suspects. While each of these are great mediums for connection and conversation about brands, these strategies rarely employ successful offline components and virtually never consider starting a social media/marketing campaign in an offline environment.

The Tate Tracks project by Fallon London for the Tate Modern does exactly that. The Tate Modern wanted to engage overlooked audiences in modern art. One main group was teens and young adults. "The Tate's in Southwark, which is a very poor borough, with a lot of disengaged 16-24-year-olds who were not using the facility," said Alex Sullivan, a partner at Fallon London. "So we knew from the off that we had to do something more than the weekend attractions the Tate had previously done. It was more to do with the Tate's main DNA, rather than something here this weekend and gone the next."

Fallon London came up with a great idea. They invited famous musicians to come to the Tate Modern, stroll around the gallery and find a piece of art work that inspired an original song. Rather than allowing the music to be available online, each track was only available in the museum, next to the piece of art that inspired it. To hear the music, teens had to physically come into the Tate Modern and walk through the galleries to find the pieces of art.

The music from Tate Tracks was placed online after the initial success of the offline campaign, giving people around the world access to the tracks and the artwork that inspired each of them.

While bringing musicians in to compose songs based off of art work is not a new idea, the implementation of the project was. Fallon/London won "Best of Show" honors at the 2007 One Show for the Tate Tracks project.

Fallon's Skimmer - Cool app to keep up with your social networks

2009-03-24T20:19:00.012-05:00

Today, Fallon launched Skimmer, an Adobe AIR application "designed to streamline, beautify, and enhance the experience of participating in your most frequently used social networking activities." Skimmer streams Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, YouTube, and Blogger onto one desktop dashboard. This feed content can be filtered by service, by group, or by keyword. In addition, you have the ability upload pictures and videos to Flickr and Youtube.

I immediately downloaded it to see what I thought. I have to say it did make things a lot easier. I could easily follow what was going on with all my friends on Facebook and Twitter, as well as any blog updates. For me, the only downside was that it got a bit overwhelming since I hadn't grouped my friends yet.

Apparently, (via Creativity Online) the app has launched in conjunction with Fallon's new corporate Web site — employees’ social media activity will be published via Skimmer within Fallon.com. In some ways, I see this as the next step in the evolution of agency sites from the traditional to a site like Modernista's where a floating menu bar that superimposes its logo and a small clickable menu over the top of whatever referring page you clicked from to Fallon's where all employees' social media activity is openly published on the site. While I think this is an interesting idea, I wonder how much monitoring it will take as employees come and go and if it will force employees to be much more private since their whole lives are now fully connected to their employer.

I still don't get Australian Football

2009-03-24T08:57:00.011-05:00

I don't understand Australian football. I've watched on TV a few times and found it fascinating. It's a blend of rugby, soccer, and American football, but even after several hours I had no idea what in the world was going on. This ad by George Patterson Y&R, Melbourne, is a lot like that. The ad is for the Australian Football League and does a great job of juxtaposing Australian football against just about any other major sport. So, while I have no real idea what the rules of the game are (yes, I have read the Wikipedia entry on it), the ad is fun and makes me want to watch the sport or even, play it.

Probably the added bonus for me is the use of the Dropkick Murphy's song, Shipping Up to Boston. I love that song. Either way, this ad definitely gets me to agree that the AFL is truly in a league of its own.

Here's a list of the credits:
Client: AFL
Agency: George Patterson Y&R, Melbourne
Executive Creative Director: Ben Coulson
Copywriter: Katie Britton
Art Director: Frank Muller
Agency Producer: Romanca Jasinski,
Mandy Celms
Production Company: Revolver
Director: Steve Rogers
Executive Producer: Michael Ritchie
Producer: Georgina Wilson
Director of Photography: Greig Fraser
Editor: Alexandre De Franceschi
Editorial Company: Guillotine
Post-production: Fin Design & Effects
Flame Artist: Justin Bromley
CG Supervisor: Stuart White
Executive Post Producer: Emma Daines
Post Producer: Billy Becket
Sound Design: Nylon Studios
Sound Designer: Simon Lister
Composer: Cornel Wilczek
Music Company: Level Two

My team won an award!

2009-03-20T10:04:00.019-05:00

Last night, my design team won an award from the annual AIGA Minnesota Design show for a piece I conceptualized, the Weber Shandwick Calendar (also known as the Weber Shandwick Minneapolis 2008 Holiday Card). The winners from the juried show were considered some of the “most exceptional creative in the upper Midwest.” I feel very excited that a concept I came up with won an award as well as thrilled that the amazing design work of my team was recognized. The team includes Teri Firkins (our design director), Angie Koehn, Rachael Lybeck, Gerardo Obieta and Leslie Sorum. I feel this was a great showcase of all of their talents. I'm very proud of this piece. The piece will be on display at the Weisman Art Museum through this Sunday, March 22.

Here are the designs for those of you not in Minneapolis.

I've always loved a good competition

2009-03-16T16:39:00.022-05:00

I've always loved a good competition. So, it's not surprising that the new Nike ad for Nike Plus strongly appeals to me. The commercial is part of the Men vs. Women virtual running campaign. The race, which started March 13 and ends on April 20, will add up all the kilometers run by men and women across the globe to see who’s the winner, men or women. You can join the virtual running race at www.nikeplus.com, something I'm strongly considering. The ad features Eva Longoria, her husband, NBA player Tony Parker, tennis ace Rodger Federer, Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, long distance runner Paula Radcliffe, hip hop dancer Sofia Boutella and Liverpool striker Fernando Torres (a favorite of mine).

What's interesting is the each celebrity's own point of view on the Men vs. Women rivalry. "Women are generally better organized and more consistent," said marathon world record holder, Paula Radcliffe. "You might see the guys start off a bit faster and probably running at a quicker pace, but they're fair weather runners. If the rain or snow comes in, the guys are going to bottle out!"

Inter Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic countered with, "Men are better competitors. We're more powerful and, mentally, we're tougher ..."

The champion will be determined by winning two of the three categories: total kilometers, average kilometers per runner and the most kilometers run by an individual in a 24-hour period. Throughout the competition, participants will be encouraged to create individual consequences and rewards against their friends and partners, based on the overall gender winner.

The Men vs. Women campaign was created by 72andSunny. The TV ad was directed by Tim Godsall and the music track is Gnarls Barkley's "Run (I am a Natural Disaster)." 72andSunny is also responsible for other creative elements such as print, out-of-home, online films and retail. AKQA created the digital aspects of the campaign.

Baseball Cards You Can Really Play With

2009-03-12T17:56:00.002-05:00

My friend, Gerardo Obieta, pointed out this really cool video. Topps Baseball Cards used 3D animation to create baseball cards you can play with. This is another great way 3D animation and augmented reality is used to enhance a product. Any baseball card where the player can actually play his position is much cooler than the traditional card. I can't wait to see what other uses of augmented reality appear in the next few years.

GE's Smart Grid Shows Grow Interactive's Innovation

2009-03-05T19:42:00.012-06:00

GE's Smart Grid microsite is innovative and inspiring. The purpose of the site is to illustrate how GE is transforming the aging grid infrastructure into an efficient, high-performance, energy-saving asset. Not an easy message to get across. But, I think GE does a good job of coming across as cutting edge. The forward thinking website clearly illustrates GE's forward thinking approach to energy. Using flash animation, voiceovers and 3-D renderings as well as interactive gadgets for the user to "make the power grid more efficient," the site makes the information about what a smart grid is and what it does easily digestible.

Probably my favorite part of the entire site is the Smart Grid Augmented Reality. The Smart Grid Augmented Reality makes great use of FLARToolKit and PV3D to create a digital hologram of Smart Grid technology in your hands.

Basically, you print out the Augmented Reality digital hologram, hold it up to your web cam and you have a 3-D universe. Below is a video by OgilvyPR illustrating how the hologram works. It's pretty incredible.

GE's site was designed by Grow Interactive, an award-winning design studio from Norfolk, Virginia. Looking through the company's website, I'm amazed by much of their work. It is exciting and innovative and definitely a great place to get interactive inspiration.

The Arts - Food for Thought

2009-03-04T20:13:00.007-06:00

I ran into these PSAs a few days ago for Americans for the Arts. Personally, I think they are brilliant. The PSAs are entertaining and engaging. Each ad resembles a typical food commercial but helps make famous artists into household names. Below are the "Raisin Brahm" and "Van go-gurt" ads. Every time I watch them, I laugh out loud! Sure, they are blatantly mocking Raisin Bran and most yogurt commercials. But, that's what makes them amazing. The PSAs are directed by Marcus McCollum and filmed by Crossroads Films.

Soccer as Inspiration

2009-02-25T20:43:00.009-06:00

Today I got an email from a friend of a friend in Washington, DC. He's working for Street Soccer USA. Street Soccer USA (SSUSA) creates grassroots soccer programs around the US to help the homeless and impoverished realize their dreams and goals. They have teams in numerous US cities, including Minneapolis. The program is an offshoot of HELP USA, a national not-for-profit organization with a mission to empower the homeless and others in need to become and remain self-reliant.

In addition, SSUSA is the official US partner of the Homeless World Cup. And, it looks like I will be going to DC for the Homeless USA Cup:
"As the official US partner of the Homeless World Cup, each year SSUSA host the Homeless USA Cup, where inner city street soccer teams and social service agencies compete for the US Cup. In addition the homeless have the opportunity to be selected to represent the US National Team that represents the US at the Homeless World Cup tournament."

They have a blog with news from each team and their preparation for the Homeless USA Cup.

As a soccer fan and a person interested in human rights, this program sounds really cool! I'm looking forward to becoming involved in the organization.

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the role of the communications professional

2009-02-17T18:23:00.005-06:00

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the role of the communications professional. Obviously, the main purpose of a communicator is to communicate — about products, clients, whatever we are selling at that point. While we are capable of "selling" whatever product or message we are asked to by our clients or companies, should we? Or, should we really try to only "sell" those ideas, products, etc. that we truly believe in?

I have worked many areas of the communications field for the last eight years and the one thing that has remained consistent is my need to feel a sense of purpose in whatever my client or company is promoting. In some cases, it has been easy to find. For example, any of my work that addresses complex global issues, especially human rights, resonates with me on a very deep level. Of course, that makes a lot of sense since I chose to get a Master's degree in International Relations with a human rights focus.

On the other hand, I definitely have had clients where I didn't connect to their message or product. In some cases, I didn't even agree with what they were doing on an ethical level. In those situations, it has not been easy to find the purpose in the work. However, I have been lucky because it was the great teams, both on the client side and within my company, that turned the situation from a negative into something that was more positive. Sure, I didn't like the basic message, the product or the policies of the client, but I believed in the team members and wanted them to succeed. I wonder how I would have handled it had that not been the case.

Melanie Winn

2009-01-13T17:20:00.005-06:00

This past December one of my closest friends, Melanie Winn, passed away unexpectedly. Melanie was someone I always looked up to as an amazing friend, an incredible mother to her son, Tyler, and a devoted wife to her husband, Jeremy. Her loss has been very hard.

In addition to all of that, Melanie was a constant support as I attempted to go through portfolio school. She was encouraging and supportive of my abilities even when I was doubting myself completely.

Melanie worked at Partners+Simons, an advertising agency out of Boston. Today I got a message on Facebook about a meaningful initiative they are doing for her 1-year old son, Tyler. I feel very lucky to have known Melanie and will definitely be participating.

"Melanie Winn, a 10-year P+s'er passed away December 11th. Those of us who have had the pleasure to know Melanie will always remember her for her strength, spirit and kindness.

We have two wonderful initiatives for Tyler Winn, Melanie's 14 month old son.

The Tyler Win Education Fund
We have opened 529 Plan for Tyler. Partners+ simons has kicked off the fund with an initial deposit of $10,000.
Deposits can be made payable to: Tyler Winn Education Fund
Send to: Sovereign Bank, 2 South Station Concourse, Boston, MA 02210, Attention: Tyler Winn Education Fund

Melanie Memories Book
We are creating a book of memories of Melanie for Tyler. Keeping Mel's spirit in our hearts and sharing our memories of her with her son. Share your memories of Mel: the wonderful memories, the sincere memories, and especially the silly memories. Crystal remembers how Mel made her use Purell before letting her hold Tyler. I remember Mel sharing her coveted tiara with Shinlei the day Shinlei became a US Citizen.
Please send your stories and photos to jamie@partnersandsimons.com by 1/16/09.

Please pass this on to anyone who may want to participate."

Oldie but Goody

2009-01-07T20:55:00.007-06:00

I may hate or strongly dislike Comcast for a number of reasons (the basic one being they are evil), but I love this commercial:

It was directed by Jim Hosking at Biscuit Filmworks. Jim has also directed the Slim Jim wedding commercial, the Miller Lite chant commercial, and the Emerald Nuts druid commercial. He's clearly the director you want for fun, offbeat campaigns.

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T08:58:00.002-06:00

I know it's been a while since I wrote and this one will be short and sweet. I just wanted to wish everyone a happy new year. May this year bring you whatever you truly desire.

Winter's Here and I want to be in Sao Paolo

2008-11-07T09:25:00.035-06:00

So, winter has come again to Minneapolis. At least, it feels that way today with all the snow coming down and the temperature dropping from a beautiful 70 degrees to something cold that I don't want to focus on. In addition, it's now starting to get dark at 3:30 in the afternoon. Yes, that's right, 3:30. I'm trying to come to terms with all of it, but if it's anything like last winter which was my first winter in the Midwest (now nicknamed the Tundra), the temperature won't be decent again until around the end of May.

Because of all of this, I'm choosing to focus my love of cities with good advertising on Sao Paolo, Brazil. First of, I'm pretty sure the weather in Brazil is great. Hell, according to Wikipedia they haven't had snow since June 25, 1918 and that was just flurries! Not to mention it's not that far from Rio (about 300 miles - about the distance from Minneapolis to Madison) or the ocean (70 kilometers - In Minneapolis that might get you to... the middle of no where!) Plus, Sao Paolo is extremely ethnically diverse and the fourth largest urban area in the world.

And, finally to circle back to advertising, here are some ads coming out of Sao Paolo that I really like.

Line: "The sport you're looking for and much more. ESPN channels. We're crazy about sports, like you." Alt media campaign by Neogama/BBH, São Paulo, Brazil

A campaign with some great lines by Almap BBDO.

Another fun alt media campaign by age.
Hey, it's soccer so, of course, I love it.

Revenge of the alarm clock

2008-10-27T20:19:00.006-05:00

My alarm clock clearly has a mind of it's own. This morning my alarm went off at what I thought was it's normal time, 6:30 am.

Usually, it goes off, I lay in bed and listen to the news, snooze a little until 7:15 and then get up. However, something was off this morning. The news came on: "Good morning, it's 7:30 on Monday and this is NPR." What?!? It was supposed to be 6:30. My clock said 6:30, but the news said something different. I raced out of bed and ran over to my computer. Definitely 7:30.

This meant I was running late – definitely a negative for a Monday morning.

For the next 30 minutes, while I showered, let Blue (my dog) outside and got dressed, I tried to figure it out. Clearly, daylight savings time had started and no one told me. But then wouldn't it have been 5:30 am, not 7:30 am. Maybe it was a conspiracy and someone had changed my clock? That seemed unlikely since no one had been in my house except Blue. It must have been Blue! Wow! She's brilliant. No, that was unlikely.

I called my dad. He confirmed that daylight savings time had definitely not started and asked if maybe I reset my clock in my sleep. Nope.

Well, after thinking about this all day (yes, I know this shouldn't have been my primary focus, but it was important!) I realized my clock had reset itself on Saturday night at 2 am since that's when daylight savings time used to occur. That means that all day Sunday I was living my day an hour behind, which means that when I went to bed at 1am, it was actually 2! Well, at least I have an excuse for my total exhaustion all day!

Update on my volunteer work for CVT

2008-10-19T18:30:00.003-05:00

So, a lot of people have been asking me about my post about volunteer work and wanted a follow-up to how things stand. Here's my best attempt though it will be brief.

Last Monday I went to the Center of Victims of Torture to discuss which volunteer opportunities would be the best fit both in terms of my interests and their needs. It was a great meeting and I'm really excited. The first step is going to be a lunch meeting next Friday between myself and their new Director of Communications.

In addition, they offered me some opportunities working with CVT's International Capacity Building project which works with 16 treatment centers throughout the world to expand their capacity to provide high-quality services to torture survivors; their International Services projects, primarily the New Tactics in Human Rights Project which uses an interactive social network to help human rights practitioners discuss tactics that are working or not working in the field; and, the Cambodia-Trauma Healing Initiative project which works closely with the Transcultural Psychosocial Organization of Cambodia and is close to my heart since I have a friend working for the prosecutor at the Khmer Rouge Tribunals.

I'm extremely excited about all the options and for the chance to combine my various skills into something that could be beneficial.

Proposed Creative Workflow

2008-10-14T10:03:00.004-05:00

I saw this graphic on Daniel Case's blog, a really great blog for finding creative inspiration. Anyway, I felt this graphic fits exactly how I feel great advertising, design, or even, any mode of creative communication should work.

Awesome Opening Sequence

2008-10-08T22:14:00.004-05:00

I don't really know how I feel about the HBO show, True Blood, but I do know I love the opening sequence by Digital Kitchen. There is something about it that just feels so Southern and so right. I have a weird addiction with watching it. Each time I see something totally new. Needless to say, I wish I came up with it and now I want to see everything by Digital Kitchen.

The Worst Commercial Ever

2008-10-04T09:30:00.001-05:00

I was asked the other day what I think the worst commercial I've ever seen is. Now, of course, there are numerous really bad ones. Everyone has their own personal worst. There's the really bad Kia one where a choir is singing about being part of the rainbow. Or, the weird one and revolting one where stomachs are talking to you. Yet, for me, the worst hands down are the Quiznos commercials with the furry, rat-like things (I know these creatures have a specific name, but frankly I don't care). These ads are fairly old in ad terms, but they left such a bad feeling with me that I still shudder at the thought of them.

In the hopes of full disclosure, anyone who knows me even semi-well knows of my weird hatred for sandwiches. It's a well known fact that I buy into the idea of separate but equal with my sandwiches and will eat each element separately if given a chance. And before anyone asks, of course there are exceptions, but they are few and far between. However, this dislike of sandwiches did not fuel my immense hatred for these commercials.

First of all, how could any food establishment especially a fast food one think it's a good idea to have singing rat-like creatures in their ads? I mean seriously now I think: "Oh, Quiznos that's the rat food place." In fact, I've been unable to eat food from there since the ads aired. Second, the rat things are the most obnoxious things I've seen in years. These characters come from a man named Joel Veitch, who makes television shows for Britain's Channel 4 (according to his Web site, www.rathergood.com). However, that doesn't explain why any ad agency or more importantly, food establishment would want to use them. Just so everyone understands, I've included the ads below.

And, yet again I circle

2008-09-27T20:02:00.007-05:00

Lately, I've been giving a lot of thought to the potential different directions my life can take. While this is something that is very common for me, I'm finding that my two main career interests appear to be circling each other again.

When I was back in New England for vacation, I met someone who got me thinking again about how important it is to do work that you find meaningful. The conversations both with him the night I met him and through email afterward made me start to question... How do I reconnect my background in human rights and international conflict resolution with my current work both as a designer and as a professional in the advertising and public relations field? Is there a way to do it without completely closing one of the doors?

I'm not sure what the answer is. One thing I have been considering is volunteer work. While that sounds a little insane with my current schedule of working a full time job, taking classes in art direction four nights a week, working on projects outside of class and attempting to sleep or occasionally go to the gym, I really think it might be something that is necessary for me to do. With that being said, I started looking into places in the Twin Cities that could be a good fit for my interests and with their needs. The solution, as of now, is the Center for Victims of Torture.

I applied to be a volunteer so now it's just wait and see if they want my help and what kind of help they want. And, of course, continuing to think about options to reconnect my interests.

Meet Groovesect

2008-08-15T14:54:00.017-05:00

This is a repost of an article about my brother's band, Groovesect. The article was in today's New Orleans Times Picayunne. It's pretty cool to see this! Also, just to introduce them better, here's a couple of videos of them in concert. Some more, higher quality videos of Groovesect are located here. Oh, and yes, I realize this is a very long post, but its worth it.

SCHOOL OF FUNK

Legendary trombonist Fred Wesley is a funky mentor for Groovesect

Friday, August 15, 2008

By Keith Spera

Music writer

Trombonist Fred Wesley co-wrote two critical chapters in funk history. He was music director, arranger and a primary composer for James Brown from 1968 to 1975, then spent several years with George Clinton's Parliament/Funkadelic projects.

The legend's latest collaborators? Groovesect, a New Orleans instrumental funk band composed mostly of recent graduates from the Tulane and UNO jazz programs.

Wesley guests on three songs from Groovesect's 2007 debut, "On the Brim," and subsequently toured with the band. Tonight he joins Groovesect onstage at the House of Blues, part of the first-ever Cutting Edge Music Business Conference showcase at the venue.

"I like to think if Fred thought we were bad musicians, he wouldn't do it," said Groovesect bassist Eric Vogel. "The fact that Fred wants to hang out and play gigs, that means the most to us. It's an honor. He could take a gig with anybody. He's Fred Wesley, one of the fathers of funk."

Wesley returns the compliment.

"They're a young band, but a good band," the trombonist said this week from his home in South Carolina. "They work hard. They rehearse like maniacs. They're very dedicated to the music. They want to learn funky music, and I'm here to help them."

Vogel and future Groovesect guitarist Danny Abel and keyboardist Nick Krawitz first crossed paths as members of Tulane's jazz band in the early 2000s. Abel eventually transferred to UNO and met drummer Colin Davis. The foursome worked the frat party circuit as a funk band called Soda Popinski.

In 2006, they rechristened themselves Groovesect. In 2007, they added saxophonist Tim "Sully" Sullivan, an alumnus of Aretha Franklin's band who moved to New Orleans to enroll in UNO's jazz graduate program. They also recruited acclaimed New Orleans percussionist Alfred "Uganda" Roberts, whose epic résumé includes Professor Longhair, Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, 101 Runners, Deacon John and Willie Tee & the Gaturs.

The alliance with Wesley instantly elevated Groovesect's national profile. The seeds of the collaboration were sown on Feb. 2, 2007. That night, Groovesect's manager, Justin Aliperti, promoted a sold-out James Brown tribute concert at Tipitina's featuring Wesley backed by local drummer Johnny Vidacovich and bassist George Porter Jr. The members of Groovesect opened the show, and asked Wesley to sit in for one song.

"He comes out for the one song, and ends up staying for three," Vogel said. "That began the relationship. And it's been fantastic ever since."

Wesley agreed to play on those same three songs on "On the Brim." And because his own Fred Wesley Group works mostly overseas, he was keen to tour with Groovesect. Billed either as "Groovesect featuring Fred Wesley" or "Fred Wesley featuring Groovesect," they jam on Groovesect originals and James Brown classics -- a particularly mind-blowing circumstance for the young musicians.

"In middle and high school, before I was even playing music, I listened to James Brown," Vogel said. "Then when you start to play your instrument, you learn those songs. All the horn lines that you hum in your head -- never in a million years did I think I'd be playing them with the man himself.

"Fred was the bandleader. To be taking cues from the leader . . . we play what Fred wants us to play. We take Fred's cues, just as he would take them from James. It's surreal."

Wesley runs a tight ship. "He shows us no mercy," Vogel said. "You hit a wrong note, you better believe Fred hears it. He's going to turn around, take a look at you for a second and set you straight."

He also encouraged his young charges to expand their repertoire into blues.

"We'd just been focused on the grooves, intense jams, funk and jazz," Vogel said. "All of his suggestions are crucial lessons. Everything he says is golden."

And not just on the bandstand.

"Going on the road with him, learning life lessons . . . I can't even explain everything he's done for us, as far as being a role model," Vogel said. "We want to be as good as we can and have as much fun as we can. There's nobody better to take those lessons from than Fred."

Wesley's history with New Orleans predates Groovesect by five decades. Growing up in Mobile, Ala., he often made the 150-mile commute to New Orleans to jam with the likes of drummer Smokey Johnson and saxophonists Red Tyler and Nat Perrilliat.

More recently, he appeared on the 2007 compilation "Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino" alongside his former JB Horns bandmates Maceo Parker and Pee Wee Ellis, Lenny Kravitz, the Rebirth Brass Band and Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews on "Whole Lotta Loving."

Post-Parliament, Wesley joined the Count Basie Orchestra and released jazz albums as a solo artist and with his Fred Wesley Group. He essentially retired from funk until, around 1990, former James Brown Band vocalist Bobby Byrd suggested he was missing out on the music's renewed popularity.

"I had no idea it would last this long and be this popular," Wesley said.

In the coming weeks, he'll tour as part of an African music tribute to Brown, followed by a long fall tour with bassist Bootsy Collins' Brown tribute. (That show comes to the House of Blues on Oct. 25.)

But in Groovesect, he's found a mutually satisfying partnership with young players who learn from him, even as they provide a fresh perspective on his own legacy.

"I'll find time for Groovesect," Wesley said, "and I'll find time to do my own thing."

_________________________

GROOVESECT Featuring Fred Wesley

With: Opening acts Elliot Cohn and Henry Turner Jr. & Flavor.

When: Tonight at 9.

Where: House of Blues, 225 Decatur St., 504.529.2624.

Tickets: $8.50-$18.50, plus service charges.

To hear music from Groovesect's "On the Brim" CD, go to www.nola.com/music.

Awesome Rock and Roll ads

2008-08-13T16:41:00.007-05:00

Hill Holliday, an agency I interned for back in 2000 and absolutely loved (in fact, this agency is what started my love for advertising), just came out with some ads that I really like. The client is the Rock and Roll Forever Foundation and I just think these ads are a perfect fit.

Copy says: "Foo Fighters … pretty much exist thanks to Vernon and Gladys Presley who unwittingly changed the course of history in December of 1946 when they bought their son a guitar even though he specifically asked for a bicycle instead."

Copy says: "Jimmy Page is A God … but wouldn’t be if not for Lester William Polsfuss, also known as Les Paul, who created the first solid-body electric guitar – an idea he came up with when he noticed the unique way in which railroad ties carried vibrations – making the sound of Rock and Roll possible."

Copy says: "The White Stripes Rock … thanks to Ike Turner who in 1951 created Rock and Roll’s signature distorted guitar sound when he stuffed some paper inside a broken amp that fell off the top of his car on his way to record “Rocket 88”."

Advertising Agency: Hill Holliday
Art Director: Mike Shaughnessy
Copywriter: Scott Noble
Digital Artist: Scott Woolwine
Photographer: Bruce Peterson
Published: June 2008

The Dream Board

2008-08-10T14:15:00.004-05:00

A few days ago I came across a post on BlogHer that really caught my attention. The post, written by Rachelle Mee-Chapman, is about the idea of dreamboarding or manifesting your dreams into reality and was introduced to the writer by Suzie Ridler. To directly quote the post, "Dreamboarding is a way of capturing your deepest hopes and offering them up to the Universe in physical form." The basic idea behind dreamboarding is "you put together words, images...pretty much anything that represents your dream together in one place to tell the universe, "I want that!" Both Rachelle and Suzie use a mix of images and words to represent these goals. Each dreamboard represents one specific goal.

As the idea of another Minneapolis winter begins to approach, I feel I needed to focus on what I would like for my future, what my hopes and dreams are, and express them to the universe. I have a feeling that a dreamboard is the perfect forum for that and definitely an option I'm opening to trying. Anyone interested in trying this experiment with me?

More school work

2008-08-02T20:23:00.004-05:00

I recently got the results of my end of the semester critique. I did pretty well, but in typical me fashion, I always want to do a lot better than I did. Anyway, one of the campaigns they wanted to see me push forward is my campaign for Jostens. In general, Jostens is a company known for high school and college class rings, but one cool thing about the company is that they actually create rings for fantasy sports leagues too. So, I decided to explore that angle. It seemed like a great way of looking at the company that was totally different. Here's the work I art directed. We are in the process of reworking them, but I would still love to get some feedback.

Art Director - Judy Abel
Copywriter - Sean Jervey

A unique use of social media in advertising

2008-07-27T10:27:00.011-05:00

The Nike soccer ad for the Spanish Euro 08 team took a really interesting approach to explain the motivation behind the team. The ad, Nike: Los 5 Magnificos, asked people around the nation to tell the heroes of their national team how to take their game to the Next Level. The Big Five of Torres, Iniesta, Ramos, Puyol and Fábregas internalize the comments through taking them directly to their bodies. Overall, its a really interesting way of incorporating people's beliefs directly into the power of a brand. The commercial was created by Barcelona-based advertising agency, Villarrosas and was directed by Erik Morales.

Some more ads from school

2008-07-26T13:03:00.016-05:00

So, its been a while since I've posted. I guess you can say life has been busy between school ending for the quarter, work getting busier daily and my random trip to Chicago to see Dave. Anyway, I'm back (at least for now) and wanted to post a campaign I worked on for this last quarter. The ads are for Nikon Monarch binoculars. I would love to get some feedback on the campaign since I think it can move forward even though I'm kind of stuck right now.

Art Director - Judy Abel
Copywriter - Rachel Anderson

A Truly Outdated View of Journalism for the 2008 Beijing Olympics

2008-07-09T13:25:00.007-05:00

This is a repost of an article I just wrote for Social Studies, our social media blog at work. Actually, to be fair, its the pre-edited version. Apparently, aspects were too controversial. It's my first article so I'm kind of dorkily proud. Here's to a small victory in the attempt to break into the social media boys club.

A Truly Outdated View of Journalism for the 2008 Beijing Olympics

Recently the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued their guidelines for blogging, podcasts, and photoblogging for the 2008 Beijing Games.

The guidelines are rules for blogging and any other user-generated content and actually start "8 days prior to the Opening Ceremony of the Games until 3 days after the Closing Ceremony of the Games." The guidelines state directly that: "The IOC considers blogging, in accordance to these Guidelines, as a legitimate form of personal expression and not as a form of journalism." Since the IOC does not consider blogging a form of journalism, it will not be allowed. The IOC goes on to define a blog as a personal diary and directly states that as a personal diary blog entries are prohibited from containing interviews, videos or stories about people at the games. In addition, athletes and other "Accredited Persons" (media respresentatives, officials and staff) are banned from podcasting or photoblogging.

I have always enjoyed the Olympics in the past and have been fascinated by certain athletes and teams. Allowing the athletes, staff, officials, media representatives and the attendees to blog about their experiences at the Games would make them into a much richer experience for those of us who aren't attending the Games for a variety of reasons.

A large part of me wonders if the real reason behind the decision to ban podcasting and photoblogging is an agreement between the Chinese government and the IOC to impose the censorship for the citizens of China onto the global citizenship attending and/or watching the Games. However, the real question is if this will work.

And to quote some questions by one of my coworkers:

Is the IOC trying to control something that is inherently uncontrollable, based on an outdated notion of commercial ownership of the event? Will citizen journalists step up and continue to blog despite the prohibition against it? Will the IOC truly sue thousands of people? And, how will they find the people? Will internet providers, mobile companies and actual governments turn over the offending users' personal information to the IOC?

Seems highly unlikely.

Another important question is how the IOC will deal with the mainstream media blogs that currently exist. For example, ESPN has a blog, ESPN Olympics Blog. NBC has a number of blogs about the Olympics on their NBC Olympics website. The New York Times also has a blog dedicated to the 2008 Games. Based on the IOC guidelines for the blogging, are these blogs in direct violation of the rules? Will these mainstream media outlets be sued for violating the prohibition on writing blogs containing interviews, videos or stories about people at the games?

I guess only time will tell.

Alt Media campaign for Amnesty International

2008-06-25T10:20:00.004-05:00

I came across this alt media campaign for Amnesty International on Guerrilla Marketing defined this morning. Essentially, Amnesty is doing a "cell tour" around the United States to protest illegal US detentions. "A cell similar to those used at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba is used to really bring the point across and by-passers are encouraged to try on the cell for size and record a message for the official site of the tour."

Falling in love with Traktor

2008-06-24T22:35:00.008-05:00

My friend, Grant Eull, a senior interactive art director at Colle+McVoy, recently reminded me about this hilarious ad. The spot, which aired for the first time during the 1998 Superbowl, was made by Traktor, which is based in Venice, California and edited by James Hutchins at HutchCo Technologies. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

I'm pretty impressed with Traktor. They created another favorite spot of mine from 2005, Levis "Nice Try" 505 Jeans.

And, the Barcardi "No Bad Dancing" spot, which I love.

Way to go, Traktor! Cool stuff!

I love EURO 08 ads

2008-06-24T16:37:00.007-05:00

I have to admit as a Liverpool fan and someone who is closely following the EURO 08 I really felt this ad was cool. Then again anything that ties Liverpool to EURO 08 especially since England didn't even qualify (Thanks for that, Russia) is exciting. What do you think? Is it cool or just an easy tie-in for Nike?

Client: Nike
Agency: 72andSunny
Creative Director: Glenn Cole,
Bryan Rowles
Copywriter: Jon Matthews
Producer: Juliet Pearson,
Benji Howell
Production Company: Outsider UK
Director: James Rouse
Director of Photography: David Luther
Executive Producer: Robert Campbell
Editorial Company: Marshall Street Editors
Editor: Jinx
Post Production: Glassworks
Audio Post: Factory Studios
Music Company: One More Music Company

Also, while we're at it, you might want to check this out as well: http://uk.youtube.com/23diaspt

Finally some Jeep ads that speak to me

2008-06-18T21:04:00.006-05:00

Ok. So, I tend to be anti-car ads. Most of them are pretty boring. Usually you have the car and some obviously beautiful setting. The ads don't do a lot or say a lot. These new Jeep ads by BBDO Proximity, Malaysia (found at Ads of the World) totally change that. Conceptually, they say everything that needs to be said about Jeep while allowing the viewer to draw the necessary connections. I think they are brilliant. What do you think?

Advertising Agency: BBDO Proximity, Malaysia
Executive Creative Director: Ronald Ng
Creative Director: MUN
Copywriters: Kevin Le, Ronald Ng
Art Directors: MUN, Eric Hor, Gary Lim, Willeon Leong, Hans Lee
Illustrator: Gary Lim
Account Supervisor: Dong Hyun Yoo
Advertiser's Supervisor: Sally Hong

So, I sort of have a thing for Iceland

2008-06-05T18:26:00.015-05:00

For a while, I've been in the process of saving jpegs of ads that I like. They give me great concepting and art direction ideas, but probably more importantly they inspire me. Some ads I really like are these 66°North ads by Icelandic Ad Agency, JÓNSSON and LE'MACKS, and photographed by Ari Magg. They won EPICA Gold and Silver awards 2005 and 2006 and several Icelandic gold awards for creative excellence.

"Keeping Iceland Warm since 1926."

I love the quote directly from the 66°North website about these ads: "Why are the models not smiling in the ads? Our ads come directly out of Iceland and are 100% authentic. Our award winning advertising group has won multiple EPICA awards for the unique, stark 66°North, ads. Although they don't seem happy - we promise they are smiling inside and love what they are wearing."

And another interesting one: "Being isolated, Icelanders are artistically creative and independent thinkers. Our newly hired Icelandic ad agency won the EPICA award in Europe – this is equivalent to the CLIO awards in the U.S. – for our unexpected ads with a tinge of Icelandic fortitude and style…this type of independent spirit is reflected in our brand’s use of innovative new materials like eVENT, creating what I call a ‘Matrix Coat' out of Polartec’s Wind Pro Light and tailored, yet athletic signature designs."

Makes sense especially since I see the same artistic, creative, independent spirit in the music of Sigur Ros. Definitely impressed with the advertising, photography and music coming out of Iceland. Perhaps, I should move there!

Brunswick - It's Personal

2008-06-04T08:22:00.004-05:00

I'm currently a student at Brainco: Minneapolis School of Advertising. As a student, still pretty early in the program (I'm in my 3rd quarter out of 7), I figured why not put some of my student work out there and get some feedback. Here's some ads for Brunswick Bowling Balls that I've been working on with Sean Jervey. I would love to hear impressions of the work, comments on what could be improved and any ideas for how to make these better.

Judy Abel - Art Director
Sean Jervey - Copywriter

Cool Headline-Driven Packaging

2008-06-03T08:18:00.000-05:00

Ran across this cool headline-driven package design today. I think its pretty rare to find strong headline-driven campaigns and even more so with packaging. This is a new design by Beauty Engineered Forever. Only other brand packaging I've liked as much is this from Bumble and Bumble.

Brilliant forward from a coworker

2008-06-02T10:15:00.000-05:00

So I got this forward from a coworker and good friend, Angie Koehn, today: "DUE TO OUR BUDGET CUTS, THIS IS MY NEW CUBICLE." Below are the brilliant pictures!