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

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.

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

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.

Awesome Rock and Roll ads

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

A unique use of social media in advertising

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.

So, I sort of have a thing for Iceland

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!