It's just like a mini-mall.

I'm not sure this one needs a set-up.

But I will note this: In under a year, it's made it to 2 million views and to The Ellen Degeneres Show.

Pretty good for a bad ad.

(P.S. - This is the long version. There's a :30 version. But I find this spot is like a train wreck. Thus, the longer version to prolong the joy.)

The Creative Pro-Cess meets Viral meets Natural Selection

This video surfaced a year or so ago and I stumbled upon it once again while looking at some interesting "first dances" from weddings (more on that later). This is a very simple guy, completely unrelated to advertising who had a great, big idea. And it went viral.

Ahh, viral. The most cryptic and coveted of advertising beasts. There doesn't appear to be a science to it. And if there is, no one has quite figured it out yet. And maybe it's better that way.

It's almost like natural selection. The People at long last have the right to filter the good from the bad and make an active decision to share it with their friends. It's a seal of approval from the ultimate judging panel: your consumer.

Every viral seems to be unique - probably a contributing factor to its viralness. And the reason each idea goes viral is just as unique as the idea itself. If I had to name the reason this one went viral, it'd be connection. It connects with people. People lived through these ridiculous dances and they can empathize with Judson.

And if they didn't live through them, they at least know them. They made a big enough impact on pop-culture that many more people know the moves than just those who were there at the time. (And like magic, 22 million views turns into 66 million only a year and a half later.)

Here's the Evolution of Dance by Judson Laipply and an interview explaining how he imagined the whole thing. Seems pretty simple. But then again, most big ideas are.

Humility's pen name is not Penny Thomas

On a quick Google search for an ad-great Tom Thomas, this lady came a-knocking. Apparently she's an expert in copywriting, among other things.

Her home page is pretty hard-hitting. Perhaps her "story-telling" services will prove invaluable should you find yourself selling used cars, orange-clean, or some variant of the Nordictrack. So here's the link.





(Oh, and here's the guy's ad I was looking for:)

A few creative men.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Enjoy the break. You've earned it.

On a lighter note.

There's holes in my new socks. Why? And to what end? I'm not exactly sure.

And I'm not exactly sure I care.

But it's fun.





Rip some holes here.

Safe Happens.

Wow. Life is so incredibly amazing and fragile.

I sure didn't need this to remind me.







It was a lot like this Jetta spot. And by a lot, I mean exactly.

We were having an ordinary conversation. On our way into work Friday morning. And out of no where, there's a Honda mini-van in front of us.

The only difference is the Honda mini-van wasn't backing out at about 5mph. It was busy blowing through a stop sign at about 40mph. There was no time for breaks. And we ended up on the opposite side of the road.






Here's how ours happened with a rudimentary sketch. It's hard to explain in words. Blue car = our Jetta. Red car = Honda mini-van.

Power.

Whenever the green or redish-orange light didn't appear on my PowerBook, I'd fiddle with it until it resumed it's comforting glow. I figured it was broken if the halo didn't appear.

Ahh deception.

It matters not that the light is lit. But only that the plug is in. I promise.

Stop fiddling with your cords.

Copy-haters

Clients are.

Shadow Art.

So there's this art form where you use a bunch of junk to ultimately create a shadow in the likeness of something un-pile-o-junk-like. In this case, with a little back light, silverware is transformed into a motorcycle.

Could be a very cool medium for non-trad, ambient, alternate, anti, whatever it's called, ads.

Oh, and this guy (Shigeo Fukuda) is pretty good at it.

Quality Control

Sometimes you can't save them from themselves. Click and look closely.



It has since been changed.

In case you were wondering...

Because I was.

Ever seen that freaky, animated Dentyne Ice commercial? Well, if not, here it is:



While the spot didn't really blow my mind, the music kinda sorta got a hold of me. After a tid bit of research, I found out it's a great band from the UK (as all great bands are - kidding) They're called Ben's Brother. And the song? "Stuttering."

I highly recommend legal ownership of the song and a visit to their site. Goes to show the weight music selection can play when creating a spot.

*And back to PR/advertising/and what not: Ben's Brother has a great promotion on their site to launch their new album "Carry On." You can win a song written for you, about you, by them. Just submit your story of how you got through a rough spot in your life and you're entered.


And here's a slightly better version of the song than the commercial above:

Models need not apply.

Target hosts "the world's first model-less fashion show."

Today is the second of two days that headless holograms have replaced run-way models in Vanderbilt Hall at Grand Central Terminal in New York to put on a virtual fashion show for Target.

I'm not sure what the purpose is. Perhaps it's the buzz generated by the cool factor - that Target is a cool and trendy, yet technologically savvy mass-supplier of basic fashion. Or maybe it's to make a statement much like Dove did - that girls' role models aren't very good models at all. (Headless holograms are way better.)

But at any rate, I fail to see the coolness in this video I found displaying some of the show. I think it's one of those "had to be there" kind of things. In which case I wonder, was it a good move for this dinky retailer from Minneapolis?

(It also made me think I reeeaaallllly want to see a hologram in person some time.)

Be afraid.

An 18 year old Nick Haley made a commercial over in London-town. Posts it to youtube:






Apple likes it. Buys rights. Makes own:

Colors.

So the Hokie colors were hurting my eyes and while I had no new suggestions for blog-colors, I had to change it up. Feel free to continue making recommendations though.

More re: colors to come.

Orange + Maroon

Treston suggests a hint of maroon with a dash of orange. A shout out to our alma matter.

I remember during orientation before my freshman year at Virginia Tech, one of the professors spoke about how we'd change over the next four years. We would make new friendships, some of which would last a lifetime. We would live away from home for the first time in eighteen years. And we'd begin to erroneously believe that orange and maroon were coordinating colors.

Any other suggestions?

(to find out what a Hokie Bird is exactly, click on the bird)

Does my blog look good in this?

Give me a color pallet. Anyone. Someone.

Ever since Blogger gave me all these ways to alter the look of my blog sans HTML I've been at a loss. I like blue. I like yellow. So here it is.

But I ask you: does my blog look good in this?

(Oh, and - give me a color pallet.)