It's Official

Second Life is now officially the Most Over-Hyped Emerging Media Trend according to Adage. All I can say is—no kidding.

I never bought into the idea that suddenly everyone was going to get avatars and interact over the internet more than in person—it feels like such an unsociable way to socialize. The whole concept of Second Life seemed more niche than mass-market from the get go, but marketers were jumping on the bandwagon left and right. Of course people will want to shop for their TV in the virtual Circuit City rather than the real one. What? Sorry, not me. Is it a cool new concept to have a virtual store? Yes. Would I as a consumer ever use it? No. I was beginning to think maybe I just wasn't that cool, but I'm relieved to see that I wasn't so out of touch after all. I have no interest in a second life, this one is just fine.

Creative Coffee

Sometimes you find great creativity in the most unexpected places—like this Vancouver cafe that makes their coffee a little prettier than the rest. Take a look!

3.14

Happy Pi Day! Let's celebrate with some pie!

As I've stated before we use any excuse to celebrate with food. So why not Pi Day? Thanks Jeff, for bringing in the yummy pies!

Truth in Advertising #55

The odds a creative forgets to dress up on client-in-house days are roughly 5:1.

Movie and a Makeover for Men?

Last night I turned on the tv to find myself in the middle of the Thomas Crown Affair on the Spike Network (tv's male answer to WE). It had been awhile since I'd seen the movie and who doesn't like to rewatch that business man in a bowler hat scene? I left it on Spike.

Coming back from the first commercial break, I was slightly taken aback by an attractive male host explaining the subtle differences in tuxedos on the mannequins next to him. It appeared to be a sort of male version of Movie and a Makeover. I mean, I guess the topic was appropriate given Piece Brosnan and his Thomas Crown character, but are guys really going to watch this? The Thomas Crown Affair—probably, the lessons on tuxedo dressing—I'm going to guess not. Any guys out there reading this, feel free to correct me. The show just seemed to be missing the mark. As much as I want a guy who can dress well, tuxedo and all, I think they might have done better focusing on some of Crown's cool stunts—like that winged glider thing they ride in.
Well if I'm wrong and there are many men out there dying to learn the finer points on tuxedo dressing, here are a few things I remember:
There are different kinds of lapels, velvet can be cool—ooh...
Skip the cummerbund and go for the vest (a cummerbund screams rental)
Tuxedos have no belt loops (hello suspenders!)
If you skip the bowtie, regular ties have varying widths—and something about pairing the width with your face shape?
Dress scarves are not for warmth

Don't you feel smarter? Tune in next week for some Clint Eastwood and lessons on Scotch...

Firebrand Closing

When Megan and I first launched our blog last December, one of my very first posts was praising a new company call Firebrand that consisted of a website and TV program using exclusively good commercials as content. Brillant spots, like the IKEA Lamp commercial, were quickly and easily accessible. While I think Firebrand's attempt at a TV show on the ION network was a bit of a stretch, the website was a fantastic source for good ads. Sadly, I learned today that Firebrand closed it's doors on Wednesday after only six months. Too bad, I'll miss it.

Spring Sprouts

We finally have a glimpse of brown grass outside while inside my clover is sprouting. Yay!

Truth in Advertising #12

Just when you think you've got some solid concepts, your creative director throws a wrench into things.

(But that's the CD's job, isn't it?)

Real Women for Real Ads

Consumer-generated advertising always catches my interest because I like to compare the work that's been created to that which I've done or concepts I might have come up with had I been given the same project.

Dove recently asked consumers to submit commercial entries for their Dove Cream Oil Body Wash Ad Contest. Viewers on Oscars night were able to vote on the finalists. The winner was this Speedy Spa spot:



Of the five finalists, the winning spot was not my favorite. Click here to see the other finalists.

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