Stuff we like, stuff we've done, stuff we think about.
WHEN IN ROME…
I'm not generally one to complain about bad advertising technique (plenty of other sites have the topic well covered), but this particular example just stuck in my craw…
Callahan Creek is located in Lawrence, Kansas, a nice little midwestern town that happens to be the home of the University of Kansas. If you are completely unfamiliar with college sports, it helps to know that basketball is kind of a big deal around here.
While walking back from lunch Friday, I spotted the poster in the picture above outside the doors of a national retailer of sports-themed hats' downtown Lawrence location. It advertises their hot new hats with your favorite team logos on them…the logos in question being for Kentucky and Duke, both big rivals of Kansas.
Now, before you complain that I'm an overly-sensitive über-fan of said Kansas basketball squad (which is entirely true), I asked a store employee what he thought of the sign. He told me, "I don't know why we even have it. We don't sell much Kentucky and Duke stuff here. We don't even carry them in the style on the sign. We only carry the KU version of that hat."
Your product guys know what they're doing. So if you're the marketing team, why not just run off a couple of digital copies of posters tailored to the local fervently-supported team? Or do you think I'm likely to see this same poster at stores in Bloomington and Chapel Hill?
Posted
by David Unekis, March 8, 2010 at 2:52 PM | Add a Comment
We all know that the internet is HUGE all over the world. But just how huge is it? Check out this video for some answers. Also note the dominance of facebook. Yikes!
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by Dustin Sharp, March 2, 2010 at 5:11 PM | Add a Comment
AN UNEXPECTED MESSAGE
Recently, I’ve been reading a book by Calvin Trillin called “Messages From My Father.” As you can probably guess, it’s a collection of stories about Calvin’s father, Abe Trillin, and also contains several observations about fatherhood in general. It’s a great book, but what struck me the most about this particular book wasn't even created by the author.
I found the above photo resting in between the final two pages of the last chapter. It’s fairly non-descript — just a photo of five little girls, probably from some sort of birthday gathering. It’s dated March 4 of last year, and was processed at the local Walgreen’s. Nothing to get excited about, really.
But then I got to thinking:
Who put this photo in the book?
Did that person use it as a bookmark, or place it in the back of the book on purpose for the next reader (me) to find?
Was that person a father himself?
Which girl is his daughter?
Where do they live? From the look of the staircase and layout of what I presume is an entryway, I’m guessing it’s somewhere in Brookside. The home I grew up in on 68th and Wornall looks almost exactly the same as this picture.
What did this reader glean from the book?
Did I interpret the book the same way?
What would the young father who left this picture have to give to me - a man who will have children of his own in the next year or two?
Should I leave a picture in the back of the book as well?
If I did, would the next reader see two photos and add a third?
Will I care enough in a year to go back to the Plaza Library and look?
The answers to this question are most definitely unknown, but they sure are a lot of fun to think about.
Posted
by Nick Kinney, February 28, 2010 at 8:27 PM | Add a Comment
WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?
The photo above is of two middle school kids. The one on the left is George Clooney. The one on the right is me. I'm hoping this just means I'm a late bloomer...
(btw - my specs turned into sunglasses outside. I bet George Clooney didn't have those.)
What I like is the attention to the little details. It would have been easy to fake a lot of things - but they didn't. I liked this commercial when I saw it in the wild. But what a joy to listen to the people that created it and how focused they were on doing it right.
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by Kent, February 25, 2010 at 7:35 AM | Suggest Removal
INSPIRATION FROM AN UNLIKELY SOURCE
I discovered a great quote recently that has really helped change the way I look at my career, and life in general. It's not from Wordsworth or Thoreau or Einstein, though. These ten words were put together by rapper, producer, designer and street philosopher Pharrell Williams:
"Wealth is of the heart and mind, not the pocket."
Whether you like his music or not, you have to agree that it's nice to see somebody blessed with so much not get wrapped up only in acquiring even more.
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by Nick Kinney, February 19, 2010 at 1:24 PM | Add a Comment
APPARENTLY, NO PROOFREADERS IN THE ASIAN FILM BOOTLEGGING BUSINESS.
Batman is my all-time favorite superhero and I know most of his plotlines, partners and villians pretty well.
And frankly, this description was going pretty well until the part about how he has a "basement under his villa, in which the equipments turn him into another person: Spiderman."
Now this is a part of the Batman myth even I've never heard.
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by Tug McTighe, February 16, 2010 at 12:29 PM | Add a Comment
IT'S A GOOD THING
Cool design and dessert? Am I in heaven? (Thanks to Swiss Miss.)
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by David Unekis, January 26, 2010 at 10:55 AM | Add a Comment
THE LOST/FOUND GENERATION
The video, entitled "The Lost Generation" was made by someone who I only know as metroamv and posted to YouTube as part of the AARP's U@50 campaign. Besides being wonderfully clever in terms of the writing, I think it's very symbolic on a level that I don't know if even it's maker realizes.
As a card-carrying Millenial, I often feel as if many people who are old enough to be AARP members see us as the movie played forwards. Many of them believe, in my opinion, that we ARE the lazy, lethargic generation that's too entranced by their cellphones and laptops to care about the world.
In reality, though, I really believe that the people of my generation are the movie in reverse. I think we are hopeful, energized and connected. And I think that we will that connectedness to spark change, do good and make the world better.
In some ways, we already have.
Did you ever think charitable organizations would be able to raise money for disaster relief in not weeks, not days, but MINUTES through text message? Raise millions for suicide prevention through one man's blog? If you're over 50, then probably not.
But my generation - well, that's another story. So stay tuned - I have a feeling that us Millenials are just getting started.
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by Nick Kinney, January 18, 2010 at 10:21 AM | Add a Comment
THE UNITED STATE OF POP
I, unlike many of my advertising brethren, am not a music snob.
And that's not to say I don't know my stuff -- I'd like to think I'm exposed to and enjoy everything from blues to speed metal. I just don't deny myself the pleasure of listening to whatever auto-tuned gems happen to be in the Billboard Top 40 on any given day.
As such, I really and truly enjoyed DJ Earworm's 2009 Top 25 Mashup entitled "Blame it on the Pop." How about you?
Posted
by Nick Kinney, January 6, 2010 at 11:34 AM | Add a Comment
