My last post was about the new Charger spots specifically, but in more general terms it was about frustration I feel sometimes when watching TV spots… especially ones that set up conditional situations “You did this, now you can have that.” I’ve seen another annoying spot polluting the flat screen lately (much worse, in my opinion, than the Charger spots)… It’s the new Dove bodywash ad. For starters, they’re taking the beautiful ‘William Tell Overture’ and adding this loopy sounding dude’s V/O with a not-quite-singing delivery, describing all the things …

There I am on Thanksgiving afternoon watching Little Miss Sunshine on TV and peeling potatoes when on comes this bit of ridiculousness:

Does anyone else find it humorous that a guy who was arrested for beating up a hooker is pushing a product called Slap Chop? What’s even more amazing to me is that they’re selling enough of these things to buy a 3-minute spot – especially one that could have easily been 30 seconds.
This is a classic example of not speaking to your audience. The commercial itself obviously appeals more …

I bought a used car yesterday, and it’s a 2005 Honda Element. (Gasp) “But you work in Detroit, don’t you? You work for Chevy don’t you?!?!?” Yes and yes. “But how could you?” Two reasons. Because I’m not a frightened slave who does what he thinks he’s supposed to, and because I live in America, where I can buy whatever the hell I want with my money. When it comes to the auto industry, (and the way people think about a car purchase) Detroit really exists in it’s own universe. …

When you think of coffee, what brand comes to mind? Now think about it for a second, don’t say it out loud, just think about it… Nescafe. Am I right? If you thought Starbucks, Folgers, or Maxwell House, then you might be as confused as I was to see that Nescafe (#25) outranks the likes of Nike (#26), Sony (#29), and Budweiser (#30) on Interbrands list of Best Global Brands (http://bit.ly/Hpjdk).
A few other brands that surprised me to see in the top 50 are: Oracle (#24) and SAP (#27) which …

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/10/16/australia.baby.train.escape/index.html
I am fully aware it is TOO soon to talk about this. But it needs to be said. This Miracle baby in Australia, has survived what is seemingly a really unlucky occurrence that has turned lucky.
People may be thinking the below:
“Hooray the baby is alive.
Shame on the careless idiot of a mom.
And wait…
HEYYYYYY now.
The baby wasn’t lucky!
It was…
the…
stroller!
THE STROLLER SAVED THE BABY’S life!!!!”
I am sure some people, Americans, are watching this video thinking “Oh golly gosh – where do I get one of those strollers from.” Maybe skipping the whole …

Ok, so I’m like in love with Juan Cabral. I’ve enjoyed everything from the Cadbury Gorilla to the Sony Bravia stuff. He was out for a little while but now he’s back at Fallon with a new campaign for Sony speakers. I’m slightly weirded out by it. How do you feel?
(Embedded Video)

- Julissa Ortiz

Hydro 74 makes me understand the difference between the person who can draw well , and an Illustrator. The designs/logo treatments/fonts he cranks out daily are some of the most technically mind-numbing, yet birthed from a genuine opinion, specimens of what a disciplined artist can achieve.
Everything this guy touches makes me question everything I know about design, typography, and skulls.
You will be a better person by knowing this guy’s work.
His site.
Just scroll down, hit next, and be glad your logo isn’t up against his.
On Twitter
Werd.
– Jason Hopkins

The two most successful song covers in history were both done by UB40. They did the most popular version of overly-done-to-death “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” and most people don’t even know that Neil Diamond originally sang “Red Red Wine.”
Why did those two covers do so well? Because they took a good idea and they made it original. In this case, they took two really boring, slow songs and made them into baby-making reggae songs. UB40 “revived” the songs. There have been other covers of these songs that sound an …

I’m the person that wears the “I listen to bands that don’t even exist yet” T-shirt rather than the “U2 2005 Vertigo Tour T-shirt.” I hadn’t even been to an arena to see a show, since that horrible mistake I made to see Aerosmith when I was 18, until last Saturday. Not being a huge U2 fan I went for the opener, the ability to say that I saw U2 when I’m 70, and mainly, “the show.” And a show it was!
Lets talk about how AWESOME this 360 degree screen …

I’m not a big fan of reality TV. But, somehow, as I sat mindlessly staring at the television last week, I found myself watching Top Chef on Bravo. If you’re not familiar with the show, they take 20 or so chefs and give them all sorts of different challenges that allow Bravo to pin down and rape the very concept of product placement.
Curious as to what kind of car shuttles the chefs to Whole Foods? Just wait for the camera to zoom in on the Toyota Venza logo and hold …