Advice Corner (another potential weekly column)

Inspired by Mats’ post in the comments section earlier today, I’m thinking of blowing out another weekly bit where we use the collective knowledge of the entire group to try and help at least one person solve a problem that has been vexing them (that hopefully doesn’t require intervention by the HR department and/or the cops.)

Here is Mats’ question:

“I’m 2 years out of college and have been busting my ass for those 2 years trying to get into broadcast production at an ad agency in Chicago. I’ve got almost every internship in the book, but at the end of one at a pretty good agency, there seems to be no funds. I thought something was wrong with me, but I found the truth was that there really wasn’t any money to take me on. I would like to stay in Chicago and one day be a an assistant/associate producer here, but I’m about to throw in the towel and maybe go back to school. You guys got any advice?”

Now, we all (include myself) could probably come up with a 100 different ways of being a douchebag and answering with a sarcastic tone — but hell, let’s be different this time and actually try and help out those in need of some answers/advice.

I’m thinking that all the buzz than the Orzio/Energy BBDO post created — there would have to be more than a few Chicago-based people to help out and express a helpful opinion to offer some solid steps to take.

Just call it my “George Bailey-inspired” moment for the kids.

(ed note: I’m also up for a copywriter helping me to come up with a more inspired name for this bit — “Advice Corner” is lame, but I’m not feeling snappy today.)

Fun! We Found It!

So, that last piece was a bit heavy. Here’s something fun to watch while we sit through yet another lunch meeting. Tell you what - if we were a marketing director, we’d rejigger this kind of fun for our brand’s use. There’s not enough of this stuff going around outside art circles. The use of public spaces + YouTube + dancing (how many dance movies is Hollywood going to pump out?) + community + locality + surprise/fun (enter trend here - think gaming, mobile) and you’ve got yourself winner.

“Cause this is thriller… Thriller night!” Gawd. Love it.

Contagious Is As Contagious Does

Giacomo Bracci from the ever excellent Contagious Magazine sent us a link to their Most Contagious report for 2007. Get the best bits of 2007 in a lovely PDF format from gaming to design, immersive environments to social media, green trends, online buzz and really so much more. Read it on the plane (like we did) or get your assistant to digest it and then download you over morning coffee. Just don’t miss it.

Change The World Or Go Home

 

Piers Fawkes, one of the masterminds behind PSFK, has decided to ask himself and all of us, “So hands up here who thinks it’s their job to change the world?” Fawkes speech at the Future Trends conference was about how PSFK and its staff is trying to make the world just a little bit better. You can view the whole presentation here.

Fawkes is continuing in the vein by interviewing folks who are well, actually changing the game. We found his talk with Uwe Lübbermann, founder of Premium Cola in Germany, to be very inspiring. We suggest you read the entire transcript and keep an eye out on future interviews. To whet your appetite:

“We don´t produce, we transport seldom nowadays, we hardly do anything ourselves than to steer the whole thing. But steering is essential. At Premium, every participant, which means every customer also, is able to view any info and co-decide on any issue, including my stock. For example, our bank account is viewable online to be checked daily by any customer…. It´s like the converted idea of normal companies: the so-called boss has to justify every action, not the other way round, and every participant like dealers, truckers and customers can co-decide. This way, companies can gather opinions and act responsibly, at least we think so and take one more step each week at least.”

Inspiration Via Baghdad

We’re going to take a time out from our usual routine of agency gossip and campaign dissection to talk about an astounding project by Alyssa Wright, from the Computing Culture group at MIT. It’s one of these projects that could so easily be co-opted for an experiential campaign. Beyond that, it’s just a smart, touching piece of art worth highlighting - totally inspirational.

Alyssa’s installation is called Cherry Blossoms. Inspired by artist Paula Levine, Cherry Blossoms uses a backpack with a microcontroller and a GPS unit to simulate the bombs currently falling on Baghdad. Nightly, data on the bombings in the city are downloaded to the unit and matched to their relative location on a map of Boston. If you are wearing the backpack in Boston and walk into a “hot zone” the backpack detonates, releasing a compressed air cloud of confetti that looks like smoke and shrapnel. The name of a civilian who has died in Baghdad is written on each piece of confetti.

Spectacular. And that folks is creativity with a purpose.

Like we said, there is a way to re-imagine this to great result.

Source

Beyond Iconic And Into The Dictionary

 

There are a few brands that have made it beyond the zeitgeist, beyond being a lovemark and into the dictionary. There’s an advertising 102 class in almost every college that focuses on these “made” brands. We thought we’d spend a second to list them all. It’s always good to remember the brands that made into the lexicon. It’s an achievement worth trotting out every once in awhile. See the full list with more details and pics at the blog SocyBerty - user powered website that focuses on cultural content.

1. Hoover - hoo·ver [hoo-ver] –verb: to clean with a vacuum cleaner (Chiefly British)

2. Xerox - xe·rox [zeer-oks] -noun or verb: a name for a copying machine or the act of reproducing printed, written, or pictorial matter by xerography.

3. Thermos - ther·mos [thur-muhs] –noun: a vacuum bottle or similar container lined with an insulating material, such as polystyrene, to keep liquid hot or cold

4. Prozac - pro·zac [proh-zak] -noun: a brand of fluoxetine hydrochloride

5. Spandex - span·dex [span-deks] –noun: a synthetic fiber composed of a long-chain polymer, used chiefly in the manufacture of garments to add elasticity

6. Jello - jell-O [jel-oh] -noun: brand of dessert made from a mixture of gelatin, sugar, and fruit flavoring, dissolved in hot water and chilled until firm

7. Tampax - tampax [tam-pax] -noun: tampon used to absorb menstrual flow

8. Band-aid - band-Aid [band-eyd] -noun: adhesive bandage with a gauze pad in the center, used to cover minor abrasions and cuts

9. Viagra - vi·ag·ra [vahy-ag-ruh] -noun: sildenafil citrate, used to treat impotence

What Artists Are Doing Should Matter To All Of Us

At Cannes, Jeff Goodby, (co-chairman, Goodby Silverstein & Partners) was talking about the lack of creativity in the industry echoing Marc Brownstein’s comments in Adage. Whiners. Anyway, we’ve greater a tag for inspiration as a way to help solve this crisis.

In a video from PSFK Conference London 07, the amazing Reginé Debatty of We Make Money Not Art describes how today’s artists explore electronics, digital bits and even the so-called “emerging technologies” such as biotechnology or nanotechnology; and explains why it should matter to us ad agency folk - very stimulating and all very true. Check it out here.

The Death Of Television

The global findings from the most recent IBM consumer survey show that personal Internet time now rivals TV time. There’s a lot more data coming out of this report. See it all here, below find out favorite stats.

White Kids Are Happier

Hmmm… white kids are happier. You’re not surprised are you? According to an extensive survey of 1,280 people ages 13-24 by The Associated Press and MTV, 72 percent of whites say they are happy with life in general, compared with 51 percent of Hispanics and 56 percent of blacks. Participants sited racism as being a huge factor in their happiness:

Stuck For An Idea? Quick Fix

At Cannes, Jeff Goodby, (co-chairman, Goodby Silverstein & Partners) was talking about the lack of creativity in the industry echoing Marc Brownstein’s comments in Adage. Whiners. Anyway, we’re going to try and help solve this crisis. Hey! Don’t steal these people’s work ’cause we’ll dime you out faster than a mafia member facing felony charges. You know your budget is big enough to just pay the creators and get the job done right.

The idea generator from the gang over at The Director’s Bureau have created an idea generator for all you stuck creatives. It’s simple - select three words from three categories and presto! Idea! We’ve been playing with it for about a half hour and swear we’ve landed on genius at least twice.