Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Not Quite Naked

The TSA's search methods have been causing a lot of controversy lately. The X-Ray scanners make you practically naked in front of them.

There isn't much we can do to get around that, but you can make your statement at 4th Amendment wear.

Slip into the shirts or underwear, which have the 4th amendment on them in metallic ink. Upon looking at your x-ray, the TSA will see your body, your lack of dangerous weapons, and some cleverly-placed words regarding our rights to unreasonable search and seizure.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

One Smart Cookie


Cookie Monster takes a page out of Betty White's playbook, rallying Facebook fans to help him land a hosting gig on Saturday Night Live:

He's even posted a SNL audition reel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-PkQRh3QXA

As of this moment, the man in blue already has attracted more than 65.000 Facebook fans, and he's a lock to appear on every major newscast. You gotta love a puppet playing the media like a puppet.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

iGigging On NY Subways

iPhone marketing or band promotion? You be the judge, but either way, it's cool and it works.



(Courtesy of our friend, Mark B.)

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Light It Up









Old dogs... learn new tricks, justify the source.

Understand the science behind the eye and the specular highlight.

http://www.poweroflighting.com/

(Courtesy of our friend, Danny T.)

Sunday, October 24, 2010

TV: Man's Best Friend

Don't think TV advertising is effective? Check out Harvey...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSnUlcHvdqA

Good. Fast. Cheap.

Here's a car spot that didn't cost a zillion dollars to produce and it doesn't have any complicated effects. It's a user-generated ad for Toyota and it's something we could all easily do.

http://current.com/groups/on-current-tv/88882603_toyota-relationship.htm

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Amazing Commercial, with no CGI

Chances are, many of you have seen this commercial.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ve4M4UsJQo

But if you're like me and you haven't, it's for the Honda Accord, and it's called "Cog". Oh, and apparently the most expensive commercial ever made. 6 million pounds (UK), 606 takes. Why that many takes? Because there was NO CGI. This was all agonizingly done by hand. It took FIVE MONTHS of setup before they were ready to shoot. I believe the only post work they did was lightening the car as it rolled off the platform.

Here's a website with some background:

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/2110.asp

Prepare to be wowed.

Simpsons intro, Banksified

http://creativity-online.com/work/the-simpsons-banksy-intro/21549

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/11/the-simpsons-explains-its-button-pushing-banksy-opening/

Saturday, October 9, 2010

New Coke, Gap Style?

After 20 years, Gap changed their logo and the feedback was not what they expected. After being blasted on the web for days, they decided to drop it.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Music Video: Shot without cameras

This is a really cool video for a Radiohead song called "House of Cards". What makes it so unique is that there weren't any cameras- just laser "scanners" that measure depth and terrain like radar.

http://vimeo.com/2037463

If you're interested, here's the "making of" video.

http://vimeo.com/1552605

The video is immensely popular. Just goes to show you what can happen if you think in a completely different way- who would have thought you could create video without a camera?

Owen

Friday, September 24, 2010

Thursday, September 16, 2010

The Onion Hits The Nail On The Head

We've all met this bowling alley owner.

http://www.theonion.com/articles/bowlingalley-owner-wants-tv-ad-to-look-more-matrix,530/

Purity is Good

This is a pretty funny message from Smart Water- just thought it was worth a share. I laugh every day at this billboard- on my way in to work.

http://www.jotpix.com/video.aspx?y=17SFCKezd5w

What's Next For The iPad?

This isn't breaking news, but it looks like down the road, the iPad may have a built-in, touchable keyboard.

The idea is that keys would be embedded in the screen, and then rise and retract to give you an actual touchable surface.

http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/will-apple-islate-tablet-have-a-tactile-keyboard--660209

Gobbledygook

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aliquam sagittis aliquet libero eu aliquet. Nam ac elit eu nulla tempor vestibulum. Praesent semper, sapien nec tincidunt porta, lorem quam egestas felis, non tempor metus magna a mauris. Mauris at est eget felis accumsan malesuada in non neque. Quisque accumsan vehicula luctus. Morbi dictum dui ut nisl facilisis iaculis. Aliquam erat volutpat. Duis venenatis tempus libero, non luctus nulla posuere at. Maecenas nunc velit, ornare non consequat non, cursus nec nibh. Sed fringilla condimentum nibh et malesuada. In hac habitasse platea dictumst.

If you don't know what this is, CLICK HERE.

Success By Design

If you're into Art Direction and Design, Communication Arts is a must-have magazine subscription. At the very least, keep an eye on their web site -- lots of good ideas.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

The Writing On The Wall














I'm not a big fan of graffiti, but Banksy takes the art form to a whole other level. http://www.banksy.co.uk/

He's amazingly talented, thought-provoking, gutsy, and probably most importantly, elusive.

Where Do You Find Creative Inspiration?

How many hours of TV do you have to watch in order to see all the latest ads? Subscribe to the CREATIVITY email and know what everyone's talking about.

Ad Critic's CREATIVITY

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Amazing Commercial

While this has been around for a long time, it's still one of the coolest commercials ever.

It's a spot for a Sony Bravia LCD tv. These people launched thousands of little bouncy balls down a San Francisco street. It's just a really well-made piece.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zOrV-5vh1A&feature=related

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Plum Flower

by Serena Moy

Click below to check out my short film. It took place in China, but all shot in Illinois. No telling what you can do with some magic dust. Enjoy!

http://imaginingourselves.imow.org/pb/Story.aspx?G=1&C=0&id=1059&lang=1

Monday, September 6, 2010

The Final Word

Is "website" one word or two? Can you hyphenate a long web address? Answers to these questions and many more can be found in the 16th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style. It's one of the most respected writer guides and it's all-new for 2010.  http://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Manual-Style-16th/dp/0226104206

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Serious Monkey Business

Quite simply, the world's greatest local car commericals. http://www.trunkmonkeyad.com/

Need Some Space?

Next time you could use some really cool photos and videos from outer space, you've got two choices: build your own space capsule or visit www.nasa.gov/multimedia

As a U.S. taxpayer, you're actually allowed to use the footage -- even for commercial purposes, as long as you give the proper credit.

Points On The Board

Here's a super-smart ad for Tivo. Doesn't get much simpler, or better.

Photoshop Tennis Anyone?

A great idea started years ago by Chicago agency, Coudal Partners: http://www.layertennis.com/. Two talented Photoshop artists take turns one-upping each other, and the results (and process) are usually pretty fantastic.