Is it really working?

Lately, I have noticed a one-time trend in advertising that has become a full-on requirement for new campaigns: the website tie-in. Before I go into the meat of this post, I will explain what I mean by that.

When I say "website tie-in" I am not talking about a simple website that is built around the product or service, has a cool flash game, and other supplemental materials. I am talking about sites like residueisevil.com and klondikemancave.com. These sites are more like end points of an advertising scavenger hunt for sweet "unrated" and "not seen on tv" content.

You have no doubt seen the commercials that simply flash a graphic that says residue is evil .com while an ominous sounding voice says the phrase. That is it. That is the commercial. Now, I may be in the minority here, but not only do I not know what that commercial is for (I assume it is deodorant), I do not care. In fact, I refuse to go to residueisevil.com because I do not appreciate the assumption being made by whoever made this commercial. They assume that if they are coy and nondescript that I will be so overcome with curiosity that I will leave the couch and go to the computer to find out what residueisevil.com is.

Oh, it must be something extremely cool! How could it not be? I mean, they don't even tell us what it is!

These kinds of campaigns began with Nike (as many innovations in advertising seem to do) many years ago with shoe commercials featuring a female sprinter ( I think it was Marion Jones). The spot is a first-person camera view of some hapless fool who is trying to race Jones, and as the chase ensues, he has to avoid various obstacles that range from annoying (barking dog) to downright deadly (flying chainsaws). The spot is cut short before it ends and the viewer is encouraged to check out a website that contains several endings for the spot.

That was a cool idea. Now it has become a contrived "must-have" for every new campaign. Sometimes this tactic fits and I am not damning those executions that are well thought out. I am, however, calling out all those other campaigns that do it, well, just to do it. A clever idea is only truly clever if it is continuous with the brand and the overall idea/ message being conveyed.

I liken this trend of slapping fancy extras onto campaigns to car customization. When you see a nice mustang that has been customized well, it looks as if the car could have come off the lot in its present state (even though it did not). On the other hand, sometimes you see a car that looks like it was customized by a blind man, it is a Frankenstein's monster, spoilers and ground effects acting as the neck bolts and orthopedic shoes.

residueisevil.com

I encourage anyone who agrees with me to do their part and not visit these websites. Just remember, every time you do, you are just proving that you are a manipulable as they think you are.

New Banner

Working on my 'shop skeelz on this one. I realized that I have been neglecting photoshop even though it is a super-dope program. Sorry photoshop; I'll never ignore you again...

Let me know what you think!

Cool Pixar Short

Partly Cloudy is a short by Pixar that accompanies the film Up (which is great by the way). It's pretty cool. You won't find it on youtube as Pixar would have it taken down almost immediately, but, have no fear— daily hat is here to help you see this awesome short! I found the embed on a Russian you-tube called RuTube. After fumbling around the site I found the embed code. Apparently in Russia, copyright laws are more lax or non-existent. Enjoy.

More school previews

In our Branding class, I have been working on branding my own non-profit that is geared towards teenagers. Instead of taking an existing idea, I decided that I would create my own non-profit (called homebase) and build it from the ground up. The project takes up the entire quarter and In 1 month, I will have to present to the class and eventually in my panel review.

Homebase is all about encouraging creative expression and growth. I wanted to come up with an image and style that I could carry throughout the entire presentation and all of my deliverables that would convey creative growth. Below is a sketch of what I have come up with, more to come later....

Brian Eno & David Byrne poster

One of the assignments in my illustration class is to make a poster. It could really be about anything, but I chose to do a concert poster for Brian Eno & David Byrne. If you don't know who these guys are click here. It isn't quite done (probably about 85%), but I thought that I would put a little preview.

I used a special technique for this poster, as we were only allowed 3 colors (with black counting as a color). My 3: orange, blue, and black. In order to get more colors, I decided to use a dot matrix overlay technique (I doubt I am the first to do this but I did come up with it independently). Basically I used squares composed of different densities of dots to get multiple values out of each color. When I overlay and print the different colors on top of each other,new colors (like the brown in the bear which is the blue and orange) are created. I tiled the squares over my image and got rid of the excess dots until I had achieved the desired shape. Pretty cool stuff.

This process also gives a modern shout-out to old letterpress printing styles and screen printing. I like old school.

Check out my bear:

OOOOOOOOH WEEEEEEE

I love Nike's new Hyperize commercial featuring 80's versions of Andre Igoudala, Mo Williams, Kevin Durant, and Rashard Lewis. Below is the extended version which is really just a full music video. I love these extended commercials. From a business standpoint it is smart as it forces people to search out the videos and watch them online (generating sweet sweet e-impressions).

One thing that I wish these corporations did was make this content downloadable and easily available through a branded web site. That way you could watch the video on a Nike youtube channel (I'm sure there is one), then click on a banner that would take you to Nike's website where you could buy the shoes while it is still fresh in your mind. It would generate and facilitate impulse buys, something that is usually reserved for gum and candy at the point of purchase. Seems pretty straightforward and simple, huh?

Bottom line is — this video is effing sweet. Kevin Durant has the funniest flow, Mo Williams the best outfit, and Rashard Lewis wins best hair running away. Sorry new A.I., you didn't win anything (best multiple-finger ring?). Enjoy.

*PROPS TO NIKE for launching the branded website!*

And on the other end of the spectrum is...

A few weeks ago I posted a music video that was made entirely from iSight cameras. I remarked how cool it was that something so extra neat-o could be done on a low budget and how you do not need copious amounts of money to solve a problem intelligently. Well, this Absolut vodka ad has a ridiculous budget, and it is also very extra neat-o and intelligent.

So, I guess what I am trying to say is, if you have a lot of money, you can spend it and that's cool. Just make sure you do it in a smart way... yeah. Or sometimes maybe you decide not to spend all of your budget and you buy yourself a new car on the slide. That is allowed, right? Boy, I hope that is allowed. Yeah, that'd be pretty awesome..... pret-ty awe-some....

Nice Video....... BIETCH

This video is pretty cool to me for a few reasons.

1. I like hip-hop.
2. Its simple, interesting visual presentation and use of typography.
3. It taught me new slang. I embrace any chance to use new slang. Like Runners and Rippers, Beezies and Marks (okay I knew Mark already).

This video also goes to show you that if you have a laptop and a little know-how, you can make a pretty professional video start to finish. The music could be done in Garageband and the video in After Effects. The typography adds replayability (apparently not a word according to spellcheck) to the video as it makes the view want to go back and read what was passing by too quickly for most to read. Simple color scheme that is content appropriate adds to the final effect. This is how small artists should do a video. Rafael Casal just gained on listener by virtue of this video alone.

Oh yeah, the song is pretty nice too. :)

Oh Oh yeah, I'm gonna be saying bietch a lot more now...

bietch.