Louie Anderson would be terrible at this...

Pure genius. /Swoon.

This is one of the best ads I've EVER seen.

First off, I want to give mad props/kudos/praise to Robert Carlyle, of Trainspotting and Full Monty Fame, for his amazing, brilliant, magnificent performance, the director Jamie Rafn and the steadicam op George Richmond for the making this nearly impossible shot look like it was a piece of rhubarb pie, and Justin Moore for writing one of the best pieces of copy that will ever pass through my ears.

'The Man Who Walked Around the World', developed by Bartle, Bogle, Hegarty (BBH), received second place at this year's Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. At least I think it did. Some weird ad that wasn't in the program snuck its way in after this showed. After it finished and the credits rolled (yes, this spot did have its own set of credits afterwards) I was still basking in the brilliance of what I just watched when I heard:

"Ugh, finally."

Wait, what?

Some other comments I heard were, "That was so long", "What was that?", "I was bored the entire time."

To each of these people, I say this: That's what she said.

Just because sexy ladies aren't polishing soccer balls with their tongues firmly pressing against the inside of their cheek, doesn't mean it's not a good ad. A laugh should not be the only pay off that an ad should offer.

These are my reasons for why this was one of the best things I've even seen:

1) A thirty-second single shot is hard to do. A six-minute shot with no cuts or edits whatsoever is hell on earth. They pulled it off flawlessly.

2) It's not just a man walking. It's a man walking and talking. This is hard. What's harder is when you add things he has to interact with on the way without stopping. The sheer amount and precision they had to plan out for the blocking, and that Robert Carlyle had to execute, is almost unbelievable. One step too fast or one sentence said to slow can ruin an entire shot. In this case, 40th time's a charm.

3) Keeping hold of a viewer's attention for more than 10 seconds is also hard. Now I can't say that this ad kept everyone's attention, which is obvious because of the comments I heard, but if you did start listening right from the beginning, then I know you couldn't stop. It was engaging, it was interesting, it had a strong flow to it. You wanted to hear what happened to little John, the local farm boy.

4) Robert Carlyle, again, was amazing. He had a massive presence on screen, as massive as the location that it was shot in. As soon as he walks close enough to the camera for us to recognize who he is, he gives us a bit o' sass and attitude, telling the bagpiper to "shut it". Awesome. I hate bagpipe too. He then tells us a story. I emphasize 'us' because you feel as though he's talking to you. By the end of it, you notice that six minutes have passed, and as you look at him waking off into the distance, you want him to come back and tell you more.

5) It's just something you don't see anymore. Everyone is trying to be louder, brighter, and wackier than each other. It's nice to see something so simple and elegant. Beautiful.


But what do I know? Tell me what thoughts you had about it.



PS. Here's an interview with director Jamie Rafn. An interesting read if you enjoyed this!

Dirty Balls aren't funny...

Hmmm. Didn't I see something like this before...



Yeah, I thought so.

Cheap laughs and even cheaper jokes. Though this ad may not be the most clever, or had the most thought put into it, it still managed to get an award at this year's Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. I can see why though, it's a simple idea that would be understood by the mass public. Everyone understands dirty humour and, like it or not, will giggle at it. During the viewing, a majority of the audience laughed. Solid, audible, undeniable proof that this ad works. Good job, AXE.

I wonder though, if this ad had run years and years ago, when the Alec Baldwin skit was still at its popularity, would the AXE spot be praised or dismissed for its unoriginality?

I had the pleasure of watching it at the Winnipeg Art Gallery this evening and it will be running from Dec. 1st to 10th. Check it out, there were some great spots this year! I will be blogging about one of my favorite picks from this year's batch later on this week.

See ya 'round.

BABIES EVERYWHERE!

Watch this:



I know. Amazing.

Now, I've tried to do some research on this commercial, whether it actually aired or not (I don't recall ever seeing it), and didn't find much. Here's the run down of what I did find:

1) Made by an independent film studio, Turnpike Films, in 2003.
2) Directed by Justin Reardon, whom apparently worked at DDB and also worked on the "Whassup" campaign.
3) Was not produced for Kellogg's, but merely produced to put in their demo reel.
4) Four other, equally as funny and well-produced, spots were produced for their demo reel. Again, not for the actual companies themselves.
5) The spots got really popular on the net, but then Turnpike Films just disappeared.

Why they disappeared? I do not know. The humour used in this, I feel, would bust guts today. It has the off-the-wall humour that a lot of spots try to unsuccessfully incorporate right now. After watching it, I got the message that if I eat Nutri-Grain bars, I will feel great. Really great. The spot stuck with me because I remembered what product it was for, and I remembered the benefit it offered me. The whole package. I wasn't left telling my friends about a commercial and trying to remember whether it was for a energy drink or cereal.

I know I always say this, but a lot of ads today aren't doing their job. Their messages get lost in the creative and no one on either side really gets anything in the end.

Take this for example:



Sure, it's definitely off-the-wall, to-the-max, but what does it mean? I understand there's a new flavour, but how does that make my life better? The only thing that I'm getting from it is nightmares. Terrible, terrible nightmares. After an awkward laugh, which only comes out of confusion, the commercial passes.

Okay, maybe I'm being stuck up. I agree that if watch the commercials objectively, they're both funny. So that's all that matters in the end. I just think that one works better than the other.

What do you think?

PS. If you're interested in their other "fake" spots, check them out here:

Starbucks
Nintendo
Budweiser
Raisin Bran Crunch

My night with Strombo.

Social media works.

I was at school this past Saturday night when, in a moment of procrastination, I logged onto Facebook to see what was up and happening that night whilst I slaved away at an ad campaign. This caught my attention:

Hmmm. I decided to investigate this claim by going over to Twitter to see if anyone could confirm this.

It was then I saw this tweet from none other than George Stroumboulopoulos himself:

The rumours must have been true considering that place looked awfully like the King's Head Pub. I felt as though I needed to offer Strombo some sound advice about the pub:

Minutes later, I received one new tweet:

Huzzah, an @mention from Strombo himself. I felt blessed and burdened. Burdened by the question he posed me. Unsure of myself, I posted the question as my status on Facebook. Within seconds I received 14 responses. Here are some of my personal favorites:





Using my better judgement I decided to reply with this:

Playing it cool, I decided to leave it at that and return to my campaign. After getting nothing accomplished, I felt faint and parched. The cure? A beer at the King's Head. While I was there, I might as well peek around to see if George did in fact take my advice, right?

I strode over a street and entered the overflowing King's Head. Surely this wasn't because of George. Alas, it wasn't. Some band was playing. Anyways, I went up to the bar, purchased a beer, and poked my head around the corner. Strombo and friends. Wait, what? Those are my friends! As I stood, dumbfounded by this coincidence, Esther, Jamie and Liz waved me over to sit. Uh, yes.

"Hey man, are you Mike Choi?" is the first thing he said to me. I watch Strombo Tonight and listen to his radio show whenever I get the chance, so it didn't surprise me that he knew my name without me having told him. A telltale sign of a prepared and professional interviewer: knowing everything about the person you're about to talk to. Turns out they had just returned from an adventure in Churchill, and had one night to kill in Winnipeg before returning home to do the show Sunday.

We chatted about how Twitter was a great communication tool, and the effectiveness of social media in general. He then offered insights to professional relationships and how keeping a positive and cooperative attitude in any work place benefits you in the long run. He also told me that he had touched some polar bears.

I then had an opportunity to speak with Darby Wheeler, producer and video journalist extraordinaire. He was very warm and amiable as well, telling me about his career experiences and offering some great advice. I also learned that he recently broke his tailbone from an incident with his bike which led to him having to sit on a donut at a friend's wedding.

From Twitter mention to having a beer, this story proves that social media works.

Cheers boys!

George Stroumboulopoulos:

Twitter

Website

Darby Wheeler:

Twitter

YouTube

UPDATE: He read my blog

Mad Tunes

Do you watch Mad Men? If you answered "no", please stop reading.

Seriously, you're not going to get anything out of this.

Fine, but I warned you!

For those of you that do watch Mad Men, and maybe some that don't, you'd probably be able to recognize the iconic opening title sequence anywhere.

Here it is for those of you who don't watch it. Tsk.

According to a source (Wikipedia), it was inspired by Hitchcock.

His movie poster for Vertigo:

And the opening sequence for North by Northwest:

I think that one of the biggest reasons why the opening is so good is because of the music. The song is called "A Beautiful Mine" by RJD2, an American hip hop producer. It sets a mischievous tone, making us ask ourselves whether we are about to be hoodwinked a group of chain smoking, whiskey shlucking ad men.

You can listen to the full, unedited version of the song here if you'd like. If you play percussion, you'll definitely appreciate it!

A group of folks loved it so much, that they decided to cover the song themselves. When trying to think of lyrics for it, they realized that a famous melody could be sung over top of the music. So, they rounded up a bunch of talented musicians, a studio, and a full crew to do a full out production of this. It's really something else, so check it out.

Nat King Cole? Yes, please. Hot lady singer with pretty voice? Yup.

Watch Mad Men! Season 4 ended just a couple weeks ago, so now is a great time to catch up!

Dear Captain Long

Dear Captain Long,

You are quite a well-spoken individual. Thank you for approaching me in the manner that you did. If you were to have any other way, I would have probably just deleted your e-mail immediately.

Ba'qubah? I've never been. Do they have donairs there? They're quite similar to the Arabic shawarma or Greek gyro, but with a Canadian twist. If you do find a donair place there, please let me know how it is.

Wow! That sure is a big number. With that kind of money, you could probably eat donairs for the rest of your life! Unless you got married of course. Then you would have to consider your wife's tastes. She might not like donairs.

I am honoured and quite surprised that you want me to help you receive this sum, seeing as I have no experience in handling business relating to crude oil. I deducted that you must have been sitting in your canvas tent in Ba'qubah when the short Halloween radio drama two other peers and I produced, came on your radio, which was coincidentally tuned in to KICK-FM, my college's radio station. You were so impressed with the quality of radio drama, that you immediately stood up from your seat and announced, "I've finally found the man who will help us recieve this sum of money that we made off a crude oil deal!"

Alas, though I am extremely interested, I am a full-time student and am not able to assist you at this time. I'm sorry to hear you cannot "keep this funds", because you are there on "Official capacity". I wish you the best and hope that things go smoothly there.

Respectfully yours,
Mike Choi

PS. This is what I imagine you look like:



You will remain in my prayers and dreams.

"HAHA" was all that there was...

Tonight was the second and final night of CreCommedy. 21 of the greatest and funniest CreComm minds came together to perform five minutes of stand up to an audience of 100+ people at the King's Head Pub.

All I can say is: WOW. I can't believe how proud I am of everyone! It already takes a lot to stand up and speak in front of people, but to try and make a group of people, who are expecting you to be funny, laugh...well, that's a whole different story!

During the day, my heart was constantly beating as if I was walking up flights of stairs all day, and my right eye was twitching something fierce. I felt uneasy. Sick. And it was because of the anticipation of being unfunny.

In ad class, we had to make a quick presentation on why a specific ad was bad/ineffective. During my presentation, I was calm, collected and concentrated on trying to convince my peers of my opinion. But, as soon as I was finished and my mind got to thinking about stand up again, I started hyperventilating. What a terrible day! And I can confidently say that other comics that went up tonight were just as wrecked as I was.

Fast forward to 8PM.

Everyone got up there and killed it. Jokes were told, and laughs were had. All the insecurities and feelings of uneasiness were left at the bottom of our empty beer glasses. All six of them...

Anyways, I just wanted to give kudos to everyone who went up!

Alexa Lacroix
Michael Fleischman
Tiffany Lachuta
Chase Gouthro
Aggie Semeniuk
Jerrad St. Germain
Jennifer Hanson
James Hawboldt
Jessica Cable
Kevin Hirschfield
Jeremie Wookey

Jeremy Giacomin
Steve Dreger
Jeff Ward
Caitlin MacGregor
Adam Smitzniuk
Berea Henderson
Maeghan Heinrichs
Sean Angus
Jeremy Williams

Also, a big thanks to Dan Verville and Cara Lytwyn who headlined both nights, and everyone who came out and helped with set up, or just came to laugh.

Thanks!

Check out Kenton's YouTube Channel for videos from both nights!

Here are some personal favorites (though everyone was fantastic!). The three Jeremy's!

Jeremy Williams

Jeremy Giacomin

Jeremie Wookey

(PS. Here's mine if you're interested...CLICK)

Me Good Words. What?

Sometimes I have to write things. Even now, I am writing things. I mean, can't you tell? You're reading my blog things right now, you dummy!

Sometimes I'm bad with words. Sometimes, I use the same words too much and my things seem really amateur. This is when I consult the online Thesaurus.

It makes you feel a little bit sad to find this funny, eh?

Please, let me restate what I meant to say before, but a little more eloquently.

Ahem.

Occasionally, I have to compose written materials. Even now, I am formulating information. I purport, can't you recognize this? You are deciphering my web log at this moment, you ignoramus!

I am intermittently ghastly with letter combinations. Recurrently, I employ like words most copiously, thus my properties appear to transform me into an abecedarian. This is when I beseech the sacred digital tome of alternative written fricative and vowel amalgamations.

(I almost died writing that)

Of course, I'd never ever write like that. Word barf to the X-treme! But I do use the online thesaurus every so often, as should you! If you are every luck enough to visit the website and see this, you have been blessed by the touch of advertising in new media.

80% off AND fun little illustrations? Yes, please.

Pretty fancy business eh? Like I've said time and time again, ads are sneaking into every nook and cranny. Don't even try to wash between your armpits, it's useless!

So this is obviously an ad. Blatant promotion for CS5 that takes up an entire page. But, is it distracting? Does it block and obscure what you came to the website for? Nope. It's just kind of in the background doing its own little thing. Admire it if you want, or don't.

Compared to YouTube ads that get "all up in your grill" and won't let you watch your baby drummer video unless you invest 15 or 30 seconds of time to ignore an ad first, this is fantastic. It's taking advantage of the new ad spaces that people are selling without annoying the people you're trying to get to like you.

There's also a strategic element to this too. Students and teachers alike use a thesaurus to sound smarter. And what's this selling? Student and teacher editions of CS5! Smart. Very smart.

Anyways, I'm going to stop writing things (D'oh) because I know all you're thinking about is that baby drummer video I talked about. Here it is:

Enjoy...you ignoramus!

Story Time!

I want to tell you all about something that happened to me in the recent past.

Once upon a time the folks at KFC created a monster. They called it the Double Down. It roamed around the United States, crushing hearts and clogging arteries. One day, it found its way to Canada.

When six friends heard about this, they knew it was up to them to conquer the sandwich. Even if it meant their faces would break out in greasy chicken-bacon-cheese pimples.

The DD Family.

We squeeze six into a car for five. But will we be able to fit after the DD?

We've reach our destination. Nerves set in. Stomachs prematurely ache.

A portrait of the beast. It's bigger than we are.

Brave Neil makes the first move. Will it be his last?

We fill up on sugary drinks to wash down the salty sadness that is the DD.

INTERMISSION.

The Beast!

We say our last prayers and give a final cheers. The battle begins.

Ah! A casualty on first bite!

Hesitant on the offensive.

Attack, attack, attack!

Slowly but surely, the battle goes in our favour.

We attack from both sides!

Victory! The aftermath of the battlefield.

Proud or ashamed?

Ashamed. And sick.

But closer as a family.

But did we really win?

After returning to school, the cold sweats started to kick in and the grease started to seep from every pore on my body. My mind was hazy, my heart weakened, my self-respect gone. As soon as I got home, I involuntarily passed out. I awoke two hours later feeling defeated, embarrassed, violated and spiritually corrupt. We may have won the battle, but we lost the war.

I don't know if it was self- fulfilling prophecy or what, but I genuinely felt gross after eating the Double Down, but during, it was kind of tasty. A little (a lot) salty, but tasty. I recommend you have your own little adventure and tell me about it after!

Before October 18th, the DD was a myth to Canadians. We joked and we laughed. But, KFC saw this as an opportunity to make some FAT cash. They brought the myth into existence. When something people thought was fictional becomes available to purchase, people buy it.

So, KFC hyped it, people talked about it and anticipated it. It came and people had to get it. Eight bucks? No problem. Money is not a factor in this decision. KFC also only made it available for a limited time so that if money was ever a factor, it wouldn't be anymore. Call to action: Take one down before it's gone.

All in all, I'm glad we did this. It was fun, scary and probably one of the most important moments in my life (Kidding. Half kidding). Even though we practically paid a KFC employee's salary that day (DD Meal = $10 x 7), and had to deal with the DD disaster afterwards, it was generally a valuable experience.

I wonder how long till the Triple Down will be down in my belly...

I need your help!

In Creative Communications, we have something called the Independent Professional Project (IPP). This is our equivalent of a thesis for our program. In the past, students have written novellas, put together a college dance team, or even raised thousands of dollars for great causes.

My IPP will be a website that highlights the most interesting people in Winnipeg through a series of mini-documentaries. I believe Winnipeg is one of the most culturally diverse places in Canada and within this community there are so many talented individuals who are doing great things. We need to show the rest of Canada, and the world, what we offer in humanitarianism, innovation and art.

Right now, I'm currently on the hunt for subjects to film. I've already got some in mind, but if you know of anyone please let me know. I'm looking for business owners, people with odd hobbies, old people with a special story, young people with a special story, someone who goes out of their way to help people, artists, musicians, inventors, entrepreneurs, lion tamers. Basically if you think Winnipeggers should be proud of them, tell me.

Any suggestions would be appreciated and you can send me an e-mail at heymikechoi@gmail.com. Just tell me their name and what they do, and I'll look into it!

Thanks and stay tuned!

I told you so

I saw Jackass 3D tonight. I laughed, I cried, I peed a little and THEY pooped a lot.

Considering I went to the 10:30 pm show on a Sunday night, the turn out was crazy. I'm pretty sure every seat in the theatre was taken up. I went with about 10 of my good friends, all hoping for the best and boy we were not disappointed.

The ideal audience for movies like these are the ones who will laugh without restraint among his or her fellow man or woman. Luckily it was a great bunch and everyone was able to have a hearty laugh together.

Now yes, it is humour in its most primitive form, and if you ride your horse too high, you won't be able to enjoy it. But, if you like to step down once and a while and get your boots muddy, then please go watch it.

Jackass 3D. Cheap laughs and quick thrills. I recommend it.

(Disclaimer: There's not THAT many male genitalia and poop scenes, but the ones they have are funny/glorious/gross. I think the positives outweigh the negative)

On the other side of the fence...

The Man. The Legend.

Did everyone check out the season finale of Mad Men tonight?

It's always a pleasure to watch Don Draper get into his work and women, and this set up many things for next season. I'll try to talk about this without giving away any spoilers since a lot of people I know have PVR'd it or plan to stream it within the next few days.

1) His personal life seems good, but the move he just made is definitely going to interfere with his work life. I foresee many complications with Peggy.

2) Henry Francis is kind of cool. I hated him and Betty, but after what he said in this episode, I now have a bit of respect for him.

3) Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce seems like it's going to pick up again!

4) There was no strong cliffhanger at the end of it, which doesn't give me the antsy unsatisfied feeling you should get as you wait for the next season.

5) I hate Betty.

What did you think of the finale?

Big Brother is watching YOU

You are safe from no one.

(Compliments of PostSecret)

You know how you've been trying to get people to stop tagging you in pictures? Especially the ones of you passed out in an oversized birdcage with the remnants of a bacon cheeseburger on your face which you don't remember eating, but must have or else how did it get there...? (Oh God, I'm a vegetarian! How did it get there?!)

More and more people are setting their Facebook accounts to 'private' so that only people they accept as friends can see their pictures from the weekend. On one of the first days of Creative Communications, they told us from the get-go to not post anything on the internet that we wouldn't want any future employers to see.

This makes "creeping" people on Facebook so much harder. ("Creeping" is a term used to describe going on Facebook and looking up a cute girl you met at a party and spending hours going through her pictures)

Now my Facebook profile is set on private, under a crafty internet moniker. (Try to find me now. Ha!)

But after reading that secret on Sunday, it illuminated the fact that others in your life may be using Facebook to creep YOU! The dentist asks you why you have a chipped tooth. You say because of hockey. He looks at you strangely because he doesn't believe you, because you look like you haven't played a single sport in your life. He goes home after work and searches you on Facebook. He finds your profile and goes through your pictures. He finds out that you actually lost your tooth by trying to make a save in hockey by catching it in between your teeth. He goes to the store to buy an apology card because he assumed falsely. You do, in fact, play hockey.

But the biggest point here is, should pictures of you having fun on the weekend, on your own time, really be a judge of character? Of course, if you're doing something completely inappropriate or unlawful, then yes. But should one's overindulgence from time to time be a determining factor of their worth ethic and capabilities? How important is professionalism in your private life?

Jackbutt

Oh, how the 14-year-old in me squirms with nervous anticipation.

I only ask of you to not judge me.

Jackass 3D opens in theatres Oct. 15. Now why would anyone be excited about this? Well because we all used to be immature mid-pubescent boys (I still can't grow facial hair) who thrived off others adrenaline. The big debate over this series was whether it was truly, truly funny or not. Half of you will not admit it, and the other quarter of you will evade answering the question altogether, but I'm sure everyone has laughed at one thing that derived from the show. It's mindless destructive entertainment, but hey, sometimes a little brain dead leisure is good for the soul.

This time around, it's in 3D. This time around, it's in your FACE. Things will pop, punch and POW. It will be a spectacle from our pasts in the form our of future manifested in this present. This is ridiculous and I need to stop...

(segue)

Hey! Look at this!

I wouldn't be surprised if one of the boys actually did that

This outdoor concept is not new or riveting in any way, but it works so well with what the movie is about and definitely amplifies whatever thoughts we had about the movie. I mean, if the ads are this "extreme" I can only image the actual film's "extremeness" will have a direct relation to it. We can only wait and see.

Speaking of not-so-classy comedy...

One of my classes in Creative Communications is comedy writing. Yes, I write jokes for one of my classes. On Oct. 18th and 25th (both Mondays) we will be showcasing aforementioned jokes at the King's Head Pub. Tickets are just a measly five bucks and you'll be supporting our advertising major trip at the same time! We have a lot, and I mean a LOT of funny comics who will be going up, so I advise you to come check 'em out while they're small because they're all going to make it big! Here's the Facebook page for the event. Come one, come all!

I will go up on the 25th. Please support me. I need as many laughs as I can get...

My Friends Wear Diapers

Not really, but now that I think about it, if they did, they probably wouldn't tell me anyways.

YouTube is "rolling in the coin" these days by selling ad space everywhere and anywhere on their site and in their videos. Do you remember the time where we could watch funny cat videos free of charge without pop ups or whatnots? Ah, the good ol' days. No matter, I'm sure we've all already learned how to ignore these ads completely.

I can't even do that yet!

I have a friend who lives in New Zealand and we'll chat over Skype or send the occasion letter over the Pacific. We're both musicians, though we like quite different kinds of music, and we enjoying sending each other videos or tracks of each other playing whenever we can find the time to.

She sent me a link to a video she posted on YouTube of her covering a song by a band that I don't care too much for (no offense, Emma! it's still quite good!). As I was watching it, a nice little ad popped up from the bottom of a screen.

YouTube InVideo ads, if they were groundhogs.

Annoyed, I slammed by finger on the touch pad and slid it across the ice smooth surface to close the ad. All of a sudden, I burst out laughing. Before I clicked the ad into oblivion, I had just noticed what it said:

Click for a bigger image (heh.)

Her face in this screenshot captures what her actual face would have looked like if she knew.

InVideo ads can be bought on YouTube videos, the price depending how long your animation is (if you have one at all), how frequently you want it to run and how big it is. When you buy this space, you are also allowed to track who has seen it, how many times it's been clicked etc.

The way that they circulte the ads is simply by audience targeting. By demographic, content and interest-bsed targeting, they can send out ads that will reach the audience the product fits. Good for the companies, but not so great for unsuspecting victims like my friend here.

Other than InVideo ads, you can also buy Companion Display ads (the ones that appear beside the video), Flash Video ads (the ones you actually have to let play before the video even starts), or the Masthead ads that take up half of the entire YouTube homepage.

As new technologies come out, ad folk will learn to infiltrate them like the silent assassins they are. There's no escaping from us. That's something you can Depend on.

Tastes like...

I was over at a friend's place over the weekend and the inevitable debate between Sprite and 7UP occurred. One friend said they liked one over the other because one was less fizzy, or one was too sugary and that's why they preferred it.

It looks like they're kissing.

They asked my what my take on the issue was and I had an answer right away. But, before I opened my mouth, I had to think about my answer to check if it made sense or not. With blank eyes pointed in my direction, I took a deep breath and filled the silence.

Me: "Ummm, I don't know Sprite..."

Him: "Well, why?"

Her: "No! 7UP is way better! It tastes much more citrusy than Sprite"

Me: "Yeah, I guess it does. But I don't know, I can't even describe what Sprite tastes like. I know it's supposed to be citrusy like 7UP but to me, it kinda tastes like, well, sporty."

Them: What?

I know, 'sporty' isn't really an adjective used to describe taste, but it was the first one that came to mind. Why is that?

Branding. The fact that I associate it with an activity rather than taste really shows how it has been placed in my mind and been given a specific spot on my mental shelf. Coca-Cola Company - 1, Me - 0. When I think about the advertising each drink has done, the stand out campaign for me is the LeBron James Sprite ads such as this one here:

This string of ads were playing 2 or 3 years ago, but I still remember them because they were played frequently and there were always new ones every so often. But, when I try to think of some 7UP ads, none seem to come to mind.

Marketing, positioning, the 4 P's and branding are all important to a product or company. It helps set you aside from the rest of the competition and can make you seem different when, in actuality, you are the same product with relatively no differences other than the colour of your label.

Maybe it just happened to be that whenever a 7UP spot was on, I was away from the TV. Or, maybe they just didn't interest me enough to make me pay attention. But as it stands right now, 7UP is just the plain old cousin, from down state, of the cool athletic Sprite soft drink who plays basketball, has two girlfriends and probably smokes Marlboros, because smoking those make you cool. Right?

D'Oh! They did it to me again.

One week, one man

and one iPad.

Today marks my one week anniversary with my iPad. Here are the good, the bad, and the ridiculously good looking:

1) It's more useful than I originally thought. It's precise, convenient and flashy, so you look cool.

2) Other than the endless myriad of games you can play during a speech, a date, or driving, there are apps for almost anything, for whatever your interests are. My colleague Jeremy Giacomin recently downloaded a Harry Potter app. He and I no longer work together.

3) I still don't know if I would buy one with my own money, but it's definitely worth grabbing for a discount, or in my case, for free.

4) It's still not as versatile as my MacBook, so MacBook wins.

5) I hate pigs.

I spent too much time of that week with this.

iPad or iFad?

Hello all!

I am currently speaking to you from the future. Actually? Well, no. But I am writing this blog entry from my newly acquired iPad that all advertising majors in Creative Communications at Red River College got today! I was fortunate enough to be the first one in my group of two to get it for the first week. We have 16 ad majors, but alas only eight iPads. So, we were assigned in groups of two and are going to be switching back and forth from week to week. Our faithful leader, Kenton Larsen, pleaded to the Program Innovation Fund last summer and his prayers were answered.

So, I bet you're wondering how I'm liking the iPad so far!

Well, first off, before getting it this morning, I would have never thought to buy one. I saw it as impractical, hard to use, and just a flashy new toy for tech geeks and rich folk to buy. Have my opinions changed after my first day?

Yes and no.

I'm really quite enjoying myself and the time I've had to discover the ins and outs of it. It's very versatile and easy to use. The interface is the same as the iPod touch and probably the iPhone as well, though I've never used the latter. The biggest surprise to me so far is how well the keyboard works. Before trying it, I saw the touch screen keyboard as its biggest flaw, but after the first couple shaky and awkward minutes, I got used to it. Now I find myself typing just as fast a I can on a regular keyboard. In fact, maybe even faster! Wow!

I'm sure it gets easier with more practice but right now I find myself having to spend a lot of time looking for the punctuation marks as you need to go to a separate keyboard than the alphabetical one.

I haven't had much time to check out the apps as of yet, but I will investigate further and let you know. Embarrassingly enough though I did download the free Angry Birds app and play the entire demo in one sitting.

Oh, I just discovered something. It's actually not too hard to place your cursor in-between letters and highlight specific things. The touch screen has really good sensitivity and accuracy.

So I've blabbered on the positives, how about negatives? Well, I'm not going to list any right now. I'm sure if I did, they would just be things I could fix after playing with the iPad for a couple more days.

As for right now, the iPad has impressed me and changed my views about it. Check back later in the week and I'll tell you my impression after our first date. We're going to Olive Garden.

"Hey, I'm kind of broke. Try and fill up on breadsticks, okay?"

And the sorry saps are...

Remember how I said we would find out our client for the year? Well, I didn't lie.

Berns & Black Salon on Main street will be the ad majors' big client for this school year. They don't have a website (something to consider in our campaigns) but here's their Facebook group: SNIP SNIP SNIP

We will be getting to know them better as well as finding out what kind of style they prefer. Style? Get it? We learned today that they want to attract RRC students, and if you are willing to get a cut from one of their beauty students, you'll be able to get your hair cut for cheap (USP?).

As we learn more information, I'll update you on any advancements and cool aspects about them. Also, I've been thinking of getting a haircut. If knowing the ins and outs of your client is a major step in the advertising process, might as well get a haircut from them while I'm at it!

"Hey, try this one. All the cool cats get it."

Oh, hello.

Now that school is back in session, I guess it would be a good a time as ever to start this blog back up. Get my mind thinking about the things it should be thinking about and get my creative sauces running.

I am now officially an advertising major and will be working under the wings of Kenton Larsen, along with my fellow ad men/women.

I'm actually quite astounded by the amount of traffic this blog got during its first go, seeing about 200 views each week. But, when the posts started getting scarce, so did the amount of people that dropped by. Let's get those number back up, shall we? By the way, I have been getting a lot of random comments that are all in chinese. To whoever is doing that, stop. I'm Korean, okay? Or at least write in english please. I also wouldn't recommend clicking on any links that they post.

So, I'll be doing the usual analysis of things I've seen and think are cool in the ad world, as well as updating you on school projects. Tomorrow, we will be learning who our client is for the year. We, along with the PR students, will be separated into groups to create campaigns for a local business. After the big pitch, the client will pick one of the proposals and spit on the others. Exciting.

This is what I did this summer:



See you soon! Visit back often! Tell your friends!

The one about 'The Office'

I don't watch a lot of TV because I don't find watching the same episodes over and over again on every channel that much fun. The only shows that I really do follow are LOST, Californication, and now recently The Office:



If you watch this show, you will know who Pam, played by Jenna Fischer, is. Now, every time I watch the show on Peachtree TV, an American network, this commercial comes on EVERY break:


(Sorry, the quality of this video isn't that great)

Also, I never see this commercial on any other time. There's obviously some rationale as to why this is and what great rationale it is.

The simple fact is: "You can't NOT like Pam". She's the office sweetheart, Jim's wife, and not Michael Scott. Viewers trust her and side with her almost all the time. So, when she appears again right after she's just been on, those feelings towards her are still present. You still trust her and you still think she has the best intentions at heart.

The simple fact is: "You can't NOT like Pam". When she starts talking about Proactiv and all its benefits, you just think she wants to share this fantastic product with you. WOW, what a purely altruistic action! Thanks, Pam! And with this, you go and buy barrels of it. Hopefully by purchasing this, you can now have clear beautiful skin like Pam and be as good as a human that she is. At least I do...

Nice tactic Proactiv. Nice.

BooTube

What do you do on a beautiful summer day, when you have no work, no cares, no stress, and all the free time in the world? Go check out funny videos on YouTube of course! Why spend time in the great outdoors and enjoy your life, when you can enjoy the shenanigans of other people all around the world!

Good thing all we've been getting for the past week is rain, so I have an excuse to stay in and watch videos like THESE.

Some of you might have noticed that the interface and layout of YouTube has changed a bit. Oh well, things change, we'll get used to it (Personally, I don't like it). But the biggest change is the homepage. The warm welcoming homepage and offers you suggestions of what you might like to watch, has turned into this:



Do you see it? Instead of that basket of goodies that you expect to see when the page pops up, you are punched in the face with a big fat ad. GREAT, now I have to scroll down to see my video suggestions. That's a half-second of time that I have to waste to ignore the ad, but once I do that, it won't bug me anymore! Right? Right?

Now, maybe I wanted to check out one of my favorite actors on Letterman that I missed the night before. Let's say I type Meryl Streep in the search box, and the first result is the one I'm looking for. Perfect! All I need to do is wait for the video to load up and then I sit back and enjoy Ms. Streep's wisdom.

Wait. What?



I panic. Where did this come from? I try and stop the video by clicking the two parallel lines in the bottom left hand corner. NO LUCK! It's locked me out! The only option is that I close the browser so I don't have to watch the ad, but, MERYL, I endure the ad, and wait for the countdown at the bottom to reach zero.

At last, the video I've been looking for! I watch. It finishes. I am content. Wait. What? No, no, no! Not again. I haven't even clicked anything but it starts to play another ad. Madness! They are persistent, evil, and invincible.

I am defeated.

I came onto YouTube to watch Meryl Streep and I had to pay for it with seeing three ads. Two of which were forced upon me with relatively no choice but to watch or close the page.

Before YouTube was a haven of amusement. No strings attached enjoyment that was free to bask in. Now, we must pay with our time. As meek as their inconveniences may be, they have changed our relationship with YouTube.

We're pretty good at tuning out ads on radio and TV though, right? What's one more medium to learn to ignore.

Summer Plans

As you all may know, I am currently a student and I have just finished my first-year of Creative Communications at Red River College. As my school year winds down and summer starts up, I am busy looking for jobs and trying to make up for all the time I've lost with friends and family.

This blog was originally a school project that stretched the entire year. Now that I have all my marks accounted for, I could stop writing. Yes? No. Though I can't promise I will post once a week, I will try and update the blog as much as I can. Hopefully anyone (if anyone) reads this, they've enjoyed my ramblings about things ad related or off some tangent of that.

I plan to make music over the summer, which is actually me doing homework. For my final thesis-type project in CreComm next year, I will be making an EP, accompanied by a website and webisodes. I haven't had time to make much music during the school year and I am very VERY excited to dedicate some serious time to making it.

On the job front, I've already cast a couple resumes and applications out. Hopefully, I will be behind a camera, perhaps shooting football players or up north shooting some polar bears. One can only hope!

Anyways, that's my update. Check back every so often and hopefully there will be something for you to look at!

My mother made me realize...

that there are truly, truly different audiences for different ads.

I sat down while she was watching TV this afternoon and she was leisurely flipping through the channels. Of course, every channel she went past, commercials were playing. Out of the 15 or so images that flashed onscreen, none of them had an actual program playing. Typical.

Anyways, she flew past a quirky Stride gum ad, an AXE ad, an eHarmony ad, and a couple beer spots. Without a pause, she applied pressure to the 'channel up' button.

But, my friends, she did stop on some commercials. She stopped on this A&W commercial, to comment on how the carelessness of the employee aggravated her and that she wished for me to never become like that. She also stopped on this Delissio's Pizza ad to say how she would react if my sister brought home a guy like that (God forbid).

One that really got her attention was one about osteoporosis and calcium intake. Exciting stuff eh?

I can't, for the life of me, remember what the product was called. All I remember was that the product is a calcium supplement drink and it showed how much broccoli or milk you'd have to eat/drink to get as much calcium that there is in one of their fine products. Then there's a shot of all the women sitting in a room having fun and looking healthy.

I think the fact that I can't even remember what it was and how I didn't really care about it is a clear example of how ads are target driven. My mom was engulfed by the concept, since she can relate to it and all, I guess.

After it finished, she moved onto the next channel before settling into a rerun of Friends.

I think we all know what I'm getting at here. The moral of this story is that all women should start thinking early about osteoporosis and need to get the recommended amount of calcium for strong and healthy bones!

Click HERE for the Osteoporosis Canada site!

They'll Fight Back

The Canadian Cancer Society has broken free of the conventional stereotypes that most people associate with charitable organizations.

Two peers of mine, Lauren Feilberg and Lindsey Enns, will be doing a promotional video for this organization next year, and showed me this video:



Now I'll give you all a second to go blow your noses and wipe your eyes. As they fight back against cancer, these survivors and people affected by cancer leave us fighting back tears. The first time I actually saw the video, I didn't actually see it. Two people were watching it behind me with the volume on. I immediately knew this was effective because I didn't need to see the visuals to be affected.

When you usually think of organizations that support a cause, you usually think something along the lines of, "Oh, that's so good they're doing that," and, "Sure, I'll donate to them...maybe later though." You know that they need support but your only justification for it is that it's because they're a charity and charities need money. People who aren't personally affected by it never are able to put a face to the cause, and I think this is why they don't contribute. They don't have a "what's in it for me" aspect to it.

This one video gives you 8 faces to put the cause to. And you don't want to support these faces because you feel sorry for them, you want to support them because you want to stand behind them while they fight. We see these incredibly strong people and support them because we want to be like them.

The story behind this is that they put these people in a room, not knowing what was going on. They then told them to say what they would say if cancer was in the room. The result: pure raw emotion.

This is a great new campaign that makes us feel all the emotions that some of us might not go through in a mere two-and-a-half minutes.

So dry you eyes and help fight back! http://www.fightback.ca/

PS: Eyes will become wet again after visiting site and watching more videos.

I have a dream...

Here is a video that I filmed and edited for my TV Production class. Please take a look at it before reading any further!

I wanted to do one of two songs. I tried filming to a Patrick Watson song, with my eight-year old brother as the star but I soon learned that he must have ADD or just might just hate me because he did not want to cooperate. Instead I chose to use Bon Iver because it's a emotional song that picks up and has a large climax and the end.

I really didn't have a concept. I just called my two friends up and filmed them. It was kind of a disaster since I had no shots written out or any sort or direction I wanted to go. After I compiled all my footage, I started seeing things fall into place. The only shot I knew I wanted was the beginning with Rachael's face slowly coming in and out of focus and also ending with how the video started, but this time with a slow smile, signifying some sort of hope to whatever needed to have some.

Something I didn't notice until someone pointed it out to me was the fact that all of Nick's shots were with snow and Rachael's were without. It just so happened that we had a freak snowfall after the initial filming and I needed to get some more footage.

Anyways, after I cut the bulk of my footage, my concept was she was the "girl of his dreams". So, she never really existed, but after I screened it to a couple of my friends and peers, I usually got one of two interpretations.

1) They were ex's and he was recalling the good times they had together.

2) She is actually dead, and he's reminiscing of the happy times when she was alive.

I prefer #2 to #1. Only because it's less cliche and cheesy.

So, I'd like to ask: What did YOU think it was about after watching it?

PS. I KNOW I ACCIDENTALLY LEFT THE CORN POPS BOX TOO OPEN TO THE CAMERA. I AM SORRY.

Kings also freak me out...

Burger King just released this commercial:



Pretty funny, and plainly showing that they've created a cheaper alternative to McD's breakfast sandwich. In fact, they're saying it's the exact same thing.

I don't think McDonald's has to worry about losing their morning business because of this commercial. I mean, people aren't going to go out of their way to work in the morning just to save however much the difference is. Though, now that I think of it, all those fast food are usually cluttered together. Still, if you have a routine, you probably won't change it. That's my opinion though.

The breakfast wars between fast food restaurants has been raging for sometime now and this doesn't really change anything. I think this is kind of positive for McD's as well. Not only are they basically mentioned in the ad, but one could interpret it as "it's so good, BK had to steal the recipe". This would reinforce existing morning McD customers to go there even more and perhaps get others to go. Of course, BK wants them to do the switch.

I always find direct "attacks" on other companies kind of lame. Instead of solely positioning YOURSELF in the public's mind, you're reminding them of the competition as well.

Now, the King. The BK King is terrifying. He belongs in this scene of Eyes Wide Shut. The single non-changing facial expression is terrifying. Also, remember my last post? How I thought babies climbing fences was scary? Well, King's that can climb fences in a bound is doubley scary. The one good thing about this commercial is that it gives the King another layer. Kind of a bad boy, secret agent one that works.

I'd interested in seeing if there's any sales are affected by this ad though!

I am scared of babies

I really don't like Evian's new commercial.

I think it first aired during this year's Superbowl and I didn't like it then either. It's the perfect example when the real message you're trying to get across gets lost. It's definitely fun and their slogan is 'Live Young'. (Wasn't that Pepsi's before?)

Their opening line is 'How does drinking Evian make you feel?'. Personally, I don't want to feel like the Oogachaka baby. I'll even go as far as saying these babies are frightening, especially when they leap up onto the fence. They can skate and also climb things? It's like my worst nightmare.

I think when older people want to feel young, they want to feel like they're able to sky dive, surf, or run a marathon. Not revert back to an infant, a creepy one with that.

I would try to make people feel like they can do anything they want to in the world, regardless of age, and when you're panting and sweating after having done whatever you did, Evian would be there to quench the 'thirst of victory' if you will.

Anyways, here it is. Judge for yourself. What do you think?

MC

Re: Off of hiatus

Did I blog about that before? Hmmm...

I thought I'd leave you with an example of a pretty cool PSA. I know it's not an ad, but it still has an idea (some say cheesy) that tries to hit harder than the laugh.

I know, I know, PSAs aren't the same as ads and are supposed to impact feelings more to cause action, but in reality, isn't that what ads are supposed do too?



I believe it's for a UK road safety organization which you can find HERE.

Off of hiatus?

Looks like I'm back.

A month or so ago my laptop died and I've been out of commission ever since! I have spent every night at school busy doing work and trying to get some sleep too. I've been buried underneath PR proposals, magazine projects and writing narration for a fishing lesson website. Huh? Yeah I know. I'll let you know where you can hear one of my narrations!

Anyways, I now am a brand new owner of a brand new laptop.

So, I've declared my major for next year. I am now officially an advertising major as of August of this year, Creative Communications, Red River College. I look forward to venturing and immersing myself further into the world of advertising and I will let you know how I progress.

Now to the post. Something that has really been bugging me is what people think are "good ads" nowadays. When you think of a "good ad" you think of funny. That's what everyone thinks now. Superbowl ads are the best. Funny office ads are the best. Well, I guess I'm generalizing but the only ones people seem to remember are the ones that make them laugh.

Is this a positive thing? Yes. Only if the person can remember what the product is. Some ads try to be so offbeat and different that their message gets lost in between the flash and glam. People might say it fits because they're trying to make the brand "fun"'. I think this is too general. You can slap 'fun' on anything. Sweeping, driving, eating or even indigestion. But fun can't be the only point, it can't be the only 'big idea'.

I'm not saying everyone thinks the only ads that are good are funny, but most. It seems like the mentality in the industry now is to hit home with the shorter attention spanned public that can't focus on one thing for more than 15 seconds. I guess that's where we're headed though. We have access to so many things, we never have to wait to be amused because we're just one click away from something that might hold our interest a little more.

I read a couple Ogilvy books recently, all of which were written way back when all my school instructors had hair and inspiration in their eyes (hah). It seems to me, back then, everything was copy heavy. You were writing engaging and alluring copy to take the reader in. People were doing sales pitches in paper. I romanticized this way of creating ads and tried to do it myself. Every peer I showed always said "too copy heavy" or "that's a nice picture". No one actually bothered to read the copy. No one wanted to give time to let me sell to them.

This is when I became pseudo-depressed. Was I learning nothing? Was everything I read non-relatable to this day and age? Well no. You need to know the history of thing. Find out what worked, what didn't, and how we got to this point. But yes, you can't stay back in that time of suits, womanizing and the time where the Marlboro cowboy was king. For some of my magazine ads, I decided to go for short, sweet and funny. And guess what, people laughed, people said it was great.

I guess what I learned was that you have to write different for different people. Maybe I'll always be in love with the days of yore but I don't mind making people laugh either.

MC