"Give It a Ponder"

Great move by LG and Y&R, NYC, encouraging teens to think about the consequences of their texts BEFORE making a move they regret. This is one of two major advertising leaps that James Lipton has taken semi-recently. The other was with DC shoes from LA agency, 72 and Sunny.

My question: do teens teens watch Inside the Actor's Studio?

University of Oregon Executives in Residence

This past week it was our pleasure to host two brilliant minds from the global media sphere: Rishad Tobaccowala (CEO: Denuo) and Simon Mainwaring (Consultant, Mainwaring Creative).

My takeaways from their advice and conversation were huge. Material to fill many blog posts to come. Both are forward thinkers focusing on the future of advertising and branding. Simon believes that in the future, consumers will "become a moving billboard of meaningful communications," using their purchase power to promote social values. And Rishad emphasized a brand's need to focus on utility, rather than simply engagement, saying, "If you're so good, show me, don't tell me." (A regular ol' Mark Twain, "Don't say the old lady screamed. Bring her on and let her scream.")

During their last round of Q&A in the UO Portland Turnbull center, both executives mentioned their experience with Talk, a project that I am working on at Allen Hall Advertising. At the end of the interview we ask each participant to share something they love, have lost, and fear. It was incredibly refreshing to hear these eloquent, brilliant people struggling with, contemplating and replying to the questions just like our university students (staff and faculty).

Rishad lost his fear (a trait of the market) and Simon, his innocence. See how they stack up?

Our dedicated students kept a detailed blog and we also kept up via twitter (#uoeir09).

Thanks again, Simon and Rishad, it was fantastic to host you.

Vicious Cycle of (il)Literacy

A most discussed article from GOOD prompted my speculation.

Nutella News

Alright, it's here in the US of A.
NUTELLA. But not Nutella...

A NUTELLA COMMERCIAL.

There is some great buzz following this stuff, from loyal consumers who are happy to have Nutella's public presence backing their fanfare to health watch-dogs calling out the claim to health benefits. In the commercial a mom reasons feeding Nutella to her kids in the morning because she puts it on healthier foods.

While I love the stuff, I'm gonna call bs. But I'm not here just to add my bloggerty little fingers into the fray. I'm more curious about Nutella's thinking here.

Why would this beloved brand choose to break into American consciousness with a little happy fib? Out of all the angles they could take to promote their product, why choose the sinful mom-cohersion route? Nutella is awesome because it's creamy, it's choclately, it's got a great aftertaste, it has no American equivolent and it looks damn good in a spoon. So say that! Don't beguile the (second) most obese nation in the world into thinking this luxury spread is just a part of a nutritious breakfast. It's like saying Kool-aide is good for you because you're drinking water. Get real.

Fantastic Show of Odds

It may seem that there are a lot of bicycle-related postings on my blog. You're right. There are. You are a faithful reader and I thank you. TODAY! However, is an awe-inspiring reminder that one in a million can happen, and does! But if you're this one of a million... I'm sorry.



A few weeks back I noticed some little wings blowing around on my bicycle lock when I was about to lock up my bike on campus. Upon further inspection, I found that a spider, eating a gnat, had been crushed on my lock. What are the chances of that!?

MY LOGO IS IN THE TOP 13

One day my parents called me up and persuaded me into a logo design contest for a Seattle show:
Ron&Don Nation (KIRO 97.3 FM) So one day I busted out three logos and sent them in. Though I liked one best, they were all the product of my hands, and CS2.

Now, one of my logo's is in the 13 and could win the contest! So give it up and vote for #4! I'd be much appreciative, and my Dad really wants those Seahawks tix...

Bicycle Love

In Eugene, a lot of people ride bikes. Of that number, a significant portion love bikes. And an even slimmer percentage fantasize about bikes. Some of them fantasize about other cyclists.

I happened upon this little gem yesterday afternoon. Another bicycle come on. The thing is, these notes aren't so uncommon. Lovers of bikes = cyclist lovers.

WOW!!

When I was a little girl—actually the whole time I lived with my parents—my mom would ask me to clean up my sprawling clutter, and I would simply re-stack, or push it around. I remember how she would look emphatically into my eyes and say, "THROW. IT. AWAY." Ever since, I've been fascinated with the things people choose to keep or dispose of. I am more of a "just-in-case" keeper, but I've recently noticed another reason for not getting rid of things. And I think it's universal.

When something grosses a person out, it's likely that they will ignore it for as long as possible.

Some people would argue that we're just lazy, but I see it happening around the house with disgusting things in particular. For example, I made a large bowl of macaroni and cheese, leaving it out with a paper towel covering, to keep it from the flies. I offered the leftovers to Will, who ate some and neglected to replace the covering. When I returned to find more mac, I counted my blessings and dug in. Only moments into my second helping, a fly crawled out from inside the noodley caverns. I was disgusted and promptly put the bowl back, with the covering on. I decided that this would serve as the perfect experiment to my theory. When the same Will later discovered that there was more mac, he was about to shovel it in until I told him about the fly. Then, the telling moment: grimacing, he put the cover back on the bowl and set it aside.


And so the stale bowl of pasta sat for about a week and a half. My theory was correct. Instead of immediately disposing of the spoiled food, he ignored it. The ol' out-of-sight-out-of-mind. But it was still within the range of scent. Tonight, I gave in and decided to scrape the thing out. I was, after all, the one guilty of this dirty experiment. To my delight, there was a living surprise waiting inside the moldy orange goop. Well, many surprises.



Now I owe him a new metal bowl and spoon. But the experience of seeing, even cultivating, real, live maggots was truly priceless. I'll have to include an addendum to the lab writeup.

Bottom of the Barrel

So, you know when you've once been the cream that rose to the top and soon sunk to the bottom of the celebrity barrel when you're Ben Affleck. I was paroozing movie trailers the other night and I happened upon a charming little film called "Extract" with Jason Bateman. When I noticed a suspiciously familiar but down-hill face in the clip, I checked the credits to see who was listed at the bottom with ("He's Just Not That Into You") as notoriety:



If this could happen to him, what could happen to the rest of us? Seriously, though, the movie looks pretty funny.

Some things

Well it's my first summer spent here in my collegiate residence, Eugene. So far, it has been a marvelous time, excluding the blistering heat. Going for a bike ride intended to refresh onself felt more like pedaling on a stationary exercise bike inside a dry sauna, in front of a hair dryer. But! those times have passed. And now it's prime time to work on projects and dawdling around, noticing things that are worth less than a penny during the academic year.

Around Eugene, telephone poles are the analogue facebook and craigslist, advertising public events, services, things lost and found. Though some people would say that these telephone poles are no more than cut up, dead trees, I would encourage them to look closer. Look at the layers of paper skins that these things still grow! They have faces! They have souls! I wonder if someone could do a cross section on one of these poles to find out how old they are, in respect to the amount of flyers stapled onto them.

Best $5 Ever Spent

A little while back I was privileged enough to experience "The Project", a Brooklyn based ensemble, at the University of Oregon. Originally I picked up on posters advertising the arrival of the beatboxing flute player, but I left the show completely enamored with the group as a whole (not to mention two cd's, autographs, and a how-to manual).

Almost Run Over!

I was almost crushed under the wheels of a small SUV. Here's what happened: This morning I was biking to school as usual. I took a right turn at a green light, in a continuous bike lane. I was watching closely for pedestrians, and suddenly I was jolted by the side of an SUV. I strained against the vehicle to keep upright. I yelled to the driver, but she made no response as she lowered her cell phone and straightened the path of her vehicle.
After pedaling for a few yards I was able to get my head around what just happened. Luckily, I was okay. But it could have been catastrophic. If she didn't run me over with her back wheels, someone else certainly could have; I could have broken an arm on the curb; my bike could have been demolished. Thankfully, it was all the "could have's" that kept me unharmed. They also pushed me into action. She could have sent me to the hospital or an early grave and she didn't even know it.

So with new found resolution in my two skinny wheels I raced after her. I followed her through another right turn and caught up on Alder. As I paced with her passenger window I shouted again. This time she looked over but figured it wasn't important, I guess. So I followed her as she turned left and finally got right up to her driver's window at the next stop sign. I yelled for her to roll it down. I shouted that she drove right into the bike lane a couple turns back and almost flattened me. She needed to be more careful. She needed to watch the bike lane. All she could say was, "Really? I'm sorry."

And isn't that the way it goes.

We have to watch out for one another. It's easy to tune out your surroundings and text while you're driving and listen to music with the windows rolled up, wishing that you couldn't hear the outside world so distinctly as you sped through it. I am not a drone. I am a real person sharing the world and I nearly paid the consequences for someone who wanted to disregard their responsibility and occupy it alone, selfishly. Even though we think we can live in our own comfort-attention bubbles, with iPods and cell phones and earplugs, we can not. It's just not an option. We share the world, and when we forget that, we forget each other. And that does us all great harm.

AWARENESS TEST

Getting It Right This Time

So, it's normal to now say that people have screwed up. We've done a lot of terrible things to each other and to the planet we live on. But, it's also optimistic, and not uncommon, to say we're heading in the right direction. We have the opportunity, and maybe even the foresight, to make better choices in the future, and possibly fix mistakes.

Here is some of my favorite work showcasing this new confident optimism from environmental groups: World Wildlife Foundation, and National Geographic. A step in the right direction for advertising, and the human race.

NatGeo by AmuataLab


WWF "Panda" by Nexus Productions

5 Pieces of Advice

In response to an assignment from Deb Morrison's class I'd like to share what I've learned this term at the University of Oregon:

5 PIECES of ADVICE

FIND 3RD SPACE.
I bummed this term from two great sources: Starbucks and Zach Blank. For Starbucks, this is the place that isn't work, and isn't home. It's the place where you can enjoy transition. For Zach Blank, it wasn't the classroom, and it wasn't his bed. It's the place where he could set up shop and think, while being available to his peers. Make it somewhere people can find you, and it won't bother you to be found.

SAVE TIME.
No matter if it's making coffee while you're getting dressed or doing all your school work at school, saving time means multi-tasking to be an effective worker and creating time for yourself.

DON'T WORK TOO HARD OR YOU WILL GET SICK.
There is a limited amount of time in the day and if it's all for work, then none of it is for you. I learned this the hard way, and hopefully I've learned it for good. You need time to rest and refuel in order to be the lean machine that's expected. Set boundaries.

IF YOU WANT TO GO TO BED IN THE NEXT 15 MINUTES DO NOT GO ONLINE FOR ANY REASON.

READ A BOOK.
Instead of going online to check your favorite blog before bed, read a book. I've recently rediscovered my joy of fiction novels. Right now I love to read books where the main character stresses over four different aspects of his/her life in sentences that end with exclamation points. I can laugh at their chaos and trivialize it compared to my own, which makes me feel better. Books high on my priority list are moderately interesting and relatively unrelated to me. Very recreational and relaxing.

BIGOTRY! Response How-To

So, remember the LogObama from November? It looked like this:

Well, crazy as it sounds, I always had this impression that my fellow residents dislike my outward, optimistic support of our new president. In fact, they despised it and hissed behind my back. At this point I should add that I don't really know the other residents, sad, yes, but we mostly keep to ourselves. And I also had no reason to suspect other people of this kind of behavior and I really thought I was just self-conscious of showing such open political support.

BUT!Apparently someone believed that, "No, we can't." He or she replaced my words with silence. Very disappointing. Then the LogObama sat alone, a sad little construction paper logo with no tag line. All I could exclaim: "I KNEW IT!" Unfortunately, this only confirmed my crazy, or the unpleasantness of my neighbors.

But, since this is a simple how-to tutorial. The lesson must go on.

HOW TO DEAL WITH INTIMATE BIGOTS:
Well, you can't just let them get away with their bigotous crime. Sure they want a rise out of you, that much, and their narrow-mindedness, you can count on. So here's the trick. Respond without stepping outside your territory. Go ahead, and call it like it is. Even if you don't have all the supplies, it's important to get your opinion back on top. Out in the open where it counts.


Now, yes, I know this is a strong and potentially offensive message to display on the door of my home, but no less than the thing that created a need for frank talk. Bigotry.

(While this post is based on true events, I do not recommend this type of action for conflict resolution, and the viewpoints expressed on my behalf are hyperbole, intended for comedic effect.)

POM promo

This is a short-short video Jason Shannon and I did for portfolio class. Neither of us having much experience in flash, we tried to work within our skill sets. We chose a poem style format for the copy to give the piece a little bite, and keep the video do-able :) I think we'll be adding to this.

Swindled Again!

I have been studying the ancient art of Tai Chi for a little more than a year now. Every quarter my class meets in the Student Rec Center and begins practice with silent warm-ups. My chosen pair of shoes have been well broken in and, when I am late, they squeak as I try to creep behind the group. I've been thinking about getting some new shoes.

All the enlightened Wushu kids in the class, and our instructor, wear these kung fu shoes. Maybe they would be a good purchase. The shoes look like this:

Can you see those glorious little white feet? The shoes are called "FEIYUE" and I take them to be an authentic kung-fu shoe, because the peers whom I trust wear them. So maybe I'll check these out for a new tai chi sneaker. I visit the website and stare dumbly at the screen, crestfallen. There are a plethora of sneaks to choose from. They're like Adidas.

Here, I was enamored with what I thought was a little brand. Authentic, genuine. But when I learned it is a shoe giant, all the magic was gone. I didn't want to sort through their plethora of pedantic bipedal designs! I just wanted the classic shoe.

And this is the point at which most people are overwhelmed and feel bombarded with meaningless options. Why can't a brand, a product, a choice, or an experience be just one good thing? Just one. Is that too much to ask?

(To supplement my post, watch Malcolm Gladwell on TED. Around 9 minutes.)