Questioning Reality

wow. these popped up pretty fast. Less than twelve hours after it all started, you can get your limited-edition commemorative t-shirt. That’s the beauty of the internet. or something like that. Click on the images to bid on eBay!

And if you have a ton of extra money burning a hole in your pocket, you can buy an authentic boston mooninite off eBay.

As Jamiroquai said about ten years ago, “It’s a crazy world we’re livin’ in.” I think “virtual insanity” isn’t that far from the truth.

Just yesterday (I think - or maybe last week) we were discussing co-opting alternative, underground art styles and methods, much in the style of Graffiti Research Lab. Well, Turner (or Cartoon Network, specifically) decided to go ahead and do some “edgy” advertising for Aqua Teen Hunger Force. in a partnership with Interference Inc (who has pulled their website today).  Here’s what they did:

and incase you haven’t been following the news today, some people in Boston saw these things and it escalated from there, all the way to shutting down bus lines and actually “detonating” these devices.

Setting aside criticism that this cool idea and method are lacking slightly in the creative concept, the big question arises: what does this mean for advertising? especially the underground advertising that used to be known as “guerilla”? News articles are indicating that just a few hours ago, a “suspect” was arrested for this crime. What will happen next? I’m certainly not sure how the Boston situation will play out, and I’m definitely not sure what this means for alternative marketing techniques.

I do know, however, that traffic to Aqua Teen Hunger Force’s website has spiked. Maybe this is better advertising than they could have expected.

So Vista launched. I’ll spare all the tech-geek commentary which I’m half-inclined to delve into. but there more than enough people out there doing that very same thing already. so many so that posting links would be superfluous. This, however, I don’t understand, and am impelled to comment on. Microsoft, in what can only be called a publicity stunt, erected an oversized billboard which was then descended upon by cirque du soleil-esque dancers, only for them to exit the scene by hailing cabs. performance art?

I’m really not sure I understand, and I’d like to think I’m relatively well-versed in both advertising and performance art. Outdoor is definitely changing. And for some reason, building walls seem to be growing more popular. Sometimes it seems like they’re doing it just to do it. Maybe there’s more to this than I comprehend. Interesting stuff, either way. Follow the link to the Gothamist post for more photos (just ignore the Microsoft/DRM/Apple/hate comments).

I’m really impressed with what Cisco has been doing over the past few months, and the new :30 spot (above) is fitting perfectly in line with the campaign. With nearly every advertiser, company, and person who comes remotely close to the internet being drawn into the series of tubes, there’s a lot of random crap floating around out there (not excluding this site). Many companies are just throwing crap out onto the web, or web-enabled phones, or whatever else they can get their content out to.

Cisco pretty much nailed it, as far as I’m concerned, with their portrayal of the benefits and highlights - those warm, happy moments - that this new “interactive, web 2.0 culture” can bring about. It’s not dramatic or monumental, but it’s the good stuff that can come with the new technology. I must say, however, that despite that fact that the “welcome to the human network” idea came out last year, it’s hard to dissociate it from all the Zune Social stuff.

and one more Cisco ad just for kicks.

So in efforts to avoid everything I have to do and practice my procrastination, I was flipping through the newest issue of I.D. (The International Design Magazine) when I stumbled upon this:

I generally despise excel, even though I realize it has it’s place. But this stuff actually makes me like it. you can see a bit more on this page, but it’s worth taking a look around all of Danielle Aubert’s website. Very cool stuff. And anybody that can make excel do things for good and not evil is my hero.

so I’ve just spent the past hour playing with retrievr - one of the best third-party apps designed to intergrate and play with flickr. I remember playing with it when it was first released, but for some reason, I just kind of skipped over it. Maybe it’s the three hours of sleep. maybe it’s 27 of my last 32 hours in the same building. or maybe - just maybe - my brain is thinking differetly now. Regardless, this site’s incredible. I could explain it, but that’d be dumb. and not what it’s really about. Check it out and play.

I’ve been intrigued lately by Banksy. Not so much in admiration, but in a general interest. If you don’t know his work, check this out. If you haven’t, you have to. I’ve known and worked with people who are practically head-over-heels in love with Banksy. But I can’t always tell if it’s really Banksy, or if it’s just the idea. Either way, it’s interesting braincrack (yes, that’s a new word I’m coining). you can get a few highish-res images if you click here and go to the entire “shop.”

I wish i had the balls to package a paperclip and charge inordinate amounts of money for it. True brilliance. and guts. then again, who knows how well it actually sold, and in Brazil, of all places. Oh well. I’m going to try to think of some other ingenious way to package a mundane object. maybe a staple.

[via gizmodo]

Ever since Dr. Octagon was released over ten years ago, Dan the Automator has been one of my bigger influences.

Ever since I was born, I’ve had at least one pair of Superstars.

Now that Adidas bought Reebok and has become the official sponsor of the NBA, they’re creating a line of Superstars, with a style for each team. To make it even better, they’ve teamed up with Dan the Automator to produce a different track for each team, downloadable (free! - rare these days) from Adidas.

Adidas creating a line of team shoes is cool, I suppose, but Adidas teaming up with Dan is marketing and culture genius. Check it out.

simple grammar. OSU is a university. A university is a singular noun. Suck, in thus usage, is plural. I would hope for more on a college campus. but then again, I’m a bit hopeful sometimes.