So this is probably a few weeks past date, but I’ve been out of town and unplugged for a while, so bear with me. I’m guessing that the majority of people have seen the previous Sony Bravia commercials - the bouncing balls in San Francisco, and the exploding paint in Glasgow. (for those who haven’t seen them, I’ve included ‘em after the jump).
Anyway, I loved the bouncing balls commercial in just about every respect - the videography, the music, etc… Then the second one came out last year, and I was frankly disappointed. I specifically didn’t even make note of it here because I was just genuinely “bleh” towards the spot. I could go into details, but this ain’t the place. But the publicity is hyping up quickly for their next big spot, which apparently involves a ton of Play-doh bunnies in New York City (more info on the bunnies after the jump).
I love the idea of colored rabbits, and really hope that this one might hearken back a bit closer to the feel of the first spot and resonate with the campaign idea of “color. like no other” which I really didn’t get as much from the Glasgow spot. More photos of the set-up can be seen at notcot.org, and the Sony Bravia site has a bunch of high quality downloadable wallpapers of the mayhem. I’m almost feeling a bit giddy.
I’ve been paying attention, really, I have… but I’ve been struggling to see anything lately that really piques my interest. It may just be that I’m tired and busy with lots of random things, but stuff that has been catching my eye is few and far between. Then I stumbled upon Rosemarie Fiore. Time lapse photography, as kitch as it can often be, is unquestionably cool. Fiore took it a billion steps further by combining time lapse photography with classic video games. Fiore writes:
These photographs are long exposures taken while playing video war games of the 80’s created by Atari, Centuri and Taito. The photographs were shot from video game screens while I played the games. By recording each second of an entire game on one frame of film, I captured complex patterns not normally seen by the eye.
My brain is finally happy again… and a bit confused - which makes my brain even more happy.
So I’m finally back from my trip, which was interesting, to say the least. Got to watch Bonds hit # 758, for which I came back with a nifty little promo pin… got pepper sprayed out of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and ended up spontaneously coming back with one more car (which I don’t really need). So after recently moving and then departing for two weeks, I’ve come back to realize that I have an exorbitant amount of useless crap. garbage, if you will. The saying goes that one man’s junk is another man’s treasure (or something to that effect) so I’m in the process of getting rid of the majority of my excess baggage. There are the usual methods of eBay, craigslist, the newspaper classifieds (does anybody still read those?), but in the past few weeks, I’ve stumbled across a few new and interesting internet tools.
Kijiji is basically eBay, but without the auction (it even looks downright eBayish). It’s craigslist, but with a more user-friendly eBay interface, complete with the friendly and welcoming categories with which eBayers are familiar. I never thought Craigslist could be surpassed, but Kijiji is certainly on it’s way, and an interesting way to sell my crap.
I’ve indeed thought off hocking the majority of my superfluous wares via garage sale, but am unsure of the best way to publicize it. Living in a town where signage must be free-standing (not stapled to poles) but can’t be obstructing traffic, the traditional garage sale signs are only so effective. A few weeks ago, I read about ZipGarage - a website listing garage sales - which craiglist does, but not as in-depth as with ZipGarage. Photos and pricing options can accompany garage sale listings for big ticket items, making it much more than just a garage sale listing, but an itemized and picture-annotated mini-website. The main issue, however, will be seeing how many people turn to ZipGarage (and Kijiji) for their sales - if people aren’t looking, even the best-designed site will be useless.
So as the title implies, I’m still kickin’ it in California, enjoying some unseasonably moderate and beautiful weather. Not a whole lot of exciting news, except for Barry Bonds (which frankly, I’m not all that enthralled with anyway), and my trip to Monterey. While peacefully enjoying the Aquarium (which is frankly incredible), our trip was abruptly cut short when the aquarium was evacuated because of a peppersprayincident. Fun times. I’ll post pics to my flickr as soon as I figure out how to get pics off of the camera I was borrowing.
And in advertising related news, I’ve come across the second iteration of the music videos promoting Smirnoff Teas. In case you never saw the original Tea Partay, check it out here. This new version is the Boyz in the Hillz west coast answer to the East Coast P(rep)-Unit’s Tea Partay: The Green Tea Partay.
When I was in New York last time, I got a chance to listen to BBH’s Kevin Roddy discuss the ideas and the success surrounding the Tea Party campaign. I’m glad to see it continue - and I’m glad to see the West Coast puttin’ up a fight.
I was watching the evening news and this commerical popped up, which I hadn’t seen yet, and I practically spit out my drink laughing. Admittedly, I’m a VW/Audi fan, but I really like this spot. The Audi A4 swingin’ in behind the self-parking Lexus LS460 is perfect. I’m slightly surprised to see Audi take such a direct jab at Lexus, but its clever, simple, and really does separate Audi and bolster a much-needed brand image. Good to see. I also like the implied snarkyness toward those “people who can’t park themselves.” I like it.
So I’m taking some time off from everything down in San Jose, and was looking for some good reading material. I happened to find myself in the magazine section at Barnes & Nobles, which isn’t bad, but isn’t necessarily my first choice for brain food.
After looking past expensive design/photo magazines, and searching unsuccessfully for some european auto magazines, I decided to take my chances and venture into the “men’s interest” section - which I only seldom browse. I looked down and saw Antenna Magazine, and my heart practically skipped a beat. I remember reading several blurbs and blog posts awaiting Antenna, but had more or less forgotten it in all my hustle and bustle of late. To cut to the chase… According to the blurb on their website, Antenna is:
“the first mainstream magazine to target individuals who are on a constant quest for the newest and coolest products on the horizon. And it does so without using celebrities, models, concept shoots, service stories and whatever else we deem superfluous to our mission: to become a guidebook, allowing readers to navigate the most extensive collection of products ever compiled in a single publication, while championing the people who create, sell and collect them—all in one comprehensive, artful, elegant and innovative format. Featuring everything from dress shirts and cellphones to jeans and graphic T’s, Antenna is considered to be a non-disposable magazine in a disposable world. And you cannot ask for more than that. “
And after i flipped through it all? I’m pretty impressed.
At first, I was thinking that i just pretty much flipped through a big catalog. But the more I thought about it, I was pretty okay with that. It was well designed, the sparse writing was stellar, and the layout was top-notch - something very few magazines these days can do. Photography was stunning, and as cheesy-desiner-art-school-grad as it sounds, the paper felt amazing. I was thoroughly impressed. Leaps and bounds beyond most other magazines out there. I might actually have to subscribe. Check it out for an interesting and beautiful blend of products.
