Questioning Reality

I’m a big Guy Ritchie fan, so it probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise that I’m elated with the newest Nike spot directed by Ritchie, “Take it to the next level.” Despite feeling a bit Prodigy-ish, it’s a cool short film, and it’s definitely carrying Nike in the direction they’re seeming to want to gravitate toward. A high-res version is on the Nike Football site right now. Monumental? maybe. Cool? Definitely.

Just saw this story on kgw.com and felt obligated to share for some unknown reason. My love for gnomes has been steady throughout the years, and sustained lately due in large part to the Travelocity commercials. Well, today is another good day for Gnomes, apparently, as the Mt. St. Helens webcam captured a gnome, complete with a “I will get the snow” sign.

It’s been a very bizarre winter here in the Pacific Northwest, with both 80 degree temps. and valley snow in the month of April, so a little gnome shouldn’t be very surprising. If there’s some brilliant branding/advertising tie-in yet to be realized, I’ll be thoroughly impressed. And I’m already pretty impressed by the mountain gnome regardless.

[via KGW.com]

It really doesn’t get much cooler than this. A mildly disguised campaign for Nokia’s N-Gage, this lifesize and real life re-creation of the classic video game Snake (incidentally made world famous as a Nokia cell phone game) is pretty awesome.

All stop motion, no cgi, no effects. Awesome. A HD version of the spot, as well as a making of, and various bizarre games are at the website,Get Out And Play.

I have to say, I hadn’t been too blown away by VW spots over the past few months… relatively lackluster, and nothing earth shattering really since the whole “vee-dub in da haus” thing. I have to say, I’m absolutely in love with these new spots, which I’ve been seeing all over TV lately. Simple, funny, directly promote brand attributes, and just generally enjoyable. Impressive, to say the least. Follow the jump to check out the other two in the series.

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New York street artist Joshua Allen Harris has been getting a fair bit of press lately, and rightfully so. A few weeks back, his “air bear” created quite a stir. And this newest sculpture/installation/street art piece is even better. It’s all pretty simple and self-explanatory, really. Just some plastic bags… but plastic used so creatively, it makes my brain hurt. (and makes me long to be in NYC just a bit).

follow the jump to check out the Air Bear.

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Sometimes, Photoshop is amazing. And other times, it’s truly disastrous.

The image above is of the cover of a local coupon flyer passed along to me solely because of the incredible cover work. I realize it’s not exactly a high-production-budget project, but at the same time, slapping a cutout baby on to a flower seems like an odd choice for a coupon book. Or anything else.

And in the spirit of disastrous photo/image editing catastrpohes, be sure to check out The Photoshop Disasters Blog. At first, I was unsure where the blog would go, but it’s taken off quickly and proves to be a consistent source for amusement and amazement.

slight close-up of the crazy baby after the jump

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I’ve definitely got a soft spot for good logo design, and a cool logo for something like the Alliance for Climate Protection just adds to the goodness. Something about that specific color of green is great. And then the whole upside-down “m,” simultaneously referencing “me” and “we” is just awesome.

And this commercial, narrated by William H. Macy, sums everything up pretty well, and makes an outstanding Pull for the We Can Solve It movement.

Cool stuff for a good cause.

[via osocio]

I’m intrigued by the site Guitarati, even though I’m still not entirely sure what to think. Conceptually, it’s fascinating. Basically, you associate a color with your mood, and then Guitarati compiles a playlist based upon your color choice (which is ultimately your mood feeling), which you can preview, get lyrics, then download, etc. An interesting way to preview and explore music. Certainly not Pandora, but there’s something interesting about the circles of color that keeps my interest piqued.

Adidas has been busy lately, mostly with the help of 180. You may remember me writing about the Original Games spot and the Adi Dassler history spot, both of which I’m pretty fond of.
Now I’m not a big fan of (and usually veer away from) writing about things that i hear about via letters along the lines of “hey! I thought you might be interested in this. blah blah blah. thanks!” … especially when it comes directly from agency “strategists.” But I’m going to have to let this one slide because it’s just so good. And as my friends and regular readers know, it’s hard for me to pass up good shoe advertising.

I actually saw some video of this last week on the local evening news, and wasn’t exactly thrilled with it. But the YouTube clip really puts it in a different light - one that i can appreciate, and one that i actually think is pretty awesome. A very cool idea that’s well executed with some real concept behind it. Much more than big shoes.

I just stumbled across this YouTube clip via Billboardom, and even though it’s not new, it’s awesome. Those who know me know I have a soft spot for clear billboards. This GoogleVideo board in Berlin is an awesome use of outdoor, great use of location, and a direct branding message. It’s not just a cool application for the sake of something cool. It actually makes you think a bit.