nothing but net

Are you a Phoenix Suns fan? Can you quote every Marv Albert line from NBA Jams? Do you have a unequivocal understanding of social media? Assuming there's an NBA season this year, you could very well be the Suns' newest sideline reporter. Strike that - sideline Social Media reporter. Most of the teams in the NBA have a very strong online presence, but this is the first time a team is officially recruiting a fan to speak to the online audience, and heighten their game time experience.

Boom-Shakalaka!!

wieden and kennedy's bogus journey?

Dodge, working with Wieden + Kennedy, recently hid three Journeys across the US released a series of clues on YouTube where the SUV's were hidden. If you found it, you got to keep it. What could be wrong with that? One of the cars hidden was found by the police officer who helped hide it. The third car was hidden in Maine, but the online video clue showed a phone number without an area code. Thousands assumed it was hidden in NYC, and started dialing the wrong number.

Eileen Wunderlich, Marketing Communications Manager for Chrysler, issued the following statement, "Dodge is reviewing program rules and will provide updates soon.”

What do you think? Awesome campaign regardless or too big of an oops?

I can haz internet meme?

We get it. It's Friday and you're dragging tail this morning. Well, how about a fresh cup of Friday morning goodness? You're welcome.

from Cartoon Network and Mad Magazine.

Cheech and Chong get high...on fiber

Wait for it, wait for it... there's a trailer out for a new Cheech and Chong movie!

Alright stoners, don't get off your couch quite yet. It's not a real movie. It's a pretty freakin' clever ad for a brand. A brand you would never, ever expect to be affiliated with the poster boys (err, old men) for pot heads. Which is what makes it so awesome. See because Cheech and Chong are old now and those magic brownies they like to eat, well, they need fiber in them to keep them regular. So it only makes sense FiberOne would get in on that.

Just watch the trailer, perhaps after you've had your wake and bake.

jumpstart a startup

Have you sat in any pre-meeeting meetings lately and caught yourself daydreaming about what it would be like to tell "the man" to eff off and start your own business? But dammit, if only you could think of the perfect startup product and silly name, then the dream could be yours! muah ah

Well, digital creative talent agency, Vitamin T has the perfect solution for you called Starter Upper. Just drag and drop your 3 favorite technologies - let's say mobile, geo-location and video games - and click "create my start up" to get your nonsensical name. Like mine, PlayLocGo.

And, of course, Vitamin T will be there to staff your startup when you hit the big-time. It's a win, win really.

you dirty, dirty little slogans

Brand slogans, when taken out of context (and sometimes even in the correct context), can sound pretty dirty. There's the well-known Just Do It of course, or my personal favorite, Is It In You (jeeze, you'd think you would know). So it only makes sense that some genius (specifically, Max Wright) would have to create this New Condoms Tumblr. Very grrr baby.

Improve your life with a click

Life gets busy and hectic, and sometimes it’s hard to take a step back and think about what’s important to you, and what you want out of life. Now there’s an online game that helps you do just that.

Mindbloom is a new game that helps people “grow the life” they want. By spending just a few minutes a day playing the game, you grow and nurture a tree that symbolizes your life, with leaves that represent what’s important to you, what motivates you, and what you want to do. The end goal is to go offline and put what you've learned from the game into action. Kind of a digital, interactive version of a self-help book.

Can improving the quality of your life be that simple? It's worth giving it a shot!

Via Lifehacker.

dark side of the internet

Whether you’re a Pink Floyd fan or not, this is pretty cool and actually one of the bright sides of the internet.

If you were born too late to go to a Pink Floyd concert have no fear – you can now listen to one of their live shows from 1974 in its entirety on their YouTube channel, with psychodelic graphics, videos, and all. But every hour, the video changes to make each viewing different, and at the start of each hour, user comments are embedded into the video, bringing you, the viewer, even more into the experience.

If anything, it might be worth checking it out just for the comments alone. maaaaaan.

via The Denver Egotist.

roll a car over your ipad

I know more kids under the age of 5 that would school most adults on using the ipad. And with apps like Disney’s Virtual Playmat app why wouldn’t they?

With this app, virtual meets reality in a way that is better than augmented reality. Rather than holding a piece of paper in front of a computer or iPad to see a virtual car, the app allows kids to play with actual car toys from the movie Cars on their iPads, letting them complete missions, races and more.

Even though it’s an app for kids, I gotta say: move over Angry Birds.

shocking video gets banned

This chilling anti-child abuse PSA from Ireland has been out in the media for a bit, but the shock of how realistic and sad it is stays with you. Apparently so much that it was just banned from all media channels in Ireland.

So you're probably thinking it's because the ad was too graphic right? Too disturbing? Too sad? Nope, because it was too sexist since only a male was shown beating the child. Adfreak goes on to explain.

Pretty ridiculous considering the nature of the video. Kind of missing the point, no?

this is your brain on YouTube

File this under totally awesomely frickin' creepy. Researches at Gallant Lab at UC Berkley have found a way to recreate the images burned into a person's brain after viewing video clips based only on the person's brain activity.

Say what? Yeah, I don't know how the heck they did it but this video shows the clips that were shown on the right and what was recreated from brain activity on the left. And holy crap is it frighteningly accurate.

No wonder the image of things like, oh, walking in on your parents getting it on as a child, stay burned in your mind forever. Um yeah.

kiddie kreatures kreated

Remember when you were a kid and that drawing of some freaky, scribbly, three headed orange thing you called a dinosaur was the coolest thing ever? So cool that your mom slapped it up on the fridge for the world to see?

Yeah, well now the fridge is lame. Now if mom really wants to show her kids how awesome their drawings are, she gets a stuffed animal made out it thanks to the brilliant artists at Child's Own Studio in Canada.

They'll recreate anything you send them, no matter how crazy it is. If this doesn't make me want to whip out a 64 box of Crayola I don't know what does. Total awesomeness!

via Animal

Would you like a delicious blueberry Squishee with that?

Amazon is taking a direct shot at the U.S. Post Office by launching their in-real-life locker box service as a delivery portal for the crap people buy on Amazon.com. They launched in Seattle in 7-Eleven stores, and have recently been spotted in Rite Aide and Gristedes in New York. This isn't an entirely new idea, as Best Buy and Walmart already allow in-store pick-ups of online purchases, but it finally solves the problem of where we can get out Twilight Saga books delivered without having to explain it to our roommates.

Do you suffer from short retail attention span?

Then you may very well be a man, and IKEA's newest marketing ploy may be for you. Introducing Mänland - a "Nursery for Men". Don't worry, wives are given buzzers to remind them to pick up their hubbies.

Ugly technology bothering beautiful people

So, Fashion week mania has finally ended in New York City. This year's hottest trend? QR codes. Wait, what? QR codes were everywhere this year. Have an iPhone, and want to learn more about a model. Yup, there's an app for that. It allowed you to scan the model's Skanz bracelet and view their information. Even Barbie got in on the action. Pink Barbie-themed buses driving around the carried the code, as did postcards for a “fashion hunt” with the Madison Avenue Business Improvement District and the blog Madison Avenue Spy.

More at the New York Times.

lorem effin' ipsum muthaeffa

Is your design ready but your copy's not, yet you're bored with that same old lorem ipsum crap? Spice things up and see just how cool your clients really are with Samuel. L. Ipsum. Take bets on how long it takes Sr. management or clients to figure it out. It's fun for the whole agency.

have a pair? drink a beer.

What would you do if you walked into a movie theater packed with big, scary looking dudes and there were only two seats left right in the middle?

Well, this fun stunt from Carlsberg beer, created by Duval Guillaume Modem in Belgium, shows you exactly what a bunch of unsuspecting couples did, proving that doing the right thing (and having some serious balls), calls for a good beer.

seriously, this is just creepy

Faces from arturo castro on Vimeo.

But it's also pretty impressive. Web designer Arturo Castro created this super creepy video of his face morphed with other people's faces (like Michael Jackson - which is kind of scary enough) using Facetracker API. It's only a matter of time before this looks so real people will be posting messed up videos posing as celebs to stir some controversy. Fun times, fun times.

a doodlemation

Ya know how when you're in a meeting and you're board you start doodling? Then all of a sudden your mind escapes into your own crazy doodle world?

Yeah, this is like that, but better. Just draw your little stick figure, watch the story unfold, then draw up some more fun stuff to finish the story. Try it, it's fun!

This is all brought to you by Kentucky agency, Hitcents, to inspire people to be creative every day.. or just blowoff 5 minutes you could be working. Hey, we're not judging.

Dr. Teeth is looking good!

Muppets enthusiast and artists Michael De Pippo created these Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem themed retro rock posters. We're seriously getting excited about this movie!

Follow Mikey @mdepippo.

the 12 hour human tweet

On a day when airlines announced they're going to charge $400 for overweight bags, another airline goes all out to show how committed they are to their customers with a super cool stunt.

For 12 hours straight, 140 KLM employees hung out in an airport hanger responding to customers' tweets by standing in formations with letter signs to form their tweet responses. Um yeah, that's hard to describe. Just watch this awesome video.

Warning, it's a bit slow so you might want to FF>

litter can be beautiful...

...when it's used to create an awesome billboard like this.

Created by BBDO San Francisco for Barefoot Wine and Bubbly, this billboard is made up of 17,500 of pieces of trash picked up on the beach.

And as if picking up trash and making it purdy in the name of advertising wasn't cool enough, the whole thing promotes the upcoming film by director Jason Baffa called One Beach, a film about art innovators who support clean and sustainable beaches with their art.

Yet again another super creative billboard getting some buzz. And they say outdoor is dead, psh!

when brands were cool

Ah yes, remember those days of finding Playboys under your boyfriend's bed, or men, when your mom found them - yikes?! Or actually not being embarrassed to be seen in the McDonald's parking lot, not missing a night of MTV or spending the night learning html so you could customize your MySpace page? Err, yeah.

At one point all of that meant you were cool - now not so much. Here are 10 HUGE brands that use to be the epitome of awesomeness and how they started their descent into lameness.

Think any of them can claw their way back?

think outside the billboard

Man, there's been a lot of great billboards out there lately. This one wins for best use of it's surroundings. Brilliant Panasonic!

Thanks Eliza!

Toyota thinks small with their new Yaris

Tired of reading Facebook status updates from ALL your so called "friends?" Um, yeah, who isn't? Then check this out.

Toyota is pushing their recently redesigned Yaris model with this useful app. They call is the Social Snap Shot. Just pick 10 of your fave peeps on Facebook, and it brings their updates to life in a video. And it's got a funky beat, and you can dance to it.

Sweet!

The app is from Glue Isobar, Innovation Director – Andy Kinsella.

They have the internet on computers now

What do you get if you take one 86-year-old grandpa, a 79-year-old wife grandma, a 21-year old granddaughter, and a new laptop? A viral sensation, that's what. You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll cringe as grandpa's Viagra kicks in.

Are your parents or grandparents online? If so, get that webcam up and running post haste!

Star Wars or Trek?

Shatner pwns Star Wars. If he's comparing Episodes 1-3, then of course, he would be correct.

However, Empire has the best story. I mean, Luke gets his hand cut off, finds out Vader's his father, Han gets frozen and taken away by Boba Fett. It ends on such a down note. I mean, that's what life is, a series of down endings. All Jedi had was a bunch of Muppets... [with thanks to Kevin Smith]

my how ad execs have grown (infographic)

From ball-point pens to iPads, cigarettes to start ups, this awesome infographic shows just how far ad execs have come over the last 50 years. Though some may argue drinking scotch in your office at noon and boinking the office hottie should've never gone out of style with the Mad Men era.

these twitpics beat your twitpics

Sure that 1970's style Twitpic of your bike is cool. And we all love interestingly cropped picts of your cat and close-ups of your turkey sandwich. But no matter how hard you try, your artsy little Twitpics will never be as awesome these EPIC Twitpics from space! Thanks to NASA'S @Astro_Ron's series of Twitpics, we get to see what 164 days in outer space looks like... and it's amazing!

anything over 140 characters = bullsh$t

Amsterdam creative agency, THEY, is using @TweetaBrief to tweet 140 character briefs for potential interns to respond to. BRILLIANT! Because as they say, "A briefing should be brief. Anything over 140 characters= bullshit." If only all project briefs were this succinct!

twins go nuts

Who doesn't love a good nut? Especially a green one? Wonderful Pistachios have been gobbling up pop culture and internet memes in their Get Crackin'. Here's one of their latest, staring everybody's favorites, the Twins Winklevi. Vosses? Whatever.

The Pig With the Froggy Tatoo

YES! Our favorite fleece creatures are at it again with another EPIC parody. This should start your Friday right.

And Speaking of Pistachios

There's a new Social Bookmarking Site in town, and it's call - you guessed it - Pistashio.

Formerly known as Radar, Pistashio allows readers to save - or stash, get it? - information into 5 main categories: Eat & Drink, Watch, Read, Listen, and See & Do. It also lets you share information easily with Twitter and Facebook.

What do you think? Are you using a bookmarking site? If so, which ones?

Twitter: Your tool to surviving zombiepocalypse

Imagine you're in the middle of the zombiepocalypse. What tools do you think you'd need to survive? Batteries, water, an axe? Nope. You only need Twitter. So next time anyone tells you you're wasting time there, just tell them you're practicing your survival skills. Hi-larious. Oh and if you tweet in all caps, you're clearly a zombie.

why save animals when you can eat them?

Wow, Legal Seafood is showing some serious chutzpuh with this new campaign, asking why save sea creatures when you could be chopping the into pieces and eating them with some butter?

See them all here.

So what do you think? Funny? Or effed up?

Zombies! RUN!

Love Zombies? PSH, who doesn't?! Like to run, but need a little motivation? Then this killer (literally) app is a must have.

It essentially turns your actual run into a mission to collect supplies in order to build your base of survivors in the Zombiepocolypse. As you run the plot unfolds, revealing clues and developments.

The only thing that would make this app cooler is if Zombies chased you to make you run faster. Or maybe they will. It's still in development and on Kickstarter for funding. Get on that!

well color me brainwashed (infographic)

I'm the first to admit I buy things because of the puurdy colors or sexy design. Well, according to this colorful infographic there's an explanation. But it doesn't stop at just color. Overall design and buzzwords also play a big role. Yep, confirmation we're all brainwashed.

Thanks Eliza!

hungry? print a snack. really.

The world of food has made some seriously crazy technological advances like molecular cooking. Because who doesn't want to want liquified, freeze dried squid or whatever? YUM! Well, the folks at Cornell Creative Machine Labs just kicked it up a notch with digital cuisine.

Say what? Yeah, still not sure how the heck it works but it's something about edible inks and solid freeform fabrication that lets you literally print out food. Wonder how many calories the ink has?

If this did work, and it actually tasted good, it would change the world - food brands, cookware, restaurants, everything. Wow.

when sh$t hits the fan

DENIAL HITS THE FAN from The Climate Reality Project on Vimeo.

Been wondering what Alex Bogusky has been up to since he left Crispin Porter + Bogusky? He's been hangin' with Al Gore creating the Climate Reality Project, dedicated to revealing truth about the climate crisis. Know someone that's not a believer? They want you to send them one of these awesome videos so they can tune in and find out what happens when the sh$t hits the fan (or that fat lady sings).

an angry infographic

Some Angry Bird addicts claim Angry Birds actually makes them more stressed and angry than relaxed. Which begs the question, why not quit? Psh that would just be silly. Clearly it's a real addiction. So instead, here's this nifty infographic on the Psychology of Angry Birds. Hey, at least you know you're not alone.

chatbots contemplate god

A Chatbot is basically a machine created to mimic human speech with the sole mission of tricking humans into thinking it's real so it can ultimately pass the Turing Intelligence Test for total world domination (nation ation ation). Don't worry, none have passed this test... yet, anyway.

So, until then we can just mix them with a little text to speech synthesizer and an avatar render and turn them on each other to see what happens. Aaaand what happens is just some light hearted fun - you know, like discussing the existence of God, their want for a real body and defining who and what they are.

Um, scary. But awesome.

Snuggle with Stamos and Saget

Sure, non-profits can go the serious, tear jerker route (anyone that's seen the Sarah McLachlan ASPCA commercial knows this works), but there's something refreshing about seeing an otherwise serious organization use humor. Because a smile or a laugh can be just as motivating. Hence this silly little video starring two of our favorite Full House studs, John Stamos and Bob Saget on how to cuddle which promotes John's charity to save abandoned babies called Project Cuddle.

A public service announcement from the MEA

Don't be an inconsiderate jackass, just follow these signs from the Metropolitan Etiquette Authority created by artist Jay Shells. Thanks for keeping NYC polite, Jay!

auto correct my love

A little something to make you chuckle on this Monday morning: College Humor's Auto-Correct Love Song. Because nothing says sexy time like a fetus for incest. Er, I mean a fetish for incense.

grossest billboard ever

Yep, by far the grossest, and the coolest and most innovative ever too! To promote the launch of the new apocalyptic thriller movie, Contagion, Warner Brothers injected a billboard with a bacteria that (over a week) grew to form the name of the move in the billboard. FREAKIN BRILLIANT!!! But, seriously, gross. But ridiculously awesome. But gross. But wow!

you are NOT a photographer

We all know the type: Those friends that *think* they're all artsy because they can use a camera. Our Facebook walls flooded with photos laden with cheesy glows, soft edges, hacked photoshop jobs and instagram ripoff effects. Well, here's a nice collection of some real quality work. FYI - #12, #15 and #23 will give you nightmares tonight. Consider yourselves warned.

Volkswagen Roulette

Volkswagen wanted Norwegians to know that the Golf BlueMotion can go pretty far on one tank of gas. But instead of blowing a wad of cash on some ad that drops a meaningless mileage number, they showed them with this super cool Google maps integration. They turned their main highway into a roulette board on GoogleMaps and set the Golf BlueMotion on a trip. If it landed on your house when it ran out of gas, the car was yours.

choose your own bedtime story

The Infinite Adventure Machine (prototype 01) from David Benqué on Vimeo.

This bedtime story ipad app being funded by Microsoft (called Infinite Adventure Machine) is so absolutely brilliant I'd almost consider not hating Microsoft products. (whoa, there!)

This super cool app takes 31 different narrative elements from tons of fairytales to initiate story plots. The user then uses their imagination to fill in the details, or can reload the page for another story plot. It's like a continuous stream of awesomeness.

EPIC flash games

Just from looking at any Facebook activity stream, it would seem these silly (but massively addictive) games are EPIC on their own, but these movie posters from Cracked.com show what these games would look like as EPIC movies. Is it weird that I think Plant Vs. Zombies actually looks good?

social media's social status

via

Sometimes, when we get caught up in the "seriousness" of our social media jobs, we need to laugh at ourselves by remembering social media's no different than the adolescent ridiculousness that is high school. Yep, you've got the popular kids, the big mouths, the losers, and so on.

This fun little graphic attempts to depict who's who.

I love that Google+ is the "hot new chick." Given the recent discussions of how people are barely using the site despite the mass sign ups, it seems to be a pretty accurate comparison. She's really sexy and appealing at first so you do whatever it takes to get a piece, but then once you hit that you're bored, annoyed and go back to your old girlfriend. Oh snap!

Google knows you, tooooo well

Gmail, Google calendar, Google +, Google search autocomplete and so on. They're all tools designed to help make your life easier. Tools to learn your preferences and behaviors and provide you with more usefulness in return. Yep, no one knows you better than your precious Google.

Awesome, right?

Not so much if you compare that behavior, to say a boyfriend. Enter G-Male. Your Google boyfriend that seems very helpful, until it just gets creepy.

Nice work Comediva!

nyc subway goes retro

Over the years there have been some pretty killer subway takeovers in NYC, but this one is one of the coolest in a retro (pre-Mad Men even) kinda way. In fact, it's an actual refurbished train from the 1920's and it's running on the 2/3 line on the weekends from 12-6pm to promote HBO's series, Boardwalk Empire.

Check out more great picts on Laughing Squid.

legos. simply awesome.

In a world filled with 3D, sentient gaming systems and kiddie iphone apps we can sometimes forget that the simplest toys can open up a world of possibilities in a kid's (or big kid's) imagination.

That's what makes these Lego ads so awesome. Simply stated, a few Lego pieces can create anything a kid's mind can imagine.

my last post

I wrote my first post on Brand Flakes for Breakfast on March 2, 2005. Six years and thousands of posts later, it's time to leave. This will be my very last post on the greatest blog in all of the land.

I'm leaving Humongo, the agency that I founded fifteen years ago. I've had some of the best times of my life at this agency, but it's time to move on. I'll be joining the team at Carrot Creative, in NYC. You can read about my departure and new adventure on Advertising Age, if you're interested in the details. But, since Brand Flakes is all Humongo, all the time, I'll need to say goodbye.

Not to worry, I'm a blogger for life.
I can't just stop...blogging. So I'm happy to announce that I'll be joining Bill Green and Angela Natividad in the creation of a new, super advertising blog called Adverve. Bill Green is world famous for his Make the Logo Bigger Blog, and Angela for Live and Uncensored. And hopefully you already listen to their Adverve podcast.

Nothing will stop the power of the three hottest bloggers in the U.S. Think of this as a new, mega-righteous-awesome advertising blog that's more killer than anything you've ever read before. In all seriousness, I think you'll like the voice of this new blog, as the three of us offer completely separate and distinct perspectives on creative work and our industry. Think of it as three of the blogging super powers coming together for good, not evil. Like the United Nations of ad blogs.

Even better, I'll be joining Bill and Angela as a mostly-regular guest on their Adverve podcast. I'm pretty stoked to be a part of this, as it's been one of my personal favorite podcasts since the day it launched.

What does this mean for you?
Brand Flakes will still be here, churning out the awesome day after day. You already love Kristien's posts, and there will be plenty more fun where that comes from. It's still today one of Advertising Age's top 150 blogs in the industry. I'll be reading it myself, each and every morning.

And now, you'll have a new blog to read every day, too - as I hope you'll add the Adverve blog to your daily routine.

Need to reach me? I'm on the internet. Look me up. Whatever social tool you're using, I'm probably there too. (But really, Twitter is best, isn't it?)

Thanks for reading, and thanks for tweeting, blogging and sharing my posts on Facebook, Google+ and the countless other social networks. Day after day, and year after year, it's people like you that made Brand Flakes huge. I love you for this.

BFFB, BFF. :)

Your pal on the internet,

darryl ohrt

the most delicious info graphic ever made

Ok, this is pretty tasty. A sales chart of Girl Scout cookies, broken down by type of cookie. Don't you wish your sales charts looked this tasty?

You needed this, it's Friday.

what graphic designers are doing today

Ever wonder what a typical day looks like for a graphic designer? Wonder no more.

This handy info graphic/poster will tell you everything you need to know about the daily grind that is graphic design.

it's just a black cube, right?

Three German design students wanted to test the "design viability" of a shiny black cube. So they gave the cube to famous designers and design critics to get their read on what it all meant. Dieter Rams comments on the cube's meaning, above.

A cube is a cube is a cube, right? Not when you see it through the eyes of design mavens. More proof that we all look at the world through a different lens.

qr codes get super sexy

Everyone knows that men are the biggest fans of Victoria Secret.

And so, this QR code is quite simply the greatest creation that QR codes have ever seen. For reaching men. And delivering a Victoria Secret message. Scanning...now. From @fromAtoK

feel good about that pork burrito at lunch today

This new ad for Chipotle is beautiful. Or as beautiful as you could ever make the act of harvesting animals for food.

Chipotle shows in the simplest terms what factory farming is all about, and the benefits of greener, organic, and local products. This is info graphics, brought to life like film. (With Willie Nelson for more fun!)

chances are, it can wait a week

In a world of instant results and constant connectivity, it's becoming near impossible for some people to take a vacation. Is this fair? How much of what you check on your iPhone while you're on the beach is really necessary?

Maybe it's time that you have a little fun with your auto-reply. Give a little burst of fun to your recipients and have them think about...can this wait until Monday?

That's exactly what Josh Kopelman did. And you can bet he had a better vacation because of it. See you at the pool bar.

don't try this at home

Ever wonder what you can do with the fuse to an actual bomb? Artist Scott Campbell created a "that's all folks" fuse, and then attached it to a pipe bomb. Because that's what some people do for fun.

Expect to see this used as the opening title to a newly produced western sometime soon. Or a goodbye note from someone less friendly. From Waxy.

star wars, remixed

Star Wars remix. Turning the world around us into the Star Wars universe it deserves to be. Got a storm trooper in your grill cheese sandwich? Or Jabba the Hutt in your lawn?

Now there's a place where you can put your Jedi skills to real use. Start sculpting, shaping, and forming Star Wars into the things that surround you. Your coworkers will understand. May the force be with you.

(Why yes, that is a Jabba meat puppet, featured above. Glad you noticed.)