a love song from real men
Think a bunch of hard core soccer/football fans can't sing a great love song? Puma proves otherwise.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:34 AM
0 comments
Friday, February 12, 2010
let's get naked and cuddle
The Green Thing reminds us that we can help the earth by turning down our thermostats. This weekend is the perfect time to turn that into an opportunity for nakedness with your loved one. Keep each other warm, and save the environment, too.
Green Thing has created a handful of ready-to-send Valentine's day cards that you can send your honey as an invitation to cuddle together for warmth.
Here's the one that I've made for you.
Labels: creativeinspiration, green, holiday, nonprofit
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:56 AM
1 comments
the ultimate galactic valentine
If your girlfriend resembles any of the women of Star Wars, then you'll definitely want to get her a Star Wars Valentine. Yeah.
Labels: creativeinspiration, holiday
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:46 AM
0 comments
Thursday, December 24, 2009
christmas album art from the olden days
Some awesome Christmas album covers from the olden days when people purchased music, and it came on large discs that required packaging.
Labels: creativeinspiration, holiday, music, package design
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:36 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
christmas with the cosmonauts
There's probably no better way to celebrate Christmas than with Santa, rockets, cosmonauts and outer space. Thanks, Devon!
Labels: creativeinspiration, holiday, illustration
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:41 AM
0 comments
that spam is real
Without question, the absolute best agency "client gift" ever delivered. Wonderfully inspiring.
Labels: adindustry, holiday
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:30 AM
1 comments
Monday, December 21, 2009
blast agency people in the face with snow
Torchbox decided to create their own white Christmas, and to put you in charge of the snow. Watch their office streaming live on UStream, type your name in the entry box, and watch the Torchbox employee get blasted in the face with a bunch of
Different employees are on camera during different times of the day, which lets you take out your frustrations on them all. Holiday awesomeness for all to enjoy.
Labels: adindustry, holiday
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:09 AM
0 comments
santa is ready to ride
What if your hospital was the one responsible for keeping Santa healthy, and making sure he's fit for his big night?
This is a most awesome self promotional piece for UNC Healthcare that is family friendly branding at its holiday best. Thanks, Casey!
Labels: healthcare, holiday, marketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:47 AM
0 comments
synchronized phones for your holiday pleasure
This is definitely the best agency card that we've seen this year. Hooray for engineers, coders and geeks.
Labels: adindustry, holiday, mobile
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:36 AM
1 comments
Friday, December 18, 2009
that's not a photoshopped santa
Santicon took place in cities across the states last weekend, and there were plenty of Santas doing un-santa-like things for all to enjoy.
The best pic we've seen from last weekend features desaturated Santa, in San Francisco. Black, white and beautiful. From @loustejskal
Labels: creativeinspiration, holiday
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:17 AM
1 comments
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
how to be the cool house in the neighborhood
This dude Ric hooked his holiday lighting system into his Wii Guitar Hero system, and the result is absolutely rocktastic.
Labels: creativeinspiration, gaming, holiday, outdoor
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:51 AM
0 comments
we need more christmas bell
Improv Everywhere has another fun video to share, and this time they're ringing in the season. Will make you say "awwwwww."
Labels: creativeinspiration, holiday, newyork
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:31 AM
1 comments
Monday, December 14, 2009
giving the gift of facebook
Facebook should pay Chris Kieff for this great holiday thinking, and turn this into a full fledged campaign.
Chris points out that you have the skills to give a most awesome gift to a loved one this year. The gift of Facebook.
Think about how grandma's life would be changed if you hooked her up with her very own Facebook page. Not so that she could meet single men, but so that she can see what's going on in the family. Even when she becomes what we call a "lurker", she'll be plugged into the family happenings, see loads of pictures, and as Chris says, will enrich her life immensely.
Chris outlines everything you need to do, so that you can sit back, enjoy eggnog and have everyone else saying "wish I thought of that."
Labels: facebook, holiday, social media
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:57 AM
2 comments
Friday, December 11, 2009
target rocks the pop up for the holidays
Target has created a pretty sweet popup event in New York, DC, and San Francisco for this weekend.
Target To Go are micro-Target stores that live for thee days only, and make holiday shopping easier than placing a lunch order on the value meal menu at McDonalds.
Each pop up store features a handful of gifts that you choose by number, and then purchase them pre-wrapped and ready to go. This is a grand idea that spreads fun holiday branding for Target, while generating revenue. (It's not often that your promotional campaign can generate funds to pay for itself.)
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:35 AM
0 comments
tacky sweaters for your digital pleasure
The Kansas City Art Institute is spreading holiday cheer the old fashioned way - with tacky holiday sweaters.
Their holiday card lets you create your own custom embroidered (digital) holiday sweater. Check out my glorious couture above, crafted in about 7 seconds, while battling the shakes from eating too many pecan squares. Thanks, Casey!
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:30 AM
0 comments
Thursday, December 10, 2009
you can kiss anyone at london's heathrow
Now there's finally a reason to kiss random strangers that you think are cute. Just head to London's Heathrow airport, where they've hung the world's largest sprig of mistletoe.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:48 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
your own personal timekeeper
This would make for an excellent holiday window display, wouldn't it? This is video put to a fantastically awesome use...a timekeeper that works non-stop. Drawing time, one line at a time.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:18 AM
2 comments
get your beard and a red coat ready
If your idea of a good time is to deck yourself out in red and white and then crawl from pub to pub, then this weekend will be Christmas Magic in NYC.
Yes, it's time once again for Santacon. Dress like your best Santa (or a Santa assistant), and get ready to roll with a billion other jolly funmakers.
Too shy? Check out the pics from previous Santacon events. This year, you can even follow the Twitter stream.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:11 AM
0 comments
Friday, December 04, 2009
deck the halls with tons of google
Proving once again that they are not evil, Google will send a printed holiday card to the person of your choice. For free. In the mail.
Choose wisely, you only get one card. Happy Googledays! From @krlmyr
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:31 AM
0 comments
Monday, November 30, 2009
taking the gift card to the next level
Gift cards continue to get better and better with each and every year, from a creative standpoint.
This year Target pushes it over the top with Winter Fishing Hole, a gift card that's actually a holiday board game, too. Featuring the wonderous holiday illustration of Invisible Creature, these cards are a gift of art, game and holiday cheer, all in one. Are you still giving out paper or plastic?
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:38 AM
0 comments
bringing the old school ads back to life
Schweppes makes vintage ads hot by adding live action arms. Super clever work that didn't take a kabillion dollar effect budget. Great ideas rock!
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:29 AM
0 comments
Friday, November 27, 2009
the ultimate gift guide for creative people
Happy Black Friday!
This is the day that the greatest blog in all of the land launches a gift edition!
The Brand Flakes For Breakfast Gift Guide is an entire blog devoted to the most killerest gift ideas for the creative person in your life. We'll post new, awesomely delicious ideas each and every day through the shopping, selling and giving season.
While today is the first day for the 2009 gift buying season, you can still browse through 2007 and 2008's awesome ideas, and then check back each day for more new, great stuff!
Get shopping. (And feel free to send ideas to @plaid)
Labels: blogging, holiday, plaid, self promotion
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:28 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
how to make your turkey day super awkward
Think your dysfunctional family Thanksgiving is uncomfortable? Imagine sharing turkey with PETA girl.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:28 AM
5 comments
Friday, November 13, 2009
the holiday cards are here
The Gap has released their holiday greeting card just in time for Thanksgiving, and it lets you send a customized cheer (with annoying lumberjack style models) to your friends. The dancing lumberjacks tie to the tv campaign that just launched with the same theme. (Everyone knows that lumberjacking cheerleaders are the new hot.)
What's really smart about this piece is that the recipients get a 20% off coupon code. That's not a bad thing to send to a friend. (If they like the Gap.) So is it a holiday card? Or an entertaining coupon?
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:06 AM
3 comments
Friday, November 06, 2009
when is it ok to start your xmas campaign?
AdWeek has some interesting poll results from a survey about when it's socially acceptable to begin your holiday advertising campaign. (I saw my first Christmas display this year mid-October!)
According to the poll, if you wait until Thanksgiving, 77% of the population won't hate you. Thanks, Jim Cioban
Labels: adindustry, holiday
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:33 AM
1 comments
Monday, August 10, 2009
it's time for blood.
Forget back to school sales...Halloween is around the corner, and that means it's time for another Saw release. One of the cool things they've done with the franchise is tying a national blood drive to each film's release. They get promotion, the Red Cross gets blood.
If It's Hip It's Here has posted the full series of posters for the events, and they get better every year. This year's nurse is hot and prickly.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:25 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Kmart's trigger-happy Christmas
Now before you get all OMG-I-can't-believe-retailers-are-pushing-Santa-already on us, consider this: Kmart running a Christmas promotion in July is brilliant. A little banner on the home page takes you here, where only those people who care can shop early, save on shipping, and yes, find an excuse to burn through discretionary income while the rest of us hoard pennies in this Pottersvillesque economic apocalypse.
Cynical observers would consider this a marketing ploy to obscure the reference price, that is, mask the real cost of goods with the glow of holiday splurging. But we see economic recovery. God bless you, Kmart, for getting people to spend again.
Via Rosie Siman.
posted by Ben Kunz @ 7:31 AM
2 comments
Thursday, April 09, 2009
how to make peeps
Some people celebrate Easter. Some people celebrate Passover. Some people call this holy week. I prefer Peeps Week. If you're a lover of Peeps, and worried that you'll need more after the store shelves are empty, worry no more.
Chef Brian Robinson teaches you how to make your own peeps. Fun for the whole family. From Unhatched.
Labels: creativeinspiration, holiday, pop culture, yummyfood
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:11 AM
0 comments
Monday, April 06, 2009
not for people who like bunnies
If your idea of an Easter celebration entails killing, maiming or cutting up the Easter Bunny, then you might enjoy the Easter Bunny Egg Run (Two). You play the role of the Easter Bunny, and try to avoid certain gruesome death.
Flash games are pretty tired, but the guys at Motion Monkey have created something that stands out...thanks to the blood and gore. Happy Easter.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:32 AM
0 comments
Friday, February 13, 2009
friday flakes episode six
Today's Friday Flakes is hosted by David, Chris and Darryl. (And special appearance by Jason!) In this week's episode, we talk about:
+ How David is a Star Wars geek AND a Friday the 13th geek
+ Darryl's return to the office after a week away
+ Warm weather touches the northeast quadrant
+ An unconventional, conventional pitch
In the World of Social Media, we chat about:
+ The reporter who made a dumbass out of himself on Twitter
+ We introduce a new feature called Tip of the Week (a great idea by Eric Smith) and talk about the cool tool that Ryan Kuder turned us onto, called Skitch
In this week at BrandFlakesForBreakfast, we chat about:
+ How Macy's disrespected dead cyclists
+ Valentwine, and how to find your most compatible Twitter friends (thanks to Atherton Artelby for the link)
Happy Friday the 13th from FridayFlakes!
Labels: film, fridayflakes, holiday, social media, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 11:25 AM
5 comments
candy hearts without the calories
Make your own digital candy hearts! Yummy for your computer, and guilt free! From MarketingProfs, via Twitter
Labels: creativeinspiration, holiday, yummyfood
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:12 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
london without people
Here's another fun activity to add to your Christmas tradition: photograph the city that you live in. That's what Ian did. Check out his amazing set of photos of an empty London.
There's only two days a year where this is possible - Christmas Day, and on the day of the zombie apocalypse. But shooting photography during a zombie apocalypse is terribly difficult, so we'd highly recommend the Christmas option.
From Coudal Partners.
Labels: architecture, holiday, outdoor, photography, zombies
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:27 AM
1 comments
Monday, January 05, 2009
a photo tour of your mall
If you did any shopping over the holiday break, you undoubtedly experienced the same thing that Guy Kawasaki did. Only he documented his shopping trip with some photos. This is the ultimate picture tour and brand lesson all in one trip - just be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom...
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:50 AM
1 comments
Saturday, December 27, 2008
this week at Plaid
Here's what happened this week, at the world's most santalicious creative agency:
We marked the TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY for both Justus and David at Plaid. We can't even believe the agency has been around that long. These are two outstanding individuals who have contributed greatly to Plaid's success. Without either of them, Plaid wouldn't be what it is today. We celebrated with a nice lunch, and then gifted them with some sweet Nikon D80 kits.
Plaid employees got a nice surprise before leaving for the holiday, too. They all received new Flip HD cameras! Steph, Matt and Justus show that they're prepared to shoot holiday goodness, above. Expect loads of embarrassing video to be posted on a regular basis.
If that wasn't enough love, Chris received a $100 cash reward for having the most posts on the Plaid Holiday Gift Guide. We're pretty sure that he'll just give it all to charity. ;)
Our holiday card received an unexpected response. Both positive and negative. We were overjoyed with calls, emails and comments on our greeting - and appreciate every one of them. And then we were totally blown away by a letter from a lawyer(!!) representing an employee who received the card, who was offended. Yikes. Definitely didn't intend to offend people while spreading Plaid holiday love. Anyway, enjoy some brilliant discussion going on over the matter at Adrants, MakeTheLogoBigger and ThoughtGadgets.
We started holiday vacation!!! Regardless of what Plaid employees may celebrate individually, we'll all be doing it with loads of time off. We close Plaid offices until January 2nd. Some of us may peek in from time to time, but mostly - it's enjoying Christmas and Hanukkah gifts, spending time with family, and snowboarding.
Blogging may be a little bit lighter over the holidays - or at least a little bit later, as I'm quite sure that there will be some sleeping past 5:30am for a few days. :)
Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year from all of your awesome friends at Plaid!
Labels: holiday, plaid, self promotion, thisweekatPlaid
posted by darryl ohrt @ 4:40 PM
1 comments
Thursday, December 25, 2008
happy holidays from the plaid team!
All the best to you and yours for an awesome holiday!
Labels: holiday
posted by darryl ohrt @ 12:01 AM
0 comments
Monday, December 22, 2008
elf with attitude, and creepy tom. just in time for the holidays.
Two additional holiday promotions crossed our inbox, that you may enjoy...
The first is Tom Fellow. If your idea of the perfect Christmas is watching a creepy sexy man, well Tom Fellow is your man. Or fellow. Or creep. Whatever. (Thanks, Pete!)
And then Adrants points to a promotion for White+Partners, who hire an elf at their agency. Of course, hilarity ensues. What's not to love about a cranky elf?
Labels: adindustry, holiday
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:27 AM
0 comments
Saturday, December 20, 2008
this week at Plaid
Here's what happened this week at the world's most sugarlicious creative agency:
We consumed calories. Not just empty, unnecessary calories, but the kind covered with chocolate, pecans, caramel, powdered sugar and gravy. (Well, maybe not gravy.) Thursday kicked off what's become a holiday tradition at Plaid. Eliza's Sugarfest. Coworker Eliza, whose last name just happens to be Sweet (swear, that's the truth) bakes enough sugary goodness to feed all of the hungry people on earth. Only she brings them to us to consume, instead.
This year's Sugarfestival started with a welcome surprise by client Tally Maffucci, who stopped by with her own platter of sugary goodness. It turns out that Tally is also a master bakestress (yes, we really know how to pick clients) and has spent the last 12 weeks or so baking about 43 kabillion varieties of cookies.
We ate our way into a sugar coma on Thursday, and then came back for more on Friday. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by on Monday - there's still some sugary goodness left for you.
Brina celebrated the last day of her internship on Thursday. Usually, we mark last days with cake, but that would have been ridiculous. We loaded her with some Plaid goodness and sent her off filled with Christmas sugar. She's also finishing school (for good!) this weekend, so she's pretty stoked to get onto a wonderful life without teachers or final projects.
Oh yeah - our holiday card turned out to be a pretty big success, with people (on average) sending it to at least four friends. That's a pass-a-long rate that's officially viral!
We've also got a sugarload of projects that are "just this close" to completion, so we're still working feverishly to get some closure before the end of the season.
The week ended with a massive snowblast that all of our Twitter friends were calling Snowmaggeddon. Our area got hit with more than half of a foot of snow, which led to a pretty nice close to the week. Lots of shopping and holiday preparingness this weekend for the Plaid team, as we get ready to dive into the last work week of 2008. Woot!
Labels: holiday, plaid, self promotion, thisweekatPlaid
posted by darryl ohrt @ 11:25 PM
0 comments
Friday, December 19, 2008
your friend is sleeping with claus
For our agency holiday card this year, we created a video that you can customize for your friends, to make it seem like they were sleeping with Santa. Or Mrs. Claus, depending on their preference.
I prefer the Mrs, as she also knows how to make some badass cookies. See my version here, or make your own version here. Happy Christmas!
Labels: holiday, plaid, self promotion
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:54 AM
3 comments
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
b2b: fun for the holidays, too.
I hear business-to-business leaders complain all the time that they can't have fun with their marketing. Locked in a world where they pretend their audience is non-human, has no sense of humor, and convinced the only message delivery vehicles are pages and pages of boring copy. (And PowerPoint decks.)
So it's energizing to have a client with a business to business audience that LOVES to have fun. And isn't afraid to share that in their marketing collateral. Check out the video that we produced for RMI Direct Marketing, as their holiday greeting.
Their clients get to know them better, feel like they're a bunch of fun to work with, and yes - enjoy a sense of humor. (And they can act, too!)
Labels: holiday, marketing, plaid, self promotion, video
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:03 AM
1 comments
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
follow santa on twitter
If you've always loved following Santa's route via the NORAD tracking system, then you'll love the fact that they're tweeting it this year too. Now you can really follow Santa.
(found via a Twitter friend, but I can't remember who now...sorry.)
Labels: holiday, social media, twitter
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:55 AM
0 comments
if the radio city christmas show isn't your thing...
Maybe the SlutCracker is. Yes, that's right, the SlutCracker. If your idea of the ultimate Christmas includes drag kings, can-can dancers, hoola-hoopists, and burlesque performers, then the SlutCracker is for you.
Sadly, the show is over - but until next year, you can check out some of the performers in their regular shows, like Babes in Boinkland, All the Kings Men, Ballet Lolita, Can Can Revolution and Big Moves.
(Who knew Boston was so sexy?)
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:36 AM
0 comments
Monday, December 15, 2008
a fresh and hot holiday greeting
Here's an amazingly great holiday card from agency AKQA. I imagine that their coffee and leftover lunches are always piping hot.
Labels: adindustry, holiday
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:47 AM
0 comments
Friday, December 12, 2008
it's a holiday card, charlie brown.
A holiday card about the making of a holiday card. As anyone at any agency can tell you, there's a load of stress around getting the annual holiday greeting out. This Charlie Brown spoof will give you an idea of how it works at a larger, crappier agency. ;)
Labels: adindustry, creativeinspiration, holiday, parody
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:22 AM
0 comments
Thursday, December 11, 2008
how architects do gingerbread
Check out the gingerbread version of the world famous Mies van der Rohe’s modern home. And you can buy it! For just $4320. Some of the funds go to actually help restore the original home in Plano, Illinois. The rest must go to a very, very expensive baker.
Labels: architecture, holiday, yummyfood
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:04 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
destroy fruitcake for fun and profit
And here's another good one. Destroy fruitcake in every imaginable way. Shoot it, burn it, kick it, shred it. Or destroy your own and post it. Two things that go great together: video of things being destroyed and fruitcake. Delicious.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:40 AM
0 comments
there's a xmas festival happening in the basement
The creative holiday greetings are hitting the streets, and this is a really, really good one. BetamaXmas is a retro celebration of everything that is awesome about Christmas in 1988.
Hang in the BTronics basement and enjoy the best Christmas specials - like Frosty the Snowman, Pee Wee's Playhouse, that Folgers commercial, and everything else that the TV can tune in. Awesome.
Labels: holiday
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:34 AM
0 comments
Friday, December 05, 2008
christmas ads that aren't annoying
If you're not already sick and tired of "every kiss begins with Kaye," then you'll totally love this collection of awesome Christmas ads at Abduzeebo. (Awesome in a good way, not awesome in a "if I hear that stupid Kaye jingle one more time I'm kicking the tv" way.)
Labels: adindustry, ads, creativeinspiration, holiday
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:44 AM
0 comments
Thursday, December 04, 2008
the most beautious human designed snowflakes
Saks 5th Avenue commissioned artist Marian Bantjes to create 25 individual snowflakes for their 2008 holiday season.
Each flake has its own style, yet they come together in a sparkly cool winterlike way. The end result is a stunningly beautiful collection of flakes that Saks has incorporated into their holiday shopping bags, gift cards and even product.
Labels: art, holiday, illustration, retail
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:38 AM
0 comments
hipster santa uses a palm centro
I know what you're thinking...there are still Palm devices? Turns out - yes . Apparently, not everyone has an iPhone or Blackberry, and Santa's out to spread the word about the new Palm Centro.
In the Palm world, Santa has lost a lot of weight and sports a hipster beard. And he wears red velvet skinny jeans. And goes by Claus. And he's on Facebook.
Ummmm...OK. Does he live in Brooklyn now? Does he still hang with reindeer? Did he drop the old lady for a hipster chick? So many important questions.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:21 AM
2 comments
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
diarrhea. it's what's for christmas.
This ad for the Food Standards Agency reminds people to keep it refrigerated this holiday season. Or else.
Any excuse to say diarrhea out loud over and over in an ad is good holiday fun for the whole family.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:20 AM
0 comments
steampunk: what's hot for the holidays
Retail Design Diva reports that the famous Fifth Avenue holiday window displays have something in common this year: the love for steampunk.
Bring on the mechanical wonderment. The leather buckles. The boots, clasps and technical wizardry. It's a steampunk Christmas, everyone!
Labels: holiday, pointofpurchase, retail
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:59 AM
0 comments
Friday, November 28, 2008
happy black friday
Overslept and missed the 3AM shopping bonanza this morning? No worries.
This excellent series of spots from BestBuy should get you into the holiday shopping spirit. Enjoy. Thanks, Todd!
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:09 AM
0 comments
Thursday, November 27, 2008
rick astley wishes you a happy turkey day
The biggest rick roll in television history?
Labels: holiday
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:52 PM
1 comments
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
don we now, our coke bomb bottles...
Since many people associate Coke with popularizing Santa's brand image, it's only appropriate that they release a special holiday package design of the world's most popular sugary brown juice.
These Coke ornaments/CokeBalls are holidalicious.
I really hope that Coke took full advantage here, and produced the obvious point of purchase device - trees adorned with Coke "ornaments." What would be totally awesome would be a giant fridge, next to the register - with a rotating tree INSIDE, adorned with perfectly chilled Coke bombs. And of course, there should be a site where people could decorate their entire homes with empty CokeBall bottles, and upload pics for all to see...oh, the possibilities.
Labels: beverage, holiday, package design, pointofpurchase, retail, yummyfood
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:02 AM
3 comments
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
obama wins. walmart plays xmas music.
It's official. The Christmas music has started at Walmart. Yeesh. Happy Thanksgiving.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:13 AM
0 comments
Friday, October 31, 2008
plaid's pumpkin smash '08
After chowing down on too many Halloween themed donuts and too much candy, we decided to smash some pumpkins today. With that dude from Nickelback as our target. (Random, but important to the story, I guess.) Enjoy.
Labels: holiday, plaid, self promotion, workplace
posted by darryl ohrt @ 4:44 PM
4 comments
best face painting ever, ever, ever.
This is the most awesome face painting ever in the entire world or universe of face painting. All other face painters should just donate their brushes to Salvation Army and hide their faces in shame. HawHawJames rocks. Thanks, Casey!!
Labels: art, creativeinspiration, holiday
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:33 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
people in france don't wear shirts to class
Amazing: 140 people pulled off a lip dub version of Thriller. In ONE take. Just in time for Halloween. Oh yeah - and it appears that in France, students go right from gym class to lectures.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:09 AM
3 comments
Monday, October 27, 2008
people in detroit get bizarre
Charlie from Curve tells us that their agency got to check out a behind the scenes tour of Theatre Bizarre! - the most hellacious looking Halloween type event ever. Reason to consider a move to Michigan. Or at least going there for a visit.
Check out the QuickTime VR tour, too. Definitely one of the killerest environmental designs ever. Thanks Charlie!
Labels: creativeinspiration, holiday, interior design
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:23 AM
1 comments
Friday, August 15, 2008
time to rework your ad schedules: xmas is here.
The Consumerist posts about the very first case of Christmas creep - spotted in NYC this week. Because you know, Christmas is right around the corner. You should fully expect to see the holiday retail displays this weekend.
Based on this new schedule, please adjust your media plans to the following new start dates:
Fourth of July mattress sales: January 4
Halloween promotions: April 31
Thanksgiving Ads: July 23
Christmas ads: August 14
New Year's resolution gym ads: August 31
Labels: adindustry, ads, holiday, retail
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:13 AM
0 comments
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
be romantic in 360 degree glory
Romancers: you'll love this. De Beers put together a beautious campaign for the holiday season that is truly inspiring. If you've already seen the ad, then check out the making of the production over at The Future of Ads. Nice.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:15 AM
0 comments
Monday, December 31, 2007
some other people's top 2007 lists
We're far too lazy to create a BrandFlakesForBreakfast top list of 2007. We're still technically, on vacation, after all.
But we have bookmarked some other people's lists, for you. We've culled through the crap, so that you don't have to. Here's a couple of worthwhile 2007 Best of/Top Ten lists for you:
Best of Zen Habits in 2007
Top NYC stories of 2007.
Top Ten innovation mistakes. This is a good one.
Best Internet Marketing Blog posts of 2007. Another really good one.
Top Albums of 2007. (I know this is a polarizing subject - so I just took the laziest approach. Cool Hunting's list was the first in my RSS. So I now declare that one the best.)
Top Ten Ways to use Twitter.
The WTF moment of 2007.
And, while I could care less about football, and didn't even enjoy the Twitters of the Patriots game, here's a Top 10 list for the Giants fans.
And last but not least, LifeHacker's list of top 2007 lists.
Happy New Year to all of the Brand Flakes readers around the globe. May your year be filled with BrandFlakes deliciousness!
Labels: holiday, newyork, productivity, social media, twitter, web2.0, workplace
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:12 AM
0 comments
Monday, December 24, 2007
wow.
That's the sun! From NASA!
Labels: art, creativeinspiration, holiday, photography
posted by darryl ohrt @ 10:06 AM
happy eating holidays
Happy Slip Jingle. I love the cups girl.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 9:58 AM
0 comments
have a red christmas.
Look! A super sweet collection of Soviet Santa art!
posted by darryl ohrt @ 9:34 AM
0 comments
Friday, December 21, 2007
this week at Plaid
Here's what happened this week at the world's so-ready-for-the-holidays agency:
Construction on our addition continued. They pretty much finished the roof, so we can now get a sense of the full space. We met with the electrician, and decided where all of the lights, switches and ethernet terminals would go. We've also begun shopping for furniture, which is awesome.
Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines. We completed everything that we needed to (as far as we know) so that everyone could cut out early today.
MMMMMMMMM. So many loads of sugary goodness. And just enough alcohol. Special thanks go out to Brian, Katie, Bill, Diana, Paul and Chris, Derek, RMI, White Light, Ben, and the master of all things sugar, Eliza. And I'm sure I've forgotten someone. Safe to say we've all put on a few pounds this week.
Plaid offices are closed for the holidays, giving us all time to stay up late, sleep late, and do untold things. We're back in action on Wednesday, January 2nd.
I'll blog periodically (probably) during this period.
Happy Christmas, Happy New Years, and Happy whatever you might celebrate to all of our BrandFlakes friends!
Labels: holiday, thisweekatPlaid, yummyfood
posted by darryl ohrt @ 4:41 PM
0 comments
handbell hero rocks the holiday greetings
This has to be the best interactive greeting I've seen this year. Send it to all of your friends who are Guitar Hero freaks. Thanks Devon!
Labels: holiday
posted by darryl ohrt @ 4:23 PM
0 comments
Thursday, December 20, 2007
the puma robot cares about you
Puma has brought a non-stop working robot out of the factory to deliver holiday greetings and stuff. He'll even needlepoint you a custom message to send to your friends. So special. From Make the Logo Bigger.
Labels: fashion, holiday, sports marketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:46 AM
0 comments
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
don't buy your kids toys that explode
The Gas Agency (awesome name, btw) has produced a promotional campaign for Reevoo called Don't Buy a Turkey this Christmas. I like the video. (But then again, I was the kid who was lighting GI Joe's car on fire. What can I say...life was boring in the suburbs.)
Labels: ads, holiday, youthmarketing
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:55 AM
1 comments
Friday, December 14, 2007
this week at Plaid
We produced a really fun online greeting card for client RMI Direct Marketing. Check it out, and see what a bunch of no-talent singers sound like when you put them together in a chorus. It's really bad. No really. Bad. (We've advised them not to quit their day jobs.)
Eric from Segway talks about the project we're working on in the SegwayToday podcast. This is going to be awesome. Should be launching early next year.
Construction continued on the addition to our space. All the walls are up, and they've installed the roof rafters. We can really get an idea on how the space will feel now.
Today, we met a significant sales goal - and celebrated by getting the crew new Nikon Coolpix cameras. They're the first digital cameras with WIFI on board. For real. We can now shoot pics and upload them right from the camera to Flickr. Or email. Or whatever. Expect lots of action on our Flickr page in the coming weeks.
Some skiing, shopping, movie watching and snow shoveling planned for the crew this weekend. Next week's going to be a MADHOUSE.
Labels: holiday, plaid, thisweekatPlaid
posted by darryl ohrt @ 8:02 PM
3 comments
eckerd college says happy holidays
The e-holiday cards are starting to roll in.
Eckerd College talked their President into a funny little holiday production. Sure to be appreciated by anyone who's a part of the creative/internet industrial work force.
Some great lines like "I just have to think of something funny, put the funny in the computer, and spit out a card. How long can that take?"
And "No....I need it now!"(Who hasn't had a client think it's that easy?)
I like that the management has a sense of humor. That's so rare in an educational environment, and says a lot about the leadership. Kudos, Mr Eckerd President. (And nice sweater.)
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:18 AM
1 comments
Thursday, December 13, 2007
blast sleepy agency people with a face full of snow
This is a pretty sweet idea. London agency Archibald Ingall Stretton setup a snowmachine blaster gun at their entrance, and put the controls in your hands. If you're awake at 9am their time, you can push the button and blast their creatives in the face, when they walk in for the morning. Or you can watch on the live webcams.
Awesome. I'm sure they all had it coming to them. :) From Adrants.
Labels: adindustry, holiday, self promotion
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:36 AM
0 comments
Monday, December 10, 2007
have sasquatch pee for your friends.
Because nothing says happy holidays like some sasquatch yellow snow. From The Denver Egotist.
posted by darryl ohrt @ 7:51 AM
0 comments
Friday, December 07, 2007
this week at Plaid:
Here's what happened this week at the world's most plaidalicious design and branding firm:
They started construction on the addition to our space. Lumber was delivered (with a crane!) and they began the process of framing the floor.
Bill, Diana and co-hort Ben and I visited Washington DC on Monday, to present to an exciting new potential client. Fingers are crossed, and we're ready to change the world. Or a little piece of it, anyway. LOVE DC, and would like to spend more time there.
I was interviewed by Inc. Magazine! Totally stoked. I've been a reader for years, so it was a pleasure to talk to them about blogging. I'm expecting nothing short of the cover, but I'll probably get edited from the article entirely. Funny thing - I mentioned the interview to coworker Rob, and he thought I meant Ink Magazine - about tattoos. Obviously not everyone in our office subscribes to the business pubs.
We've got exactly two weeks to finish everything up before we close for the holidays. There's soooo much to do - so there are definitely some long days ahead.
We (mostly Katie and Ryan) were busy like elves on meth getting holiday mailers together. The Plaid holiday greeting hit the mailbox today. If you're on our list, keep your eyes on your postman next week. We're also preparing a nice holiday surprise package for Plaid clients. That should hit the streets later next week.
Major shout-out to Morgan Williams for hooking me up with American Hardcore on DVD. (It's a punk rock thing, not a porno thing.) Gonna be great to reminisce about the old days this weekend. Thanks Morgan!!!
Have a great weekend. It's snowing here.
Labels: holiday, thisweekatPlaid
posted by darryl ohrt @ 10:18 PM
1 comments
