First Step: Admit You Have a Problem

I have a problem.

My name is Rob. I have a Hood Internet addiction. Two posts in two days brought about my moment of clarity.

That said, this Mixtape which I downloaded yesterday (and am just listening to now) is incredible.



Hood teamed up with Anatomy Magazine to produce Side A of their Great American Mixtape

I won't lie, it didn't hurt that they mashed two of my all-time favorite songs. Lil' Troy - "Wanna Be a Baller" and and T.V.O.T.R. - "Wolf Like Me". That may not even be a great track, but to me it the most incredible thing I have ever heard. I nearly fell out of my chair when it kicked-off.

Here it is:
07 Lil' Troy (feat. Fat Pat and Yungstar) x TV On The Radio - Wanna Be A Wolf Like Me

Anyway, while I work on finding a new musical experience, you enjoy.

Did I mention Side A and and B of the Great American Mixtape is FREE when you opt in to Anatomy Magazine.

Hood Internet: Trillwave

If you guys don't follow and download all the new Hood Internet tracks like I do, you might have missed a lot over the past 6 months.

Good News! They (with help from "the fine people of Mishka...") just released a new mixtape called Trillwave.



Mashups featuring everyone from (of course) Kanye, Phoenix, The Flaming Lips, Royksopp, Genesis, Diddy, Jay-Z, Yacht, Maps and about 20 others. All of which add up to one hell of a ride home from work, roll out to the bars or domination at a house party.

Anyway, enjoy the Mix Tape, and go see The Hood Internet when they come to your town. You won't regret it.

Ogre Sized Meal for Kids

Childhood obesity.

I feel like I hear that term a lot these days. There's a lot of blame to go around for it. Lack of activity, digitally focused society, poor parenting choices, bad nutritional education, hormone injected everything, and a super 'PC' mentality that discourages condemnation of a childs weight for fear of onsetting body or diet issues.Parents and friends just assume that kids will grow into or out of it, but by the time it's a real problem, it's too late.

But, I think king among all these reasons is that food tastes so damn good. McDonald's food in particular. McDonald's isn't every 5 year old's favorite restaurant by coincidence. Sure they give out toys, and they have play places, but it's the food that kids, I, crave(d). Steaming hot cheese burger (hold the onions), plenty of the best tasting fountain Coca-Cola, and those golden salty sticks of joy. The consistency of McDonald's grub, which revolutionized the food industry around the world, is the perfect fit for kids with discerning palettes, huge appetites and price conscious parents.

But, this is not news. There has been push back from every side, and McDonald's is the target of a lot of bad PR and public health scrutiny. Are they the fall guy for the main reasons child obesity is the issue it is (mentioned above), i don't know, like I said there's a lot of blame to go around. I do know that over the past 10 years the company has responded to public outcry through their marketing, restaurant design and products. Commericials featuring active lifestyle choices, larger more dynamic play-places or none at all and "Healthier" food options. Small steps, but things they can point to in the event of complaints.

But, last week, I saw this:

A 20pc. Chicken McNugget with a Dreamworks 'Shrek' theme. 9pc. Ok, but 20pc. A Shrek sized serving, for a Rumpelstiltskin sized person? Child?

It might not seem like a big deal to you, but a lot of bells and whistles went off in my head. At 12, my McDonalds food of choice were the McNuggets, 20pc to be exact, but that wasn't marketed to me. I made that choice based on math and my genetic need to make poor decisions based on value...

"Wait I can get a 9pc. for $3 or a 20pc. for $4. What? Am I an idiot. 20pc please, lot's of BBQ sauce and a supersized milkshake. Thank you!"

But for two companies so children focused to put there brand and stamp of approval on 20pcs of hormone stuffed fried chicken pieces is extremely surprising to me. More surprising is that there hasn't been more public outcry. Maybe the "nagging-wife-effect" has taken over, and the world is just zoning out all the noise as it relates to McDonald's being unhealthy. I hope not. My guess is that the fact they were suppling children with toxic Shrek-themed glasses probably, and rightly, overshadowed this misstep.

I wonder if McDonald's has any corporate marketing positions open at the moment?

My last note, or, question on the subject is what's up with the Chicken supply in this country right now. McDonald's, on top of this Shrek 20pc. thing, just launched a 50pc McNugget. I'll say that again... FIFTY pieces of McDonald's Chicken McNuggets. At the same time, Hardee's, a great client of my agency, just launched hand breaded Chicken Tenders, and are pushing them hard right now. Let' see, Grilled Chicken and Chicken-as-the-bread chicken sandwich from KFC. All this begs the question, have the hormones finally succeed in growing T-Rex sized fowl? Is the movie 'Jurassic Park' currently occurring in Arkansas at Tyson Foods?

Somebody call Jeff Goldbloom!

Amnesty International Awesome. But effective?

Want proof that even the most beautiful and compelling advertising can be unsuccessful, look no further than Amnesty Intenational. They and their agencies have been doing brilliant work since its inception, and though "to no avail" seems harsh, it's not far from the truth.

Check out one of their more recent spots from TBWA\France:



Wow, right? Gorgeous, smart, effective... right? Wait, effective on who? Me? But what can I do to stop the death penality. I mean, I can use my imagination. I can go out and get petitions signed. I can contact my senator. I can send money to Amnesty International. Ahhh... there's the rub.

I'm not saying that Amnesty isn't a viable and necessary organization. They are, no question. Their work to fight for or free those wrongly or inhumanely incarcerated is invaluable. My concern is that their amazing ads compel me to donate and be done.

Tell me what to do. Circle the wagons, charge the troops, finagle your Facebook friends. How we can we convince those that are most for the death penalty that it is not humane. How can we speak directly to the father of a murdered and raped daughter? How can we speak to a woman whose religion mandates such punishment in response to a crime against God? How can we convince a Congressman, Prime Minister or President to take swift action, wehn their constituents demand capital punishment?

Answer these questions, and we'll find true effectiveness. But, in the mean-time keep making amazing ads. Every person you inspire is one small step toward insight and action.

Here are some more work from Amnesty through out the years:











I could go all day.

Do your part. Donate.

Mark Ronson & Zelda. Be still my heart!

So, my boy Mark Ronson's new album "Record Collection" has been slated for release this summer (or early fall). From what I am reading and hearing, it sounds a lot less Motown and more Silicon Valley. Incorporating that 8-bit sound, digital voice shifting and his gift for sick power-pop tempos, this album should continue Ronson's innovative, award winning and popularly successful production track record.

Oh, and he's singing on it too.

I mentioned Zelda, because this video for the song "Circuit Breaker" has been released, and it features a very Link-esque character in some very Nintendo-ish game play. Check it out:



Rumored collaborating artists on the album include Santigold, Scissor Sisters, MNDR, Q-Tip, Rose Eleanor Dougall, Spank Rock, Ghostface Killah, Boy George and Miike Snow. Unlike his last album "Version", this album will not be covers of classics, but all original works. Judging by the talent listed above, the songs will come from a range of different genres and musical styles.

I'm excited, and you should be too. Check out "Verison" if you want in the mean time.

Typeface Decider from Julian Hanson

In every industry there is some dumb, stupid and pointless topic which has no correct answer that for whatever reason is discussed and argued about ad nauseam.

For a designer like myself that topic is Typefaces. Yeah! Fonts. You know Times New Roman, Arial, Century Gothic. Most people spend their entire life just caring about which font makes their 8 page paper appear to be 12, but not us. We define them, give them personalities. Use words like contemporary, trendy and distressed. Ascender, Decenders, Serifed and Sans Serifed. We kern them, we lead them. We stretch them, we slice them. We know which ones work well together and which ones don't work well at all (ehem... I'm talking to you Hobo and Comic Sans!)

I only use this. How dare they use that. IKEA is switching to what!?! It goes on and on.

I'm guilty. We all are.

But this nice illustration/map/chart called "So you need a typeface?" from Julian Hanson might make at least the whole decision process a lot easier.



It also give some good justifications for why to use a font, which is applicable to both designers and the average lay person. Takes you through the whole process.

Take a look and follow the yellow brick road to you ideal typeface.

A window into your soul... or San Francisco!

I saw this today on Uncrate while procrastinating about what I wanted to do next at work.

Winscape is a Mac based software that takes two flat panel TV's and turns them into a window view of something sweet. It's position aware, and changes the view according to your movements.

Check out this video to get a sense:



Not only is this incredible, fun and a cool decoration... it's an amazing (albeit tiny) example of where we are headed with mobile technology in the next few years. We live in a world where we are knowingly, nay, willingly allowing devices to track not only our information, but our location and position. An iPhone or Wii Remote knows where you are all they way down to if you are laying on the ground or up on a ladder.

Think of the possibilities. Your phone will know exactly what floor you are on in a building and which elevator is on it's way up to take you to the closest cafe´with the best lunch special and the foods you like. When you leave it will shut the lights off (lights set to your personal preference), track the time you are gone and forward any calls to your cell.

All automatic. All you do is walk out of the room.

And my imagination is slow today. The possibilities are endless.

Get excited! Or maybe scared?

New MGMT Album

The new MGMT album is streaming on their website. Check it out.

I think I heard some of the tracks last month, and wasn't impressed. Hopefully they weren't legit.

I'm liking what I'm hearing here.

Enjoy!

Tropicana - Good Morning Inuvik

My friends over at the Surly Birds blogged about this recently. I guess they weren't feeling particularly surly that day.

Anyway, I agree with them wholeheartedly.

So much of the work done in advertising today is bogged down with crap, and that is noones fault. It has to do with time, resources, fear, budgets, goals, strategies, and everyone from CEOs to lowly Art Directors.

But every once in a while something truly inspiring is produced. Something not only drool worthy and award winning, but that builds a brand and really fits/delivers a simple message.

Tropicana and BBDO, Toronto did it with this spot. Beautiful, clever, cute and spot on brand. Tropicana makes mornings brighter even in the darkest places. Check it out:



From BBDO Toronto and paid for by Tropicana.

SNL Presidents Reunite

Saw this on Funny or Die today. It'll be all over, but I thought it was worth a share. All the SNL presidents and apparently Jim Carrey as Reagan. Directed by Opey (aka. Ron Howard).

They want to make sure Obama passes Bank Regulation, and hope this video spreads the word.

Check it out.

Funny or Die's Presidential Reunion from Will Ferrell

Then check out the behind the scenes.

President's Reunion Behind the Scenes - watch more funny videos

Then go to the website.

Alex Varanese Road Posters

I know... more posters. I have been posting a lot lately, but these are glorious.

Alex Varanese is a Bay Area (SanFran?) designer who apparently "Loves red more than me." Maybe, but maybe not my boss David.

Either way, these posters are incredible, and a great use of his preferred portion of the spectrum.

As always, check them out and then buy one.

These were all over Ffffound.com today by the way, which is where I saw them.

Quentin Tarantino Tribute Posters

I have been seeing these all over the web lately and have to say that I love them.

Quentin Tarantino is one of my favorite directors and writers for that matter. He writes 'cool' better than probably anyone.

Well Toronto based AD/Designer Ibraheem Youssef designed these awesome minimalistic posters paying tribute the man and his movies.

Take a look and buy one.

My New Car... Built for WHAM!

Not the kind where your accelerator sticks and you go kareeming into busy intersection, but more George Michael puttin' the "boom boom into my heart" sort of Wham!

This weekend Tiffany and I took my 2000 Oldsmobile Alero with nearly 200,000 miles on it to a farm where it will be happy and free to run with all the farm animals. We came home with a 2008 Prius.

"You send my soul sky high when your lovin' starts"



Its a great car. I can already tell how people turn High MPG's into a game. I caught myself not using the gas pedal at all on downward hills last night on the way home from work. Fun for me, not so much for the car stuck behind me at 45 MPH... Then 75... then 45... Then 70.

"Jitterbug into my brain. Goes a bang-bang-bang 'til my feet do the same"

I am predicting a good spring, some good driving and a lot less time at the gas station. Take that Saudi Arabia!

"Wake me up before you go-go
Don't leave me hanging on like a yo-yo
Wake me up before you go-go
I don't want to miss it when you hit that highhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Let me know if you can think of anymore sweet songs that need to be blasted this spring, cruising in my Prius? I'll put together an amazing playlist and put it up for D/L.

STL Addys: Cannonball Tailgates while Toky Cleans Up

We attended the annual STL Addys last night at The Lumen near Schlafly Tap Room.

It was a night a snacking, mingling and scoffing at work that I could have done (but didn't).

We started the night of by going across the street to Bridge. A musically inspired winebar and tap house. Fans of Bailey's Chocolate Bar and The Rooster will like the newest endeavor by owner David Bailey. Its a gorgeous space with lofted dining and incredible light fixtures. Here are some shots from the inside out.





Then we jaunted over to Lumen just in time to stand around and drink for a couple of hours before the winners were announced (of which I was not).

Cannonball, a primarily Broadcast-centric agency in town, walked away with multiple Addys including Best in Show. They basically dominated the Superbowl this year for AB, beating out ad Goliath, DDB, for all of Bud Light work on the Big Game. Last night they won big for the Jimmy Football stuff from last year. Check it out.




The Condiment Gun by Jimmy Football - Watch more Funny Videos



Another ever present agency name was Toky Branding and Design. They won or were recognized for multiple categories, styles and clients. Rightfully so, because they always do great work, and this year was no different. Here are some of the projects that I can remember.

Carrole's Story: Dealing With Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms from Toky Branding + Design on Vimeo.

We sadly learned about the passing of the son of one of STL most influential 'Ad Men' Tom Townsend. My thoughts go out to his family and friends.

Information Design and a Glimpse of the Future

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Map of the future from the Italian Magazine WIRED."][/caption]

I saw this today on Ffffound.com then Behance, and I am really digging it. This map of the future not only lays out a view of the future of information, business and politics, but does it in an extremely beautiful way.

I love this movement to make information interesting. Designing a chart, graph or map has become the most mundane of tasks thanks in part to the wide spread usage of Xcell. And thos charts are really good at relaying information, unfortunately they look like shit and generally ruin any design that you are laying them into. But take a look at this Map, where the information become the design. Its (fairly) clear and beautiful and compels you to read the whole thing. Here are some more looks:

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Developed by Density Design"][/caption]









This style reminds me a lot of that Mark Weaver style, a mid-century throwback with contemporary touches like buffalo heads transposed onto human bodies. Actually maybe that's a throwback too, I'm thinking of Monty Python. Either way, its incredible, complex and fun.

I've been experimenting in that style lately, I'll let you know when I get there.

Here are a few examples of Weaver's amazing stuff. I can't say enough how much I love it.