Someone to Blame

The school year is over. I've graduated, turned 21, and moved home for a bit. Now what? Well I looks for a job and till then I write.

SO what do we think of BP's advertising campaign? The Americans (well the Dems) are in uproar while the Brits are supporting the now imfamous company.

You can watch one of the lovely little ads HERE where Tony Hayward talks about how BP is taking responsibility. BP has also set up a section on their website that also talks about the company's response to the crisis.

Is the campaign really that bad or are we just looking for someone to blame?

x,
Chace
The Fauxhattanite

Classwork

Some of the work I've done for class...

Feature Article

Click HERE for a version you can read.

Podcast

Vodcast

x,
Chace
The Fauxhattanite

Vroom, vroom!

So this week is the International Car Show at the Javits Center. I used to go with my dad when I was younger, and this year I decided to take him. Although I know it's a yearly event , I never would have remembered if it had not been for those advertisements on the subway.

 One of the coolest cars at the show: the Viper

I dismiss many of the ads that are posted in the subway cars because, usually they don't apply to me. Most of the time they advertise books I would never read or English classes I don't need to take. The ad for the auto show however was very useful. It made me think about how many times we see these ads when riding the subway. I know that when I'm sitting on the train I look to the ads for entertainment and distraction, so much so that they have become ingrained into my mind. I can actively recall ads for Monroe College or Dr. Zizmore's dermatological practice even though I will never go to these places.

One of the subway car ad campaigns that I really like is the Jameson campaign. I may be biased because I went to the distillery in Ireland and fell in love with the place, but the campaign is quite amusing and I see many commuters reading the ads. The copy is simple and funny. The ads are just the words in an old sailor script scrawl on an emerald green background with a picture of a Jameson bottle.

Here's some of the copy from the campaign:

“My son isn’t named after me, he’s named after my whiskey.”

“The first official tour of my distillery happened in 1780 when pirates broke in and drank all my whiskey.”

“A 400lb bear once tried to ravage a barrel of my whiskey. That bear is now a rug.”

“A king once offered me a generous gift if I revealed my distillation process. But then I thought, what am I going to do with Prussia?”

“A wise man asked me why my whiskey was triple distilled. I had to wonder whether the man was so wise.”

“In 1780 I was turned down by the Navy. They said I could better serve Ireland if I kept making whiskey.”

  Courtesy of KMerrittBlog

x,
Chace
The Fauxhattanite

You stole my heart in 1, 2, 3

Wow, it's been awhile. February ate me and spit me back out, but I'm still kicking.

So for spring break I went home and got to watch TV for the first time in ages. I forgot how much I missed just lounging on the couch and watching mindless TV show...and even commercials.

My new favorite set of ads are the ones for Amazon's Kindle. I recently saw the 2nd one and as a result got hooked on the first.

The best part? These ads are NOT professionally produced. These ads are a result of a contest that Amazon hosted where people could submit homemade commercials. The top five were really good, but the winning commercial stood out. The ad uses stop motion, a favorite technique of mine.

The creator, Angela Kohler, described her creative process:

"My boyfriend, Ithyle Griffiths, and I had just purchased Kindles and were doing a lot of traveling when we got the e-mail about the contest. We were constantly approached in airports with questions about them. The best thing about the Kindle was that we no longer had to each pack five books in our luggage, and could pick and choose what book to open every time we boarded a flight. We wanted our commercial to reflect all the different books you can carry around in one device. On a plane from Japan to Thailand, we brainstormed ideas and sketched out little stories that our character could fall into following different literary genres. We scribbled out pictures on napkins and made a flip-book, putting the little scenes in different orders. The day of the shoot, we gutted a pillow to make clouds and smoke (a last-minute addition) and did the commercial in one seven-hour take. Our friend Annie Little starred in the spot, Sharon Williams was in charge of the wardrobe, Rachel DeSimone did the hair and makeup and we all worked together moving the scene inch by inch between shots. After we assembled the 300 or so frames, Ithyle wrote some music to accompany the clip, and that same day Annie sent over some lyrics that just happened to fit perfectly. They recorded it together the next day. We are so thrilled to have won both prizes because it means our film resonates with both Amazon corporate and their customers. We are really looking forward to attending the Gen Art Film Festival, and having our video recognized at the event is definitely icing on the cake." From Two If By See

One of the collaborators, Annie Little, wrote and performed "Fly Me Away" for the original commercial. The second commercial in the series features the same stop motion style with a new song, "Stole Your Heart", from Annie Little and Marcus Ashley.

I find that much of user generated content is more interesting than industry created content, whether it's an ad, a program, or something else.

x,
Chace
The Faux-hattanite

Love Rocks!!!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!!

Finally, we come to the final, and best, commercial about love. Yep, it's a diamond commercial. I first saw this commercial at a movie theater; it was one of the preview before some chick flick. Everyone "awwww"ed at the end, that's how cute this commercial is. Zales just got it right when they made "Love Rocks: The String."

I hope you all have a wonderful, happy, love-filled Valentine's Day!

x,
Chace
The Faux-hattanite

Time is running out

So yesterday was crazy. After practice I had to make a ton of chocolate covered strawberries and then go to a Valentine's Day party.

So here's the day #13 post:

This next commercial is one of my all time favorites. AT&T just did a really great job portraying the storyline, with the filming, and relating it to their slogan ("more bars in more areas"). It's a very successful commercial and absolutely adorable. So without further ado AT&T's "Backpacker."

Someecards

x,

Chace

The Faux-hattanite

I think that possibly, maybe I'm falling for you

It's day #12. With two days left to Valentine's Day I finally know what I'm doing. I am going to make my special apricot and walnut stuffed pork chop with spicy chocolate sauce for dinner, and for dessert I will make cream cheese filled chocolate covered strawberries. Mmm. I'd link to the recopies, but they are my little secrets. ;)

So with only two days left it is no wonder that I picked another diamond commercial. DeBeer's "Journey #3" exudes love and commercialism. After this commercial was aired, tons of people scoured the web for the song that is used, Landon Pigg's "(Falling in Love at a) Coffee Shop." The commercial is simple with no dialog, which I think is a strong point. The gently falling snow makes you think of that dreamy fairy tale winter wonderland where couples bundle up by the fire. I love how they stay stopped even as the light turns green. All the world moves around them, but they are in their own little bubble. Who hasn't been like that at the beginning of a high school relationship and who doesn't want that feel that type of young love again.

I personally have a soft spot for this commercial because this was kind of how my dad gave my mum her engagement ring. The first part of the proposal was all very nice; he made my mum carry around this package all day and when she finally got to open it she found out it was this music box with two lovers in a hot air balloon. My dad drover her out to a field where a hot air balloon was waiting. He took her up and then got down on one knee. The ring was a completely different circumstance. It was midnight mass for Christmas up at Columbia. During the sign of peace where you shake hands with other people in the congregation, my father shook my mother's hand and when she pulled it away there was a box in it. I just alway thought that was sweet because it was the perfect way to propose to someone like my mum.

Now for your listening pleasure I have some love related songs that I've been listening to lately.

Lykke Li's "A Little Bit" is not for everyone, but I like the lyrics.
Little Annie's "Strange Love" is one of my favorite songs from a commercial I will be posting later this month.
Fascinoma's "Don't Go" is pretty sad for the Valentine's Day season, but it's still a good song over all. It became really popular (well to a percentage of the population) when it was featured on American Dad.

x,
Chace
The Faux-hattanite

You (auto)complete me

Day # 11
Only a few more days until Valentine's Day! Check out Vodafone's "Elevator" ad. Although I kind of hate astrology updates and the horoscopes that are in the newspapers/magazines, this ad is adorable. This all-day elevator ride seems like an allegory for the trials that we go through to find that ideal love. I think this is the first good ad for this kind of texting service.

There was one commercial that really surprised during the Super Bowl; EA's commercial for Dante's Inferno featuring "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers. While it was not one of my favorite commercials and the game doesn't really interest me, the song that was paired with the visuals has kept the commercial replaying in my head. I think juxtapositions in commercials work really well because they cause your mind to really think about the commercial instead of just watching it with your eye glazed over. It reminds me of Starburst's "Contradictions: Scotch Korean" commercial, which if you think about it doesn't make any sense (not that there shouldn't be Scotch Koreans, but the fact that being Scotch Korean is not really a contradiction). However, this tactic still keeps your mind on the commercial.

x,

Chace

The Faux-hattanite

Survival of the Fittest

It's day #10!!! With only 4 more days to go I finally have plans for V-day. Nothing fancy or over the top; perhaps just a movie and a homemade meal. Ooo, and chocolate from Max Brenner's!

Today's commercial is Publix' "Class Project". Every proposal is a little different, and when the plan is homemade it's always a great surprise. The shots in this video are great, especially of the interaction between the kids. I was surprised that it turned out to be a commercial for a supermarket. Regardless, I love this commercial.

Now to figure out what to do on Sunday...

x,

Chace

The Faux-hattanite

Let's make a mess!

Ah, running behind because of much need sleep and glorious snow.

Day # 9 post:

So we are getting close to the end, only 5 more love-related posts to go. Today's post is brought to you by a "girl's best friend." Yes, I had to include some diamond commercials in here because they are quintessential examples of romantic advertising.

Our first commercial is "Declaration" by DeBeers. I love the concept, the setting, and how they shot the commercial, but I can't stand the acting. I also think there should be some music or better background noise because the silence seems so empty.

The next commercial, "Hands", is also by DeBeers. I think this one is much better, although I don't know if I would have picked this exact music. I love the concept of wanting to grow old together and I think that the copy they had the narrator read really complemented the scene.

x,

Chace

The Faux-hattanite

Honey-baked Ham Love in Paris

Day #8

This is a little too corny for me...Nokia commercial.

Of course when you think Valentine's day you think love and that eventually brings you to marriage. Of course I have to put up at least one proposal video. The most interesting thing about this commercial is that it's not for diamonds. Someone took the proposal idea and put a twist on it that's rather creative, if not to my taste.

The Super Bowl this past Sunday had a few commercials that stood out and a lot that were duds. Among the most successful and one of my favorites was Google's Parisian Love commercial. The ad is simplistic, but effective. It pulls at our heart stings and, like the Rosetta Stone print ad a few posts back, it makes us root for the main character/underdog. Best of all...it's not corny...but this Valentine sure is:

x,

Chace

The Faux-hattanite

What does Tuna have to do with it?

Day #7!! Half way there are I still am plan-less for Valentine's Day. Maybe a skiing trip is in order.

This next ad is a dramatic representation of what we want every boyfriend/girlfriend/lover to do...look past our flaws and see the beauty that is underneath.

Thai Low Fat Tuna Ad

All of the commercials for this company are pretty funny, but they all focus on how women should have this uber-skinny appearance which I am not okay with.

x,
Chace
The Faux-hattanite

The Underdog

This is the post for Day 6.....I had a 21st birthday party last night so I didn't get home in time to post.

It's time to change it up a bit with a print ad that I love.

Everyone loves the story of the underdog and Rosetta Stone has used this weakness to their advantage. Just look:

The simplicity of the ad is what drew me to it. The copy is funny and although it is ridiculous, we recognize the plight of the underdog to get have he wants. We root for him and in doing so, we root for the product to work. All-in-all a very effective ad.

And of course, because I can't resist commercial ads here is a Unilever ad that utilizes a new form of advertising that we see popping up now and again...the feature length ad. This type of ad is longer than your regular 15 or 30-second spots and involve a more detailed plot and beautifully shot scenes.

So here is one, I presume from Asia: Alchemy.

It's reminiscent of the Chanel No.5 ads that has recently popularized this style of advertising.I feel the Nicole Kidman version is more spot on with the American public's taste, but the Audrey Tautou one is also beautifully done.

x,
Chace
The Faux-hattanite

You're Never Too Young

It's day #5!!!


Young love can some times be a beautiful thing...other times it's downright hilarious. In this next commercial a pure,  innocent love is kind of devious and frivolous.
You're Never Too Young

Some Lizards and Love of the Sport

I know I'm late with the post, but I just got home from practice. Late is better than never.


So, on to Day #4!


Today we have an international ad about love lost. The ad is from Thailand and showcases the love life of two lizards and one not so stable ceiling.


Love Lost


Yes, this ad is a bit ridiculous, but the agency who put this together looked at ceiling and thought of it in a whole different way, as a destructive force to the well being of a relationship. The way the ad company looked at how to sell ceilings reminds me of a very good book that all creative (and non-creative) people should have on their shelves. A Whack on the Side of the Head by Roger von Oech challenges people to get outside of their comfort zone and disobey the rules of thinking to come up with creative solutions to their problems. My recommendation: Stop reading this and go out and buy it NOW!


I love international ads! The agencies seem to have more freedom with nothing as strict as the FCC limiting them. They also seem to play on emotions in a different way or different emotions entirely.


The second ad I'm presenting to you killed me the first time I watched it. While it's not about romantic love, it still involves family love...well sort of. At the very least it encompasses "love of the sport."


Soccer Partner


Although this is an exaggeration, I know many a little kid who wants a sibling just as bad. Hey, maybe it's for all the wrong reasons, but I'm sure his new little brother will come in handy some times. This ad is reminiscent of Home Alone and all the other movies where the kids are shown as being pretty devious.


x,
Chace
The Faux-hattanite

The Honeymoon Period

Day #3

We all know that after the "honeymoon" stage of the relationship, we start seeing those flaws that we may have overlooked in the beginning. This commercial from Belgium is a lovely reminder of that. The juxtaposition of the romantic music and the less that perfect breakfast kills me.

Why women split

Also for your viewing pleasure an Israeli commercial involving copycat-style flirting. They took the humor just far enough. It may be kind of predictable, but still very cute.
Don't Try to be Smart

I'd write more, but it's been a wicked busy day for me and I have to jet off to class.

x,
Chace

Love is Corny

I know this is corny,

perhaps really cheap,

but I want to swim

in your eye so deep

`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`

Day # 2

Yes, many Valentine's related items may be corny, but they get the point across.

This next ad may go too far, but Hallmark is known for its cute cliches. You always hear people calling endearing moments "hallmark" moments.

This ad is certainly not targeted at anyone under 30. Although the humor is young, the idea of reminiscing about a first date or what drew you to your partner comes across as the strong point which can be found more so in stable, established relationships.

Hallmark REO Speedwagon Valentine

Personally I don't think a card makes a difference in terms of all the Valentine's Day package. Unless the card is written by that special someone, I probably won't take more that a glance at it.


Also for your Valentine's Day hearing pleasure a remake of Haddaway's "What is love?" sung by Diane Birch.

I'll leave you with this wonderfully corny poem.


x,
Chace

`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

You're the sprinkles on my cupcake,
You're the pop to my tart,
You're the funny little puppy,
That has captured my heart.
You're my teddy that I hold,
And my favorite pair of shoes,
You're the apple of my eye,
And that corny phrase I just used.
You're my favorite punk rock band,
You're my rocketship in the sky,
On a scale of one to ten,
You're my perfect one hundred guy!

Diesel Sweeties

On the 1st day of February

Ah February...

The month of frantic planning for that one perfect evening where love is in the air and  Louis Armstrong's "Wonderful World" plays over and over in your head.

Don't misunderstand me, I love Valentine's Day. I just find the needless worrying about whether he'll like this or she'll like that to be pointless.

When I think of February, my mind fills with hearts, cupids, and red and pink all around. But above all, two concepts hang in the air, overshadowing all the corporate hubbub: Love and Sex.

So for the month of February I'll be posting on these two topics. The first 14 days will consist of postings about all the wonders of love, with the remaining 14 days focused on sex.
`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

So let's get to the love!

Throughout the ages philosophers, poets, and the average Joe have all wondered about what love is, what it means, and if it even exists. Webster has a few definitions for love.

1. (a) a strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties ; attraction based on sexual desire; affection and tenderness felt by lovers; affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests (b)an assurance of love 
2. warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion
3. (a) the object of attachment, devotion, or admiration ; (b) a beloved person
4. (a) unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another; the fatherly concern of God for humankind; brotherly concern for others; (b) a person's adoration of God
5. a god or personification of love
6. an amorous episode
7. the sexual embrace
8. a score of zero

So first comes emotions, then sex, then...tennis?

We might not have all the answers, but we sure do know one thing: Love makes us feel great. It's like a drug, whether mentally, chemically or emotionally induced, and we are hopeless junkies with no chance of recovery.

Companies capitalize off of this feeling through television and print ads. While some may find that abhorrent, it's pretty effective. So, to ring in the love fest I propose Two Weeks Of Love, 14 days filled with romantic and funny ads about love, couples, and Valentine's Day. Today is day # 1 and here is your ad:

Happy Valentine's Day from Amstel

Typically I'm not a fan of beer commercials because their humor is rather crude, but I like this one. We all know that the people we date are not perfect and they will do things that may annoy us at times, but they still care...in their own special way.

Even though this ad shows men singing to their wives/girlfriends it is not targeted at women. It's still humor for men (which some of us women happen to chuckle along to). For men, there is a feeling of camaraderie. They are not in this Valentine debacle alone; there are men all around the world pandering to the commercialism of Valentine's Day.

Since that one wasn't too romantic here's another video: Post-it Love

Although it's not a commercial, it would be perfect as one (except for the amount of time it takes to build up).

Enjoy your first day of February!

x,
Chace

P.S. I started a new blog so I can talk about other things while this project is going on. Check it out, it's called The Faux-hattanite

It's nice to meet you

We've all heard the phrase "a picture equals 1,000." But what happens when you pair it with words, particularly statistics. Well, let me tell you, it can go either way, but for Grande Reportagem it was a complete success.

"Grande Reportagem is a Portuguese news magazine known for its photo-journalism and investigative reporting. Since January 2005 it has been running a series (developed for them by the ad agency FCB Publicidad) called "Meet the World" where national flags are used to graph a social/political issue specific to the particular country." Ethan Ham

Below are some of the ads that the magazine ran:

9gag

The statistics were taken from Amnesty International and the UNO. The images have been circulated around the world via e-mail chain letters.

Ethan Ham

"There are eight flags that portray very current topics like the division of opinions about the war in Iraq in the United States, the violence against women in Africa, the social inequality in Brazil, the drug trafficking in Columbia, Aids and malaria in Angola, etc." Brazilian Artists

Social activism and awareness via advertising or PR has to be one of my favorite things. Each day we are bombarded by ads telling us to buy, buy, buy! It's refreshing to find an ad that just wants to inform us of something instead. You could make the argument that the magazine is calling for people to use this new awareness to make a change, but that's the observer's own choice.

x,

Chace

I'd like to send YOU an instant message!

SO I know I'm backed up on all the stories that I'm supposed to write about from when I was abroad, like how I missed my flight from Brussels to Rome because of a car crash or how I fell for a British guy living in Dublin, but since the school semester has started it's time to get back to work.

This blog will temporarily be turned into an commentary about advertising! (Yay!) I am taking a Multimedia Communications course and part of the syllabus is that I keep a blog. While it will no longer be about fun traveling stories (awe :( ), it will get updated a lot more.

Although I'm only a PR major, I have an insatiable passion for advertising. I will be commenting on my favorite ads, new developments in advertising, advertising strategy, past ads that were either good or bad, and so on.

So, to start everything off I'd like to talk about one of my favorite ad campaigns that involves our addiction (as a society) to technology contrasted with our want of offline interaction.

Dentyne's "Make Face Time" campaign stresses the concept that we have put up a wall of technology, blocking out the human contact that was originally associated with communication. It's simple copy consists of phrase that any internet connected 16 - 28 year old is familiar with and pairs it with images filled with some real face-to-face time.

Personally, I think the ads are adorable and they are promoting their product correctly because we all know that nobody wants to have face time with someone who's breath kills plants and small animals...especially if you are "sending and receiving." Here is their television commercial which is along the same lines as the print ads.

The Dentyne website continues this campaign by only allowing you to browse its content for 3 minutes before it kicks you off. Of course you can reload the page and continue viewing, but the point is to get you off-line. When you open the website it reads:

"Welcome to the 3 minute website. You have 3 minutes. After that the site shuts down. We've got nothing against the internet, but when people are surfing the web they're missing the best parts of life -- being together. That's why we've created the first website devoted to helping people spend less time online and more time with each other. For starters, we've allocated just enough time to browse every link, but not a second more.So enjoy your three minutes, then get out there and make face time. Chop chop. Time starts now." Dentyne Homepage

Ah, if only Facebook or Youtube would do that! Then I might actually be able to get some work done around here.

A few blogs, like the Guru of New, mention the anti-facebook aspect of the campaign, but I hardly think that the websites popularity has even been the slightest affected by this campaign.

So why is this ad important? It's important because it represents a growing trend towards personal experiences and the handmade touch that consumers are looking for. We have gone through an age of immense technological improvements, and no doubt there are even more discoveries on the way, but right now the customer is looking to connect with something other than their cellphone, television, and computer. Advertisers will have to work to make the consumers feel a connection with their product or company if they want to gain more revenue.

It reminds me a bit of Patrick Moberg's "New (Media) Work Out Plan" which challenges you to work out (only a bit!!!) before you get on to each of our favorite addicting websites. The Guru of New also mentioned its likeness, in getting people to connect face-to-face, to the Free Hugs social movement that became a viral hit via Youtube in 2004.

x
-Chace