Whattup America, Happy Birthday! I’m not afraid to say that for years I was pretty embarrassed of being American, what with the fact that we put the Decider in control not once but twice, but it certainly seems things are changing. Yes, the economy is in the crapper, poor fools are losing jobs like teeth on hillbillies, and it looks like a slow long climb outta the hole, but at least it seems we’re heading in the right direction. Anyhoo, that being said, the Madman and Co. are taking the weekend off, getting trashed on bloody marys and optimism, and probly gonna look for a pool and American flag bikini to dive into. Here’s to you, USA!
You know how I just got done ranting yesterday about the insidiousness of advertising, and how it’s a black festering sore on the soul of humanity? Well, here comes Nike with a well-timed rebuttal emphasizing the potential that advertising, and commercials, can reach. This Exploit Yourself ad is pretty rad, even if it does just basically ape the Parkour antics of David Belle in commercials of Canon Past (of course, using Parkour is nothing groundbreaking — just ask McDonalds, Sprite, Mercedes, K-Swiss, etc.). I guess if you don’t wanna pay the guys that invented the sport, then render a hooded robot and Exploit his shiny metal ass…
You know, 98% of the time I hate advertising — I hate how its getting evermore ubiquitous, and evermore insidious. As devices like Tivo allow us to circumvent the ancient, nearly obsolete Old School Guard of advertising like commercials, advertisers are becoming ever more cunning in inserting their Brand in front of your eyeballs and it makes my stomach churn (like wrapping the entire interior of trains, or projecting ads on actual BART and Boston subway tunnel walls, or this lovable entrepreneur who wants to sell ads on the surface of the moon…I shit you not). They claim that putting ads in video games is more realistic, but c’mon — I call bullshit on that. I don’t need to see a Cap’n Crunch billboard in Vice City to make GTA any more real…or interesting…or visually captivating. And I don’t want to hear people refer to Fenway Park anytime in the near future as Bush’s Baked Beans Stadium, nor do I have any interest in watching the Gaylord Hotels Bridgestone Music City Bowl (sadly, I didn’t even make that up). Please — give us a fucking break! When it takes longer to say the name of your bowl game than play it, you may wanna reconsider your sponsors. And does anyone need to see an Exxon logo peering back at them from the bottom of their morning coffee mug? (Idea patent pending.)
So its’ with great relief that I came across this gallery of Creative and Clever Billoboards, cos it gives me hope that out there are some people putting actual thought into their ads, and transforming simple advertorials into playful devices of idea transmission that even interact with their environment. How modern.You mean, you can be clever and tell me about your product??? Get the fuck outta here! No way! Here’s to a world of clever and playful advertising…
3 weeks ago we posted that behind-the-scenes short doc of Rye Rye making her debut video with MIA (who directed) and Blaqstarr (who produced the track), and lo and behold it was released today. The 18-year old Bmore native laid down a Bodymore, Murderland homage that would make all of her home city tip their Orioles flatbill cap. Man, the dancing is mad hot — I need some ice water just watching these crews battle…
Don’t know much about this German designer other than he’s obviously a creative thinker and that I like most of his work. In particular, these pieces here. Come on, what guy wouldn’t think that his Eiger North Light is the shit. It basically says fuck you to arbitrary rules. Just because most of the civilized world says that smashing your light in the wall isn’t the best idea doesn’t mean you can’t do it. And that Bottleclip thing for your bike… how ridiculously simple and smart is that? See more of guy’s work here.
Being a guy and all, dolls were not apart of my childhood—unless G.I. Joe and army men fall into that category. Yet for some reason I’m completely fascinated by this series of images from Winkler+Noah. The project features 30 portraits of children from two to eight years old that have been transformed into dolls by way of retouching. You can buy The Puppet Show book, or prints, via their site. Even better, the proceeds of the works will go as charity to Epsilon, a non-profit organization dedicated to the defense of children in the most distressed areas of the world.
I love Madison Avenue. Not the street that houses the bulk of the American advertising industry—I’m talking about the Sydney based designer Dan Flanagan. In a world where everything is available for purchasing, money is God, brands are religion and the consumer wears the diamond studded crown, Dan Flanagan is a sarcastic knight in shinny armor—and he’s packing some serious wit too. As much as we’re all told that we can consume our way out of this mess, it’s nice to see folks like this guy addressing the gloomy affects of consumerism, mass culture and advertising has on us. Humans devour, it’s what we do—but we shouldn’t be defined by our ability to consume. If only we all had a pair of sunglasses like “Rowdy” Roddy Piper rocked on John Carpenters film They Live. Break it, stretch it, bend it, crush it, crack it, fold it—just think about it before you buy into it. It’s all about your depth of perception. To learn more about The Consumer™ go here.
