Move On Rocks

I just had to put this up. It came into my work email from Adrants Daily.

Behavior and Consequence - Brazilian Style

This is from a series called Behavior & Consequence... If I could translate the words, I could tell you the specific meaning, but thankfully, through the use of illustration, the meaning is made apparent.

Call to Action

Disease prevention was one of the topics I was considering for this assignment. I've been scrolling through page after page of preventive diseases, and despite being a smoker, it amazes me how little effort one really needs to make in order to avoid a number of life-altering, life-threatening and just really gross diseases! I am assumed to carry the genetic predisposition for breast cancer. My mom has had it twice (even AFTER a bilateral mastectomy, so yes, you do need to keep getting examined), both of my grandmothers, my aunt died from it, several cousins...you get the picture. Many many many many dead relatives, and a few survivors.
But now we know we could get tested and find out if we do have the gene that ensures our disease-carrying skills (between that, and my dad's wonderful genetic handout of being highly cystic - i got MAD SKILLZ), not that it is a remedy, just an early warning.
But there are other diseases that can be prevented, and the following ad provides a call to action to lead a healthier life, visit their website, and not die. Brought to you by the trifeckta of common diseases: Heart Disease, Cancer and Diabetes:

Don't Be A Dummy

So years ago I remember watching the Smurfs, Snorks and Ewoks on Saturday morning cartoons. They are all images embedded for life in my brain. What I didn't realize until I went looking for Cause/Effect campaigns with a call to action, is that those Saturday morning cartoons were rife with public service announcements that were equally memorable! Who (born before 1985) can forget the "You could learn a lot from a dummy" ads featuring Vince and Larry, the walking and talking crash test dummies who never wore their seatbelts?

Turns out, they have only recently retired, after a long and prosperous career martyring themselves for our safety, selling toys whose main purpose is to crash, and gaining an interactive website. Now, the ad council has gotten more blatant in their message. Removing the candy-coated images and getting right to the point:

Lactose-Intolerance Be Damned!!! THIS is a flavor I will eat!

Ben and Jerry's Introduces New Ice Cream Flavor 'Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream'



NEW YORK — Stephen Colbert may have no taste for the truth, but he does have a sweet tooth.

Ben & Jerry's has named a new ice cream in honor of the comedian: "Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream." It's vanilla ice cream with fudge-covered waffle cone pieces and caramel. Announcing the new flavor Wednesday, Ben & Jerry's called it: "The sweet taste of liberty in your mouth."

The Vermont-based ice-cream maker is known for naming its flavors after people such as Jerry Garcia, Wavy Gravy and the band Phish — which Colbert sees as a political bias.

"I'm not afraid to say it. Dessert has a well-known liberal agenda," Colbert said in a statement. "What I hope to do with this ice cream is bring some balance back to the freezer case."

Colbert, who spoofs flag-waving conservative pundits on his Comedy Central show, "The Colbert Report," is donating his proceeds to charity through the new Stephen Colbert Americone Dream Fund, which will distribute the money to various causes.

Visual Description

This is just a joke, but pie charts do an excellent job of describing situations, percentages, etc. in a visual manner.
So do bar graphs, flow charts, etc.
These two just made me giggle...

An Icy Day in Remington for a Nice Description

Overlooking Baltimore's beautiful Inner Harbor and ideally located between Little Italy and Fells Point, Spinnaker Bay is the centerpiece of the new Harbor East. Professionally managed by Bozzuto, this brand new residence features 315 premium apartment homes designed and appointed with the tremendous care for which Bozzuto is known across the region. At Spinnaker Bay, we've taken the time to perfect the balance of waterside tranquility and city excitement.

I am on a constant hunt for the perfect apartment/residence to own. I used to work in the real estate section of a weekly newspaper that also published a monthly lifestyle magazine. I was in charge of real estate ads for both, so this fed my addiction to real estate. Thus, it is with a great deal of false bravado and professionalism that I make the claim that compared to most descriptions of apartments and homes in Baltimore, this ad really gives more detail and a sense of what Bozzuto wants Spinnaker Bay to represent.

The feeling this text creates alongside the calm and clean colors, the pleasant curves and the clean images, is one of upscale city living in a safe and relaxing environment. I probably will never personally experience this pristine residential dream, nor would I pay $1500 monthly for a 1 bedroom to try, but this sure makes me wish I could experience their Baltimore...

Killer Comparison

Pretty cute idea, comparing Hitachi's Killer Offers to reknowned movie assasins/homicidal maniacs.

I have to stop looking at marketing websites NOW.

And in other news

So I was sitting in Northwest Hospital's lovely surgery prep-room this afternoon, waiting for the doctor to arrive, when I started paging through this month's issue of National Geographic. Aside from learning a LOT about the unearthly worms of Hawaii, I stumbled upon this lovely map charting the areas of the U.S. where single people abound. Baltimore (loving as it does to be tops in all sorts of fun lists like top for teen pregnancy, STDs, violence per capita) is one of the top cities brimming to capacity with single women!
The article went on to explain that due to the number of universities on the east coast, and with 58% of all college students being women, most of whom will go on to white collar careers in areas near where they graduate, this is why the east coast looks like its being taken over by some orange rash. Meanwhile, the single men on the west coast are explained away by undocumented immigrants and migrant workers.
I can't help but feel there is something wrong with this... why don't they explain why the middle of the country seems to be mostly married?
And why does this make me feel like they think not being married is wrong? Or that to be a single woman (who most likely graduated college, has a nice career and supports herself) in the U.S. today makes you comparable socially to a undocumented immigrant (who generally are viewed as less-than-human by many as shown by the endless debates about immigration in the U.S.)?
Why do I feel snubbed for wishing to continue my (very-prolonged) education instead of settling down with a Mr. Jill and making him my career?
And what about couples who haven't yet been given the right to marry? How many of these "single" women and men are in long-term homosexual relationships, that by any reasonably-minded person ARE a marriage?
I guarantee a large portion of those colored blobs would disappear off the map if they factored that in as well. Sadly, the U.S. Census didn't see fit to include that statistic when they released their 2005 survey. Maybe next year...

Comparison - Home & Cafe Blvd.

Local design agency Exit 10 designed this campaign for Cafe Blvd in Severna Park, MD. The comparison shown between the traditional 1970's home and the Cafe is designed to make the audience get the sense that this will not be a snooty cafe where the average customer is made to feel unwelcome, or be forced to eat foods they are not only unfamiliar with, but can't pronounce. This Cafe feels like Baltimore...at least to a native. I imagine this would resonate with most children of the 60's, 70's, and depending on your parent's frequency of redecorating, even the 80's.

In Other Outrageous News

Feb. 5, 2007, 10:11PM
TBS, marketing agency agree to pay $2 million for ad scare

By KATIE ZEZIMA
New York Times

BOSTON — The Turner Broadcasting System and a Manhattan marketing agency have agreed to pay $2 million in restitution and other costs for a Cartoon Network advertising campaign that set off fears of terrorism, Massachusetts' attorney general, Martha Coakley, said Monday.

The agency, Interference Inc., carried out the campaign, which placed electronic advertisements for the show Aqua Teen Hunger Force in public places, including a Boston overpass where it was mistaken for a bomb last Wednesday.

The companies will pay $1 million to reimburse federal, state and local agencies for their response to the events, which led officials to close a highway, bridges and subway stations for hours after dozens of the devices were found in Boston, Cambridge and Somerville.

The companies will pay an additional $1 million in "goodwill funds" that will be divided among the agencies for emergency response training and equipment and public outreach.

"It is our hope that these funds will cover not only the expenses incurred," Coakley said, "but they will also enable our communities to enhance homeland security or pursue other important community initiatives."

The settlement shields the companies from civil or criminal liability by state and local agencies, she said.

Criminal charges are pending against the two men who put up the advertisements, Peter Berdovsky, 27, and Sean Stevens, 28, of Bhttp://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifoston. Coakley said her office was talking to the men's lawyers about possibly settling the charges against them.

In a joint statement, Turner Broadcasting and Interference Inc. apologized for the campaign.

...And if you hadn't heard about the 'Hoax Devices' that had spent 3 weeks in sight of these same Bostonians who suddenly believed them to be bombs, http://www2.blogger.com/img/gl.link.giftake a look at these links:

The Original News Story
The Insanity as Misinterpreted by Fox News
Engadget's Story

and for more information, just Google "Aqua Teen Hunger Force"

It's Silly and In Poor Taste, But...

...I spent the earlier part of this evening with my sister, her husband, my 18-month old nephew Teddy, and my 11 day old nephew Tommy. When my brother-in-law returned from work, looking every bit the part of the Office Space employee, I was reminded of the early days, 18 months ago, when he always looked like a new dad.
At that time I had found an amusing piece in Details depicting the new-dad-look, comparing it to a gay man. I had always thought of Details as a more progressive magazine, so I assumed it was not meant to be an offensive article, though my relentless search on the web to find the image seen here revealed it was taken by some as being in poor taste.

However

(and on to the point of this assignment)
This is a great example of contrast using a single image of an average looking man, obviously a new dad (as the baby strapped to his chest)...yet a few choice phrases/double entendres raise question to his identity, as the title of the piece says: "Gay or New Dad?"

Since the title is cut off, I have attached the total text of the intro: Gay or New Dad?
One wields a soft pacifier, the other pacifies his bundle of joy with something stiffer. Whether your little man keeps you up all night or vice versa, being someone's daddy requires a firm hand. So keep the baby wipes nearby, because when you're new to rearing, things can get a little messy.

The better piece of comparison is from Baltimore Style Magazine, April 2005. I need to scan in some pieces, but there is an entire section debating whether Baltimore is a Northern or Southern state (an answer has yet to be found). The best quote I found concerning this debate was "Local versifier Ogden Nash hedged his bets, calling Baltimore the 'tip of the South and the toe of the North.'"
When I get the pieces scanned in, I'll be posting them.
Thanks!