The LG GX200 - More Battery, More Talk

This next series of ads is for the LG GX200, which I'm assuming is some kind of non-Iphone phone. This campaign won Gold in the 2011 Clios, probably taking on the spin that it surpasses the Iphone in battery life, which lasts about as long as it takes to read this post.

 

 I like the visuals in this campaign, but all the "books" pictured seem to be for conversations that you don't want to be having for a really long time. I get that they imply that the battery will last forever, but there's nothing more painful than having a one-sided, super long conversation with, say, an old person. 

I remember once this summer I was taking a bus from Toronto to Montreal and there was this little Snooki on the back of the bus that talked in her outside voice for 2 hours straight about her life and all of her problems. It was horrible, everyone on the bus was looking at each other and doing the exasperated face, but nobody said anything.

When the ride was over, we felt like we had endured some sort of traumatic bonding experience from living through this horrible woman who made our bus ride just that much shittyer. 

Basically I remember praying the whole way for her phone battery to die, as it was my only means of salvation, but alas, it never did. I guess in a way that whole thing was good for her, and terrible for everyone else.

Good Ad (Obvously): Star Wars Identities

This is a wonderful ad campaign that I saw during my internship in Montreal this summer (it's also running in Edmonton). They clearly had a decently large budget for this exhibit, with billboards, bus and subway ads all over town.

 These beautiful works of art (yeah, I said works of art!) allude to the different pieces that shape the timeless, beloved characters that George Lucas brought to life in his first three-and-a-half movies.. and then totally didn't give a shit about in the last two-and-a-half. 

Many people have come to very strongly identify with the characters of the film, even going so far as to adopt Jedi as their religion. I think there are very prominent messages that can be learned from watching these movies. That being said, I don't know who would ever choose to identify as C3PO. Where's R2 in all of this? Or Chewie? 

The Queen Amidala design was definitely the most prominent one around town, and it's arguably the most eye-catching.

Me being the idiot that I am, didn't save enough time to go and check it out, but to be fair it was mostly sold out when I had the time to go.

If these stunning photos weren't enough candy for your hungry, jaded eyes, take a look at the teaser for the commercials that ran before the exhibition opened, it's equally amazing.

Wowwwwwwwwww.

Bad Ad: Urban Eatery.. More like Urban Defeatery

via adsoftheworld.com

So this ad is for a potentially hipstery restaurant, but ironically it's full of copy that directly insults their potentially target audience.

The copy reads: 

ATTENTION HIPSTER DOOFUSES: Sorry about that, but it’s not easy getting the attention of people who reject mainstream consumerism like billionaires reject tax overhaul. Here’s the thing: Do you ever wake up in your designer platform bed in your urban loft, shuffle over to your espresso machine and wonder: Is this all there is? Day after day of wearing ironic vintage tee shirts and searching the Internet for nu rave techno rap bands from Uzbekistan? Don’t you wish you could let your androgynously cut hair down, wear some not-quite-so-painfully-skinny jeans and kick back and watch the (legal in all 50 states version of) grass grow? Not to get all marketingy, but at Urban Eatery you can take a break from looking vaguely disinterested in everything while wearing your favorite organic fedora. We use fresh ingredients from local farms and offer free valet parking—and free is nice if you have one of those hipster liberal arts degrees. So why not take some time out of your busy schedule of wrestling with existential angst and drop by Urban Eatery. After a hard week of conforming to nonconformity, you’ve earned it.

I don't get it. Was their purpose to get customers so angry that they order from this restaurant? Or are we supposed to chuckle at it and assume that they're talking about the hipster in line in front of us? Or were they planning on alienating the hipster audience altogether?

Coke, you ol' bastard

They've done it again. So simple yet so meaningful.

This. Is. Everything.

Olympic-Sized Task

This is an ad for Nike, which is a company that we all know has an unlimited budget and unlimited access to every athelete that's ever held a stick, tied a lace, or verbed a third noun.

Call me old-fashioned (please?) but I think they do their best work when they shave all those hairless people off of their pages and go with a really simple concept like the one displayed above.

They made a bold choice of not even including their logo in the print, relying instead on the fact that they're so well known, people will connect the synapses. I personally think the Nike font leaves me in a grey area (50 shades, to be exact) because it's oddly similar to the font that SKYY Vodka uses... Hmmmmmmm.....

Obviously this is not meant to sell vodka if not maybe under the guise of liquid courage.

This ad reminds me of this time I went diving with my friends and a little boy stood atop a 3 meter diving board for LITTERALLY 2 hours. He was up there so long that the lifeguard whisled out 'last call' and it was do or die for the kid. I think he litterally thought he might die. Literally.
Everyone in the pool dutily got out but all the pool people had noticed that this kid had set up camp up there and began to cheer him on. His annoyed father was like ''Time to go Jimmy.'' (or whatever kids are named these days... Skylar?)

And finally after two hours he jumped, kid style, into the pool, and made it out alive. He had had so much fun doing it that he wanted to go again, but alas, the pool was closed. 

The moral of the story: just jump. You won't regret it.

...unless of course, you die.

Montreal May 22, 2012

What does it mean to be a citizen?

Lately I've been really re-evaluting social media and how it pertains to citizen journalism. 

Today marks day 100 that Montreal students have been on strike, opposing massive tuition increases and student debt. I'm not 100% sure on all the details behind the rallies, but I've met many students who have been hit hard by this movement over the course of my first week here.  I remember how worried we were a while back when the professors at the U of W were planning to strike It was my graduating year.

Today I was lucky enough to stumble into the biggest protest march in Montreal to date on my walk home from work. Tensions are so high here, I can only wonder what it will take for either parties to form an agreement. Two nights ago, riot police unloaded by the bus-full and were walking the streets in formation, banging on their shields like the guys from 300. Yesterday a student threw a moltov cocktail. New laws are being passed every day, making this beautiful, cultural city look more and more like a war-torn police state.

The last two shots are from my bedroom window. The people are still marching by as I write this.

Boys and Girls

This website is a cool way of checking out the difference in gendered advertising. It's no secret that there is a formula to most toy commercials, and the mashup website lets you play around with the audio and video of some samples.  I see it as a reflection on the persisting gender norms that still exist today. The biggest one is probably that girls still like pink and boys still like blue.