More on the Windsor Tornado at Kodak's 1000 Words Blog

You can see even more pictures from around Windsor and Kodak at my post for Kodak's 1000 Words Blog.

Are you a 15%er?

Brandweek has an interesting article from Brad Nierenberg and Charlie Jones about how only 15% of brand managers actually get it. It being what it takes to make great advertising. An excerpt:

Here's a little something to chew on: The agency universe is suffering a rapidly declining population of managers who get it. In fact, on average, we submit that only 15% of all agency people actually get it.

So, what is a get-it person? Because, regrettably, there's no official ID card for certified members, the task falls to brands to pick them out. It's actually not that difficult. Use our handy guide and start right now. Fifteen percenters add value to strategic and creative discussion, but also translate creative thinking into business constructs. Fifteen percenters work effortlessly with a mix of ideas that are both highly logical and analytical (business analytics, quantitative), and talk about more abstract ideas (customers emotional need states, creative voicing).

Read the full article to understand the traits of 15%ers. (via Adpulp)

Fill Your Lungs with Cigarettes...Literally

In London these ashtrays also serve as a reminder to quit smoking. As smokers deposit their butts the lungs fill up. This is an absolutely brilliant idea. See more pictures at Adland.

We Are Fallon Continues with Video

Pat Fallon himself still wants your awards to melt down and turn into a welcome sign at the new Fallon offices. See the video below or my previous coverage here.

Windsor Tornado: The Aftermath

It's now been five days since the tornado hit Windsor, Colorado (see my previous post here). The Kodak plant where I work is still closed because the power hasn't been restored and there is some roof damage. I went in to work this morning (not realizing it was closed) and found the hallways dimly lit by generator power and numerous offices with trash cans collecting the water leaking through the roof.

Help out the relief effort by donating to the Red Cross or United Way

Here's a short video of what it looks like outside my building:



Here's one of the stop signs entering the plant.

I then drove through Windsor on hwy 257 and here's what it looks like:

Dear Ketel One: You're a Douchebag

Copyranter strikes again with his lashing out against Ketel One ads on Animal NY and his own site. I have to agree with him on this one. Every time I see one of these ads I wonder what the hell Ketel One is thinking. But somehow this stupid advertising continues.

Bush in Ads all over the World

No, not the kind of Bush Copyranter talks about, but George W Bush. See the full collection here.
Here's my favorites (click for a closer look):

Starbucks New Yorker Cartoons Suck

Click to see image larger.

This awful Starbucks ad brought to you by Copyranter via Animal NY (where you can see another example). Who thinks this stuff is good?

Weezer: Pork and Beans

Ok, a little off-topic, but you were going to see this video somewhere anyway, so why not here? It's Weezer and all your favorite Youtube stars rolled into one video, what else could you want on a Sunday morning?

Update: Windsor Tornado

If you'd like to donate to help out the victim's of yesterday's tornado you can do so through the Red Cross or United Way of Northern Colorado.

Caught in the Windsor Tornado

I was microwaving my lunch at about 11:30 am at Kodak in Windsor when the hail started. Everyone was watching out the windows as it went from pea sized to golf balls to baseball sized. Then it stopped and they announced a tornado warning. We went to the lockers rooms in the center of the building and the lights went out around 11:50. We stayed there for an hour and then were moved to another more central room. We were let out about 1:45pm and found trees uprooted all around the parking lot. Many of my co-workers had windows broken out in their cars and one car was actually forced under an SUV from several parking spots away. One employee got stuck in our lobby when the power went out and shut off our electrically controlled doors. He witnessed the tornado passing through and described it as a "total blackout". The tornado's path went down highway 257 which is about a mile west of the building I was in at Kodak. Given that the tornado was reported to be between 1/2 and 1 mile wide we're lucky we weren't hit worse. On my way home I was redirected trying to get back into Greeley and passed by some houses that were completely leveled just a few miles southeast of the State Farm building across highway 34. There were also some irrigation systems and high voltage power lines tossed to the ground. It appears most of my friends in Windsor are safe, although some have very damaged houses. See the video below to get a sense of the tornado.


Watch at around 3:10 to see the twister hit the state farm building in the background.

Me vs Blogger

Blogger seems to have some sort of personal vendetta against me because it's been timing out when I try to upload pictures since yesterday. And we all know pictures make everything better, thus no new posts. Hopefully Blogger and I will settle our differences, have fantastic make up sex, and I'll get back to posting.

HP Photo Paper: More than meets the eye

These HP paper ads from Malaysia are fantastic. HP took standees that look like ripped paper and set them in front of picturesque spots with great results. I had to look at these a few times for it to really sink in. Absolutely brilliant. Click images for a closer look. (via Adrants)

Alex Bogusky: The Fast Company Interview

UPDATE: Here's the article online.

You've probably seen the cover of the latest Fast Company floating around the interwebs. You know, the one with Alex Bogusky on the cover. Oh yeah, that one. As a big fan of Crispin Porter + Bogusky I had to go out and grab a copy (since it's not on Fast Company's site yet). Here's my reaction:

When an article starts with "He looked like Jesus..." you know it's gonna be really good or really bad. The first paragraph mentions Bogusky speaking at the New Denver Ad Club in April 2007, a nice little plug for the local club. The first few pages give lots of fodder to either Bogusky camp; for the haters or the lovers (hit the poll below to let me know where you fall), lots of mentions about how he turned around Burger King, launched Mini, made smoking uncool with The Truth, etc. There's an interesting graphic on the second page that details Micosofts ad campaigns since 1995. Funny how the first two from Wieden+Kennedy are memorable (Start me up, Where do you want to go today?) and the rest, from the purveyors of mediocrity, McCann-Erikson, are pretty forgettable.

Then come quotes like this:

Bogusky works on a raised platform in Crispin's 70,000-square-foot space, which once housed an indoor soccer field. His desk seems almost to levitate above the vast openness. A shiny new silver Mac-Book Air sits in front of him, next to his aviator sunglasses.

Wow, that really makes him seem Jesus-esque. It also brings to mind an issue that's touched on a few times in the article, but never in depth: how do you sell Microsoft when your whole company uses Macs? Granted, that Mac Book Air could be running Windows, but still it seems a bit ironic.

But alas when the Microsoft work does appear (rumored to happen in July) it will be the result of Andrew Keller and Rob Reilly who have taken over Bogusky's creative post while he move on to talk strategy and focus on growing the company internationally.

Then comes what we've all been thinking the whole time: the thought that Crispin has one good shot at making Microsoft cool. They will either succeed amazingly and be elevated to God status in the ad world (some would argue they're there now) or fail miserably and have to prove themselves all over again to the world to show that they haven't lost the magic.

July can't come any quicker.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Need more Bogusky? Here's another Fast Company interview with him on What Paris Hilton Can Teach you about Branding

It's a Fucking Saturn!

Remember those boring "That's a Saturn" commercials from a few years back? Of course you don't, no one does. Well, apparently the cast and crew decided to make an alternate version that you're more likely to remember. (via Adrants)


Find more videos like this on AdGabber

Pantene Rapunzel Ambient Campaign

This caught my eye over at Adland. Pretty great idea in my opinion.

Ace: White Wins

Assuming Ace is some sort of laundry detergent (this is from Turkey) this is pretty clever. (via AdverBox)

Amnesty International stands up for everybody

Amnesty International has taken some heat for a few of their recent ads, but I think this one will mainly be getting praise. Click the image for a closer look and to read the spot-on copy. This is advertising at its best folks. (via Adpulp)

100 Posts! A look back at the best

Well, here we are: 100 posts. It feels pretty good. But maybe you haven't been around for all of them. Maybe you aren't subscribed to our RSS Feed. Maybe you don't know that you can contact Justin at justinmccammonblog (at) gmail (dot) com. Just in case you're new around here I've compiled a list of my favorite posts so it'll be like you've been reading since the beginning. For those of you who've been around a while, what are your favorite posts? Dig back into the archives and post them in the comments.

My Favorites:

• New Belgium: Awesome Ads from an Awesome Company

• MTV's FurTV Sex Tape

• Nike Football by Guy Ritchie

• Meatloaf and AT&T: Paradise by the GoPhone Light

• VW Sounds Good

• Ugly Mug Coffee: A Fresh Jolt of Copy

• Volvo takes a shot at Cadillac's Pursuit

• Student work for Powerhouse Gym is no lightweight

• Nutrigrain: I feel great!

• VW: Building websites like cars

• Mr. W

• If you only do one thing today...

• I'd be offened but I can't stop laughing

• Las Vegas: Now with 50% more Douchebags

• This is what happens when you drink and drive

Win tickets to see Beautiful Losers from The Denver Egotist

You could win a pair of tickets to the Denver premiere of Beautiful Losers by submitting your original artwork to The Denver Egotist. Full details at The Egotist.

Here's a quick overview:

The Denver premiere of the film Beautiful Losers is a week away and The Egotist has teamed up with online magazine, The Filmlot, for a special ticket giveaway. That’s right, you and that special someone can cozy up and enjoy an evening of creative inspiration along with the chance to meet a legend in the urban/street art movement.

All you need to do is submit a piece of your personal or non-commercial artwork to us via email. The Egotist’s readers will vote on the piece they like best (in the comment section when we post them next week) and the winner will receive a pair of tickets to see the special Denver premiere of Beautiful Losers presented by The Filmlot.

Roll your own fonts with FontStruct

Create your very own font for free over at FontStruct. I haven't had a chance to really play with it yet, but it looks pretty cool. It's a sweet way to get that one-of-a-kind font you really need. (via Lifehacker)

Toyota Prius ad hugs trees, literally

This Toyota Prius ad lets the trees behind it poke right through. Whether that was a lucky coincidence or strategically planned I don't know, but it works. (adland via adrants)

Do writers need some help?

Lunar BBDO poses an interesting question: Should writers get "professional" help to aid their writing? They note that most other professions use specialists for specialized tasks but copywriters rarely turn to comedians to humor things up or other experts to help achieve whatever tone / style is desired.

I suppose one way to look at it is that copywriters are the specialists since writing for advertising is different than other forms of writing. But would a TV writer help you do a better commercial? I don't know. Thoughts?

Sumos make Subaru Sexy (what is wrong with this headline?)

Subaru takes a stab at the sexy car commercial with a bunch of sumos, some warm water, and a sponge. It's not bad, kinda fresh, but also kinda safe, and a million times better than any commercial featuring John Mellencamp. So don't try and dissect it, just enjoy it. (via AdFreak)

Brand Tags

Find out what people think of your brand or ad your own thoughts over at Brand Tags. They produce tag clouds for brands based on words or phrases people submit. Pretty interesting stuff. Like if I type in Kodak you see words like Old, Film, and Dead in great big font (more people said it) and digital in itty bitty font, meaning few people said it (yeah, that whole turnaround is going great!). (via AdFreak)

Students! Talk to the Denver Egotist!

The Denver Egotist just got done telling Colorado ad schools and students they suck. Now they want to be a part of the solution and are encouraging ad students to comment on what can be done to improve student work in Colorado. Thoughts?

Paint that shit gold

You know you wanna. Go and tag up your favorite website. I'd show you my tagging of fox news, but the site won't let me type in my goddamn info to save the image. Despite this is still a pretty cool site. Paint That Shit Gold

VW: This is what the people want?

VW has a new "What the people want" site up that lets you (the people) say what you want via polls. Then Max, that clever '64 beetle chimes in from time to time as you vote. As I've said before, I'm not a big fan of this campaign. There's just no call to action. "The people want German engineering" (the tagline). Good, I'm still going to go buy a Honda (truth be told I actually own a VW, but it was bought long before this or any other campaigns of recent memory). Telling me what the people want is not an argument that's going to persuade me anytime soon. In fact, I'm more inclined to not want what everyone else wants, but that's more of a personal attitude.

I think my biggest problem with these ads is that there is a disconnect from the ads to the product. I know it's probably considered edgy or avant garde right now to not show the product (and use a '64 model instead), it's also a nice homage to the classic DDB VW ads of yesteryear, and the whole car-as-a-talkshow-host thing is arguably a fresh approach. But all of that doesn't make me want a VW, not in the least, and I think that part of the goal of advertising involved getting people to buy your product, last time I checked. So I'm sorry VW, the brand I want to love, and Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the agency I want to love, but this campaign is not what the people want.

The Denver Egotist Thinks Denver Ad Schools Suck. Meanwhile CU Students Win Some One Show Pencils

Irony strikes again! Recently the Denver Egotist was busy bashing Colorado schools for not pumping out incredible students filled with natural talent (they don't believe talent can be taught, but would like schools to try harder at teaching students how to... wait I feel a headache coming on). At the same time CU students Eliot Nordstrom and Phil Van Buren were busy accepting their gold One Show Pencil for their Doritos work. CU's Austin O'Connor probably didn't get a chance to read the Egotist story either, he was busy getting the Patrick Kelly Scholarship from the One Show. (to it's credit, the Egotist did name CU's program the best in the area)

Actually, speaking of students, I'd bet a lot of them missed the Egotist story since the New Denver Ad Club was holding it's "Connect 2008" job fair on Friday. I made the trip down to the event and found a lot of agencies eager to help develop Denver's talent. I may have even landed myself a fall internship. Strangely enough I didn't see The Egotist at the job fair even though they claim to have "seen almost all the portfolios" of all of Denver's ad students (granted, I don't know who is behind the curtain at the Egotist, so maybe they were there, anyone care to share some insight?).

Here's my take on this: I think the Egotist might be getting at something, but they're a bit off target. Schools can only take you so far, the rest if up to the student. If you want to succeed and go the extra mile you will, regardless of what school you attend. Schools can only augment and support the effort (and talent) provided by the student. For example, UNC's marketing program is almost devoid of any advertising classes / support (two classes are offered specifically on advertising). That doesn't stop me from pushing for more and getting my hands on all the ad books I can, reading CA, CMYK, countless blogs, and attending creative workshops. I want it, and if UNC won't give it to me I'll get it elsewhere.

So maybe the problem isn't with schools so much as it is with students? What do you guys think? Let's hear it in the comments.

Worst copywriter ever gets hired

Yutaka Tsujino sucks. Or at least that's what his website, Yutaka Sucks, claims. The copywriter from Crispin Porter + Bogusky decided to launch his job search by branding himself as the "world's worst copywriter". Well it worked. He's now got a job at Creature in Seattle. (via Adrants)

One Show Student Work 2008

Check out the latest round of student work from One Show 2008. (via Adrants)

New Belgium: Awesome Ads from an Awesome Company

I'm just going to go ahead and say what a lot of people are thinking: New Belgium Brewery is the best company in America. I believe that whole heartedly too. If you think turning out kick ass brews year after year is enough, you're dead wrong. New Belgium takes it to another level by practicing some of the most sustainable business practices of any business, any where, period. And they were doing it before it was cool. Now, to put the icing on the cake, they've pumped out some fantastic ads via Denver agency Cultivator. Check a few out below or head over to The Denver Egotist or Follow Your Folly (New Belgium's slogan) for more. These ads are great for a number of reasons including their unique look. You could spot these things from 100 yards off. Nothing else (that I know of) shares this "diorama" look. And the copy is pretty great too. It's just the honest truth about the brand, no fancy messages or marketing spin. Oh, and next time the guy next to you at the bar orders a bud light when he could of had a fat tire go ahead and punch him in the face for me. (via Denver Egotist)



Wanna know more about New Belgium?
Visit their website here: www.newbelgium.com
Or learn even more about them and view some ads here: www.followyourfolly.com
Or read a post I did about their Tour de Fat at Kodak's 1000 Words Blog

New Karsh / Hagan Site: I report, You Decide

You might remember a post from a few days ago about the new Karsh / Hagan site. I liked it, but it appears the Denver Egotist is not a big fan, to say the least. So let's settle this the good old fashioned web way with a completely unscientific poll:

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Mentos Kiss Cam: Gone before we even really got to know you

Brendan over at Endless Simmer wrote in to inform me that the Mentos Kiss Cam is no longer up. Whatever happened to it is anyone's guess. The site says "be back soon". What a tease.
Maybe they underestimated the amount of lonely people on the net and it caused their servers to melt down. Or maybe someone took offense to this interactive virtual kissing. Or maybe the virtual mentos kissers are learning some fancy kissing moves with Ross from converse. Or maybe a rift in the space-time continum swallowed up the site. These are questions we need answered so lets hear some answers in the comments. And if you've got a tip or just need someone to talk to contact me at justinmccammonblog@gmail.com. In the meantime, I've got a webcam to return. (thanks for the tip Brendan!)

What's The Truth smoking these days?

I've been a big fan of The Truth campaign from Crispin Porter + Bogusky and Arnold, but this latest effort just doesn't cut it for me. Adrants hates it because it uses a quote from 1971, but I don't mind that. I think that tobacco companies are just as evil now as they were then. Sure, there's free choice, but there's also trying to even the playing field, which I think anti-smoking ads are intended to do. I'm not going to get into the free choice vs social responsibility argument either, I'll leave that for you in the comments.

So what's my beef with The Truth? Well, this ad starts fine, if not a bit benign compared to they're previous efforts like body bags on the street and the cowboy singing through his voice box, but then the damn animated stork comes out. What the fuck is that about? Then all these animated babies start jumping out and the next thing you know it song and dance time. By the end of the thing I'm a bit confused and really disappointed. Ok, I get it, smaller babies is easier for the stork, cool, I guess. It doesn't make me not want to smoke (I'm not having babies), nor does it incite me to get behind the anti-tobacco movement like many of the previous Truth ads did when they let me stick clever signs in dog poop or harass ad agencies that did tobacco ads. All I'm left thinking is: what did I just see? And, man, I hope I never see that again from such great talent. What do you think?


Find more videos like this on AdGabber


Previously in Anti-Smoking: PSA with Sufjan Stevens Music

Mentos Kiss Cam: Another reason to never leave the house

TREND ALERT! If you want your brand to be cool you need some sort of kissing related site! I'm calling it now.

Mentos takes it to the limit in their kissing site, complete with webcam interaction. I guess the hot babe or dude of your choice actually responds to your movement. I don't have a webcam, so let me know how well it works in the comments. (via AdFreak)

Previously in kissing sites: Converse wants you to learn some fancy kissing moves with Ross.

MTV's FurTV Sex Tape

This is frickin' genius. I can't stop laughing. I can't even describe what you're about to see, other than it's NSFW, but really hilarious. So check it out now. (via Adrants)

Tame your Rogue Mustache

Start your day off right by watching this little gem for Wahl trimmers. (via Adrants)

New Karsh / Hagan site looks pretty good

Denver ad agency Karsh / Hagan has new site up and I like it.

...Oh, you'd like a better description than that? Well, for starters it loads quickly. I'm sick of agency sites with 30 or even 10 second load times. They're rarely ever worth the wait since once it does load you're subject to a masturbation of flash capabilities: "Look what I can do". But I digress.

So Karsh / Hagan has kept it simple and clean and it's all easy to navigate and read (text so big even a blind person could read it). So what are you waiting for? Go check it out!
(via Create and Connect)

Previously in websites: Topic 101 will blow your mind, The Arcade Fire: Black Mirror, Learn some fancy kissing moves

Nike Football by Guy Ritchie

As this Nike Football ad proves, Guy Ritchie is still pretty fucking good at what he does. And what he does is melt your face with ads like this.


Find more videos like this on AdGabber


(Adgrabber via Make the Logo Bigger)

Dear President Bush: Make This Right

One man at agency Coco+co in Haverhill, Mass. is making a rather personal appeal to congress. On April 30th the ad shown above ran in the Washington Post trying to appeal to President Bush and Congress. The issue at hand is that Tim Coco's spouse Genesio "Junior" Oliveria (they wed legally in Massachusetts in 2005) has been ordered to leave the country by Homeland Security (Oliveria is a Brazilian National). Coco believes that the judge improperly ruled on Oliveria's case and that things would be different if their union was recognized under the Defense of Marriage act of 1996. Coco has set up a site, Reunite This Family, as well. We've got two hot-button issues in play here: immigration and gay marriage, what do you think would make this situation right? (via AdFreak)

Read my post on Kodak's 1000 Words Blog

In my spare time, I work for Kodak. I also get to write for their 1000 Words blog from time to time. Here's my latest post on Time Lapse Photography. Check it out and let me know what you think.