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Introducing Beardvertising: Tiny Billboards That Clip on to Your Beard

The Memphis Egotist — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:44:01 +0000

National

I'm not sure which is more disturbing—the hirsute images that adorn the Beardvertising site from Kentucky ad agency Cornett-IMS, or creative Whit Hiler's use of the work "mancessory" to describe such facial hair. You might recall Hiler from past wacky ventures such as conquering Reddit with fake fliers (including a meetup to recreate scenes from Human Centipede—"Guys only") and crafting a tourism campaign that was presumably too "kick-ass" for the Bluegrass State. Here's his latest pitch: "Do you wanna get paid for having an epic beard? Of course you do. Join the world's first Beardvertising network. Get paid. It's simple—turn your beard into a business. Just like Duck Dynasty. Hang a BeardBoard (Patent Pending) in your beard. Sit back and get paid up to $5 per day." So far, A&W Restaurants and Eagle One Automotive have slapped their messages on Beardvertising mini-billboard clips. Maybe Schick, Gillette, Old Spice and DollarShaveClub.com should join in to cut through the clutter and carve out some unique ad space.

By: David Gianatasio, Adweek

Tube Station Transformed into Great Gatsby Ballroom

The Memphis Egotist — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:28:00 +0000

National

Oxford Circus is one of the busiest stations on the London Underground, its floors trodden upon by thousands of people a week, but it received a bit of a facelift last week as part of the media campaign for Baz Luhrmann’s much marketed version of The Great Gatsby. Check out the article and additional images here.

By: Daniela Walker, PSFK

Crosstown Arts Presents: MemFeast IV

The Memphis Egotist — Thu, 16 May 2013 14:22:41 +0000

Local

Via Bianca Philips, The Memphis Flyer

Long before the Shelby Farms Greenline became the city's cycling and running hotspot, there was the V&E Greenline, a 1.7-mile urban trail converted from an old railroad track that runs from the Sears Crosstown building to Rhodes College.

This year, Crosstown Arts is bringing its fourth annual MemFeast dinner to the V&E Greenline on Saturday, May 18th, from 7 to 10 p.m. The concept for MemFeast is simple: Artists present ideas for public art projects, the dinner's attendees listen as they dine, and at the end of the meal, each attendee votes for his or her favorite. The winner gets $5,000 to make the art project a reality...

Read the full article here.

RedRover Picks Up Four Communicator Awards

The Memphis Egotist — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:52:27 +0000

Local

RedRover Sales & Marketing took home four international awards as part of the 2013 Communicator Awards.

The firm got three Awards of Distinction for creative work completed for clients Thomas & Betts Corp., DreamCatcher Hotels and The MED Foundation. The firm also earned an Award of Excellence for its own newly designed website.

Read the full article here

New Bikesploitation Logo Design by Erf

The Memphis Egotist — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:30:51 +0000

Local

Check out the new logo that Erf created for Bikesploitation 3, a one-of-a-kind festival that brings together film, music, and art from around the world to celebrates a love for bikes. For festival details, click here.

Glad's Music Festival Tent Doubles as Giant Trash Bag

The Memphis Egotist — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:28:19 +0000

National

In partnership with ad agency Alma, Glad has turned its ordinary white trash bag into a durable tent aimed at festival-goers and out-door enthusiasts leading to a zero-waste camping experience. Get the full details here.

Article by Lara Piras, PSFK.com

Why Humor Makes You More Creative

The Memphis Egotist — Fri, 10 May 2013 16:52:27 +0000

YOU CAN'T SELF-MONITOR YOUR WAY TO INNOVATION. A JOVIAL OFFICE ENVIRONMENT IS HUGELY IMPORTANT, AND A FEW GOOD LAUGHS CAN CHANGE EVERYTHING AT WORK.

When you're getting creative, you relax your inhibitions.

Stanford professor Tina Seelig shows us why in her book InGenius: In one study, jazz musicians were asked to improvise while having their brains monitored via fMRI.

Something harmonic happened: As the artists performed, the parts of the frontal lobe associated with judgment went quiet. This shows that while self-monitoring is often useful--you don't want to say everything that passes through your mind--it can get in the way of new ideas.

"Creative people have apparently mastered the art of turning off this part of their brains to let their ideas flow more smoothly, unleashing their imagination," she writes.

During our interview with Seelig, she explains that innovative managers make their workplaces "habitats for creativity"--which entails a break from all the stuffy self-monitoring.

That's where humor comes in.

For organizations, humor enables innovation

Why does it help? Take Pixar, where "jovial discussion" animates the culture. In Little Bets, Peter Sims writes that a playful environment is most helpful when ideas are incubated or newly hatched--and the more ideas you hatch, the more you can innovate.

People withhold their ideas if they think they're going to be judged, snuffing out innovation-sprouts before they take root. (Shame alert!) A playful culture, on the other hand, encourages ideas to be batted around, ideas which could become side projects, side projects which could become full-fledged businesses.

And for individuals, success favors the funny

As consultant Michael Kerr tells Forbes, “Humor often reveals the authentic person lurking under the professional mask.”

It makes sense: A growing body of research shows that when you share a laugh with someone, you're mirroring not only one another's body language, but also the hormonal and neuronal activity, prompting a mutual investment in each other's well-being. That's a bond of kindness--and you'll need acts of kindness to make it in any career.

By: Drake Baer via Fast Company

Farmhouse creates brand for Tamp and Tap

The Memphis Egotist — Fri, 10 May 2013 16:15:37 +0000

Local

Check out the logo Farmhouse designed for Tamp and Tap, a new coffee house and beer room coming to Downtown Memphis later this spring.

The Most High-Tech Child Abuse Poster Ever Created

The Memphis Egotist — Fri, 10 May 2013 15:18:33 +0000

National

Adults see one version of the ad, children see another, more violent version. Read the full Buzzfeed article here.

Nike Rebrands UConn Athletics

The Memphis Egotist — Thu, 09 May 2013 18:54:24 +0000

National

Nike was part of a school-wide rebranding effort at the University of Connecticut. Visit NikeBlog.com for some inspiration.

Darn Good Yarn

The Memphis Egotist — Thu, 09 May 2013 18:14:28 +0000

Local

inferno recently worked with FedEx to highlight small businesses represented in their FedEx Small Business Grant Contest. You can read more here.

making things look badass

The Memphis Egotist — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:36:18 +0000

Local

See what's going on at Erf.

2013 Barbeque Festival

The Memphis Egotist — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:25:41 +0000

Local

Check out the poster for 2013 Memphis In May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest. Designed by David Maddox Creative.

Levitt Shell Concert Series 2013

The Memphis Egotist — Wed, 08 May 2013 21:00:00 +0000

Local

The lineup for the Levitt Shell 2013 concert series has been finalized, and we are loving the corresponding promotional work - website and poster design by Memphis' own Hieroglyph.

CONDOMONIUM 2013

The Memphis Egotist — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 17:52:24 +0000

Local

CONDOMONIUM is an annual public awareness event and signature fundraiser for CHOICES, a local non-profit organization providing reproductive health care, education and advocacy around reproductive rights and justice.

Join CHOICES at Playhouse on the Square on Saturday, March 2, for food & cocktails, Memphis music, and a sure-to-be entertaining fashion show featuring designs made of condoms.

Thanks Michael J. Hildebrand for sharing this event poster with us!
For more info about CONDOMONIUM, visit the Facebook event.

How to Spend $275 Million in 48 Minutes: Three Super Bowl Ad Trends for 2013

joshhogan — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 20:54:20 +0000

Want to watch $275 Million get spent in 48 minutes? Just tune into CBS at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday to see one of America's greatest primetime displays of violence, debauchery and poor impulse control. And I'm not talking about the Super Bowl…

I'm talking about the Super Bowl ads.

In all seriousness, these days it's no surprise that independent research year after year continues to show that over half of U.S adult viewers plan to watch the Super Bowl as much, or more, for the ads than for the game itself. In fact, social listening measurement findings suggested that in 2012 64% of respondents said that half or more of their conversations online with respect to the Super Bowl were about the commercials themselves.

With the average investment of $4 Million on the line for a 30-second spot, it's no wonder why the CMOs of many of these advertisers are looking to squeeze their investment for every penny.

There are three standout trends that have continued to proliferate the Super Bowl ad space for the last several years (and by all accounts will continue even more in 2013).

01. Online Ad Preview and Teasers

Online Ad Previews and Teasers are becoming more of the norm. VW made the most famous splash last year with its Star Wars parodies that received over 56 Million hits after allwas said and done, largely in part to the pre-release of the spotson YouTube.

This year's early winner goes to the Kate Upton Mercedes spot, which in one week gained over 5 Million views (and counting).

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Humbling news as, by this author's account, this is one of the more ridiculously off-brand spots I've ever seen. Given the fact that the CLA won't even be available for the next 7 months, the brand needs lasting impression and awareness. Regardless of the substance, it's clear that Mercedes knows the value of online traction and will do whatever it takes, no matter how low-brow, to get an early lead among its rivals.

Regarding the idea of Super Bowl teasers, the concept is simple,but the debate still rages on about whether or not the big reveal should be saved for the big game. While we don't promote a "one size fits all" approach to advertising, and I'm sure there are errors to the rule, it's hard to argue with the facts. Mashable reports, "According to YouTube's research, ads that ran online before the Super Bowl last year got 9 Million views, on average. Those that waited? 1.3 Million." With, on average, three times as many views online over broadcast, many could argue that the real winner in all of this is actually YouTube.

02. Ads for Social Democracy

Ads by social democracy are becoming more common in 2013. While Doritos pioneered the concept with their user-generated ads in the past few years, this year we are seeing a greater variety of the concept. For instance, one of the biggest brands in the world, Budweiser, has finally launched a Twitter account in its name. The brand, which had a little more than 600 followers Monday morning, is using the account to promote its upcoming Super Bowl ad, which will feature a Clydesdale foal via their Twitter hashtag campaign. Pepsi is also using their site and Twitterto recruit some of their fans to strike a pose with their can before their half-time show.

But, the big pre-game winners in 2013 seem to be the "choose your own adventure" style ads from Audi and Coke. In what Audi says is a Super Bowl first, they recorded separate endings for their "Prom Night"commercial, and are compiling social votes where the audience chooses the ending. Coke created cokechase.comto tease their spots by highlighting three different sets of teams who are all racing to win a giant coke in the desert. The team with the most votes online will get their spot aired right after the game.

03. Second Screen

This year, more viewers than ever will be watching on a second screen. Now in real-time, technology allows brands to engage with the viewing public on their mobile phone or tablet during the event. For instance, Yahoo's Into_Now pioneered app technology that augments the second screen experience by using the unique audio digital signature in a television show topickup, and serve up, content directly related to that show. CBS estimates ad revenue alone from their second screen engagement to be between $10-$12 Million. Being able to interact with stats,player bios, team formations, highlights and social aspects is an essential part of any second screen approach for the sports enthusiast.

Regardless of all of the hype, a few certainties remain. The Super Bowl represents one of the highest risk: reward ratios in advertising. Because of this, marketers are getting smarter by using not only the right tools, but also the right content to get the consumer's attention. Disintermediation is taking effect and the consumer is finally starting to see large-scale control of and connection with their favorite brands. As our society gets more social and mobile, so does the advertising.

Needless to say, as an advertiser, I am thankful for the Super Bowl. If not for any other time during the year - the Super Bowl gives us an annual magnified window into the progress of advertising. With so much attention to the commercials, it almost makes me feel sorry for the guys on the field.

Almost.

Originally posted on the Rodgers Townsend blog.

It All Started with a Fist Full of Dirt

The Memphis Egotist — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:02:26 +0000

Local

We're loving the user experience of this new Mossy Oak site, developed by Harvest. You can check out the design in the screen shots below, but the fun part is really visiting the site and navigating through the Porch, Mud Room, Woods, and other appropriately named pages to learn more about the company.

Featured Profile

The Memphis Egotist — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 22:35:52 +0000

Local

Today we're featuring Adam Mitchell, a creative Memphian with plenty of experience in the advertising world. Adam is also the art director for Memphis in May's International Festival, this year featuring Sweden.

Check out some of Adam's work below, and see his profile here.

Join the Memphis Egotist to create your own profile.

Begin at the End

The Memphis Egotist — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 16:54:03 +0000

Local

A new video from doug carpenter & associates urges us to view December 31 as a new beginning, rather than an end.

Let's begin at the end. from Doug Carpenter on Vimeo.

Via
See the full website.

Oden Wishes Memphis a Happy Holiday

The Memphis Egotist — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 22:42:47 +0000

Local

This holiday season, Oden is putting their photography and video talents toward a worthy cause indeed, by supporting the Memphis Oral School for the Deaf, a preschool that empowers hearing-impaired children through the use of hearing aids, cochlear implants, and oral education.

MemShop brings holiday market to Overton Square

The Memphis Egotist — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 17:00:35 +0000

Local

Hot on the heels of its MemFix: Cleveland Street event, the Mayor's Innovation Delivery Team is gearing up for MemShop: Overton Square, a holiday pop-up shop event in the long-dormant Midtown neighborhood that has recently begun perking up.

The event, which includes more than 40 local vendors and runs from December 6th through the 23rd, aims to bring traffic to the developing area of Overton Square and to entice long-term tenants to empty storefronts.

Read the full article at The Memphis Flyer.

doug carpenter & associates Rebrands, Launches New Site

The Memphis Egotist — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 15:00:04 +0000

Local

Moving into its third year as a full service advertising, public relations, and consulting firm, doug carpenter & associates recently launched a new website featuring clients, work, and agency philosophy. Visit the new site to learn more about doug carpenter & associates.

Big Ideas from Little Beginnings

The Memphis Egotist — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 14:00:22 +0000

Local

The Urban Child Institute, a Memphis agency working to educate our city about the importance of early childhood development, recently launched an innovative new site.

Watch the video below to learn more about the mission of the Urban Child Institute, then head on over to the site, designed by Hieroglyph.

Overton Honored for Ballet Poster Series

The Memphis Egotist — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 14:00:59 +0000

Local

Michael Overton, Partner and Creative Director at inferno won Gold at the 2012 Tenn Show for a poster series he created for New Ballet Ensemble & School's performance of Peter & the Wolf. The posters highlighted the animal characters from the dance performance. Peter & the Wolf was part of NBE's annual Springloaded Event that also included a collaboration with Hattiloo Theater, Joyce Cobb, and River City Concert Band.

The school of life.

The Auckland Egotist — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 21:37:18 +0000

Yesterday a reader asked us "how do you get into advertising?", our knee jerk reaction was to ship them off to the nearest ad school for a year or so.

Then they told us more about their experiences to date and what a fascinating life they had lived. And as all of us forget from time to time, education is just a base foundation, life is what moulds you into an interesting creative person, ultimately making you more employable than the next guy or gal.

This trending video from Mondo Endruo below seemed an appropriate fit for this editorial.