post|script

the six reasons happiness is simple

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 03:58:00 +0000

I first saw this Lay's Potato Chips commercial while catching up on an episode of Lost (or maybe it was Private Practice--I can't remember) on abc.com. I feel like advertisers and media are still trying to get a grip on how best to utilize online video commercial time/space, but I have to say I feel like this Lay's commercial hits the ball (or exploding potato, as the case may be) out of the park.

There are six things I love about the Fireworks video that have left me thinking about it for days:

Editing: I saw a video about how online video has changed the way music vid directors think about filming. Because the screen is smaller on the computer than on TV, and because users are often divided between multiple tasks, the canvas is simplified to fit only the most essential portrait/action in each scene. Editing must be fast and furious, with cuts from one shot to the next happening almost constantly in order to keep the viewer engaged--I don't think there's a single shot in the entire Lay's video that lasts for more than three seconds.

Music: This song is gorgeous, and I've caught myself humming it on more than one occassion. Lovely tone, complimentary lyrics, and a beautiful ease that brings out the simple happiness shared by people in the video.

Color: I love the blue skies, the bright tupperware, the green grass and white goose--and of course, the golden chips. :)

Repetition: Lay's chose to show the same video for all four commercial breaks during my show, rather than build the breaks out into some sort of "plot." Which I thought was good, because the video itself is quite intricate and most of the time when advertisers try to go the plot route, it ends up being pretty lame because they are trying to compete with the coolness of my show and they are just not going to win. However, I have now gone to the Lay's website to watch Fireworks, voluntary, like five times.

Message: Aside from the fact that potato chip fireworks are just cool, I love how the potatoes shooting straight from the earth reinforces their message that Lay's chips are simple and natural (the site flaunts that the chips are made "with just three ingredients": potatoes, sunflower oil and a pinch of salt).

Tone: I think what strikes me most about the video is what a poignant response it is to not only the current technological environment that is forcing advertisers to adapt, but to our current social environment. I watch it and I think I want to be there. In that place, at that time, with those people, experiencing that moment--a moment so untouched by Wall Street, by politics and the worries that now consume our lives.

I want to believe that happiness is that simple--and for a minute, an exploding sky of golden potato chips makes me think there's at least a chance that, somewhere, it might be true.

mastery versus practice

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 19:09:00 +0000

I've had a business card for Cora McMullian, owner of Body Wisdom spa in Tallahassee and licensed massage therapist extraordinaire, sitting on my desk since December with a sticky note that reads: GET A MASSAGE!!!

Normally, I look at it between emails and projects and conference calls and think to my sticky note, "Yes, that would be nice," before moving on to the next thing on my to-do list.

Friday, however, was different. Between spurts of chaos, the card caught my eye and the sticky note seemed to SCREAM at me--and today, my body screamed back, "OKAY!!! I WILL!"

I've only gotten a couple of massages before, and never stuck with anyone because the pressure wasn't right, or the Enya soundtrack was too nauseating, or the ceiling was growing mold. I knew as soon as I walked into Body Wisdom that this time was going to be different. I walked in to wooden floors; warm, open space and comfortable decor that immediately invited me to relax.

Body Wisdom is the perfect temperature of calm without being too posh or new-agey--or too expensive. Cora makes you instantly comfortable with her personable demeanor and her obvious attention to detail--fresh citrus water, lavender-scented face cloths, and a style that seems more like well-choreographed art that happens to be taking place on your body than just a "massage."

I left beaming, but not before setting up another appointment for next month. And while part of the whole point of going in the first place was to get my mind off work, Cora really made me think about how important it is to take your business to the next level by not simply practicing a profession, but mastering the art of sharing it with others.

Body Wisdom is located at 820 East Park Avenue, Building C. Cora, or any of the wonderful massage therapists she employs, can be reached at 850.224.2639.

moon pie

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 04:24:00 +0000

Today I started a course in graphic design. In the first class, we made this cute little patchwork piece in Photoshop. I learned how layers work, and how to manipulate them a little bit. I learned a few keyboard shortcuts and how to mess with shapes.

To anybody who already knows Photoshop, I'm sure this is entirely amateur. But for me, I walked into the class feeling like Photoshop was a foreign country, and left confident that I could successfuly maneuver within its landscape (even if only on a small scale).

What made it so valuable was not finding out the hex values for black and white, or learning how to merge two layers. It was being able, in the very first class, to experience success.

Lesson: If you want someone to reach for the stars, it doesn't hurt to start with a big ol' piece of moon pie.

carry the torch

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:28:00 +0000

A coworker today pointed me to the inaugural post on the new White House blog--and it became very clear to me that the answer to the question of what's next as the news media loses influence is very simple: You.

Imagine if you devoted your website to becoming the number one source of information in your field. The media will start to go there first. Your consumers will start to go there first--not just for information about you, but about anything related to your industry.

Of course we still need the checks and balances reporters and people with other viewpoints provide--but if you are credible enough, transparent enough and engaging enough, it certainly can't hurt to be the one carrying the torch.

getting back in the saddle

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 05:29:00 +0000

It's been quite a little while since I've posted anything, and what better way to get back up and running than to run across this fabulous little post! Looks like the persistent bird gets the worm on the internet--I admit, sometimes I do wonder if all this blogging business is worth the fuss--and here I got pats on the back for a comment on another blog, my own blog AND my super-awesome external links (see right). Hooray!

Thanks to all for reading. :)

lessons from an innovator

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 02:43:00 +0000

PRSA recently printed an excerpt from this discussion with Obama's communications director Dan Pfieffer on lessons learned from a campaign that boldly went where no one has gone before. Here are the takeaways:

No matter what, stay focused on your goal. The campaigns that let themselves get distracted by the drama of the day... well, they lost. Note: Some dramas, like the financial crisis, are long-term issues that you must consider. But even this should not take your eyes off the ultimate goal.

Know your target audience. Wait--love your target audience. Your success is in their hands, which means your job is to build and sustain a relationship with your community of stakeholders.

I found this comment from Pfieffer particularly revealing of their understanding of these principles:

“Because the punditry largely lives near Washington, D.C. and New York City and rarely leaves those two places, they never had a sense of what was actually happening on the ground for Barack Obama, either in the primary or the general [election], and this is an election that takes place in states and is decided by voters and what voters were doing and thinking in a given moment was rarely factored in by the punditry."

The Obama campaign charted a new, refreshingly democratic, course in campaign strategy. How will you follow suit?

your tagline is not open for negotiation

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 23:59:00 +0000

While standing in line yesterday to vote early, my boyfriend pointed out an article on Google in this month's WIRED:

"When Josh McHugh profiled the young corporation in January 2003, it had one clear and concise rule: 'Don't be evil.' ... CEO Eric Schmidt recently 'clarified' that policy, saying it was simply meant as a conversation starter. ..."

I'm sorry, what??

Even if your tagline is tamer than the infamous internet giant's, it should reflect your company through and through. A tagline is two things: short and to the point. Meandering on meaning, especially if it leads you to quarreling with exactly what you meant by "evil," is not good.

Schmidt was right about one thing; taglines should start conversations--but they should be ones you can follow through on.

thinking inside the box

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 03:09:00 +0000

Just wrapped up an hour-long Etsy fest, where I happened upon this gorgeous clutch shop.

There's something to be said for thinking inside the box. Reinvention can be an act of desperation. It could be that there's a whole world of beauty to explore within the framework you already have.

i've been hijacked

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 00:20:00 +0000

I googled myself and found this. This is possibly the most horrifying example of identity theft that I could have ever imagined.

In the words of Highlander, "there can be only one!"

Stupid internet.

shhhhhhhh!

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:23:00 +0000

A secret: Sometimes (okay, a lot of the time) I click on the Google AdWords link even though the non-sponsored link is right below it, just because I know the company gets charged for it.

It's quite the little consumerist thrill.

the next question

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 06:22:00 +0000

I really must know now... Who is Joe going to vote for?

en route

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 23:54:00 +0000

I love it when the perfect music is playing in the car to the perfect moment outside the vehicle, and it feels like the soundtrack to a really good movie that you just happen to be living in.

financial fakeout

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:31:00 +0000

Great article in the Times about why the push for a financial bailout has been a huge failure--in communication.

the tide stain stick mind meld

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:06:00 +0000

Because I watch basically the same four TV channels all the time, I see the same commercials over and over.

My brain has actually become hardwired to make me sing "Now in a mini!" every time I see a small object. Which is more often than you would think.

And yes, it totally makes me want a mini stain stick. Luckily, the economic downturn prohibits me from such frivolity.

tellin it how it is

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 22:29:00 +0000

I was thinking about this all day today, and was going to write a post that went something like this:

It's not fair, or right, that Wall Street gets to fleece the American people and then get rewarded by having the government to do it again on their behalf. As a taxpayer, at this point I feel completely and utterly violated by each and every one of these bailouts.

But the amazing Jeff Jarvis said it better.

television: how it sucks and why i can't stop watching

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:10:00 +0000

I'm one of those people that "doesn't watch television." I don't have cable. I don't have time. And most importantly, I don't have interest (unless we're talking about Lost).

That is, until I discovered we 'mistakenly' get a few cable stations (thanks, Comcast!). At first, I just watched the nerd channels, Animal Planet and Discovery Health, and that was okay because at least I was still being intellectual about it. But one day there was nothing good on either channel and so my thumb, with a will of its own, pressed the channel button. And then it happened. I landed on the Style network.

Now, my nights and weekends are more and more consumed by the domestic clutter-dramas of Clean House, the wardrobe-slash-psychological overhauls of How Do I Look, and the Tazmanian-devil horrors of Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

All of this begs several questions:

(1) Why can't I just have a crew of goodie-gumdropers come over and completely redesign my apartment to look fabulous?

(2) How does that woman actually go out on the street wearing a Lego headband??

(3) Why hasn't anyone leaked any steamy sex videos of me so that I can get rich(er) off the settlement, land a sweet tv deal for my whole family, and have the most pressing issue in my life be why my sisters are ruining my trip to pick up my brand new Bentley?

Oh, and WHY CAN'T I STOP WATCHING ALL THIS AWFUL TELEVISION?

I have no idea. Somebody. Please. Help!

palin's first interview

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 02:55:00 +0000

Was a complete and utter disaster.

mixed messages

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 03:30:00 +0000

I love Ted's Montana Grill. If you've never tasted one of these guys:

Let me just tell you, you're missing out. Ted's specializes in fresh fixins that include everything from homemade lemonade to squash casserole and--you guessed it--bison.

Aside from serving amazingly fresh and tasty food, Ted's also has a "greener" purpose. A self-proclaimed environmentally-conscious establishment, Ted's is a 99 percent plastic-free business. Pretty impressive, I must admit, but every time I go there and read about their greenosophy on the table top promo card, I get, well, a little distracted.

You see, Ted's is made out of wood. The exterior is wood. The booths are wood. The interior walls are wood. The stand that holds the "green" promo card is a solid block of wood. It's a little odd to read claims of environmental stewardship while surrounded almost entirely by felled trees.

The tables themselves are covered in paper products that bear the stamp: "Recyclable!" That's right: recyclable. I asked my waiter about this suffix choice on my first visit, and he called over his manager to clarify things.

"You realize that recycleable just means that this paper table cloth could be recycled in theory, right?" I asked.

That's right. All the paper products at Ted's, much like all the paper products everywhere else on Earth, I would imagine, can be recycled. Woohoo!

Unfortunately, at Ted's, they're not. Except for their menu, they're not even made from already-recycled paper.

Now, none of this stops me from eating there, because as a restaurant, Ted's is really good at what matters most: their food. But I have to admit, even if their attempt at environmentalism isn't just a hardwood-paneled facade, such a blatant missed opportunity to do better is not only questionable, but at least a little negligent.

up up and away!

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 01:19:00 +0000

am off to new orleans for five days of detachment and revalry. there's nothing like getting away from it all to give you perspective. i once had a professor counsel me that the trick is to be able to do that without running away.

still working on that part...

how to let your employees know you couldn't care less

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 00:29:00 +0000

My mom works as a travel agent for a major national corporation that has been ranked one of the top companies to work for in the U.S. This year is her fifteenth year with the company, and as a thank you, last week they mailed her a 15-year plaque. Along with a blank card and instructions for her manager to have everyone sign it and gather around to congratulate her.

... My mom works from home. Which she hates. Because there are no other people around.

Earlier this year, the same company mailed all its employees appreciation packages, which included: A $5 gift card to Target. A frisbee with the company logo. And one free paid hour off to be used by the end of the month.

The year before that, they received a half-day off. Before that, it was a full day that they could use any time during the year.

Yesterday, my mom received a vinyl lunch bag with the company logo. In case you were wondering, she still works from home.

Her breaks are timed so that when she walks away from the computer, it buzzes to remind her to come back. Her phone calls are monitored, recorded and graded on a weekly basis. Once, a co-worker raised concerns regarding the company's overtime policy during an open 'town hall' forum--and was written up because the regional manager "didn't like her attitude." By the way, any employee that is written up does not receive a yearly bonus.

Employee appreciation is important. When your appreciation looks a lot more like denegration, you create several problems:

Lack of employee enthusiasm, which leads to lack of productivity, which leads to lack of both retention and profitability.

And last but not least, you're messing with my mom.

Seriously not cool.

"thank you, target!" - anonymous tree

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 17:54:00 +0000

You'll never believe what happened to me yesterday at Target. I purchased a poster frame and a pair of earrings--and my receipt was only four inches long!!

I don't know if I'm the only one who is irked by retailers that feel the need to offer seven feet of receipt for every purchase, no matter how large or small. I'm no nazi environmentalist, but when it comes to obvious opportunities to scale back, I'd really rather they save a tree than try to suck me into some customer survey gimmick, or regale me with the full disclosure of their entire exchange/refund policy, or waste space in my wallet.

Sometimes the message is the words you use, sometimes it's the medium by which you deliver it.

Speaking of receipts, I also noticed during the long and drawn out tomato scare that Chick-fil-a actually refunded customers the 15-cent cost of the tomato on their sandwiches, and marked it on the receipt. Translation: Chick-fil-a loves me enough to not only watch my back against evil salmonilla, but they're willing to pay me/not make a profit on it. Super cool!

a note about internet commercials

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:04:00 +0000

Dear Websites with Videos:

You don't need to turn the volume up on the commercials. It's not a TV; I didn't run off to the kitchen. I'm right here. Chill.

Best regards,
Gina

(america never was america to me)

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 04:00:00 +0000

And yet I swear this oath--
America will be!

- langston hughes

lay it down: summer album of 2008

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 00:24:00 +0000

fall in love!

:)

DNP rules committee meeting

noreply@blogger.com (gina welker) — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 00:16:00 +0000

That may have been one of the coolest things I have ever watched on television.