El Gaffney

Ten For Friday

2011-10-30T21:54:09Z

A weekly link roundup from last week. A lazy man’s post. Count it.

1. How the economic slowdown has changed spending in the US
2. Good deck on FOMO (The Fear Of Missing Out) from JWT
3. Ed Templeton talks about his photography series Teenage Kissers
4. Limited Edition posters for each Portlandia episode
5. Kreayshawn: The Game – It’s what the kids are doing.
6. Hunch shows what elevator button pushing says about you
7. NYC rooftop camping
8. Absolut celebrates 30 years of advertising to gay consumers
9. An article contending grit is more important than talent
10. The best Venn Diagram I’ve seen. Take notes strategists. Link and below.

Ten for Friday

2011-10-21T20:33:15Z

I’ve been doing a bi-weekly link roundup for co-workers at Mother. Stolen mostly from my Twitter stream, Facebook news feed and @superlau77, it’s way to share and bookmark some of the interesting things I’ve seen. It may take the place of the Inbox of Immaturity – I’ve really grown up since 2005 – and bring some routine to posting so I don’t abandon this blog for another few months. Here they are:

1. Grant M.’s take on the power of secret messages
2. Cougar Town cameos (smart, cheap promo tactic)
3. Replace face (see Mickey Rourke)
4. Small demons creates a “storyverse”/social network for books (get a beta invite)
5. Generation X doesn’t want to hear it
6. Infographic for Game of Thrones fans
7. The Elusive Big Idea
8. MTV & Millennials
9. Gauging the Mood of People
10. Ji Lee’s Word As Image:

We’re All Weird Al: Bachelorette Edition

2011-08-15T23:50:58Z

I love me some Weird Al. Always have. Waiting for that side 1 to side 2 transition on my “Even Worse” cassette tape. Classic. He’s inspired me to do some lyric customization of my own – mostly for welcomes, beefs or farewells back at Wieden.

As you might imagine, I was excited to see my friend Sarah doing the same for her Bachelorette finale party last week. Unfortunately I missed the ideal window to post because I was moving. However, I figure it’s relevant enough today given the Bachelor Pad premiere tonight. Without further ado, here’s “Runaway (from Ashley)”:

(Set to Kanye West’s “Runaway”)

And I rarely find, yeah, I rarely find this much wrong
But JP’s been puttin’ up wit’ her laugh just way too long
With her it’s so easy to find what Ben wouldn’t like the most
So I think it’s time for William to have a roast

Let’s have a toast for the midriff,
Let’s have a toast for that forehead,
Let’s have a toast for the short skirts,
Every one of them that she wears
Let’s have a toast to the perfaaaaact
That never stops hurting my brain
Chris Harrison, I got a plan
Run away fast as you can

She find warnings in her emails
Money sent a picture of that d*ck.
I don’t know what it is with females
But Ashley’s not too good with that sh*t.
See, she could have a West or a Mickey
And still be addicted to them Bentleys
And I just blame everything on her
At least you know there’s nothing she’s good at

See, I rarely find and I rarely find
Yeah, I rarely find this much wrong
But we’ve been puttin’ up with her face just way too long
This season’s so easy to find what I don’t like the most
So I think it’s time for William to have a roast

Let’s have a toast for the black mask,
Let’s have a toast for Ry’s hand hearts,
Let’s have a toast for the Ames fans,
Every one of them that I know
Let’s have a toast to Constantine
Who wouldn’t even take that room key
ABC, I got a plan
Run away fast as you can

R-r-ru-ru-ru-run away
Run away from Ashley

Always been such a TV romantic,
I just love the faux sense of intimacy.
And I know this girl’s done damage,
’cause the screech in her voice is killing me,
I guess we’ve got another advantage
’cause we could blame Brad for everything.
And I don’t know how I’m a manage,
If one day Ashley’s back on the screen…
Oh, I haven’t cared in so long
We been puttin’ up with the insecurity just way too long
With her it’s so easy to find what I don’t like the most
So I think it’s time for William to have a roast

Let’s have a toast for that long hair,
Let’s have a toast for frontal rub-downs,
Let’s have a toast for Asian love spots,
Every one of them that I know
Let’s have a toast to the Bach Pad
That I really can’t wait for
Chris Harrison, I got a plan
Run away fast as you can

Carl Sagan: MadMan

2010-10-16T13:42:29Z

(via Bud Caddell)

When I was growing up, I used to get so excited watch Cosmos with my father (amongst other things like Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes). Now I watch Jersey Shore and Project Runway. Whaaaaa happened? That’s going to take a bit more soul-searching than I’m prepared to do now. As a planner, I’ve certainly wielded a few of Sherlock’s great quotes to make a point, or explain what I do. Can I get a “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” That’s not a question. So when I stumbled upon Cosmos’ “The Persistence of Memory” on the Science Channel my planner ears perked up… and my fingers got-a-typin’. Here are some Sagan sound-bytes for your mind (we still do alliteration like it’s nobody but our business)…and for external use at the risk of sounding like a jerk-off.

The units of biological evolution are genes. The units of cultural evolution are called ideas. Ideas have transported all over the planet. They reproduce through communications. They are selected by analysis and debate.

The number of bits to which we have access has grown dramatically… Direct communication among billions of human beings is now made possible by computers and satellites. The potential for a global intelligence is emerging. Linking all the brains on Earth into a planetary consciousness.

One thing will be clear about us: No one sends such a message on such a journey without a positive passion for the future.

I love this last one. I wish it was more true of our industry.

Out and Out

2010-08-11T02:17:03Z

I just can’t deny the coincidence of all these stories being passed along within days. If you haven’t seen any one of them, it’s worth reading on.

Two amazing job exits and two gay- and comedy-related links.

Obviously, Steve Slater takes the cake or beers (literally) when he curses out JetBlue’s passengers and exits down the emergency shoot.

But he’s given a run for his money by this lady, who emails her company a photo-story using dry erase board, quitting and exposing her Farmville-playing boss.

Update: I got got.

Terrible transition, but maybe what Steve needed is a Sassy Gay Friend. (via Dana)

Oh, come on. It’s a joke, man! (via Aziz Ansari)

Happy 30th Anniversary, Mom and Dad

2010-08-05T14:27:32Z

Getting down at my sister's wedding

Last night my beyoncé, sister and her new husband took my parents out for dinner to celebrate their 30th anniversary. We hit up Plein Sud, which was on the radar since it’s pretty new to our neighborhood and Ed from Top Chef D.C. runs the kitchen. The meal was quite tasty. You can’t go wrong with flatbreads, mac and cheese and ham, skirt steak and souffle, though, can you? I guess if Tom C. is tasting you can. But our amateur palettes were “more than satisfied.” (Yes, that’s a My Cousin Vinny reference. By the way, IMDB lists the tagline for that movie as “Rambo. Terminator. Indiana Jones. Vinny Gambini.” Really?)

I didn’t open this new post window to talk food or film; I did so to (more publicly) recognize and congratulate my parents on this amazing milestone in their (our) lives. They’re an example in so many ways – one of which is their love for and commitment to each other. Thank you both, for everything.

This seemed like a much more important story today than “What your brand can learn from Kanye Tweets as New Yorker cartoons.” But, if you’re into that, friend me on Facebook.

Two Things I Love: Fridays and Cookies

2010-07-30T16:28:57Z

This animated gif has been making its way around the Internet, and it puts a smile on my face. Just like bulldogs snorting, Bubb Rubb woo woo’ing and this epic sax.

Have a happy weekend.

Beer Ad Me

2010-07-12T19:18:40Z

Now that I’m working in the beer category, I’ve been on the search for best advertising practices in this space. Of course Dos Equis is still getting a lot of love, and I recently posted about Heineken’s stunt in Italy. I’ve always liked Carlsberg’s slogan – “Probably the best beer in the world,” and Carlton Draught’s “Very Big Ad.” More recently, I think what Mother did for Stella with “Up There” is pretty darn sweet. And, as far as we all know, Bros Icing Bros was completely unsanctioned by Smirnoff.

Needless to say, when Dan in our London office put me on to this move by Andes beer in Argentina, I was feeling it. An idea that’s obviously limited in its real-world experience reach, but has gained a massive reach through the content created around it. Red Bull-style. Enjoy responsibly.

Any other interesting examples for me?

Three Days Until the World Cup

2010-06-08T14:29:04Z

Four until USA beats England.

One of the last things I worked on back at Wieden was ESPN’s marketing for the very quickly approaching World Cup. One of the most interesting things we did with them (and a South African artist collective) is put together 33 murals that told the stories of each participating team (and another for the tourney). You can check them all out here on Facebook or on Flickr. But, of course, this is the most important one:

Finally, here’s the “anthem” TV spot (Bono and all) for the entire event:

P.S. I’d like to promise more activity over here, but with game-watching and my new job, I can’t be sure. Thanks for keeping me around.

Making a Brand Statement

2010-04-27T18:53:25Z

Earlier this year I posted about the Coca-Cola Happiness Machine and had a handful of friends outside of the industry send me emails about how cool it was. (Side note: They weren’t comfortable commenting on the blog even though it’s mine because they aren’t in advertising. However, they’re the harshest couch critics of commercials – especially during football season.)

Anyway, a conversation about creating something (an ad, event, application, etc.) that makes “a brand statement” – gets people talking and shows them a company’s values, personality and/or mission – led me to think about some of the work that’s broken through and resonated with me over the last half year or so. You guys and dolls in advertising have probably seen most, if not all, of these but figured I’d post them for the other nine visitors who aren’t scouring award show winner lists. Plus, I truly believe it’s important for everyone in our industry to talk about the work we see out in the marketplace – whether “creative” is in your title or not.

The idea that sparked this post originally is closest to the Coke example in that it’s a stunt that documented made for some pretty interesting video. What I love is how Heineken thought about their audience and decided to use the people who have the most influence over their soccer fan consumers to reach them.

Also in the sports world (my world) are Gatorade’s Replay, Nike’s Chalkbot and Puma’s Hardchorus. Definitely check these out – they’re really fun.

Given my history working with The Islands Of The Bahamas’ tourism board, I can’t deny last year’s big winner on awards show circuit. Here’s its case study video:

Other award winning ideas brought to life that I admire are BK’s Whopper Sacrifice, Axe’s 100 Girls and our Old Spice Swaggerize Me.

Lastly, two very different uses of film (hundreds of very short clips to show off a limited-run of shoes and one long tale about whiskey) have caught my eye and sucked me in. They are New Balance’s 574 Cilps and Johnnie Walker’s “The Man Who Walked Around The World:

P.S. Kevin, there’s your credit list.
P.P.S. W+K London just released an extended version of Impossible Dream for Honda.

Quarterlinks

2010-04-09T16:20:39Z

Title inspired by Top Chef Masters’ “clamesco” sauce in the first quickfire challenge.

Every few months I look back over my delicious links and pull out some of the interesting and relevant things. A handful of you probably contributed to this list without knowing it via Twitter or email, so thank you. In the spirit of Age’s weekly “Teh Radness” and Greg’s annual 99 Things You Should Have Seen on The Internet—but not nearly as ambitious as either—here’s my quarter list of Ten for ESPN.

1. Just because March Madness ended doesn’t mean you’ll have to lose Gus Johnson’s calls.
2. Plus now you can fill out your Consumerist’s Worst Company in America Bracket.
3. With baseball season underway, there’s a new product for Red Sox (and music) fans.
4. From brands we’ve seen create this type of content before, the secret of Nike Air and RayBan “Never Hide Films” face tattoo.
5. To new brands making stuff, like Reese’s bridge jumping video and Tropicana’s lighting up the Arctic.
6. A couple of Social Media FAIL’s from Nestle and TGI Friday’s.
7. One of the most bizarre sports I’ve ever seen.
8. For LOST fans, the Saul Bass credits and the Old Spice commercial frame by frame with Richard.
9. OK GO’s latest video and The Muppets got mashed up with Lady Gaga.
10. Finally, a Presidential handshake and wipe.

Hopefully something on here you haven’t seen. If not, a handy list for next time you’re looking for it. Have a nice weekend. And don’t forget to watch Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN. (Shameless plug.)

I’m Geeking Out About “I’m Telling”

2010-03-30T15:45:54Z

It’s time to teleport you to the Iso-Zone.

This could easily be a tweet, but I’ve elevated this discovery to blog status. Though, with over twice as many followers as subscribers, I’m not sure most would say I’m elevating it. Perhaps more accurately, I’m making the find less disposable and my excitement more apparent.

Anyway, I had a dream last night that I was on a game show. All I remembered of it was that I was running up a “mountain” of presents. Thank Go…Google, there’s, well, Google. Because after a few ambitious and unsuccessful searches like “game show, mountain of presents” (video games and Mountain Dew have it on lock) and “kids’ game shows mountain” (you know The Aggro Crag on GUTS is holding it down), I broadened out to “popular 80s game shows. And that’s where I hit the jackpot: BuzzSugar.

The show – I’m Telling. The mountain of toys – The Pick-A-Prize Arcade. The most famous people to play (as children) – Paul Walker (on a regular bro-sis show), Shannon Doherty (on a special celebrity show) and the Astin brothers (yes, brothers – see Rudy below).

I don’t really have a point to this story; I just got really nostalgic. And I kind of want to revive it. The Newlywed Game with siblings. There’s definitely still a market for it. Hit me up if agree.

Update: I told my family about this game show dream last night at Passover and before giving away any details (nothing about the mountain of toys or anything), my sister guessed that it was “I’m Telling.” Crazy. We totally should have been on this show.

A Presentation for Planners

2010-03-21T16:13:47Z

This Sunday morning I’m feeling inspired by Kevin’s surprise at seeing a post on a planning blog about planning, excited by happening across a presentation on the subject by my long-missed colleague and friend Guy Gould-Davies, and guilty about not having posted in almost a month. So I’m going to go ahead and embed GGD’s slides.

It’s a great primer for those just starting in the discipline and reminder for the rest of us to act not just as problem solvers but also change agents.

The What, How & Why Of Account Planning.

View more presentations from Guy_Gould_Davies.

Leaving Viral Back In 2009

2010-02-23T23:12:19Z

Here’s a post I meant to write at the beginning of the year, but I never got around to it. Thanks to the “#snowpacalypse” in NYC (or few inches on the ground), I had a bit of time to aggregate links last week. Now that it’s Friday I have a bit more time. So let’s get down to business.

I, like many planners, having been keeping track of and keeping my clients up-to-date on the content online that’s spreading across many people for a while now. It started years ago as a way to shift the conversation away from “We want the next Tea Partay” to “what’s right for us and our audience and what would they want to pass along” by providing examples with various levels of taste, humor, shock, etc. Plus, because the majority of “viral successes” come from individuals, it was helpful to start looking more closely at what companies were doing.

Read full article here

Fast forward to present. Thankfully we don’t get too many briefs with “viral” as a deliverable anymore. But for those who do, there’s been some great thinking about the problems with the term/request done by Faris, Bud, Paul and Ivan. However, I still do collect examples of (mostly) brands’ attempts to produce (mostly) video content to be passed around…and rack up that coveted 1 million YouTube views.

Since I had all these links in my delicious or email, I figured I’d put them all in one place and share them with you – just in case it’s useful in any way. Without further ado, the 2009 “viral” year in review:

Q1 kicked off with Mini has some fun with the “Is it fake?” theme of many viral videos. Geico feeds off the equity of the Numa Numa Guy to create a hit video (though other videos leveraging memes that they put on their YouTube channel “itsthegecko” had significantly less views). Nike had Taylor Momsen (from Gossip Girl) do some parkour to avoid the paparazzi. Ray Ban “Never Hide Films” (behind the catching sunglasses video which has over 4 million views) came back in early January with another video, which did not get quite the same response. Cadbury, on the other hand, came back strong (after the drum-playing gorilla) with “Eyebrow Dance” and got a lot of views.

Then, there were the commercials, which were heavily spread online like McDonald’s Fillet o’ Fish commercial, which has a techno song remix as well. Though, Pharrell trying to get the Mickey D’s in Paris airport gained more traction. Then, there were ones that just didn’t stir up the controversy they had hoped to, such as Domino’s CEO going hard at Subway.

After his death at the end of June, it was no surprise that Michael Jackson was all over the Internet. Millions of views for everything from this old Pepsi commercial to this Twitter mashup to the tribute by Philippines detention center inmates, who are more famous for their original Thriller performance.

Back to brands, Samsung put out this LED sheep thing which got tons of views. Then followed up with more crazy stuff at a trade show. I know it’s a TV campaign, but the geeks went gaga for this Intel work. And sticking with tech, peeps have been all about Xbox’s Project Natal and its first official look. T-Mobile is back (in the UK) with a follow-up to their train station dance, getting a crowd together to sing “Hey Jude”.

There’s what Nike did for Free And what FC Barcelona’s coach put together with Catalonian TV before playing Manchester United in the Champions’ League Final, which was inspired by this.

Remember the EA Sports response to Tiger Woods superfan and YouTube user? They tried to build off it (but less successfully) with this before the Open. And I think Gilette’s still sour that Philips had such a hit with their body groomer (“Shave Everywhere”) work a few year’s back and came out with this “manscaping” tip video. But that’s probably better than the Comfort Wipe infomercial out there and Burger King “Square Butts” (Sponge Bob + Sir Mix-a-lot) commercial, both of which have been racking up views online.

Of course you’ve seen “I’m on a Boat” by Lonely Island, but even better is this a Capella version. Plus, on the subject of singing (or lip-syncing in this case), here’s a kid who produces and broadcasts his talent from the Apple Store.

There’s the Kanye interrupting Obama mash-up and likely the most viral video as of the year (parodied on NBC’s The Office): “JK Wedding Dance“.

Nike, EA and RayBan returned with Skateboarding and Ice Cube, FIFA 2010 and a SxSW video respectively.

Discovery Channel launches a bunch of mini-clips for Shark Week. Disneyland brings us a magical (come on, don’t be a hater) proposal. Evian helps you feel young…with roller-skating babies. And MSI gives us “Guy catches laptop with his butt.”

United Airlines gets firsthand experience in the power of the customer and a PR nightmare when they broke a dude’s guitar. The Muppets sing Bohemian Rhapsody. There’s a Christmas Light Hero and a Gap commercial tribute.

Over the holidays, we had the option to stay warm by the fire or with your Weezer Snuggie. But, as NYC Health advises, stay away from the soda (WARNING: KINDA GROSS). And if we ventured out, we could have brought some money for the Salvation Army and ImprovEverywhere. While brands were not pumping out as much online video content as in past quarters, there was this nice set of videos for Google Chrome.

And there you have it. Say goodbye to 2009 (again)..and (now) to “viral.”

Everyone’s Favorite Super Bowl Game

2010-02-04T23:24:54Z

After focus groups prevented me from playing The Bachelor’s Rose Ceremony Game on Monday night and Lost bingo on Tuesday night, you better believe nothing’s getting in the way of my (sub-par) Super Bowl boxes on Sunday night.

As you can see, Charles and I have an uphill battle going into the game. But he’s a lucky dude and there are 9 ways to win. For those wanting to play along, here are the deets:

$20/box / 1st quarter – $150 / Half-time – $300 / 3rd quarter – $150 / Final – $1100
Additionally, the “four touchers” of the final score box will get $50 each and reverse score wins $100.

So start your own tomorrow at work or with your party on Sunday. Or just root for me.

Inbox of Immaturity: The Art of the Tease

2010-01-22T16:54:05Z

Man, since that New Year’s Resolution to write a post per week, week’s are starting to fly by. This isn’t the most thoughtful post, but I can’t help it that I woke up and all I could think about was this clip (that was featured on The Soup). So I brought back an old staple, the IOI, in order to present this gem – and a few others. Without further ado, Ray-J teaches up about the art of the tease (at about 2:30 in):

More stuff I’m digging this week:
- Conan spending NBC’s money
- Five year-old drummer doing System of a Down
- Parks & Recreation + Questlove + Wu-Tang
- Kind of like the Jersey Shore meets Pokemon (NSFW)
- And finally, a Jersey Shore compilation

Have a great weekend. Go Jets!

Filmed Brand Experiences

2010-01-14T16:16:29Z

I’m very much in agreement with Zeus Jones that actions speak louder than words, so it’s always nice to see companies spending some time/money to do things for people (their customers, fans, etc.). To see them making good, creative use of the moments people’s lives intersect with their company’s products or services. To do unexpected and fun things with/for people. To make them smile.

One issue many clients seem to have with actions is their limited reach. “That’s awesome for those twenty individuals but what about the other twenty million.” Word of mouth is tough to track, especially offline. That’s why it’s helpful to capture these actions in picture of video form. To tell the story. To share it with a broader audience. To enable them to share in it and share it with others.

Experiences plus Content. When done right, it’s like Jay-Z and R. Kelly (the best of both worlds). When done wrong it can look staged (reactions rehearsed). It can look selfish instead of generous.

Here’s one I saw this morning that, in my opinion, works.

Red Bull is a company I’ve felt does this particular thing (amplifying experiences) really well. It creates real world events that, whether tens or thousands attend, tell a story to millions about their brand.

T-Mobile in the UK offers a couple examples of bring people together to do something and developing content off it. And, of course, there are the masters at ImprovEverywhere, who do this often – sometimes for (a bit of) good but mostly just for fun.

Brands understandably want to get credit for their actions/the experiences they provide. But let’s not let that become the driving force for doing.

Happy New Year

2010-01-06T19:29:02Z

Or feliz ano nuevo, if only I could figure out how to do get that tilde over the n. Anyone know the shortcut in Wordpress? I probably have to get some “plugin” for a Spanish dictionary or something. I’ve got friends who know how to code and others learning code as part of their New Year’s resolution, and I’m trying to put a squiggly line over a letter. Oh boy. Ah, how about if copy it from the Internet? Oh snap…

Feliz año nuevo! (I’m not going back for an upside-down exclamation point. Sorry.)

But that’s not what this post is about. Well, it kind of is. I have been inspired by some blogging buddies to put some of my resolutions out there for critique, improvement, encouragement and/or to give others ideas since that’s what they’ve given me. Pay it forward. Man, that’s an emotional movie. Haley Joel Osment. Kevin Spacey. Helen Hunt and JBJ (as her alcoholic ex-husband).

Anyway, it’s great to be back from this…

Palmas del Mar, Puerto Rico

Seriously, though, I’m feeling re-energized both professionally and personally and am excited for 2010. (I’m going with twenty-ten, by the way.) And, as I mentioned, have decided to post five resolutions that have been floating around my mind over the last couple of weeks.

1. Blog Once A Week – First things first, I poppa freaks all the blogging. Okay, stream of consciousness may be part of it (as you may have noticed reading up to this point), though I plan on censoring myself a bit to make sure I’m coherent and my posts are fun to read (or at least tolerable). Long story short, this blog is approaching it’s fourth b-day and I’ve never really had a plan for it nor have I forced myself to post on a weekly (even monthly basis). I’m pretty sure I need a full post to outline the first point, but I can confidently say I need to post more. I enjoy writing and sharing (thoughts, not food or toys). So here’s the start.

2. Get Five Mentors – Michael K. is definitely responsible for this one. He surrounds himself with smart people with diverse experiences and seems to be constantly tapping their brains. He is, and his plans are, better for it. Right, Mike? I’ve had the fortune of meeting and working with some incredible people at this point in my life and have lost touch with too many. I need to identify and reach out to a handful of them as well as (hopefully) reconnect and start conversing with them more regularly.

3. Wake Up Early to Work Out Twice A Week – Thanks go out to Kevin for this one. He’s trying to run a 5K and become an early riser. For years I’ve talked about working out in the mornings because (1) I sleep pretty late as it is, and (2) It’s hard to motivated to get to the gym after a long day of work. It hasn’t happened. So this year I’ve got even less excuses. I’ve got a partner (my girlfriend) and a gym/pool in my building. Tuesday’s yoga. Thursday’s swimming. Tomorrow is the first test.

4. Develop Three Skills – This is a work in progress as I cull a bunch of my initial thoughts into a shortlist. It can be learning to do something completely new (e.g., boxing or cooking) or growing/reviving a current (stagnant) ability (e.g., Spanish or dancing). (Yes, dancing.) If anyone has any suggestions in NYC for any of the four listed, I’m all ears.

5. Get Better at Managing Money – This is a big and scary one. And that’s why I didn’t put it into the “skills” list and give myself an out. I hate thinking about and talking about money. But I’ve reached a point in my life where my hate (and guilt) for disliking (being overwhelmed by) money has surpassed the hate of money. It’s debilitating. I’ve realized I need to take control of my personal finances ASAP. (Don’t worry I’m not in any financial trouble.) This is something I’m thinking about sharing what I learn (about everything from saving to investing) or creating a business around.

I finished with a less tangible one and want to add one more to the mix. It is to meet more bloggers in-person. A couple years ago, I was more committed to meeting online acquaintances offline and want to challenge myself to do step that up this year – even if it’s reconnecting with blogging friends. So please stop by and say hi. All the best in this new year.

Introducing The Group of Death

2009-12-01T19:44:10Z

In anticipation of the 2010 World Cup draw this Friday, we’ve worked with ESPN to put together a fun little thing for football (soccer) fans…

We’ve created a heavy metal band called The Group of Death.

Inspired by the most hardcore group of the World Cup draw every four years and with the goal of entertaining football fans across the world. See the band’s one-sheet below for more info.

As most of you know, we’re constantly producing things with ESPN at W+KNY — for its sports properties (e.g., NBA on ESPN Shaqtus), shows (SportsCenter Duck) and media (ESPN.com Answers). Shit, I was going to say “I rarely share…” but instead I added links.

Anyway, the reason I wanted to post about the GoD is because it’s one of those ideas that usually get left behind for the main campaign, for the big stuff. Whether it’s too far removed from the ultimate objective (selling something), the immediate objective (need to focus everything on one main idea) or the more easily measured objective (ratings). Whether it seems too rushed to execute or too risky. Whether there’s just not enough money because producing 3 TV spots is the priority. Or whatever. An idea like this often never sees the light of day.

Props to ESPN for allowing us to bring The Group of Death to life. They had to be comfortable with the fact that this idea is not about promoting its coverage of the draw and is not meant for the sports fan masses. It’s about being present on the is the most important day for fans until the tournament starts on June 11, 2010 and doing something interesting/exciting/authentic for avid football fans.

Specifically, this idea is meant to capitalize on the fact that when the draw comes out, fans want to know two things: (1) where their team (or teams) are placed and (2) what teams are in the most difficult group – The Group of Death. It’s one of many ways we’ll be trying to build a relationship with sports fans leading up to the World Cup. And we got off to a good start yesterday when “The Gaffer” (no relation) unboxed us on EPL Talk.

Hope you enjoy it. Make sure to check out the songs on the music tab within the Facebook page (IMO it’s the best part). Come through Nevada Smiths around 5PM on Friday for the live concert. Leave a comment if you want me to save you/bring you/send you a t-shirt – I’ve got a few extras to give away.

World’s Greatest Dad / LI’s Best Hypnotherapist

2009-11-20T04:02:51Z

Unfortunately, there’s only so much room on a coffee mug. Otherwise, CafePress would be receiving a new order. Hey-oh!

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My dad has recently been nominated in “The Best of Long Island 2010″ poll in the “Best Hypnotherapist” category. Rather than ask you to vote for him blindly though, I’ve decided to share a little bit about him with you…and then later in the post I’ll ask you to vote for him (Best of –> Health & Wellness –> #12 –> Dr. Vincent Gaffney, if you don’t want to read on). Here goes:

My father quit smoking through hypnosis a month before before I was born. One session and tapes. (Cassette tapes—now CDs and MP3s—that can be customized to help keep people on track and learn to practice self-hypnosis.) And he hasn’t touched a cigarette since.

He clearly has a reason to believe in the effectiveness of hypnosis. More general than this personal experience, however, my dad has always believed in the power of the mind to impact people’s lives. He’s taught me through conversations and, more importantly, by example that positive and focused thinking lead to positive actions and accomplishment.

It is all starts with the desire to change something for the better (e.g., quit smoking, lose weight, stop procrastinating, manage stress, fly on plane, etc.). This is non-negotiable. I’ve always admired that the first question my dad asks a new client is if they truly want to do/not do ‘x’. If they’re still on the fence, he kindly asks them to return when they’re ready to take control of this desire (and resulting behavior). Specifically, he works with the subconscious and conscious to change individuals’ directives to what they really desire and reinforce these new positive directives, respectively.

Over the years he’s helped countless people make the changes they’d never been able to make before. Whether they attempted cold turkey, countless diets and/or in some cases seeing a psychologist, the past is what it is. And when they come to see him, as he says, “There is no try; there’s just do.”

It’s not just a challenge for his clients. He holds himself to the same principle. This is the way he approaches his life and how he’s achieved his goals. This was his approach when he was an administrator at a middle school in Spanish Harlem and when he started his career teaching special education. This is how he was able to better the lives of his students and how he’s been able to provide more opportunities for my sister and me.

Now to answer the obvious first question: Has he ever hypnotized me? Nope. Then how do I know he’s any good? Because if commits even a tenth of a percent of the energy to improving their lives that he commits to me and my family, he’ll help them too. Boom.

So, while you may care to cast your vote differently for a World’s Greatest Dad competition, hopefully you don’t have a personal connection to anyone else in the running for LI’s Best Hypnotherapist.

Therefore, please go to Long Island Press Best of Long Island 2010.

- Click on Health and Wellness.
- Scroll down to #12 “Best Hypnotherapist”
- Check: Dr. Vincent Gaffney, Huntington

And while you’re there and if you’re so inclined, please also scroll to #21 “Best Acupuncturist” and vote for his business partner: Ronald Sandoval, Huntington.

Please note that while there’s no slashy award in this competition, I’ll always see him as a dad-slash-hypnotherapist and not other way around. But, as you can see below, his style is versatile…