People want to be rich or thin, and realistically both of those can be achieved through a lot of dedication and hard work. Of the respondents, 43 percent chose richer and 21 percent chose thinner. Just 14 percent chose smarter, and 12 percent chose younger. Take all the ginkgo biloba you can find, it’s not going to make you smarter. And Cher can sing all about turning back time, but we’ve seen how well that’s worked out for her.

The results of the poll varied by age group. For example, it was less common for people ages 18 to 34 to wish for youth (4%) compared to people 55+ (19%). People 55+ still wish for riches (34%), but they do so less than people ages 35 to 44 (53%). That’s an interesting phenomenon; perhaps the older age group has accumulated more wealth, while people in their 30s and 40s are more likely to still be raising a family.

What do these little insights mean for advertisers? Think about who you’re marketing to and what wishes are still within their reach. People like to dream, but they still like their fantasies to be in the realm of possibilities.

Honing in on an irreverent, honest tone for its new product line is why we admire the new advertising campaigns for U by Kotex. Yes, that’s right, we like ads about tampons and pads. The brilliance about these ads is that Kotex took an outdated way of talking to its customers and (ahem) flushed it down the toilet.

With tongue firmly in cheek, Kotex used its own footage from previous advertising campaigns to poke fun at the absurd way the brand previously has talked about periods – women wearing white, twirling on the beach, dancing. Let’s be honest here. Dancing is about the last thing women feel like doing at that time of the month. Based on research of its key targets, Kotex rethought its brand voice. With U, Kotex is encouraging women to talk honestly, and, well, be less ashamed, about their periods. And women have responded positively.

OK, so you may not be selling feminine hygiene products. But it does matter how you talk to your customers. Are you speaking in a way that makes your customers want to listen?

More and more, criminal nicknames such as the Barefoot Bandit are given careful consideration so the public will remember them. The methodology to catch branded bandits today is akin to a well-mapped marketing strategy.

This makes me wonder: could branding office mishaps help curb the occasional office faux pas? If I hang some “Wanted” posters around the HenkinSchultz office, would fewer people swipe my writing utensils and more people clean out the microwave?

Nah, that probably wouldn’t work. They’d probably just take away my writing privileges.

The Pantone Hotel is the stuff of a graphic designer’s dreams. Each room has a different color scheme based on the Pantone color chart, which is the graphic designers’ tool chest when it comes to matching colors. Each room uses Pantone color swatches as art work that set the tone and feeling of the room. The hotel’s overall look embodies clean, European design with lots and lots of beautiful white space. The attention to detail is pretty impressive, too; the bicycles, coffee mugs and even signature cocktails are marked with their Pantone colors.

And, hey, we can even afford to stay at the hotel on a graphic designer’s salary! The only downside of the Pantone Hotel? When we stay there, we probably won’t see much of Brussels.

Meet Hilairee Griese. (Rhymes with rice, in case you were wondering.) Hilairee, an account executive assistant, is the latest addition to the HenkinSchultz team. She juggles complicated projects for a variety of accounts, and she works with HS’s account executives to make sure clients get exactly what they’re looking for.

Hilairee hails from Platte, S.D., and she graduated from Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa. During her last semester in college, she interned at the marketing department of Easter Seals in Chicago, so she knows the ins and outs of navigating a corporate system.

We’re pretty impressed with Hilairee’s organizational skills – her ability to keep to a schedule is unparalleled. But what we really, really like about her is her thorough knowledge of the TV show Friends. If the South Dakota Advertising Federation ever sponsors a TV trivia contest instead of a golf tournament, we’re totally going to win.

Oh, and speaking of golf, Hilairee has one mean golf swing. That should help keep the creatives at HenkinSchultz in line.

That doesn’t stop us from trying, though. A foursome took to the course for the South Dakota Advertising Federation’s annual Golf Tournament on June 25. And while our drives may not have landed anywhere near the green, we took advantage of every photo opportunity. Guess we just can’t leave our mad advertising skillz at work.

Instead of hitting the green, Justin’s ball hit this tree.

Kristi may have golfed horribly, but she posed well.

Cami is a tall drink of water, but it turns out she is not a long shot of a golfer.

We didn’t place at all in the tournament, but Hilairee did get to drive this cart around.

Award: Silver for Publication/Internal
Avera Health, Avera Quality Report

Award: Silver for Publication/Internal
Avera McKennan Foundation, Human Touch Newsletter

Award: Bronze for Special Events
Avera McKennan Foundation, The Big Grape Benefit 2009

Congrats to all the Avera staff members, who are great to work with on fun, award-winning marketing campaigns.

“It looks like a toy chest threw up in here.”

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a future copywriter on our hands.

Copywriter? More like Awesomewriter!

There’s something different about working at HenkinSchultz. Something different – and pretty darned awesome.

Don’t believe us? See for yourself: HenkinSchultz is currently looking for an awesome copywriter/social media expert. Key duties include:

Send your resume to Joe: joe@henkinschultz.com. And prepare yourself for the most awesome writing job you’ll ever find.

Thanks. Now, back to the blog.

Last night the South Dakota chapter of AIGA (the professional association for design) provided a free showing of Milton Glaser’s To Inform and Delight at Southeast Technical Institute.

From Arthouse Films’ blurb:

For many, Milton Glaser is the personification of American graphic design. Best known for co-founding New York Magazine and the enduring I ♥ NY campaign, the full breadth of Glaser’s remarkable artistic output is revealed in this documentary portrait, Milton Glaser: To Inform and Delight. From newspapers and magazine designs, to interior spaces, logos, and brand identities, to his celebrated prints, drawings, posters and paintings, the documentary offers audiences a much richer appreciation for one of the great modern renaissance men.

Artfully directed by first time filmmaker Wendy Keys, the film glances into everyday moments of Glaser’s personal life and capture his immense warmth, humanity and the boundless depth of his intelligence and creativity.

To Inform and Delight is a wonderful movie chronicling the famed New York designer Milton Glaser and his warm connection with humanity. If you’re in Sioux Falls or the surrounding area and want to catch the movie on your own, make sure to get registered for Adobe Days on May 6th, where AIGA SD will be giving away a copy to one lucky member!