Squeeze Worthy 7:58 PM

Yet another post on branding. I'm trying out a new tag line: Squeeze Worthy.

I'm really getting tired of the mini sirloin burgers song from the Jack in the Box commercials...AH.

I hate how these below average commercials get so much attention. Remember that Quiznos spot from a while back? Terrible, but we talked about it FOREVER in college, and I'm even mentioning it now!

So, off-topic, but there's this new Burger Bus in town. A friend told me about it last week, when it first opened. Today, I passed it as I was driving home for lunch, but sadly, I didn't have any cash on me.

They really should take some pointers from Kogi in Venice, who have taken full advantage of Twitter to develop a following. I hear they grill their fries, and they even have sweet potato fries! They also use local meats, breads and veggies, all contained in a small school bus.

I'll keep you posted when I get a chance to try it.



On an end note, I'm hoping to get my business cards ordered this week, and maybe send out a few more resumes. All of the materials I requested from ad schools came in the mail. So far, VCU and Miami Ad School have the best presentation. Stickers?! Awesome. I'm still not convinced that ad school is my best option.

Consulting like Whoa 2:55 PM

I've read a few articles this week about consulting, the new 9-5 (not that anyone works 9-5 anymore, more like 8-7). I think one of them was in Time, though I can't remember for sure. Anyway, it basically said that in the years to come, people will be spending their time doing specialized consulting. Not only do I strongly agree with this, but it also excites me and terrifies me at the same time.

Here's Why:

- We will have to get really GOOD at what we do. Obviously this is important regardless, but it's much easier to replace someone who isn't actually on payroll.
- We will lose benefits. Medical, dental, vision plans will be a thing of the past. Hopefully this will drive private health insurance rates down if they aren't already lower by then.
-Job security will be hard to come by. If this economy isn't already showing us that job security is a thing of the past, consulting will.

It's almost surprising that companies ate STILL spending so much on office space, medical benefits and even supplies. We're starting to have less and less of a need for people to come in and work in cubes next to each other.

I'm still out there looking for a foot in the door to the advertising world. In the meantime, I offer this to the 150+ Realtors I work with. (click to enlarge - blurry for some reason here)Currently listening to: Gangstarr - Work

Solid Stop-Motion 7:40 PM

I really wish I was more of a photographer. Today, I came across these great stop-motion videos, care of Jkretch on Twitter.

Here's the first one:



I wonder what the process is like to put on of these together? Do they sketch out each scene and then take photographs to mimic them? Here's another:




I wonder how much time goes into one of these.

Wow.

The juice & the squeeze 3:33 PM

I'm re-branding.

Let's try this out for a while.

What I should be doing: researching portfolio examples, writing letters to agencies, networking.

What I am doing: see below
This is my new resume. I highly doubt I'll ever send this to an agency, but it was fun watching it go from my head to InDesign to here!

Port-fool-io 8:47 PM

I came across this great article today about the hiring game agencies play. Written by Ignacio Oreamuno of ihaveanidea.org, it illustrates a means to a meal (remember, one meal won't feed us all year). While most articles I've read recently simply stress the importance of a great book, this article takes it a step further in suggesting creative additions to the book.

We're all familiar with the process of sending your resume and cover letter to an agency...bleh. This is unlikely to get you anywhere unless you know someone, or you're really effing cool (based on your previous successful campaigns at agencies). Unfortunately, this isn't so helpful to us new kids. I like how Oreamuno suggested using an extreme tactic to get yourself noticed. For the past few weeks I've been brainstorming what I could do, but I'm learning quickly that I will need to have a great book to get anywhere despite these potentially ridiculous tactics.

I'm having a hard time figuring out exactly what makes a book great. I'm sure this would be fairly obvious if I had a bunch of books to check out, but I'm still searching. I'm confident that I'll find examples online, but it would be cool to see some real-life samples.

Anyone have any suggestions about getting started on a portfolio? I have a few pieces I'm working on, but I'm lacking focus and direction.

Currently listening to: Cage the Elephant - Ain't no rest for the wicked

Currently inspired by: Seth Godin

...and it's show time! 3:29 PM

Ad school has been on my mind lately. After hours of evaluating schools, reading articles in AdAge, blogs and contacting students and creatives, I've come to the conclusion that I'm not ready to fork out $40,000 for ad school just yet.

Here are some of the sites I've found along the way (off the top of my head):

ihaveanidea - a great resource for portfolio samples (both good and bad!), relevant articles, and industry feedback

my own ad school - one girl's initiative to learn advertising on her own, project suggestions, interesting story

creativity online - an old favorite, showcasing best weekly ads, as well as articles and critiques on agencies and creatives

My first thought was an ad to promote healthy eating.

Even this quick attempt reminded me of my creative weaknesses, listed below as talents:

talent: I'm good at making things look pretty. When I spend a lot of time on a design, I can get it to something I'm happy with (usually). underlying weakness: too much focus on the "look" of the ad, not enough focus on provoking thoughts

talent: I can generate lots of ideas, and I occasionally come across one that I'm passionate about. underlying weakness: evaluating my options before I begin is something I need to spend more time on. I work well when I'm able to see my idea in action before I make changes. While this may work sometimes, I think I'd be better of brainstorming a bit more before starting to construct.

This week I am going to start seriously working on my portfolio. I want to come up with a few print campaigns to start, so I can get some feedback to work with. I'm going to take the two previously mentioned weaknesses into account at all times.

When I say, "it's show time," I mean its time to get shit moving.

Meet the Volkswagons 1:34 PM

A few days ago, CP+B launched a Volkswagon campaign. The element of the campaign that particularly caught my attention was this Facebook application. Supposedly, it pairs your interests (based on your profile) with VW cars.

I have two issues with it so far:

1. It suggested that I would most likely buy a Jetta or minivan (Routan). It may be my own personal problem that I feel insulted by the suggestion that I would buy a minivan ever, but I'm just going to put that thought out there.

2. It also named me "Economical," which, to me, sounds like cheap. Seeing as I haven't done any research about the VW target market, I probably shouldn't be be critiquing this, but I'm not buying it. I think they need a more creative way of letting consumers know they can afford VW vehicles, without having to label their economic startegies.

What Works: It's a non-imposing application for Facebook. I was very hesitant about allowing the app to access my personal information, but once I did, I was happy to see that it was not exploited and the app did not show up on my profile, or ask my friends to add it. I think most Facebook users would agree with me here.

I find this campaign particularly entertaining because it reminds me of my roommate. She's one of those Jetta-obsessed people, and I used to make fun of her for it. I suggested that when people ask what kind of car she drives, she should respond "I have a Jetta, but sometimes I think my Jetta has me".


On another note, here's what I've been listening to this week:

Bat For Lashes- What's a girl to do
Cage the Elephant- Ain't no rest for the wicked
Yelle- Amour du sol
Asher Roth- I love college (still, I know.)
Lady Gaga- Future love ---she's bat shit crazy, and we love it.
Gregory Page- I'll see you in my dreams



Apparently this video was filmed in one take.

Because we're aliens, and you ain't soup yet. 7:52 PM

Okay, so it's been a while since my last post, here's why:

1. Relay for Life was last weekend. We had a lot of folks come out to Santa Barbara, and during the 24 hour event, we managed to raise over $28,000!! That doesn't include the $120,000 we raised prior to the event.

Some of the highlights: Constant walkie-talkie contact with the rest of the committee members...including a very hot fireman. As a result of my "rain or swine" declaration about every 15 minutes, I seem to have gotten sick. Back to the fireman. I think I'm going to add firefighting to my list of qualifications I'm looking for in a guy. So far he must own a boat, be a twin and fight fires. The boat part is the most lax, if he has a plane or helicopter, or even a Mazarati, I could deal.

2. Chaos at work. I had to cover the front desk at work on Wednesday through Friday of last week. This means that I had to finish a week's worth of work in two days, since I don't have a laptop and I can't do my work at the front. I answered phones, fixed copy machines and even showed an agent how to turn on the coffee maker. I transferred at least three phone calls incorrectly, but I get it now.

Well, I guess those are my only excuses. I'm feeling below avg today, and making less and less swine jokes as the week progresses.

I'll leave you today with amazingness.