Update!

My life has taken a 180 in the last week. Last week I took a vacay to North Carolina which was amazing and on Friday I was offered my first big kid job at an amazing ad agency here in Minneapolis!!

I have lots of ideas running through my head but just haven't had the time to write since I've been working non stop since Saturday. When things slow down a bit and I get a routine I'll be able to fit blogging into the mix.

Stay tuned! I'll be back soon!

Programming Note

I'm taking off for a much needed vacation tomorrow. The tundra's weather has finally gotten to this native so I'm flying to warmer weather to see good friends for a few days. I'll be back to writing next weekend. Have a good week all and thanks for all of the positive feedback the last few weeks!

Burger King...Tsk, Tsk, Tsk

Burger King oh Burger King  just what are we going to do with you. First the Whopper Virgins, which I've been quite vocal about my distaste and disgust within my networking circle about. This new spot though pushed me over the edge. 

Crispin Porter and Bogusky who handles Burger King creative went too far with this spot. Its not only racist, overtly sexual, its aimed at KIDS! Are you f@$!ing kidding me? There are ethics in this industry in case anyone forgot and they do matter. They help our industry develop a positive image, keeps watchdog groups off our back, and help most of us sleep at night.

This kind of insensitivity crosses the line so far the line becomes a dot. Burger King has really come to be a love/hate brand for me in terms of the advertising. Loved Whopper Freakout (one of my all time favs). Hated Whopper Virgins (disgustingly Orientalist and Western Imperialist). Loved Whopper Facebook de-friender (genius use of interactive and creating buzz). Hate Burger King Spongebob (really you're going to market square butts to children!).

I think the importance of pre-testing is in order for this account, because clearly those closest to the account are losing touch with what's acceptable and what's not. Sorry to be so harsh to an agency I do genuinely respect and know is one of the best, but get it together! 

Probing Religious Minds for Branding Secrets

In an obviously controversial study, Martin Lindstrom (market researcher and author) has been conducting a consumer-brain scanning project that probed the brand qualities that the world's largest religion reportedly possess and taps in their follower's minds. Qualities such as a clear vision, sense of belonging, storytelling, sensory appeal, grandeur, symbols, rituals, mystery, and evangelism.

Lindstrom then went on to compare those qualities with 12 cult like brands including Harley Davidson and Guinness. The correlation for brands like these were 84.6%. At the end of the video Lindstrom states that these qualities are what could be the blue print for future successful brands. I couldn't agree more.

Religion has been one of the longest 'branded' institutions in history. In my Global Studies courses I often studied religion as a powerful institution in cultural understanding. Lifestyle or cult like brands such as Harley evoke powerful emotions because they do provide a sub-culture for its followers. Often we see that a sub-culture also includes many of the qualities Lindstrom noted in his study. People often have organized religion (a sub-culture of the larger culture) in their life because they want a sense of belonging, and they feel that sense through the rituals, symbols, evangelism, and storytelling. 

To survive these tough times brands need more than just low prices and understanding. They need to tap into these qualities, because emotion is what drives many people's love of brands and turns them into true zealots. 

Its Opening Day!

Basically everyone who is a great American should be excited that its opening day! I'm not a die hard MLB fan, but I love baseball bc it represents summer and everything great about it! 

Patio bars before and after the game, a beautiful open air ballpark (which Minnesotans will get next spring!), hot dogs (aka domedogs), beer in huge cups, and generally affordable tickets for professional sports. 

I of course will be waiting until Wednesday's game (aka college night). I'm sorry you can't beat $4 tickets and a $1 dome dog. Oh and get excited Minnesotans...the frame of the scoreboard for the new Twins stadium is up. You can see a great view from 5th st & 1st ave. I'm so excited for that new stadium, not only is it going to be amazing, its going to introduce residents to a great neighborhood the North Loop. Its one of the oldest neighborhoods in downtown some streets still have cobblestone for pavement, and turn of the century warehouses that are now home to some great restaurants, coffee shops, and businesses (i.e. Space150).

Ok back to baseball. In honor of opening day here are two of my favorite clips from two of my favorite baseball movies. Enjoy!

Nokia Headset Design Competition

Thanks to PSFK I found this about a week ago, but got swampped with some other things so on a slow Friday afternoon here you go.

My favs are the flying headset inspired by R Kelly's I Believe I Can Fly, with the Free Willy set a close second. 

Great job by Wieden + Kennedy London for fostering some very clever and inspired creativity. More agencies should sponsor things like this not only for brand promotion, but to continue to foster creativity.

Photos: CR Blog 

The Daily Show's coverage of the G-20 Summit: EPIC!

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This past week the G20 Summit took place in London. Besides dealing with a global financial crisis, it was also a platform for the Obamas to shine on the global stage. Unfortunately our national media turned it into a play by play of Michelle's fashion and their etiquette with meeting the Queen.

Giving Jon Stewart plenty of ammunition for the Daily Show. Besides the Inaguration and Election, one of the best weeks of the show's year. From the montage of Michelle's fashion analysis to the name Clusterf@#k to the Poor House: Global Edition to Jon Oliver's take on why the Queen can't be touched, hilarious. I was laughing up until the point Jon brought on an author of a Uranium book. 

Kudos Daily Show for finding the humor in an otherwise gloomy conference. So much better than the Doomsday network's coverage (aka CNN).