PORTLAND--Curious designers are gathering by the dozens outside of Second Story Interactive Studios in anticipation of tonight's AIGA studio tour. People check in and mill about, say hello to friends and at times cordially greet strangers. Robert Moss pops in as the group moves up the staircase, and I say, "Hey, you're a writer, what are you doing here?" Moss says, "I don't want to hang out with other writers." As a …
Adapting To Climate Change Takes Brains, Will And Money
Award winning production group th1ng has directed and produced a short for Oxfam to raise awareness of its global work to help poor communities cope with climate change. The spot is being distributed in advance of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Cancun later this month where government representatives and delegations from around the world are meeting to work on a global deal to tackle climate change. …
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Spotlight On NW Creative: Oregon Lottery Readies Its Christmas Pitches
Borders Perrin Norrander is out with new TV and a microsite to support Oregon Lottery during the holiday season. During Thanksgiving weekend BPN will make use of a pop-up window in the old Saks Fifth Avenue building in downtown Portland. Passers by can peek inside and see costumed characters doing silly things, like elves pillow-fighting. OR Lottery will also be giving away do-it-yourself Santa beards. …
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KAHLÚA Es Muy Delicioso
TBWA\Chiat\Day has teamed up with Mexican actrss Ana de la Reguera on behalf of Kahlua. "It has a bit of a wink or a nudge, but it's not outrageous or silly," said Dan Lundberg, global marketing director for Kahlúa at the Absolut Company unit of Pernod Ricard. "It felt like a very natural way to tell the Kahlúa story instead of doing something more traditional." "There are a lot of consumers who do not necessarily …
Meet Wendy
Wendy Thomas' famous face has been plastered on Wendy's locations worldwide since 1969, but surprisingly, she's never appeared in a commercial for the fast-food chain. That is about to change as three new commercials starring Thomas begin airing in Las Vegas next week. Thomas and her siblings own 33 Wendy's franchises. The spots were created by Wendy's agency Kaplan Thaler Group, also the creators of the chain's …
War, Children, It’s Just A Shot Away
Sam Machkovech of The Atlantic doesn't care for the TBWA\Chiat\Day-produced commercial above. I couldn't have asked for a more disappointing game-related ad. These aren't the video games I play. Even at their highest levels of action and violence, video games play like sophisticated games of Cops & Robbers. They're silly; they require colorful, funny-shaped controllers; they stay decidedly in the domain of detached …
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Bloggers Shed Their Pajamas For Silk Robes And Other Finery
Business Insider loves to publish lists (because people like me love to read them). Especially this one, which details 20 blog buyouts that made their founders rich. 20. Politicshome - Sold for $1.3 million 19. GardenRant - Sold for $1.3 million 18. Arseblog - Sold for $5 million 17. World Hum - Sold for $6 million 16. The Consumerist - Sold for $7 million 15. Freakonomics - Sold for $8 million 14. Tree Hugger - Sold …
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Yet Another Facebook Story: Display Mastery
Nearly one of every four graphical, online display ads viewed in the United States in the third quarter was on Facebook's website, according to a new report by Web analytics firm comScore. Facebook's 23.1 percent share of display ad impressions was up sharply from 17.7 percent in the second quarter and more than double the No. 2 ranked company, Yahoo Inc, which had 11 percent share. In fact, Facebook's website …
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Agencies With the Midas Touch
The Midas Awards honors advertising in banking, brokerage, insurance, mutual funds, and credit, in addition to real estate, accounting, and consulting. The 2010 Midas Jury awarded McCann Erickson New York the prestigious 2010 King Midas Award for "The Priceless Gift Finder" for their client MasterCard Worldwide. In addition, The Jupiter Drawing Room in South Africa was the most awarded agency in this year's …
Spotlight On NW Creative: Ducks Reveal Their New “Deep In The Woods” Basketball Court
University of Oregon will open its new Matthew Knight Arena in time for Pac 10 conference play next January. Last week the Ducks unveiled the arena's basketball court--Kilkenny Court--that's more artistic than a typical hardwood court. "We wanted to design the most iconic television presence possible for the University of Oregon by conjuring up a highly unique and visible basketball floor design," according to …