*honest Agency

Three weeks isn’t long enough—this is my immediate thought as I finish up my last day at *honest Agency. I mean, it has beer Fridays and cookie runs to Winnipeg Square! I could do this for weeks!

But in all seriousness, I’m graduating—and three weeks prior, I was very nervous.

CreComm, while nerve-racking, foreboding and stressful, is school and school is a warm security blanket for students. The real world is the person who rips that security blanket away, forcing you to face room temperature for what it is.

My first day at *honest went by very quickly. I met Sherril and Callum briefly before they went to a meeting for Lake Friendly (a campaign I got to work on and contribute to). The morning consisted of getting to know the lovely ladies of *honest (Josie, Kerrie, Melissa and Roberta) and graphic design intern Eric.

At lunch, we all ate, talked and I admired Roberta’s leftovers from a wedding shower she hosted over the weekend.

Every Monday, *honest has a production meeting, which usually happens in the morning, but this time it happened in the afternoon. I thoroughly enjoyed the meetings because while it was business, Sherril and Callum took the time to ask each of us how our weekends went. Meetings also covered television shows (Mad Men, Game of Thrones) followed by, “SHHH! SPOILERS!” It was important to not ruin it for those without cable television.

During my placement, I worked on press releases, conducted research, made cold calls and edited documents for *honest’s collaboration with Lake Friendly to save Lake Winnipeg—a huge project that will launch in June. I also wrote a blog post on micro-camera contact lens, and while it was supposed to be positive, it nevertheless ended up sounding like the beginning of Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Josie, who I made my unofficial mentor, was also my desk neighbor and fellow CreComm grad. We bonded over Lake Friendly and ways to guerilla market the campaign all over Winnipeg. Some ideas were better than others.

I had an awesome time at *honest and there were many instances over the last few weeks that I feel eased my transition from a warm swath of blanket to partial nakedness. I know that the kind of bosses I want to have will be like Sheril and Callum: smart, supportive and funny.

I also know that lunch beers and Jimmy Fallon are imperative to TGIF afternoons at the office.

Because 1 is 2 Many

The White House released its new PSA about sexual assault and it’s starring some pretty famous leading men: Daniel Craig, Benicio Del Toro, Steve Carell, Seth Meyers and Dulé Hill.

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden also make appearances in the PSA, demanding we change the way we view sexual assault and treat its victims.

It comes after a report released by the Whitehouse regarding college sexual assaults and violence, which lately is becoming a prevalent news item, not just in the States, but in Canada as well.

"If I saw it happening, I wouldn't blame her.”

Rape culture and violence against women on campuses (or anywhere) isn’t new and it’s a culture that’s perpetuated by victim blaming and intimidation.

Universities and colleges may feel like their reputations will be tarnished by sexual violence, but that’s not the case. Taking a stand builds reputation because representing and respecting one half of the student population is what's right. I'd be more proud of a school that admits its mistakes and betters itself than tries to diminish the problem and pretend it doesn't exist.

A society where women are respected is imperative to move forward and grow. Sexual violence is linked to power and intimidation and often when women come forward with their assaults that mentality continues. There are many instances where the victim is blamed for the crime because of drinking, behaviour or the way she dressed. It’s illogical, really.

Therefore, respect must be taught and continue to be taught to young men and women. It’s not a separation of the sexes— it’s human decency to respect one another and defer judgment.

 The men in the video like Daniel Craig, Steve Carell and Seth Meyers are idols to young men and I hope that it inspires and changes attitudes towards sexual assault victims, because one sexual assault is too many.

Need to do.

Personal branding on Facebook is unavoidable. We do it consciously and we do it subconsciously—whether we like it or not.

For me, I’m very particular when it comes to what I put on my timeline, and what others try and put on my timeline. You may not know this, but the “hide from my timeline” feature and I are best friends.

However, while I thought personal branding was simply about how people perceive you through pictures, posts and shares, I never considered the creativity that can go into making a really interesting Facebook page.

After perusing the Internet, I found a great article highlighting some of the innovative and rather ingenious ways people set up their Facebook timelines.

I always considered your Facebook profile pictures and cover photos as separate entities. However, the people here have made them connect and possibly useful when finding creative-type jobs—unless of course the rest of their profile is NSFW.

My favourites are Ivan Marino (because it reminds me of the movie Super Troopers) and Aly Moffat (because I love Orange is the New Black and a really pivotal scene happened with one of the characters trapped in a washing machine).

These pictures are taken from Creative Guerilla Marketing’s website. Enjoy.

The Dove parody we've been waiting for

A while back, I wrote a blog post about Dove's latest True Beauty campaign: The Beauty Patch.

I found the test insulting, as did many women and media outlets. The general consensus appeared to be that Dove in its attempt to make women feel beautiful, actually made them look gullible and stupid.

Enter Above Average Productions (AAP). AAP created a video that parodies Dove's True Beauty tests. The latest "test" involves a fake mirror the women will look into and instead of seeing their reflection, they will see a gorilla.

The best part of the video is not the women's reactions (although hilarious), it's the female doctor and "expert" who winks at the camera after telling the women to look at themselves in the mirror and then presumptuously and inaccurately narrates what she assumes the women are thinking and feeling.

I laughed several times out loud, so if you're at work, I suggest biting your fist before clicking play. Enjoy.

Happy Easter

Okay, Easter is almost over, but whatever. This M&M ad is positively adorable. Enjoy.

Nothing

I respect Dove’s mission in empowering women to appreciate and love their bodies—every flaw included. Granted, its not an altruistic mission, it’s advertising after all, but it’s definitely made a difference in women’s lives and how they feel about themselves.

One of my favourite Dove campaigns was the Dove Real Beauty Sketches. I admit, when I watched the commercial during the Cannes Lions, my eyes welled up and I thought, “WHY CAN’T WE ALL JUST LOVE OURSELVES!?”

However, Dove’s latest campaign does not have me reaching for a Kleenex box. The new Real Beauty commercial features a RB-X beauty patch that nurtures positive body thinking and self-confidence into the arms of real life women. The thing is, the patch is actually a placebo. RB-X doesn’t exist.

Sure, the commercial is idealistic and encouraging—“Look! You CAN think positively about yourself!”—But in the end, it made me cringe.

Positive body image and self-confidence are learned attributes. Sure, fitting into great clothes and being noticed by strangers helps—but it’s a temporary fix to a much deeper problem. Hypothetically, a beauty patch, much like a smoking patch wouldn’t succeed on its own, it takes time and discipline to overcome that normalized negativity.

An extension of this criticism, which has been widely documented, is how gullible the women are to the patches’ magic fix. It seems ludicrous and sad to watch how easily the women take to the patch and believe its effects. In my opinion, it felt like an entrenched desperation to stop being angry with their bodies and embrace them. Which is noble, but only until you witness the big reveal and then the tears, and you can’t help but pity the women more than congratulate them on their journey to positive self-discovery. 

What are your thoughts?

Taco Bell vs. Ronald McDonald

Taco Bell rounded up a bunch of people actually named Ronald McDonald to say how much they like Taco Bell's breakfast. So clever.

McDonald's response:

Even better.

James Franco and guerrilla marketing

James Franco has a new film coming out called Palo Alto. In the movie, Franco plays a soccer coach who begins an affair with one of his students played by Emma Roberts.

Now in real life, Franco recently solicited a 17 year-old girl in New York City over Instagram.

However, the age of consent in New York City is 17 and this is all happening when Palo Alto is about to hit theatres.

Many people are calling Franco a creep, but I think he's being rather brilliant.

My opinion stems from the fact that the timing of this apparent indiscretion is too much of a coincidence with the fact that he has a movie coming out WITH A SIMILAR PLOT LINE!

Aka, all kinds of inappropriateness.

Not to mention, Franco has a quirky sense of creativity that no one can really tame.

On Live! With Kelly and Michael, he told Kelly Ripa that he wasn't savvy on social media, but I digress.

There's no way Franco doesn't know what he's doing. If my theory is right, this is guerrilla marketing at its finest.

ASC VOTE FOR US

I guess I could be a little more subtle with the title of this post. However, being subtle may not help my group make it into the top 20, which is exactly what we need to do. 

Now, the top 20 into what, you ask? Well it's for the Advertising Standards Canada, which regulates advertisements in Canada to make sure you're not being taken advantage of.

The tagline is "Truth In Advertising Matters"-- which it does. No one wants to be taken advantage of. 

Check out our entry for the contest, and if you like us, vote for us. We love you. 

http://www.truthinadmatters.com/en/submission.aspx?id=e125529f-0379-4c08-ad39-05fcaf834f7b

Coca-Cola gets it.

I don’t like soda.

There. I said it.

However, I love soda commercials. The days of Britney, Pink and Beyonce dressed up as gladiators and singing Queen’s We Will Rock You were amazing. I ate it up… or sipped. Ha!

I even enjoy the sappy pop commercials that compare drinking soda to world peace. It’s cute. Whatever.

Right now I love Coca-Cola’s PSA that’s airing in movie theatres in Denmark. Its message is to let moviegoers know that when they make noise, they become a part of the movie—and it’s hilarious. 

Just imagine your favourite really romantic, really sexy love scene with an accompanying soundtrack of obnoxious slurping— you can't live vicariously through that. Like, what if this happened during The Notebook. You'd be pissed. So thank Coca-Cola, because the people who created this PSA get it.

Enjoy:

Stableboy

Gangster

 

Bring home the gold

Last week I wrote a blog about Olympic advertisements for Sochi 2014. There were advertisements that I liked and then there were advertisements that I half-liked, or like, not at all.

However, when it comes to advertisements, particularly commercial advertisements for the Olympics, I’m drawn to ones that have to do with the Paralympics.

Channel 4 had an amazing commercial for Paralympics that was shown at the Cannes Lions last year.

The commercial has Public Enemy’s “Harder Than You Think” playing to gritty shots of Paralympians exemplifying their strength in the stadium, in the water and in the gym—it demands your rapt attention.

The commercial successfully makes you forget entirely that these athletes have a disability. It’s the core message that their disability is not a crutch or weakness, but empowerment for them.

I remember feeling shivers and being unable to look away. I also felt immediately inspired by the athletes who looked back at you with defiance and assurance that you needn’t pity them.

Samsung recently released a commercial that Adweek describes as “real, raw and pitiless”.

 It continues the theme that one’s disability is not limiting and that Paralympians who participate in the games are not going to make a statement, but to win.

The commercial shows a number of different Paralympians’ lives and how each prepares to practice and succeed in their respective sport.

It shows how each athlete deals with same doubts and fears before a big game. It also continues to close the gap between athletes with disabilities and athletes without disabilities because the goal of the Olympics and the Paralympics is the same: to bring home the gold.