Bundaberg Five ... Wait, whaaaaaa?

As I've often mentioned, I would love for my life to be a living musical. X even offered to bribe the Tom Thumb checkout clerks to bust into song the next time I'm picking up groceries. It hasn't happened yet, but one awesome day in the future I shall have my musical fantasy fulfilled.

In the interim, check out this spirits commercial from Australia. It ridiculously weird, funny, mesmerizing and awesome sauce. Does that dude have one arm? Yes.

Red Mahogany Gel Stain, $10. Explaining that you aren't a sociopath, PRICELESS!

The Great Master Bathroom Remodel of 2010 has begun! What have I learned so far?

1) Keep a notepad & pencil with you at all times. This is for your master list of things to purchase, measurements, ideas and ANYTHING else that you will need to reference at Home Depot.

2) Speaking of Home Depot, this is great for lumber and supplies. Not so varied on the fixtures, accessories and pretty-pretty stuff. Shop around. Go to Lowes for the lighting and cabinet handles.

3) BEFORE you leave the store, call home. Make sure that you have everything that needs to be bought; check in that something new hasn’t happened or ask if soda/lunch is needed. Because when you get a call 2 minutes from home and your hubby needs Red Mahogany Gel Stain, it’s not that much fun to flip a U and go back to the store again.

4) And when you get back to that store you’ve already visited 5 times in one day, this is KEY! Make friends with the cashier and floor people. You’re going to be seeing a lot of them, and it helps when a relationship is built (pun intended.) Fifty customers will all be vying for Ryon the Paint Guy’s attention… then you walk over, give a wave, and he drops it all to help you find that dang Red Mahogany Gel Stain. You’ve just saved 20 minutes.

5) Think ahead. If you’re going to be working with Red Mahogany Gel Stain, it would make a heck of a lot of sense to purchase that paint thinner and acetone in the same trip, right? Otherwise, you’ll be driving BACK to Home Depot in a few hours, covered in what looks like blood, and Ryon will be laughing his ass off while he hands you a can.

6) Which brings me to appearances: Walking into Home Depot covered in red bloody paint stains may get a look or two. But hey, it’s Home Depot! Everyone is working on projects and this is your badge of honor as a Weekend Warrior. But you may want to rethink how it’s going to look when you walk into CVS and ask the Manager, “If I was a box cutter, where would I be?” He's going to take one look, believe you have murdered someone, and need to cut up the body parts. Pretty difficult to explain to him why you are covered in Red Mahogany Gel Stain and need a utility knife to cut up carpet at 9pm on a Saturday. I’m just saying…

If we tweeted to Keanu to become a WWOOFer, maybe he wouldn't be so sad.

Couple of wacky/intriguing things I found floating on teh internets today.

New meme stemming from a Paparazzi shot of Keanu Reeves sitting on a bench alone, eating a sammich. He looks just a wee bit depressed. Not the - I’m going to pull a Heath Ledger - (too soon?) but more along the lines of the Sad Clown from the Circus. (Speaking of which, I haven’t mentioned clowns or zombies in a while… are we due for a G rant on Clombies?) Digression aside, Happy ‘Cheer Up Keanu Day’ everyone.

Next we come across a fun Twitter/webcam stunt involving a recruiter out of Chicago Ad Biz. Apparently, if you tell David what to do for the week, he’s going to do it (within legal limits and reason of course.) 24 hours a day, 7 days… whatever you tweet him, he’s going to do it. And in return, his boss is going to send him to Cannes. Not too shabby an idea if you ask me!

Finally… the WWOOFers. What is a WWOOFer, one might ask? Welp, basically it is traded labor for room & board on an organic farm. No money changes hands. You learn about working on an organic and sustainable farm for a few months, work minimum hours on the farm each day, and your hosts feed and shelter you. Want a getaway to New Zealand? Here’s a way to do it.

Later Gators.

Warning to the squeamish!

Now, I am the first to admit that I am NOT a horror fan. The most comfortable I can get is a 'Shaun of the Dead' and that is more for Simon Pegg than anything else. However, I do respect and am fascinated with the craft of making something unique.

That being said, do not click on the links below if you are not comfortable with scares, horror, knife-wielding maniacs... et cetera. I myself may watch cartoons before bedtime tonight. Don't say I did not warn you. Regardless, this is a redirect from Art Producer Extraordinaire, Adrienne Tucker, who has always brought me new creative concepts to chronicle... in this case, Photographers who layer without using Photoshop.


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Just discovered this “horror” photographer, Joshua Hoffine. I recommend looking at his website, but his blog is especially great. He shows behind-the-scenes/making of pictures of each set that he builds. He tries to capture as much as possible in camera, rather than use Photoshop.

Website:
http://www.joshuahoffine.com/

Blog:
http://joshuahoffine.wordpress.com/

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Meet Dan for "Lunch"

Lane Bryant is challenging the networks with a new ad promoting their Cacique Lingerie line. Stating that the spot had been denied access on the air, with final approval in the 9:00pm hour of American Idol, the question is what is really controversial (if anything) about the ad.

A beautiful woman tries on various intimate apparel. She then looks to her phone for a reminder to "Meet Dan for Lunch". Slipping on a jacket directly over the chosen set and walking confidently to the door, she leaves for her date. The implied assumption is that she will be meeting Dan for an intimate rendezvous.

Is Lane Bryant drumming up the "controversy" for PR? Were the media networks nervous about the implication of sexual activities? Is is because the women is full figured and not a waif-thin "typical" lingerie model? Can you make any argument when Victoria's Secret spots air at the same time?

For full spot: http://www.youtube.com/lanebryantcurves

For AdWeek article: http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/media/e3if5cd846de3bb1b4bc560e01513c480f4

Sold!

Have you heard about The Buckle? Perhaps you've heard of Lucky Brand jeans? Named one of the top 50 Brands of 2009, The Buckle is a retail store (physical and virtual) selling designer jeans including men and women's fashion apparel. Based out of Nebraska, this company has flourished under a weakened economy with relatively little national marketing and media presence. How do they do this?

From word-of-mouth, high associate interaction, and a true "experience" for the customer, The Buckle has differentiated themselves in the marketplace.

"It's about the person's experience in our stores," Cody said, that famous modesty kicking in again. "Not because we had a cool ad. Our department just adds a little extra to the mix. People come back because they know we'll really take care of them."

Just like Trader Joe's, this is a stock that I would want to buy.

For more, please read this Brandweek article: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BDW/is_44_41/ai_67315438/