Something You Probably Didn't Learn in Poli Sci

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Ads for Recount: The Story of the 2000 Presidential Election, are plastered all over NYC. Here are a few: "swinging chad," "hanging chad" and "pregnant chad."

Each refers to a punch card that ballot machines may have trouble reading. The subtext isn't quite a definition of the phrase; it's more like a description of how political minds saw them in the context of the 2000 election. (Remember Florida?)

Witty.

See the actual definitions for these terms. Next time you pass by one of these posters, snicker like you're in the know.

by Angela Natividad    May-12-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Poster



Vespa Wheatpasted, fauxreel Projects, GOP Promotes Panic Drug, and Republican Goes Obama Way

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- Check out the projections on the fauxreel website. Not quite sure what they're all about, but watching people alter billboards at high speed can easily kill about four minutes. Without regrets.

- Dentsu Canada's got fauxreel plastering Vespa Squareheads -- Millennials with headlights and mirrored antennae, essentially -- all over Canada.

- MoveOn has finally tapped a winner for its Obama in 30 Seconds campaign. It lacks the flair of the will.i.am mashup, and it's obvious the video was picked because the subject is a converted Republican. Also, MoveOn wants $200,000 from you to help air it.

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Video Advocates Creation of Cannes Humanitarian Lion

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About a week ago, a video appeared on YouTube that advocates the creation of the Cannes Humanitarian Lion, an award honoring the agency which submitted the best idea and action plan to solve one of several pre-determined worldwide humanitarian issues. Each agency that submitted work to Cannes for any category would be required to also provide one Humanitarian Lion idea. Finalists would then be selected and have until the next year's Festival to execute the work at which time the work would be judged and the winner awarded the Humanitarian Lion.

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by Steve Hall    May-12-08    
Topic: Cause, Good, Industry Events, Video



In a World Gone Soft, Someone's Got to be Hard

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With but ten words, this new campaign for Mike's Hard lemonade says so, so much. It's got the sexual angle. It's got the anti-politically correct angle. It's got the men will be men angle. It's got a vaguely-veiled, mildly homophobic angle (OK, maybe that's a stretch). It's got the geeks are idiots angle.

All of which makes perfect sense because it comes to us courtesy of that agency with the website that is so "over-the-top, too-cool-for-school and testosterone-laden, it makes Mad Men look like an AWNY convention on steroids...uh...progesterone," Amalgamated.

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by Steve Hall    May-12-08    
Topic: Campaigns, Commercials



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Yawn. Naked Woman Promotes Magazine

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When I think of heading over to Borders or Barnes and Noble to pick up the latest copy of What Mobile Magazine, the first thing on my mind is always, always, always hot, sexy blondes with a Gwyneth Paltrow-ish come-hither look (which, much like Gwyneth herself isn't, though beautiful, all that come hither-ish after all) holding a mobile phone. Seriously. Doesn't everyone have that thought? (Thanks, George)

by Steve Hall    May-12-08    
Topic: Bad, Magazine, Racy



Girl Pulls Up Miniskirt to Expose Thigh, Sell Drugs

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Oh look! It's yet another blah, blah, blah with a mini-skirted girl with blah, blah, blah, hiking up her skirt to blah, blah, blah, so we can see her legs to blah, blah, blah and to see the message on her thigh that blah, blah, blah for Dextro Energy which blah, blah, blah.

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by Steve Hall    May-12-08    
Topic: Magazine, Racy, Strange



Newsflash! Jane Goodall Is Not Dead!

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Who knew? She was old when I was a kid but apparently, she's still alive and well and hangin' with the chimps. Or at least helping Green Mountain Coffee Roasters preserve chimpanzee habitats in Tanzania's Gombe National Park. The effort aims to lessen area farmer's economic difficulties and to end the clear cutting or forests. Oh, and to make sure the region can continue to make coffee so Green Mountain can continue to make money.

by Steve Hall    May-12-08    
Topic: Brands, Cause, Inflight



Optical Allusions Amuse, Confuse, Promote Non-Existent Site

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This
was probably fun to film but, um, huh? OK, so it's kind of fun but to promote a new phone, the Samsung Soul? Two minutes later, you don't even care what it's for. Oh the not so minor detail the Song site is down doesn't help.

by Steve Hall    May-12-08    
Topic: Bad, Online, Video



Numa Numa Dude Blocks iJustine From Chat

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You know her from that iPhone bill video. You love her for all the weirdly wacky videos she's made since. Justine Ezarik a.k.a iJustine, famous for, well, being internet famous, in another weirdly wacky video takes on, Gary Brolsma a.k.a. Numa Numa for booting her out of a chat room.

Apparently, Gary didn't like what Justine had to say in the chat room so she was slapped with the message "ijustine was blocked from the chat for inappropriate behavior." Ouch.

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by Steve Hall    May-12-08    
Topic: Games, Social, Strange, Video



One Reason to Make Your Subsite Sing: the After Party

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When I was told I'd get ringside seats at One Show Interactive Ceremony on Friday night, I didn't realize they actually meant ringside.

What a spectacle. Amidst agency eccentrics and exhausted One Club employees, wrestlers ran across the floor, occasionally lay things to waste, and vanished again. (The podium had to be replaced at least twice.)

There was also some Pulp Fiction-style Meet the Gimp action.

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by Angela Natividad    May-12-08    
Topic: Industry Events



Converting the Converted, and Other Tricks of the Light

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On Wednesday at the One Show Festival, design guru Brian Collins illustrated the power of branding with a history lesson about pirates.

Or rather, just their flag.

Back in 1748, if you had the misfortune of being a single bobbing ship at sea when a tattered vessel with a skull and crossbones crossed your path, you knew instantly what to expect.

"You're fucked." (Collins, verbatim.)

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by Angela Natividad    May-12-08    
Topic: Brands, Creative Commentary, Industry Events, Opinion