United Colors of Benetton has a quarterly publication for young people called COLORS Magazine. Each issue is themed and outfitted with occasionally controversial imagery, multicultural flair and an underlying desire to connect people through shared quirks and charming differences.
We don't think all print magazines are going to die, and we hope COLORS is one of the survivors. The content sometimes feels a little too self-conscious, but we dig its global roaming eye and its interest in burrowing into uncomfortable or strange topics -- like boys that like to wear skirts.
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The most loved and hated socnet du moment is partnering with Crushpad, a company that lets amateurs make, sell, brand and market their own wines -- to produce a Twitter-branded Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
1/4 of the proceeds for the project, dubbed The Fledgling Initiative, go to a nonprofit called Room to Read, which promotes literacy for children in places like Sri Lanka, India, Laos, Zambia and Nepal.
According to Biz Stone and Ev Williams, the partnership's in keeping with their commitment to grow Twitter -- "because if you can't read you can't tweet!"
So there you have it. Ignite a future for the high-profile navel-gazers of tomorrow with your own bottle of Twitter wine, which goes for $20 a pop. Every case sold buys 60 local language books for Room to Read. You can also keep up with The Fledgling Initiative and find ways to get involved by following @fledgling.
French Vogue's set off the sensitivity meter with its decision to paint Dutch model Lara Stone black for the October issue.
Another thing that bears mentioning, if only for its strangeness: after painting Stone brown, the makeup artist painted parts of her white again for some shots.
This is racking up the usual stink about racism in advertising (Birth of a Nation comes, unbeckoned, to mind). Commentary ranges from "Why not just use an African model?!!" to arguments that the move is a statement on the complexity of race and identity. Some people also think this is a knee-jerk reaction; one user observed that the rag once dressed a woman up as a man, and nobody complained.
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With help from Crispin Porter + Bogusky (featuring built-in tweetage from @bogusky hisself!), two intrepid messengers from Brammo are on a mission to present President Obama with the most energy-efficient electric vehicle in America: the Brammo Enertia powercycle.
The pair adds a dash of bloggable epic to the quest by road-trippin' it from Detroit to Washington, DC: the route automotive CEOs took when they made their pilgrimages to beg for bailout aid.
"But instead of seeking aid, were going to present President Obama with a homegrown solution to the transportation crisis," the pair writes gleefully.
To succeed in their quest, dubbed ShockingBarack, they're depending on little more than "the kindness of everyday Americans." Visit the ShockingBarack website to offer them a place to crash, a source that'll help them get in touch with the President or an outlet to fuel their motorbikes. (They promise to reimburse you the $0.30 it takes to charge them.)
If you lack the inclination or the geographic convenience to do either, follow the journey. The latest video -- where they visit the Mayor of Adrian bearing a peace offering of donuts -- appears below.
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