Hatfield Says Inverted Building Inspired Inverted Shoes

In a short film called Respect The Architects: The Paris Air Max 1 Story (which takes FOREVER to load), designer Tinker Hatfield talks about how the Centre Pompidou in Paris inspired his version of the Nike Air Max, which features a visible air pouch. We like it. Check out a lo-res here. It loads faster than the hi-res but it's not nearly as good of a watch. - Contributed by Angela Natividad

Ford Quilts Pink For Breast Cancer Awareness Month

As part of its partnership with the Susan G Koman Breast Canver Foundation, Ford has teamed with the organization's Race For The Cure Virtual Quilt project which allows people to create their own message on the quilt. JWT Detroit along with interactive firm Firstborn created the project o coincide with this month's Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

CarMax the Best Buy of Used Car Dealers

While we're not quite sure just how different CarMax is from other used car dealers with their claims of return policies and "buy without sell" but they sure are different in that they look much more like a Wal-Mart of a Best Buy than most cheesy, flag-flying used car lots. The company has just launched a two-part Boone/Oakley-created television campaign. The first part focuses on the brand with three very un-used car-like commercials set in Rome and the Old West. A second set of commercial focuses on the unique differences between CarMax and other used car dealers. We especially like the freaked out 16 year old who pitches a fit after realizing the nw car her fathr just bought her int eh wrong color. Cue "5 day return policy" voice over. For the most part, good stuff if not a bit off the wall. (Click more for links to spots.)

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Joe's Garage Serves Food, Not Auto Decals or Anything Else Auto-Related, Really

For Joe's Garage in Minneapolis agency Colle & McVoy releases a campaign called "Fixing Food, Not Cars." Agency rep Jennifer Weismann says the restaurant gets calls from people looking for repair shops constantly so we figure they wanted to stir up still more confusion.

Good job. After seeing the creative we felt less "Fuck, what I'd do for a BLT right now" and more "Where can we get a Hummer decal that says Hummus? Do they sell those there? Does somebody want to give them a call and find out?" There are also BLT and Lamb Burger versions. The words "lamb burger" against a gigantic SUV grill struck us as funny on so many levels. - Contributed by Angela Natividad

Coke Wakes Up, Smells Social Media

After having dissed the whole Diet Coke Mentos geyser thing saying the "craziness with Mentos doesn't fit with the brand personality" then giving in and quickly implementing a lame contest, Coke is now back in full force with Poetry in Motion, a video contest fronted by the very people Coke dissed in the first place, Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz, creators of one of the craziest Diet Coke/Mentos geyser videos. The two now appear in a video urging people to submit videos and teasing us with the fact the pair will release their latest video October 30, sure to be even more massive than their original geyser work

PGM Artists Parodies YouTube With PhilTube

Fans of YouTube may not have to worry about their baby getting sucked up into the Google void and corporatized because now we have PhilTube. Some dude named Phil has created a YouTube look alike and has videos up that poke fun at popular videos such as the Star Wars Kid and LonelyGirl15. Of course, this isn't the next YouTube at all. It's the creation of Phil McIntyre to parody YouTube, poke fun at social media and to promote PGM Artists, his company that represents production companies to agencies and media companies.

If you didn't know who Phil McIntyre or PGM were, you'd have to do a bit of digging to see what PhilTube is all about but as promotions go, we applaud it. There's no fist bumping here - although, perhaps PhilTube should spoof the Agency.com video - and the content is amusing enough. We're told Hart+Larsson is behind he creative on this one.

Game Helps Elmo Go Potty

If your sick of that long-winded account director blathering on endlessly in a pointless meeting about a client's brand vision, mission, essence and position, you might have a little fun sending them a link to Elmo's Potty Time, an Animax Entertainment-created game that, well, teaches people when it's time to stop what you're doing and take a break. Unfortunately when we played the game, we couldn't help Elmo out. See, in one scenario, Elmo is jump roping and he stops to say he needs to go to the bathroom and you're supposed to click any key to help him go. Trouble s, no key worked so the poor guy kept asking until the game let him go by himself. We'd sure like to see the version of that game where you can hold Elmo hostage until explodes all over his friends. Now, that would be funny.

GM's Pontiac Launches Motorati Island For Second Lifers

GM's Pontiac division is the next mainstream company to join the one million strong Second Life community with the creation of the soon to be launched Motorati Island where residents can engage all kinds of automotive-related projects such as the construction of racetracks and dealerships where the Pontiac Solstice will be on display.

Just like a weblog, Second Life is becoming the marketing tactic du jour for many marketers. Unlike a weblog, brand activity in Second Life may actually generate sales for brands since, in essence, it's an actual, psuedo-real world with currency that changes hands. We're not sure someone's going to actually buy a car in Second Life for their first life yet but it won't be long before that happens. Second Life could very well become the replacement for that dreaded online "service" brands provide their customers called customer service. While brands' rush to blogging and podcasting didn't seem to net much in the way of revenue, Second Life's focus on commerce, just might become a practical and profitable market for all involved.

Geico Caveman Battles News Anchors For Respect

Bill Green points us to yet another entry in the increasingly popular Geico Caveman saga. In this latest commercial, our caveman friend is subjected to unfeeling, uncaring news anchors who frustrate the poor guy even further. He's got a nice rant in the middle of the spot though. Bill also tells us there's another clip that appears to be a movie trailer for the campaign. We don't know if these will sell any insurance but we cerainly are entertained by them.

Denver Pizza Chain Welcomes New York Transplants

Colorado is the new burrough. Denver-based Anthony's New York Pizza has created a bumper sticker campaign that will place stickers in the hands of 500 people who have relocated from the New York area to the Denver area. The list was culled from DMV records and will attempt to make New Yorkers feel right at home in their new mountainous surroundings. See additional creative here.