Somewhere in the bowels of my memory is a man with a 'fro, a soothing voice and a paintbrush. As a kid I watched him on TV, mesmerized as he effortlessly whispered magic onto his canvas.
Right about now, though, I'm wondering whether those gripping pastures and endless telephone lines were not actually thinly-veiled and mildly traumatic messages about ethnic cleansing.
I like how at the end he gets all sinister and hisses, "We're almost done here, aren't we? No. It's never done."
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To distinguish itself from its older and heavier rival, Yellowbook reimagines itself as a kind of digital genie, bestowing not merely phone numbers but self-confidence and clean slates. Instantly.
This is not the first time a lower-back tat has been used to sell something it shouldn't. The VW Touareg, Livescribe and Office Max have tread that valley before (and left the ink stains to prove it). Lower still: Hyundai.
Back to Yellowbook. The campaign is called "Say Yellow to the Future" and was put together by Gotham. No word on whether you can muzzle your virtual concierge if you find him too invasive.
Who can keep up with this insanity? Since Ballmer couldn't have his way with Yahoo, he's now going at it from a different angle allegedly discussing with Yahoo a partnership or acquisition of Yahoo Search. John Furrier also seems to think Microsoft will scoop up the rest of Facebook as well.
While nothing, of course, is clear and won't be until if and when any deal is penned, Microsoft taking over Facebook is a scary thought. Robert Scoble makes the argument a Microsoft acquisition of Yahoo Search and Facebook would lead to a closed web over which Microsoft would have complete control while Google would be locked out leaving "data and social graph portability ... dead on arrival."
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To celebrate the second anniversary of its "My Circle" program, Alltel Wireless is giving a luxury vacation away to a My Circle customer and his or her family and friends.
Register at the My Circle Reunion website. You'll also have to text "CIRCLE" to 102102.
The vacation package -- which lasts four days and three nights, like a timeshare sweepstakes! -- includes a "special meal" by celebrity chef Ted Allen. The winner and his minions will also receive a new handset and a $200 Alltel gift card.
Off-topic, Alltel Wireless now claims to be America's largest network. I thought that phrase was handcrafted especially for AT&T. Guess anybody can use it.
Based on the premise that the average wedding costs more than most couples can cough up ($30,000) -- and the "fact" that 08/08/08 is the most desirable Friday wedding date in history -- Eight O'Clock Coffee launched the "Gr8 Wedding D8."
The prize is a wedding on 08/08/08 at a Hamptons estate with up to 100 guests. Couples have until May 31 to register with eight reasons why they should win.
This is part of a partnership with TheKnot.com, which will manage the wedding plans and serve Eight O'Clock Coffee at the reception.
And here I was thinking that the apex of consumer surrender was a Starbucks/Tiffany's wedding. Actually, once I find a guy that goes for that (and doesn't choke on his own spit like the last one), I might still do it.
Last week, writer Stephen Baker of BusinessWeek wrote a collaborative article with Twitter users. The compilation took several days and generated more than 250 contributions, including quotes and citizen reporting.
The result, "Why Twitter Matters," was published today. (Expect tons of linkbacks to individual tweets, not to mention gratuitous use of "tweet" itself.) Looks like the stream-of-thought community just won a new convert.
Hey, Baker. Think Twitter ex-architect Blaine Cook looks anything like Jesus?
The Max Havelaar Foundation, a coalition of fair trade producers and initiatives worldwide, is using this video to promote fair trade practices.
I'm not really sure what's going on, aside from that a bunch of subversives seem really unhappy with what they're finding at the grocery store.
Alternatively, they could just be looking for buddies to play catch with. Reason #458 to take up Ultimate Frisbee.
- Fast Company loves itself some Alex Bogusky. Enough to compare him to Jesus. No word on whether the author washed his feet with her hair.
- Shelf that silly Microsoft morale video. "It's here and it's hot! Home Depot Solid Gold!"
- To combat the eBay suit, craigslist countersues. Then the nanny found their babas and put them down for a nap.
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Having generated reluctant admirers with its "Ugly can be beautiful" campaign in 2005, Crocs now gives us "What a Croc!" -- which has guts in spades, and occasional moments of flair, but is otherwise far less coherent.
See insane screaming man and the pretty pretty princess. The latter is the result of a collabo between Crocs and Jibbitz, self-styled "the official Crocs shoe charm." And you thought those Godforsaken mules couldn't get any uglier.
Thanks AdFreak for bringing "What a Croc!" to our attention.
If it weren't bad enough an army of wannabes copied, unsuccessfully, Alex Tew's very successful Million Dollar Homepage, now there's a dude who wants to spread that filth all over an actual hillside, as in a real-world hillside in Austria.
Thomas Kager, a 34 year old software developer plans to sell both pixels and actual real estate on a 10,0000 meter portion of a hill. As the press release explains, "Kager's idea is to market squares of virtual advertising space on his website to companies and individuals who, after their purchase, will receive one square meter of real outdoor advertising space for a five-year period."
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