Get Your Dirty Santa Claus Christmas Cards Now!

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Two former ad guys, Brandon Burns and Justin Winslow, are having a bit of fun this holiday season with a Fab store dedicated to dirty Santa Claus holiday cards.

The store describes the offerings thusly, "He sneaks down chimneys, invites children to sit on his lap, and no one thinks anything of it. The jig is up, old man. These comically risqué cards from Dirty Santa's Workshop reveal the truth: Ol' St. Nick has been a very bad boy."

So if you want to make your friends and relatives laugh (or scream in horror) this year, head over to Dirty Santa's Workshop and grad yourself a few dirty cards.

by Steve Hall    Dec-11-12    
Topic: Trends and Culture



Is Nicole Westbrook the Next Rebecca Black?

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Having nothing whatsoever to do with advertising other than it's Friday, Friday...we bring you Nicole Westbrook who, perhaps, may become the next Rebecca Black sensation. Produced by Patrice Wilson, the man behind Rebecca Black's Friday, comes "It's Thanksgiving," yet another auto-tuned, teen-fueled ode with, this time, a focus on Thanksgiving and allthe cheesy wonder the day brings.

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by Steve Hall    Nov- 9-12    
Topic: Trends and Culture, Video, Viral



Ad-Supported Internet Creates 5.1 Million Jobs, Adds $530 Billion to Economy

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Kicking off the ninth (can you believe it?) Advertising Week, the Interactive Advertising Bureau, at its IAB MIXX Conference, has released new research conducted by the Harvard Business School that found the ad-supported internet is responsible for 5.1 million U.S. jobs. The sector increased 100 percent over the past four years and contributed $530 billion to the U.S. economy in 2011, double that of 2007. In addition, the sector accounted for 3.7 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product.

The report shows New York and California as home to the headquarters of the largest number of U.S. internet firms. This, of course, is due to the prominence of Madison Avenue and Silicon Valley as digital business hubs. In addition, Washington, Massachusetts, and Illinois are the next three most digital-friendly states. In total, nine states are the sites of headquarters that account for 72 percent of attributed employment, although the jobs themselves were dispersed across other states in the union:

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by Steve Hall    Oct- 1-12    
Topic: Industry Events, Research, Trends and Culture



Panties Bunched, Men Favor Porn, TV Trumps Online Video

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- One million moms get panties in a bunch, protest Ragu commercial.

- This just in! Men favor computers over television for entertainment. Um, yea. That's where the porn is!

- Why online video remains in TV's shadow.

- Why social media agencies are a farce.

- Taylor Swift gets all dolled up for Wonderstruck Enchanted Fragrance.

- Olympic super hero Michaels Phelps can be seen lounging in a bathtub for a new Louis Vuitton campaign.

by Steve Hall    Aug-20-12    
Topic: Policy, Research, Trends and Culture



No Parking Marketing: A Look at Marketing in India

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This guest articles is written by Shashi Bellamkonda, Senior Director of Social Media at Web.com.

Growing up in India I remember a time before television where advertisements on the radio and those shown before the Bollywood movies in theatres were very exciting. In the 70's and 80's, India was mesmerized by ads like the Liril Soap girl. And even though I never used Lifebuoy (another soap brand), the ad jingle was always on my mind. According to LifeBuoy's brand history book the brand made an entry into Asia through India in 1895 and have been advertising for centuries.

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by Steve Hall    Jul-16-12    
Topic: Trends and Culture



Matt Harding Returns With A New Dance, New Hope

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Oh my. Goose bumps. Matt Harding, a guy who quit his job in Australia, traveled the world with friends, made a video of his travels (complete with personalized quirky dance moves) and because the video was noticed by Stride Gum, received funding for a second dancing trip around the world is...take a breath...back with yet another dance video.

His videos are moving tributes to the connectedness of the human race. When you strip away the borders and the politics, we are all really the same. We laugh. We cry. And we dance.

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by Steve Hall    Jun-21-12    
Topic: Trends and Culture, Video



Cannes Lions Tuesday Captured Infographic Style

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In its continuing quest to numerate all the goings on this week at Cannes Lions in France this week, SapientNitro is out with its second of five infographics. This iteration, entitled Global, examines such goodies as the number of awards won to date by country (U.S. leads), social chatter as it relates to panel attendance, hottest topics (2NE1 Seminar), number of followers the various Cannes Lions social media accounts have, the number of Twitter mentions for the week (56,355), Foursquare hot spots, Cannes Lions Beach Soccer standings and the fact Twitter rules all social media channels this week crushing Facebook as if it were a fly.

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by Steve Hall    Jun-20-12    
Topic: Industry Events, Research, Social, Trends and Culture



Half Naked Abercrombie & Fitch Models Do 'Call Me Maybe'

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Really, it's only fair we include the Abercrombie & Fitch beekcake version of Call Me Maybe. After all, there are far too many ads that feature hot women. Isn't about time we had some ads that feature hot guys? We think so. So anyone who enjoys viewing the impossible perfect abs of young, Abercrombie & Fitch guys, have a look at this.

And for anyone interested in looking at equally hot women do the Call Me Maybe thing, check out the Miami Dolphin Cheerleaders version.

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by Steve Hall    Jun-15-12    
Topic: Brands, Trends and Culture, Video



Dubstep Sensation Marquese Scott Dances For Peugeot

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We're not usually fans of the forced application of cultural trends onto advertising but we really like this new Initials Marketing-created, Rubber Republic-produced work for Peugeot. The one take, one shot four minute video opens on an empty parking garage. We then see 29 year old dubstepper Marquese Scott, aka Nonstop, grooving to Rudimental ft. John Newman's Feel The Love.

The camera follows Scott and slowly pans 360 degrees around the garage. Part way through, we catch a glimpse of the Peugeot 208. The panning ends on a wall which reads, "Let Your Body Drive," the name of the campaign.

Wonderful work. It's not overly commercial. It freely highlights Scott's skills as well as subtly delivers a commercial message. The work may never achieve the 42 million views Scott's famed Pumped Up Kicks video received but it's got over 25,000 views in one day. Not bad.

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by Steve Hall    Apr-13-12    
Topic: Brands, Celebrity, Trends and Culture, Video



Infographic Examines Design Trends

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Cake Group created an infographic for Shutterstock that takes a look at the design and image trends in visual media. Not surprisingly, cat imagery tops the list of most downloaded files in 2011.

In terms of design trends, the kinds of files downloaded indicate a rise in the use of vectors, textured imagery and vintage photography. Check out the full infographic here.

by Steve Hall    Feb- 5-12    
Topic: Trends and Culture