Being in the service is like living in a bubble: you do as you're told, go where you're sent, and live on-base, which has its own restaurants, shops and medical centers.
So one of the scariest things about leaving the military is knowing what to do afterward. Four years in, it's hard to remember what civilian life is like; worse still, you're rusty with the social and professional politics.
To help future former military members get a head start, Plaid created AreYouG2G, a clever little site that helps them construct outside lives based on what they did in uniform.
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We all get save-the-kids! mailers, and most of us have received the kind with the nickel or the quarter enclosed, for added effect.
But it never occurred to us how stupid this approach is until The Denver Egotist pointed it out:
If your envelope line reads "A Nickel Could Save A Child's Life!" and you not only enclose the aforementioned nickel, but spend a few more of them popping it in the post, you've just fucked yourselves and the importance of the message.
For those of us that have already passed precious shekels to a charity, it really leaves you wondering how much of that cash was recycled as nickels for the trash heap. But who knows, maybe this works, and we've been doing ourselves a great disservice by hoarding for retirement. What's that proverb? It takes money to make money?
Through the magic of YouTube, Choose a Different Ending walks you almost seamlessly through a tense scenario between street kids. As it progresses, you get to decide what happens next and how you -- as a character -- will react.
The choose-your-own-adventure model's been used before, notably by Twix, but not this well or for this provocative a cause. We were surprised by how the experience captured our curiosity -- and also by a lot of the endings. (When you elect to talk things out, it's rare that you expect to be gutted like a fish.)
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Those shit-quality YouTube clips, where something extraordinary happens and you're supposed to wonder whether the footage is real, probably feel like the video advertising equivalent of cavepainting to you by now. Sure there've been classics, but by and large we've all evolved, right?
No.
Behold "Dairy Chicken," a piece so square you're left thinking these people knew exactly how lame they were being and just surrendered to their destinies. In it, some guys at a park catch a chicken sipping from somebody's milk glass. (Who brings glasses of milk to the park?) And suddenly the chicken flashes the camera a big toothy smile.
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"Schizophrenic Man Terrifies Kids at Party" is a YouTube piece released by English mental health charities Mind and Rethink under their "Time to Change" campaign. We like how it plays on our expectation of crass amateur video fare to illustrate two important messages:
o That people with mental disorders can function in society
o That retaining the stereotype of the off-the-hinge crazy person is counterproductive for everyone involved
It also reminded us that as kids, we were always screamy-scared about stuff we couldn't see, however facile or harmless said "stuff" actually was. And then, lightbulb moment, it was like hey, tripping out about schizophrenia is kind of like that.
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If the children of celebrity chanteurs can draw a crowd to a promo, why not the children of celebrity talk show hosts?
In an ad slated to debut tonight during ABC Family's The Secret Life of the American Teenager, 14-year-old Wyntergrace Williams will urge Congress to amend the Child Nutrition Act to require the inclusion of vegetarian options in school lunch lines.
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OK. What is it with today? Are all you marketers trying to make me drown in emotional depression? Hey, a gut wrenching cause ad is OK once in a while but not two in one day! Please. I've got my own issues to deal with. I don't need you bringing me down even further.
But again, it's what we do here. Bring you the goods and this is another good one. From UNICEF, the United States Agency for International Development and MTV's End Exploitation and Trafficking comes this video calling attention to the plight of women caught up in human trafficking and the horrific life they lead.
Over and over we see a woman connect with a man. At first, it seems very consensual. Then the layers are peeled back and we find out how she really came to be in the situation with the man. Quite horrific.
This is probably not what you want to watch on a Monday morning but it will most certainly make you think twice before trying to text and drive. In two parts (one, two), the movie follows the story of four girls, a tragic accident and the pain the accident leaves in its wake. It will make you cry. And it's even more emotionally gut wrenching than this one which will tear you up as well.
It was created for the school Tredgar Comprehensive and the Gwent Police. The United Kingdom most certainly wins the award for the most dramatic "drive safely" commercials in the world.
My kind of brand. No logos. As owner of clothing line Freshjive, owner Rick Klotz takes anti-branding in a new direction by stripping their logos out of everything, including their website. (Via PSFK.) Read more about his approach in an interview with him over on The Hundreds.
This is what being eco-friendly has come to. Urging people to pee while taking a shower. Yes, it's true. There's really nothing else to say about this Brazilian effort to save water by not having to flush the toilet.
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