Archives for category: advertising

Music For The Masses

October 7, 2009 //

I wanted to pick up on a thread I started yesterday on my posterous account (I know, a tumblr and a posterous? Microblogging overkill!)…

The music nerd in me (combined with my undergrad marketing background) always notices when indie-ish bands are featured in commercials. While I suppose lots of the folks who are working on Madison Avenue are either in my age cohort or younger and, therefore, probably have similar tastes in music to me, I am often confused (and a little put off) by their choices in background music for ads.

This commercial for Absolut Vodka features a Joy Division/New Order song, Ceremony:

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Categories advertising, communication, culture, indie, music

There is No Charge for Awesomeness…

January 12, 2009 //

… or attractiveness, as Po from Kung Fu Panda says.

We can thank the internet machine for the awesomeness and attractiveness of these Diamond Dave nuggets to kickstart the work week.

The first is the David Lee Roth Running with the Devil Soundboard. [h/t: Marko] Guaranteed hours of fun.

Or, if you want to take things to the next level, you can bask in the glory of/recoil in horror from this truly mashed-up mashup of Diamond Dave colliding with Microsoft’s Songsmith [h/t: Gizmodo].

Songsmith is a program that generates music to accompany a singer’s voice. Could be interesting, but the background music sound un-ironically 8-bit. Call it a failure of my imagination, but I can’t see a purpose for Songsmith other than the DLR fail. I give them credit for their surreal, ultra-cheesy ad, but, seriously, I’m confused — “So help me a find a way to move my groove on”? Really? Is that even a phrase, or is Microsoft trying to invent new slang?

Categories advertising, communication, just grinning

The Price Is Right

May 6, 2008 //

Or, as some might say, free!

Yesterday, Trent Reznor released The Slip, the new Nine Inch Nails album, gratis over at their website. It’s true, ol’ Trent didn’t even include a “pay what you want” option — just download The Slip for free! And, unlike the initial digital release of In Rainbows from Radiohead, The Slip is being released in high quality MP3, FLAC and other digital formats.

According to the NIN website, this free download is for the fans:

thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years – this one’s on me

Is this the new distribution model for music?

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Categories advertising, communication, controversy, hooray!, indie, music

Postmodern Experience Economy

April 22, 2008 //

Evidence abounds that our culture, in terms of commerce, is shifting from goods to experience. For example, it’s not enough just to get a haircut, especially if you’re a dude. No, you need to get over to SportClips, where it’s not just a haircut, it’s a championship experience. Maybe that’s how Tom Brady feels every time he gets his precision cut (that is, when he’s not cheating! Ha!). Disney is not just about the rides, or the tasty, tasty pineapple whip (which we recently discovered during our last trip there) but it’s all about the experience of the magic kingdom. After all, where else can you ride a roller coaster with Minnie Mouse (as our daughter did last year) or meet Captain Jack Sparrow (or a reasonable facsimile of Mr. Depp) in person?

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Categories advertising, communication, postmodern

San Diego Asian American Leadership Conference 2008

March 5, 2008 //

Registration for SDAALC 2008 is now up and running at sdaalc.org!

If you’re in the San Diego area, it will be well worth it to join us on the weekend of April 4th-5th. Thanks to the generous support of L2 Foundation and local churches, registration is extremely affordable.

I’ll be giving a seminar on Asian Americans and Postmodern Culture. I will be focusing on the unique intersection between postmodern culture and Asian American identity (so, Derrida and Foucault fans/foes please go easy on the philosophizing!). Hoping for an engaging and productive conversation…

To the left, you can find the postcard I designed to help advertise SDAALC (I tried linking a hi-res version, but it didn’t seem to work). All of the proceeds from the conference will go toward Love146, a group “working toward the abolition of child sex trafficking and exploitation through prevention and aftercare.”

Categories advertising, asian american, design, emerging church, faith, hooray!, justice, missional, postmodern, race, second-generation