A Lesson on Not Jumping the Gun

The internet claims this is Surcouf, prior to his incarnation as a sort of Gallic Best Buy.

Him (leaping through doorway): I'm going out! Are you coming with me?!

Me: Where are you going?

Him: Chez Surcouf!

Me: What is Surcouf?

Him: A French pirate, very well-known----

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AdVerve Episode 41: Shark Attacks and Animorphs

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Media Monitors Strategic Community Manager and Oz native Deb Wiseman, a.k.a. @wisey joins us for an epic conversation spanning from social media analytics, to politicians' use of new media, to whether Australia is really the most dangerous place in the world to live.

Oh yeah, there is some amazing shapeshifter/animorphs action in there too. But we didn't tell you that; you discovered it for yourself. FAIL TO LISTEN AND YOU WILL NEVER LEARN THE SECRETS OF ANIMAL SPIRIT TRANSFER.

By the way, POLL TAHM!




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Every Cigarette Smoked in Mad Men

That's a lot of puff-puff, and nice work by Whirled.

The drinking and smoking are integral to Mad Men, and not just because it's a gesture of fidelity to a period. There's a close association between creatives and artists. In those two camps, you've always got this tragic notion of burning on both ends: being constantly hopped up on something and doing your job anyway - maybe even needing the former for the latter.

Also, still fresh out of Cannes, I can attest that this attitude, this lifestyle, is still alive and well in the industry. (The hyperlinked post is about people discussing ways to quit, but that's also part of the mantle of smoking.) The world may have moved on, but the lone creative still gets something out of lighting one up. It's a legacy, nicotine-laced shackles of genius and suffering that bind us not just to Don Draper but to Mark Twain and Sartre.*

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Lane Bryant Ad: Not What Mom Would Wear

That this plus-sized womenswear ad was deemed too sexy for TV by ABC and Fox is considered by some to be a compliment: A curvy chick with a saucy face, racier than a Victoria's Secret poster girl? Finally somebody's noticed.

Thoughts?

Douchebags of the US, Classified by Region

"Preferred Tattoo" is priceless. Via my infographic-loving homie.

Je te plumerai la tête !

Bang Bang Bang: Retro-style magic brought to you by Mark Ronson and The Business Intl. Also, if you ever wondered what happened to Q-Tip ... I guess he's been time traveling.

To the Vector Belong the Spoils!

A masterpiece of nostalgia, romance, math and fickle-ass bitches. (*hugs self*)

Via.

AdVerve Episode 40: Harry Webber Redux

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The Man™ is back. Turns out he was just getting started last time. Anybody spared? DON’T BLAME HARRY. It’s our fault because we put him up to it. Harry opens with a story about the origins of the CBS logo and the behind the scenes skullduggery. (Well, for advertising it’s skullduggery at least.) Then we hit up Apartment living, Crooklyn style, listen in on a few calls with friend of the show Mel Gibson.

Since Harry actually knows Mel, he confirms a few of the things you already suspect about him, plus a few you didn’t. Who’s next? Oh yeah. Two guys named Jobs & Gates. BP and Obama then get their asses handed to them, Denzel gets mad love as we break down religiosity in The Book of Eli.*

YOU WANT MORE? Oliver North even shows up.

Miss this episode at your own risky business.

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AdVerve Episode 39: Mel Torment

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Jazz puns aside, we’re back riffing like hungry dogs surrounding a pile of cheese and steak. Helping the cause this week is Mel Gibson. He’s far from dominating the entire show, so fear not.

"10 For 10" returns from a little hiatus as we chow down on Twilight Eclipse, Old Spice and Lindsay Lohan’s nails. We wrap with buzzword fun, conference peeves and blatant Humongo Nation pluggage. For more stuff than that, subscribe to our newsletter... WHICH YOU SHOULD ALREADY BE SIGNED UP FOR. (SIDEBAR, RIGHT SIDE, DO IT NOW.)

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Sorry France, No Online South Park Eps for You

South Park Studios isn't serving full episodes to France yet, but they were nice enough to make a consoling country-specific caricature. I like the touch of the cigarette and the smoking jacket. I almost want to say hey, I think I know that guy.

For the one or two of you half-wondering why I was trawling South Park in the first place*, it's because I was looking for the 2004 clip from The Passion of the Jew, where Mel Gibson is all crazy. (Matt and Trey, how did you know?)

I am pleased to announce I found it.

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AdVerve Episode 38: The Man Behind the Wheat Thins

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This week we hit you with guest Vinny Warren, Irish native and “international irritant” (per his Twit-tah). But you probably know him best for the creepy future-forward Wheat Thins thing he did with The Escape Pod, that wee little agency he calls home (blog).

Join us as we tackle The Escape Pod’s roots in practical joking, brands and listening, and - once and for all - which team is owning this World Cup thing. Vuvuzela talk? Not here. But damn, it was lying in the undercurrent.

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Oh, Why Not

Facebook Now Reco'ing Likes Against Other Likes?

Saw these along my right-hand column today. The text under each of the headers reads (in English), "people that like [something I already Like] also like this."

I will indeed Like "Where the Wild Things Are." One out of two, for a feature I've never seen before, ain't bad.

I Am Writing an Article About the Vuvuzela.

I want to remember this moment, because on days when I'm sad and think the demands life makes on me are unreasonable or whatever, I can think:

"The other day, for a living, for my JOB, I had to write about the vuvuzela."

It is a noble and perfectly awesome calling.

Image credit: Coca Cola South Africa.

On Cleaning

I'm basically just posting this to kill time because I've devoted today to putting "certain" elements of the apartment in order, including the bedroom.

I have a secret jealousy of people whose things all have a dedicated place, even the telephone and internet cords. Everything is neat and perfect, and there is never even any dust. I keep thinking that someday I'll morph into that person if only I can find a "dedicated space" for this pile of business cards I recently accumulated, for example.

But it's complicated. I'm staring at the business cards now, that great grand pile of "things that are potentially important," and there doesn't seem to be an immediate solution. The probability is high I will never look at that pile again. But what if one day I need a name in there? I'll hate that I cast it aside like so much junk mail.

I can extend the time frame of how long I can contemplate this quagmire by taking little pieces of paper to the trashcan, one scrap at a time, which is technically still productive.

(Also, I am Spotlighting things on my computer to stick in the bin. I love emptying the Mac bin.)

On days like this there's a vague memory that replays in my mind. It is so resonant that it's managed to survive in my recollectable archives, but so old that I realised today I can think about it without knowing I'm thinking about it. It has lived with me too long, like a dull ache you forget to be unhappy about.

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The Cannes Lions Wrapup That Will Make You Feel As if You Went, Hangovers and All

Here is where I distill the Cannes experience and make a lot of reflections that the world will forget or, more likely, simply never read. So I'm gonna start with the videos and photos, culminating in the longest wrapup of Cannes ever, which you must all read or perish.

Not really. If, after all that, you still want to read the reflections, scroll all the way down.

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