Some of our favorite ads of all time owe their awesomeness to the music supervisor working diligently behind the scenes to secure the perfect track. During SXSW, our VP/Community (and wearer of many hats including music supervisor) David Rockwood met up with the guys at Jingle Punks to talk music and advertising.
Hippies, start braiding your flower crowns – the first weekend of the Austin City Limits Festival kicks off two weeks from today!
Since Zilker Park is practically in our backyard and since, as a rule, we love music, the ACL Festival is a very exciting time of year for GSD&Mers. Some folks (I’m looking at you, Elizabeth) are even known to refuse wedding invitations if they conflict with the festival weekends.
To honor the long-awaited return of ACL Festival, I conducted a [very un-scientific] poll to see what acts we’re most excited about…
THE F***ING REPLACEMENTS (emphasis not mine) was the winner by a long shot, followed closely by
– Beck
– Interpol
– Jenny Lewis
– Calvin Harris
– Chromeo
– Trombone Shorty
– Pearl Jam
– Eminem (because why the heck not?)
…To name a few. What bands are you most looking forward to seeing?
I woke up on the right side of the bed this morning. Made coffee, ate a big bowl of Cinnamon Life cereal, and all but skipped to my car. Walked in to work, sat down, reached in to my purse to put my trusty iPhone on my desk…
But it wasn’t there. Before I knew it, I was careening down the first dip on an emotional rollercoaster.
First, there was denial.
Surely I didn’t leave my phone at home. Maybe it’s in my pocket. OOH! Or in my car! I should check in my car. *Checks in car.* Ok, not in my car.
Then the truth sank in.
I really, truly, actually left my phone at home. I am officially phoneless today.
Next began the—for lack of a better word—panic phase.
What if someone needs to get ahold of me? What if I get an urgent text? What if an advertising emergency occurs and nobody can get in touch with my boss (whose desk is approximately two feet from mine)? How will people KNOW I’m not just ignoring them! Should I post to Facebook to let the world know I’m phoneless today? Oh for goodness sake, I can’t post anything to Instagram!
After a few minutes of that, I floated back down out of hysteria and to reality. It was time to make a plan.
If I run home at lunch, I’ll only have to spend a total of 2.5 hours without my phone. I can handle that. I am an ADULT. Plus, I’ll be in meetings for most of that time, so I’m sure I’ll hardly even notice. Right. Yeah, that’s it. I can do this!
And you know something, ad people? I survived. Better than that, I had an incredibly productive morning. Maybe there’s something to this “unplugging” thing after all. In moderation. Maybe.
Wannabe puppy parents, avert your eyes. And you might want to lose your Tinder and Instagram passwords while you’re at it.
Pet adoption agencies like Social Tees and Austin Pets Alive are getting creative – they’re using apps with huge and ever-increasing usage numbers, Tinder and Instagram, respectively, to identify and engage with prospective pet owners.
Tinder, the popular hook-up, ahem, dating app has teamed up with Social Tees to help find homes for New York City’s abandoned dogs. According to an article in Inc., “Tinder users swipe through photo profiles of the dogs. If they swipe ‘yes,’ a link to the nonprofit that rescued the dog appears with information on how to adopt.” The initial numbers are pretty incredible. More than 1,500 “matches” were made between pups and humans within 24 hours. Y’all, Tinder may have found its higher calling.
Locally, Austin Pets Alive (APA) is using Instagram to inspire warm fuzzy feelings and, hopefully, adoptions. I mean, look at this little guy.
(In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve looked at this picture probably five times today. So by the time you read this, Chunky Monkey–yes, that’s his real name–might be riding shotgun in my Corolla.)
Rebecca, part of APA’s marketing team, said the goal in creating the Instagram feed was to expose folks who love pet photos to Austin Pets Alive – and to encourage conversations between APA staff and Austinites who are considering adopting.
It’s not clear yet whether these social tactics will actually result in more adoptions, but it’s great to see nonprofit organizations using free tools in clever ways to drive conversation… and squeals of glee. Ok, maybe that last part’s just me.
Forget about that peanut butter and jelly sandwich or those Thai food leftovers you packed for lunch today. Monday, Popeyes launched the Tear’n Tenderloin – their newest tasty offering, seasoned with a custom blend of Louisiana spices, breaded and fried to perfection. Annie says it best – it’s good stuff.
Our team was jazzed (pun intended) to have the opportunity to help Popeyes bring the sounds and Cajun flavor of New Orleans to the Big Apple to fête the launch. There was chicken. There were biscuits. The Soul Rebels set the scene with the big sounds of an eight-piece brass band. There were even six custom jams including Bananas Foster sauce. Bananas Foster, people.
The good times, they were a’ rollin’. You could even say that we were “Tear’n it up.”
I operate under the assumption that if Mashable publishes it, it must be true. (Don’t we all?)
So in the interest of increasing productivity agency wide, a bunch of us spent a few hours today bonding, improving our I.Q.s, and remembering what our parents taught us: biting is not a good way to resolve conflict.
Let’s just say “I BELIEVE!” rang through our halls today.
(On a related note, who knew losing a big game could result in so much excitement? #SoccerIsConfusing)
With everyone headed to Cannes next week, the party RSVPs, restaurant recommendations, and “franglais” (an affectionate term for English/French mish-mashes, i.e. “I’m going to Whole Foods for dejeuner”) are flowing.
Ok, people aren’t actually speaking in franglais. But I’ve seen a few French words pop up here and there in Cannes-related tweets, which is very exciting because it makes me feel like my otherwise not-so-useful degree in French is finally coming in handy.
Though I won’t be traveling to Cannes next week (unless I can find some free space in someone’s carry-on—an unlikely scenario at best), I can tell you this: if it were me, I’d probably last about three days of beaching and award showing and partying and networking before I needed a little break from “le monde.”
Enter Avoid Humans, Cannes edition. Because even fancy wannabe French socialites need a break from the masses every once in a while. Or a place to take a conference call in peace. Or (let’s be honest) a quiet place to nurse a rosé-induced hangover. Happens to the best of us.
Now, allez et vous amusez bien. Bon voyage à Cannes!
What do you get when you put The Wild Feathers, Aaron Behrens, Aloe Blacc and The Hold Steady on stage all on the same night?
Add food, drinks, a photo booth and a few thousand of our closest friends, and you have GSD&M’s 2014 SXSW Party.
We made a video recapping the best moments and are reliving the glory as we speak. Viva SXSW 2015!
When a brand celebrates 90 years in business, it’s a big deal. Brands with that kind of heritage are institutions—legends, if you will.
This year, Ace Hardware and Zales Jewelers turn the big 9-0. We thought, “we should send them a card.” But then we realized these occasions call for more than a run-of-the-mill birthday card or even a singing voicemail. A 90th birthday calls for… wait for it… diamond mirror art and a layered hardware cake. (Isn’t it obvious?)
Art Director Will Chau gives us the backstory on the piece we created for Zales:
“We knew Zales’ 90th birthday gift had to be something romantic, beautiful and worthy of display. It needed to be an art piece that came from our hearts. The idea of the glass mirror spelling out “90 Years of Love” and surrounded by diamonds felt like an elegant visual statement. We wanted real diamonds on the glass, but it was just a tad out of our budget. Happy birthday, Zales!”
Copywriter Laurie Lehnert tells us how the Ace “layer cake” came to be:
“Art Director Kyle Mitchell and I were paired up to work on Ace’s upcoming 90th Anniversary campaign last November. One of the assignments was a poster, so we brainstormed images that would help Ace celebrate and share the excitement of the occasion with their fans. Kyle was in the throes of wedding preparation at the time and came back from a wedding cake meeting with the idea to make an Ace cake out of real, life-sized hardware. With a store full of items of all shapes and sizes it was easy to get excited about this idea. We documented the building of the cake, every minute for two days, to make this short “stop motion” video. Happy birthday, Ace!”
It’s time to face the brutal truth: we can’t all fly to Las Vegas and spend the week ogling wearables. But we can all live vicariously through the thousands of tech nerds—a term of endearment—who have made the pilgrimage to this year’s International Consumer Electronic Show.
For those of us who are missing out on all the fun, here are a few (of many) great places—in alpha order—to catch up on the latest from #CES2014. Shout if I missed any gems, and I’ll add them to the list.
Ad Week (and while you’re at it, check out #CheckInCES on Foursquare)
Mashable (gallery of crowdsourced images curated by the Mashable team)
Wired (reporters are using only their smartphones to cover the action. Does anyone have an iPhone charger?)