Well here's a new one. You know those companies that own, operate or manage shopping malls that always seem to think shoppers actually care about anything other than what stores are in the mall? No? Don't feel bad. No one does though it seems one is out to change that.
The Taubman Company LLC has launched Yearbook Yourself, a site on which you can upload your picture and see what you would look like through the decades from the 50's to the 90's. Wat to see what you look like with an 80's Farrah Fawcett haircut? Go for it. The Jennifer Anniston hair craze of the 90's? have at it. Gidget's bob from the 60's? Come on. You know you want to. James Dean in the 50's? Why not?
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When you were little, did you ever make a time capsule with your friends and promise to come back to look at it in five years? Ten years? 15 years? No? Neither did I but millionaire, founder of NCSoft and creator of the game Tabula Rasa Richard Garriott is spending $30 million to be the sixth private citizen to fly into space and leave a digital time capsule behind. On his trip to the Space Station, he will take a flash drive full of information submitted by anyone who chooses to enter the Operation Immortality contest.
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- iPhone apps have a "kill switch" that empowers Apple to yank any app off your phone whenever it likes. Steve Jobs says they'll never "pull that lever" unless an extreme situation calls for it (like if an app were disseminating a virus) -- but hell, the I'm Rich app wasn't hurting anybody and Apple was quick enough to pull that off the ropes.
- Glad Facebook wasn't around when Shakespeare was. Hamlet might've been much different (but still such a riot!).
- One expat rails against marketing stereotypes about the French, particularly sexy maids and misuse of "Ooh la la."
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Like a teen burning high school paraphernalia in (futile) hope of evolving as a human being, Ruby Tuesday decided to blow up one of its old restaurants "to mark our departure from the sea of sameness within the casual dining industry."
But oops, it blew Cheeky's up instead. Har har. See apology.
All this to tell you Ruby Tuesday's changed its decor and menu. From the BooneOakley pressie: "Makeover was designed by Pentagram, and driven by the fact that the various competing casual dining chains, including Ruby Tuesday--had all become indistinguishable, whether to diners or to demolition experts."
What a relief that at least one establishment is picking up the slack for the menagerie of demented, '50s-inspired, totally flammable monotony. All this time I thought it was my fault for thinking Molotov cocktails were racy aperitifs! There's an order I won't make a third time.
Chicago Agency The Escape Pod put together a promotion for Office Max in which a giant bin filled with $2 million worth of pennies was placed inside Minnesota's Mall of America. Then, using greed as a motivator, the bin was opened to the public who, over three hours, emptied the bin completely revealing the Office Max logo. Once again, the ever-useless penny finds yet another use.
Tuesday night at ad:tech Chicago wrapped up with a keynote by author Clay Shirky, "Here Comes Every Customer: The Former Audience is Talking Around You."
The Big Idea, if intro speaker Drew Ianni is any authority: "The internet is the most important thing to happen to the human species."
That's a pretty high and mighty manifesto. Upon taking the stage, Shirky tried conveying the same idea with more precision -- and a much higher word count.
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- The New York Times wrote a SEVEN PAGE STORY about /b/ and online trolls: people that make a satisfying career out of hurting your widdo feewings.
- Campaign.com decided voting is a superpower.
- Cuil turns quantum researchers into gay porn stars. Hur-raaaay.
- The Center for Public Integrity launched a new blog called Papertrail. It promises to be "the hard-hitting, investigative blog that Washington is missing." Also, there's poetry and music.
- The Gay List Daily is promoting the Details Mens Style Manual, which teaches you how to be a flawlessly-dressed man. If you're not a man, or are already quite flawless, learn how to market to one. And if you can do that too, then shucks, you must be God. In cashmere.
- Every heel and toe of Cole Haan's sassy new Air Donovan dress shoes has the power of many Michael Jordans behind it.
Your mission: visit King of Cubicles. Play nice with balding man sporting poor choice of tie and dated Mac. The objective? Get him to hire you as the King of Cubicles.
After weaving your way through a sleep-inducing and earnestly uncomfortable interview process, you may or may not be made King. The perks? A car, a salary and a Nintendo Wii. A video resume proving your worthlessness can help turn the tide in your favor.
Put together by R/West for The Game Factory. I'm sure in another universe this site's a wild ride.
Though it's likely they had some, Lisbon agency Torke could have used a bit more help identifying the "soul" of FOX's Friday Night Lights, which debuted locally July 20. The guerrilla campaign they created, which involved the gratuitous use of bare midriffed cheerleaders, hardly captured the essence of the show.
Oh sure, the show has cheerleaders in it and centers around a high school's quest for football greatness but those two elements are just a backdrop for the true heart of the show - an examination of family life, interpersonal relationships and life's challenges in small town Texas. The T and A aspects of this promotion hardly do the show justice.
Then again, a dissertation on the woes of abortion, racism, poverty, career choices, physical disability and the difficulties of parenthood wouldn't exactly capture the same attention a few mini-skirted, hot cheerleaders most certainly did.
It's Dork Dodge! In this RPG game by JC Penney, you're a college girl trying to leave the dorm, where a hot but insecure love interest is waiting. Your job: to emotionally castrate the losers in your way. (Attacking them with items from Penney's Dorm Life line is usually a safe bet.) "Losers" labeled by Penney's include -- but are not limited to -- an incest-friendly hick, a Swedish exchange student, a bodybuilder and a goth.
Don't be too gentle or they'll follow you (dork cling!), thereby destroying your chances of a tasty hook-up forever. In that case, your best option is to ask a friend for help. (Oddly, the friends are as douchey as the men.) And don't dally too long or Mister Bouquet-of-Flowers out there will ditch yo' ass. (He's on a very tight schedule.)
But aww, it's the tech era, and some of these squares are cute. My favourite pick-up line: "Did you know 'NERD' stands for Never-Ending Rendezvous ... with Destiny? Look it up."
Put together by EVB San Francisco. If for some odd reason you're now into the Penney's Dorm Life line, see Facebook page. I just love me a furry pink picture frame.
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