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Real News vs. Fake News: Learning About Stuff on Late-Night TV and the Internet

August 5th, 2010 by Julie Hill

Wikipedia says that “organizations such as the Pew Research Center [claim The Daily Show] has become a primary source of news for many young people,” which has raised a lot of interesting debate about the responsibility of those programs to provide accurate and unbiased opinion. Which is kind of hilarious, if you think about it.

Shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are successful at conveying the “news” because they allow the content to become accessible via humor and satire, instead of dryly presenting facts in an unrelatable way, as many real news programs do. Satirical Twitter users like BPGlobalPR assert that humor is the only way for many people to be able to deal with massive tragedies like the Gulf oil spill; to not block out the news simply because it is overwhelming, as many people are prone to do.

Anyway, here are a few of my favorite Real-Life News And Science Things I’ve Learned From Professional Comedians. Enjoy!

Hubble vs. the new James Webb space telescope on Jimmy Fallon:

Which dinosaur was the best (hint: not T-Rex):

Auto-Tune The News #2

Assorted current events (and zaniness) from the now-defunct The Show with Ze Frank:

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Posted in Design, Thinking | 165 Comments »

How Coca-Cola Has Gotten Inside your Head

July 27th, 2010 by Rachel Forgus

Even after the hype of the World Cup 2010 is dying down, viewers still find themselves humming that catchy K’Naan song. Renown for its ever-innovative marketing campaigns, Coca-Cola has done it again by turning “Wavin’ Flag,” hitting the scene during the Vancouver Olympics, into a walking, singing Coca-Cola commercial during the World Cup by adjusting the melody ever so slightly.

Reaching #1 on the music charts in over 17 countries, Coke has essentially gotten their signature sonic logo stuck in the heads of millions of consumers worldwide, which will last long after the end of the World Cup. It is their largest ever integrated marketing campaign to date and considered much more effective than merely paying an artist to mention their brand in a song.

So if the K’Naan song happens to be playing while you’re eating meal, it is no coincidence that all you want is a Coke.

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Posted in Uncategorized | 151 Comments »

LOOK HERE NOW!!!!! PLEASE!!!! LOOK!!! COME ON I’M AN AD!

July 12th, 2010 by Chris Strong

So apparently Hearst Magazines are going to be launching some new ‘disruptive’ ad units on their websites.

You know, the type of ads that literally scream at you to look at them, confuse you, blare sounds from areas unknown (which then let your coworkers know you aren’t working), etc.

The ads will integrate HD video content and aim to continue to provide viewers advertising content, now with integrated editorial content. I’m all for innovating the simple and old-school banner ad a bit, but making ads bigger, more intrusive and more disruptive isn’t the answer from my perspective.

As the story points out briefly, internet users don’t respond well to these types of ads, so I’m not sure making the ads bigger and more disruptive is the answer. The word after all is disruptive (root word; disrupt) and thanks to dictionary.com, I can say with certainty that associating an ad with any of these feelings might not leave the viewer feeling to good:

1. to cause disorder or turmoil in
2. to destroy, usually temporarily, the normal continuance or unity of; interrupt
3. to break apart: to disrupt a connection

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Posted in News | 181 Comments »

Cannes Ad Festival – Top 18 of 2009-10

June 30th, 2010 by Katie Winkler

I regularly review recent ads and videos from all over the country (if you don’t already, check out/subscribe to Out to Launch, a witty blog full of soon-to-be or recently launched campaigns, promotions, sites, etc.) so as I went through the list of the Cannes Ad Festival winners of 2009-10, I was surprised to run into only a few spots I had seen before.

My favorites, whether you’re asking or not are:

1. Puma’s “HardChorus” – I smiled the whole way through this.

2. WWF’s “Monkey” – A little weird at first, but completely heartbreaking

3. Canal’s “Closet” – uuhhm, it’s just funny!

A few of them are a little long, so check them out when you’ve got some time to kill.

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Posted in Design | 150 Comments »

Cupcake Cannon

June 21st, 2010 by Chris Strong

Always a supporter of diy technology development, I thought it was interesting to see that someone decided eating cupcakes with one’s hands was obviously outdated.

Enter the ‘Cupcake Cannon’ created by the folks over at Kamp Grizzly in Portland.

Apparently they made this for the recent Johnny Cupcakes ‘Suitcase Tour’ stop that rolled through and according to the story on their site the cannon they developed was “a steam-punk style pneumatic cupcake cannon and set the stage for eating frosty delights at 120psi.” The video was captured in HD and is now making its way around the web.

Who know watching people get blasted with cupcakes, in slow motion, with good tunes playing in the background would be so much fun. Nice work guys!

CUPCAKE CANNON from kamp grizzly on Vimeo.

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Posted in Technology | 135 Comments »

Celestial Navigations

June 15th, 2010 by Dan Barczak

Celestial Navigations: The Short Films Of Al Jarnow Trailer from numerogroup on Vimeo.

I grew up on these as a kid (Sesame Street and 3-2-1 Contact), and finally Al Jarnow is being recognized for his brilliant work. These animations have resurfaced and offer a trip back to simpler times of wonder and discovery. Introducing Al Jarnow, the mastermind behind the short films embedded into our collective memory. Celestial Navigations: The Short Films of Al Jarnow compiles a retrospective of Jarnow’s familiar animations along with his more obscure shorts.

There’s also a sweet disc compilation that comes with a 60 page book chock full of articles, stills, and production notes. It’s presented by the Numero Group, and includes all of Jarnow’s short films as well as a behind-the-scenes documentary on his journey from realist painter to filmmaker, detailing his creative process and sources of inspiration.

Thanks Grain Edit, for the find.

jarnow

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Posted in Design | 116 Comments »

How I Got Famous On The Internetz

May 25th, 2010 by Julie Hill

If anyone ever wants to take me to ROFLcon I will be all over that.

Till then, you can check out a video by Motherboard talking with some of the speakers of the event, including I Can Has Cheezburger, Regretsy, Autotune the News and more. It’s an interesting look into the humor, industry and downsides Interweb LOLz can have on the lives of those not intending to become viral sensations. Watch the video.

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Posted in Design, Thinking | 159 Comments »

More Color Chips

May 20th, 2010 by Julie Hill

paint_chip_bird

Buck and McKinney created a lovely paint chip universe for Sherwin Williams. Watch It Here!

paint_chip_froggo

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Posted in Design | 217 Comments »

Case Study: GE Healthymagination Showcase, NYC

April 26th, 2010 by Andy Brownell

Chairman and CEO of General Electric Jeffrey R. Immelt, center,GE assembled a veritable dream team of agency partners (including HyperQuake) to help drive the conversation around how technology and innovation can help solve some of the challenges we face today in health. Occupying space on 5th Avenue and 44th Street, the two-week event — filled with a mix of seminars and thought leadership panels — highlights the transformative role that technology and innovation play in delivering better health to more people.

Healthcare: A shared experience

GE came to HyperQuake to help develop a common narrative structure and character storylines to set the stage for the events for a variety of visitors (Physicians, Healthcare Administrators, Customers and Consumers). Through a series of short videos, this narrative became the consistent thread for connecting the goals of Healthymagination to a shared set of experiences all people may have as it relates to Healthcare.

Character narrative and storyline videos presented in the Healthymagination Showcase, New York City, October 2009.

Characters and experiences we can relate to.

On display throughout the futuristic space were 23 of GE’s latest healthcare innovations that spotlight breakthroughs in areas such as miniaturization, mobility, healthcare IT and molecular imaging used in cancer detection. The personal impact that these technologies can have was told through a series of patient vignettes told in first-person videos throughout the event space.

People are given a tour of the Healthymagination showcase on 10/

Project Agency Partners included: HyperQuake – Character Storylines and Narrative Development; Local Projects – Media Design and Production; Thinc Design – Exhibit and Sculpture Design; Urban A&O – Architectural Design.


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Posted in Case Studies | 268 Comments »

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