Target wants you to have a Big Honkin' Summer

I love these big, punchy, graphic, and colourful advertisements for Target.  They are so happy and cheerful, and noticeable while still being consistent with their usual branding.  Their agency also did a great job of recreating the spirit of the campaign in-store.

Their first stores are set to open in Canada in March/April of next year.  Are you excited?  Or is part of the charm of Tar-Jay that it is always linked to a cross-border adventure?  I know that I still love Crate & Barrel, but J. Crew is a bit of a disappointment for me.  I was watching a report on the National last night that was projecting what the arrival of big US companies like Target would mean for Canadian companies like Jacob and (American-owned) Sears and The Bay.  Do you ever consider nationality when you shop?  I know sometimes I will go to Canadian Tire before Home Depot when I am feeling nationalistic, but am usually lured by the price above all.

Agency: Target iH

Sr. CD: Jason Langer

CD: Jon Baugh

Sr. Art Director: Allan Peters

Jr. Art Director: Emily Reile

Writer: Anna Stassen

Illustrator: Tom DiTolla: Spectrum Studios

Found via Design Work Life

Fantastic Frank sells houses like nobody else.

OK, maybe somebody else out there sells houses this way.  If so, please contact me, because you are undoubtedly awesome. Fantastic Frank is a real estate agency out of Stockholm that styles and photographs its listings in completely unorthodox ways.  Seriously, I have never seen a bathroom countertop covered in fake teeth on mls.

For this particular flat, they decided to have a rock concert in the living room.  And we're not talking fake/hire-some-people-to-look-like-they're-rocking-out staging (which would in itself be pretty damn cool).  We're talking Peter Bjorn and John, going to town, complete with smoke machine.

I love the graveyard of Coke cans on the kitchen table.  Has a boring, run-of-the-mill apartment ever seemed so AWESOME?  It is sold, BTW.

Photos via Ideas To Steal cause I couldn't find them again on the Fantastic Frank site...

Blog Podium Inspiration = House Tour Completion

I had SO much fun at Blog Podium this weekend and learned a ton about how to monetize a blog.  Nicole Balch of Making It Lovely (one of the first blogs I ever subscribed to) gave an honest, relaxed, and informative keynote.  The ever-amazing Lindsay (of Aubrey and Lindsay's Little House Blog) and Jen (of Rambling Renovators) blew my mind with the fun, professional, absolutely-perfect event. Seriously - I want to be them when I grow up - FOR REAL! (as my 4-year-old keeps saying).   I went home with a huge to-do list for Wicked & Weird and will probably be tweaking things for months to come, or until my energy runs out.  Today I FINALLY got a chance to pull together some photos and text for my House Tour page that I made the link for months ago.  Hooray!

There are many great recaps of the conference out there, and if you are at all interested in the busine$$ side of blogging, I urge you to take a look:

1. Interior Groupie 
2. September and Sun
3. Bijou and Boheme
4. My Daily Randomness
5. Adding the Finishing Touch
6. Gallery No. 8
7. The 236

Here are some of the lessons that I will be taking to heart:

• Stats aren't everything  I have never considered to be "worthy" of advertising because I am such a small blog.  However, big numbers aren't the only thing the larger brands are looking for.  They also want to find blogs large and small that are a good fit content-wise, writers who are well connected to the 'scene' and are well-informed with a professional-looking blog, and bloggers who are engaged and engaging, with comments, tweets, and conversations.
• Oh Canada!  Brands large and small, international and domestic are looking to target geographically.  Let readers know right off the bat where you are writing from and that you are Canadian.
• Tweet Tweet Twitter Twitter  Be active and consistent on Twitter.  Many brand marketers are short on time and need to be on Twitter anyway for their job.  It makes things much easier if they can find you where they are and can see that you are engaged with the community.  Have a great Twitter List that shows you are connected with people these brands want to reach.
• Do your homework Reach out to brands you want to work with, don't wait for them to find you in a sea of blogs.  Research their products, their projects, and their style so you can prove that you really know them when you make the pitch and aren't just cut and pasting their name into a generic ask.
• Dress for the job you want  I have always tried to dress for the job I wanted and not the job I had.  I may have been Marketing Coordinator, but if people were looking around at all the coordinators in the city for a Marketing Manager, I wanted them to know in a glance that I was professional and prepared and ready to step right up.  So when Nicole said "Looking bigger than you are is the best way to get bigger than you are" I knew exactly what she meant: have a blog that looks established, that has a consistent feel to it, and write honestly and authoritatively.  
• Don't quit your day job  Errr, too late for me! :)  But I have confirmed my suspicion that while I can definitely make a little bit of fun money from the blog ("Canadian Tire money" as Christine said) I won't ever be earning a full-time income from it.  At least, not in Canada, and not now.  Things may change!

So you may notice a few changes here and there, and maybe a few ads popping up on the side.  (If you are interested in some seriously cheap test ads, let me know!)  I would love to hear if there is something about my blog that makes you come back, something you think I should make sure to keep up.  Likewise, if there are posts you just skip through when you see them, let me know that too!  I am crazy curious about what you all think about the stuff that I put out there.  Maybe I should start paying for comments?  Oh wait... that's actually the opposite of the idea... right.  I guess I won't be keynote speaker anywhere any time soon. :)

Marni for H&M - yes please!

I have always been a Marni fan - from afar of course.  My budget is a little more joe-fresh-gap-on-sale than straight-from-the-runway.  But the colours and patterns and cuts are so bright and fun, I always sigh a little sigh when I see their latest collection.  I did a dance of joy when I saw that they are the latest designer line to collaborate with H&M.  Now, I was at a store for the Comme Des Garcons collaboration launch and barely lived to tell about it, so I am not sure if I am brave enough to fight the crowds...(oh who am I trying to kid). I do worry though that some of these beautiful tribal patterns will look cheap and feel cheap in person. But they look lovely on-line!  I love the dresses and the bracelets.  There is nothing in the collection priced over $149 (most of the dresses are $99).  It will be in stores starting March 8 - I know my calendar is marked!

I also kind of love the shoes and the wacky leggings, although I ponder their practicality with my current wardrobe... I REEEEEEEALLY love that top dress, and the green African print...and those bracelets... this could get expensive!

All photos via Fashionologie from the Marni for H&M Look Book and official advertising campaign.

Beauty by Adobė

Have you seen this fabulous product by Adobė?  Honestly, the differences it can make to your face and body are almost ENDLESS!  Thanks so much to Jesse Rosten for producing this great infomercial, it is wonderfully eye-opening. :)

RRL Autumn/Winter Lookbook

The Autumn/Winter look book from Ralph Lauren brand RRL is sooooo awesome.  Some of it kind of  reminds me of that very cool (and super creepy) HBO series Carnivale.  Sure, you can't always actually make out the clothing... but it sure is evocative.  You can practically hear the clicking of the old film reel and the scratchy, tinny piano music...

via Found Free & Flea

Yay me!

HGTV.ca just had a giveaway on their blog for tickets to the fall home show and I own!  I am just going to go ahead and say that no one else must have entered - cause I NEVER win these things.  Today I got the tickets and some fun swag (that pen is anti-bacterial?). Having put together a lot of logo swag for the Symphony, I always get a kick out of seeing what other companies buy, and these are great. A girl can never have too many pocket measuring tapes!  Thanks HGTV!

Also to my partner-in-swag-crime Jessica - check out the notebook. :)  I can't wait to see the TSO's slick 90th anniversary version!   And maybe subscribers need a pocket interchangeable screw driver for 2011-2012?

Me = Runner ?

While at home in New Brunswick I have started learning how to run.  Since I am now a career mum, opportunities for fitness are harder to come by.  When I was working I could hit the yoga studio at lunch, or even go to the gym before kids... but now it is hard to find an hour to do anything, and there isn't that much around our house.  So running seems the perfect solution.

Every time I think of wanting to be able to run, I think of the Nike commercial above.  I remember seeing it on TV and loving it, and when I looked for it on YouTube (everything is on there!) I was surprised to see that it had been taken off the air after all kinds of complaints that it was making light of violence against women.  I find this surprising, as to me the spot is so empowering (and funny!).  The message I took from it was you have to save yourself and be your own hero.  (Being fit and gorgeous is just icing on the cake!)

I have been using the Couch to 10k app on my iPhone and I LOVE it so far.  It seems like a slow ramp up to actual running, but I can feel my legs getting stronger and my running sections getting more comfortable.  I highly recommend it.  It helps that my route along the river is just beautiful, even in the fog and rain.

It also feels good to discover my inner athlete - as an "artistic" kid I always thought sports and physical fitness were for the jock kids, and not something I should be involved in unless I was a sucker for embarrassment.  I hope my boys grow up feeling that they can be athletic AND artistic - at the same time!

What about you?  What are your fitness routines and priorities?  Anyone else feel like there just isn't enough time?

Enough typing - I gotta get my shoes on and hit the road! :)

Really Big Angry Birds

My friend David sent me this nifty video of what I think is a masterful promotional stunt.  Somewhere near Barcelona, T-Mobile set up this larger-than-life version of the ubiquitous (and addictive) Angry Birds game.  At the event, you could walk up to a booth and pick up a smart phone from the selection provided to play the game. Your moves would be played our in front of your eyes on a massive scale, complete with exploding pigs.  How satisfying would THAT be?

My only knowledge of T-Mobile are Catherine Zeta Jones (wasn't she a spokesperson?  When I hear "T-Mobile" in my head, it is her voice saying it!) and the Tour de France when Jan Ullrich was always-a-bridesmaid to Lance's domination (Jan's team was sponsored by T-Mobile).  In case you care, wikipedia helped me learn that this telecommunications company from Germany is present is 13 countries in the world: Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Monenegro, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, the UK, the US, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.  Notice that Germany is missing from the list?  Apparently T-Mobile hasn't been in Germany since 2011 (not sure why) and will also be out of the US, Puerto Rico, and U.S.V.I. as of next year when its purchase by AT&T is complete.

Don't say I never tell you anything.  Just make sure you add "useful." The power of the spot was that I actually just looked all that up, based on a viral video of really big angry birds.  That's clever advertising!

Sign of the Times

I love these 'ghost sign' photographs by UK photographer Tom Bland.  They remind me of some of the ones you used to be able to see in Saint John, especially a big Red Rose Tea one - was it on Prince William?  Wonder if they are still there... may have to make my own series when I get back to NB this summer!

Mr. Bland (shall I call him Tom?) had graphic designers as parents and was raised watching them at work. In his own words:

My parents are graphic designers, working as a duo from home in rural Northumberland. I grew up watching them go about their work on a big drawing board using a scalpel, spray mount, kappa board, acetate and letraset. [...] They’re now fully Mac-based of course, as I am myself – but when I think back to how they used to work it never ceases to amaze me how they were able to create what they did and work that way.

Ghost signs (as they are most commonly known) began to catch my eye when I moved to London, and I inevitably found it fascinating to think about how they’d been created and the level of skill and craftsmanship that was involved. I later realised how attractively some of the signs I was seeing had aged. I was seeing layers of typography, paint, colour – and combined with the texture of the crumbling and flaking materials, many of them were appealing to me as looking like contemporary pieces of design in the vein of work by the likes of Tomato or Ray Gun magazine. I felt that if these faded remnants of the past I was seeing around me were used on new book jackets or record covers for example, they would stand up incredibly well against a new piece of work, the signs having evolved and aged completely naturally in ways that contemporary designers or illustrators often emulate.

[...] Aside from the design and craftsmanship element, I love how ghost signs temporarily teleport you into the past, to a time when there were no digital billboards cluttering our view of the city. Having grown up in the countryside I often find myself wishing I didn’t see the visual pollution of advertisements everywhere I turn and wonder what it would take for London to emulate São Paulo and place a ban on billboards.

For the full quote, and all of his amazing "Sign of the Times" photographs, please check out his Flickr page or his website.