The Moonlight Sonata of Beetovan Blatz

A mennonite folk play in low german dialect was all I knew of The Moonlight Sonata of Beetovan Blatz going into this play. It turned out to be a delightful, funny, and insightful story of a mennonite couple, their odd house guest and the complications of mennonite life on the farm.

The play put on by Theatre Projects Manitoba (TMP) was written by Armin Weibe. Weibe is a Manitoba writer who's work includes many novels about Mennonite life, but this was his first play. It started out as a book, he says, but over the years and through the experience of working the idea in a playwriting class, he developed the idea into a play.

His writing translates beautifully onto the stage. The dialect and characters were all so well developed and engaging to watch. The actors did a fantastic job of bringing the characters to life. Everyone on stage was fully committed to the reality of the play and made this quirky world believable.

The music played live on stage by the Russian houseguest, Beetovan Blatz, added to the feel and atmosphere of the show. The actor playing Blatz did an excellent job of creating this strange and complicated character.

I personally enjoyed the quirky, slapstick ending of the play. It ended as oddly as it began and tied the story up with a cute storybook ending.

This was the best play I've seen at TPM, a company that regularly puts on interesting new works by Manitoba play writes. I hope this isn't the last time that Armin ventures into the world of playwriting.

My Buddy & Kid Sister Commercial

The song in this commercial has been stuck in my head since the 80s.

Hot Drinks

This Wendy's training video from the 80s is really funny.

Social Media - Facebook & Twitter

Social media is growing phenomenon in both the personal and professional world. In the professional world, Facebook and Twitter have much to offer in changing the way we communicate. These social media outlets can be used to create and maintain contact with clients, competitors, and the general public with a speed and efficiency that was not possible  just a short time ago. For the younger generation Facebook and Twitter are second nature. They use them to communicate with friends, post photos and keep in touch. This makes them natural social media experts and a hot commodity in the workforce - where people are still operating in the archaic style of sending emails and making phone calls. These methods of communication will always be around, but Facebook and Twitter open up greater opportunity for widespread, interactive with the public.

For those who use Facebook for personal reasons it's an outlet in which to create their own personal online profile. They can use it to keep tabs with friends, share pictures, make new social connections and find old friends and family that they have lost contact with. It's also a place to creep on ex-boyfriends, and find out more than you needed to know about your long lost bff from kindergarten. It can be a bit of a time suck leafing through pictures of people you hardly know, but it's also a way to stay in touch, share videos and photos and have fun with friends.

Professionally Facebook is a great way to get information out about your brand or organization. It allows you to connect to a community of people and get information out to your public. Facebook allows you to create events pages and invites and to quickly and easily get your message out to a large number of people. It also allow you  to track people visiting your site by following the likes and responses to invites. Twitter by contrast will send users in many different directions, but Facebook invites people to spend some time with your site and engage with your brand.

Twitter is a great way to stay abreast of current trends and create a personality for your brand or organization. The people and trends you choose to follow help to define your message. It allows you to get your message out fast and provides an opportunity for people to interact with your brand. For personal use, Twitter allows people to get information as it happens and find information and trends on almost any subject imaginable.

The Flintstones smoking

Advertising from the 1950s

I like ads from the 1950s. This one looks like a piece of art. Too bad TVs don't still look like this, maybe people wouldn't watch everything on their laptops.

1940s Advertising

We Can Do It! Rosie the Riveter

This poster is a popular image that came out of the women's movement
into workplace during World War II. This ad made it's debut in the 1940s and is still an image we are familiar with today. During the second world war while men where overseas fighting women took over their jobs back home. Women began to doing work that they did not traditionally do. When the men returned from war, many of the women returned to the home and to more traditional jobs. But some remained in the positions they had grown to enjoy during war time.

Dropping Money from the Sky

Pseudo Events
Creating News

A pseudo event is an event that is staged in order to create news and bring publicity to an organization or person. Tung Desum Waringin is an Indonesian businessman and motivational speaker, who is famous for his publicity stunts. In 2005, he rode through Jakarta on horseback dressed as a well known war hero in order to promote his first book. Then in 2008, he created a publicity stunt to draw attention to his book, Marketing Revolution. This event involved dropping 100 million rupiah from an airplane, over the city of Serang.

I think that his publicity stunt was a clever and successful way of promoting his book. The book's message is how to "increase your wealth by 2000 percent within six months-or less-with marketing" and this stunt shows that he knows what he's talking about. Instead of spending millions of dollars on the promotion of his new book, he was able to draw international attention in a short time and with less money. The story was covered in the Jakarta Post, on CNN, and is all over the internet, on blogs and websites.

The stunt also drew world wide attention to the poverty in Indonesia, where most people live on less than $2 per day. During the event grown men were snatching money from the hands of small children. 100 million rupiah is only about $10, 740 American dollars and does not exactly put a dent in the poverty that is faced in Indonesia.

His book became a best seller following the event, proving that the attention he drew was positive and his stunt was a success.

Book Reading-The McGillicuddy book of Personal Records

The book reading I attended was by Colleen Sydor, a Winnipeg children's book author. The book reading was held at the restaurant in McNally Robinson's Grant Park location. Most of the tables were full with what seemed to be supportive friends and family who listened attentively as the author took her place at the podium.  

Colleen Sydor had the air of someone who would write for children. She spoke in a soft, childlike voice and I almost felt as though at I was back in kindergarten, sitting on the soft carpet during story time. She was very cute and giggled often while she spoke of her experiences as a writer. She has published a few picture books and says she felt intimidated at first by a novel. But she was eager to read from her latest published work and dedicated the reading to a number of dogs that she mentioned by name.

She spent about 25 minutes reading different excerpts, giving a very good sense of the style and content of the story. It is told from the point of view of 13 year old, Lee McGillicuddy, who is a boy who wants to do something important in his life. In the meantime he enjoys finding records he can break.

The word that comes to mind when I reflect on her reading is, cute. Her story was written with quirky humour. She set it up like a movie set, opening each scene as she though she was explaining what it would look like if it were a film. She also opened each new chapter with quotes, usually involving dogs like, "To err is human, to forgive canine." She read some excerpts from a few chapters involving Lee, his best friend Rhonda, and his dog Santiago.

Although the main character is 13 years old, I think this story would be better suited to a younger audience. The writing is just a little too cutsie for pre-teens. But it was a fun and creative story and Colleen had a delightfully pleasant way of presenting her material.

Short Fiction-The Man in the Black Fidora

He was ready. Cool headed. Wearing his favorite jacket. Looking sharp. Nothing ever got to Jun Wan. At least that’s the impression he gave off. He sat back coolly in his seat and whistled quietly to himself. Nobody would suspect a guy like him to be up to no good. He looked like a regular young guy on the subway. Floppy hipster hairdo, nicely dressed, probably on his way to school or to a video game room to hang out with friends. But Jun Wan was anything but regular. He knew from a very young age that one day he’d change things. He didn’t know how. But he knew he would. And today on this subway, in a small city in South Korea, would be beginning of the rest of his life.

Across from him sat Park Jit. A funny young man, who had worn the same hat since the second grade. A black fidora, with a red feather on the side. Park Jit liked to appear strange and got off on saying strange things at inappropriate times. He spent a lot of his spare time making music montages in his basement apartment and hoped one day to own his own advertising firm where he could put his strange and interesting views on giant billboards. Little did Park Jit know, but he’d gotten on the wrong subway. And whether he liked it or not, his life was about change too.

In the pocket of his coat Jun Wan held the secret that would change everything. A small package, wrapped in white paper with the letters I.E.G. printed on it. And in exactly 18 minutes from now the contents of this package would be revealed.

Jun Wan glanced around the subway car, surveying the scene. Neon sign with red letters, man holding manuscript, falling in and out of sleep, a girl in a black dress, wearing a blond wig at the far end of the car, sitting slumped sideways against the seat. Was she drunk? high? He had seen this scene so many times before and could never quite decide. Jun wan had been dreaming of this same subway for months now. The lighting, the smell, the people…it was only Park Jit that didn’t fit. Park was not in the dream. Why was we here? What did it mean?

Jun Wan looked at the clock at the far end of the car, 8:46. Seventeen minutes left.  

Short Story Review-"The Yellow" by Samantha Hunt

Samantha Hunt is the author of two novels and various pieces of short fiction. Her short story “The Yellow," published in a recent edition of the New Yorker, follows the character Roy, a 42-year man who has recently moved back in with his parents.

Following a restless evening at home, Roy paints his room yellow in a moment of inspiration that leads to a series of events, involving hitting a dog with his car and a chance meeting with a stranger who is as lost as he is.

Hunt has a way of delving into the subtlety of her complex characters with humour and insight. The way she explains the characters is blunt and funny and yet at the same time heartbreakingly truthful.

She jumps right into the action of the story, showing Roy’s character through his reactions to sounds in the house and the way he thinks about his life. The way she describes the yellow of the painted room having such profound effect on him is written in a simple poetic style. She is able to portray a drastic change in Roy’s outlook on life in a very funny and interesting way.

The story continues to have this same engaging pace and quirky outlook as she introduces Samantha, an unhappily married woman, who is on the edge of a mental breakdown. Hunt illustrates this character’s sad and complex life with as much humor and insight, as she does her main character.

When by a twist of fate, involving a dog that Roy hits with his car, these two characters meet, the story takes a very interesting and unexpected turn.

I loved the way her characters thought and the funny dialogue between them. Hunt uses her dialogue very economically saying a lot with a few words. All of her characters are really funny, a little weird, and very interesting.

I literally laughed out loud many times while reading and was left feeling kind of sad and moved by the story.

The story ends rather abruptly and I didn’t quite know what to think. But it seemed to suit the weirdness of the characters to leave them hanging in the ambiguity of their lives. 

Comic Strip Style Ad from the 1930s

This is a Proctor & Gamble ad for Ivory Soap in 1935. I like the use of comic book style advertising and the way that it reflects domestic life in the 1930s.

Fashion Ads from the 1920s

After World War 1 the advertising market exploded. With the economic boom, people were more carefree and magazines were more geared toward consumerism. High fashion was very popular and many of the styles were borrowed from European fashion. 

Justrite Corset Ad-1902

The ads from the early 1900s were mainly done in black and white. The copy on the ad didn't try to sell the product the way ads do today. They mainly gave information about the product. These ads were much simpler than modern advertisements.

Ads From the Early 1900's-Coca-Cola

 This is an ad from the early days of advertising, 1901. It was around when coke was only available in soda fountains. The woman in the ad is actress and model Hilda Clark. She was the first spokesperson for coke.

F*** You Direct Energy-Buyer Beware

Direct Energy is and energy services company that was founded in 1985. The main service that they provide is a fixed rate on your primary gas. They are no longer taking new customers in Manitoba but they operate in many other provinces and states in North America. A group of students from my advertising class had heard some negative reviews of the company from people we knew. So, we set out to investigate the company and give consumers some information to help them make an informed decision about whether or not to use Direct Energy's services.

We looked into their sales tactics and services, customer satisfaction and ratings. Here is what we found:

Although the Public Utilities Board approves the companies right to sell gas at a fixed rate, the customers we encountered found the company's sales tactics appalling.

One customer, Scott Douglas, 30, signed up five years ago, and when his contract was up this year, he decided not to renew. Direct Energy's door to door representative did not take no for an answer.

"They won't stop coming to my house to try and get me to renew. I have turned them down twice, but they won't take no for an anwer. When I'm at work in the evenings, they come and harass my wife, telling her our rates with Manitoba Hydro are going to 'skyrocket'" he says.

Direct Energy's door to door sales people work on commission. So, it is in their best interest more than yours to make the sale.

We spoke with a former Direct Energy worker, who told us "The training was simple and it took me a day to memorize the pitch and details.."

So, the people coming to your door may not know what they're selling any more than you do.

We found over 50 different complains about the company on the "Complaints Board" (www.complaintsboard.com) and there is even a  website called Fuck You Direct Energy (www.fuckyoudirectenergy.com) devoted to informing the public of why they don't like Direct Energy.

The company has received a total of 441 complaints from consumers in the last 36 months and have received a grade of "F" from the Better Business Bureau.

Customers complain that Direct Energy uses scare tactics, telling them that the price of gas is on the rise and they need to act now. They also say that they are misinformed and led to believe that Direct Energy is their only option for gas services. Check out the websites posted in this blog and see for yourself.

Our advertising group concludes that Direct Energy is a company that would be better to avoid. Luckily here in Manitoba we don't have to worry about it anymore.

The Social Network

I found the movie The Social Network very interesting. I had no idea that there was such a crazy story behind the making of the popular Facebook site.

I think that the film did paint Mark Zuckerberg in a negative light. The opening of the film, with his girlfriend calling him an asshole and him proceeding to start up a site to rate the girls at the college, set it up that he was not going to be a particularly likeable character. The actor portraying him didn't seem to be a very emotional person. He came across as driven and very smart, but also kind of pompous and immature. When he spoke with lawyers he was very condescending. He was good at the witty come backs, but came across as whining kid, as opposed to just being honest about what the facts were. It didn’t seem like terribly good PR for himself. I don’t know if Mark Zuckerberg is like this in real life. I wonder if actually gives off an air of cynical arrogance, like the character in the movie. When I googled pictures of the real Mark Zuckerberg, he's always smiling and looks kind of dorky and innocent. I don't think I saw his character smile once in the movie. So, I'm left wondering if this really was an accurate portrayal.

Zuckerberg’s lack of loyalty for his friend and co-founder made him appear to lack integrity. He seemed to be just out for himself and only concerned with power and money. He ignored his friend’s concerns about taking the advice of the smooth talking Napster guy, made big decisions without consulting his friend and in the end pretty much cut him completely out of the company. If these things are true then I suppose the film didn’t have to try very hard to paint Zuckerberg negatively. He already did a fine job of painting himself negatively by making so many bad decisions. But the film certainly didn’t show his character feeling much remorse for his actions. The film did, however, make him out to be very intelligent and quick witted. So, perhaps people will be more forgiving of his antics because they are impressed by his ability to be so business savvy.

I don’t think the film will have much impact on the popularity of the site. I know for me personally I was more than a little disgusted with the way that Mark Zuckerberg’s character acted. I was impressed that he was so sharp, but that paled in comparison to the choices he made in building the company. I left feeling like I didn’t have much respect for Facebook and it's creators. It's no longer a company I want to endorse. But I don't think most people put much thought into who invents the social networks they use, they just become part of our daily lives. No one knew Mark Zuckerberg’s name before the movie and I have a feeling that the negative feelings about him will do very little to effect the popularity of the site. I don't like Mark Zuckerberg now, but I didn't know who he was two days ago. 

After reading the Mark Zuckerberg’s “PR” response I really don’t feel know how to feel. He takes a very light hearted response to the way his character is portrayed. It makes me unsure if this is just a strategy to avoid dealing with the issue. I think it’s better then getting really upset. But I’m not sure I know how he really feels about the movie. He doesn’t outright say that it isn’t an accurate depiction of him or the events that took place. He says it’s a movie and that it’s fiction. What about it is fiction? He isn’t being very clear. The donations did seem like bad timing. He just kind of comes off as a schmuck,  but not necessarily a huge asshole. His response to the movie doesn't really do anything to change my feelings on his lack of integrity and maturity. I think he should have just said honestly where he felt the movie exaggerated things for dramatic purposes and owned up to the ways in which it didn’t. I think that if he just admitted to not doing things perfectly and highlighted that idea of “to make you make a 500 million friends you have to make a few enemies”, I would have more respect for him. 

Social Media Ad for Volkswagen

Check out this great use of social media by Volkswagen.

They created a short 2 minute video on YouTube to promote their product. The video went viral and has had over 13 million views. They used a very creative concept that makes it appealing to the YouTube audience, while advertising the company at the same time. I think it's really great!

Sam vs Judy-The Mayoral Debate

Sam and Judy put on quite a show in Red River's cafeteria on Wednesday morning. The cameras and newspeople transformed the cafeteria into a dramatic debate zone. I had no idea civic politics could be so exciting!

Who won the debate?

It's hard to say. Both candidates seemed to be making a lot of the same points and finding ways of making each other look bad. This made for an entertaining event, but didn't really leave me as informed as I would have liked to be on some of the details of the major issues. 

Sam came across as the more articulate and confident of the two, looking more relaxed and having shorter more concise answers. Although, he did seem a bit sarcastic and pompous at times. Especially when trying to undermine Judy because she didn't own a business. 

Judy, on the other hand, talked too much. She had lots of say, but a lot of it was just the same things over and over again. Apparently, almost any problem in Winnipeg can be solved by building a community centre. 

Both candidates did a lot of talking around the issues, instead of just telling us what their action plans were for meeting the needs and concerns of Winnipeggers. 

I was left with quite a few questions..... 

How is Sam Katz going to get the money for a Light Rail Transit system? 

Will the property tax increase really have a negative effect on the most vulnerable citizens? 

Is Sam hiding things from the public? 

Does Judy really have all her receipts in her garage?

In the end, I may not have all my questions answered, but it was really neat to actually see the candidates in person and get a better sense of what they're all about. Plus, it was fun.

"JUST DO IT"

The "Just Do it" campaign started in 1988. It was a reaction to excercise craze of the 80s. Reebok put out it's first athletic shoe in 1982 and was "sweeping the aerobics race." Nike needed to do something in response. With the "Just Do it" campaign Nike was able to increase its share in the sports shoe industry from 14% to 43% between 1988 and 1998. It showed that anyone could wear these shoes and be athletic by just doing it.

I find the inspiration behind the slogan particularly interesting. "Just do it" was inspired by words famously spoken by a man named Gary Gillmore. Gary Gillmore was a "notorious spree-killer" who was executed by a firing squad in 1977. His famous last words were, "Lets do it."

Vintage Twitter Ad

This is an ad by Brazilian ad agency Moma Propaganda. It's part of their ad campaign "Everything Changes Fast". I like the use of vintage style advertising for a modern advertisement. It's ironic and fun to use this angle. I think it's a perfect way to use vintage design. 

To Tweet or Not to Tweet?

As a new member in the land of twitter my initial reaction is "What is the point of this?" I'm told that this new form of social media is an innovative way of communicating in business. But I'm not convinced...yet. As I stare blankly at my twitter screen I have no idea where to start.
It feels like twitter is a sea of scattered thoughts, most of which seem of little or no interest to me. Perhaps this is because my own mind is already a sea of scattered thoughts. I don't feel like have enough room for any more. I like that I'm only forced to be an audience to one brain, that's more than enough for me. In a world where images and ideas are flashed at us at a neck- breaking pace, I'm overwhelmed at the thought of adding yet another form of social media to my repertoire. I'm afraid my brain might actually explode. I want to keep an open mind. I'm sure my grandparents thought the t.v. was a little overwhelming at first. But moving with the times seems a necessary part of life. Who knows, maybe I'll be won over by the twitter bug. I was a late adopter of the cell phone and swore I'd never text. Now I send and receive so many texts a day that I could easily be mistaken for a high school student. Well....time will tell.

ART & COPY

This is a really cool documentary on advertising. It shows some of the most creative and innovative advertisers and the impact of their work. It starts with the 1960's and progresses to more current advertising. It's an inspiring look at how some of the most familiar ad campaigns came about and the creative innovators who made them happen.