various

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from Adverbox , Houtlust , and another Houtlust post.

One Year Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina Destruction

I'm not going to bring any politics into The Ranch so I'm just going to post this GSD&M created TV spot as a tribute. Although I did notice that the NY Times coverage of the White House's role in it was different in severity than other newspapers.

The singer, I believe, is New Orleans native Aaron Neville (sp?).

Advice: Use dancing bears in ads for success

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Scott Johnson, the ECD of Tribal DDB Dallas, wrote a very pertinent and interesting article about modern day consumers and advertising in Adweek (02/27/06). I really like his style of writing; it's succinct and to the point.

I particularly liked this excerpt:

Technology has made concepts like accuracy and accountability almost quaint. Consumers understand this better than most advertising agencies.

from brand flakes for breakfast

Be a hamster

I was watching Yahoo's The 9 web show, which counts down nine cool things on the web, and there's a crazy new toy called a Zorb. You put yourself in it and you can roll around like hamsters do in their toy balls. Another cool thing about Zorb is that the US headquarters are located in Austin.

The Houdini Solution

There's a new book, to be released Aug. 31st, about creativity out by Ernie Schenck. Does his name sound familiar? It's because he's the guy who writes all those insightful articles in Communication Arts. Based on his credentials alone, I'm thinking this book will be exciting and helpful.

Because it's not out yet, here's the official book description on Amazon.com.

Book Description

Transform the shackles of conformity into the tools for generating amazing, unconventional results

Houdini performed his greatest tricks within the confines of a box. Now one of the advertising industry's brightest and most innovative stars shows you how to do likewise: to use the power of thinking inside the box to unleash the power of innate creativity.

Who hasn't been extremely creative when boxed into an exceedingly tight deadline or budget? The Houdini Solution introduces a radical theory of how to generate more focused and powerful ideas by accepting, and even thriving on, constraints instead of being controlled by them. Filled with inspiring anecdotes and intriguing exercises that will yield surprising results, this book will spur you on to unleash the full power of your creativity, work magic in the workplace, and succeed beyond your wildest dreams.

Smirnoff Tea Partay

Agency: BBH NY