Nail Tarantino to Your Wall

Tired of trying to convince your girlfriend that Tarantino’s movies really are art (believe me, I’m as flabbergasted as you that someone can’t see the subtle similarities between the ‘Royale with Cheese’ scene and the Mona Lisa)?

Well, now you can prove the artistic contribution of Herr Big Chin beyond a shadow of a doubt, thanks to the beautifully simple art-deco-inspired designs of Toronto-based artist Ibraheem Youssef. These simple posters are inspired by Tarantino’s finest works, including Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill and Inglorious Basterds.

Youssef takes plot devices and images from each film and works them into a subtle, yet stylish design. Now every time you look at your art collection, you can fill your heart with warm memories of the needle scene in Pulp Fiction or fond memories of the Bear Jew hitting a ‘home run’ from IB.

Class up your space with these unique pieces of film memorabilia today. Afterall, even you can admit that these have more artistic flair than that Shazaam! poster you stole from the Loews Cineplex in Junior High… but just barely.

Accidentally Awesome

Here’s just another reason why commercials outside of the US are so much better: public service announcements. In the States, PSA’s usually include some boring, out of work actor preaching to us about something even your four year old nephew learned in kindergarten  (cue the “the more you know” shooting star).  But north of the border, PSA’s get the hard-hitting action they deserve.

Check out this series of Canadian PSA’s titled “There Really Are No Accidents” and be careful out there, eh?

Tap dat Task… Pro Bo-no

Marketing execs and creatives are evil people that shove unessential products down the populace’s collective throat and add to the consumerist, materialistic nature of our society, right? Well, yeah… but that’s only from nine to five.

Adding a silver lining to the little black rain cloud of the ad industry is the Taproot Foundation – the country’s largest nonprofit consulting firm, helping other nonprofits improve on their marketing messaging, design and strategy. Taproot was founded in 2001 by a team of socially minded marketers who noticed that most nonprofits spend limited grant money on silly things like staffing and advocacy – and overlook those truly noble items like branding and design. Add to that a vast pool of advertising professionals who are eager to buy back a small portion of their souls and voila – you have a match!

Taproot draws from the vast talent (please stifle your laughter) of marketing executives, strategists and creatives who volunteer part-time for six-month project stints working in a team setting for a particular grant. But don’t call them marketing martyrs – volunteers not only get a chance to give back, but also to network with fellow industry professionals, pad portfolios and expand skill sets.

This month, Taproot celebrated it’s 1,000th completed grant – a number that represents millions, if not billions of dollars of top-notch marketing work. And with Taproot groups in over a dozen international cities, the next 1,000 will prove to go down even more smoothly.

Interested in getting your good on? Learn more about volunteering with Taproot. ‘Cuz bro, there ain’t nothing like doing it pro bono.

So Fresh and So Clean Clean

You know when you see that truly great ad or commercial? The one the makes you involuntarily nod in agreement or laugh so hard you wet your Dockers (good luck getting urine stains out of pleats)? You probably think to yourself, ‘Oh man, whoever came up with that bit is a genius.’ And maybe he’s good or maybe he’s lucky, but chances are at the beginning of his career he wasn’t both – and in most cases, he was neither.

Showing us the inherent humility of the ad industry is Freshman Ads, a showcase for successful ad mavens to share their first-ever project – most likely devised at a time when they weren’t that good, they weren’t that lucky and they were probably writing copy in Wichita for Two-Toothed Suzie’s Barnyard Bonanza.

Got a good ol’ bit to share? Send it to the boys at freshmanads@gmail.com and they’ll most likely throw your work up on the wall of pain. Because, after all, it’s good to remember where you came from – but I’d advise you to take that radio jingle from Two-Toothed Suzie’s out of your portfolio. Seriously, enough’s enough.

Things Just Got a Bit Classier Around Here…

What better way to celebrate the day that the Bee’s Knees’ views reached the 1,500 mark than to shine our shoes a bit?

For regular readers (both of you), things may look a little different around here. We went with a new theme and got a fresh, new custom header – many thanks to Nathan Heigert. I kind of liken the upgrade to when you know you have a hot girl coming by your bachelor pad, so you take the time to dust off your Indiana Jones action figures (no, they are NOT dolls) and gather the dirty socks into a neat little pile. Yeah, like I said, it’s getting really classy around here.

A big thanks to all that have stopped by to check out this little blog that could! I hope that once in a blue moon it makes you chuckle or at least introduces you to a cool item you didn’t know about. And, most of all, keep reading – because you know there’s more stylin’ stuff coming down from the hive in the future.

Cheers!

-Evan Thoreau Heigert

Smells Like a Winner, Man.

Much like a spice-scented snowball picking up speed down a chest-hair-laden slope (how’s that for creative imagery?), Old Spice’s “Smell Like a Man, Man” campaign has slowly but surely become the funniest bit in your commercial break.

Following in the footsteps of classic, yet self-aware, brands such as Canadian Club, Old Spice has reflected on its stale-but-vintage reputation and made a point to (bad pun alert) spice it up. While it may still be that last minute gift you pick up for your dad on Christmas Eve, it’s also one of those things that makes a man a man… man. And they know that.

So, just when you thought their ads couldn’t get any more on target, they do. Consider this the ad that should have taken the prize on Super Bowl Sunday, but didn’t. Nonetheless, get spicy with it now.

The Write Stuff

You know that really great idea you have for a movie? The one where Colonel Sanders fights 100-foot chickens on a distant planet in order to save Earth from the diabolical Count Cockadoodler. You know how you just can’t seem to get the story on paper, because every time you sit down at the computer you end up playing Farmville and fighting off cravings for KFC?

Well now’s your chance to put your money where your winghole is, beak boy: Script Frenzy is a month long challenge for writers to create 100 pages of original screenplay content from April 1 to April 30th. With nearly 20,000 writers already priming their typewriters for the event, you’ll have plenty of peers to commiserate with (and steal ideas from).

If you don’t have a sure-fire blockbuster like the one above, check out the automated Plot Machine – one spin of the wheel will give you a setting, protagonist and theme. For example: “While drowning in the Caspian Sea… a Mongoose… is mistaken for Elton John and decides to just go with it.” Hey, that’s not half bad… you think Leo DiCaprio is up for the role?

Worried because you’ve never written a screenplay before? No probs. Check out their writing resources like the Intro to Screenwriting, complete with guidelines, tutorials and directions for formatting your screenplay properly - you know, so that the ‘Love Song to Chicken Little’ doesn’t get attributed to the wrong character.

With Script Frenzy, you’ll be booking your tickets to the Oscars in no time – oh, and I want to be third on your thank you speech – right after Jesus and Tyson Buffalo Wings.

Excuse My French

Ah, ze French. Not only are they great lovers and artists, but they have improved on so many run-of-the-mill things – like toast and kissing and ticklers. And thanks to a small, independently owned design company, now you can add paper to the long list of Francofied goodness.

Okee, although they are technically Americans (fascist pigs!), the French Paper Company is really doing awesome things with modern day papyrus. And this ain’t your grandpappy’s typing paper either – FPC is creating some of the most unique and interesting weights, designs and textures to be found on either sides of the pond. Sample from their best sellers – organized by themes like Construction and PopTone – or get real weird with it and select the weights, additives and colors for your own custom stock. ‘Cuz that’s just how you roll.

Founded way back in 1871 (okee, so maybe it is your Grandpappy’s paper), FPC is the nation’s smallest and most eclectic independent paper manufacturer. And while their paper comes in every color under the sun, they’re the original green company – operating by hydroelectric power since 1922. Now that’s harnessing the power of my favorite planeteer!

Don’t have a use for cool paper? Check out their gift shop, where you’ll find notebooks, dinner ware, cool retro-styled posters, envelopes and even soap. Because everyone knows that talking about paper can really get a guy sweaty.

Love in the Age of Copywriting

All you need is love… and sometimes 500 words of SEO copy with 10-12% keyword density.

Combining both, just in time for Valentine’s Day, is 10,000 Words – a blog for aspiring journalists and writers.

Their annual VDay cards for writers will tug at the heartstrings – and Steno pad – of your fav correspondent or wordsmith.

For, just as the great Bard said, “A Rose by any other name is just another typo.” Or maybe that was his editor talking.

Find more great articles, information, tips and more for writers and journalist at www.10000words.net.

And if you’re the kinda guy (or gal) who likes to prank your special sweet cheeks – or just  send her away crying – check out Amazon’s best list of bad Valentine’s Day ideas. Because who said that April Fool’s day didn’t fall on February 14th this year?

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make a Movie

Easy Peesy Lemon Squeezy

By now we’re all tired about hearing about the economy, about the recession, about the skyrocketing unemployment. And yet, that’s all they talk about on the news, in political speeches, on blogs and forums. It’s kind of like poking at a sore tooth to make it hurt – you don’t know why you do it, but you do it anyway.

But when this video – produced and starring laid-off ad industry professionals – hit the webwaves, you could tell it was something different. The title says it all. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade (or Ceviche, which I think is much tastier).

View full version at Hulu.

The video centers on the ad industry – one of the hardest hit in recent years – but that’s just a jumping off point. Sure, there are a lot of creative thinkers and artists that make up these case studies, but really this should serve as a wake up call for anyone that has to drag themselves into work everyday. There’s a better life out there, to be sure. And maybe all it takes is one fuzzy black raincloud to show us our personal silver linings.