Selfish ads

We were required to create an ad for our "favourite product" being ourselves. I made mine very sappy and "feel good," but I suppose that reflect who I am. For the record, my middle name is Joy.


Every day you drive to the same office, work at the same desk, and see the same people. Your co-workers aren’t boring, but they seem to have lost their initial excitement and joy. No one laughs at your apparently cheesy jokes anymore, or lets you know they like your new haircut.

You need a Melanie.

Melanie is the joy you need to brighten your day. Even the ornery old man who probably should have retired by now will crack a smile at the sound of her laugh.

She will always ask you how your weekend was, and never miss an opportunity to hand out a cheerful card.

But don’t mistake her liveliness for silliness or negligence. Melanie is bursting with creative ideas that she has the ability to put to excellent use. Her exuberance gives her the willingness to listen to any idea, now matter how initially ridiculous. She will undertake any task with efficiency and precision. But most importantly, Melanie will do it with passion and a smile.

Olympic commercials

Like most Canadians, I spent much of my time during the past two weeks watching various Olympic sports. But being an ad fan, I paid close attention to the commercials in between events. And I thought it felt like the Superbowl! The quality and entertainment value of the ads was quite high, and were thoroughly enjoyable to watch. I even took the time to rewind a few of my favourites with my new-found PVR. There were obviously ones that got repetitive and irritating, like the talking Chevy cars, and ones that didn't seem to fit. McDonalds: Eat like an Olympian? I'm pretty sure Olympic athletes stay as far away from fast food as possible. But here are some of my favourites that never got old.

The ad for British Columbia. I can never get enough Ryan Reynolds.

The patriotic Coca-Cola ad. Especially the updated gold medal version.

And finally, the hilarious Old Spice ad. I want that man for more than his smell.

Work placement

As a part of CreComm, we all got to go on three week work placements. It was such a great experience getting to do what we love in the real world. Here is a little recap as to how mine went.

I, Melanie, was at CHVN and Ignite 107 radio, and most of my time was spent following employees throughout their day to learn about the station. I did a large variety of jobs including organizing CDs, determining target audiences for contests, creating PowerPoint presentations, connecting with youth pastors, voicing radio ads, and creating a large database of all of Winnipeg's churches.

I was also part of a project called "Brewed Awakening" where employees of the station went to various bus stops around Winnipeg from 7-8 am to hand out free Tim Horton's coffee and donuts. Besides spending time with deejays and prayer meetings every morning, this was my favourite part of the job. My most valuable moments were when I was just having regular conversations with people and learning about the stations and everyone's roles.


I learned more about how a radio station works, the process of ads from client to air, the importance of sales representatives, and that deejays are rarely ever live on-air. Although I will probably not immediately pursue a career in radio, I will be applying for their summer events position, and it was an excellent experience overall.

A Little Christmas Cheer?

With our last week of school being in full swing stress levels are high. Everywhere you go there seems to be more and more Bah Humbugs than happy holidays. Therefore I decided that what everyone needs is to watch this video for some much needed Christmas cheer. Enjoy and if nothing else I hope it puts a smile on your face.

Branches of Joy

This past Saturday, a group of 13 friends and myself participated in an outreach event called Branches of Joy. The idea came from one of my friends from high school, and the purpose is to bring joy to the elderly who are often alone over Christmas.

All day we decorated 42 mini Christmas trees with donated ornaments and made Christmas cards. We then spent over an hour at the St. Adolphe personal care home visiting with seniors, giving them trees and cards, and listening to their stories. It was so amazing. Many people were very out of their comfort zone while trying to communicate with some people who were almost non-verbal. But everyone did a fantastic job, and all of the seniors and staff really appreciated it. One man kept thanking us over and over again for making his day and even his life. It was so sweet, and I think that we were just as blessed as they were. It felt so good to bring joy to people who are otherwise sad, in pain, and lonely. This may have been one of the best parts of my Christmas.

Someone's Trash is someone else's treasure

As previously mentioned our ad class is fundraising to go to Chicago. On Monday we will be having a garage sale at our school and you should definitely come by and check it out. There will be some great deals and who knows, maybe you'll get all your Christmas shopping done? Check out our Facebook page for more info.

12+1=Losing the Grey Cup

I got and interesting email from friend, anyone who watched the Grey Cup this weekend may find it funny. Sorry to any Rider's Fans.