Spam

I am not very tech-savvy. Well, rather I am reluctant to new technology. As a small-town girl, I'm probably one of the most technologically advanced of those in my circles. But for being in the communications field, I am a little behind. It took me longer than a lot of people to get Facebook but I'm quite addicted now. I only got Twitter today and it already fascinates me.

However, both of these social networking sites seem to think I'm some sort of spammer. In the past week I have received two different notifications to stop "going so fast." While on Facebook, I sent the same message to a number of people about a surprise baby shower. After about 7 of these messages, Facebook gave me this notification:



It says "Warning! You are engaging in behavior that may be considered annoying or abusive by other users. Facebook's systems determined that you were going too fast when sending messages. You must significantly slow down. Further misuse of site features may result in a temporary block or your account being permanently disabled."

Stop going so fast? Significantly slow down? Fine then. It's Facebook's fault if not everyone shows up to the shower. I dont' want my account being shut down. Then today, I was rapidly following friends on Twitter when I received this notice:



I give up. I try to conform to technology, but it hates me. I am not a spammer. I just get excited too quickly.

Worst Local Commercials

With the holidays fast approaching many people are pulling out all the stops to you get shopping at their store. This means stretching the advertising budget and finding new ways to get people's attention. While most companies seek out professional help to come up with the best print ad, radio spot, and television commercial, some people, think they can do it on their own. This is a great example of how much the world needs advertisers. I found these videos online and couldn't believe how bad thy were. I was shocked that someone out there would actually allow them to run on television. Check them out, you truly have to see them to believe em.

Worst commercials

Muppets Bohemian Rhapsody

If you grew up loving The Muppets and have any admiration for Queen, you will love this new viral video. Muppets Bohemian Rhapsody depicts The Muppets performing the famous Queen song, using every recognizable Muppet including Miss Piggy, Gonzo, and Animal. It was released on November 23, and was produced by Muppets Studios. The hilarious Muppet version imitates the actual song with a few added lyrics, but it also mimics Queen's original video. In only one day of being posted on YouTube.com, the video has received over 2 million views.

Apparently, the video is only one of a series of Muppet viral videos. A few others will be, "American Woman," "Carol of the Bells," and "Stand by Me."

The humour of the video is more in the knowledge of the original Muppet characters than anything else. But no matter what, you should find it at least a little entertaining.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgbNymZ7vqY

Fun for a Cause

This past weekend I had my first fundraiser for my IPP. I live in a small town, so I planned an event that catered to that audience. I had sort of a smorgasbord of events including a BBQ, garage sale, bake sale, silent auction, and even manicures and pedicures. Interestingly enough, that beauty station was mostly dominated by men.

Once my Saturday event was over, I decided to open it up to people after church on Sunday. This proved to be more successful than I imagined, and shows the power of advertising. Give people the option of easy-access lunch after church, and they will give you money!

Here are some images of the event that raised over $500 for Autism Society Manitoba.

Image is everything...

As ad majors we are constantly struggling with finding the most creative and effective way to get our message out. After hours of perfecting our copy and headline then comes the challenging task of finding the perfect image to help us sell our product. But what happens when the image you choose sends the wrong message? What if it accidentally insults people and turns them off your product altogether? How do you know when choosing that image that it will truly work? While it might seem that it would be obvious it's not as easy as you would think. Don't believe me? Check out these ads that did just that.... can you tell what they are selling?

Trivia Night

Do you have a wealth of knowledge of seemingly useless facts? I feel that a lot of people in CreComm know a lot about random things that can now be put to good use! In support of the ad majors' trip to Chicago, Trivia Night at the King's Head Pub will be happening tonight at 7:30.

Come to watch or join a team for $5 a person with a chance to win fantastic prizes, including gift certificates for the King's Head and Tim Hortons. Use your knowledge of Trivial Pursuit, Red River College, CSI, Sex and the City, and the King's Head! Even if you haven't joined a team, it will be a fantastic game to watch. Cheer on your friends, shout out the answers obnoxiously, or challenge another team. It'll be worth it!

Nice people

As part of our ad class, we were required to brand ourselves through a series of questions such as, "What is your brand vision?" and "What is your brand promise?" Yesterday we were required to present our personal brand in front of the class. We each had to rate our peers on how we thought their brand aligned with their actual personality. They were all very entertaining, but I was really surprised by a recurring theme.

Nearly every person stated that they strive to put others first, and to be a genuinely nice person.

Obviously most, if not all, people want to be liked and treated with respect. In order to receive that, you need to treat people the same way. But it seems that our world has become very self-centered and self-focused. More people are wanting to be career-driven, have no kids, and become so busy that they don't have time for anyone else. So I was rather encouraged to hear that people still have a desire to love others.

However, showing love for others is more than just asking someone how their day is going. It's hard work, and will require some of your time. Here are some ideas to really put others before yourself.

-Volunteer your time somewhere. Yes, work for free. It is definitely worth it.
-Compliment at least three people every day.
-When you ask someone how they are doing, really listen to what their answer is.
-Show the same love and respect to every single person you encounter.

No one even comes close to being perfect when it comes to loving others. But if you want to try, don't just do it when it's convenient for you. Go all out.

-Melanie

The joys of being an ad major...

Being an ad major obviously means hard work, but it also means... fun! Today we got to go bowling with all the first year Creative Communication students. It was an afternoon to mix, mingle, and bowl. I also used it as a way to take a break from all the work and become inspired, since inspiration can come from everywhere. And well now I'm definitely inspired to join a bowing league. Perhaps I will drop out of school and pursue a professional bowling career? Probably not considering my score was not very impressive. Oh well, I guess it's a good thing I still have Crecomm, and lots of fun memories from my bowling afternoon.

Windows 7

I'm sure many of you have seen some form of advertising for the new Windows 7. My first introduction to it was actually from my wonderful, but rather technologically impaired mom who subscribes to coupon websites. Through one of these discount databases, she saw a deal on something called Windows 7, and asked me if I knew what it was. Her description made it sound like a slightly advanced version of Microsoft products, and once I did a little digging, I found that's pretty much it. Since I was so confused about the product, and am still a little unclear as to what Microsoft is trying to do, I'll give you the "Windows 7 for Dummies" version.

Windows 7 is the new Windows Vista. But apparently better. It has a new task bar, a home networking system, and various performance improvements. The improvements include:

-Immediate start up when you turn your PC on
-More parental control with monitoring websites
-A detailed search engine in the start menu to look for your files
-The ability to "snap" documents you're working on to see them side-by-side
-A task bar you roll your mouse over to find the files you were recently working on

If you're at all familiar with Apple products, you'll notice that these new features are awfully similar to PC's opposition. The short ads with people who show you how to use the new features even end their script with, "I'm a PC and that's how it's done," or "I'm a PC and my job here is done." You can view all of the videos if you follow the link below.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/what-is-windows-7.aspx

The new software costs up to $219.99, depending on the type of upgrades you want. But if you're anything like my mother and subscribe to smartcanucks.ca, you can get it for only $64 if you're a student. If you're not a student, you can spend $200 on new PC software. Or you can buy a new Mac with all the same plus even better features for under $1,000. Take your pick.