Your job is killing you.
According to The Huffington Post, hours of sitting motionless in front of computer screens are driving us all to truly motionless positions in satin-lined boxes. The long hours, the sleepless nights, the junk food, the stress, it all adds up in a big way. A permanent, and often premature way. (more…)
As you’ve probably heard, national hero Neil Armstrong passed away on August 25th. The first human to set foot on the moon, not only was Armstrong smart, he was apparently a great writer. His immortal words: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” have gone down in history as one of the greatest quotes of the twentieth century. It’s well deserved—was that not the perfect thing to say? Imagine trying to come up with a tagline for space travel; I can’t imagine a better one. To think, what if Buzz got out there first? And all he said was a loud, “Eat it, Russia!” The moment could have gone an entirely different way. (more…)
Will any of you take me up on this? Unless your job is to operate a computer – get away from your computer!
Get out of the office, and leave it behind, chained to your desk where it belongs.
The best ideas have been received in bars and coffee shops, garages and showers, beds and walks and shopping trips. Digital tools are so seductive, our lust for seeing our idea produced is so overwhelming, we are missing the whole game. (more…)
Any agency worth its salt has a ping pong table. It’s a pervasive phenomenon, but why?
As David Ogilvy said, “When people aren’t having any fun, they seldom produce good advertising.” There’s definitely been research to back that statement up; one study from Australia showed that cruising the internet just for fun during work hours increased productivity in employees. As the study author put it: “People need to zone out for a bit to get back their concentration… Short and unobtrusive breaks, such as a quick surf of the Internet, enables the mind to rest itself, leading to a higher total net concentration for a days’ work, and as a result, increased productivity.” (more…)
On Fast Company last week, Baratunde Thurston, comedian and former Director of Digital for The Onion, recounted a social media anecdote that would make any digital marketer squirm: he mistakenly activated a 3rd party tool for Twitter that spammed The Onion’s entire following every time they got a new follower. While his story may give me nightmares for weeks, the portion of his piece that really stood out was the importance of brand authenticity within the social space:
“For companies that see this new frontier as a marketing opportunity (and that’s basically all of them), it is a thin line between relevant and creepy stalker. You want to be where the conversation is and join it in an ‘authentic’ way, but just because someone is talking about your product does not mean he wants to talk about it with you. (more…)
We pride ourselves on doing heroic things for our clients. But working with organizations like National Jewish Health puts that kind of heroism in perspective. In our client’s organization, people are routinely retrieved from death’s door, as NJH is recognized as the world’s leader in curing MDR (Multi-Disease Resistant) lung infections. Returning soldiers have hope of better heath and breathing because of National Jewish Health. The best practices of respiratory medicine, the technology that becomes the standard, and the breakthroughs that give people life and breath… it really is true that the people of National Jewish Health NEVER SAY NEVER. (more…)
Larry Olmstead
Contributor, Forbes
Loyal readers will know that while I cover sprits regularly, I rarely drink or endorse vodka, which I consider the lowest common denominator in the spirits world. Since the basic idea behind making vodka is to erase all flavor – the opposite of just about everything else we eat or drink – it seems kind of pointless. (more…)
Spots for Tradestation and Forex.com made Futures Magazine’s list of the very best of television advertising targeting traders and brokerage customers. Being included on a list along with such huge-budget classics as The E-Trade Baby and other eight-figure advertisers is a proud achievement that we’re delighted to be able to share with these extraordinary clients. (more…)
