THINGS TO DO WITH THAT EXTRA HOUR OF DAYLIGHT!

Posted By Ashley Rubenovitch . March 16, 2010

Fall back, spring forward? Maybe not… Everyone feels the dragging impact of a lost and much-needed hour of sleep. Ironically, daylight saving time is “supposed to save energy – pushing daylight later in the day means (more)

In the industry…

Posted By Youthography . March 9, 2010

“Because we work in the industry, we often get calls from friends of friends to attend  upcoming events, and help out with a variety of cool new projects. Last week we had one of these opportunities and thought it would be neat to tell (more)

Thoughts from the Shop: We’d Like to Thank the Academy…

Posted By V is for Victory . March 8, 2010

There were the good times, and there were the not so good times, but (most of us) made it through, and now we have much to discuss.  This is what we thought of the 82nd Academy Awards:

On Avatar:“ I couldn’t help but think that (more)

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http://www.facebook.com/TropicanaCanada#!/TropicanaCanada?v=app_4949752878 

 

Tropicana shed some light (and plenty of OJ) on the permanent darkness Canadians living up north deal with during winter months.   First a Facebook group complete with photos and videos, and now their top TV spot, we checked it out and compiled our thoughts:

    “ A cute idea, but not sustainable. It’s not like they’ve leave the article sun plugged in forever. Or during the times of darkness in the Arctic.”

    “It’s also unlikely that the local stores even stock Tropicana. And I don’t even want to know the eco-footprint on this little gem of an idea.”

    “It’s made a lot of the industry blogs: I think you guys are bang-on re: sustainability and carbon footprint.  Also: while the final execution does look cool, the whole thing somehow feels really forced to me.”

    “But it’s a good ‘forced’.  It simply connects with the brand and tells a nice story for the viewer.  Instead of donating money or time to a cause, they delivered an interesting experience to the folks up north and, in turn, delivered an interesting experience to us.” 

    “Happily they’re doing this through a real event, done docu-style and it’s a fairly authentically positive feeling all around. I liked it the moment I saw it on Creativity and, you know, I’m wild for the modern ads that are grounded in core human truths.”

     Summary:  Thoughtful and inspiring, but with practicality an issue.  They made people happy on an artistic level, but the faux sun won’t stay forever and the free juice will run out. 

    On a note closer to the basics:

    “Getting sick of hummable little folk ditties as soundtracks though.”

     As well, to gain a little more insight; some comments from the Facebook group:

    “I cannot believe how unauthentic and frivolous this is. For the sake of the connection of an ad to your tagline, you disrespect the situation in which a community lives in, in northern Canada by “brightening one day” with a balloon. So the next day, the place is back in darkness (actual and metaphorical) and the Tropic…”-Maya

    To the response of…

    “There’s always someone to make a good deed look bad! I think it was wonderful to travel so far to brighten someone’s day, even if it was only one day!!”! -Dinah

     

    Seems the thoughts are like night and day…

Thoughts from the shop: Tropicana Replicates the Sun

Posted By V is for Victory . March 4, 2010

http://www.facebook.com/TropicanaCanada#!/TropicanaCanada?v=app_4949752878 

 

Tropicana shed some light (and plenty of OJ) on the permanent darkness Canadians living up (more)

Cultural Olympiad (it’s not as bad as it sounds, or looks…really)

Posted By pariahmike . January 26, 2010

The rather uninspiring title, and clunky corporate branding, of this huge set of arts and culture events tied to the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics in BC certainly doesn’t do justice to what we’ve discovered, through a similarly uninspiring website, this epic cultural (more)

Prom Shopping in January? Really?

Posted By Mike D'Abramo . January 20, 2010

We received a call yesterday from CTV News about teens shopping for prom dresses well before traditional prom season. It’s a growing trend that has been around for at least a few years. They wanted to know why this is (more)

Technology for 2010

Posted By Mike D'Abramo . January 5, 2010

It’s a new year and that means CES (Consumer Electronics Show) is coming up, followed weeks later by MAC World. It’s the time for gadget-heads everywhere to get excited as parents realize the big-ticket item they bought in 2009 begins the road to obsolescence. Here (more)

Melting Polar Bears, Oh My!

Posted By pariahmike . December 18, 2009

Artist Mark Coreth, in association with the World Wildlife Fund, has taken over Trafalgar Square in London and Nytorv in Copenhagen over the course of the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit, with life size ice sculptures of polar bears that, as they melt, reveal a (more)

David Hoffos: “Scenes from the House Dream”

Posted By pariahmike . November 20, 2009

We’ve been long time fans of Lethbridge, Alberta’s David Hoffos multimedia, diorama, video and hologram-esque work but if you happen to be in Ottawa between now and February 14th you simply must check out this fantastic show of his major works since 2003; it will make new (more)