So, you may remember a few weeks back when we posted about a fictitious story that caught my eye on The Onion. In said story, a man supposedly proclaimed his ‘devotion and love’ for the Pepsi brand during ceremony at a convenience store where he was surrounded by a small group of friends and employees.
In all seriousness, consumers are proclaiming their love for brands more and more these days and in very unique ways. From tattoos, to ‘Liking’ a brand on Facebook, brands mean more to consumers today than ever before.
All that said, I’m not so sure that The Onion story was all that far-fetched because late last week I stumbled upon an article on USAToday.com about retail wedding trends…
So, it appears that more and more, people are pledging their “I do’s” to their significant others, while in a retail establishment. You won’t believe this, but this includes having weddings at places like T.J. Maxx and Taco Bell. That’s not all though…. Include Home Depot and Cold Stone Creamery on that list too! It’s pretty unbelievable to me, but hey, I only got married at The Cincinnati Nature Center’s Krippendorf Lodge (which I highly recommend by the way!).
Be it brand loyalty, saving money, or the desire to be a little different, people are actually going through with this, so there’s not telling what’s next. Is it good for the brand? I can’t see how it could possibly hurt. Is it good for the bride or groom? Well, if you are “self proclaimed Maxxinista” (make sure you read the USA Today story relative to this comment) or a Chalupa fanatic, perhaps you can shop or get your Mexican food fix on before/after the ceremony. If you bring a whole wedding party, they can join in on the fun too. I’m sure these brands won’t complain about anyone spending a little money before or afterward the ceremony, so I’d say it’s a win-win.
After much extensive research (exhaustive, really) I’ve decided that run-and-jump games are my favorite. They are easy, they are addicting, and they tend to have a wicked sense of humor. It’s Friday, enjoy:
Canabalt has you running and leaping off of rooftops to avoid imminent apocalyptic demise. Run away! Watch out for those boxes!
An old one that I am surprised is still around, is Drop Kick the Faint. Take your punk aggressions out on those Saddle Creek weenies!
But perhaps my most favorite of them all is Robot Unicorn Attack, featuring robotic unicorns, stars, sparkledolphins, making dreams come true and perhaps the most perfect soundtrack of them all, the tune “Always” by Erasure.
Here at HQ HQ we have a very likable fellow typically manning the building’s front desk in the mornings named Zack, and every Friday he greets every person with a sunny “Happy Friday!”
What’s cuter than taking something that is normally big, strong and massive and making it tiny and adorable? Einstein, who is likely to be the tiniest horse in the world, was born April 26th… and, while I really don’t understand the point and think it’s a little “wrong,” he is freaking cute. Oh, and just a warning, apart form the super cute horse, the video is pretty lame.
Out to Launch, a blog I subscribe to, posts a Random iPhone App of the week. This week: Cheese or Font? The game presents the player with a word, say “Tetilla,” and the player is to guess if the word is type of cheese or a type of font. It’s a cheese, by the way.
You can download the app for free at the APP Store, and, lucky for me and all of the other iPhone-less people in the world, you can also play the game online. None the less, it’s a great game for foodies and font-ies (?) alike.
Everyone knows that at Burger King, you can “Have It Your Way” way when it comes to the flame-broiled goodness that is your hamburger. The King and his team of merry men have worked extremely hard to instill this message in the minds of beef eaters and fast food lovers everywhere, but for all that work, there was always one part missing.
Sure, you could get your burger without mayo, or with 4 extra patties of meat, or with 2.5 slices of smaller tomatoes instead of 1, but there was always something missing, it just never really was “your” burger.
Well, BK and the King have changed that, at least they did for a little bit (in Brazil), by embarking on a unique little campaign where they show customers what ‘Made to Order’ really means.
As someone who isn’t a huge fast food eater/supporter, even I thought this a unique way of personalizing the dining experience and building some additional brand affinity. You can already see from the video that camera phones were a-snappin’ which inevitably means Twitter posts and Facebook status updates that probably generated some positive chatter about the brand.
All in all, a unique and quirky idea, that showed a true connection of the dots when it comes to the idea of “Have It Your Way.” Not sure how much longevity it has after the initial novelty would wear off, but it’s still a rather cool and smart approach on a one-off level.
Much like how hipsters and Internet folk love to hate Owl City, most people who are not madly in love enjoy hating Valentine’s Day. And why not? Try to truthfully tell me those HE WENT TO JARED!!! commercials don’t make you want to punch someone in the face. Valentine’s Day has become one of the most hackneyed holidays we’ve got, thus Brand New has been charged with reinventing it.
“…Bryony and I were invited by Studio 360…to tackle a rather interesting problem: Redesigning Valentine’s Day, everything from the hearts, to the roses, to the chocolates, to the expensive dinners, to Cupid. Everything we know about Valentine’s was due for a new approach…Of course, we said yes. Yes, to a project that we had to finish in less than two weeks, with no pay, and without any precedents to refer to. Regardless, we decided to approach it just as we would any identity or branding project.”
“I was thinking of getting a couch or something for my room, somewhere for guests to lounge around. F*ck new couches. I now have a ball pit in my room.” – xkcd
xkcd’s Randall gets a little fun and poignant, gleefully describing the process of creating a real-live ballpit in his home. Impractical? Childish? That depends entirely on your definition of those things, and what ‘being an adult’ means to you. In my opinion, he’s absolutely right; who’s to say that doing things we loved to do as kids isn’t what we should be doing now as adults? If a ball pit is what you want, and you can make it happen, why not? Enjoy it.
In the hopes of brightening the mood of those of us living in the “concrete jungle,” The Design Inspiration compiled a wonderful list of incredibly cute animals.
I love New York. Why? Well, I was born there and it truly is an epicenter of culture. From concerts, to musicals, from shopping to dining, the big apple has it all.
I also love Cincinnati. Why? Well, I was dragged here 10 years ago and despite turning my nose up at the city early on, I’ve come to appreciate the many things that Cincinnati has that delight me (and would delight many others I might add.) What are those things? Well, affordable housing, awesome concerts, okay-shopping since Nordstrom arrived and some amazing restaurants.
It’s no surprise to anyone who knows Cincinnati, there are 3 things that most residents claim as Cincinnati’s own, all relating to food. Skyline, Montgomery Inn and Graeter’s. Up until this point, they’ve been hidden in this little city on the Ohio River, having not seen much light outside of the area aside from some limited restaurants or distribution in the Indiana and Tennessee areas, as well as Dayton and Columbus.
Well, thanks to a restaurateur in New York City, the tastes of Cincinnati are taking over New York, not to mention generating a lot of curiosity and some great business for the guy. At Edward’s, “Cincinnati Night” is the last Monday night of every month. He serves the delicacies from our fair city up to the palettes of NYC and goes to great length to do so as authentically as possible, even grating the fluorescent yellow cheese to top the Skyline Chili with since it travels so bad.
From the sound of it, things are going well and the residents are coming out to show their support for Cincinnati culture which is a very cool and deserving thing. So next time you are in NYC, stop by Edwards on “Cincinnati Night” and live like a Cincinnatian for a little bit.
