Last Exit to Nowhere:
A collection of unique shirt designs which are inspired and pay homage to some of the most memorable places, corporations and companies in 20th century fiction – from the sunny shores of Amity Island (Jaws) to the frozen climes of Outpost #31 (The Thing).
Definitely my kind of thing. Above, of course, HAL, from 2001. Plus Tyrell Replicants (Blade Runner), Polymer Records (Spinal Tap), Mighty Mick’s Boxing (Rocky), etc.
Via Coudal.
Previous imaginary brand notes here.
Several scenes in the most recent Mad Men rated as either interesting, highly pleasing, or both. The most pleasing was the afternoon work party at a local bar, particularly the moment when all the ladies squealed when “The Twist” came up on the jukebox. It’s such a spontaneous moment of joy, it makes you wish you’d been young in 1960. Then again, it’s just a TV show, so who knows.
One of the interesting scenes was un-hero Don’s steamrolling of clients in a pitch meeting. The geezer running the cosmetics company client seems skeptical of the creative direction the ad men have come up with, and Don basically says: You’re a loser, get a clue, and until you get a clue, get out of my face. The geezer rolls over and does what he’s told.
I was once in a pitch meeting with a very hot ad firm presenting ideas to a very cold company. I assume the dynamic in such moments is never what it would be if there weren’t a reporter sitting there, but here’s how things were similar, and different. One difference is that nobody wore a suit: The sartorial power-signifier uniform was premium denim, worn basically by everybody but me. Another difference was an absolute lack of argument. The main similarity, however, was that the ad firm dominated the meeting in every meaningful way. There was some guarded skepticism, but no real objection to even the nuttiest ideas. The power, in that meeting as in Mad Men was with the agency (albeit in a different way).
Much of the ramp-up hype about Mad Men included assertions that the show was about a time when Madison Avenue was all-powerful, and this scene seemed designed to make the point. On other hand, the giveaway was Don’s mention that the client was the number four player in its industry. I have a feeling this is what sets the power tempo today as in the past: Basically, how scared is the client? How desperate is the client? How willing is the client to believe that these agency guys (then or now) somehow have the secret formula for saving their sorry ass? All of which is why my favorite bit about that whole thing was Don at the end saying, basically: So anyway, let’s hope it works out. “It’s not a science,” he grins. Indeed. My guess is that it’s not so different today.
Which brings me to the third noteworthy scene, which was both interesting and pleasing: Don hanging out with his bohemian mistress and her absurd beatnik pals. (“We’re going to get high and listen to Miles,” one of them deadpans.) There’s an almost comical air of Us vs. Them in the scene, as the beatniks mock Don for his complicity in creating The Lie that we need more stuff, and toothpaste will solve our problems, and so on — all the sorts of things that have made people like this so tedious for the entire history of people like this. I think one of them actually calls him a “square.” Don’s palpable contempt is a laff riot — “I hate to break it to you, but there is no Big Lie, there is no System” — and he’s unapologetic about drawing a bright line between himself and these sentimental bozos. He’s part of society, and they’re not, and they can kiss his ass.
Well, you already know what’s different today on this score. Today’s equivalent of the beatnik counterculturalist would not say, “Your toothpaste can’t solve our problems.” He would say, “Your toothpaste needs to sponsor an artist series if you want to connect with my demo.” And the ad-man wouldn’t say kiss my ass, punk. He’d say, “Yeah, we’re talking to Banksy.” Also, everyone in the scene would be dressed exactly alike. Maybe that’s progress, and maybe it isn’t. But a marketing pro openly sneering at the fauxhemians to grow up already? That’s about as likely today as a chorus of squeals greeting a pop hit from a jukebox in a bar. But I think it would be — almost — as much fun to experience firsthand.
[Complete Mad Men musings archive here.]
I’ve been at pains to make clear that my interest in useless watches is not a de facto interest in bracelets. A useless watch and a bracelet are not the same thing.
That said, this item blurs the line. I’d say it’s a bracelet that comments on useless watches. And since it’s sold at the MoMa store, it must be, if not “art,” then “Good Design.” Via Better Living Through Design.
Earlier notes on low-utility watches here, here, here, and here.
Well, don’t tell me about. Tell the makers of Handmade Nation, the forthcoming documentary about the DIY/craft phenomenon. Details here.
(I was going to say “DIY tattoo” in the headline, but, really, a DIY tattoo is a bad idea. See a professional.)
Posted Under:
DIYism by Rob Walker on September 8, 2007
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Amusing post from the always-enjoyable Online Fandom (Nancy Baym) on friending Michael Stipe and Peter Buck on Facebook. “For weeks nothing happened. Which was about what I expected,” she writes. When suddenly one day: “Both friends requests were accepted within 45 minutes of each other.” She continues:
Over the next couple of hours I watched as they both joined lots of groups and became friends with the same people at the same time.
And I’m thinking, ok, I didn’t really expect it to really be you, but do you have to make it SO OBVIOUS that it’s not?
In the end, though, she keeps Stipe and Buck among her “friends” just the same. For full explanation and thoughtful consideration of pros and cons, here’s the whole post.
Note: I’ve added a new category and backed in previous Murketing posts on Facebook etc., all now are categorized under “Social” Studies. Also: Murketing’s del.icio.us links on “SocialNetworking” here.
Those of you who recall the Consumed about toasters and “innovation” may be interested in this:
This toaster by Sasha Tseng incorporates a little message board where one can read quick notes. The message also gets “toasted” into the toast itself so it gives new meaning to “read while you eat”.
Via BB.
Wendy Dembo writes:
Last year when the Gap came out with their (red) campaign, the first word that popped into my head, was insu(red)/uninsu(red). They did a few kind of ironic shirts like bo(red) and ti(red), but I wondered why they didn’t make an uninsu(red) shirt.
With insurance looking like it’s going to be the touch point for the 2008 Presidential election, I thought that making these shirts could hopefully get some uninsured kids to think about their need for health insurance, perhaps even the need for universal health care.
She got Jeff Staple to execute the shirts, which are on sale at the Reed Space in New York.
It’s interesting to see something in the brand underground realm using the visual remix strategy to address a political issue. It will also be interesting to see what sort of reaction it ends up getting.
I’ve been waiting for a story like this: Singer Marié Digby, supposedly discovered by the grass roots in the all-empowering wilds of YouTube (“I just turned on my little iMovie, and here I am!”), was actually a major-label signee all along. She gigged in L.A., met a veteran music manager who connected her with a publisher, who connected her with Hollywood Records, which signed her in 2005, and hooked her up with a veteran producer.
Once the album was completed late last year, Ms. Digby and her label began looking for ways to gain visibility. …
That’s when the idea of posting simple videos of cover songs came up. … So she posted covers of hits by Nelly Furtado and Maroon 5, among others, so that users searching for those artists’ songs would stumble on hers instead. Her version of Rihanna’s “Umbrella” proved a nearly instant hit.
As Ms. Digby’s star rose, other media outlets played along. When Los Angeles adult-contemporary station KYSR-FM, which calls itself “Star 98.7,” interviewed Ms. Digby in July, she and the disc jockey discussed her surprising success. “We kind of found her on YouTube,” the DJ, known as Valentine, said. Playing the lucky nobody, Ms. Digby said: “I’m usually the listener calling in, you know, just hoping that I’m going to be the one to get that last ticket to the Star Lounge with [pop star] John Mayer!” The station’s programming executives now acknowledge they had booked Ms. Digby’s appearance through Hollywood Records, and were soon collaborating with the label to sell “Umbrella” as a single on iTunes.
Posted Under:
Murketing,
Music by Rob Walker on September 6, 2007
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Have you seen this yet? If you follow the whole DIY craft thing, then you know that Etsy is the big online store where many thousands of handmade-thingmakers sell their handmade things. Now Etsy has launched an e-zine, and video “newscast.” I think it’s pretty funny, but what do I know? If you have an opinion, I’d like to hear it.
We loved Jill Greenberg’s Monkey Portraits, so we’re excited to hear that she’s back: with bears. October 11 through November 10 at Clamp Art in NY. More here. (Thanks E.)
Posted Under:
Artists,
Pleasing,
To Do by Rob Walker on September 5, 2007
Comments Off on To Do: Enjoyable bears
The DIY/craft community has, to date, had a somewhat mixed response to big-company efforts to get down with their scene. But the efforts continue, and it’s interesting to keep an eye on how each new effort is received. The latest, from Scion:
Beginning September 10, 2007, crafters will have until October 22 to submit accessory designs for items such as key chains, seat covers, floor mats, steering wheel covers, tissue holders, etc., to www.CraftMyRide.com. Crafters will need to go to the website to obtain rules and instructions. A pool of craft-friendly retail stores chosen from across the United States will judge submissions, and finalists will be chosen November 2. …
Committed to fostering independent artistic expression, and creating competitions in multiple genres such as fine art, street art, architecture, music and film, Scion is consistently looking to bolster communities with an inherent independent spirit. The arts and crafts community is one such population.
Hmmm…. Well, like I said, we’ll see.
More on this subject soon.
I don’t know how many scores of advertising and marketing professionals I’ve met over the years. I do now that I almost always ask them what got them into the business. And that to date, precisely one has mentioned an interest in persuasion. Why is that answer so rare? Persuasion is an interesting subject, and it’s at the heart of the advertising business. Maybe it’s just not polite to talk about it. I wouldn’t know.
I bring this up because there was very little ad-talk in the most recent episode of Mad Men, and if I want to keep going with my little series about the show, I have no choice but to go a little meta this time. So: I think it’s pretty clear that our (un)hero Don is very interested in persuasion — in fact, he’s interested in manipulation, persuasion’s even-less-polite-to-discuss cousin. And of course when I say he’s “interested” in manipulation, I mean he has a near-pathological drive to manipulate and control others.
This manifests itself amusingly when he works off whatever weird hostility he has toward his boss by tricking the older man into a 23-flight stairwalk, causing the poor sap to vomit up his 24-oyster, multi-martini, and cheesecake lunch in front of some important clients. Heh heh heh.
It was a weird moment in what was definitely the weirdest — and I think the best — episode of Mad Men to date. Don’s wife slapping a neighbor in the supermarket, Young Turk Guy delivering a bizarre monologue about how great it would be to eat what you kill as fondles his new rifle, the Dreiser-ish secretary he delivers it to offering an impossible-to-read confirmation that such an existence does sound ideal, etc. Some of this material can be read as dealing with How To Be A Man In This Modern Age, but some of it is just wack. In a good way.
Still, I hope they get back to more ad-talk next week.
Oh, and speaking of ad-talk, persuasion, and going meta: There is of course a marketing firm marketing this show about marketing. It’s called Crew Creative Advertising. I’m a little annoyed to have learned this by way of a post on Madison Avenue Journal, which says, “They contacted us early this week with a request to pre-promote this based on your robust response to date!”
Well! Nobody from Crew Creative has contacted me. What’s up with that? Don’t they want to persuade me to persuade the Murketing audience to watch their client’s show? Maybe the problem is that I haven’t been sufficiently upbeat about the program itself. Today’s post is pretty nice, though. Maybe I only did that to manipulate Crew Creative. But if so, I guess I shouldn’t talk about it.
[Complete Mad Men musings archive here.]
Sherry Turkle, probably best known for The Second Self, has edited this book, Evocative Objects: Things With Think With, which was published earlier this summer, but that I only learned about today:
Collects writings by scientists, humanists, artists, and designers that trace the power of everyday things. These essays reveal objects as emotional and intellectual companions that anchor memory, sustain relationships, and provoke new ideas.
This volume’s special contribution is its focus on everyday riches: the simplest of objects–an apple, a datebook, a laptop computer–are shown to bring philosophy down to earth. The poet contends, “No ideas but in things.” The notion of evocative objects goes further: objects carry both ideas and passions. In our relations to things, thought and feeling are inseparable.
Sounds interesting. A companion, it would seem, for Taking Things Seriously.
Speaking of taking things seriously, it’s a shame that this WSJ piece from today’s issue is available only to subscribers. A first-person piece by Katerine Rosman (who I knew slightly some years ago), it begins:
On Sept. 17, 2003, in a chaotic intensive-care ward, just before being medically induced into a coma, my mother summoned all of her energy and whatever oxygen she could to make one request: “Take care of my eBay.”
From there it goes into Rosman’s investigation of her late mother’s eBay life: the glass pieces she bought, why she bought them, the connections she made, what she hoped would happen when she was gone. I won’t recount the whole thing here, but it’s a journey, and toward the end Rosman writes: “For the first time, I was able to look at the glass as a representation of how my mom wanted me to live — not merely as a reminder of her death.”
It’s great stuff. Maybe it’ll turn up online elsewhere. Or you could always just go buy the paper.
Some 30,000 Dutch women (or maybe just most of them were women, I’m not sure) received letters that looked handwritten, seemed to come from a secret admirer, addressed them as “darling,” and said: “”When are we going to have a drink again; I am really curious about you,” the letters said. All were signed, “lots of love, M.”
Actually the letters were from Renault, as part of a marketing effort on behalf of one of its cars.
The Amsterdam headquarters of Renault was bombarded with angry calls from more than 500 people — mainly women, among whom the car is popular — who had received the letters in the post.They complained their partners either suspected them of carrying on an illicit affair behind their backs or that they believed they themselves had a secret admirer wanting to meet them.
Full story. Via Agenda Inc.
Posted Under:
Murketing by Rob Walker on August 31, 2007
Comments Off on Great moments in direct mail
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