A cute song, with an even cuter performer, this song is so ready to be a commercial back-drop it aint even funny. Couldn't you just see a jaunty credit card commercial or flirty natural hair care product broadcast 30 seconds of unbridled cuteness. This Malian Mama should be put on somebody's television or online (viral) promotions somewhere somehow. :)
Eight supermodels, including Naomi Campbell, appear nude in identical poses for the latest issue of LOVE. The magazine has produced eight different covers - one for each model - and has even printed their individual measurements. The biannual title, on sale now, contains a 40-page shoot featuring the supermodels.
"The Imprint, the latest in a growing series of prints I'm working on instead of the much larger time travel project I keep mysteriously talking about. I started work on this one a couple weeks ago after finding myself suddenly enamored with the idea of colored stripes or shapes being "projected" across arbitrary surfaces, expecting to spend no more than a few days on it. Of course, as is always the case, those "few days" quickly multiplied. I'm rather happy with the results, however, so I suppose I shouldn't complain."
Alex Varanese
It screened at Sundance last month, and will next screen at SXSW next month; titledJean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child, and directed by Tamra Davis, the documentary features never-before seen footage of the prolific artist painting, talking about his art, and life, in the two years prior to his death in 1988.
I’m sure I’ll get to see it sooner than later, living in New York City!
There is a surprising association between chocolate and child labor in the Cote d'Ivoire. Young boys whose ages range from 12 to 16 have been sold into slave labor and are forced to work in cocoa farms in order to harvest the beans, from which chocolate is made, under inhumane conditions and extreme abuse. This West African country is the leading exporter of cocoa beans to the world market. Thus, the existence of slave labor is relevant to the entire international economic community. Through trade relations, many actors are inevitably implicated in this problem, whether it is the Ivorian government, the farmers, the American or European chocolate manufacturers, or consumers who unknowingly buy chocolate. Discussions have arisen regarding how to respond to the problem. Issues mentioned include causes of slave labor relating to the economic system and to the country's dependence on an unstable export crop. There are also debates concerning the appropriate response from the chocolate industry, government officials, and consumers concerning whether there should be boycotting, establishment of government legislation to put "made by slaves" labels on products, or whether some type of international cooperation is needed to ensure improved working conditions. The complexity of the problem makes finding an effective solution a challenging task.
Satisfying our sweet demands Other youtube videos to this topic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRG6NMVKHDs&feature=related
Slave traders are trafficking boys ranging from the age of 12 to 16 from their home countries and are selling them to cocoa farmers in Cote d'Ivoire. They work on small farms across the country, harvesting the cocoa beans day and night, under inhumane conditions. Most of the boys come from neighboring Mali, where agents hang around bus stations looking for children that are alone or are begging for food. They lure the kids to travel to Cote d'Ivoire with them, and then the traffickers sell the children to farmers in need of cheap labor (Raghavan, "Lured...").
The horrendous conditions under which children must toil on the cocoa farms of the Cote d'Ivoire are even more jarring when the facts are juxtaposed with the idea that much of this cocoa will ultimately end up producing something that most people associate with happiness and pleasure: chocolate. The connection serves to illustrate that the existence of misery in one part of the world and joy in another part are no longer divorced as nations are connected together in a globalized web of trade. Thus, the pleasure that people from various nations around the world are deriving from these chocolate confections could possibly be at the expense of child slaves in Africa. The problem of child slavery then is not simply a faraway abstraction with no immediate implications for anybody else except those who are directly affected, but rather it is an issue that everybody around the world should be concerned about and demand action to eradicate.
I'm sure you remember the Vogue Italia Black Issue. You know the one where the publishers of Vogue out did themselves in my (dark brown) opinion with a wealth of rich dark chocolate visual treats.Well, now they've gone deeper into the dark by launching Vogue Black. It's an interesting site/blog that features the more colorful side of beauty and bathes the boundaries of fashion's apartheid in a sea of fresh new flavors.
I hope they can keep it up. Kudos Vogue.
From Target Market News(February 23, 2010) Millennials, those born between 1979 and 1993, are a generation of optimistic leaders, more concerned than previous generations about making a difference in the world they've inherited. However, according to a new study released by IMAGES USA and The Futures Company (formerly Yankelovich, Inc.), a closer look shows African- American and Hispanic millennials surpass their White peers regarding concerns with community involvement, and their ability to effect positive change in the world.
While the study, the first of its kind targeting the multicultural millennial, finds 81 percent of millennials feel the severity of world events are causing them to get more involved in effecting change in the world, African-American and Hispanic millennials are more motivated to make those changes than Whites of the same age. Taking a closer look the study shows African American (84%) Millennial males are more interested than White (58%) Millennial males in getting involved with their communities.
"Multicultural Millennials: The New Generation Coming of Age," based on data from The Futures Company's 2009 millennial poll of 2,500 consumers, explores the degrees to which multicultural millennials, also known as "Generation Y," differ from their White counterparts regarding community, the environment, economic issues, retention of cultural heritage, and consumer trends.
"Branding now involves more tangible involvement at a community level and commitment to making a difference," said Juan Pablo Quevedo, IMAGES USA Director of Marketing Research and Strategic Insight. "Ideas that help to solve real problems are the "new cool." They grew up at the speed of digital and are quick to hold brands accountable for immediacy of response."
To that point, as consumers, multicultural millennials are clear on their affinity for and loyalty to brands that support African-American and Hispanic communities and understand culturally relevant nuances and triggers. The majority of African American (88%) and Hispanic millennials (87%) agree that companies making a sincere effort to be a part of the Hispanic and African American communities deserve their loyalty. However, their enthusiasm is tempered by their belief that "very few brands and companies genuinely care about the state of my community."
"The multicultural millennial has a surprising and unique value system, and a different set of decision-making criteria around brand choices, said Ricki Fairley-Brown, IMAGES USA CMO. She continued, "As the Millennial Generation will soon eclipse the size of the Baby Boomers, this dynamic group of consumers will drive the future growth of brands. Marketers would be remiss to not embrace them."
Read more about what the kids are doing these days here.
I don't like the looks of this. Creepy scheming guy in the back is poised and ready to line his pockets with unsuspecting extremely talented seated man's blood, sweat and brilliance. Alas, these painful stories must be told. Enter Elvis stage right. I likes the looks of this here postah here though. I likes it very much.
Beautiful spots created by the swedish studio Acne Films, directed his team's resident director, called Ensrettet. The movies "Black" and "White" are conceptual sposts produced for the Absolut vodka brand, and you give below.
written by Terence Moore
Terence Moore is a national columnist for FanHouse
OK, I'll admit it. In the beginning, I had no problem with the buffoonery of the Kobe and LeBron puppets.
They were puppets. They also were hilarious.
Now one of three things has happened: (1) Nike has slowly turned what was a clever marketing idea into a modern-day version of Amos and Andy, (2) I've just come to my senses, or (3) it is a combination of both.
Whatever the case, these commercials have to go. Either that, or they need an extreme makeover. They are the anti-Barack Obamas when it comes to helping society rid itself of tired images of African-Americans -- and the Nike folks couldn't care less. The same goes for Kobe and LeBron. Otherwise, you wouldn't have storylines in each of these commercials that clearly are designed to entice as many black youngsters as possible to buy sneakers they can't afford.
Stereotyping. Exploitation. It's all here.
I mean, you have the two most famous players in the NBA -- Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, both heroes among many youth in the black community -- depicted by a couple of sports-obsessed, egomaniacal puppets.
Worse, these puppets mostly lounge around their apartment as they live in a world filled with rapping and folks speaking broken English.
Let's pause for a moment of silence. This being Black History Month and all, that groaning you now hear is coming from the graves of W.E.B., Booker T., Martin, Malcolm and the rest, wondering if this is the 21st century or 19th century.
Just like various poisons, these Kobe-LeBron puppet commercials have names, which brings me to the one that pushed me over the edge: "Shoes on fire." It begins with Kobe and LeBron returning home to a smoldering mess after an inferno at their apartment. They are questioned by a couple of firemen who are sifting through the rubble inside the shoe closet of the two players. After a while, the white fireman says to the black fireman, "Chief, I think we've got something over here," as the white fireman holds up one of Kobe's smoking sneakers with a pair of pliers.
Then the black fireman goes into his best Pigmeat Markham routine (you know, "Heah com du judge") by snapping his neck while saying, "I'm tell YOU as an official of the fire department -- this shoe right heah is just . . . TOO hot."
To which the Kobe puppet says to the LeBron puppet with glee, "LeBron, you hear that? My shoe hot."
Ha, ha.
Ho, ho.
Barf, barf.
The more I think about it, those Kobe-LeBron puppet commercials around Christmas set the foundation for my current outrage. There was "Dunking on Reindeer," and then there was "Santa Rap." They both were filled with needless Ebonics -- well, needless unless you were trying to make a point -- and they both featured as many references to "the hood" -- as in Nike's targeted audience -- as possible.
"He all nervous."
"We out."
"I'll be flyin' around the hood cruisin' fast. My sleigh be movin' snow. You be eatin' grass."
This is in addition to the butchered language in those other Kobe-LeBron puppet commercials, ranging from, "Who's her?" to "You ain't got no defense." And here is one of the most disgusting things about this situation: Neither Kobe nor LeBron speaks that way. They are among the NBA's most-polished players.
We're back to the bottom line. And, with apologies to Malcolm, this trio of Kobe, LeBron and Nike is selling shoes by any means necessary.
Where's the outrage? If not from Kobe and LeBron, who have the power to stop this but have chosen to yawn while counting their dollars from it all, then why not from others around the league and throughout society?
Guess too many people were lulled into apathy, especially after those initial Kobe-LeBron puppet commercials grabbed our attention as natural extensions of the Lil Penny ones of Penny Hardaway lore. And Lil Penny was funny and harmless. You can say the same for that Kobe-LeBron puppet commercial of nearly a year ago that had Kobe gloating over his three world championship rings at the time in front of LeBron.
The chalk commercial worked, too, with a hand-clapping LeBron puppet filling the apartment with the white stuff as a spoof on his routine of sending chalk into the air before he leaves for the opening tipoff. And the Lil Desmond thing worked, when the puppets were babysitters for the obnoxious kid from across the way. And it also worked after the real Kobe won his fourth NBA title this summer, with the puppet Kobe dancing around the apartment, but only when the puppet LeBron wasn't in a room.
188ShareAfterward, those Nike folks felt so free to do whatever they wanted (see trash-talking Santa, Kobe's burning shoes, etc.) that they ran a magazine ad last month featuring Kobe and LeBron on opposite pages around the slogan, "Prepare For Combat." The words near Kobe's photo said, "I'll do whatever it takes to win games. I don't leave anything in the chamber."
This was in the midst of the Gilbert Arenas situation, when he and teammate Javaris Crittenton brought guns into the locker room of the Washington Wizards for reasons that weren't good. Even though the word "chamber" is the place that holds bullets in a gun, the Nike folks said they weren't referring to that kind of chamber, but said later in a statement, "The Nike print ad featuring Kobe Bryant was intended to illustrate his all out play and commitment on the basketball court. [Chamber] is a commonly used reference for shooting the basketball and no offense was intended."
Kobe added that the ad was designed months before the Arenas thing -- as if that really made a difference -- and LeBron said Kobe's "chamber" reference in the ad was taken out of context.
Yeah, well, NBA commissioner David Stern was not amused. Neither were Cleveland city officials who rejected a Nike proposal to place a 10-story tall mural of James on the side of the building with those "Prepare For Combat" words.
That was encouraging. This would be even more so: the muzzling of those puppets, or at least enrolling them in a couple of English classes. written by Terence Moore
Personally, I liked the spots, laughed at the spots, loved the KRS1 spot and did not have a problem with them damn spots. ~Craig'nem
Alberto “Sting” Russo is a creative director and illustrator based in Lausanne, Switzerland. He’s also the founder of the swiss design studio Areadesign.
JWT, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Executive Creative Director: Chafic Haddad & Russell Heubach
Art Director: Husen Baba
Copywriter: Zahir Mirza
Illustrator: Xavier Cacho
923 is one of two new animation loops directed by Max Hattler, inspired by the work of French outsider artist Augustin Lesage. 1923 is based on Lesage's painting 'A symbolic Composition of the Spiritual World' from 1923.
The second loop, 1925, is based on Lesage's painting 'A symbolic Composition of the Spiritual World' from 1925. It will be available soon.
The films were created during 5 days in February 2010 with animators and CG artists at The Animation Workshop in Viborg, Denmark.
“Thousands of women in Israel are held against their will in the prostitution industry. Don’t be an accomplice.”
cred:
Mccann Erickson, Tel Aviv, Israel
VP Creatives: Tal Raviv, Eldad Weinberger
Creative Director: Sigal Abudi
Art Director: Dana Moshkowitz
Copywriter: Ami Alush
Photographer / Graphic Designer: Yan Fedoroff
by Digital Kitchen for the US Census and agency Globalhue.
Directors: Bryce Wymer and Rama Allen.
Designers: Bryce Wymer and Rama Allen.
Editor: Ryan McKenna.
Executive Producer: Abbe Daniel.
Producer: Danielle Amaral.
Line Producer: Dawn Rose.
VFX Supervisor: Arman Matin and Josh Laurence
Lead Compositor: Josh Laurence
Artists Bryce Wymer Augenblick Studios, Matt Morris, Isaac Orloff, Michael Marsicano, Soo Jin Chung, Chris Carboni, Zack Mason.
DP: Martin Ahlgren.
Animators: Bryce Wymer, Chris Carboni, Augenblick Studios
This just in from a RaekwonTweet this artwork which may be the cover for the upcoming album from the Wu-Tang trio. No official word if it is but I hope so because it is ill! The new collab from The Chef, Method Man & Ghostface Killah drops March 9th on Def Jam!
DHL is the official logistics partner of Fashion Week worldwide. Our task was to create an international campaign that emphasises DHL’s competence in the fashion industry. To communicate the close connection between DHL and the fashion world we turned fashion itself into our main advertising medium. In cooperation with Michael Michalsky – one of Germany‘s most famous designers – we created a special haute couture collection: dresses exclusively made of original DHL packaging materials. Bringing to life our motto: ”DHL – the perfect fit for the fashion world“. The dresses were displayed on dummies at the DHL stand at Fashion Week and worn by hostesses. An elaborate fashion shoot with our dresses provided the motifs for our print material, such as posters, invitation cards, a calendar etc., and the online campaign.
cred:
Jung von Matt/Spree, Germany
Executive Creative Directors: Wolfgang Schneider, Mathias Stiller Creative Directors: Markus Ewertz, Boris Schwiedrzik Art Director: Marc Tebart Copywriter: Friederike Sinning
Account Supervisors: Jan-Hendrik Oelckers, Ilan Schaefer
Photographers: Kristian Schuller Design: Michael Michalsky, Peggy Schuller
Why is there no E. Badu music in commercials yet? She's eclectic and endlessly funky. And she could use the money. Can we get her audio delights to back up some fun TV or online viral campaigns. What a great sonic symbol that voice of her's would make.
Damn! This spot just caused Sprite into keyboard via nose-spray!
Jennifersaid...Per.fec.tion. These ads have been amazing! I love that the diversity includes gender, race, age, etc. and it's so natural. The "relationships", the humor...I particularly am feeling the old school actors/singers really representing with the comedic timing..."You turn into such a diva..." LOLOLOL!!
Just what you’ve been waiting for… the trailer for rapper T-Pain’s animated musical, titled, Freaknik, which will air on Adult Swim on March 7th. The one-hour special features voice-over cameos from Snoop Dogg, Andy Samberg, Lil Wayne, Kelis,Bill Hader, Big Boi, Rick Ross, and many more.
A New York native, military veteran, and survivor of corporate America, Chris Charles founded Creative Silence Photography after years of suppressing his artistic side and doing the things he thought he should be doing. A child of the arts and the multicultural neighborhoods of Brooklyn, Chris uses his experiences to help translate his vision of beauty with the aid of a camera.
Currently based in Raleigh, North Carolina, Chris' niche is dramatic portraiture and editorial work. His approach is simple...strong imagery without pretense, as well as fusing art with technical proficiency.
