Sprintcuts

This is my 100th post! Wee!!

Here's a fun campaign: Sprintcuts. Sprint has videos that will help you shave off precious seconds, because that time can add up in your life. I really like the egg & baby videos, but check them all out-- they're quick and funny.

Brave New Dorm

Target has a new online catalogue for their "College 07" collection. Somehow the aspiration factor works too well-- I now want to go back to college, just for an excuse to buy a new shower caddy.

But beyond the beautiful design work and the fully-integrated, know-thy-target-market product line, the catalogue has some cool functionality of its own. Try the "sticky notes," for example, on the left-hand side of the page, or click on a product right on the page for more information.

The Obligatory Harry Potter Post

Yeah yeah yeah, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows launched this week. No, the bitterness isn't because of anything particularly HP-related... I've read the first few books, and they're fun. I have nothing against the boy wizard.

My complaint is about the sheer amount of hype that this installment created. As an advertiser, my hat goes off to it, of course. But as an advocate of children's literacy, I'm a little more torn.

I agree with the viewpoint that I've been hearing about how this series is getting kids to read... for fun. Fantastic.

But my concern is getting kids to read for reading's sake, and I'm not convinced that Harry Potter is doing that. I'm impressed that any book could become the Next Big Thing for kids, but I wish there were more focus on the joy of the story. Border's gave out free posters and other wizard swag. Bookstores hosted midnight launch parties. Scholastic announced an unprecedented print run of the book. Kids across the nation (world?) raced one another to finish the book, to be the first with the answers... to not be left behind.

I hope that when the buzz dies down a little, we start to hear about the kids who really enjoyed reading the book-- not because of the trend, but because of the tale. Though many articles are springing up about reluctant readers who love the HP series, if kids are only glomming onto the books because of the hype, can that translate into lifelong readership?

What I worry about is that we're feeding into the modern kid's "entertain me!" complex instead of encouraging reading for its other benefits. For many I believe the actual conclusion to the Harry Potter series was secondary to the whirlwind that they were sucked into, a whirlwind that's bound to die down until the next movie releases. J.K. Rowling's real gifts to literature were worlds each child could create, characters they could relate to and care about, a series to follow because it was engaging and imaginative. I hope those gifts will still be meaningful to young readers.

Battle for the Bronchs

Here is a fantastically executed site for "Battle of the Bronchs." (That's just the first of endless asthma puns, so hold on tight.) Before you explore the site, watch the "trailer":

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Here's the site, which I discovered here.

Babblepedia

Hopefully, you're familiar with wikis such as the popular Wikipedia.org. Wikis are a great source for information as long as you take them with a grain of salt, because anyone (with access-- in Wikipedia's case, just about anyone with the Internet) can edit them.

End of prologue. I'm bringing up wikis because there's a new one in town: Babblepedia is a new source for all things baby/parenting. Check it out and add your own parenting expertise!

Light graffiti

My friend Kris pointed me toward this article about the recent trend of "light graffiti." I think it's a beautiful art form, and absolutely worth taking note of.

But the first place I saw light graffiti wasn't the article-- it was this Sprint commercial on television. I applaud any advertiser that can execute on a trend before it "expires." This is the kind of thing that gets noticed!

Check out what everyday people are doing with light graffiti on Flickr. Note: I can't guarantee all images will be safe for work, so browse at your own risk.

Kid Nation (CBS)

Thank heavens for Vicki's vigilance-- look what she dug up this time!



^^That five-minute video is a promotional clip for CBS' new fall show, Kid Nation. I, for one, was completely spellbound by the video, and got goosebumps a couple of times.

This article by Variety makes a fitting Lord of the Flies reference and gives a little more information about the project. One of the best summations:

Goal for the kids is to build a functional society. They have to pass laws, choose leaders and build an economy. People familiar with the project said the kids may also be given choices between things they need (food and supplies) and things they want (think Nintendo Wii).

What is your opinion? Groundbreaking reality TV or shameless child exploitation? (Do a little web searching and you'll find both opinions, of course.) I think the idea is fantastic, and something that I would absolutely tune into. I think kids are looking for more opportunities to take on responsibility and prove themselves, in this world with GPS-enabled cell phones and helicopter parents.

More Fruits of Labor

I've been doing a bang-up job here lately, haven't I? Sorry, sorry... but this was totally worth waiting for. Check out the Bee Movie Game site, created for ActiVision by WonderGroup!