Q: Favorite cocktail?
A: Vodka, Water, Lime.

Q: What’s your all-time favorite ad?
A: Sony Bravia (Bouncy Balls) ad.

Q: What did you want to be when you grew up?
A: The person that made the college football highlight reels set to a top-40 song that showed right before the second half.

Q: Which social media platform is more effective for advertising, Twitter or Facebook?
A: Depends on the brand. But I’d have to say Facebook, simply because of its larger reach.

Q: Best way to get your attention?
A: Cat videos.

Q: Quickest way to be ignored?
A: Calling while I’m napping.

Q: If you were a food, what type of food would you be?
A: Green salad with walnuts, candied pecans, goat cheese and balsamic vinaigrette. Sweet, but tart.

Q: Who would play you in the movie version of your life?
A: And would it be a theatrical release, basic cable or straight to video? Someone with the randomness of Zooey Deschanel mixed with the classiness, yet authenticity, of Audrey Hepburn. One hundred percent theatrical release, likely nominated for Best Picture.

Q: What’s your favorite YouTube video?
A: Anything with cats doing funny things.

Q: Coke or Pepsi?
A: Coke. You don’t have Coke? I’ll take a water. No lemon.

Fin.

Blair’s talents extend to the performing arts as well. For six years, Blair wrote/produced/co-starred in a sketch comedy show, garnering local and minor national attention. He’s created an eclectic mix of comedic online videos. His commercial parody “Sissy Poopers” was a Top 10 “Cybersmack” finalist for Eonline.com and the Soup.  Blair was also featured in an article for MTVnews.com for best “SexyBack” music video parody. Currently, he’s working on a television sitcom entitled “Tuned Out” airing in several markets along the east coast.

Now we subject Blair to some random questions for your enjoyment:

Q: Favorite cocktail?
A: Vodka & soda, but let’s be honest, I’ll drink just about anything!

Q: Was Darrin Stephens an effective ad man or was he just “Bewitched”?
A: I’d like to think so. Also, he was a proud man. He wasn’t going to use his wife’s “black magic”, that’s the fool’s way out. McMahon & Tate were lucky to have such a dedicated member. He’s a better man than me, both of `em.

Q: What is the most embarrassing moment in your life thus far?
A: Oh Jesus, I have sooo many it’s hard to pick… Seriously, I’m a walking embarrassment…

Q: What’s your all-time favorite ad?
A: Ch-Ch-Chia

How will you surmount the odds when it’s your turn to save the world from the threat of the deadliest deadline?

You had to see this coming from a student: I cannot talk about expressive typography and advertising and forgo Paula Scher’s work over the years for The Public Theater. Loud, expressive and energetic are not typical adjectives for a Shakespeare play. However, when trying to attract a hip, urban audience, such a typographic approach could not have been more appropriate.

Sometimes type is used in advertising as a vehicle for brand recognition. Love it or hate it, every time that you see Futura Extrabold Condensed, you think of Nike (or maybe Smirnoff…). This, of course, is largely due to their monumental “Just Do It” campaign, but what if the line was emblazoned in Cooper Black? Helvetica? I love Nike’s poster use of Futura in announcing the rerelease of their 1990 Air Max 90 shoe line.

And, although you probably shouldn’t choose your candidate based on typeface, you cannot ignore Tobias Frere-Jones’s Gotham as an integral part of Obama’s 2008 campaign’s unprecedented success. Once again, what if they decided to use Mistral? Comic Sans? Let’s not go there…

Using type in a television spot is a whole new ball game. Advertiser’s attempts at using moving type can too often be obnoxious and uninspired with the “here, follow these words” approach (see Ford’s recent F-150 commercials). Who would have thought that Arnold Worldwide’s work for the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards would yield such an interesting, concise and successful use of kinetic type? The message is clear without assuming the audience to be a buffoon. The execution is stylishly done and looks reminiscent of a Paul Rand at the helm of Adobe After Effects.

Of course there are endless examples of great typography out there in the advertising world. I hoped to shed some light on a few of my favorites without falling into the “30 Amazing Typographic Advertisements” list trend (which usually prove to be everything but that). Think any of my examples were rubbish? Brilliant? Think Obama’s success would have been the same if set in Mistral? What about Nike, would “Just Do It” hold the same weight if in Akzidenz Grostesk? What are some of your favorite uses of type in advertising? I’d love to hear!

On Tuesday, January 31, Ad2 Roanoke planned for a lunch-time tour of two of Roanoke’s finest printers’ shops, which we dubbed the “Brown Bag Series: The Fine Art of Printing.” Enter Press Press Merch and Appalachia Press. We were welcomed with open arms, warm smiles, pizza, and desserts by Hired Guns Creative‘s Erica and Patrick, along with Greg Szechenyi from Press Press and John Reburn from Appalachia Press.

Greg walked around their print shop, taking us through the production of a normal screen printing job, showing off their massive 10-station, 8-color automatic press and vacuum exposure unit. Later, Greg showed off their showroom, highlighting various printing techniques like soft-touch inks, 4-color printing, and discharge inks, which removes the pigment from the shirt in a non-toxic way. The whole time we were there, the Press Press crew was working seamlessly and professionally in the background, like there weren’t any strange people wondering around their shop.

John took over and led us a few feet through a doorway, bringing us into the Appalachia Press shop. There was a distinct smell of “Old Stuff™,” which should be a signature Appalachia Press candle scent. You’re welcome, John. Old presses, wood, steel, and iron. *Deep breath…ahhhhhh. What a lovely smell that is. As he led us through his workshop, John shared a brief history of how he got into letterpress, what he uses each piece of machinery for, and then explained the printing process for various letterpress jobs. There are some different processes that he goes through based on the type of job that comes in. Whether it involves hand-cut stencils, sending art out to be made into a block, or screen printing, every job always includes lots of hands-on work. Getting his hands dirty and lifting heavy equipment is how John stays fit. Having a new retail store in downtown Roanoke, a steady stream of online shoppers, and many resellers all over the country keeps Appalachia’s presses moving. John is working on plans to run a few workshops this summer, so stay in the loop on their Facebook page.

Thanks again to Press Press Merch and Appalachia Press’s hospitality. For those who couldn’t make it out, nanny nanny boo boo, stick your head in doo doo. You missed out.

Frank Chimero is a design god. There. I said it. What? He’s taking a hiatus from designing to write this book. (Watch the whole video. Seriously.)

He’s probably written some of the most compelling advice for students I’ve ever read, and in case you haven’t seen it before, we’re going to share some highlights here.

Look people in the eyes when you are talking or listening to them. The best teachers are the ones who treat their classrooms like a workplace, and the worst ones are the ones who treat their classroom like a classroom as we’ve come to expect it. Eat breakfast. Realize that you are learning a trade, so craft matters more than most say. Realize that design is also a liberal art. Quiet is always an option, even if everyone is yelling. Libraries are a good place. The books are free there, and it smells great.

And:

Don’t become dependent on having other people pull it out of you while you’re in school. If you do, you’re hosed once you graduate. Keep two books on your nightstand at all times: one fiction, one non-fiction.

But don’t forget:

Seeking advice is addicting and can become a proxy for action. Giving it can also be addicting in a potentially pretentious, soul-rotting sort of way, and can replace experimenting because you think you know how things work. Be suspicious of lists, advice, and lists of advice.

Read the full post here.

BMW is back in action! After taking a 10 year hiatus, the iconic automaker has inked a huge new product placement deal. Once a staple of action movies, the BMW symbol has been notably missing from major productions since 2002. After creating their short film series “The Hire”, which was at the time considered ground breaking online entertainment content, they made an executive decision to switch their marketing dollars to sports backing Formula One and America’s Cup car and sailing races.

This time around BMW is upping the ante. In addition to providing 2 custom made cars for filming, they are offering customers the chance to go to one of 200 special advance screenings of “Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol.” This is an incredibly smart move by the German automaker in a culture where customers expect to be be able to interact with their favorite brands one-on-one. While still holding the typical contest to send a few lucky winners to the red carpet premier, this extra initiative allows more fans to interact with the brand and ultimately create long-lasting loyalty.

During the film patrons will get to see first-hand the newest in-car technology on the market, ConnectedDrive. This is a huge leap forward from their history with the James Bond franchise where they only showcased invented technology. New model BMWs will have available options such as interactive traffic and parking assists, movile device connectivity, entertainment apps, and windshield displays. Even the actual car from the movie is being re-created and sold as the i8 hybrid and electric sports car.

From a consumer stand point, I don’t typically mind product placement where it makes sense. If during the RomCom of the month Katherine Heigl takes her newly adopted children to McDonald’s instead of Burger Barn it helps to create a more realistic scene. However, in BMW’s first product placement attempt with James Bond, they caused several scenes in the movies to be less realistic. Avid fans know that since 1960 Bond has only consumed Smirnoff martinis, worn a Rolex watch and driven an Aston Martin. It was shameful of the movie creators to “sell out” the James Bond character for BMW and later Omega.

Despite all the positive press surrounding this partnership, it still stands to reason that the inclusion of BMW could be overkill and gimmicky in the newest chapter of Mission:Impossible. Guess we’ll have to pay the $10 (or $0.99 from RedBox) to find out!

Source: BMW back for film ‘Mission’ on Variety