11 Goals for 11

In no particular order:
1. Become better informed. As an assignment for a class this semester I have to read the New York Times every day. I hope that by doing this, I can establish a habit of thinking about the world around me.
2. Don't get below a b- in any classes. I've done it before, I can do it again!
3. Be more sincere, thoughtful, and considerate. To everyone. Even if I don't like them.
4. Remeber the Lord!
5. Slow to anger.
6. Try not to gossip. It's hard. But trying makes a difference.
7. Figure out what I want to do with my life. Or at least the near future.
8. Eat halthier. And get an iPod to auto correct "healthier" when I need it to.
9. Enjoy my time more. I'm always in a hurry. Slowin' it down a couple speeds might help my stress levels.
10. Make an effort to befriend those who need a friend.
11. Be sensible. Don't make TOO many rash decisions.

Let's just hope I make it past 11 days with these goals!

A New Idea

I love when someone gives you something useful to remember their product. I think the "stress ball" and the lanyard are so overplayed; when I get one I just chuck it in the trash. However, this business card is functional, and not only tells the consumer what they do, but how they do it. Its a great form of advertising; if I had something like this, I would want to share it with other people and get the word out that Broke Bike Alley will give you a business card to hold you over until you can make it to their shop. Although this type of advertising can't be used for every product, I think this company really played to their strengths and is delivering a product and service that is unique and useful.

Just thinking...

The other day I was thinking about what makes something "good." It all started when I was getting ready in the morning before my presentation for my advertising project. I had hideous nails; the polish was half scratched off and it looked like a 12-year old had painted them. I thought, "I have to look my best for this presentation, so I'm going to take off my nail polish." But in reality, no one would have noticed that I had crappy looking nails. You only notice something is good once you've seen the bad.

So, just thinking about this reminds me that even though the good is made better once you've seen the bad, you should always try your hardest for that "good."

British. Rapping. Farmers.

Advertising today is such a great form of entertainment. The more unconventional, the greater the impact. I love that Yeo Valley created an ad proposing a new image for farmers- cool, sexy, and hip. I think this ad really appeals to a younger crowd and gives their product an image that dairy can be cool. Often, products without any controversy shy away from interesting campaigns, frequently making boring, run-of-the-mill ads that are bypassed and ignored. However, Yeo Valley has a direct focus and gets their message across without boring their audience.

I'm all sophisticated and stuff

Over the weekend I went to the Patriot's Ball with Brett Anderson. It was for his ROTC and it was a cool experience. We got to shake hands with some fancy people, wear fancy clothes, and dance...fancily.

Not so fancy with the guns and cougar. :)

MATT COSTA (sorry 'bout the long post. but this deserves it.)

The evening started out a bit rocky. We arrived after 6:30, even though we all thought the show would start at 6:30. Then, once we got there, we waited in line at Will-Call for an hour to receive our tickets.

BUT, then things started getting good. While we were in line, MATT COSTA WALKED RIGHT PAST ME! I had a mini-heart attack, but was too star-struck to do anything. I was very disappointed in myself. However once we got inside, we were very pleased. We went up to the front near the stage, the opening bands were delightful, and then Matt.

For me, this concert was magical. And that is barely doing it justice.

After a long wait of instrument setup and mic checks, the lights went off. Then, from the back of the room walks in Matt Costa followed by his bandmates playing Miss Magnolia. I got chills! (first time) I also touched him. J They proceeded through the setlist, playing all of my favorites. At one point, Matt was singing Astair alone. (btw, I really suggest you look up all these songs) Then, he moved away from the mic and lowered the volume on his guitar. Chills number two. The room was silent, it was incredible. You had to have been there.

Then Once he came up for his encore, I was really hoping he would play another one of my favorites, Vienna. And, alas, he did! (chills number 3) He played a 4-song encore. And all throughout the concert I was singing and dancing along.

After, we went out and I GOT TO TALK TO MATT COSTA. Yeah, I did. Oh, and I got his autograph on my shirt. Oh, and he called Ashley “babe”. Haha!

It was wonderful. And magical. And I am incredibly happy. I love matt costa. I love music. I love sweet teeshirts. And I am anticipating his next concert that I will definitely attend.

Product Placement

I love the TV series, Chuck. One of the things I really do love about this show is their hilarious use of product placement.

In the most recent episode (Season 4 Episode 4), there were two instances that stood out to me. The first product was the Toyota Sienna. My Ad File Set 3 was about the Toyota Sienna commercials and their target market of "cool dads," So naturally, I loved seeing Ellie's husband, "Awesome" talking about his new car, even before their baby is born. I think this placement just emphasizes the Toyota's aim to appeal to young, hip people. Awesome's character (aka Devon) is that of a sexy young doctor, and in his little spiel about the Sienna, he managed to throw in some of the special features the car has.

The second product was Subway. Subway is one of the main advertisers for Chuck. Their "subtle" advertisement in this episode was when talking about "Costa Gravas," (a communist nation frequently visited in the show) saying, "Costa Gravas is stable now, we even have a Subway franchise!"

Although product placement can often become irritating, I think Chuck does it in a way that adds additional humor to the show and portrays the product as something normal and hip.