The Good Life At Google

It seems that the employees of Google have been living the good life. I have seen the pictures of the Googleplex work environment it looks like one of the best places on Earth to work. As it turns out, Google has been spending $72 MILLION dollars per year feeding it's employees. That's $7350 per employee to give them 3 chef created meals per day. Wow, that is one hefty benefit.

Your asking yourself, how can they afford that? Well, they make $4.2 billion dollars. When you take that into consideration it doesn't seem that bad. But wait a minute, what about the share holders. Since the big G is a publicly traded company, do the shareholders have anything to say about that?

According to Valleywag, the free dinner program is going bye bye for some. "Google's food cutbacks are more targeted than we'd first heard. Dinner will still be served in buildings which house engineers...Google's only eliminating the evening meal in cafes frequented by nontechnical employees."

The dinner cutback as well as eliminating the tea trolley and the afternoon "snack attack" may not be good for morale but it will definitely add significant dollars to the bottom line. Don't cry for the Googlers just yet. They still receive (free of charge) breakfast AND lunch in quality and quantity fit for a king.

Long live the G.

 

"What I Found In My Email" Mondays. Vol.2 - Issue 24

For those of you just joining the fun, for a while now I have been doing this series of posts on Monday's. Mainly because I am usually buried on Monday's and secondly I am lazy and they are quick to put up. The rule is that I look in my inbox for something special or funny and put it up.

I do have to confess, this email was sent to me a couple of Mondays ago but it was so good that I decided to save it for today.

Because the Olympics were in China this year, they have gone to great lengths to accommodate all the English speaking tourists.


What exactly do you want me to do?


See I told you!


What every you do, don't order the Chocolate Star Latte.


They have the record on security cameras and mirrors.


I was told that being a vegetarian was better. Darn you PETA.


A very hip robber?


I'm sorry sir, you are going to have to die somewhere else.


Ahhhh, so that's where they go in.


Wow! Bottle water - Now in a can.


Uhhh, OK. I feel like I need to wash my hands now.

You gotta love the differences between English and Chinese. As you can see from the tags on the pictures, these images come from engrish.com. There are many more pictures where these came from.

Welcome to the week!

 

The Advertising of Yesterday Part XVI

It's Friday and it's time for another edition of "The Advertising of Yesterday". I know, I know. I have been slacking this week. Your probably wondering where I have been. No where, I have just been busy. Trying to balance client work and getting my campaign up and running.

No more excuses. On to the good stuff.

This ad for Savage Firearms comes from a 1970 issue of Outdoor Life. I ran across several ads that are similar to this one but most are strictly promoting the rifles and shotguns. This particular ad is part of a contest where you can win trips, campers and guns - Oh my.



Oh how we have changed. Before political correctness, there was Savage. OK, check me if I am wrong. I find it highly unlikely that a "Native American" would be seen in a modern day ad promoting something with a negative name tied to the days long before this ad was conceived - Savage. As I sit here and reflect back, I remember a local restaurant called "Sambos." The restaurant operated with images of what was probably the most offensive commercial cartoon character by today's standards. Little Black Sambo.



"A popular U.S. restaurant chain of the 1960s and 1970s, Sambo's, borrowed characters from the book (including Sambo and the tigers) for promotional purposes... the controversy about the book led to accusations of racism that contributed to the 1,117-restaurant chain's demise in the early 1980s. Images inspired by the book (now considered by some racially insensitive) were common interior decorations in the restaurants."

The world we live in continues to evolve around us. Sometimes for the good and sometimes for the bad. Advertising that influences us all continues to evolve along with society. Ad that are now common place would be seen as a detestable in the 60's. Conversely, ads like the one above are now seen as inappropriate. Either way, advertising is a big part of our lives. Everyone views it and responds to it, but most are seldom conscious of advertising's effectiveness - that is until we see things like they use to be.

Thanks for stopping by. Oh, and make sure you get entered in the contest. Have a great weekend everyone.

 

It's Here! The AdSpace Contest

You've waited for it too long. The anticipation. The secrecy. And now the AWE! Ladies and gentlemen, Today is the Day.

This is first day of The AdSpace Contest and I'm proud to announce that I am one of 10 co-hosts.

The idea is simple and easy: Get as many entries as you can (it's to easy to enter) over the next 30 days. The more entries you get, the better chance you have of winning! At the end of the 30 days, we'll announce the winner.

The prize?

A 125x125 pixel ad spot (above the fold) on at least TEN DIFFERENT BLOGS that will run for one month. That's at least a $100 value!

Who else is co-hosting?

Geek Mom Mashup

Vrtualme

Jamaipanese

Best of Stupid

AxioBlog

The Big Bald Blog

Jason Boom

Unconventional Marketing Blog

Offended Blogger

GorillaSushi

How do you enter to win? Simple:

1 Entry - Subscribe to any one of the blogs above via email. Make sure you tell me what your email is in the comment or sent it to me via the contact page so I can verify you did indeed subscribe.

10 Entries - Show the Love! Write a post about the contest (must include links to all 10 hosts OR use our suggested text)

25 Entries - Offer up an ad spot on your own blog for one month as part of the prize package (links will be listed above)

Simply put, you could subscribe to all 10 blogs, write a post and offer up your own ad spot for a grand total of 45 entries! Be sure to tell me in the comments below when and how you've entered to ensure that your entries get counted.

Good Luck!

 

The Advertising of Yesterday Part XV

When a 4 wheel drive vehicle simply won't do - Drive a tank.



Doesn't Cushman make golf carts? Well evidently in 1970 they were also in the personal tank business. Honestly, I would love to have one of these little guys. That thing can probably go through all kinds of nastiness and come out smelling like a rose on the other side.

A quick search of "Cushman Trackster" will provide more information than you care to know. There are some excellent videos on YouTube featuring units that people have restored. There's even a guy that's selling parts for the Trackster.

If your reading this post on Friday morning, I have already been relaxing in the North woods for over 12 hours. I know your jealous. Have a great weekend everyone!

 

Tropic Thunder Being Protested In Iowa

The Hawkeye Down Syndrome Association protested the showing of Tropic Thunder at the Wehrenberg Theater in Cedar Rapids. The protest was waged "for the movie's use of the 'r' word, retard, in the movie. Protestors (sic) called for a boycott of the movie, saying the word's use in the movie is very offensive to people with mental disabilities." Via KWWL

As it turns out, people all over are protesting the movie. I can think of a lot more offensive things to protest movies for. I guess everyone has their cause. I can't remember people protesting a movie this much since The Last Temptation of Christ.

The picketers must not have seen Something About Mary.

 

Bigfoot Has Been Found?

Uhhh, I don't know how to say this but it appears that they have found a Bigfoot! If you saw Fox News this morning, you would have seen the picture. It is not on Fox's site yet but the same picture has surfaced on The Inquisitr's site.



According to the press release on the site:

"A body that may very well be the body of the creature commonly known as “Bigfoot” has been found in the woods in northern Georgia.

DNA evidence and photo evidence of the creature will be presented in a press conference on Friday, August 15th from 12 Noon to 1:00pm at the Cabana Hotel-Palo Alto at 4290 El Camino Real in Palo Alto, California, 94306. The press conference will not be open to the public. It will only be open to credentialed members of the press.

Here are some of the vital statistics on the “Bigfoot” body:

• The creature is seven feet seven inches tall.
• It weighs over five hundred pounds.
• The creature looks like it is part human and part ape-like.
• It is male.
• It has reddish hair and blackish-grey eyes.
• It has two arms and two legs, and five fingers on each hand andfive toes on each foot.
• The feet are flat and similar to human feet.
• Its footprint is sixteen and three-quarters inches long and five and three-quarters inches wide at the heel.
• From the palm of the hand to the tip of the middle finger, its hands are eleven and three-quarters inches long and six and one-quarter inches wide.
• The creatures walk upright. (Several of them were sighted on the same day that the body was found.)
• The teeth are more human-like than ape-like.
• DNA tests are currently being done and the current DNA and photo evidence will be presented at the press conference on Friday, August 15th."

The main site that has been featuring the pictures, Cryptomundo, has been down. It probably can't handle the traffic that is hitting right now. The beast in question was discovered dead in Georgia by two men, Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer and authenticated by Bigfoot researcher Tom Biscardi.

I will remain skeptical until the press conference on the 15th. What does this mean? I don't think it means anything until we hear the results of the DNA tests. My guess - clever hoax.

Do you believe in Bigfoot?

 

Strange Phone Calls

I was sitting here feverishly working away (not really) and my extension rang. A gentleman on the other end of the line was inquiring about building a website. He had a concept and wanted me to give him a quote over the phone. He lives in the area so I tried to set up an appointment with him to outline what it was that he needed and that way we could have an accurate idea of what he was looking for. Turns out he wanted a website like Ebay or Amazon. Sweet!

Still wanting me to give him a quote off the cuff, I tried to explain that this was a seriously HUGE project and we would definitely need to meet. After a few more questions, we started talking about budget. He had a budget of $900 to $1000. Silence ensued. I didn't know how to respond. I kindly explained to him that you could not build an Ebay for $1000. He hung up.

Here's the funny part. Instead of working feverishly like I had previously indicated, I was actually on a website called Tech Support Comedy listening to recorded customer service calls. I have never had someone that irate call me before, but I thought that it was rather ironic that I was wasting time on a website like that and I got a call that could be a part of that site.

What have you received in the way of strange calls?

 

The Olympics

Seems like everyone is blogging about the Olympics and everyone seems to be doing a fine job. After last night, I have got to mention something about the 4 x 100 freestyle swimming event.



HOLY COW, what an amazing race. It reminded me of the 1980 US Olympic hockey team. I was almost choked up when Jason Lezak swam what is being called the greatest anchor leg in swimming history.

Here's the best part. The pre-race smack talkin'. The French said they were going to "smash" the US team. According to Alain Bernard from the French team, that was why they came to the games. The guys in the American crew had this quote pasted up all over the place as motivation. Trash talking only takes you so far. You have to pony up in the skillz department if you dont want poo poo in the face. So what do you think now? Still in the smashing trades?



If you missed the race, you can check it out on NBC's Olympic coverage site. Welcome to a new week everyone.

 

A Sometimes On Saturday Contest Post

Because it has been such a long time since I entered a contest, I thought I would throw my hat in the ring again to see if my luck changes. BetshopBoy is giving away a bunch of cool gizmos during his first anniversary contest. 4GB Sandisk Micro Cruzer skin flash drives, 125×125 ads on his sidebar and a 2GB Creative Zen MP3 player is the grand prize.

Here's what you have to do to enter.

* Registration and 1 point –> Subscribe to his RSS Feed via email (mandatory) and comment below that you are registered to win. You can use the subscribe option in the sidebar or at the end of this post.

* 1 point: Stumble or Stumble Review the contest

* 2 points –> Follow him on Twitter and Twitt about this contest with link to his contest page.

* 5 points –> Make a *New* blog post on a publicly accessible blog (cannot be on a password protected page such as myspace or facebook) and link to his contest page and the homepage. Additional 5 points given if you embed the video(found in his post) in your post.

Earn Bonus Points
15 points –> Make a *New* blog post (separate from above post) and embed anyone of his videos found in below posts with a short writeup and link to the respective posts. That’s 15 points for each new post with a video.

I am going to wish you good luck even though you aren't win. I have this feeling. Wait, maybe the feeling is just acid reflux.

 

The Advertising of Yesterday Part XIV

I guess there is nothing special or odd about this ad. This is simply another celebrity endorsing Camel Cigarettes. It's also another example of the campaign that came before the, "I'd walk a mile for a Camel" campaign.

This ad comes from 1965, the days before Photoshop. Honestly, I can't imagine having to work up ads with out the modern design software and computers. I have seen demonstrations how the old ads were made. It may not have been uncommon for an agency to have 40 man hours in an ad. And if the client didn't like the photography and/or hand drawn art, it was literally "back to the drawing board."

Yes, the 60's were an interesting time. The time when a plastic bag from the cleaners made a great space man costume when you put it over your head. The time when there was no fuel injection and you could fix your car yourself. And the time when you could ride up front as a kid and not worry about a booster seat.

But hey, we are much better off now... Aren't we?

 

Another Big Number

The other day we were talking about how much a trillion was. I stumbled across this post by Lordy on Funtasticus during my reddit browse. This post contains an excellent graphical representation of how much, or rather how BIG $315 billion dollars is.

























Yep, it's a huge amount of money and if were all in one dollar bills, it would take up a HUGE amount of space. The point? Never, EVER, store you money outside next to your car and make sure it's all in 100's.

 

"What I Found In My Email" Mondays. Vol.2 - Issue 23

Hello my friends and welcome to another week. In this edition of "what I found in my email" we have a few pictures that came with the title: "Seconds before the pain sets in."









Jason, thought you might like this one.




On that note, I wish you happy week.

 

The Advertising of Yesterday Part XIII

So you want to go deer hunting?



Well, how about doing it on a motorcycle? The 1965 advertising execs for the Honda corporation thought it was a good idea to try and capture the "hunting" market. Forget about pickups, jeeps and all the other 4 wheel drive vehicles of the day, and get yerself a 90 cc motorcicle. Granted, this was the time before ATV's as we know them were even an idea but seriously, how in the world are you going to transport a 220 (270 in Iowa) pound deer on a motorcycle. Such a disappointing attempt at penetrating a market from a company with one of the top ad campaigns of all time. These ads were the follow up to the, "you meet the nicest people on a Honda" campaign and an attempt to attract the "outdoorsy" crowd.



The "You meet the nicest people on a Honda" campaign instituted by Grey Advertising was wildly successful. In the late 50's and early 60's, the bad biker image was systematically being dismantled by 8 cleverly crafted words. "Mothers who once wouldn't listen to an adolescent child's plea for a motorcycle began to compromise, saying, "I'll buy you one, if it's a Honda."





After the initial airing of the first ads, "...Honda was overwhelmed with requests to start up new dealerships and inundated with offers from other large corporations wanting to tie their own ad campaigns in with Honda. Annual sales of Honda motorcycles jumped from 40,000 units a year to a staggering 200,000 units per year, a 500% sales increase. No wonder that to this day, in colleges and universities around the world, the “Nicest People” campaign is studied as a model for a successful advertising campaign." Source

So there's a little more history for you. I am heading to the local waterpark tomorrow and if people are lucky they may catch a glimps of my glorious belly. Till next week then.

Thanks for stopping by!