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Google Chrome and Movember

Posted on by Emilie Buckman

In my opinion, Google Chrome has some of the best television commercials on TV right now.  For me, the commercials are always well planned and thoughtful. I am not embarrassed to say that the Dear Sophie commercial left me teary eyed!  The ads are fairly simple when you think about them but maybe that’s what is remarkable.  Some are just collection of images that we see every day:  searching Google, watching a video on YouTube, comment sections, social media, etc.

Considering I am predisposed to like Chrome ads, I was pretty excited when I saw their latest one, Movember. (Movember is an excuse to for dudes to grow a mustache for the month of November.) For those of you who don’t know me, I’m also predisposed to like facial hair! While it started out as something silly to do, it’s actually become a platform to raise awareness and money for men’s health issues, like prostate cancer. Now men all over the world now grow their mustaches for a purpose.

For me this whole concept is fantastic!  Sometimes it seems the push for cancer awareness and prevention tends to be dominated by women.  While men participate, it never seems to be the main target of most campaigns.  With the Movember campaign taking a more male-centered approach, it has a real chance of making a big impact. I mean seriously, men seem to really enjoy having any reason to grow a mustache!

I love Movember and I love Google Chrome for spreading the word for such a good cause.  And if I could grow a mustache (thank the lord, I can’t!), I would be sporting a handlebar one right now to support the cause!

Weighing in on the NBA lockout

Posted on by Brian Lee

Didn’t the NBA learn anything from the NHL? The cancellation of the 2004-05 season of the latter did a lot of damage to the league and its players. For example, ESPN replaced its missing programming with college basketball and got a ratings boost; NHL games are now seen on Versus. In addition, the league had to change the rules to make the game more exciting in an effort to win back fans.

In that case, the players played hardball and lost an entire season, then caved. Now it looks like NBA players are going to make the same mistake. Yes, I am blaming the players. If my employer said, “We are losing money, and you’re going to have to take a pay cut or the company will fold,” I of course would be disappointed but I wouldn’t fight it.

NBA owners are essentially saying that they will lose less money by canceling a season than by having one at the current salary structure. How does this appear to NBA fans (and even non-fans)? It looks like players are extraordinarily greedy and stupid.

Meanwhile, there are many people across the country who are unemployed. Do you think they sympathize with the players? The public perception of the NBA as a whole will be negative for a long, long time.

The players should just accept the 50-5o split of basketball-related income and get on with the season. At this point, it’s not only their best option financially, it’s also their only chance to keep on good terms with their fans, who really matter the most here.

For more insight, read these great articles:

Costumes, contests, and controversy

Posted on by Emilie Buckman

With Halloween this weekend and my childish affection for it, I’ve become obsessed with finding a unique and creative costume. I have never been into buying a store bought costume, especially since choices for women generally range from tacky to distasteful. But this year I am at a loss for ideas and I blame it entirely on American Apparel not holding their annual online costume competition.  For the last few years they had customers submit their costumes and share what pieces they used from American Apparel collection. Normally, I sift through the submissions and leech off the creativity of others for my costume! (They do have costumes ideas on their website, but they aren’t user submitted and they aren’t nearly as interesting.)

Now, my feelings toward America Apparel are conflicted. I mean, their products are made in the USA, they are environmentally conscious and they offer 30 different color options for V-neck shirts, which is all good in my opinion.  But their ads are borderline obscene and their sizing is more appropriate for children than their adult customers.

Despite all of this, the one thing I was never conflicted towards American Apparel was Halloween. With all the color options in basic individual pieces, it is ideal for building your own costume.  And as an advertising tool, I think it’s pretty amazing.  With all social media has to offer a company, it doesn’t have the same impact if fans aren’t willing to engage.  Just by using their website, they were able to engage and interact with minimal effort or a formal social media outlet.

While it’s completely an assumption, I feel they opted out of the contest this year after their disastrous plus-size model contest.  If I am correct, then it’s sad.  By trying so hard to be provocative, they are missing opportunities to change their image and connect with customers. Making the brand more about the creative people, like those who post their Halloween creations, I think it could do wonders for their public image. But who knows, maybe I’m just bitter I don’t have a cool idea for a Halloween costume!