Jan 30, 2008

Making It a Bit More Complex

Next week 3 new types of Rubik's Cube will be officially presented at the 59th Spielwarenmesse International Toy Fair Nurberg (from 7 to 12 February 2008).

Manufactured under the V-CUBE™ technology, invented and patented worldwide by the Greek engineer Panagiotis Verdes, this technology made possible the construction of cubes, of an unlimited number of layers providing safe and smooth rotation.

At Verdes Innovations you can learn more about their future projects (including one cube of up to eleven layers!) and you can also find in YouTube some videos of Speedcubing World Champion Mr. Frank Morris solving the 6x6x6 or the 7x7x7 versions.



I truly have no patience for this toy. I solved the regular one 2 or 3 times in my whole life and I believe it was by complete chance. I can't imagine myself trying to solve this one! (I will probably have a nervous breakdown before getting to finish just one side!)

Via: BentoBox

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Is Not What You Expected...

An interesting online campaign from the National Health Services (UK). It works using an almost worldwide known joke as the base to deliver a message that is NOT the one you are expecting!


Found in BannerBlog, nice to have a site dedicated just to online advertising!

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Jan 29, 2008

Shakers "Alien Style"

I am a complete sucker for salt and pepper shakers. On one hand, when I lived alone I used to have a salt shaker in every room, and I mean EVERY room, including the bathroom. Being single and not exactly the tidy type I wanted to have salt always handy.

So there it was a salt shaker in my nightstand, another one right in front of the computer and one with my make up stuff near the mirror in the bathroom. Of course I have a couple in the living room and another couple in the kitchen.

Now, living with my significant other, that habit has changed a bit. He is not the tidy one type either (no tidy one could survive a month with me) but he is an engineer, so he needs to have "a place for everything and everything in its place" -as my mother would say. Ergo, there are no more salt shakers in the bathroom..., at least not in his.

Still they are objects that I love. They have so many possibilities. Designers have done soooo many things with them and still, there is so much it can be done.

Here is an example. These are floating salt and pepper shakers that didn't win the "Dining in 2015" contest organized by DesignBoom (I do not agree at all with the judges' decision, but they are the judges and I am not, such is life!)


The whole thing uses strong Neodymium magnets
and you can see here that they have in fact a "floating base".



When it comes to these little objects, I have more, way, way, way more to share. I am compiling my collection of pictures in Flickr, and I promise I will share it as soon as it is done.

Meanwhile if you have a favorite set and you want to send me a picture, it will be certainly appreciated!

See all the entries in the "Dining in 2015" contest.

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Jan 28, 2008

Love Words AND Chocolate?

I have one word for you then: TYPOLADE. The purrrr-fect present for Valentine's Day (or for every other normal and ordinary day in a woman's life, let's face it, we don't need to wait until Valentine's Day!)

Sadly, for now the product is available only in Europe and the site is just in German. The idea though, is easy to understand once you see the pictures of the products they sell.

Here are some.




I am actually drooling. I feel like one of Pavlov's dogs. My only excuse is that they look like dark chocolate (my favorite type) and I have been trying to slow down on my carbs and sugar consumption... mmmm.. schokolade..., chocolate..., chocolat..., ciocolato..., it doens't matter the language you use, it always sounds good!

Disclaimer: for real I got so distracted with this site that now I really don't remember how I found it...

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Google Ads That REALLY Stand Out

So far the most creative ads I have seen for Google Ads. No need to explain why, I believe.. They won the Eurobestlive 2007 for the interactive media category.

The company, a German Car Rental may probably get more hits than expected thanks to a great yet simple idea.



Now, as you can see in the original posting, there is a whole discussion about those ads not being real because Google never allows "excessive punctuation".

But, as one reader proved with his own ASCII ad (see below, I was able to find it myself by typing "Ugly Houses"... left bottom corner, I magnified it for better exposure) you can still get ads like these ones approved.


I am glad to see that good skills at ASCII may become useful again!


Found in BannerBlog, via MindValleyLabs and CoolZ0r

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Lego: the Old, the Good, the Bad & More

Today Lego is officially 50. What means middle age for a person, means amazing for a toy. Not so many toys can become a classic that can endure half a century of continuous sales, and EVERYONE is celebrating.

From Google (that has made his logo/lego) to bloggers, we have all become "Lego" for one day (and we both have lego in our names!).

I will be no exception, even when in my country we used to play with the well known "Rasti" that was as good as any Lego(*).

As UglyDoggy is all about ideas, advertising, products and surprises we will be celebrating by going through some of the milestones of their advertising and their product.

The Old: Not too much to say, just a classic of an era.


The New (and Awarded): Originally from South Africa, this ad was a Cannes Print Grand Prix 2006 winner, which makes it the best print ad of 2006 (Agency, FCB). Only word in the ad, "Imagine..." (while it is suppoused to be a periscope I know people that have seen some other things, so I guess the imagine part is pretty accurate!)




The Bad (and fake): A series of ads that ended up with the creative guys getting fired from Saatchi&Saatchi, China. No, the agency didn't approve the ads, no, Lego wasn't even a client. They were just playing, brainstorming and they came up with these ads, twin towers included. All hell broke loose and apology letters were sent, creatives were fired and ads where (almost) out of circulation. Note: the slogan here was changed from "Build it", to "Rebuild it"


And More: You can tell that a product has gone far and beyond when they can start selling products that represent their original product in a different environment, like you can see here... (instead of just bricks, ice bricks!)

The Lego Ice Brick Tray with real colored ice bricks, as seen in Blogadilla

I hope you find this small hommage good enough. If you want more, here is the Lego Man that swam ashore in Netherlands or you can see another type of ad where Legos were used to deliver a healthy message.


(*)Psssst: Meanwhile if you are a Rasti fan, I have good news for you: they are still selling and now there is a Rasti Fan Club (just in Spanish, sorry!)

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Jan 27, 2008

One of a Kind B'Day Cards

In my daily hoppings from site to site following links, I came accross the site of an interesting young graphic designer. His name is Tim Belonax and he has some good material specially designing book covers.

He is also one of the creative minds behind the idea of a police looking tape that instead of being used to delimitate a crime scene was used to show that... "everything is ok" (that was the advertising campaign for a website called... you guess it right, everythingisok.com). The campaign was conceived by the design studio MINE.

But from all his work what attracted me the most was the birthday card that he made for his father's 60 birthday celebration. As great ideas tend to be, it is incredible simple.

Judge by yourself...


...isn't it strikingly lovely?

Found via -->Its nice that--> Tim Belonax

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Shopping Readings ( -- or the Curse of Reading, Part I)

I have a small problem (considering the type of problems out there, this is a little one for sure...) and the problem is that I am a compulsive reader. I will read anything that crosses my path: magazines, my spam email, your email, books, websites, small signs, billboards, literally ANYTHING.

I call it the "The Curse of Reading" and considering that some days ago Steve Jobs publicly "announced" that people do not read anymore (I personally believe that he simply doesn't know how to market to readers so he took the easy way out), reading may have become a real curse... because seriously, sometimes I feel I am the only one "seeing" some things.

Below you will find a good example. Roaming the supermarket, I came accross the sachet that you can see below and its text caught my attention. As you can read, it is for doing Smoothies.... but one minute, right below the title it says:

"Add a fresh banana, milk, and ice to make 1 quarter of refreshing smoothie".


Are you KIDDING me?

Now, I have been living in this country for just 4 years so my first thought was that there may be something about how to made smoothies that I didn't know. So I went online and made some research about the "basics" needed for a smoothie . It turns out that for a good smoothie, your indispensables are:

8 Fruit 8 Milk 8 Sugar 8 Ice

So, what is in there that costs between .75 and 1 dollar, that I need for a good smoothie? Just sugar? And if that is the case, why would I but it "disguised" this way?

I turned the pack around to read the ingredients and I found out that yes, basically, you are paying for all the bad stuff that a smoothie doesn't need to have, like corn syrup and artificial flavor... To be fair it has exactly sugar, corn syrup solids, nonfat dry milk, propylene glycol alginate, artificial flavor and modified soy protein.

Half of those components are not necessary, the other half are not healthy. And they add 50 more calories, 13 carbs and 11g of sugar to your smoothie.

Of course, I bought it. I needed to scan the product and show it here --so I could prove that this is for real not part of my imagination.

Now, can someone let me know why, WHY, WHY, would someone spend money in this product? How come they can add milk, ice and bananas to this, but they can't add more milk and sugar if needed? Why would you buy this? Isn't it like buying dehydrated water?

Now, you see, this is the curse of reading...

Can someone please help me, and explain this product to me?

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Jan 26, 2008

An Open Minded Sign

I like open minded people and I try to be one (and I believe I am, at least most of the time).

But let's go straight to the point: when I read that this restroom sign that you can see below was in fact a a proposal a designer presented to a lab in GM and that they actually decided to use it, GM automatically gained some points with me!


Of course I couldn't help but wonder if they actually have a third restroom... if I was there I would try that one, just to see who are the other ones that also would choose that "third option".

I found this picture in Flickr and if you like it, you may want to check this guy collection of Funny Signs..., and if you don't get scared easily, I seriously recommend his pictures of Evil Dolls!

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Jan 23, 2008

Amazing DIY for the Underworld


Everyone that knows me, knows that I am NOT a Do-It-Yourself enthusiast. Not at all. But on the other hand, I will never deny the importance of the DIY "movement" to the advancement of the arts and the sciences. If it wasn't for those crazy DIY guys and gals of the world we could not learn from mistakes and move forward.

This is what this posting is about. Last weekend we went to the Keys, specifically to Islamorada, where we found out is the "Florida Keys History of Diving Museum". Located in a corner, from outside looks like a small place but once you are inside you realize that is not so small and that they have done a great job with the space they got.

This Museum is a "must see". They have managed to have a great quantity of material but what is more important, they also have very good quality, with originals and unexpected things like a completely articulated puppet of a diver with a perfect replica of a real diving suit and, as you can see here, a complete collection of homemade diving devices (some of them will remind you of Tinman from Oz or about Bender in Futurama).

With 12 different rooms dedicated to different aspects of diving, it also has space for the entertainment side of it: one room is about Verne's 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, with poster et al.

You really don't need to be a diving fan to enjoy a visit to this place. If you like history or science or you used to love Cousteau series, this is a place you really want to visit. You'll love it!

Check out here more pictures of helmets, suits and even toys and treasure chests that you can see (and touch!) at the Museum -just remember this is a very small part of all that they have...



Their exact address is: 82990 Overseas Highway at MM 83, Islamorada, FL. Their website is www.divingmuseum.com and you will not regret the visit!

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Jan 22, 2008

Changing the World

Today I trip over a website about Usability and Web Standards and I instantly fall in love with their tagline:


"I would love to change the world,
but they won’t give me
the source code"


Found @ Just Add Water (Denmark)

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Jan 21, 2008

Similar Concepts for Different Outcomes

If you have ever seen the any of the Verizon Wireless ads (from "Is the network" campaign) you will probably agree with me that this nice ad from India works a similar concept, just from another angle. As it always happen when you have a concept (in this case it could be loyalty, trustworthiness) there are several ways to express that concept.

While Verizon has a very effective campaign based that makes us smile, this campaign from Hutch also has that "cutiness" factor that only pets and kids can give (and if you have a kid and a pet like in this case, much better...).

Check it out until the end, where the best shot is!



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Jan 17, 2008

Nature, Without Photoshop

At first glance this picture seems like something either manipulated with Photoshop or a setup, but is none. Is the result of nature being nature and the good eye of an expert photographer.

Weird shot, uh? The explanation, nevertheless, is fairly simple: on the right the sand is covered in frost, while on the left are the remains of something alive that was standing or lying on that same sand.According to the photographer, Andy Rouse, "what you are seeing is straight from the camera with no changes, testament to the quality of the D3 and the lenses which are drawing me ever closer to Nikon day by day".

Both his blog and his site with his work are worth visiting if you are interested in very good pictures of nature and wildlife.

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Smart Use of an Optical Illusion

Ok, this is an ad and is not. Is an ad because it was conceived like one, and is not, because it wasn't made by the company or the advertising agency... but just by a guy and his partner.

Nevertheless, is a great ad, that has all the potential to become viral. Check it out following the instructions... Believe me, once you have seen the surprising ending, you will want to check if it was an optical illusion or just a camera trick.

It is an optical illusion and you can verify that by seeing it again without following the instructions, just checking the end. The whole thing is simple but a GREAT idea!



Cool, uhm?

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A Point Very Well Made


More than ever this campaign is about location, location, location.

Conceived for an anti acne product, instead of working with pictures of people with acne they produced posters with photos of nice models BUT the posters are stucked on rugged walls. "The texture of the walls is imprinted on the posters and makes pretty faces look rather jagged: the effect of Acne", explains the Creative Director, Samer Younes.

The Agency is Saatchi & Saatchi (Beirut) and the campaing got an Epica Bronze Award under the category Press, Poster & Techniques.

Via: ArabAd Zone

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This May Explain a Lot

I am not really "mainstream", for good and for bad. In fact, lately, I have been often compared with the character House (from the TV series).

The first time I got compared, I quickly opened my mouth to complain and defend myself..., when I thought it twice and decided to shut that big mouth of mine. I must confess I find it more a compliment than anything else because no, I don't pop pills like candy (in fact I avoid them by default), so I'll guess that they are all his other charming traits the ones that got me compared.

Now, the other day, reading snippets of information here and there, I came accross an article in BNet about "The Weird Rules of Creativity", a synopsis from the Harvard Business Review article by Robert I. Sutton.

According to this synopsis, a way to fuel innovation is: "Hire people you don't like. Encourage them to defy superiors and peers. Wholeheartedly commit to risky projects. Get your happiest workers arguing. And keep your innovators away from customers."

It suddenly stroke me: Could this be why I was never out of work...? Would that explain it all?

Source: BNet

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Calling All Brazilian Readers (Not Anymore)

Today I came accross a nice Brazilian website (that will go into my list of links right now) called "Direto do Forno". If my very basic Portuguese is right, that would translate as "Direct from the Oven".

According to this site, a new campaign from Tim Telephonica has been launched and all the campaign is using the adorable creatures that you can see in the picture.

I tried to find the campaign, but without luck. Yeah, I have been in the site of the company and visiting the site of McCann Brazil, the agency in charge but I only found some not-so-good banners.

So...., to my friends in Brazil, if the campaign is as good as the toys used for it... can you send me a sample of it? I am not asking for the TV spot, but I would love to see something from that campaign! (thanks in advance) ;)



UPDATE: Today I found out that the TV commercial is already online. You can see it in Portuguese here. I will try my best to have a translated version soon to post in UD.

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Jan 16, 2008

The Power of Us

The internet is a 'place' where a lot of things can be done by "us", a bunch of individuals collaborating with someone's project. Sometimes for good causes, sometimes for personal causes, sometimes 'just because'.

Post Secret is a clear example: it could have been done without the internet but would have been slow and probably not a book yet.

Here is another case, the Smith Magazine forthcoming book, NOT QUITE WHAT I WAS PLANNING: Six-Word Memoirs By Writers Famous & Obscure

Based on the idea of a story in 6 words, they have been inviting people to write theirs, and with such a success that it will become a book. Check out this nice video made with some of the submissions...



My submission will not be in the book (I send it a bit too late) but I have no problem in sharing it with you. It can be consider a story or it could be an epitaph....


"Love dogs way more than people"

(And yeah, that's me...)

Source SmithMag

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The Scowling Mao

This piece of news is everywhere today: French car-maker Citroen has apologised to China for running a full-page advertisement in several Spanish newspapers featuring a poster of late Chinese leader Mao Zedong pulling a wry face at a sporty hatch-back.

Under the Biblical quotation "Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's", the text talked up Citroen's position as the car sales leader in 2006 and 2007 with a bombastic tone. "It's true, we are leaders, but at Citroen the revolution never stops," the advertisement said. "We are once more going to put in motion all the machinery of our technological ability, in order to repeat in 2008 the successes obtained in previous years," it added.

The digital manipulation of Mao's image and its 'scowling' had infuriated Chinese Internet users who saw it as a slight, it said. "As a Chinese, I felt greatly insulted when seeing this ad," a posting on web portal Tianya said. "It is not only insulting Chairman Mao, but the whole Chinese nation."

So, probably trying to make sure that they can keep a good name in the next big market for car automakers, Citroen had pulled the ad and apologised to China in a letter sent to the Chinese paper. "Citroen expresses regret for any displeasure caused by the advertisement and apologises to all who have been hurt by it," the Global Times quoted the letter as saying. A spokeswoman for Citroen in China confirmed the apology letter. "Citroen reiterates its friendship with the Chinese people, and highly respects China's representative figures and symbols," the spokeswoman told Reuters by telephone.

What you can't find everywhere (so easily) is the ad. So here it is, the Scowling Mao.


Personally, I believe is not such a big deal. But I am not Chinese and I just can't see the image as "disrespectful" considering also that the copy is about being powerful and revolutionary. And I must confess there is a part of me that wants to advice the Chinese to "get used to this, dear; this is part of life and business in the free world."

Opinions? Thoughts? Why is it such a big deal? Is it because of Mao or because of the potential size of China's market?

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Jan 15, 2008

Mailbox for Fans

Apple Fan? You are not alone. But fan or not, let's face it, this is not a bad idea at all for a mailbox. Now, if you believe you are a true Apple fan, check this site and compare notes. If you got 50% or more of what is shown there, you are not a fan, you are sick!

On the other hand, I thought my house was a bit geeky with just 2 humans, one dog and 5 computers. I was very very wrong: Check this basement! (and BTW, this place comes to show that you can be geeky and cool at the same time).

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Kids Products -Now Just for Adults

Two complete different 'products' that nevertheless have something in common: the fact that after seeing them you'll never be able to see those kids' birthdays with balloon figurines and home made cookies the same way again -ever!

A bit disturbing at first glance, they are both very good ideas. This first one is in fact not a product but an asian advertisign campaign for condoms. The client is Durex and the agency is Ogilvy & Mather (Singapore).


The ones below are products; they are real cookie cutters and if you want to spice up an adult gathering, you can buy them at this Swedish site. Is not like they have the whole Kama Sutra, but you will have enough cookie cutters to remind everyone that sex comes in different shapes and forms.


Via Azrhey findings and Creativity Mag

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Jan 14, 2008

Smurfs Looking Into AARP (Happy B'day Little Ones!)


They will always be young at heart but the fact is that this year they are celebrating half a century!

Yes, the smurfs are planning to celebrate their 50th birthday this year with a new TV series, books and a film, with UNICEF among the beneficiaries, their human promoters said Monday.

Europeans were only introduced to them in October 1958, when Brussels-born cartoonist Peyo (Pierre Culliford) first launched the "Schtroumpfs" onto an unsuspecting Belgian public.

Throughout 2008, 20 European cities will be flooded by the minute characters. "The invasion will begin on January 20 and end in October," said Hendrick Coysman, head of the Belgian-based IMPS group which holds the rights to the cartoon characters and is controlled by Peyo's widow Nine and children Veronique and Thierry Culliford.

The sale of tens of thousands of small figurines will benefit the United Nations Children's Fund, Coysman said. A much larger Smurf statue, decorated by an unnamed celebrity, will be auctioned off on October 23, the 50th birthday date, with the proceeds also going to the UN's children's fund.

UNICEF and the Smurfs joined forces two years ago to raise the plight of ex-child soldiers in Africa and are teaming up to promote children's rights and education worldwide.

The Smurfs are also to head back to the big screen with a co-production with the US Paramount film group (I have to confess I may want to see that movie... I have always loved the grumpy Smurf, Grouchy!)

Check here their birthday party site that is available in 12 languages!

Via La Nacion

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Jan 13, 2008

The Forever Pen

A special pen with a very nice design and... inkless (but you can still write with it!).

The solid metal 'nib' of this Metal Pen consists of a metal alloy, that leaves a mark on most types of paper. If you use the sort of paper typically used in printers and photocopiers, the pen leaves a mark that looks as if it was made by a pencil. However the line will not smudge, and cannot be rubbed out.


Because is made of metal and there is no ink involved, it may become the more long lasting pen you will ever have!

An out of the ordinary product that seems like the perfect companion for the Designed Signature I was telling you about a couple of days ago. You can get this one (and read more about how it works) at Grand Illusions, a place with wonderful gifts for the 'uneasy mind'.


Via the Blogrush Widget -->Azhrey's Findings -->Grand Illusions

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Jan 12, 2008

Postcards from the Future

I like Canadians. Even when is one of the few 'big' countries I have never been, I like how they think and I am always checking their advertising. Today, going through the last Applied Arts Magazine I came across these pieces of direct mail, that are part of a larger campaign for WWF Canada.

So far these postcards are not online. I hope the agency or the client would convert them into e-cards as it seems to me that they have a good chance of become viral...

I know I would love to send this one to all my friends and foes, considering that I am living in South Florida and that I still can't find the weather here 'so nice' as most non Floridians think it is.

Here are other postcards and at the bottom you can see the text that reminds us that "Ignoring global warming won't make it go away" .



Want to see more from this campaign? Check the TV spot, the radio ad and some of their print ads.

(Agency: DraftFCB, found via Applied Arts Magazine)

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Little Engineers Part II

Remember the little Engineers messing with he train? Here is another ad from the same campaign. These bunch seem to be 'techie' cousins of the first group...


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Jan 11, 2008

The Booby Wall

Is all about boobs. Naked, dressed or in underwear, the Booby Wall is a virtual interactive wall full of breasts that is not about Hooters or Playboy but about health.

The Booby wall is there, waiting for your picture of your real boobs, for a good cause: Breast Cancer Prevention.

Part of the Canadian "Rethink Breast Cancer" campaign, the Booby Wall sponsored by Schick Quattro for women encourage women to self exam their breasts and then take a picture of their breasts to upload to the Booby Wall.

This ever-growing online gallery of real boobs is designed to remind women about the importance of breast health. With a nice slogan "Show your breasts some TLC!", TLC in this case does not stand just for "tending loving care" but also for "Touch. Look. Check.", three first steps that can help breast cancer early detection.

Each picture can be send with a dedication and if that is the case will be published with it. Check out more about the campaign at the Rethink Breast Cancer website or you can directly visit the wall to upload your photo. You are a guy, no picture to send? Then check out this other campaign from Spain that involves you directly.

Via--> Adotas

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Jan 10, 2008

A De(Sign)ed Gift for Those That Have it All...

...except good handwriting...


Sometimes I feel that I have seen it all, that there is really nothing new under the sun, that all the "new and cool" products are just recycled ideas (nothing wrong with that, but just not really "new") or not really new products, just improved ones.

As I am a news junkie, an internet junkie and a new trends junkie, I have in my mind more products, ads, ideas and services that you can imagine and that makes it more difficult for me to be surprised.

Thankfully, from time to time, a new product, service, or ad crosses my path, and I am once again, truthfully surprised.
This time the service that surprised me is called "Sign in Style" and what they provide for you is a "designed signature".
As it usually happens when I see this type of products I struggle with contradictory feelings. On one hand I just can't believe someone would pay for a service like this, as it seems like a completely superfluous product. On the other hand I love the fact that someone thought about it, saw a niche and created a product from nothing.

Normally, when it is about extremely superfluous products (like the "White Gold and Diamond Pacifier" , remember?) the negative feelings override any positive feeling that the product may have aroused. This is not the case, I must confess.

The more I look into the product, the more I like it. Useless as it may seem at first glance, it is not an outrageously expensive product at all (both services are offered at a reasonable price) and it seems like a nice gift for someone that has it all or for someone that works with creation... from the business world to the artistic one, everyone can use a nice signature!

And how many of us really like their own signature? We got used to it and we may not dislike it, but the same way we like nice products and clothes and almost anything around us is (well or bad) designed, we could also make a good use of a specially designed signature.

In fact, I am entertaining the idea of ordering one. So far my problem is deciding who from all the 'personalities' that inhabit my little self should be the owner and recipient of the signature...

Should it be SCBR (almost my trademark in Argentina), or should it be San:) (my more friendly US profile)? Should it be AD (for AguaDesigns, the one I used on my jewelry pieces) or should the signature be for UglyDoggy, the blogger and the one that found the product?

Who do you vote for? (Pls let me know, Sybil is having trouble deciding!)

Meanwhile, if you are curious about the product, just visit Sign in Style.

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Jan 9, 2008

Advertising History As Never Seen Before


This "Daisy Ad" (as it is known in general) is without any doubt a special ad in USA's history and a pretty well known spot in the rest of the world. Its official name was "Peace, Little Girl" and the upcoming elections have the ad running again, as part of some specials about "advertising in politics".

Conceived by DDB, produced for the Democratic National Committee, and designed to decimate the presidential aspirations of Senator Barry M. Goldwater, the Daisy spot has come to be regarded as an iconic moment in pop culture history.

The ad was aimed at reinforcing the perception that the 1964 Republican candidate for president, Senator Barry M. Goldwater, could not be trusted with his finger on the button. Something that his Republican primary opponent, Nelson Rockefeller was the first to point out through a pamphlet entitled "Who Do You Want in the Room with the H Bomb," that was mass mailed to all registered Republicans in the state of California.

Love it or hate it, there are too many interesting details around an ad that run paid just once (on NBC) but became famous pretty quickly at a moment in time when there was not YouTube available, DiggIt, or so many TV channels for that matter.

Parts of the story behind this ad have been published here and there but now readers, historians and advertising aficionados, can find a more complete story all in one place, the CONELRAD website. As they say, "not until now has the full history of the spot been told in all its strange glory."

CONELRAD, a site dedicated to "all things Atomic", is worth a visit. They have gone through every aspect of this remarkable moment in popular culture and have interviewed people involved with the ad—including the Daisy Girl herself—who have rarely spoken on the record about the spot. Government documents, private papers, books, magazine and newspaper articles were also reviewed so that the complete record could be presented.

If you are interested in history, in politics or in advertising (or just curious about any of them) make some time to visit the site and enjoy all the information you can find there, from the complete history of the ad to the personalities involved, as well as some other spots from the same campaign.


Found via--> Do you speak English Radio -->PCL Link Dump -->Conelrad

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Jan 8, 2008

Cut your Wrists

(A silver bracelet to die for.... )


Via BlogRush -->Luciano Bove -->Coscablog.it

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Jan 5, 2008

From Another Point of View

The Jameson Festival is up again and there are only a few days left before the period for receiving films for the sixth edition of Notodofilmfest.com ends (the official deadline is Tuesday, January 8th, at 12 noon - Spain time).

"Will Fight Until the End" or "Hasta la Victoria siempre" is one of the short films that are part of the competition and so far is the one that has my vote.

Check it out for yourself:



One of my favorites exercises when teaching creativity for copywriters has always been one where I ask my students to pick an animal (the exotic the better). Once they have selected one, I give the assignement: they have to write from the point of view of that animal, describing a possible interaction that that they had with us... How they see the world? How they see us?

I am very glad that someone has used the same technique to show how cruel we can be 'just because', for our 'entertainment'.

Great short film, very well done that should become an ad for the animal rights.

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Do You Have a Best Friend?

Do you have a furry best friend? Isn't s/he cute and adorable? Always there for you, asking very little and giving back a lot?

Well, s/he is also lucky of having you.

There are thousands of animals that do not have a human companion to love and play with. Or that are condemned to be euthanized because someone concludes that they are not "suited" to live with us (because we, humans, we are soooo nice and well trained, right? Never a rage, never a war.... aaagh, don't get me started!).

But I don't want to get derail from the main issue of this post and that is the work of Best Friends, one of the greatest pet sanctuaries here in the US. I knew about them some years ago when I moved to the US.

The more I read about them the more impressed I was.

I started making small donations when I could and receiving their magazine and e-newsletter, all full of incredible stories. Stories that make you think, feel, love, and more than once, cry (and believe me, I don't cry easily!). Reading those stories and visiting their website I always wondered how many more happy, sad and weird stories they probably witness in a place like that, that shelters hundreds of animals.

So, I was extremely pleased when they announced the launching of Dogtown, the National Geographic Series that features some of the stories from the real Dogtown, the one that exists in Utah, inside Best Friends.

Yesterday, January 4th, at 9 pm EST, Dogtown made its debut with their first episode featuring (among other things) a puppy mill rescue operation. I couldn't help it and I watch the whole episode twice, at 9 pm and at midnight when it was repeated.

I am really glad for Best Friends. I am sure this program will give them more recognition, more funds and more help. Because when what you do is unique and special, there is no better marketing/advertising than simply show that uniqueness. That is the case of Dogtown.

If you love dogs even a little, you will love this program. And if you would like to do something for homeless dogs, remember, you can do a lot with just a little: most shelters accept donations starting at $10 or $25, or you can give a little of your time. You can give money, yes, and that is always helpful, but you can also give time as a volunteer in your local shelter or you can donate stuff (like old sheets or pillows or blankets).

Get involved. Check with your local shelter or go online and see who you would like to help.

Best Friend is an example, but is not the only one. Some other no-kill shelters are:
North Shore Animal League America (TriState Area)
Animal Ark (Minnesota)
R.E.S.C.U.E (Arizona)
New Leash On Life (California and Chicago) Learn about their fabulous "Lend a Paw Program"
Much Love (CA) that works with K9 Connection a great Program that works with kids and dogs.
Or browse this list for no kill shelters state by state.

For adoptions, you can also visit: 1-800-save-a-pet.com

Can helping a homeless dog make your list of New Year Resolutions?

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Jan 1, 2008

Welcome 2008 !

- New Year, New Sections - You know how it goes. Even when a new year is in fact no more than a social agreement, it is also part of that agreement the idea that sometime between Dec 31 and January 1st is THE moment to make your resolutions for the rest of the year, something a.k.a. "New Year resolutions".

Me, personally, I don't like to start the year with such resolutions just because I am awful at long term planning. Also because I am a bit of a bulldog over my promises --if I made a promise I have to fulfill my word, so I rather stay away of promises to myself.

Now, the fact that I do not have any New Year Resolution to share (because some you just don't want to make them public) doesn't mean that this little UglyDoggy can not have his own and in his case they are all call 'new sections'.

Starting this year you will find new sections/labels such as:

Ugly: there is a lot out there about good advertising. There is not so much about the bad, ugly ones. They can be ugly for several reasons: aesthetics, lack of creativity, wrong message, wrong target...and more. Truth is there is a lot to be learned from those ugly, bad creative mistakes. On each posting I will let you know why that ad was selected to be the ugly one. But, as ugliness is also part of our daily life and part of this site name, I will also post from time to time some other ugly things that I found here and there that are not necessary ads (I already have some tattoo in mind to share with you under this section...)

Trip Over: This will be about sites or products that I found searching for something else but that they caught my attention for one reason or the other.

Words of Wisdom: I am a sucker for good quotes. At the end of the day, a good sentence that in some few words says more than a whole book on the same subject, is a great example of creativity. So I'll share the good ones I may found here and there.

Random Thoughts: I have very weird random thoughts on daily basis. Some you will find them funny, I am pretty sure about that, but some may shock you (not my problem, sorry).

LatAm: I will do my best to post more of the campaigns from Latin America. "Do my best" means take the time to translate. No big promises, but I'll try.

Of course everything will still be sprinkle with other stuff. Anything that I believe is a good idea will go. Sometimes bad ideas will make their way too. Politics has its space here (especially when I need to rant) and dogs will always have a space in UglyDoggy.

So, welcome to "the new and improved" 2008 UglyDoggy.com!

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