instant bio plasty bag

The November issue of Creative Review (big fan) will come in a revolutionary new biodegradable plastic bag.  Sink it in water and it immediately dissolves to be drained down your sink.  Supposedly it is composed of a water soluble polymer and is non-toxic, free of harmful residues.  Designed by Cyberpac, it poses a look into the future of environmentally-friendly packaging.

trying to enroll in twit101

Griffith University in Australia have added a Twitter component to a journalism course that teaches students how to gather information and relay it.  Thus, the course is helping students become micro-blog savvy believing that Twitter is an integral part of the future of news reporting, as proven by its use overseas in Iraq.  Reminds me of this Parsons course, which graded students upon their Internet fame through personal branding.  The CurrentTV video on their front page is insightful, too.

apple x chicago subways?

US public transportation is horrid. Let’s face it – those hazardously broken down subway stations aren’t going to get fixed anytime soon with much government money from the “budget”.  So what the windy city of Chicago is trying to do is talk to Apple Corp. about an exclusive deal for the tech company to have primary advertising rights in the renovated stations in exchange for 4 million dollars of funding.  The stations in question are for North and Clybourne, so prepare yourself for some iPod/iPhone throat shovage on your daily commute.

hmph, cause all ma fwendz are in nyc w/o me

Got some friends in the city this weekend so I thought I’d have a NYC-themed mini-post of random eclecticism.  Hope they’re having gay ole’ chilly time, heartsies fartsies.

1. Williamsburg design firm, DresserJohnson, have started a service/project called Brooklyn Bunny.  It’s a rabbit-sitting service that puts your fuzzy pet on webcam so you can see what the floppy-eared chomper is up to even when you’re away.

2. Earlier this year, sections of Broadway were closed off to traffic and essentially turned into a pedestrian mall for Memorial Day, resulting in a temporary better quality of life.  Now there is a new proposition taking that idea a step even further — completely and permanently shutting down 42nd street to traffic and building a light rail system that would span the width of Manhattan.  Estimated as a $500 million project, it would triple the amount of people transported at roughly the same cost and be much more eco-friendly.

3. Here’s some NYC-specific marketing for bottled water…subway iconography & Lady America.

4.  Perhaps the worst billboard idea for NYC evar? Amer Air plane directed into a building. Ahh, indeed.

soundville, the sound system city

The 800 person Icelandic town of Seydisfjordur has become a huge part of a creative campaign by Sony recently.  The corporation has transformed the modest city into one giant sound system with speakers and sub-woofers at every street corner and playground.  The sponsored video below peruses through the snow and captures the residential reaction.

am i paying to eat in a barn?

Upon initial recognition, it sounds either cruel or unhygienic, but its quite the opposite.  In Japan, a relatively new cafe trend has emerged — serving food with the companionship of a pet.  Personally, I don’t prefer to eat around animals, but different strokes…It’s starting to gain momentum in the innovative country and I certainly love specialty shops/cafe/anything that find an interesting niche.  Most of these cafes are for cats, this particular one is for rabbits.  Watch the vid for details, lay-z.

<3 pinups and bers

I never heard of this Aussie lager until recently, but ‘Skinny Blonde’ beer has a relatively humorous label that’s a bit less functional than Coors’ cold blue mountains.  It features a “timeless, classy blonde” pinup girl named ‘Daisy’ whose bikini top disappears as your drink does.  This only seems natural, really.  Official site here, I skipped the 18+ consent because there really isn’t anything unsavory (if offended…prude much?).

the album’s not dead! (it is)

punk the album’s not dead!

Actually, to me, it’s looking more and more like it is…and that gives me the saddest emoticon face evar. But with music sales these days branching off in so many directions, it seems as if the only clear path is the digital one.  Apple is trying to bring extras, like artwork and booklets (how are these considered extras now!?!) to their mix of itunes distribution, they’re attempting to half-heartedly revive the nostalgic “album” feel.  Then I just discovered this whole ‘album as advertising/album as an app’ ordeal.  Apple is trying to release music as interactive apps for consumers, while others are release their new albums with commercial ads physically inside (Mariah Carey).  Apple’s app idea is called iLike and I suppose they’re trying to lure more fans with something new, while the latter ad idea is to cut cost to cut sale prices to offer cheaper albums to consumers.  It’s all interesting, but I’m skeptical…I just wish we could all fucking sit down and listen to albums with their covers and lyric sheets, all the way through, without skipping.

Here’s the link: http://www.psfk.com/2009/08/album-as-advertisement-or-application.html

inherent vice novel ad

Fantastic social marketing ad done by Penguin Books to promote Thomas Pynchon’s new novel, Inherent Vice. It’s kind of bittersweet because sometimes I’m a traditionalist when it comes to mediums being separate entities, but I have a realist understanding of the dynamic nature of advertising these days. But if this helps sell a worthy book, then by all means! I don’t know about you, but this video gets my literary libido going..