Get Out and Vote
A Dummy's Puppet's Ramblings - from Chip Martin, Puppet
Potato Tunes
You probably already know this, but 2008 is the United Nations International Year of the Potato! You didn't know that? Where have you been? Anyway, this special occasion gives you the perfect excuse to watch Cheryl Wheeler and the Spudding Taternacle Choir sing "Potato". It's an amusing way to spend a minute (which is exactly how long the video is).
An Ad That Gets It Right ... Sort Of
I debated a long time whether or not to include an ad about a body strengthening supplement that I recently ran across. After all, it was in a health publication, so I figured it would be okay. But just to be sure I ran the ad past three of B&M's female staff members to get their opinion. "Too edgy," was their unanimous vote. So you'll have to click below to see the ad. But be forewarned. It's "edgy," and I certainly don't want too offend anyone. And I don't want anyone canceling their feed to my blog just because they viewed an ad that appeared in a health publication and decided that it was distasteful. So you must take responsibility for looking at the ad ... or not looking at it.
The reason the ad caught my attention was because a couple of weeks ago I critiqued a poorly designed trade ad that did not take full advantage of a well thought out photo and headline (a visual from that ad is included below). The Relubro ad unnecessarily cluttered up white space with too much copy and diluted the ad to the point where it was totally ineffective. (See my post from March 13, 2008)
Well like it or not, the ad for body strength supplement Gaspari Nutrition knows its audience and got it right. Headline ... visual. Not much copy. End of story. But even I have to admit that the over-the-top sophomoric double entendre headline goes a bit too far. The company recruited Marzia Prince, 2007's Ms. Bikini Universe, for the ad and I guess they wanted to make sure that they got their money's worth. Now for some reason I have an urge to go buy a box of Gaspari Nutrition. Click here to see the ad ... or not.
Dieting Isn't What it Used to Be
For a lot of reasons, I'm glad I'm a puppet and not a person. For example, I don't have to watch what I eat. You do. And you probably don't even know what's good for you. Take diet soda. Less calories, so it should help to keep the weight off, right? Wrong.
A recent study found that rats given saccharin-sweetened yogurt gained more weight than rats that ate yogurt with sugar. It was a fascinating finding suggesting that faux-sugar can kick-start the body's metabolism in a way that leads to overeating. And now the Los Angeles Times is back with an in-depth look at what it all means for its non-rodent readers. The study's authors say that "by interfering with what sweet taste means, artificial sweeteners upset an ancient physiological system that evolved to regulate food intake and energy use."
It's all tremendously complicated. Nevertheless, if I had a rat around the house, I think I'd switch it to an all-natural soda ... if there is such a thing.
A Bridge to Favre
I purposely stayed away from the Favre hoopla. I figured others could cover it better than me. After all, "legends write their own stories". But then our friend Gene Mueller at WTMJ caught me off guard with this.
"It's a huge story, to be sure, but one that's reducing grown men to tears?!? C'mon. Then, the music wafted out of the TV speakers...a few piano notes, and then her voice. It was Deanna Favre's pre-game tribute to her husband, rolled moments before kick-off against Denver last autumn. I was good until the part where they showed little Brett, toddling around with Big Irv. It's only a minute long, but see how far you get." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWbNgIc2TVM
Especially to many of us in WI, Brett Favre will forever be more than a football player. He will be one of us. But he will never "pass" this way again. And even a Mannequin American like me is saddened by that reality.
