INSPIRATION: Haagen-Daz

As soon as I read this article, I wanted to put my pen down, close my spiral and shut off my laptop and treat myself to a pint of ice cream...in bed... accompanied by my favorite shows recorded on TiVo, and pretty much forget about the rest of my to-do list sitting currently to my right. Oh to daydream!

Personally, I think that Haagen-Daz did a wonderful event that not only promoted their new product, but a musician, venue and an expensive mattresses company. The first two word that came to mind: how clever! I would love to demonstrate/promote a product like this in Portland. Companies try to hand out their products on the streets hoping that their sales will increase. I've noticed that those products either get consumed and thrown away, or left behind somewhere. Nowadays, in such a fast-paced world, to make people pay attention, you must get people to stand still for more than 10 seconds and consumers must feel that they are getting more than a "sample".

VS. They want to feel that they are getting a service, and a service for free is even better. I really liked their idea, I'm going to try to find out more about the outcome of the event. I'll keep you posted as to what I find...

ENTERTAINMENT: Funny or Die- The next YouTube of comedy?

I'm sure most of you have seen this, but if you haven't and feel like laughing...


I wonder if that's Will's daughter? Too cute. I don't know about teaching her all those cuss words though... ;-)

What is this Funny or Die Web site about? According to the Web site:
This site was created by Gary Sanchez Productions and a bunch of Silicon Valley guys who drive Hondas and watch old episodes of Babylon Five. Michael Kvamme, an aspiring young comedian, came up with a concept for a new kind of comedy site and approached Will Ferrell and Adam McKay’s company, Gary Sanchez Productions. Randy Adams, a Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur, signed on to handle design and implementation. They along with writer/producer Chris Henchy sought to make a comedy site where established comedians and regular users could put up stuff just because they think it’s funny. At the same time they wanted to eliminate all the junk that people have to pick through to find funny stuff. So they came up with the funny or die idea.

The site is simple. Vote on the videos and decide whether they’re funny or die a fiery death. Videos that get enough die votes go to the crypt where they languish in comedy hell. But ones that reach immortal status shall make people laugh forever (even ten thousand years from now when mankind becomes floating orbs of energy. If they can laugh, those future orbs will be laughing at your video). If you don’t want to mess around with lame videos of twelve year olds rapping at a family barbecue then check the status of the video to see how it’s doing. Here’s what each symbol means…

I think it's pretty funny stuff and it's also entertaining that these guys write blogs on the site. Certainly something to check out and keep an eye on. They may gain popularity in the future due to its creators? It's not like the YouTube business plan didn't work out. ;-)