inside envision . advertising + branding blog

Retro Cereal Boxes

2010-03-09T12:25:00.000-08:00

I was at my local Target when I discovered the display of vintage cereal boxes. General Mills has decided to bring back the original retro boxes for the Big G Cereals: Honey Nut Cheerios, Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, and Trix which is pretty cool. Cereal may be for kids, but I know I still eat it and love it. Check out these old retro boxes below.

—Sara

Embrace Life

2010-02-26T10:45:00.000-08:00

Every once and awhile, it is nice to be reminded to wear seat belts. Very beautiful, powerful and impactful ad by Sussex Safer Roads Partnership. Enjoy the video and remember, "Always wear your seat belt." :D

—Trist

Super Bowl Ads Post Mortem

2010-02-08T12:34:00.000-08:00

While more prolific bloggers than I had already posted their ad analysis before Tracy Porter executed his game-sealing pick six, I chose to digest and ruminate overnight on the offerings of Super Bowl 44’s many sponsors.

During the game, I kept complete a detailed account of each commercial, noting the responses of the three key demographics in my house: 38-year-old men, 16-year-old youths, and eight-year-old girls. (My tally had to be suspended during the fourth quarter, because neither witty commercials, nor a history-making football game could hold the attention of an eight-year-old girl, and I was compelled to assist in the construction of two purple felt teddy bears.)

So here’s the list:

Movie preview, “The Last Air Bender”
We are all very familiar with the animated series and the trailer looked great. We will probably go see it.

E*Trade
No baby. Techy, stock-trader-looking graphics. Not funny. Not sold.

Rogaine Foam
Wrong audience for it at our house, I guess.

Callaway’s new driver
Hard to tell what exactly they were advertising in this extremely long spot.

McDonalds
Larry Bird, Magic Johnson throwback ad. Not funny. Lost on the kids. Husband got it. It did make me eat another taquito, though.

CBS Shows
CSI in space…ri-i-i-i-i-ight.

Hyundai Sonata
Beautifully filmed car footage, accompanied by Jeff Bridges’s soothing voice. The first of many, this version utilized accolades from auto reviewers to promote features and price.

Bud Light
“House Made of Bud Light.” I actually laughed out loud when Dude said, “There’s even Bud Light in the fridge made out of Bud Light!” I will still never drink that beer.

Snickers
“Playing Like Betty White.” I also laughed out loud at this one, as did the 16-year-old, when the Golden Girl was tackled. I will continue to eat Snickers, not because they enhance my athletic performance, but because they are delicious.

Focus On the Family
Brilliant. Brilliant. Brilliant. Tim Tebow and his mother really didn’t even have to say a word, because the news media had already said it all for them.

Survivor
We don’t watch this show. Besides, we were too busy discussing how well-played that Focus On the Family commercial was.

Hyundai Sonata
In which Jeff Bridges compares the Hyundai Sonata to actual sonatas.

Boost Mobile
“Super Bowl Shuffle.” Two words: leopard thong. Shudder. None of our demographics laughed.

Doritos
“Anti-Bark Collar.” 16-year-old laughed. ‘Nuff said.

Movie preview, “Robin Hood”
Looks awesome. Will probably see it.

Doritos
“Hands off My Momma…And My Doritos.” 16-year-old laughed alone again.

Bud Light
“Asteroid.” 16-year-old laughed alone again. (I fear for his diet once he moves out.)

NCIS
“Head Slap.” Should have been funny, but we still won’t watch that show.

Coca-Cola
Featuring The Simpsons, this commercial was beautifully animated, but SACCHARINE.

GoDaddy.com
Despite Danica’s best efforts, we did not visit the website to see the ad that was “too hot for TV.” I suspect the 16-year-old might check it out later.

Undercover Boss
Husband mentioned for the first time that he would like to watch this show.

Doritos
“Jumbo Casket Filled with Doritos” Not even the 16-year-old laughed at this one. Kind of gross.

Bud Light
“Autotune.” With its timeliness and “Whazzup” campaign style, this ad entertained the crap out of our whole family. (We will still never drink that beer.)

Monster.com
That fiddlin’ beaver was adorable, but I was the only one who thought so. Based on the employment status of our market sample, I could not judge if the ad was successful or not.

Movie preview, “Wolfman”
Husband reiterated his desire to see it.

Bridgestone
I’m not sure what an orca and a send-up of “The Hangover” have to do with tires, but it was an exciting ad.

Sketchers Shape Ups
I’m sure the shoes are successful, because I see them everywhere, but there is no way Joe Montana wears those things.

Cars.com
This campaign of a brilliant dude who needs online help to chose a car is beautifully written and shot, but such a let-down. (It’s a commercial for Cars.com? Really? That’s it? That’s how it ends? Really?)

CBS Programming
Um…..I didn’t write any notes for this one.

Bud Light
“The Bridge is Out.” You guessed it. The 16-year-old was amused.

Movie preview, “Shutter Island”
Scary. Will not see.

CBS Cares PSA
I wasn’t really listening to Mark Sanchez’s message about heart health because his pretty face was too distracting. I guess that makes this an unsuccessful ad, unless they are selling Mark Sanchez.

Late Show with David Letterman
Um…who did the make-up for this spot? Because they should be fired.

Amazing Race
Won’t watch it.

CareerBuilder.com
“Casual Fridays.” Both children practically laughed their pants off at this, the first of two consecutive (but unrelated) ads featuring pantslessness. But will they visit the site?

Dockers
“I Wear No Pants.” The jingle was catchy, and the continued pantslessness was amusing, but I think CareerBuilder.com wins for more effective use of underpants to emphasize messaging. (Free pants, though.)

Hyundai
Although Hyundai’s third commercial of the game was supposed to promote their warranty, deploying the old “Bret Favre will never retire…or will he?” shtick detracted from their pitch.

Bud Light
“Lost.” Evangeline Lilly is lovely, but we don’t watch that show or drink that beer.

Dove for Men
Eliciting the first real response from the 38-year-old man demographic, this ad rapidly sings the tale of a life, set to the racing clip of The William Tell Overture. The zenith of male accomplishment, it seems, is the self-assuredness to indulge in Dove unguents. Husband raised one eyebrow.

NFL Network
Promoting the 2010 NFL draft. We were going to watch it anyway.

Dodge Charger
Eliciting second response from 38-year-old man, Dodge implies that men must suffer the greatest travails and indignities at work and at home in order to enjoy a nice car. “Hmm,” said husband.

Teleflora
Dead, talking flowers. 16-year-old laughed, but he won’t start sending flowers for several years, so, for Teleflora’s sake, I hope the branding stuck.

Papa Johns
Reinforcing their “Better Pizza” brand might work with college kids, but we prefer Pizza Hut.

CSI
Started with a Star Wars-style intro. No further notes.

Movie preview, “Alice in Wonderland”
We didn’t need a reminder. WE ARE SEEING THIS MOVIE!

Dr. Pepper Cherry
Little KISS always cracks me up, but the 8-year-old was confused.

TruTV
Punxsutawney Polamalu? Brilliant. Positive response from all demographics, but what were they advertising again?

CBS Programs
Two and a Half Men…um…yeah…

Universal Studios Orlando
Advertising the new Harry Potter adventure. Eight-year-old says, “Can we go?”

FloTV
“Spineless Man.” I was actually a little offended by this, the latest in a series of ads bemoaning the alleged hen-pecked state of the modern man. Especially since I had spent the previous day following my husband around Macy’s while he shopped, and holding his bags while he tried on clothes.

Intel
I hate sad robots. I can't even watch Short Circuit, or I'll cry. Poor Jeffrey.

FloTV
We thought this was a Pepsi ad.

NCIS
Same old.

Qwest
French class ad—rude version. No response.

US Air Force
Holy crap! Who were the marking geniuses behind “Grab Some Air”, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? 16-year-old not interested.

Southwest
“Bags Fly Free.” I would like to know how this campaign is working for them.

CSINY
More Danica—Synergy!

Amazing Race
Yawn.

NFL Network
Yes, we’ll watch the draft! May we please get back to the game?

CBS Programs
Undercover Boss (yes, darling, I know you want to watch that), The Good Wife, CBS March Madness, Miami Medical, CBS News, The Mentalist

TV.com
Hmm…no notes.

Movie preview, “The Backup Plan”
Oh, dear God, no.

Macaroni Grill
Most beautiful food styling ever! With a lovely plate of scampi, and soft, tinkly restaurant sounds in the background, this ad made us all reach for another taquito.

Acura ZDX
Transfixed brunette—seen it.

US Bank S.T.A.R.T.
This spot was wa-a-a-a-ay too complicated for the third quarter. (Bored with the game, the eight-year-old at this point became obsessed with a magazine ad for Baby Phat. Now, that’s successful!)

Ford
Advertising their hybrid crossover by detracting from the competition, Toyota and Honda.

Burger King
First and only BK ad, not new, but can you go wrong promoting the $1 double cheeseburger? (Ate more taquitos.)

Movie preview, “Prince of Persia”
We’ll probably wait for it on OnDemand.

Motorola
Megan Fox in the bath. Husband and 16-year-old mesmerized, but unwilling to part with their Blackberrys.

VW
“Slug Bug.” Husband actually laughed at Stevie Wonder’s part. Eight-year-old didn’t like the hitting.

Denny’s
Screaming chickens. Need I say more? (Makes me NOT want to eat eggs.)

CBS
How I Met Your Mother. We don’t watch it. Made no sense to us.

Michelob Ultra
I don’t care if Lance Armstrong drinks it. It’s diet beer.

HomeAway.com
The Griswalds are always entertaining, and, since it’s vacation-planning season, appropriate timing for the house rental site. Holiday ro-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-oad.

Bridgestone
It’s a recession. People are going to delay buying new tires, and then, they’re going to get the cheapest ones they can find. Oh well, at least they’re staying in front of us.

Kgb
Uninterested in the Sumo Wrestling premise, the 16-year-old talked over the whole ad about an identical and free information texting service. Husband said, “Gross.”

Coca-Cola
Sleepwalking through Africa for Coke? Hmm…

E*Trade
Finally the baby! And with girl babies! Adorable! (But only to me, as the sole member of the market sample with a biological clock.)

CBS Programs
How I Met Your Mother

2010 Census
Ed Begley Jr. shilling for the Census Bureau? O….Kay.

Google
By all accounts the most popular Super Bowl 44 ad, this search bar love story probably spoke more to women than men, but good for Google! We’re the ones buying everything anyway.

Late Show with David Letterman
…And we’re back to targeting the men: Dave’ll be revealing the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover this week.

KIA
My personal favorite, as well as that of the Sock Monkey-loving 8-year-old. I don’t think I’ll buy a KIA, but I sure liked those vintage toys partying it up in one.

RoundUp
Weed killer? In February?

Budweiser Select 55
“Lightest Beer in the World.” Beautiful graphics, but I’m still not drinking that beer.

Which brings us to the fourth quarter. I would have liked to complete my anthology of Super Bowl 44 commercials, but the purple felt bears needed buttons for eyes, and the buttons were upstairs, and it was really dark and scary upstairs, and would you please come upstairs with me, and may I also please have an Otter Pop and some water, with ice cubes please, not the regular ice cubes, the Space Invader ice cubes, and also I need help tying this knot...

So while I did enjoy the Vizio ad with Beyonce and Tay Zonday, the “Green Police” Audi spot, the Dorito Samurai, and all those screaming chickens, I was unable to properly assess the response from the separate demographic groups.

Besides, I was freaking watching the game already!

—Lisa

Planes, Trains, and Advertising

2010-01-22T13:47:00.000-08:00

Amtrak recently unveiled an advertising campaign in the most unlikely of places…O'Hare International Airport. The message? Stop flying. Take the train instead. To be honest, I'm surprised that O'Hare allowed this campaign to run. Maybe they realize that trains can't completely replace air travel and that the ad revenue is a greater reward than the potential lost airline traveler.

It's a fantastic campaign, hitting travelers when they are most likely to be frustrated with the hoops that they need to jump through just to get from Point A to Point B…THE SECURITY CHECK POINT. "Take off your shoes." "Remove your belt." "Take your laptop out of your bag." "That toothpaste is over three ounces. Throw it in the trash." "Are those keys in your pocket?" When you think about it, it really can be a pain. I once got delayed because they found bomb residue on my sandals. So, they swabbed and analyzed the sandals, asked numerous questions, and finally came to the conclusion that I had probably just walked through a freshly-fertilized yard. Off I went, running to the gate in my potentially-explosive Birkenstocks, nearly missing my flight.

I've taken the train and it's a great way to travel if you're not in a hurry. No hassle. Relaxing. Nice scenery. Great food. Really, it's not a bad way to go and these ads may just be the reminder that some travelers need to get them out of the airports and back on the rails.

–Greg

Beer Sculpture

2010-01-18T11:44:00.000-08:00

Every year, the city of Harbin in northern China celebrates its annual International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival. In freezing temperatures, artists gather to create unique ice sculptures. Domestically, the city is also known for its beer. This year the artists created a pretty cool sculpture using only beer. Check out the video below.

—Sara

Nolan's Cheddar - seriously strong cheese

2010-01-14T11:25:00.000-08:00

Being health and fitness conscious as part of a new year resolution is a great thing! If you happen to be in a grocery store this week, I suggest you purchase this type of "special" cheese. Watch this video and decide how you might benefit from Nolan's "seriously strong" Cheddar. Enjoy! :)

—Tristan

Cleaning Out The Fridge With Lisa

2010-01-11T10:17:00.000-08:00

Leftovers do not live long at my house. If they are not quickly given new life in a casserole or stir fry, they are summarily devoured by @LegitTalon before, during, and after meals.

However, over the holiday season, the abundance of grandmother-produced goodies (TEN BOXES OF TREATS! TEN!) negated the need for standard snacking fare. This disruption in the natural order of eating at my house, combined with my habit of cooking for twenty when I am only serving four, resulted in a refrigerator overflowing with plastic containers, cans, jars, and many diverse and foil-covered receptacles.

My husband and I made a heroic attempt to consume what we could last week, but the line must be drawn somewhere, right? Since my mother will tell you that it is a sin to throw away food, as my penance, I will now confess, in excruciating detail, the holiday casualties that were committed to the garbage this weekend. (No, I do not have a compost bin, yet. This summer, I swear.)

One stone-hard hot dog bun, no mold or aroma, two months old

Two cups of ham salad, made from leftovers of in-law’s Christmas dinner, excessively sulfurous smell, 20 days old

One cup of garden salad, rusty, pungent, two weeks old

100 kernels of sweet corn, graying, no smell, 16 days old

Five asparagus spears, starting to dissolve, overwhelming fumes, 11 days old

12 cubes of cucumber, smelled like gin, 12 days old

1/3 can of green beans, uncovered, completely dry, 3 weeks old

1/3 can of mushroom soup, odorless, furry, 16 days old

1/3 can of tomato sauce, odorless, furry, one month old

One tablespoon of cocktail sauce, fine condition (but what would I do with that?)

Five cocktail shrimp, emitting essence of Neptune’s thunderbox, 16 days old

Seven Honey BBQ Boneless Anytizers, one month old (no one in our house likes that flavor)

Three medallions of crab-stuffed, pancetta-wrapped pork tenderloin, appearance and smell ok, but after 16 days, no thanks

Two cups of pork gravy, not unlike a caramel flan in texture, 16 days old

1/2 bowl of Campbells Potato Bacon soup, completely separated, one month old

1/2 a pumkin pie, not malodorous, just weepy, 16 days old

One mixing bowl of frozen whipped cream, sparkly, beautiful, but tasted like the freezer, 16 days old

1/4 glass baking dish of green been casserole, runny, visually reminiscent of the swamps of Mordor, 16 days old

Four stale waffles, two months old

One frozen bowl of gummy first attempt at real mashed potatoes, graying, no smell, 16 days old.

—Lisa

Happy Holidays from The Envision Group

2009-12-23T14:13:00.001-08:00

Posted via email from envisiongroup's posterous

Agency Promo Turns Into Christmas Miracle

2009-12-22T12:54:00.001-08:00

Mother London came up with a great agency promo. They set out to surprise an unsuspecting client with a gift of $10,000…and they did just that. The client turned their concept into an even bigger surprise.

You can view the video here.

Happy holidays from The Envision Group!

–Greg

Posted via web from envisiongroup's posterous

15 friends + a case of beer = holiday cheer!

2009-12-22T06:57:00.001-08:00

The Bowen Beer Bottle Band knows how to spread some good, old fashioned holiday cheer! Happy holidays!

–Greg

Posted via web from envisiongroup's posterous

Make My Logo Bigger Cream

2009-12-10T08:00:00.001-08:00

I recently rediscovered this video and thought it was worth sharing. Designers and branding professionals can certainly relate! My art director once commented that he'd be surprised if there have been many situations where someone decided to not buy a product or service because the company logo was too small. "We really like everything about your company. The prices are great and the benefits can't be denied. However, your logo is just a bit too small on your marketing pieces, so we've decided to go with someone else." Enjoy!

–Greg

Posted via web from envisiongroup's posterous

Norwegian Lights

2009-12-10T07:14:00.000-08:00

Some compelling footage of a UFO/inexplicable weirdness caught up in old Norge. Some witnesses claim the phenomenon was as large as the moon in the night sky, while others are attributing the strange spiraling lights to a Russian rocket gone wrong. Given the odd "portal" effect at 0:18 in the video, I'm going to disagree with the rocket theory. What do you think?

—Tom

Facial Profiler

2009-12-07T10:28:00.000-08:00

Ever have someone say you look just like someone they know? Coke Zero has launched a Facebook application called the Facial Profiler. It allows you to match your face up with other profilers with similar mugs. It utilizes the same facial recognition tech used by law enforcement to locate faces in crowds. Visit the Coke Zero site to see how it works.

—Sara

"Crowd Rider" by Subaru

2009-12-01T08:16:00.000-08:00

Leo Burnett in Sydney, Australia, made this clever joyride video for Subaru. All-wheel drivers can relate. If I were the guy in this video, I would wear a cape and a crown. Vvrrrooooommm!!!

—Tristan

A Salute to Whining

2009-11-25T11:11:00.000-08:00

I am not down with “No Whining Wednesday.” Hump Day? Great. Thirsty Thursdays? Fantastic. Friday Night Dance Party? Wonderful. However, “No Whining Wednesday” is a direct threat to mid-week productivity the world over.

I have addressed squeaky wheels and their undeniable success at receiving oil in this blog before. The whiner is the twin sister of the squeaky wheel, arguably the less attractive of the pair, but equally accomplished at achieving goals.

To be certain, whining is simply the unpleasant vocal manifestation of some sort of dissatisfying situation. The whiner, as opposed to the entirely unproductive martyr, proactively seeks to improve their circumstances by alerting others to the offending condition.

As my infinitely wise father always says, “You deserve what you tolerate.” Are not whiners merely exercising their rights to life, liberty and pursuing happiness? (And mostly the latter?)

I am sure that the majority of objections to whining are over the generally accepted pitch and timbre of these audible protests. It’s not the words in the whine that offend, but the fact that a snoring weimaraner two blocks away may be roused from slumber by the shrill wail.

However, without the classic ear-splitting frequency, the whine loses the majority of its potency. In a perfect world, vendors, clients, and indeed, ad agencies would respond swiftly and definitively to every single whispered suggestion, and gently proposed injunction. This, of course, is not a perfect world, and the desire to bring cessation to or cause prevention of whining is a far more effective motivator than any ambition to please.

In short, whining gets the job done.

Why do we so emphatically instruct our children not to whine? Because it is such a powerful weapon. It is impossible to remain physically and emotionally unaffected by whining, and we will do anything to get it to stop. Why do our children keep whining? Because it has worked for them in the past.

In fact, whining has worked for many historical initiatives. Martin Luther whined about the Catholic church. Colonists whined about British rule. Women have been whining about one thing or another for centuries, and look at the progress we’ve made! (Don’t think the women are going to stop whining any time soon, either. One million years of oppression will certainly make a gender evaluate how much they’re willing to tolerate.)

Whining, entreating, insisting. These particular strategies, obnoxious and discordant though they may be, inspire — nay, demand productivity, and the whining will continue until profitability improves.

So if I call you today, and you happen to be one of the few folks besides The Envision Group working on the “No Whining Wednesday” before Thanksgiving, and I pettishly demand delivery of a project, or a quote, or some unreasonable revision, take solace in the knowledge that I am keeping the American economy moving forward.

…and then get me what I want.

—Lisa

IKEA uses Facebook photo tagging to promote new store in Malmö, Sweden

2009-11-25T10:45:00.001-08:00

Every day, marketers are discovering new ways to leverage the power of social media. To promote the launch of their new store in Malmö, IKEA turned to one of the most popular features on Facebook…photo tagging. The following video details exactly how it worked. Word-of-mouse marketing is alive and well!

–Greg

Posted via web from envisiongroup's posterous

Life lessons from an ad man

2009-11-19T04:21:00.001-08:00

Just came across a great video that offers some very interesting insight into the world of advertising, courtesy of Rory Sutherland. It's long and starts off a bit slow. But, it's well worth watching!

The site doesn't allow embedding videos, so you'll have to watch it here.

–Greg

Posted via web from envisiongroup's posterous

Give Your Message Some Steam

2009-11-17T13:06:00.001-08:00

We spend most of the time on this blog talking about the great (and not so great) things that other people are doing. Today, however, we are pleased to announce something that we've been working on.

Introducing Reveal'd

It all started three years ago when we were working on the branding and launch for The Spa at The Inverness. We were challenged with coming up with a unique way to promote the new spa in the hotel guest rooms. One of our objectives was to do this without adding yet another large promo piece to the room. So, the idea was born. What if we could find a way for The Spa logo to be invisibly placed on the bathroom mirror only to appear when the steam from the shower appeared? This idea works on several fronts.

Since the message only appears when the steam hits the mirror, the design and beauty of the room stays in tact.
Stepping out of a hot shower is one of the most relaxing times of the day…a perfect mindset to schedule a spa treatment.
It's unique and has great buzz value. Much like the first time any of us saw a lava lamp or hologram, guests will talk about this with their friends and family. (Gotta love word-of-mouth marketing.)

Great! We had a spectacular idea. But, pulling it off was a challenge. We tried rubber stamping oil onto the mirror, hoping that the steam would not build up on the oil. Well, it didn't. Unfortunately, what we were left with was an oily mirror. We also tried numerous other methods involving templates, traditional etching, etc. Nothing worked. We pretty much gave up on the idea until a colleague walked into our agency with a mirror and a steam iron. He mentioned that he had overheard one of our brainstorming sessions for The Spa and had something to show us.

As the steam iron was heating up, he encouraged us to check the mirror out. It was nothing but a blank mirror. Two minutes and one blast of steam later and, voilà! The Spa logo appeared on the mirror.

When we showed this proof of concept to the marketing director at The Inverness, his jaw literally hit the floor. The effect is amazing and, in our research, we've found that nothing like this exists.

Two weeks ago, we officially went to market with Reveal'd. Response has been amazing and installations should soon be appearing on the Vegas strip and in hotels across the country.

You can learn more about Reveal'd on our website: www.steamyourmessage.com or view the demo video below. (The video doesn't do Reveal'd justice. It truly has to be seen to be appreciated.)

If you know of any hotels that may be interested in Reveal'd, feel free to point them in our direction. We also have developed solutions that make Reveal'd useful in a variety of applications and industries, including:

Night Clubs
Health Clubs / Spas
Restaurants
Retail display
Point-of-Purchase
Novelty items

Give your message some steam with Reveal'd!

–Greg

(Defying?) Gravity

2009-11-13T07:15:00.000-08:00

When I came across these striking photographs, my first thought was that they could be combined in a collection called This Did Not End Well. But the more I looked at them, the more I debated whether the subjects are floating, falling, or flying. I suppose that's part of the appeal. If you enjoy them as much as I do, you can find more over here.

The Backstroke

Luft Womb

How Not To Use A Chair

Look, Ma, No Net!

Fun With Anti-Gravity

Newton Was Right

—Tom

Weezer’s Snuggie Commercial

2009-11-06T09:59:00.000-08:00

To help promote their new album Raditude, Weezer filmed their own Snuggie commercial and included a free copy of their CD with purchase of the Weezer-branded garment. It’s a cool idea to market to their hipster audience. Watch the new Weezer-branded Snuggie commercial below.

—Sara

Graffiti Art

2009-11-04T09:26:00.001-08:00

SO street! Write or draw a message on the tablet and it is rendered in animated 3D graffiti. Krylon can't hang with this!

Digital Blackbook (Graffiti Analysis 2.0): Hong Kong Opening from Evan Roth on Vimeo.

—Tristan

Jive Turkey

2009-11-03T12:48:00.000-08:00

Where did the year go? November already? Meh. At least we get to eat some turkey right? Before you tear off a crispy tendril of roasted skin, or sink your choppers into a succulent drumstick, how about some turkey knowledge to impress your friends? (Yeah, I know. Greg did the same thing last year. But we have new readers, right?)

Turkey Vocab:

Caruncle - brightly colored growths on the throat region. Turns bright red when the turkey is upset or during courtship.

Gizzard - a part of a bird's stomach that contains tiny stones. It helps them grind up food for digestion.

Hen - a female turkey.

Poult - a baby turkey. A chick.

Snood - the flap of skin that hangs over the turkey's beak. Turns bright red when the turkey is upset or during courtship.

Tom - a male turkey. Also known as a gobbler.

Wattle - the flap of skin under the turkey's chin. Turns bright red when the turkey is upset or during courtship.

Scientific genus and species: Meleagris gallopavo

Turkey History:

Have you ever wondered what Turkey (the country in the Middle East) and the American bird have in common? A case of mistaken identity resulted in the American Turkey being named after the country. When the Spanish first found the bird in the Americas more than 400 years ago they brought it back to Europe. The English mistakenly thought it was a bird they called a "turkey" so they gave it the same name. This other bird was actually from Africa, but came to England by way of the Turkey (lots of shipping went through Turkey at the time). The name stuck even when they realized the birds weren't the same.

Turkey Action:

Peacocks aren't the only birds who use their fancy tails to attract a mate. Each spring male turkeys try to befriend as many females as possible. Male turkeys, also called "Tom Turkeys" or "Gobblers" puff up their bodies and spread their tail feathers (just like a peacock).

They grunt, make a "gobble gobble sound" and strut about shaking their feathers. This fancy turkey trot helps the male attract females (also called "hens") for mating.

After the female turkey mates, she prepares a nest under a bush in the woods and lays her tan and speckled brown eggs. She incubates as many as 18 eggs at a time. It takes about a month for the chicks to hatch.

When the babies (known as poults) hatch they flock with their mother all year (even through the winter). For the first two weeks the poults are unable to fly. The mother roosts on the ground with them during this time.

Wild Turkey:

Wild Turkey is a brand of Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey distilled and bottled by the Austin, Nichols division of Campari Group. Its nicknames include "The Dirty Bird," "Gobble Gobble," "Thunder Chicken," "Boat Gas" and "The Kickin’ Chicken", the last being a reference to the 101 proof of its most common bottling, as compared to the 80 proof of standard bourbons. The distillery is located near Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. It offers tours, and is part of the American Whiskey Trail and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

Talk Turkey:

Speak plainly, get to the point, as in ,“Don't call me until you're ready to talk turkey.” The origin of this phrase, somewhat outside of the most basic underlying sentiments regarding Thanksgiving, seems to be a humorless fable about taking advantage of a language barrier.

Cold Turkey:

"Without preparation," 1910; narrower sense of "withdrawal from an addictive substance" (originally heroin) first recorded 1921. Cold turkey is a food that requires little preparation, so "to quit like cold turkey" is to do so suddenly and without preparation.

Jive Turkey:

1. (US, idiom, slang) Someone who is jiving, as in dancing. Often applied to people being funny or showy. 2. (US, idiom, slang) Someone who is jiving, as in behaving in a glib and disingenuous fashion. Etymology: Coined in the 1970s

—Lisa

Children See. Children Do.

2009-10-14T13:59:00.001-07:00

In my opinion, Australia's NAPCAN hit a home run with this PSA. Well done.

–Greg

Posted via web from envisiongroup's posterous

Musical Stairs

2009-10-09T10:40:00.000-07:00

Volkwagen made taking the stairs—and exercizing—more fun with this ingenious installation in Sweden. The idea, dubbed "The Fun Theory" is that making something fun can change our behavior for the better. Given that the installation caused 66% more people than normal to choose the stairs over the escalator tells me the theory is proved.

—Tom

PhotoSketch: a revolution for photo search engine

2009-10-07T07:36:00.000-07:00

Five students (from Department of Computer Science and Technology of Tsinghua University in China, the National University of Singapore, and The Interdisciplinary Center) created an online application called PhotoSketch, which combines image search, tagging, and photo composition into a powerful new tool. Just sketch a rough composition, add text labels, and PhotoSketch does the rest, stitching together images from an internet search into an approximate photo composite of your sketch. PhotoSketch has not yet been released, but you can see how it works in the video below.

PhotoSketch: Internet Image Montage from tao chen on Vimeo.

—Tristan