Hidden Gems
A few ads I just recently discovered that really impressed me:
Rainforest Alliance: “Follow The Frog” - Awesome spot from Rainforest Alliance. Entertaining, engaging, funny, well-written and a simple message to remember: Follow The Frog.
TNT: “A Dramatic Surprise” – Just WOW. I think what really stands out here is the brand’s willingness, not to just commit, but OVERcommit.
Melbourne Metro Rail: “Dumb Ways To Die” – clever, cute, catchy and funny.
These ads were just three of the great spots from last year’s TED’s Ads Worth Spreading.
Boston Marathon 2013: Looking Back
The reporting during this tragedy was pretty awful across the board with the media’s rush to deliver up-to-date news. Fortunately, some news outlets were able to provide thoughtful analysis.
If I were to summarize these articles I’d say many Americans just lack information – especially about what happens in the world outside its borders – and that’s why their default reactions during these tragic events tend to be fear, panic and stereotyping.
The other point I’d like to make is how much power we can attribute to the element of surprise. Roughly 34 people are killed by guns every day in the U.S., but this year’s Marathon got so much attention not because of the number of people wounded, but because no one expected it to happen.
Czechs and Czechens: They Both Start With C – The Economist
Why Does American Lose Its Head Over ‘Terror,’ But Ignore Its Daily Gun Deaths? – The Guardian
The Coding Gap
There’s an enormous gap between the number of available programming jobs and people with the computer skills to actually do the work.
“Enrollment rates in programming classes are low, but what is worse is that schools aren’t even teaching it, even though this is the fastest growing segment of jobs in the country,” Partovi said, adding that nine out of ten U.S. schools don’t offer computer programming classes at all — and those that do often treat it as an elective that doesn’t count toward graduation, the same as, say woodworking (Source: TechCrunch).
This new video from the non-profit Code.org (which aims to encourage computer science education) features an all-start cast of people with programming skills to show an accessible, human side to a typically dry subject.
In other coding news, GOOD has announced the winners of Code for GOOD. I love the whole idea behind this recruiting initiative. Participants were able to take coding lessons and submit a final project, while the finalists were flown to LA for a hack-a-thon to showcase their new skills. The winner was provided an opportunity to work for GOOD. You can watch the embedded video to learn more about the finalists.
Game of Thrones in The New York Times
I love this new print ad for the upcoming season of Game of Thrones. The dragon shadow is a great idea. They even took the extra step of writing fake headlines and articles.

LINK: Cloudy With a Chance of Dragons: NYT’s “Game of Thrones” Ad Takes Over The News
29 Ways To Stay Creative
Ryan Holiday on Winning the PR Game
I’ve written about Ryan Holiday before and he has a great new teaser interview on Chase Jarvis’ blog for Ryan’s upcoming creativeLIVE class on PR for artists, entrepreneurs and businesses. Here’s an excerpt:
CJ: What is the first step for a creative to get their work noticed… from someone besides their mom?
RH: I’d say hold on a second. People think about marketing too early and too late. Before you think about, I want creatives to be POSITIVE their work and business is ready for lots of attention. If your website sucks or your distribution is disorganized, do you really want anyone other than your mom to buy from you? Getting in the New York Times would be a disaster…
Then I would say: are you ready to be a full time marketer? Because marketing is not something you do two weeks before the product comes out either. It’s a lifestyle. You have to think and breathe it constantly. You have to know the influencers in your space, create messages and content they can spread. You have to bake that into your product. In other words, campaigns take time and resources and unless you’re going to dedicate yourself to doing it–it won’t happen and you won’t get results.
FULL INTERVIEW: From Obscurity to Internet Sensation – How Creatives Can Win the PR Game (Interview with Ryan Holiday)


