I Was Supposed to be a Millionaire by Now . . .

Well hello hello,

So remember when you were a kid back in the late 80s - early 90s? Remember saving up your weekly allowance so that you could go to a card store to pick up a set of Upper Deck or to check out the new Fleer Ultra set? Remember grabbing the new monthly Beckett to see how much your Griffey Jr. went up or what was the highest valued card to date? Remember when a card store didn't have Hallmark cards but Topps, Donruss, Upper Deck, Fleer or Bowman?

If you in fact remember any one of the above than you probably are constantly wondering why you still have boxes upon binders upon hard cases of sports cards in your basement or at the top of your closet. Back in the day, kids like us declined offers to sell our sports cards from 40 year old men who sat behind glass cases. We declined their offer because we knew, we hoped, we invested in the belief that this same card was going to be worth hundreds of dollars by the time we got to be adults. We all hoped that we would pass on our Frank Thomas Topps #1 Draft Pick card from generation to next generation as our family would go on to become the 21st Century version of the Rockefellers. There was no doubt in our minds that one day . . . our cards would make us rich!

And now here is the reason why I have been asking you all to remember . . .

This post on YouTube absolutely SHATTERED any hopes of my Randy Johnson rookies, Michael Jordan Upper Deck, or Bo Jackson Rated Rookie being worth any more than $10. The baseball card industry has officially made a joke of itself and is trying out the 3D field like every other dorky media manager who bought Avatar on blue-ray and is convinced it has changed his life. Baseball cards were never meant to be seen in 3D and never meant to be anywhere close to a computer screen (unless maybe you're selling your card on eBay for as much as you can).

Although the Advertiser in me thinks that this is pretty cool, and I'm sure there is a niche market out there somewhere for this, the little kid in me wearing a backwards hat and umbros is kicking my shins. I'm all for Augmented Reality and its potential concepts and executions but I just don't get why we always have to take a good thing and try to make it "better" (please God don't have Hollywood try and made Waterworld 2).

Please note: If you read the first paragraph and could not remember any of those, please ask your parents how month old bubble gum tastes or just check out this kid's collection and realize the power sports cards had on us (this is what Becketts and the promise of inflation did to all of us The Card Room)

Why is no one talking about this?!

No no no, not his golf swing.  People already talk about that enough though it never gets old.  What I want to discuss is his newest venture.  One that will keep him contemporary for quite some time. 

While I was cruising through some webpages the other day, I came across Sir Charles Barkley's Website  Charles Barkley has his own website!!!  Bill Walton has his own website so why not Charles too?  This website has been immediately put into my favorites and is checked daily. For those of you who believe Charles Barkley is ridiculous, a dramatist, a typical jock, or even consider him to be unbearable . . . you are right but what's wrong with that?

Not only is he a polarizing figure but I find him to be extremely good natured and brutally honest.  He is who he is and does not hold back.  You cannot deny that the man has an odd sort of charm mixed in with his "in your face" opinions.  But this bravado comes with no sugar coating which is one of his best qualities that I truly appreciate in this day and age (along his "melodic eloquence").  Even if you aren't a fan of the man, the least you can do is stop by the site, educate yourself on his "Spanish Word of the Day," and check out his highly interactive site.  He may not want to be a role model but he one heck of a sports aficionado.

The Dichotomy Continues . . .

Let's just say I have been taking a relaxing break from blogging in order to re-energize the batteries and am ready to go! During my previous blogs, I was discussing the rise of enlightened babies.   After a few weeks, I thought baby commercials were beginning to take over life as we know it however, I started to notice a type of "through the looking glass" evolution. Instead of babies talking like adults . . . adults were talking like babies.


Leave it to a food chain that's slogan is "eat fresh" to come up with ads that are not. Clever and funny they may be . . . innovative they are not.

For as much as I enjoy Subway and their 5 for $5 deals (just as long as I am at a “participating location), I'm tired of the "babying" in ads right and I am ready for the next series of "Dick" commercials directed by Gerald Casale. Now those were awesome! For those of you who are chuckling at the mention of his name and have no idea what I’m talking about . . . . enjoy this!

Babies in Huggies . . . BRILLIANT!

Happy 2K11!!!  After surfing the web during break and looking for some research on banks and their email marketing strategies, I stumbled upon this Huggies commercial.  Please don't ask me how because after a few hours of researching for anything, you are bound to find everything from sports to porn to people you knew back in high school no matter the query.  This ad however, deterred me from my research for a bit and was a pleasant surprise.  



I found this commercial hilarious and well thought out. I'm not a big fan of babies in commercials, especially ones that digitally talk.  I don't know what's more annoying to me, those kinds of commercial or a friend who speaks in that creep "baby voice."  The only time a baby talking makes sense is when it's done in a cartoon because cartoons aren't real so it makes sense . . . if that makes sense.  Case in point, Stewie from Family Guy.  Now that is a funny talking, non-real baby. 

After I watched that commercial for a while, I looked into other Huggies commercials and found a more recent one that is just as outstanding.

 

This is created by JWT New York and was directed by Fredrik Bond of MJZ.  This strikes at my love for moving still frame productions combined with some good ol' fashioned vintage music.  It's silly, creative and downright fun.  The theme plays on babies being babies.  Not babies being adults or trying to be smart, these are babies that for those of us with nieces and nephews know.  These are the babies that we love to watch once in a while and have over our house.  The ones that give us big hugs and call us Uncle and Aunt.  But with these babies, at the end of a night of building forts and eating dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets, we watch kick and scream when their parents come to pick them up, tell them that they don't like them and refuse to go home.  Those are the little buggers I want to see on TV and these commercials depict that to a tee!  Well done Huggies and someday I may just have to buy your products for my own little messy marvins.

Big Baggy Shorts

Coming up on the mean streets of Bay Village and believing I would grow up to be 6'3," I always envisioned myself becoming a college basketball superstar at the University of Michigan.  My friends and I played basketball 24/7 whether it was in a gym or outside on the courts all over our town.  This love and admiration for the Wolverines started right around middle school at the brink of our teen angst.  The University of Michigan was the epitome of teen angst and my friends and I were all about them.  They were rough, raw and ready to take on any team.  Their attitude and appeal led a few friends and myself to even sign up for their basketball camp a few years after the Fab 5 left.  The experience is one I will never forget!  The image of Robert "Tractor" Traylor along with Maurice Taylor hopping out of their fully loaded Ford Explorer with as much gold around their necks as Mr. T is one that never seizes to amaze me.  Years later when 5'8" became my height for life, my dream of being a hoops star diminished but my love for the Fab Five stayed true. 
 
These feelings were re-ignited this past week when I found out ESPN's 30 for 30 will be doing a documentary on  the Fab Five.  I have been an avid fan of this series since its beginning and I cannot wait for each new one to come out.  For those of you who have not seen any of these or would like to be blown away for two hours, I highly recommend The Best That Never Was, The Pony Excess, Once Brothers or The Two Escobars.  In my opinion, this series has reached new demographics outside of the normal sports fan including film aficionados and random fans of folk lore.  Instead of having Steve Sabol or Mike Lupica and the sports reporters tell these stories, like they have done countless times in the past, they have allowed 30 contemporary and innovative filmmakers to create their own canvases and imprint their works upon the sports world.

This has been a brilliant move by ESPN to renovate their product and tap into new streams of viewers and potential sponsors.  Sports will always have their Black Sox scandals and Tim Donagy conspiracies but how many chances will Reggie Rock Bythewood or Barry Levinson have to show off their interpretations to the sports world?  Take for instance Steve Bartman, the exile of Chicago.  His documentary, "Catching Hell," was slated to have been shown at the beginning of this year's World Series but due to the Academy Award winning film director, Alex Gibney, sense to have it pushed back to 2011 (there are even rumors speculating that it may be turned into a two parter). 

By creating these series, ESPN has positioned their brand as no longer being just the jock on the block.  Now, they are the muscle headed jock on the block who just received a full-ride scholarship to Stanford and what they do at Stanford is up to them.  Do they party or do they get an education? 

I Love Pringles

Just when I thought I couldn't love Pringles any more than I already do . . . . they decide to use A/R to pull me and everyone in.  A/R stands for "augmented reality."  Defining it is a little complicated and better left to smarter minds so I recommend a simple Google/Bing search.  However, for those who want the cliffs notes, just think of the yellow first down line you see every Sunday watching an NFL game.  This is but one example of A/R using a digital overlay within real action.

A/R is a concept that has been toyed around with for awhile now.  I am only familiar with a couple uses such as with mobile, Layar's First Mobile Augmented Browser, XBox's Kinect Light Sabers Are Always Cool and with the USPS Yes, I said the United States Postal Service.  I leave out the Minority Report example because that one seems to be the most obvious.

I am sure there may be thousands of cooler representations of A/R out there however; these three are pretty innovative in their own fields.  To be able to use such technology in the field of marketing where clients could use, try out, or even put on the product before physically touching it is a tremendous tool.  To think, clothing stores could have men and women try on clothes from home without having to go inside a store.  That application alone would boost online sales tenfold, not to mention the impact it would have on mini malls.

I highly recommend looking into A/R for yourselves and looking into all of its potential applications.  There are loads of hilarious examples which will keep me amused along with many more tech fueled videos that will challenge the most verbose of intellects.  This is field of technology is still growing and is only at the adolescences of its development.  So kick back and remember the good ol' days with some Pringles because once you pop, you still can't stop!

A Better Cleveland

This next post is dedicated to Randy Newman.  Every time I hear Randy Newman's song or see Major League, I listen to "Burn On," and get mixed feelings. When I first hear the chorus it makes me think of my younger days when the Indians were as awful as an MLB team could be (hopefully we don't return there).  I add to that all of the public's nasty opinions of Cleveland. Of the burning river, the mistake on the lake, the multitudes of corrupt government officials, Art Modell, the drive, the shot, etc. (I gotta stop before I have to throw on my Bernie jersey to feel better). 

Yet, from those same feelings I remember my first game at Municipal Stadium, my first ballpark dog with stadium mustard, my first high five with a complete stranger, my first downtown for the lighting of the Christmas lights, and my first feeling of being a part of something bigger. Though I may have been the 768th person through the gates with only a hundred or so others at the ballpark,  whether I had to deal with my past girlfriends who are Steelers fans laughing in my face after another loss to them, I still get that sense of community, of kinsmanship, with my friends back home that though we're on the ropes, we are ready to bounce off of them at any moment. 

To this day I have the opinion, that what is being seen by the public, is not the the all of it.  Cleveland is my home no matter how far I go or how others may diss it.  While I was looking for upcoming events in Cleveland, I came upon a site with a catchy homepage and the potential to influence the masses.  At YourChangingCleveland.com the viewer is updated with projects within Cleveland and the opportunity to voice their own opinions.  Though the site seems to be in its initial phases I believe that it has great potential. 

This site allows the public to become integrated within its own efforts to promote a better Cleveland.  It informs the public of the projects trying to re-build Cleveland and welcomes those who wish to be a part of it.  Newspapers are becoming a thing of the past and vehicles of communication are becoming more and more a part of the digital age.  Sites like these are advantageous to the city such as Cleveland who is trying day in and day out to improve its credibility and growth.  So set aside your previous opinions and jokes of Cleveland because we are on the move and have been on the move.  It may not be quick and it may not be soon, but as long as people are still giving high fives to strangers at games and songs are being written about Cleveland, good or bad, this city will carry on.  So burn onnnnnnnnnnnnnn big river . . . burn on!