Rain, Rain...

Tonight on my stroll home from the reliable Harold B. Lee Library, there was a light sprinkle of rain. Nostalgic feelings came to my mind of simply one of the greatest feelings. The feeling I am talking about doesn’t come all at once, it is a remarkable process which I will explain. This process begins with preferably a several mile hike, backpacking to a remote location in the wilderness to set up camp. Tents are pitched and every adventurer enjoys their dinner while relaxing around the toasty fire. As the embers slowly burn throughout the cool night, you notice thousands of stars doting the dark sky in patches as clouds begin to take over the tiny specks of light. You notice the remaining coals have called it a night and decide to follow suit. After a refreshing session of brushing your teeth with fresh cold spring water, rain starts to sprinkle as you crawl in your dry tent and sleeping bag. Once in your comfy mummy bag, the rain patter starts to come down harder. Protecting you from the downpour, your tent provides the perfect place to enjoy the peaceful relaxing sound of rain while trying to sleep. Bliss is reached as long as the downpour doesn’t turn into a sort of intense storm causing flooding and soaked gear.
Note to self: do not listen to Dane Cook when you need to study and do homework, too distracting.

Ads That Stick... Literally

Just over a week ago there were some Calle reps on campus handing out free stickers and wrist bands, I totally took advantage and snagged a few for my enjoyment.  Then soon after we talked about that company in class and how they have used guerrilla advertising tactics.  Below is the example mention in class, luckily I was able to get one of those DOT stickers and most likely will cleverly spread the word of Calle.  Very subtle but just enough to catch your attention and spark some curiosity. 

I decided to look into finding other creative ways to advertise through stickers.  Here were a few of my favorites from a website I found http://www.toxel.com/inspiration/2010/03/02/clever-uses-of-stickers-in-advertising/.

I liked this one because it shows the power of the batteries in a clever and humorous way.  Image the amount of people that take this particular escalator and most likely everyone saw that add and thought about batteries.

This sticker ad is found in an airport and does an excellent job in giving those who are sitting waiting around to think about their next flying adventure.

I love stickers-I put them all over my notebooks, folders, snowboard, pretty much anywhere there is a boring surface.  I wish more brands and companies gave stickers out for free more often.  Such a simple yet powerful way to advertise your name, product, or service.

Slow... Down... Fall!

The most amusing blog posts seem to just flow from your brain all the way down to the keyboard and appear in words somehow on your word processor. Occasionally I am blessed to have those remarkable moments in life; unfortunately I am currently finding my way around this massive writers block….

Does anyone else seem to feel that the changing of the leaves is happening too quickly?! I went camping last weekend up Big Cottonwood canyon by Guardsman’s Pass and I swore when I woke up there were more bright salmon and flaming orange leaves overnight! This can’t happen all once because I haven’t even had time to hike several times and capture some of the beauty autumn brings. Colors in nature grab my attention like someone grabbing that last spoon in the classic card game, spoons. And unfortunately school getting in my way and starting to get busy, so I am not able to just journey off into the mountains to hike for hours on end.

In order for my fall to be complete, I must hike Mt. Timpanogos while it is exploding with colors. Period.

Law and Advertising

Most likely others in the class didn’t get as excited or interested as did I, when one of our long chapters started discussing the legal side of advertising. Learning about how the government creates laws and regulations to monitor the use of advertisements in our nation opened my mind to yet another possible career option.

I started having the idea of studying law at an early age, as my Dad is a patent attorney who specializes in intellectual property law. He would occasionally talk about his work and how he loved it. I even had the opportunity to help him with some work over the summer. Lately I have thought about the possibility of going to law school after I graduate, but I also am rather attracted and attached to the idea of advertising and marketing so I am torn between two choices.

So I decided to do a little more research on the subject of laws dealing with advertising, I checked out the FTC website (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/bcpap.shtm) which contains most of the same information found in our textbook about unfair or deceptive advertising . I stumbled upon an interesting blog that deals solely with advertising law.

http://www.consumeradvertisinglawblog.com/

This blog has several recent examples of companies violating a particular law or regulation. As I read over a few I became aware of how the advertising and marketing world really does need regulations, laws, and enforcements to keep it fair with everyone. One particular example I thought was interesting, was a trademark dispute between Victory Secret and Fortune Dynamic Inc. Victory Secret used the work “Delicious” on some of their tank tops and because Fortune Dynamic Inc owns the trademark for the “Delicious” mark on women’s shoes they decided to take Victory Secret to court.

Check out that blog to see advertising laws at work.

Interupting Horseshoes

Sparks flew as horseshoes collided with iron poles Sunday evening. Unfortunately the group of friends I played with wasn’t lucky enough to witness any ‘ringers’. Yet we were lucky enough to make it up to the Cook cabin with plenty of daylight to enjoy the fresh crisp air of Sundance Utah. This particular game of horseshoes had quite the unexpected start and interruption from some friendly creatures. As we ventured out to horseshoe pits in the back yard of the Cook cabin we were surprised to see they were already occupied by three deer that were enjoying a nice break-the-fast Sunday grazing session. It felt like elementary school all over again-when your group of friends was forced to confront the older grade to challenge them for complete control over the field during recess. We were a bit nervous to interrupt this peaceful site but we knew our daylight was limited and we wanted to make sure this game happened. The deer quickly noticed us encroaching on their space and chose to forfeit the backyard to allow us an enjoying game of horseshoes, or so we thought… Midway through the second game, we were caught way off guard as one brave deer returned to interrupt us by charging right through the two horseshoe pits! It’s too bad we didn’t have any sort of headlights to stop this deer in its tracks as it trampled around the backyard for another 15 seconds. All of us were forced to move in order to get out of this crazy deer’s rampage, but just as quickly as the deer came, it also left. Not everyone is able to start off their conversations saying their horseshoe game was interrupted by some wild deer, I feel fortunate being able to at least blog about it happening.
That deer was literally the only thing that interrupted a non-stop action packed weekend full of adventures from parties in Draper, BYU sport games, hot tubing, cabin fun, games, horseshoes, hiking Stewart falls, rock climbing, ward parties, and of course I can't forget the HBLL.
I felt like I needed to add a picture of some sorts, it had been a while. So enjoy a climbing pic of me pinching the Appendage up Rock Canyon.

That's the Power of... Words

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0HfwkArpvU
Several weeks ago a friend posted a youtube video on my Facebook page (the links just above, check it out). I watched it and thought it was rather creative, clever, and I went on with my life and didn’t think much else of it. He obviously knew that I was going to need some sort or advertising topic to blog about this first week. I personally had no idea when I first watched it that I would be incorporating it in my first blog for this advertising class. It’s not so much an ad for anything in particular but I felt there was an important lesson with advertising found within. When we see an image, person, or a logo our mind will instantly connect it with a word or brand. “Just Do It” with Nike, or when we see “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” we connect it with Old Spice, or if we are lucky enough to see “The Most Interesting Man in The World” we think of Dos Equis. This youtube clip is almost like 50 short ad clips designed to brand us to a specific word. I was amazed at how well this video flows from one image to another keeping your mind constantly thinking on a certain word.
Such a creative clip like this would have had to take a lot of time to plan out all the different shots dealing with the words: play, blow, break, split, run, fly, fall, light, and space. The use of being creative with a word or words amplifies an ad. It helps the viewer remember the ad, makes the ad more entertaining and has a powerful effect.
I am always impressed with how creative some people can be. As I attended Jason’s Thursday lecture I couldn’t stop thinking about how I need to become more creative. He constantly talked about how he personally felt he wasn’t creative at all, and the entire time I was just blown away by his creativity. I wanted to ask y’all what you do to find that added creative buzz in your writing and ideas. What tips or suggestions have helped you when you seem to have hit that creative block or wall and can’t move forward?

It’s been a summer…

And this means that it has been several months since I have last updated my blog. I want to apologize for those who haven’t been able to receive their full blogging/Google reading in. Surprisingly I have been busy doing other things that will now be able to be made into an update for my blog.
Where to begin? This summer was fantastic, but aren’t they all? Whenever I wasn’t dead heading flowers, pulling weeds, fertilizing pots, or proofreading patents: I took advantage of the hot summer weather to hike all over the Wasatch Front. Hiking is a huge hobby of mine that I take rather seriously. Some people hike to get a nice work out or burn in their legs, others to find solitude or peace, some to get away from the world and to clear their minds, others to experience the satisfaction of summiting an 11teer or the beauty of a glacial lake, some for that fresh mountain air, others to find that perfect photo opportunity. I hike for all of those reasons and more. I encourage those looking for some sort of adventure in life to dedicate time each week to hike around and explore this gorgeous Earth we live on.
I’m excited for this next semester to start. To meet loads of new people, spend countless hours in the HBLL, and learn new things. But this also means there will be less free time for hiking and getting lost for 8 hours in the Lone Peak Wilderness bushwhacking 14 unplanned miles and getting dehydrated. Anyways, let’s hope I am able to beat the ridiculous class schedule system at BYU and can get in the hiking class this semester.
How does one randomly lose their voice at night? And why is it so hard to find...