My weblog is undergoing current inactivity. Please be patient as I try to find an apartment, as you know that I would be equally as patient if you were trying to find an apartment. But let me leave you tonight with the following quote:
“In a world of hope, happiness prevails.”
I just made that up like two nights ago while washing my hands for dinner. I think it sounds pretty important. If you ever use it, be sure to credit it to me. (I go by “Anonymous.”)
I am loving Wieden & Kennedy’s “My Better” ad campaign for Nike SPARQ (Speed Power Agility Reaction Quickness) Training. The commercials - featuring LaDainian Tomlinson, Hope Solo, Matt Holiday (pictured below) and other top athletes - all make some sort of impression, whether it be a smile or a little motivation.
The first of the series of commercials to catch my attention features a HARD-hitting track by rapper/poet Saul Wiliams (a Newburgh, NY native) and can be seen here. As a fan of (but by no means expert on) intelligent hip hop, I remember when this song, List of Demands, dropped back in 2004. I was hooked. Its intense base riff and just-as-intense lyrics were, and still are, like nothing I have ever heard. Commercials often seem to blend into one another, and agencies put so much time and money into making their spots memorable, but sometimes a stand out track like this is all that is needed.
The SPARQ commercial that really motivated me to write a blog post, however, was this one:
I find Steve Nash absolutely hilarious in this commercial. Everything he does and says (or rather, the way in which he says it) is awesome. I remember reading in some advertising book about how Nike became cool by being cool, not by saying they were cool. The legacy continues.
I want to teach you all something. For those of you who are more sound with the spoken word than the written word, this might be helpful to you… and to me, who is irritated by your idiotic written blunders. Just joking - that was a little harsh. But my lesson to you is this: “Would of,” “could of” and “should of” don’t make any sense.
The contraction of “would have” is “would’ve,” which laziness of the mind makes people think is “would of.” The difference cannot be heard, but it can be seen. I just saw it in the Daily News the other day. It was written in a quote, but you can’t blame the person who spoke it, because “would’ve” and “would of” are borderline homophones. I’d opt for the NY Times more often if it was $1 rather than $1.25. I rarely have a quarter on me and would rather not break a dollar. Bad marketing as I see it.
While in teacher mode, I want to also tell you all to wear your seat belts, even when in the back seat of a car, and be sure to recycle your plastic water bottles rather than throwing them in the waste basket. Also, marijuana should not be used in excess unless you are at a concert where everyone else is doing it or if you are really stressed out.
