Moving On...

Hey ya'll!
I officially moved my blog to http://mirandomology.wordpress.com. I like the designs better and am in the process of consolidating everything under a single web alias.
Check it out!

Labor Day Vacay

Never in one weekend have I spent so much time, money or miles on the road. Especially in the same state. Good thing work was kinda slow on Friday because I got to leave early and miss at least some of the rush hour traffic on the way to Beth's homebase in Boca Raton. After taking an unplanned detour thanks to some spectacularly distracting lightning, we got into Tampa late that night and after greeting Bugbee, Melissa and Joey the hyper Boston Terrier, we passed out in the guestroom.



It brought back some memories to run on Bayshore the next morning and jumping in the pool afterwards was absolute perfection. That evening, we grilled out at M & M's apartment to celebrate the end of her chemo and I ate way too many delicious things. The next day I got up and started the 2 1/2 hour trek to Kate's beach house in New Smyrna Beach to celebrate her & Ben's engagement. It didn't occur to me to wear a swimsuit, like pretty much every single other person there, but that didn't stop me from playing at least 5 games of beach volleyball. And I finally got to meet the rest of Ben's brothers & sisters. I'm pretty sure some of the other guests assumed I was also one of the Whites, thanks to the blonde hair and athletic prowess.

I wish I could have stayed longer, but I had to drive back to the Bay to finally make a date with Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince. Of course the book is better but the movie wasn't bad. The next day, being part Swedish & all, Beth and I stopped at the mothership, also known as IKEA, on the way out of town. Lunch was delish, and I ended up buying a futon to accommodate all the planned and unplanned guests that I'm sure will be visiting in the next few months.

I FINALLY got home a little after dinner time, only to find a mini monsoon in my closet. I made sure maintenance came to fix it the next day and now they have to replace all the drywall on the ceiling in the walk-in closet that I once thought was so fabulous. This being my second consecutive weekend getaway/closet fiasco, I think I'm going to enjoy staying in SoBe for a while.

MFTOTIRN: Life is Beautiful

This is the first release from Sixx:A.M., the side project of Nikki Sixx, bassist for Motley Crue, with his buddies DJ Ashba and James Michael. Not only do I love this song, but it's got some lovely lyrics & I'm quite a fan of the grungy overlays of illustration and typography.

Life is Beautiful. :)

Fine Print

Ha! Love this Coke Zero banner ad I saw while reading an article on The Onion website. The media placement is a perfect match made in sarcasm heaven.

Social Newsworking

This link went out on the SoBe Pid (company-wide email) claiming that according to a UMiami study, "Boozers exercise More." It was kind of interesting, but even more interesting was the little bucket to the right of the article asking me how I feel, inspired by Twitter and Facebook statues, no doubt. At first I thought it was a banner ad, but when I rolled over it, I realized it was attached to the article. Never before have I seen a news source care about how the news actually makes you feel, let alone ask for emotional feedback.



This further supports my theory that the internet will eventually just converge into one neverending website, hardwired directly to your brain.

MFTOTIRN: Kitten Mittens

Welcome to the inaugural episode of My Favorite Thing On The Internet Right Now!



I really need to start watching this show.

Flying Frontier

I can't believe this is my 300th post on my beloved little blog! I wanted to make it somewhat special & it just so happens to coincide with the end of my mini vacay to Colorado, but I have some footage & photos to edit and way too much to talk about before bedtime (have to go back to work tomorrow!) so this post will be about my first experience flying Frontier Airlines. (But I have a feeling it won't be my last.)



It all started a few weeks ago on Travelocity (The only way I differentiate between all those discount travel sites is by spokesperson, and I'm quite a fan of the Roaming Gnome) when I was looking to book a flight from Florida to Colorado for a much-needed four-day vacay. Most all of the options herded me to some random airport in between, subtracting a significant amount of time and enjoyability from my trip. But then I discovered a direct flight from FLL to DIA & back. It was roughly $240 roundtrip (only about $20 more than my other options) so to get the most out of my wallet & my weekend I went out on a limb and booked it.

They only had one desk at Ft. Lauderdale, but the wait wasn't long at all. It's a little annoying that they charge an extra $15 for each checked bag, but I know most of the other airlines are doing that these days. There isn't much schedule flexibility; I was on the single flight from FLL to DIA that day. I left a little after three, but since I gained two hours crossing time zones, landed in Denver a little before five (we were about 30 minutes early based on the original ETA).

The interior reminds me a lot of Jet Blue; big, comfy leather seats with lots of legroom. There are also mini LCD screens installed in the back of each seat for individual entertainment, but UNLIKE Jet Blue, you have to pay $6 to take advantage of it. That didn't really bother me since even though I was technically on vacation, I took my trusty pink notebook along to brainstorm ideas for a project I had been briefed on the day before. The staff and beverage service were typical; and you could enhance your snacking experience for a couple extra bucks. And I know this would probably happen with any airline, but I was a little disheartened to see my pretty pink Samsonite suitcase marred with black streaks and scratches when it came around the carousel. *Tear*

On the return flight back to Ft. Lauderdale today, I noticed a few more details. The brand's tagline is "A whole different animal" and according to their website,

"With the help of some advertising genius types...Each of our "spokesanimals" has a unique and entertaining personality. Today there are more than 50 different animal photographs prominently displayed on our tails."



Today, my flight's featured creature was "LJ the baby Lynx." Not only was he wrapped around the tail of the plane, but there was a picture of him at the entrance of the plane, and the flight attendant made special mention of him before her standard safety speech. I think it's an interesting differentiator from other airlines and makes me feel a little bit like I'm flying off to have some kind of wild adventure. Or possibly like I'm on an airline owned & operated by National Geographic.

Interestingly, I noticed that the average age of the other passengers (not to mention flight attendants) was pretty old. However, it was skewed by the screaming infant in the seat directly behind me. So we already have first class with their little curtain, so when are we going to get a child class complete with soundproof barrier? I was eventually able to block it out with the help of my iTunes. I slept for pretty much all of the flight back. It's weird to be unconscious for that long between two complete strangers.

It just occurred to me that this review would probably benefit more people if I posted it on Yelp...

D-9 Debriefing

My friend and I really didn't know what to think when we stepped out of the theater after seeing District 9 tonight. I don't know what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't what I experienced. The best way I can describe it is like watching a more cinematic two hour game of Halo.



A Halo game at which I'm not behind the controls because although I would love to be a gamer, I particularly suck at the ones in which you have to navigate and shoot with two different controls, especially when they are inverted. Why?! It's complicated enough as it is! Now I have to remember that when I aim the joystick down that I am actually looking up? My ex-boyfriend and his frat brothers took full advantage of this fact and delighted in repeatedly running me over, ambushing and sniping me. The best I could do was memorize where the turrets were, attempt to reach them and make it rain bullets! And I still rarely ended up with a positive kill score. (If we were playing Mario Kart or Super Smash Brothers, it would be a different story. Oh yes.)

Anyways, I don't really get into ARG (Alternative Reality Games) but I heard the one promoting District 9 was decent. They scattered stuff all over the web, which appeared to come from several different "sources." (I think they recently aggregated them at D-9.com since the movie is out now).




They even arrived in full force at Comic Con to warn/inform people.



I don't this ARG was as widespread or as popular as the one for The Dark Knight (which won the Grand Prix in the Cyber Lions category at Cannes this year), but hey, I went to see the movie so at least some part of it worked on me.



I still don't know exactly what to think of the movie. It left me with more questions than answers, which I suspect was it's intention. It was definitely unlike any other movie I've ever seen. Weird how movies are becoming more like video games, whether subtly like this one or blatantly like Gamer, which I will probably end up seeing thanks to all the action and explosions I've seen in the trailers.

Afterthought: I found this screen junkies review online which states that the original intention of this movie WAS actually supposed to an adaptation of Halo. Hmmm...

Meet Luna

I wish I had time to post more than once a week, but as one of my CD's said today, I'm "batting 1,000" as in I'm working like crazy. I worked on all four of our different clients this week, but I loved every minute of it. However, working isn't the only thing I did this week...




Meet Luna! I adopted her from the Humane Society of Greater Miami on Tuesday. (I finally made up my mind after a brief bout of puppy fever hit the office.) She's slightly less than a year old and from what I can tell she's part Russian Blue and some other domestic longhair, like a Maine Coon. So she's pretty international.

I used to know so much more about cats when I was little, but I do know she is really chill but can be affectionate or playful and loves a good belly rub. I can't wait to get a good picture of her and submit it to I can haz cheezburger with a brilliant caption.

And I've officially crossed off #6 on my Ten Things to do Before I'm 30 list! One down, 9 to go!

Oh yea and a Happy 27th Anniversary to the parentals!

Madness

...is the one word that pretty much sums up my whole life right now, but mostly in a good way. I've been averaging 60-something hours a week at the agency on at least five different clients and my weekends have been and are being booked solid. I'm actually at the agency right now. It's so different with no one here. It's raining like crazy and I rode my bike here so I have to wait for it to stop before I can go home and eat some dinner.

Anyways, yesterday a bunch of us dressed up in our best retro skits, suits & ties to honor the third season of Mad Men, which premiers tomorrow night on AMC! It was swell, and we hit up a piano bar here on Lincoln afterwards where I may have had one too many martinis. But hey, it's not like i could drink beer dressed up like that!




I also saw this link tweeted a few times today. Fastcompany has this interesting little slideshow paralleling real life advertising in the 60's to what Sterling-Cooper references on the show. LOVE that beetle campaign by DDB that revolutionized creative advertising!




And don't forget to take the Quiz on AMC's website to find out which character you are! I discovered my inner Betty Draper.

Converse Creatures

I've been listening to last.fm at work lately, and noticed these strange interactive banners for Converse kept popping up. I remember them partially because they are bizarre, and partially because my group and I had a similar concept when we were in Boulder for a quarter. It was super late and we were going insane from like, our twentieth round of concepts and we ended comping up an Olympacha; a ridiculous combinition Cheetah and Olympic Pole Vaulter.







They're memorable, mildly entertaining and convey the idea of customization quite well. I think I would be more likely to make pair for someone else since I barely wear the pink and black all-stars that I have at home. (Mostly because I think living in Florida so long has made my feet claustrophobic in anything but flip flops).

The Douchebook

I really, really hate this commercial I keep seeing on TV for Verizon's mini notebook things. You know, the one where this dude is sitting on a dock or something and this chick sits next to him to inquire about his worthless little device and he keeps finishing her sentences. I mean, this thing screams "toolbag." Why get something cool like an iPhone when you can carry around a whole mini computer? I have way too much other crap I need to carry around in my purse.

The best part is at the end of the commercial when the chick starts saying something like "I'm..." and then he cuts her off with "Amazed? Jealous? Wanna be me right now?" and then she smirks and says "getting one." I guess Verizon is trying to appeal to the Douchebag market with this one. If I was her, I would smack him upside the head with that little device and then throw them both over the side of that dock and hope that he gets a couple fingers clipped off by a mutant lobster. Good luck using your stupid mini keyboard after that! Ha!



(I would have posted the commercial here, but apparently the entire internet has deemed it unworthy of being posted anywhere.) Oh, and not to mention it looks like they are totally trying to rip off Apple with their attempt at design.

In Memory of Sevenmir

So I got a random link from one of my old ad school friends through iChat a few weeks ago. I would expect this friend to send me a random link, so I clicked it, and it took me to a site where it asked me to enter my screenname and password for my profile to be compared to my friend's. In hindsight, I have no idea why I actually entered my password, but I did and this little bar graph type thing showed up and said that his profile beat mine. I thought the whole thing was a little weird, but didn't think much about it until people started IMing me asking me what this link was that I was sending them. CRAP! I was like "Umm, I didn't send you a link, but whatever it is, don't click on it."

So now it's a couple weeks later and when I got home from work and tried to log onto iChat, it was telling me to enter my password, instead of just starting automatically. I entered it probably 3,000 different times and tried for over an hour to salvage my beloved screenname, sevenmir. I never thought I would be attached to something that's not even tangible! I created that alias at least 8 years ago based on my high school jersey number and my name. I didn't realize how much I take being instantly connected to everyone I know for granted. I was so pissed at first, but I got over it and my new online alias is now 'mirandomology.' I decided to make a clean & consistent break and changed my twitter name to the same thing, and am considering changing the name of this blog, too.

I guess it was probably time to switch it up a little bit. My old screenname was cluttered with tons of people that I hadn't talked to in ages and thankfully I was able to retrieve some of my recent work peeps' screennames from my address book.

Anyways, I'm not the only one who got hacked - it's happened to at least five other Miami Ad School kids that I know of, so far. I wonder where it started and what the point of it is. It's not like you're going to gain any valuable info like social security or credit card numbers through AIM or iChat. Curse you, evil virus-maker man! May you be attacked by a 1,000 rabid chipmunks!

Whatevs. I'm sure sevenmir is in screenname Heaven...

Upgrade

I love working in advertising, especially at an interactive agency. We get to find out about all the coolest stuff before it goes mainstream. I think we make up a lot of the innovators & early adopters according to the new product life cycle (and I thought I wouldn't use any of the stuff from my marketing classes anymore on the creative side - lol). Maybe because generally we're paid to create and promote the next big idea(s)...

Anyways, I am officially switching from YouTube to Vimeo for all of my video uploading and sharing needs. Youtube has become like MySpace for me, too overwhelmed and underdesigned by the masses. Plus, they're really pissing me off with all their copyright claims!

Vimeo has a way simpler & cleaner design (and bonus points for hybrid wordage: video + me = vimeo). The only trade-off is that your videos take longer to process and you're limited to 500 MB per week (unless you purchase the premium membership). I'll stick with the free version for now. Here's a couple videos I made from this past weekend partying at the W hotel & the Gansevoort with Christy & the girls and then a quick clip from the agency pub crawl in Key West yesterday!

Random Bull Riding from Miranda Peterson on Vimeo.

I've Got A Feeling... from Miranda Peterson on Vimeo.

Oh yea, and Happy Birthday Dad! (My sister and I bought him a case of his favorite candy, but I think his favorite gift was me getting a job and getting off his payroll - lol)

Mad Men Mania

Yay! I'm super excited for the next season of Mad Men to premiere on AMC on August 16! I discovered this nifty new avatar maker MadMenYourself.com. I love the retro feel, and the navigation is easy but I just wish they had spent a little more time on the illustration for the avatar parts themselves. Like for example, the noses all look really bad, so mine ended up noseless (a la Michael Jackson... Too Soon?) Of course I had to accessorize myself with a doughnut!





The clothes and the hairstyles are pretty sweet and I like the download options. Promotion for the network guys must be getting cheaper, and more creative thanks to the popularity of social networking.





Speaking of promotion, I also think it's cool that the show partnered with Banana Republic.




The stores feature little guides that help you dress like your favorite character, and on the back of those guides, there are ticket codes that promise a slight chance of winning a walk-on role on the show and a $1,000 BR giftcard. How swell! ;)

Alice in Wonderland Trailer!

I didn't think it was going to be out til tomorrow but here's the first teaser trailer for Tim Burton/Disney's Alice in Wonderland!

Curiouser and Curiouser...

Hey y'all! Time to indulge in my AIW obsession once again.





The Loyal Subjects of the Red Queen, the Loyal Subjects of the White Queen, and the Disloyal Subjects of the Mad Hatter are all building armies on Facebook. The fan page with the biggest army at 7PM EST on Thursday, July 23 will get to see an exclusive new trailer from Disney’s Alice in Wonderland before anyone else. Here is the link where you can pick your page and see some pretty character portraits.

Of course I cheated and became fans of all three, which led me to the main Alice in Wonderland Facebook page where I stole these lovely new promotional posters:







It's a ridiculously simple and smart way to engage crazy kids like me and get free promotion (I twittered the link and passed it on to some other fans I know on Facebook). Thanks again to my favorite enabler, MM. :)

Eat Better All Day

I like this new Nutri-Grain commercial. It's super simple and you don't usually see things from the first person POV.



The supporting website is nice too - decent design (I just wish that big red bar was white. I'm a big fan of lots of white space) and I like how you can scroll through the different varieties at the top.



I think Leo Burnett is behind these creations, although I'm sure some fellow ad kids and I could have made this in school too.

Supersized vs Superskinny

I randomly stumbled upon some clips from this British tv show Supersized vs. Superskinny. Basically they parade an obese person and an anorexic person around in their underwear, and then make them switch diets for a week.



I can't embed, so here's a few links to clips where Georgetta and Amir meet and then attempt a meal swap.

(FYI: According to wikipedia, a "stone" is equal to about 14 pounds. So confusing - I hate metric! Why can't we measure things like the other 90% of the world? Whatevs.)

Of course I don't live in the British Isles so I can't watch a whole episode, even online. Despite it's good intentions, I don't see how this is really healthy. I HATE reality tv, but this is strangely addicting.

I'm actually working on my own food portioning - or at least the sugary stuff. I am so proud of myself for not ordering dessert after dinner last night! Additional beneft: my bill was cheaper too! Pretty sure I didn't need to drink that much beer tho, but it's hard when there is a huge cooler full of it for free at work. lol

This show reminds me of this eerie commercial for this Swedish clinic that treats eating disorders.

Almost

Loving what I've heard off Papa Roach's new album Metamorphosis so far. Here's the latest release/video "I Almost Told You That I Loved You"



I almost love Jacoby! Yummmm

These guys are UH-MAY-ZING in concert! I saw them a couple years ago in T-Bay, and they're on tour again but OF COURSE they aren't making any stops in Florida.

But this song kind of makes me want to get a tatoo.

Summer Reading List

I just finished my last term of school EVER so it's gonna be hard to get used to not having that extended vacation every year. But, I still have some books on the back burner that I've been meaning to devote some attention to. Hopefully every week at the agency won't take up 65 hours of my time, like last week. So here we go, in no particular order:


Ok, I've read this one several times, mostly when I was in Boulder last fall. But sadly I have yet to own a copy for myself. You can enhance your creativity through osmosis, right? This book may replace one of my pillows.





Another book I discovered in Boulder, that I affectionately call by its alternate title "The Douchebag Bible." I rented it from the library and got through about half of it before my workload became overwhelming and it started collecting dust on my dresser. Then of course when I finally had some time to finish it, I had to return it. Even though I've dated enough of these guys that I should have been familiar with everything in the book before I even picked it up.




I might as well round out the skinny bitch book series. I bought the original shortly after it was released, then got the cookbook for Christmas, however, I don't need the "Bun in the Oven" edition...yet.





Basically my favorite story of all time. I haven't re-read it in ages and I feel like I'm somehow hypocritical for not owning a copy of it. I have the Disney version on DVD, but that's equivalent to owning a fake designer bag and pretending it's the real thing.





Anthem is right behind Alice on my favorite books list. I fell asleep several times while attempting to read Atlas Shrugged. So it's pretty much a coin toss for me whether or not I'm going to like, or even finish this one. Regardless, Ayn Rand is pretty cool. And not just because we have the same birthday.

Get Wet

I think Orbit has done a pretty decent job differentiating their product, if only for it's weirdness. Who can forget this classic copywriting masterpiece?



What the French, Toast?!

Anyways now they are claiming to be the wettest gum on the market. Ok. I wonder what kind of focus group that came out of. Introducing... Orbit Mist:





I grabbed a pack at Walgreens today, partially because the packaging is swirly and shiny and partially because I like watermelon-flavored confections (watermelon jollyranchers are the best - and if you say sour apple, I will stab you in the jaw!).



I'm actually chewing it right now. When you first pop it in your mouth, its really hard (Ha! That's what she said) and for like 6.5 seconds you can tell something is going on, but it's hardly much of a "hydrating sensation."

Still, some funny stuff from BBDO.

A New Design Direction

I had to get off the island today for a little bit to stock up on food and supplies. My preferred suppliers are Publix and Target. I've been a fan of Publix's generic product design forever and apparently Target is too because they just relaunched their store brand as "Up & Up." The packaging is so similar - simple, clean sans-serif and monochromatic with generous white space. I mean, these generic packages look better than the branded ones that they're competing with. Better Design AND Better Price. Everyone wins! Yay!



It's hard to find much about it yet since the brand literally launched last month, but according to Reuters, they have about 730 products available right now and will have close to 800 by the end of this year. And according to this press release,

"By re-launching Target brand as up & up, we’re able to create a unique identity for this powerful owned brand. The new packaging incorporates an element of design, giving us the opportunity to deliver on both the ‘expect more’ and ‘pay less’ sides of our brand promise."

Target consistently reevaluates its owned brands to ensure they meet guest expectations. Before introducing up & up, Target reviewed more than 4,000 guest comments on the quality and performance of its store-brand products. This resulted in the reformulation or enhancement of more than 130 products in the line.

Like I said, the design is really similar to my favorite generic grocery brand, but unlike Publix, the Up & Up brand doesn't have a website for fans of its packaging...yet.



(Even though it hasn't been updated in almost two years, LoL. Guess they weren't THAT big of fans.) Here's a cute, more current website that encourages you to get into a "Green Routine."