Humor Does It – Cinematography Style

As mentioned before, a sense of humor can go a long way, sometimes taking you way beyond your wildest expectations.

That’s just what Carrie Hollenbeck learned, when her writer/director fiancé Max Lanman created a hilarious car commercial style video, to go along with their eBay listing, when she wanted to sell her ’96 Honda Accord with more than 140,000 miles on it.

“A few years ago, I was driving to Big Sur with my (then) girlfriend Carrie to go camping on Highway 1. While we were traversing gorgeous switchbacks, it felt like (we) were driving in a car commercial and that’s when it hit me that it would be really funny to make a high-end car commercial for a crappy car,” Lanman was quoted on Today.

The video spoof was so well done, that bidding went well beyond the starting price of $499 (so much so that eBay’s fraud department canceled the original bidding) and the video has been seen more than 4.2 million times to date.

2017-11-09T17:00:03+00:00 November 8th, 2017|Big Thinking, Humor|Comments Off on Humor Does It – Cinematography Style
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A Daily Dose of Tiny

We do love small things or everyday objects that get new meaning in context. So it should be no surprise that the discovery of Tatsuya Tanaka’s daily photographs depicting tiny diorama-style figures surrounded by every day objects have been a pleasant surprise.

These are just a few of our favorites, to see them all, visit Tatsuya Tanaka’s website or Instagram.

Images via Instagram

2017-05-22T13:16:57+00:00 April 7th, 2017|Big Thinking, Design, Humor|Comments Off on A Daily Dose of Tiny
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Commercials for Nicer Living

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NPR’s All Things Considered asked listeners to write and send in scripts for commercials that celebrate the small things in life, then turned five submissions into radio spots.

The idea originated back in 1972 when NPR’s Susan Stamberg encouraged listeners to write commercials for the things that matter – live’s simple pleasures. Back then listeners promoted things such as taking a walk, love letters and cumulus clouds.

Forty-five years later the more than 2,000 submissions included pitches for bonfires, breezes, silence and simple kindness.

The spots that were produced were non-commercial commercials for Puns, Trees, Nothing, Ear Scratches and Yummy Words. Below is just one of them – Trees – Submitted by Adam Drake of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

My favorite part is hands-down the disclaimer: Trees may not be right for everybody. Side effects include tree houses, tire swings, fruit, shade, and woodworking. Please consult your biome before selecting a tree. Not every tree is right for every biome, enjoy trees responsibly.

Of course the radio ad for doing nothing rings especially true these days… Click here to listen to them all.

2017-05-22T13:16:57+00:00 February 27th, 2017|Humor, Inspiration|Comments Off on Commercials for Nicer Living
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Humor Does It – MailChimp Style

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While at NYNow in NYC, I came across this awesome campaign by MailChimp, who is not so concerned that people get their name right, but rather want to intrigue people about who they are and to have some fun along the way.

Check out the whole campaign – if you would like to go down a long (fun and entertaining) rabbit hole.

Slider images via MailChimp

2017-11-08T09:40:55+00:00 February 8th, 2017|Design, Humor|Comments Off on Humor Does It – MailChimp Style
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Humor Does It – Arizona Department of Transportation Style

Drivers in Arizona have been greeted for the past few years with a running series of timely, humorous, holiday or pop-culture inspired roadway signs by the Arizona Department of Transportation. This January was no different with the suggestion of a new year’s resolution:

new-year

The tongue-in-cheek humor has attracted more than 156,000 followers on ADOT’s Twitter account. Below is a look back at some of the freeway signs posted in 2016:

In an interview with AZCentral, Tom Herrmann, one of the people who handles the @ArizonaDOT Twitter account said: “If we just talked about traffic and it was all dry, nobody would care. … We’re trying to get traffic information out there. If we do that and get a smile on people’s faces, that’s even better.”

Images via ADOT’s Twitter account

2018-03-02T18:26:59+00:00 January 6th, 2017|Big Thinking, Humor, In The News|Comments Off on Humor Does It – Arizona Department of Transportation Style
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Sweet Holiday Greetings

A choir of 16 praliné-chocolate boxes by Chocolat Frey surprised visitors at a Swiss shopping center with some holiday cheer, serenading shoppers of all ages with festive acapella songs.

The encounters were filmed on hidden cameras and turned into a video for the shops’ website. For a second look, check out the outtakes and “auditions” of the boxes.

2017-05-22T13:16:57+00:00 December 15th, 2016|Humor, Videos|Comments Off on Sweet Holiday Greetings
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Humor Does It – Scandinavian Style

The days are short and the nights are long this time of year, especially in Scandinavian countries. Yet, the people of Helsinki seem to embrace the lack of daylight with a sense of humor…

Nobody in their right mind would come to Helsinki in November. Except you, you badass. Welcome.

Image via reddit / imgur

Lucky for us, there are only 15 days left until the days are getting longer again. Winter solstice is on December 21, the first day of winter and the shortest day of the year.

2017-11-08T09:39:00+00:00 December 6th, 2016|Big Thinking, Humor|Comments Off on Humor Does It – Scandinavian Style
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Holiday Interlude

If you need a break from Thanksgiving prep – take a look at Belgian artist Vincent Bal’s Instagram. This is just one example how he turns the shadows of every day objects into great illustrations…

Happy Thanksgiving!

2017-05-22T13:16:57+00:00 November 24th, 2016|Big Thinking, Design, Humor|Comments Off on Holiday Interlude
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FlyBabies

In honor of Mother’s Day, JetBlue gave passengers on a recent flight from JFK to Long Beach a reason to smile every time a baby cried.

An announcement was made at the beginning of the cross-country flight, that travelers would receive a 25% discount off their next ticket purchase every time a baby cried. In the end passengers applauded the babies who helped them get a free ticket.

Not designed to increase sales, but rather to create more compassion among travelers, JetBlue spokesman Morgan Johnston said, “We’re hoping to inspire … conversation and know that while it may be tough for you to sit next to a crying kid, we hope you can think about the stress that parent is going through,” he said. “And maybe we can be a little bit more supportive of moms.”

Another airline made passengers very happy for a different holiday.

2017-05-22T13:16:58+00:00 May 5th, 2016|Big Thinking, Humor, In The News|Comments Off on FlyBabies
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