From the monthly archives:

May 2011

Total Popcorn Recall

May 27, 2011

Since this story about false memories implanted by high-imagery ads is in such heavy rotation right now, I thought I’d mock up the fictional product that was used in the reference study.
May it soar on the wings of Google Image Search until the end of time.  Or until the story dies down next week.

Read the full article →

The Vapors

May 26, 2011

It’s not uncommon for a forthcoming product to be announced only to slip quietly into the dark chasm of Development Hell before the release date. However, it’s the unreleased products heralded by hype and ad campaigns that have a special place in my heart.

The term vaporware was coined in 1982 by a Microsoft engineer [...]

Read the full article →

Gatsby no Monogatari

May 16, 2011

At some point in the 80’s the Japanese tried to give The Great Gatsby the pulse-pounding video game adaptation that Fitzgerald had always intended.  And we missed it.  From GreatGatsbyGame.com:
I really don’t know much about this game. I found it at a yard sale. I bought it for 50 cents and went home to try it [...]

Read the full article →

De-Tooning

May 11, 2011

Photobooth Bert
by Jaime Margary
Everyone loves these. There doesn’t seem to be a universally agreed upon term for this kind of art, but some descriptive attempts I’ve read include “over-rendering” and “un-tooning”. These generally take one of two forms.
The first involves applying realistic textures to a cartoonish (or Muppeted) figure, highlighting the absurdity and [...]

Read the full article →

Serif Industries – American Dreaming

May 10, 2011

The superhero our country needs right now isn’t a ripped vigilante in tights, but a CEO with the vision to transform the defunct auto factories of detroit into biotech research hubs. Could David Serif be our man?

This ad for Serif Industries, unlike the Aperture Investment Opportunities campaign, doesn’t break the universe. I give [...]

Read the full article →

Artie Lives!

May 8, 2011

A couple months ago I introduced you to Arthur Eames, PhD (aka “Artie”). His resume is a nonsensical array of fake techno-babble, made-up universities, and meaningless jargon meant to lure in recruiters who don’t actually evaluate resumes before pitching job opportunities to candidates.
It’s worked to some degree so far. He’s gotten a handful [...]

Read the full article →

Bits ‘N’ Pieces

May 4, 2011

During Episode Five of AMC’s The Killing, a grieving Mitch Larsen ran her fingers over a row of Bits ‘N’ Pieces cereal, painfully recalling how much her late daughter loved the Lucky Charms knockoff.

It’s hard to miss the multi-layered subtext of the brand name Bits N’ Pieces. The story, much like the oft-compared Twin [...]

Read the full article →