I like this new ad, by DLKW Lowe, for Halfords. But then again, I'm a nostalgic old Gen-X dad...
From the YouTube link:
"Our story follows 4 children on a summer family trip. A boy and girl from the 1970s playing with a present day brother and sister. In a time when it's easy for children to get stuck indoors on computer games, we wanted to show how easy it is to pack up, get out and enjoy the freedom of the great outdoors, whether it be a week away camping or a cycling day trip. "
As darkness is covering the multiverse, far away in the galaxy of the wild stallion, a spark of hope is born.
Guided by the light of Mother Mustang, the Space Stallions must defeat the Demon of darkness, Destructo...
This is a student project by Thorvaldur S. Gunnarsson, Jonatan Brüsch, Ágúst Kristinsson, Arna Snæbjørnsdottir, Esben J. Jespersen, Touraj Khosravi and Polina Bokhan of The Animation Workshop in Denmark. And it is totally awesome. But be warned: it is more homage than parody.
It's not that I'm not also fascinated by the Super Bowl advertising orgy of conspicuous budget consumption. I just hate to be overly "me too" on this blog.
"Next to the revered hamburger, nothing is more classic to fast food than the french fry. But typically, french fries are cooked in partially hydrogenated oil, a source of trans fats. When a major restaurant chain wanted to offer their french fries with zero grams trans fat per serving, they knew they couldn’t change the taste consumers loved. They called on Cargill, who worked with them to develop frying oil that could achieve that goal."
Awww, shucks! Aren't those folks at Cargill just the sweetest things?
"The process required collaboration on all fronts, starting with improvements in canola seed genetics. Cargill then contracted with farmers to grow the volumes of oilseeds that would be necessary to supply all locations, and helped build an identity-preserved chain from the farm to the restaurant. Processing methods were overhauled as well. New technologies for crushing and refining seeds were introduced, and multiple formulations were considered to create a cooking oil that performed well for fries, chicken and fish.
The final test, of course? Taste. Consumers gave the made-over fries two huge thumbs-up. Now the chain serves classic-tasting french fries, without the trans fat risks. It’s a better situation all around, and Cargill was proud to help create it.
This is how Cargill works with customers."
I'm really, honestly touched by the way this megafood corporation focussed all their high-tech resources on something as patriotic and old fashioned as a freedom fry. So what if they are patenting a genetically modified organism that will further the spread of factory farming and monoculture at the expense of family farms and crop diversity? Gull darn it, that's a good, honest American fry!
Facebook friend Candace shared this amazing photoset by Argentinian photographer Irina Werning.
Her explanation:
"I love old photos. I admit being a nosey photographer. As soon as I step into someone else’s house, I start sniffing for them. Most of us are fascinated by their retro look but to me, it’s imagining how people would feel and look like if they were to reenact them today... A few months ago, I decided to actually do this. So, with my camera, I started inviting people to go back to their future."
These are some of my favourites from the set. You can see them all at Irina's Facebook gallery.
(All are copyright 2010 Irina Werning. The captions are mine.)
Never outgrow your inner nerd.
Never outgrow your exotic tastes.
Never outgrow your sense of wonder.
Never outgrow your defiance.
Never outgrow your love of learning.
Never outgrow wanting to stand out.
Never outgrow your rockin' style.
Never outgrow the things you love most.
Never outgrow your intimacy.
Never outgrow your innocence.
Never outgrow your mom's love.
And never outgrow your imagination.
I'd love to have someone do a portrait of me like this, because as a creative dude I am one of those lucky people who never really grew out of anything fun. And why should I? My inner child is way to much fun to hang around with.
UPDATE: e-mail response from Irina
Hi thanks for your email. Im very happy that you like my pictures. I work alone on my personal projects and the fact that you liked it and decided to write means a lot to me!
This is an ongoing project and I will be uploading new pictures regularly on my site.
I will be in NY and Boston in April; and May in Europe and am looking for people who want to go back to their future, so please drop me an email if you want to take part...
