The Prophecy of AT&T

Saw some web chatter on the prophetic commercials AT&T made in 1993, predicting various technologies that would become available. While AT&T produced none of them (hah!), they’re still fun to watch. Since I have a steel trap memory and watched too much TV as a kid, I actually remember one or two of the spots. I would also like to point out that some of the features in Total Recall have been realized; let’s hope that none of the ones from Minority Report do the same.

Mad World

Chicago’s main alternative rock station has been bombarded with requests for the song “Mad World”, a remix of the Tears For Fears song featured in the commercial for X-Box 360’s Gears of War. The song was certainly an interesting choice for a war game, and I’m curious why the song had such a strong connection with viewers.

A Wolf in Penguin’s Clothing?

I have to disagree with the stellar KC folk over at American Copywriter on their recent dismay at the tie-in Happy Feet has with the Flu Facts website. Sure, it might seem a bit too much to partner with Roche on a site promoting flu shots for kids. But I don’t think encouraging flu shots is a bad thing, and I think this is a wisely placed media target.

Chicagrowth

As The Economist noted in an article on Chicago earlier this year, the city’s growth is attributed to increased Hispanic immigration. AT&T’s ubiquitous deathstar ad campaign is one of many out-of-home spots featured in Spanish.

A Beautiful Mind

Interesting NY Times read on an artist who painted self-portraits following his Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 1995. Beautiful, fascinating and sad.