Chris Stenberg dot com » Consumer Culture

Conan’s New Show Conaw

Chris Stenberg — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:01:21 +0000

Conan announced his new show today via YouTube and a “pretty crappy” office. The show which airs on TBS starting November 8, 2010 is to be called — Conan. That’s right, just Conan. Although as Conan O’Brien writes out the name of the show in his one take YouTube clip it looks more like Conaw, so there you have it. Conaw. Check out the video and see more at TeamCoCo.com

Wieden + Kennedy Old Spice Case Study

Chris Stenberg — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 23:30:51 +0000

There is no question that the recent Old Spice body wash campaign was a success, so much so that the responsible ad agency, Wieden + Kennedy, has produced a case study around the campaign efforts.

This campaign didn’t just deliver on an entertainment level, but it also resulted in a significant increase in sales which has led Old Spice to be the category leader in the man’s body wash arena.

Post-Jackass Culture

Chris Stenberg — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 19:45:05 +0000

To me there are two distinct eras for the modern youth culture — pre and post Jackass. Maiming and deforming one’s self for the sake of a laugh has become de rigueur amongst the UFC loving Christian Audigier set.

I suppose before Jackass there was a tamer form of “shoe-to-the-nuts” humour in the form of Funniest Home Videos, but the difference is accidental versus deliberate maiming.

So in the spirit of a good bollocking, I’m going to give this guy his 5 seconds of internet fame as a send-up to our post-Jackass society.

I was floating down the channel in Penticton with friends, a common summer activity, when I see this guy go flying off of the dike into the water. At first I thought it was an accident, but he just kept going, at least 4 or 5 more times, repeating this moronic stunt for our entertainment.

Despite the fact that he could have bashed his head in, it was hilarious and had everyone in a roar of laughter. The fact that he repeated the stunt so many times was mildly disturbing, but here is his second attempt captured on my iPhone, which is now waterlogged and possibly not functional.

Cheers Jackass.

Native Shoes Review

Chris Stenberg — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:49:34 +0000

Native Shoes aka. “The Hipster Croc” caught my eye prior to their release when a friend of mine at a trendy Vancouver wine bar was sporting them.

“What the hell are those?” I believe was the first thing I said.

They appeared to be a hybrid of the contentious Crocs holey shoe and some kind of old school Keds or Converse sneaker. I’m not sure if Sneakerheads will find this a bastardization of sneaker culture, or if they will find them cool and functional, but either way I couldn’t help but want a pair.

There aren’t too many totally original choices for footwear, and when the summer temperatures hit I was in need of some cool cool footwear. Flip flops are great, but wreak havoc on my aging body, so the Natives seem to fit the bill with a little more support, but still adequate ventilation.

I ordered mine from The Black Markers, a cool online shop that I found through the Native Shoes website. I chose them because they seemed to be doing shoes the right way with their flat rate shipping and simple return policy. The shoes arrived promptly, and I’ve been wearing them around the beaches of the Okanagan for a little while now.

So how are they? Well, let me start by saying that they have definitely raised some eyebrows and turned a few heads. It’s nice to be on the leading edge for a change. In terms of fit, I ordered mine a size down on advice from Natives as I am normally a 9.5 and they only come in full sizes. My question to them was “what size Natives should I wear — do Natives shoes fit small or fit big?”

The advice I received for me was to order them on the slightly snugger size and let them stretch out as they break in.

Now that I have them I can say that erring on the smaller side actually worked fine. They appear to fit a little long, but the model I ordered, The Jefferson, also fit on the narrow side which fit my feet perfectly. So going down a half-size was actually fine. If you are ordering these shoes online, also keep in mind that you’ll likely wear them without socks, which changes the sizing a little bit too.

They are fairly stretchy which should accommodate wider feet, but if I had wide feet I would likely order the loafer styled Corrado, which seems a bit boxier judging by the photos.

So what’s the verdict? These shoes are pretty damn comfortable, and are certainly way easier to walk around in than flip flop sandals. I like the style, and the price was reasonable. They are well vented, but because they are plastic my feet feel mildly clammy in them after a while. I like the breeze through effect of all the vent holes though.

I think overall I would consider these my sport utility shoe for summer activity. They’re perfect for walking around town and look cool enough to pass for dinner on a summer patio, but are breezy enough for a trip to the beach. I’m going to say I’m still into flip flops for direct to beach travel, and for short walks, but for those extended meandering summer outings I’m going with the Natives. At $60 Canadian they aren’t overly expensive, and they’re still obscure enough to be a bit of a fashion statement.

I like them.

Lance Armstrong Nissan Leaf Commercial

Chris Stenberg — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 23:36:47 +0000

While Lance Armstrong may be behind in the 2010 Tour de France, he’s certainly ahead in many other ways, one of which would be his endorsement of the forthcoming Nissan Leaf electric car.

Touted as the first affordable zero emission vehicle for the masses, the Leaf is creating a media wave. Team Radio Shack is not actually using a Nissan Leaf as a team car in the Tour de France because of the distance requirements, and is instead using the European equivalent of the Nissan Rogue, but it will be cool when they do start to use the car in shorter stage races.

As a cyclist I know all too well the feeling of breathing exhaust fumes. This commercial featuring the 7-time Tour de France champion is a great homage to what will hopefully become “days gone by” where we sniffed fumes all day while on the bike.

Nissan Leaf Preview Test Drive

Chris Stenberg — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 23:24:34 +0000

This is a great video from Green Energy News showing a public advance test drive of the Nissan Leaf electric car. While the leaf may not yet be a great road trip car with a maximum drive per charge of about 100 miles, it will certainly be able to handle most people’s domestic driving for one day. It’s cool that there are 3 different options for charging including a rapid DC charge which will be available at certain gas stations and take roughly 30 minutes to get to 80% charge. The other two options for the home are regular A/C 110V power which would likely take forever, and a 240V option for the home which is the same type of voltage required for a stove or dryer.

I’m excited about this car and can’t wait to test drive it! Apparently even the bumpers are made from recycled plastic bottles. This is a leading edge step by Nissan in the direction toward a clean air future.

Moosehead Cracked Canoe

Chris Stenberg — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 01:16:46 +0000

I saw the ad on TV and almost thought it was a joke. Cracked Canoe? Really? Yes, it does exist, and it’s a slow brewed premium light lager. Premium light lager even sounds a bit oxymoronic, but there is something else going on here.

Despite our constant desire for the latest and greatest, and our now over-communicative nature, there is a flip side to that coin. In a time where life and messages go by at a frantic pace there is an underlying craving for simplicity — a throwback to the simple times.

I personally couldn’t do this for very long, now that I have fully adapted to a well connected life, but there are moments where I just want to push pause on life and enjoy the scenery.

I don’t think I’m alone on this one, and clearly neither did the respondents who likely influenced the latest effort from Canadian independent brewery Moosehead. John St. is the ad agency behind the communication which features a lot of positive slow motion moments like a man and woman exchanging a seductive glance in passing, and even a baseball going through a TV set in slow motion — apparently taking aim at media for creating for us an undue hectic lifestyle.

The Cracked Canoe website also pokes fun of our over-produced lives with a mock newspaper covering everything in a ridiculous “fast.”

Will Cracked Canoe be a hit? It’s a little tough, but as the slogan goes it’s an Ode to Slow, so when you’re thinking of those quite moments on the lake with a beer in hand, the folks at Moosehead are banking that you will be sinking a few Cracked Canoes.

Here’s to you slow!

Source: CBC News

Marketing Mag

Lexus LFA Supercar Advertising

Chris Stenberg — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 23:46:09 +0000

These TV commercials for the 2012 Lexus LFA really caught my eye. They’re elegantly simple and feature the story of this new car. At the right pitch, allegedly around 9000 RPM, the noise of the engine will break a champagne glass.

This is a pretty impressive piece of machinery that has been built by Lexus without compromise. Even the sound made by airflow through the engine compartment has been tuned by Yamaha for perfection.

On the performance end the LFA boasts a 4.8L V10 engine with 552 horsepower and can go from 0-60mph in 3.6 seconds. Top speed for this production supercar is 202 MPH and the exterior body panels are made from a special carbon fiber that is woven on a custom loom designed and built by Lexus specifically for the production of this car.

To top it all off, the Lexus LFA will come at a heavy cost with a price tag of roughly $400,000 USD. If you’re thinking that’s totally insane, you’re likely not the only one, but at a limited production run of only 500 models to be produced, this car will have a certain exclusivity about it. I’m willing to bet there are 500 multi-millionaire car enthusiasts out there looking to put one of these in their garage.

Read more about the Lexus LFA at the Lexus LFA Microsite.

Jeff Staple Brand RMX

Chris Stenberg — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 21:52:39 +0000

I had the opportunity to meet Jeff Ng (aka Jeff Staple) of Staple Design a couple of years back while I was filming an interview in New York for a market research firm and was quite taken by his poise. He’s humbly prophetic despite his somewhat legendary status in the streetwear / sneakerhead design community as a guru of cool.

What really stuck with me though was how he seemed to effortlessly walk the line between the bleeding edge of cool and the tight business acumen required to achieve his level of success. To top it off he’s managed to achieve this without completely selling out his ideals. He seems very much a man doing what he loves without compromise.

The things that can be learned from someone like Staple even in a short time can inspire some great ideas, so I’m happy to have watched these Brand RMX videos by Paris firm R+I Creative and hope that you might enjoy them too. Remember, this is the guy that created the Pigeon Dunk special edition Nike Shoe. He’s a master of urban culture. Take note!

Brand RMX : EPISODE 2 pt 1/2 from R+I creative on Vimeo.

Brand RMX : EPISODE 2 pt 2/2 from R+I creative on Vimeo.

The Social Network aka. “The Facebook Movie”

Chris Stenberg — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:06:38 +0000

Perhaps I’ve developed the same voyeuristic tendencies that everyone else in this social media generation has. Peeping away at the lives of others from behind the veil of the computer.

While I may sound a bit cynical, I actually believe that Facebook has been a good thing for the world. We are connected now in ways that we never have been before, and like it or not, the impact that Facebook has had on modern relationships, communication, and media is undeniable.

So, what happens after something changes the world? Someone makes a movie about it of course. In this case two brilliant filmmakers have come together: director David Fincher of Seven and Fight Club notoriety, and writer Aaron Sorkin who penned The West Wing and A Few Good Men amongst others.

From this trailer with its creepy choir version of Radiohead’s emo hit song Creep, it looks a like the film is a slightly haunting version of Gossip Girl for computer geeks that tells the tale of a college age Mark Zuckerberg’s life, but for whatever reason I want to see it.

Facebook is without a doubt one of the great influencers of this generation, and it’s not likely that many people know the story behind it. What better way to find out than to go see the “Hollywoodization” of it on the silver screen.