Like the one shown here. We’re happy to be back in the furniture biz, and especially thrilled to be working with the fine folks at Bassett. After all, you can’t beat fine American craftsmanship.

Hey hey hey–remember when Viacom was all “wah wah wah copyrighted content wah wah wah google is the suxx0rz” and the Goog was all “we r0xx0rz and own teh internetz” and then everyone decided that the best thing to do was to get very expensive lawyers involved in the process? Well surprise, folks: Google wins, Viacom loses, and everyone’s favorite site is allowed to continue its operations without fear nor hindrance. Yesterday, a federal judge in New York sided with The Big G in a $1 billion copyright lawsuit filed by Viacom, stating that the service was following the DMCA to the letter and that Viacom should find better things to do, like helping orphans and rescuing stray kittens. Thus, the geniuses at Viacom decided that the smartest reaction was to throw even more money at more lawyers to appeal the decision, based on the grounds that they really, really like spending money on lawyers.

Okay, so it’s a little more complicated than that. There was that big brouhaha over internal youtube emails awhile back, and the clusterfrak involving phony accounts created by Viacom in order to secretly promote its own wares. But you know what? None of that matters. The feds have more or less OFFICIALLY approved the way the Internet works today, which means that we can all waste even more of our lives watching cats and babies do stupid, stupid things. Strike one for FREEDOM!

You know, if Viacom was smart, they’d just sweep this to the side, call it ancient history, and legally jump on the youtube bandwagon. Or maybe save the cash in order to produce better content. Appealing the decision is a waste of time and money–you can’t fight the Internet, after all. Drawing out this legal battle is just hurting their own marketing opportunities, and making them look like a bunch of selfish prats in the process.

Here’s what we want to know from you fine folks out there: where do you fall on this? Do you think Viacom actually has a case? If so, why? Because we honestly don’t know how Viacom can leave this little tussle smelling like roses.

Often, there are companies that have grown so large that advertising is not used to increase sales or raise awareness–rather, their ads are used as PR damage control or to ensure that they don’t sink under the public radar. At some point, you made a choice to drink either Pepsi or Coke–is a great ad going to change your opinion on the matter one way or another? Similarly, you already have an opinion about McDonald’s, and no ad is going to convince you that the company is anything other than what it is.

Which is why their latest ad is so interesting, from both an industry and social standpoint. McDonald’s is very much promoting a message of both tolerance and acceptance for sexual orientations that veer from the hetero-normative standard. And while the ad itself is only running in France, we should note that it was originally released with English subtitles–perhaps so that the commercial could reach out without incurring the firestorm it would produce in the States. But what do they gain from this? Will this increase sales? Help them enter new markets? Help assuage their popular conception as obesity-mongers?

The answer, of course, is no on all accounts. All things considered, this is a rather risky move, where the potential downsides far outweigh any positive outcomes. But the fact that one of the largest companies in the world feels comfortable promoting this message is a useful social barometer. The times, they are a changin’.

As for the ad itself? It’s a beautiful bit of short-form fiction, all show and no tell. It requires the viewer to place the pieces together, with a payoff that somehow manages to not take sides. It tells a simple and rather sweet familial story in under a minute, and is one of my favorite ads of the year thus far. But what do you think? Ballsy, brilliant or stupid? Or is it only what it is, with no overarching implication? Do tell.

According to AdFreak and Movieline, lingerie model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley will make an appearance in the next Transformers flick, in a blatant bit of product placement for Victoria’s Secret. Apparently, giant city-crushing robots can only be defeated by a woman who is mostly known for A). being naked, B). being silent, and C). walking.

Trivial, you say? We don’t necessarily disagree. However, this does give us an excellent excuse to post Michael Bay’s absolutely epic Victoria’s Secret ad, which features everything that makes advertising SO AWESOME and SO, SO TERRIBLE. It is at once the pinnacle and absolute nadir of American artistic achievement, pushing self-parody so far over the edge that it has actually entered the strange, rarefied realm of self-aware Duchamp-esque cultural criticism.

Cleavage! Explosions! Epic camera angles for no discernible reason! Excess has never looked so good.

Social media? It’s a great way to frame your own personal narrative. But watch what you post. The world is transparent today. Ask Tiger Woods. [We would, but we're totally scared of what he'd text back to us - Ed.] Ask John Edwards. Job seekers should be more careful too.  You can’t be one kind of person from 9 – 5 and a very different person the rest of the time.  I am not saying you cannot relax and let your proverbial hair down on the weekends.  But job seekers show up at our offices for a job interview in a coat and tie, ask professional questions and seem well versed in our company’s clients and history. Then post drunken frat party photos on their Facebook page (for anyone to see).   Or tweet that tv advertising is to blame for the obesity problem in this country.  Or even rant about some coworker in a restaurant over lunch.  Be careful. Richmond is tiny anyway, and the advertising community is incestuous.

Brittney’s originally from Louisville, Kentucky–making her spiritually related to Muhammad Ali, Thomas Edison, Tom Cruise, and Dian Fossey. Speaking of! We’re not entirely convinced yet that’s she’s just not here to quietly observe the rare homo vendus adverticus in its natural habitat. We’ve seen her take pretty extensive notes as she made her initial rounds, studying each of us with the cold, steely gaze of a surgeon, or a farmer.

So! Our brave Ms. Lunsford worked in ad sales in a newspaper for several years, before joining the media department for Sheehy + Associates–the Louisville ad agency that handles the Kroger account. She says that she left her hometown for her significant other, but we’re pretty sure that Sheehy just couldn’t handle the sheer awesome radiating from her office.

But their loss is our gain, as she’s joined our media department here on the ranch. As we’re (as in “us,” as in “I”, as in “the boy who is writing this entry”) part of the creative team, we’ve never been 100% sure what the media department does, except they make things WORK and they occasionally threaten us with bodily harm and they receive all the cool tchotchkes, while we only get artsy over-produced portfolio books and commemorative glasses. But the media department? They get CANDY. And TICKETS. And did we mention the CANDY?

Oh wait. Where were we? Right. Hi Brittney! We’re glad to have you here.

and another for Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation “Syke Video Game” :30 TV:

You can see our balls after the jump.

We’ll let you touch them if you come visit us down here at the homestead.

It was one of the best experiences we’ve ever had. You could hear genuine concern, kindness and a sincere desire to help. True generosity cannot be measured by the amount of money donated. We could tell that some of the donors weren’t wealthy, but they shared their pension or salary because somebody needed their help. They reached out to the less fortunate, and we think we’re all the better for it.

“This is a big win for us and we are excited to be working with Chartway,” said Robyn Deyo, agency president. “I am confident that Barber Martin’s retail branding and advertising capabilities coupled with Chartway’s industry expertise will help position Chartway as a leader in the financial category.”

Chartered in 1959, Chartway Federal Credit Union is a not-for-profit financial institution with over 190,000 customers and assets of $1.6 billion. Barber Martin
will begin working immediately on a new advertising campaign that will leverage Chartway’s unique offerings at a time when they are most needed.

Barber Martin will provide Chartway with strategic planning, brand development, print and broadcast advertising, social media, design, production, and media planning and placement services.

“We were very impressed with Barber Martin’s knowledge and creativity. We think that Chartway and Barber Martin will make a fantastic team and we look forward to building a strong business relationship with them,” said Phillip Richards, Vice President of Marketing & Strategy for Chartway.

Founded in 1988, Barber Martin is one of the largest advertising agencies in Virginia, listing Wendy’s Restaurants, Southern States Cooperative, Cato Fashions, Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation, and The Port of Virginia among its other clients.