Month: February 2012

Brand Recognition

This sounds mediocre, but is in fact just excellent. Adam Ladd showed his daughter some well-known logos (Pepsi, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Nike) and recorded her description of them. Any kindergartner would probably give similar responses, and that’s precisely what’s interesting here.

Some she can name on sight (“that is the Disney”), some she recognizes but can’t name (“that is the coffee logo”), and others just get cute descriptions (“outside space — it looks like a shooting star with a planet”).

As much as adults protest that advertising must be a waste of money because nobody wants to read it, this sure suggests branding works.

(via Kottke)

Haunting

Ballet Jörgen of Canada is responsible for perhaps the most hauntingly beautiful performance I have seen, and unfortunately I know it only through a brief clip on Google Video. The clip includes several scenes from Romeo and Juliet, each wonderfully choreographed and danced, showcasing the best and worst of human emotion. But the last minute or so, in which we see Romeo grieving over Juliet’s apparent death, is at once emotionally moving, athletically impressive, artistically insightful, and compellingly wonderful.

I stumbled upon this promotional snippet several years ago, and I’ve come back to it several times since. I may need to take a trip to Canada just to see this company perform. (They’re dancing Anastasia at the moment; if you’re in or near Canada, find out if they’re performing anywhere near your area.)