MortarBlog

What I learned at PSFK

Charles Ogilvie, director of in-flight entertainment at Virgin America, has a special Blackberry just for in-flight suggestions. Seriously. They are sent to him directly, every day. So whip out those consoles and start thumb-jabbing. (only bummer is, he's leaving Virgin for Panasonic, so that may be ending shortly)

My next in-flight suggestion: I heart you, Charles. Please give me the internets and copious amounts of free booze.

Of course, there were other highlights at the PSFK conference in San Francisco. For example, Jen Bekman's desire to be the "gateway drug" of the art world by offering cheap limited edition prints to art newbies. Naturally her hope is that like any good drug, she'll be able to feed their addiction once they get hooked.

Also, whoever thought that Microsoft would be on the cutting edge of branded environments? Hotel Sax in Chicago looks like a yuppie technophile's dreamland.

For more, check for video coverage and updates on the conference site.

Mortar Wins 4 SF Addys, loses remaining sense of shame.

Imagine going to a party, but you get there late, and everyone is already wasted. You're unfortunately sober, which is bad enough - but then some jerk gets the bright idea to put on a powerpoint presentation, and everyone proceeds to sit around it, yelling at every single slide. For two hours. And the presentation is intermittently interrupted by video clips of a bearded man in plaid raving about the Gold Rush.

That was the Addys last night. Sophie and I got suckered into going as Mortar's sole representatives. You can't see it right now, but I'm shaking my fist at Tim and Hugh.

On the bright side Mortar won four Addys! WOOOOOOO!!!!! YEAH!!!! IIIII"M DRUUUNK!!!!!!  (Sorry I didn't get to yell at the presentation because I wasn't drunk enough, so I wanted to make up for it here.)

And also there were teeny tiny lemon custard pies with blueberries on them and they were yummy.

Thank you SF Ad Club, for a valiant effort at throwing a classy ad party against all odds, and of course for our awards.

I love you guys.

And the awards go to... (insert drum roll here):

Silver: 48 Pages of Potential (a snazzy notebook we made as a holiday send-out), for Advertising Industry Self-Promotion!
Silver: St. Mary's "Famous Last Words", for MultiMedia Campaign!
Bronze: 48 Pages of Potential, for Cinema Advertising Movie Trailers! (Wah - ?)
Silver: Playa Viva, for Consumer HTML websites!

Thank you! Thank you. We deserve every one of them. I said every one of them.  (Shut up Sophie!)

Smartass SF Artist Makes a Funny

The following highbrow/lowbrow juxtaposition can be found right here in good ol' San Francisco. At the Church Street MUNI station, to be exact:

On an interesting side note, the 19th century French poet died of cancer at age 37 - the same age as Stallone's hair plugs.

Courtesy of /Film via Defamer via Towleroad

Whew! That's a lot of links.

We'll pass on this one...

From our friends at SFist, comes this wondrous gem of a banner ad:

When you care enough to give the very worst. Ugh!

Just imagine the kids under the tree this December 25th: "Really, Mommy, my very own Muni pass? Chase and Dakota are going to be soooo jealous!"

Beautification for Blog Action Day

Here at Mortar, we like to think of ourselves as do-gooders. Ryan plastered a cityscape to his cube wall and houses enough plants in his 8x8 foot cubicle to make the whole office feel like a tropical rain forest – just to make us feel good. We’ve worked with clients who generate water from air (totally nifty) and who are so serious about sustainability that the first thing they do when you arrive at their resort is plant a tree to offset the carbon footprint of the drive from the airport. Our direct mail goes out on recycled paper. We even have a cardboard box labeled with a blue rectangle that our empty beer bottles call home. (That thing gets a pretty good workout, believe-you-us.)

So, continuing in the tradition of being generally good people, we’re contributing to Blog Action Day. Spread the love.

The best new Muni ad campaign that doesn't exist

Our friends at SFist captured what seemed to be the lamest scariest ad ever for Muni, San Francisco's beloved beleaguered public transit.

Photo courtesy of SFist Dan

Fortunately for the communications folks at Muni (Can you imagine explaining why you green lit this to your boss?), this is a prank ad and not real. Though it does say something for how little San Franciscans think of the people who get us from here to there - not on time, mind you, but eventually - that nearly everyone believed these ads (apparently on transit vehicles all over town) were part of a sanctioned campaign.

There was a time before Starbucks

"Mommy, what's a coffee house?"

Apparently, the Coffee Cantata WAS a real live place on Union Street.

Gone but not forgotten.

Interns Needed: Test Drive the Mortar

What you are in for...

Ok, so you’ve decided you want to be a part of this crazy world of marketing/advertising. Now you need some “experience” with a real, live agency.

This is your chance.

Mortar continues to grow. Along the way attracting a great mix of clients who love our blend of brand consulting, public relations, integrated marketing, and creative results.

And now we need some extraordinarily clever Interns.

This will start as a “test drive”, with excellent potential for full-time role.

We’re looking for a self-starter who wants to be in advertising for the love of it, not just the cool factor.

Proven verbal, writing, and organizational skills (we're talking MAJOR attention to detail) a must; experience combining marketing, advertising, and/or public relations a plus. Sense of humor, an open mind and can-do attitude are more than essential.

In addition to the obligatory coffee, skittles, beer, and small wage we’re offering something a little different. The chance to help build a new kind of agency.

Send an email pitch, along with your resume. Due to time constraints, we can only respond to candidates that catch our interest, so be creative.

And yes, we really do read every resume.

But no calls, please. We’re on the phone enough already.

The man in the gray flannel suit is back!

Brylcreemed men in skinny ties sit behind their desks at a Madison Avenue ad agency chain smoking and clutching double scotches in the new AMC drama "Mad Men." The series, set in 1960, kind of sets our hearts a flutter. The series got a rave review from our favorite TV critic, Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle and we think the world (at least the TV world) needs to put the creative geniuses of advertsing on the same pedestal as cranky doctors and crime-solving lady novellists.

At the Mortar, we're really more beer than whiskey and the cigarettes are furtively sucked down in the alley - what with the minor detail of state law and all - but we'll still be setting our TiVos (or actually watching because some of us still live in the 20th century *ahem*) for AMC at 10 p.m. tonight.

Are the English Really Better?

A look at British chocolate and how it relates to advertising at Mortar

Mortar’s very own Mark Williams, another version of the British “Smartie” is much like the iconic British candy bar company, Cadbury-Schweppes—a strong seller, specially formulated, rarefied and maybe even made from a “better batter.” 

The NY Times just compared British chocolate to our beloved American Hershey.  Next, they’ll be knocking down Mortar’s door for interview with our popular Brit - he may not know chocolate, but he sure knows advertising.