MortarBlog

Louisiana State Anti-Smoking Ad

Yup. Upside down ashtray with a birthday candle. Seen on our favorite Adrants.

The Great Art Director Escape

This hilarious video comes to us courtesy of one of the funniest personal bloggers out there, Ms. Forksplit.

We'd actually post the video here but Blogger - How do you say? - sucks.

Also, we'd like to reassure everyone that our Art Directors are all still safely under lock and key. If they are very, very good we sometimes give them fresh bread and fully potable water. Sometimes.

Happy Halloween: Create your own Pumpkin Face

Visit the newest Halloween timewaster here. Thanks Adrants.

Get me a faster horse.

Henry Ford said, "If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said, 'a faster horse'".  Apparently, (if this years Hatch awards are to be believed) consumers had much the same reaction to Apple's 1984 spot. Check it out. And yes, this is really what happens during badly managed message testing. From Adrants.

MortarBlog and Red Interactive get all King Fu and shit.

Hop over to the new Red Interactive site at the very witty URL http://www.ff0000.com/ (no kidding).

Create yourself an avatar. And retire all notions of what your website should look like, er do, er be... oh, I dunno. (Boxing = CTRL).

Looks like we have to get back to old drawing board boys....

Be a better client. Get the manual.

We've been mulling over doing this idea for some time. But NY-based id29 beat us to it. And what a fine job they did. Download your copy here.

Che is Ass-stounding.

This shameful image was first brought to us by AdRants, Ad Age, BMA and Copyranter. We just wanted to call your attention to the uh, depths, that advertisers will sink to get your attention. Oh, and let's not forget  it is also a great lesson in the judicious use of ass.

Watch your TV on your Narwhal: the Slingbox Demo

The new demo from Slingbox is both funny and instructive. Proving technology can be funny and simple. Thanks AdRants.

Kim Jung is Illin...

Click thru for more from Advertising Goodness.

Larry Harvey weighs in on Customer Service

Reacting to the early, premature burning of the "Man" at this week's festival of fire, Burning Man, the King of Black Rock City apparently reacted with" laughter", reports today's Wired.

"Burning Man's co-founder and director, was on a platform in his camp watching the eclipse when he noticed his Man on fire. Once realizing that the fire was under control and no one was apt to be hurt, he says, his immediate reaction was laughter.

The early burn, he said, will help show that the Man itself is "nothing but a wooden doll," and that the event is really about the joint effort of attendees to create it. It will turn this year's Burning Man into a "narrative of community and redemption" as the attendees get to see or assist in the public rebuilding of the statue, he said."

How's that for a lesson in handling corporate disaster (are you listening Pepsi-Mento's-person?).

Mortarblog is proud to report that the scorched man still stands, awaiting his fiery ascent this weekend.

More here.