Just finished reading The Chris Farley Show.

If you haven’t already, you ought to read it. By the end you feel like you really know the guy, and you can’t believe what a waste it was for him to lose his battle with addiction. A book that is equal parts funny and sad.

Amazing to me was the admiration and respect that other comedy greats had for him. I always thought he was funny, but it was really interesting to hear others known for their acting and comedy skills speak of him as unique and special.

Hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think.

Sorry Jason, just like Pancake’s been telling you…a great ad doesn’t ALWAYS need copy.

Seriously, Bing is starting to freak me out. Only a matter of time before it becomes self aware and starts learning at a geometric rate. As my last name is ‘Conner,’ you can understand my concern. Not naming my daughter ‘Sarah’ now for sure.

Crowd sourced photography, 3d mapping, social media integration and the whole kitchen sink is coming to Bing Maps sooner than you might think. Also, the live backpack video camera = your mind blown.

The possibilities for advertisers are both ominous in an Orwellian-esque way and exciting in a uber-geek-esque way. As both a sci-fi buff and gadget nerd, I am both terrified and titillated.

OK, now tell me that you’re 100% sure Bill Gates hasn’t secretly become a comic book super villain.

What’s a 4chan you ask? It’s a lot of things.

It’s a meme-making juggernaut.

It’s a hub of online activism.

It’s a collective being (Anonymous) dedicated to chaos, disorder and destruction that is just as capable of benevolence as it is malfeasance.

I’ve included so many links as to give you some idea as to what 4chan is all about so you don’t have to actually go there to see for yourself.

Whatever you do, do NOT do that. Ever.

It is at it’s core simply an image board. However, the images found there tend to be the type of things that make you wish your mind came with an “unsee” button.

For better or worse, in just a few short years 4chan has become one of the most powerful communities on the Interwebs. It can’t be ignored and it’s probably not even a good idea to turn your back on it.

Perhaps it’s better to just let it’s creator, Christopher Poole (AKA m00t) take it from here.

While the Maori have their hakas to intimidate their enemies, we have our Shaka to confuse and befuddle our opponents.

The Snowpocolypse 2010 left but a skeleton crew at the office this morning. Not ones to waste such an opportunity, it was decided that the only reasonable course of action was to have me put on 10 t-shirts and practice my Shaka Dance.

Behold:

Apparently it’s not enough to just have a killer spot on the Super Bowl. Or even a lame spot. No, in this day and age, you have to build an integrated campaign that spans media channels, demographics and Twitter feeds to create, wait for it, synergy. While not every brand on this list produced teaser campaigns, enough did so to make it this year’s Super Cliché. I, naturally, missed most of the teasers as I was busy pitching new business and changing diapers – often simultaneously – in the weeks before the game. But whatever, an ad needs to stand on its own in victory or die, lonely and bitter, in the gutter.

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Spots reviewed as they aired, more or less. Also, I don’t review regional ads (if I can tell they’re regional), film trailers or promos for CBS shows or the NFL.

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Bud Light, “Light House” – I’ll give Bud Light credit for refraining from the scatological (that means “poop”) comedy from years past, but this didn’t really have the feel of a Super Bowl spot. Good production values, of course, but it seem like, well, any other Bud Light spot. You could call that creative consistency, but I won’t. B-

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Snickers, “Betty & Abe” – This spot started off quite strongly with venerable comedienne Betty White getting walloped in a game of touch football and then talking smack. The payoff of “you’re not you when you’re hungry” however, was a let down (even if it is true as this diabetic can attest). If you’re going to intro a spot with Betty White Read more…

Time to highlight some cool ideas and pass out the virtual cork so that we can recognize and celebrate one of them.

I know that this is not exactly new, but have you seen this spot for Jameson Irish Whiskey?

I love it. Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, I really love gin more than scotch, and even after a visit to Scotland and the Glenkinchie Distillery, I have not developed the acquired taste for scotch like my brother. But, I got to tell you, as a novice, trying to distinguish the difference from one mossy, peaty glass to another is half the battle to acquiring the aforementioned taste. This work helps them stand out and I imagine gives people a personality they can identify with. At least enough to get them in the boat. Well done, credit for the spot goes to TBWA/Chiat/Day, New York. That work comes on the heels of a long standing word-of-mouth campaign that got them the growth they needed to eventually speak to a larger audience—thus the new (or relatively new) work.

Great piece of film. However, the print is weak and looks like an afterthought. Web presence looks like they repurposed an off-the-shelf techno widget and feels out of touch with the wonderful story telling foundation they have with John Jameson. So close and yet so far.

Next up, how about this idea:

Fun take on a product that has all the money in the world but a tough time getting people to pay attention. Not a lot of news in the “classic” part of this category. Yet they have given us a reason to pay attention and a reason to think happy thoughts. Credit and the cork go to Coca Cola and Definition 6. Well done.

Eager to hear what you think.

Numbers are funny. You see one and it communicates something right away—long before you learn the context of how it is being used.

Like the number at the top there. It means effort, right? Well, not so fast. Today I sat down at my computer to attack another week here in 2010, and 110% came to mind. Not due to effort, but because it represents my confidence level. I am 110% confident that 2010 will be our best year yet here at Firehouse. Despite the economic and geopolitical headlines, we will achieve great things in 2010. I’m certain of it.

That’s because in times like this the safe thing is often times the wrong thing. The status quo is death. And while we’d been doing a good job of pushing our clients to do new things, we also saw an opportunity to take a fresh look at our own brand. We forced ourselves to rethink who we really are and what we are really well equipped and well motivated to do. And after a thorough review in late 2009 of where we were headed, we decided something needed to change. Our Brand Promise, although thoughtful and well crafted, did not represent who we really are. It wasn’t us. Because of that we didn’t really embrace it and live it. Therefore, it wasn’t working hard enough on our behalf. It was clear to me we needed a full overhaul.

The result was several weeks of a far more inclusive, far more collaborative exercise that culminated in an agency off-site meeting this past Friday. We went down to the North Texas Food Bank, and going back all the way to starting Firehouse in 1997, this was among the best days I’ve ever had at the agency. We talked through some key changes and identified ways to refocus our efforts as an agency. It was the ideal way to bridge the best parts of what we always have done well, with what will help set us apart moving forward. And giving back and helping others was a great way to help illustrate what makes this agency unique and special.

I spent the entire weekend excited to come to work today. I am confident now that we have more oars in the water and more people pulling in the same direction than ever before. Already great people and great ideas are now better aligned. Communication that already had been improving will do so even more rapidly. Direction from managers will be more clear, more decisive and easier to interpret where it is coming from.

In short, everyone is walking around with a little better clarity, and you can see how that translates to greater confidence simply by looking at the faces of the people walking throughout the agency.

If you want to make 2010 a great year, I encourage you to shake things up. Force those around you to rethink your brand—start with yourself. Whether that brand is a CPG, a service organization or even the brand called You. Do it now, while all those around you are playing it safe and playing not to lose. I’m confident it’ll make a difference.

2010 will be a great year at this agency.

The people here have always brought great effort. And now, more than ever, I have the confidence to match.

The Sunday before the agency closed for Christmas, the Firehouse account team served lunch at Dallas Life Foundation (DLF), a local homeless shelter for the less fortunate. DLF has been organized for over 50 years, providing its beneficiaries a place to do laundry, sleep and gain exposure to the Christian faith.

Working closely with DLF’s cooks (many of which were once on the other side of the serving lines), we each manned a station. I served the corn bread, which was a very popular item—when seconds were served, we were out of corn bread since no one had passed it up the first time around! But the hour ended well and the diners left full. We were impressed at how efficient that hour was—DLF’s cooks prepared (and Firehouse helped serve) food for over 200 people!

Hairnets aside, the Firehouse account team left in good spirits as well. We may have even found a new side dish for the next agency potluck—Greg’s special rice and baked bean combo! We look forward to sharing more community experiences here this year, in fact, coming up Firehouse is giving all employees a day off work to serve in the community.

Enjoy more pictures on Flickr.