It’s a sign of rebellion, passion, sincerity and humanitarianism. Those born in a Tiger year are thought to possess all of these traits, and as we start a new page in the Chinese Lunar Calendar—which officially begins on February 14th—it is indeed time for the Tiger.

There are several interpretations of the Legend of the 12 Animals, which gives rise to the correlation of the year with an animal. Some say that the creatures of Earth became quarrelsome many years ago, and the Chinese god Jade Emperor decided to give each creature a year of its own. A race was ordered to determine which animal had which year, and twelve animals were chosen to participate. Cunning and sly, the Rat won the race, followed by the Ox, the Tiger, the Rabbit, the Dragon, the Snake, the Horse, the Goat, the Monkey, the Rooster, the Dog and finally the Pig.

Others say that during the celebration of the Chinese New Year many years ago, Buddha called upon all the creatures of the land to bid him farewell before he departed the earth. To his disappointment, only 12 animals came forth. The first to arrive was the charming rat, who they say nimbly bounced off the Ox to beat him by a nose. The hard working and plodding Ox was close behind, followed by the charismatic Tiger and the rest of the animals. Buddha then declared that he would reward the animals by naming a year after each of them, and those born on that year would possess the qualities of the reigning animal.

Notable “Tigers” include American actress Marilyn Monroe, German musician Ludwig Van Beethoven, Queen Elizabeth II of England, and Hollywood star Leonardo diCaprio.

What is your sign?

As the concerns about the global warming and climate changes affect all of us around the globe, the UAE has established its own unique approach to encourage public awareness and resource conservation. On February 17, 2009, The Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi in collaboration with the Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS) and Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) launched a campaign centered on the website www.heroesoftheuae.ae.

The aim of this campaign is for everyone around the UAE to take action in being energy efficient and to raise awareness of the shortages of energy resources. The campaigns website contains a forum for the public to show their support for saving energy. Despite the many serious environmental problems lingering in the world, this website points out available and successful solutions adopted by everyday people.

The website features many graphics and animated images that explain the energy and environmental situation in a very simple manner. Cool features also include a list of energy saving tips and a calculator that can tell how households can save on their consumption. Other sections of the website show “green” case studies, some facts about the main issues in UAE, and competitions and quizzes for schools children.

This campaign really is a thoughtful gesture from the UAE for the sake of saving our planet. As they say, everyone should act now because anyone can be a hero.

Once again we couldn’t help ourselves but to highlight the exceptional work of geniuses at Google (or rather their advertising agency). All in all this is a fantastic ad; simple, honest and heartfelt. Many can relate to this experience, and it rings true to anyone who has ever explored a new city by looking online. The only thing that we feel brings the ad down is the last couple of searches as if all of life’s journeys ultimately end in two things, marriage and a child (come on, a baby’s laugh? It’s a little cheesy). We personally would have liked the final text be in French, which would have shown off a whole lot more of Google’s actual capacity then trying to leave viewers with a shallow family-friendly ending. We understand the target that this is going after, and despite the end, overall it succeeds brilliantly.

They make up more than half the world’s population and represent billions of dollars of buying power, but marketing to women is still a challenge even for the brightest minds in mass media and consumer business.  Furthermore, many women say that they feel underserved in today’s consumer market.  As psychologists look deep into the female psyche to discover exactly what women want, everyone seems to be coming up with their own “revolutionary” insights.  Have any of these proven successful?

The simple answer is yes, sort of.  Women are a diverse market and cannot be stereotyped into one category or another.  Those in the marketing world tried to do this years ago and failed miserably.  Mass media have played a huge role in perpetuating—and at times changing—female stereotypes, and offer a number of unique case studies into popular culture.  Television shows are a great example of this phenomenon.

Oprah Winfrey, a hard -working news anchor turned international media mogul, is a role model for men and women alike (although most of her audience is women).  She is compassionate, honest, and generally optimistic about the future of our planet.  By supporting the arts and charity organizations around the world, she has gained the respect of her colleagues and the millions of viewers that watch her show religiously.  She tackles serious social challenges and brings real emotion to her live audience.  This makes for great entertainment and appeals to male and female audiences around the globe.

At the other end of the entertainment spectrum is the insanely popular Sex and the City sitcom.  The show takes a comical and sensational look at what it’s like to be a single woman in New York.  Raunchy and brutally honest, it’s the perfect example of how style and sex continue to sell in today’s world.  This also makes for great entertainment.

The point is that there is no universal formula for appealing to women.  Some women think that Oprah perpetuates outdated stereotypes of the “homemaker” woman and marginalizes females as emotionally fragile creatures.  Others find Sex and the City to be grossly misleading, highlighting only the most superficial and materialistic interests of the female gender.

These shows are successful not because they appeal to all women, but because they appeal to a particular personality with unique values and interests.  Entire teams of researchers are dedicated to studying these personalities.  Surveys are distributed and interviews are conducted as every corner of the television market is explored.  This is then the foundation for the show, and advertising campaigns worth billions of dollars are aimed at real people rather than female or male stereotypes.

In marketing along the gender line, the age of “just going pink” is officially over.

This music video was shot for Sour’s ‘Hibi no Neiro’ (Tone of everyday) from their first mini album ‘Water Flavor EP’. The cast were selected from the actual Sour fan base, from many countries around the world. Each person and scene was filmed purely via webcam.

Director: Masashi Kawamura + Hal Kirkland + Magico Nakamura + Masayoshi Nakamura

SOUR official site: http://sour-web.com

2009 Zealot Co.,ltd / Neutral Nine Records

I'm watching you

Photo via Don’t Judge My Hair

Sculpted Afro Cap

photo via http://perezedhilton.com/uncategorized/funniest-hair-sculpted-afro-cap

Puppy Toupée

More animal hair styles at http://www.foundshit.com/tag/hair/

This banner ad shows a young, online audience how fun, eccentric - and even downright weird - life with Pringles can be. As the user clicks on the banner again and again (and again, and again), they go deeper and deeper into a story with surprises at every turn without ever leaving the ad.

>> view banner

via ArbAd zone : http://arabadzone.blogspot.com/2009/03/egyptian-hotdog-burger-pizza.html

Dear all,

Kindly note that I will be on vacation starting from 14 June till 7th of July, our SMT (Studio Management Team), Gyula and Ivan will share the Studio Management in my absence:)

I have perfectly handovered to them. So there will be no problem while I’m on vacation