Jan12
I haven’t posted a critique on motion graphics in a while, and I know how much you have all waited and pined for another so here it is. What is the deal with all these commercials stealing their ideas from viral videos? (she says in her best Seinfeld voice). I get that it’s kind of cute and funny in an inside joke sort of way. One of the funniest music videos is Weezer’s Pork and Beans. This is mainly because they’re intentionally taking the viral videos that we all know and love and using that as a media.
What bothers me are the commercials that steal concepts from viral videos and it is unclear if they’re trying to be cute and pay homage to the original or if their just blatantly ripping it off. The video “Drive Through Rap” was remade into a commercial for Taco Bell. Personally I don’t think this is an homage, this is just a rip off.
Recently I saw a stop motion commercial that looked suspiciously like the animations from BLU. In this case I’m not so sure this was a rip off, because BLU themselves may have been responsible for the commercial. I unfortunately don’t know enough about the company (or who the commercial is for) to say for sure.
If any of you know any more please let me know. I am constantly amazed by the impact that YouTube has on our culture. (Please note, I intentionally left out the sand art commercial because I wasn’t sure if that was a viral video before or after the commercials — or if it counts as a viral video.)
Jan1
Over the past year we’ve worked with a lot of good people to put together some awesome results. We strive to be thorough but also efficient when it comes to building a great piece of work. And while our approach is leaps and bounds ahead of our competition we still recognize that we need to refine our process. I.E. we want to be better at what we already do well.
With that I have compiled a list of Imulus’ New Years Resolutions. And while I’m sure each individual of our team has their own take I think this about summarizes our goals.
- Refine and expand our internal review process
Here at Imulus we’ve got a group of very talented people. However, sometimes we don’t utilize this to our fullest. In 09′ we’ll strive to include everyone in our internal usability and design processes. Making sure that our approach to a client solution is the absolute best it can be.
- Have an impact on our community
Denver and Boulder are great cities with lots to offer. Great scenery, a hip tech movement, and engaging cultural opportunities. We think it’s important to offer something back to these places. In 2009 we’d love to be more involved in the education sector. This means everything from guest lecturing to hosting students at our office for the day. We’d also like to provide our support to worthwhile local causes. Green initiatives, cool industry meetups, and cultural events.
- Define our identity. Who is Imulus?
We’re a group of passionate, creative, driven people. And while internally on a day to day basis we have an identity — we haven’t worked hard enough at expressing it outward. In 2009 look for us to:
- Be more vocal about our thoughts on the industry.
- Push the boundaries of what a small time agency can do to change the way people work.
- Expand ourselves as people not just a company. Each employee at Imulus makes us who we are as a company. We want the world to know each one of us better and see why Imulus is who it is.
- Stay a family, not a company.
We love what we do and we love who we do it with. Imulus is a family. No matter how stressful the project, how stringent the deadline, or how tough the personal problem is, we are there for each other. This is why we’re not a normal company and this is something we don’t want to change.
We’d love to hear your New Years resolutions or your thoughts on ours. Please feel free to hit us up via the comments, follow us on twitter, or join us in person. Happy New Year to you!
