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When you pick up a copy of forthcoming issues of Delicious Living, Food Network or Eating Well, among others, you’ll see new ads from Vitamix, one of Melamed Riley’s top clients. In the ads, you’ll see several beautifully-shot pictures of recipes made using a Vitamix machine. But how did they get there? How did we progress from recipe to photoshoot to final placement? I got to play a role in this journey last week and I’d like to spend the rest of my time here breaking down what was a very fun day.

The ads discuss the endless possibilities you enjoy with a Vitamix machine and present several of them within the framework of a witty, contemporary flowchart. While all of the recipes had been chosen, we still needed to shoot six of them before finishing the ads. Last Monday, John Butler and I met with our client, our food stylist Betty and photographer Clarissa at local studio Kalman & Pabst. There, we discussed the shoot and began making decisions with regard to presentation – serving dish, complementary food, table surface and linens, for example.

Then, bright and early last Thursday, we reconvened at Kalman & Pabst to start shooting. As Betty worked her magic in the kitchen, we began staging the shots. First up – which was great for those in attendance – was chocolate orange fondue. Once we had completed the shot, we dug in and sampled the goods. You may call chocolate fondue at 10 a.m. on a Thursday an indulgence, but that’s just you. Besides, I couldn’t hear you if you did, because I was busy devouring a fondue-covered pineapple chunk. Yum. Two more fondues and it was time to break for lunch.

The benefit to being on a food shoot and needing a photo of sweet and sour sauce later in the day became very obvious when the studio brought in three huge trays of sushi from Pacific East on Coventry for lunch. I would have taken pictures of the bounty if we all weren’t busy chowing down. From there, it was a mad rush to capture three shots to round out the day. Two dipping sauces and a salsa later, and we were done – and armed with six great shots for the ads.

We were fortunate to be working at Kalman & Pabst, as they have a massive room dedicated only to plates, bowls, platters and the like. We had our run of that stock as well as the studio’s expansive collection of linens, surfaces and similar accouterments. We were also fortunate to be working with Betty, who I’ve decided has just about the most interesting job I’ve encountered. She ably prepared each Vitamix recipe by the book and worked with Clarissa to present them in a beautiful and authentic manner.

For each of the six recipes shot, I’d say there were probably a couple of dozen photos taken. Most were for placement. Often, the differences between shots were very subtle. A stray vegetable here, a wonky shadow there. Once we locked down the final and agreed upon very minor retouching, Clarissa would send me low-resolution comps for placement in the layout. With both John and the Vitamix team on-site, moving forward in the ad approval process was seamless.

Some slight tinkering early this week gave way to getting high-resolution finals from the studio and, with that done, the time came to size each ad for placement in six different publications (with six unique sizes). Despite the fact it’s not always sushi lunches and chocolate fondue, being able to participate in this process from initial start of work to concepting to approval to revisions to photoshoot to final release is one of the most valuable and rewarding parts of my job. I strongly believe that, if you can, you owe it to your craft to take ownership of as much of this process as possible, so I’m fortunate to have been able to see this project through from the start.

Ever wonder how some major corporations stay in business? Ever wonder why some no longer exist? Not me. It’s all about the tagline. Not the logo. Not the tweets. Not the sweet interactive website. Not the wonderful TV and outdoor and direct mail and print advertising blitzes. Just the simple phrase that holds up (or doesn’t) the entire weight of the marketing and advertising brand strategy that some creative genius derived from a few random brain synapses. Now, whether this brain function was “modified” or “tweaked” in any way will never be known, but these brave souls slapped these babies up on an art board or in a well-manicured PowerPoint presentation, and a panel of execs gazed upon them, and for some strange reason, nodded with approval! Here are a few of my favorites:

Oldsmobile. “Not your father’s Oldsmobile.”
But it might have been your father’s failing auto company. (My once GM-employed family members, as well as my Aurora-owning mother, do not like this comment one bit. Guaranteed.)

O’Doul’s non-alcoholic beverage. “What beer drinkers drink when they’re not drinking beer.”
No it’s not. BEER is what beer drinkers drink when they’re not drinking beer. They just conceal it in Wendy’s pop cups, Thermos bottles and paper bags. (At least that’s what I did.) Why torture yourself with a mediocre beer taste and not catch a buzz? Speaking of mediocre beer taste …

Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer. “PBR me ASAP.”
Yeah it’s cute and catchy but seriously, it’s Pabst! “Kill me ASAP” may have been the better slogan.

Delta Airlines. “We’ll Get You There.”
Hitchhiking will get you there. A Greyhound bus will get you there. Hell, even my father’s Oldsmobile will get you there. 600 bucks for a round trip to Gary, Indiana, and that’s it? You’ll get me there? Actually, you just got me looking up Continental in the phonebook.

Unless you live under a rock, you have probably heard that the royal wedding is taking place just one week from tomorrow on April 29. As an avid social media user and a soon-to-be bride planning her own wedding, it has been impossible to avoid all of the William and Kate buzz. According to Social Mention, about every 14 seconds someone in the digital universe is mentioning the “royal wedding.” With the mass amount of social media exposure and media coverage that this wedding is receiving, it is proving quite difficult to avoid. And, I’m afraid, I may have started to succumb to the temptation of it all.

The pure viral nature of the internet plus the entire buzz about the royal wedding has brought some interesting things into my Twitter feed and RSS reader. Clearly, it has inspired many people to tap into the right side of their brains to come up with some pretty crazy things and odd dedications. So, I have collected a few of my favorite royal wedding finds to share with you:

The limited edition Will and Kate cereals from The Royal Breakfast Company.

And no cereal would be complete without a catchy jingle – so for your listening pleasure here it is.

Papa John’s done in royal fashion – now this is a pizza!

Almost too pretty to eat, right?

This looks like a pretty normal royal wedding souvenir mug, but be sure to take a closer look.

If you didn’t see it, take a second look. You will notice Prince William has been swapped out with a similarly suave Prince Harry. It fooled me the first time!

This one is just plain ridiculous – a jelly bean that looks like Kate Middleton. The seller hopes to make a sweet $815 off this little treat at an eBay auction.

I cannot wait to put this on my watch list!

It wouldn’t be a royal wedding if a few guys were not left broken-hearted at missing their chance to woo the soon-to-be princess. One a cappella group named “The Other Guys” makes one last plea for Kate’s heart with an awesome performance of “Royal Romance” (set to the popular Gaga tune, “Bad Romance”).

Do you think Kate would ditch the dreamy Prince William for these fools? I think not, but good try, guys.

This has to be the weirdest thing I have seen yet – a knitted version of the royal wedding:

I only get more creeped out each time I watch this.

Has anyone else been sucked into the royal wedding hype? If so, what are some of your favorite royal wedding finds?

A likely place to hear your favorite indie artist is in an unlikely medium. Your television. Long gone are the days of music videos on music television. Just as “Video Killed the Radio Star,” “Internet Killed the Video Star.” However, over the last decade, it’s advertisers who seem to be influencing the music industry by creating buzz around little known bands. Commercials are the new music videos.

This transformation from obscurity to ubiquity is so ubiquitous, it’s hard to name a Coachella headliner this year who hasn’t been featured in a commercial. Just look at how many songs were licensed during last year’s Super Bowl. This leads to my question, for an indie band, is having your music featured in a commercial considered “selling out?”

Does being in a commercial give you credibility amongst the masses, meanwhile lessening your street cred amongst your peers and loyal fan base? Isn’t the idea of “indie” wanting to maintain creative integrity over mainstream popularity? If that’s true, selling out should mean intentionally altering your sound to appeal to a larger audience. It should not, however, mean licensing your music in order to reach a larger audience, as long as you believe in the brand you are aligning your band with. Many bands have been quoted with saying, “It’s more about getting heard than the bread.”

So, why is it so bad to expose the mainstream to indie music? Why does it matter where you heard it? Whether you were the first to hear some band through a friend, at Siren Fest, on Pitchfork or the last person to hear it on a commercial, the point is you’re being introduced to new music. Many a hipster may reject this notion, but I’m of the mindset that indie music and mainstream popularity can coexist without the idea of selling out. It’s all about the music, (wo)man.

Here are some examples of musicians who were virtually unknown before being featured in these commercials.

As you can see, I’m a sucker for slow mo and whimsy. Jose Gonzalez covers “Heartbeats” by The Knife.

One of the OGs, “We’ve Been Had” by The Walkmen

More companies are using motion graphics to help create decisively eye catching and unique advertising. Studios are growing in this area primarily because clients are realizing the power behind the movement. Graphics and animation get us to stick around. They take us on a visual tour in ways not quite possible in print (whether that be due to physical or financial limitations). More importantly, motion allows for a “digital” package, which can reach a broader audience–or one that might not normally be as accessible. Below are a few of my favorites that have come out recently.

Coke “Happiness Factory” from Marc Altshuler – Human Music on Vimeo.

Coca-Cola brings their brand to life by creating a secret world within their Coke machines. The ad is humorous and tells a great story, but it also reinforces the ideas that help build their brand while instilling life into their product. Remember that only pleasurable things like fireworks, kisses and diligent parading cartoon characters go into making your favorite beverage of choice.

VOLKSWAGEN THINK BLUE (SEHSUCHT HD VERSION) from Sehsucht™ on Vimeo.

Volkswagen really honed this idea of creating an environment or world that embodies their new ethos. Using 3D illustration, clean design and powerful color, Volkswagen is spreading the word about intelligent/responsible car manufacturing when it comes to the environment and the way we live.

Imaginary Forces – 2010 MTV VMAs from Imaginary Forces on Vimeo.

Of course, a story can also be told in a totally different way. In a not-so-literal sense, Imaginary Forces helped tell the story of the VMAs in LA this past year. They created and produced a digital package that reflected the young and trendy award show for MTV. Here bold design and bold pacing works with music to create motivating impact in a very short amount of time.

“Always the low prices.” That was Sam Walton’s philosophy when his first store opened in 1962. Recently, that strategy is believed by some to be a roadblock to future expansion. Walmart stores have reached a saturation level and the more upscale consumers who shopped Walmart during the economic downturn are now returning to their previous shopping habits. Can classier-looking stores with wider aisles and softer lighting be enough to get them back?

Re-positioning a brand to a more upscale audience can be done , but is extraordinarily difficult for the most basic of reasons.

Along with delivering trust, peace of mind, empowerment, etc., brands also simplify the purchasing process. On the average, each American household manages the spending of nearly $60,000 per year. This would be a daunting, time-consuming financial task if brands didn’t help by clearly identifying who they are in terms of what you get for what you pay. When a brand’s value proposition is fuzzy, consumers move to one that is clearer. Although brands hate it, consumers like to place brands into simple groupings, like fashionable brands, durable brands, lowest-priced brands, etc. It’s just easier that way.

Taking a well-established brand upscale disrupts a consumer’s “brand landscape,” forcing changes that take too much time and way too much thought. A recent price comparison of grocery and household products found Target to be lower than Walmart. Do I believe this? Do I want to believe this? If Walmart is no longer in my lowest prices grouping, where do I put them?

Today’s climate is right for Walmart to move upscale as smart, value-oriented shopping defines a new status across all income levels. Walmart is realizing however, that their recent flirtation with new customers is beginning to make the brand’s core essence a bit fuzzy. Maybe that’s why they announced yesterday that their tagline will now also include: “Low prices. Every day. On everything.” Sam should be OK with that.

Save for the occasional Toys“R”Us kid, most of us spent a large chunk of our adolescence wanting to grow up. No matter how much the geezers told us to cherish “the best days of our lives,” we disregarded their wisdom on account that we were 13 and knew everything, and they were 84 and probably senile. Now that we’re “all grown up,” we find ourselves romanticizing the same memories over and over, as if reminiscing will send us back to re-enact all of our “shoulda, coulda, woulda” moments.

I, for one, am a product of the ’90s, and while I had my share of fun, I’m happy in the now and look forward to all that lies ahead. So why all the reflection on yesteryear? Because it shines light on how we as consumers connect with yesterday. One of the easiest ways to relive the carefree nature of youth is whip out a credit card and place an order. My friends and I, all full-grown adults, ordered every season of our favorite childhood TV show, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, and watched each episode together. For her 35th birthday, my sister celebrated at a skating rink overrun by toddlers and tweens – and over a dozen of her fellow Gen-Xers took part.

To their credit, several brands are catching on to our desire for nostalgia. MTV is putting the animated series Beavis and Butt-Head back on the air, the Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block will kick off their world tour in May and every member of Detroit’s “Big Three” have reinvented their muscle car offerings based on classic designs from the ’60s and ’70s. If given the opportunity, we as ad pros cannot afford to allow the marketers we serve to miss out on the yearning for youth that exists among today’s adults, especially now that most of them are making their own money!

Predictive type is pretty neat in theory. Unfortunately, it only predicts what I’m wishing to type about 20% of the time. For example, “Hell” is a word I seem to use a lot in texts and e-mails, yet my iPhone still insists on completing the word as “he’ll.” Argh. I have to proofread the he’ll out of everything before hitting send. Annoying as he’ll.

But this blog posting really isn’t about predictive type. It’s about some of the funnier pranks that were played just this past April Fools’ Day which were compiled by our friends (don’t really know ‘em) at TechCrunch. My favorite is the one about the job posting for a Google autocompleter. You’ll see why.

Happy Friday! We’re going to spend the day Rebecca Black-style. Here’s the breakdown:

PS: If you’re one of the fortunate few who are still somehow unfamiliar with Rebecca Black, scoop out your eardrums with a melon baller and click here.