The nose knows

Some of my fondest childhood memories were the aromas that wafted through our house. Whether it was the honeysuckle bushes in our backyard, my parents’ home cooking or the burning firewood, certain smells transport me to a simpler time.

Today paper manufacturers are recapturing our nostalgia with scratch and sniff advertisements. The concept isn’t new; in fact, children’s books and perfume companies have long engaged our schnozes as a means of tugging at our heartstrings. But it would appear, scratching and sniffing is making a comeback in a big way.

During a recent presentation by Lester Litograph, I was privy to one of their latest magazine offerings boasting the mountain air scent of a rock-climbing ad. I admit I was taken aback and never would’ve thought to smell the paper! So the next time you’re thumbing through an issue of your favorite publication, let your nose be your guide! It doesn’t come cheap, but it definitely adds to the sensory experience, which is priceless in advertising.

For more information on this and other innovative advertising, we encourage you to contact our team!

Yesterday I did something crazy… I wrote something down on a piece of paper (gasp)… WITH A PENCIL!!!  (pause for reaction)  Remember pencils?  They’re those cylindrical, wooden writing apparatuses we used before computers were invented.  In fact, it was so shocking I literally had to stop and think about the last time I put pencil to paper – and I started having flashbacks to the SAT’s!

Technology makes it so easy to add and delete things with the touch of a button – but I recall the days when you had to ERASE or use WHITE OUT for your mistakes… (do people buy white out any more? Do they even sell it?!)  It felt SO nostalgic to pick up a pencil that it took me back to a simpler time, before technology ran our lives…

If I may, I’d like to take a moment and reminisce about the good old days… When people wrote with pencils, talked to each other on the phone or even in person; before we tweeted, texted or facebooked each other… A time when Kindles were called books, iPads were called note pads and MP3 players were radios…  Were we really so ‘out of touch’ or actually more IN touch with what really matters?!  I had to wonder, are all these advances in technology making our lives easier or more complicated?!

So the next time you reach for that keyboard, I challenge you to write a letter, do a crossword puzzle or draw a sketch (with a pencil:-) and report back.  Perhaps pencils are already a thing of the past but before they end up in the Smithsonian, I hope they can remind us all that sometimes, it’s the simple things in life that give the greatest rewards.

Multitaskers rejoice! You can email, facebook, tweet, text, and blog all while talking on the phone and driving… OK, so hopefully by now you don’t ACTUALLY drive while doing any of those things (let’s not forget the fate of Heidi Montag’s plastic surgeon…) but in this digital age, there’s nothing you CAN’T do – unless you choose not to. Which is the topic of a recent LA Times article about a book called “Super Sad True Love Story” by Gary Shteyngart. It poses this question:  Is the creative stream of consciousness being adversely affected by our affinity for technology?

The author purchased an iPhone in order to research this novel and quickly became addicted (or perhaps you’re more familiar with the ‘crackberry’….) He actually had to set “quiet time” aside so as not to be distracted from his thoughts. As any smart phone user will tell you, it becomes like an appendage – Who’s on Facebook? What’s the score of the Chargers game? Where is “The Social Network” playing? – And all at the touch of a button. But is this REALLY a good thing? Or have we taken technology too far?

Personally, I’m all for it. Tweet, text, blog – whatever grinds your gears but there’s a time and a place, not to mention a limit to the amount of bytes and bits our brains can and should process. In our all-tech, all-the-time society, we need to remember the creative process requires our undivided attention. Having distractions is a good way to break up the monotony but when you become so distracted you can’t focus on the task at hand – it might be time to set up the sleep-timer on your computer. So grab a friend and enjoy a meal (phone-free.) Yes you, you can do it!! Put down the Droid and step away from the Mac – but bbm me later!

Digital distractions… Friend or foe?

We all know about the iPad – the poorly named tablet from Apple that is basically a large iPod touch with a bit of Mac power added in. But, just today, Samsung unveiled their new tablet – the Galaxy – which they are hoping will not only be a strong competitor, but the iPad Killer.

Haven’t heard about the new Galaxy? Check out the launch video:

I think if everything they promise actually works, and you can get it with Verizon service, there is a very good chance that the nickname “iPad killer” will be true!

So what do you think? Is the iPad untouchable or will the Samsung Galaxy have a chance of taking over some of the market share? Which would you prefer