An ingenious PSA is making the rounds on networking sites, warning social-media-wannabes against falling for claims of self-proclaimed gurus. It was created not by an ad grunt, but by a freelance journalist in Dublin. Markham Nolan scripted, animated, directed and produced the whole thing using Xtranormal, a free site designed to "bring movie making to the people." Based on a sophisticated text-to-speech generator, the product actually lives up to its improbable tagline: "If you can type, you can make movies."
Nolan created "Social Media Guru" to pitch to Ireland's SFA (Small Firms Association) but decided "screw it – have it free via Youtube." Doubtless he guessed a business association would possibly take exception to NSFW language. But Nolan might not realize--the film he created belongs to Xtranormal, according to stringent TOS delivered on the site by a deceptively benign-looking cartoon character.
About Me
- Helen Klein Ross
- I started in the business in 1977, working for a guy who could have walked off the set of Mad Men. He had a glass eye to replace one he'd lost in the War (Korea) and because of this, I hated looking at him. Not because I was freaked by the fake eye, but because it looked real and I couldn't remember which eye was which and each time our eyes met I worried I was tracking the wrong one. Like most women in those days, I started out as a secretary. The halls of advertising were clogged with secretaries, everybody had one, even some secretaries. Eventually, I was promoted to copywriter at what was arguably the best shop on the planet. I pitied freelancers brought in to work on projects no one else wanted, people aged out of the business, who had missed landing a spot on the corporate food chain. Then, I got pregnant: a condition so unusual for creatives in that era, my boss reacted by granting six months paid leave. But the day before I was to go back to work, the sitter dropped my baby on her head. The kid was OK, but I was so shaken that I became an ad-agency migrant worker like the freelancers I'd pitied--who in roaring 80s were laughing all the way to pre-ATM lines at the bank.
gone but not forgotten
- art directors who could draw
- luci room for art directors who couldn't
- sound of selectrics
- spray mount
- stopwatches-when every copywriter had one
- typewriter ribbon in two-tone red and black
- using amberlith to create spot color
- when copy was mailed to the client, with stamps
- yellow paper for drafts, white for revision and carbon paper used to make copies
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8 comments:
The only things he's missing are the Gucci glasses and handy tote bag. Yikes!
Are you lumping us all in one basket or do you delineate? Just askin'. Heh.
That's awesome! I love it!
@Teenie You forgot to say the tote bag was from SXSWi ;)
@JasonFalls Didn't mean you! You've had an internet blog for *over* six months!
Glad to have entertained @SEO Melbourne ;)
Isn't it? @The CHimp No matter how many times I see it, it makes me laugh ;)
Haha, that is so funny.
Just had to try the application for my self. Made a lot of childish movies, like a rickroll and kanye west videoes.
Made a instant classic Kanye West video. (if anyone want's to see it http://www.seoprofessional.info/blog/kanye-west-interrupts-randfish/)
LOL @ ".. that did not go well."
@Markham--sorry your comment took so long to post. Guess mail takes a while coming across the pond ;) LOVE what you did and would love to see the Guru make a series of oh-so-Instructional DIY DVDs. Only $5000 each!
@SEO Pro--good job! I'm sure that's the most (only) entertaining vid on link building there is :)
@Jake P--I had the same reaction! *palm slaps forehead, too*
Thank you ad broad, this made my day. Between the social media experts that have actually admitted to me they are not experts to the 25 yr old personal branding expert that has worked at 10 different companies (what's the math on that) all this self-important aggrandizing makes me dizzy. Thanks for the laugh.
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