Monthly Archives: October 2008

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m fascinated with not only music, but how the music industry is exponentially evolving in the digital age.  I grew up on cassettes (like my friend Travis, whose collection is featured above) and mixtapes that were actual mixtapes, while the older folk would mourn the 8-track and vinyl records.  CDs and MiniDiscs were next up to bat, and we all know who struck out there.  But now?  I’m sure you’ve noticed your local Best Buy gutted down the middle where scores of CD racks used to be (my local store says they’re gonna sell guitars to make up for the negative space. Strange).  And if you’ve even considered buying a CD over the last couple years, you probably couldn’t find it if you tried, so you downloaded it, or if you had a conscience, bought it off iTunes.

A really interesting article came out this week on Portfolio.com, detailing the fall of the iPod mentality and the rise of “the cloud,” music that is always available in cyberspace and, quite literally, frees you from having to download anything, ever.  No more of this stocking up on a library of iTunes that you’re fast running out of space for on your computer/iPod anyways.  I remember reading about this about a half-year ago, that the music industry was finally (finally!) giving up the notion that they could actually sustain themselves off of record sales, and were joining the enemy…  Allowing free access to all music as long as you, the listener, was willing to deal with a gaggle of advertisements.  You up for the trade?

I know that for myself, it’s already happened by way of the aforementioned Pandora.  In the past 3 weeks, I haven’t opened my iTunes once during a workday.  And if I had an iPhone, I’d sync Pandora to my car.  Free music, all the time, wherever you go.

Sounds good to me.

tapes photo courtesy of reader Travis Jensen
by bobbyhundreds

Logos.

I’ve always been enamored with logos.  The idea that a brand, or company, or even an individual, can encompass their entire being into one single icon.  And not only that, the more basic and simplistic that logo is, the more profound the impact and memorability (yes, that’s an actual word).

I don’t know which agency created the Obama logo, but that goes to show you..  perhaps the next leader of the free world has been summed up by probably the perfect icon to encapsulate all that he, and his candidacy, embodies.  His surname whittled down to a simple “O,” the rising sun to indicate a new beginning, the usage of red/white/blue, the stripes resembling the wide American plains, the heartland.  And just the fact that it’s a perfect circle, which is one of the most strategic logo shapes to work with.

I live in L.A., so every morning on my commute to work, I see Prius’s that have this concise logo emblazoned on their bumper.  No mention of a name, or anything about the man’s ideals, just the image.

Speaking of which, Pepsi’s changing up their logo again.  I’m still not over the last overhaul back when I was 11 years old. I did an entire oral report on the design shift for my 5th grade class, and I got an F because it had nothing to do with World History.  Whatever, it looked like the Korean flag anyways.

So what do you think of where they’re headed?

New York-baesd Arnell Group whipped this one together, in response to Pepsico’s declining sales as of late.  The interesting maneuver here is that they’re gonna differentiate that wispy white swirl in the middle of the circle, depending on which Pepsi it’s marked on.  ”A ‘smile’ will characterize brand Pepsi, while a ‘grin’ is used for Diet Pepsi and a ‘laugh’ is used for Pepsi Max. Also, Mountain Dew will be rebranded as Mtn Dew.”

Supposedly they’re also gonna flip all the company’s logos across the board.  Gatorade, Tropicana, Sierra Mist, you name it.

Check The Feed to see what the actual cans and bottles will look like.

SOURCE: BRAND NEW, Advertising Age 
by bobbyhundreds 

Have you ever been to Mira Loma?  Have you even heard of Mira Loma?  It’s a dusty industrial expanse, residence for mega offices, warehouses, and laughing cows, smack dab in the middle of Southern California.. and by “middle” I mean “middle of NOWHERE.”  It does have one thing going for it though, Mira Loma serves as the hub for Active Ride Shop, one of our most prominent wholesale accounts with 30 shops sprinkled throughout So.Cal.

We just got back from a Thai lunch with Active owner Shane Wallace and Bobby Goodwin.  When we first started working with Active years ago, it was a big move for us.  Primarily because, at the time, we had always oriented the brand to run through smaller, boutique-minded shops.  But Active made sense to us for a couple different reasons.  One, they reached into smaller suburban cities that wouldn’t have a TH account otherwise, including my hometown.  Furthermore, their dedication to skateboarding, the culture, and the kids is unrivaled.

This year alone, Active will have done over 100 different skate contests.  As most skaters know, they’ve assembled arguably the dream team of skateboarding, with P.Rod, Koston, and Reynolds in tow.  They’re extremely conscious of their own brand integrity, let alone the brands whom they choose to work with, and their stores are fitted with custom fixtures to maintain an upscale, intelligent environment instead of a cheesy stock buildout.  And if you’ve ever been familiar with an Active employee, the kids who run these stores are almost always knowledgeable, well-respected in their communities, and chances are, a really good skater.

These guys have built an empire with a squadron of soldiers.

Not that we expected any less, but the Active headquarters was bananas.  Eco-friendly, carpet-less, and trimmed with red pop throughout the building.

Active runs some of the best ads, courtesy of Shane’s vision and Atiba’s photography.  There’s Steve. Didja know those wind turbines chop up about 5,000 birds a year?  Berra the Bird Killer.

The warehouse.  For some reason, I feel like stocking up on an economy pack of toilet paper and Kirkland Signature white tees.

The HQ was lined with some really cool cubicles and offices.  Walls decorated with band posters, inspiration boards, one guy even had a Stacy Dash computer wallpaper.  But the Most Boring Office award goes to Shane, hands down.  I don’t think the man has ever sat down at his own desk, not even a computer in sight.  He’s so busy suitcasing it around on biz, that he hasn’t even properly moved in yet.  Look at the Peeping Ben.

What about that bathroom entrance?  Talk about inspiration.

THEIR SINKS HAVE ROCKS IN THEM !!!!!!!!!

Oh, so by the way, Shane was saying that yesterday, he came across the best skate demo reel in the history of best skate demo reels from some smalltown kid.  He’s gonna post the clip on his site soon, so stay tuned to Active to see where skateboarding’s headed.

by bobbyhundreds