#recognition commercial advertisement

[garudabluffs]

Awards are meaningless Feb 23, 2023

From the Oscars to best in business, why do we do awards for adults?

"It’s pay-to-play”

"You’ve probably heard about the whole participation trophy thing — the complaint that there’s something deeply wrong with America because a bunch of first-graders got a ribbon for drawing a picture that wasn’t even that good or something. The whole debate, which has persisted for decades at this point, tends to feel pretty ridiculous, largely because it is. Plenty of things are deeply wrong with America today; being nice to 6-year-olds isn’t super one of them. For one thing, if we’re going to be upset about awards, the ones we give to adults are a whole lot weirder when you think about it."

"Awards are less about who’s best at the game but instead who’s hacked the game best."

READ MORE https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2023/2/23/23610516/awards-oscars-grammys-best-business-media

= =>>https://www.vox.com/22946366/the-big-squeeze

2023 Grammy Awards: The Beyoncé paradox February 3, 2023

How the Grammys got themselves in a pickle (and how they might make it worse)

There are any number of storylines that could emerge from this year's Grammy Awards, which will be handed out on Sunday, February 5. But if we are narrowing things down to the night's most coveted prizes, the four awards in the general category — record of the year, album of the year, song of the year and best new artist — some narratives begin to take shape (mostly, if we are being honest, around whether or not the Academy will once again fail to award a top prize to Beyoncé).

To begin to wrap our minds around all the affirming and deflating possibilities, NPR Music gathered four critics to pick apart the nominees in those top four categories to try and figure out which surprises and/or inevitabilities await.

RECORD OF THE YEAR

Ann Powers: "We begin with a paradox, a Zen riddle: a widely anticipated win this year may also feel like the biggest surprise. Beyoncé, inexplicable bridesmaid in all but one of the major Grammy categories since Destiny's Child's "Say My Name" nom in 2001 (her one win was Song of the Year in 2010 for "Single Ladies") may grab the gramophone for Renaissance across categories this year, and a sweep for her would feel like justice while breaking a pattern of exclusion that has come to feel inevitable. Record of the Year is the spot where she's been most rejected — seven times — and might feel like a bigger triumph than even an Album of the Year win. "Break My Soul" announced Renaissance, a new concept and beginning for the woman who'd seemingly done everything. And the song has the grand scale and spirit of a Grammy shoo-in. I could see some fuddy-duddy Grammy voters still resisting Bey in the album category, even though Renaissance is definitely a unified listening experience. No dance music album by a Black artist has ever won in the album slot (John Travolta and some French robots have taken home the prize in past years), and, as an alternative, the gospel-ish uplift of "Break My Soul" might appeal to voter still stuck on rock and ballad-ish pop.

That said, another widely anticipated ROTY win wouldn't feel like a surprise at all. Harry Styles is an industry darling whose rabid fan base no longer only consists of teenage girls (never taken seriously by Grammy voters, at their peril). In the philosophical bon bon "As It Was," he had 2023's most popular smash by far. I could see him winning here and Bey shining elsewhere. Or maybe the pie will be cut three ways and Kendrick Lamar, also up for every top slot plus, will take this one for "The Heart Part 5" with Styles nabbing song and Bey getting her album trophy. Other Grammy faves are hanging out here, too: Don't underestimate the feel-good power of Lizzo or of Brandi Carlile, whose live performances with her spouse Katherine have turned "You and Me On the Rock" into the 21st century's most unexpected marriage-equality anthem. The rest of the nominees feel deeply unlikely to me."

S.P. "The prospect of another white artist shutting Beyoncé out completely seems unfathomable and, frankly, indefensible, but given the way voters have treated Beyoncé in recent years, it feels even less likely that she might somehow steamroll through the generals, despite her recent music's all-consuming inevitability."

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

S.T.: "Beyoncé's Renaissance is the album of the year by virtue of its wire-to-wire excellence and its cultural cachet."

"If you're looking for a prevailing storyline for the 2023 Grammy Awards, consider that Beyoncé — who has won 28 Grammys and counting, closing in on the record for the most by any artist in the awards' history — has never won album or record of the year. Her track record in the general categories has rightly infuriated fans:

BEST NEW ARTIST

S.Y. : "In a similar vein, the entire Americana industry has sensibly lined up behind Molly Tuttle, an impeccable bluegrass flatpicker and singer-songwriter whose clear prowess could appeal to the kinds of folk who like kinds of folk, and anything else you might inadvisably call "real music."

Ann Powers: "My Nashville hometown would be absolutely delighted if Molly walked away with this little record player – she's already a champion here, having won seven International Bluegrass Music Association Awards since she came on the scene in the mid-2010s. And her latest album Crooked Tree is a powerful mission statement: a challenge to bluegrass, a deeply conservative genre, to reinvigorate itself through open-hearted innovation. But her commercial reach remains more limited, for now, and as Nate points out, that seems to matter now in this category." '...Tuttle, who's now 30, and made her first album (with her dad) at 13.'

READ MORE https://www.npr.org/2023/02/03/1152837041/2023-grammy-awards-preview

But this particular year, Beyoncé not winning the Grammys’ most prestigious award did feel pretty close to discrediting the entire enterprise. Everyone knew it in advance, as spelled out in headlines such as “The Beyoncé Paradox,” “It’s Beyoncé’s Time to Shine at the Grammys … Right?,” and, most aggressively, in the Los Angeles Times, “Grammys, You Have One Job on Sunday: Give Beyoncé Album of the Year.”

"It’s because this is the third consecutive studio album for which Beyoncé Knowles has been nominated and then passed over for a white artist, despite all three records’ status as music-industry milestones. Last time this happened, in 2017, Adele’s acceptance speech was just an abject apology for 25’sbeating Lemonade, which didn’t much help. It’s because, although Beyoncé last night officially became the most awarded individual in the history of the Grammys, only 1 of those 32 prizes has come in the Recording Academy’s top, cross-genre categories—“Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” as song of the year in 2010. And it’s because Renaissance is not only, in my opinion, Beyoncé’s best album, it’s one presented precisely on terms that the Grammys ought to understand. It might not have her very best songs, but it is an album as analbum, an extended conceptual statement encompassing decades of music history in dialogue with the present."

READ MORE https://slate.com/culture/2023/02/grammys-2023-winners-beyonce-harry-styles.html

[srbachchan]

DAY 5973

Jalsa, Mumbai June 25/26, 2024 Tue/Wed 2:07 AM

Birthday - EF - Anamika Gupta .. 🙏🌹

Ef Özen Eren Wednesday, 26 June .. and all ur prayers and wishes for this special day for the Ef ..

the Agenda .. an act of predetermined thought and conveyance .. what shall bring attention recognition be the intent .. any express that can remotely be given the spin, and mastered is the guile and expertise of such ..

it is lamentable , ignominious to witness the impotency of content .. to somehow in any which manner , to be able to draw attention in storied form, just so it can be put up and seen or read , in favourable condition to them that devise it ..

devise .. for the right is not needed to be devised ..

pity ..

never ever underestimate the generation that follows , or is about to follow .. they are aware and alive to every situation and knowledged to hold their own in debate or discussion ..

we are enriched by the circumstance that often fall upon us .. and then we find a way .. even when there be none ..

"In today's digital age, the ubiquitous nature of content has paradoxically led to a dilution of its potency. With the democratization of content creation, anyone with an internet connection can produce and distribute information, leading to an oversaturation of the digital landscape. This phenomenon has profound implications, rendering content less impactful and more ephemeral.

First, the sheer volume of content available online has created a paradox of choice. Every minute, hundreds of hours of video are uploaded to platforms like YouTube, thousands of blog posts are published, and millions of social media updates are posted. This relentless flow of information makes it difficult for any single piece of content to stand out. The audience, overwhelmed by options, often resorts to skimming or entirely ignoring vast amounts of content, diminishing its overall impact.

Moreover, the quality of content has become highly variable. While the ease of content creation has empowered many voices, it has also led to an influx of low-quality, poorly researched, and sometimes misleading or false information. This glut of mediocre content competes with high-quality, well-researched pieces, making it challenging for audiences to discern value and trustworthiness. As a result, even content of genuine worth can struggle to achieve the recognition and engagement it deserves.

Another critical factor contributing to the impotency of content is the algorithm-driven nature of content distribution. Social media platforms and search engines prioritize content based on engagement metrics such as likes, shares, and comments rather than the inherent quality or informational value. This prioritization often leads to the virality of sensational, clickbait content at the expense of substantive, insightful work. Consequently, the attention economy favors superficial engagement over deep, meaningful interactions with content.

Additionally, the fast-paced consumption habits of modern audiences further erode the potency of content. The average attention span has dwindled in the face of constant digital distractions. People increasingly consume content in bite-sized formats, such as tweets or short videos, which limits their exposure to in-depth analysis or comprehensive narratives. This shift towards brevity undermines the ability of content to foster nuanced understanding or sustained engagement.

The commercialization of content also plays a significant role in its diminishing impact. Content marketing has become a dominant strategy for businesses, leading to a proliferation of branded content. While this can provide value, it also contributes to the noise and can sometimes prioritize promotional messages over genuine, informative content. The blending of editorial and advertising content can lead to skepticism and diminished trust among audiences, further reducing the impact of the content they encounter.

Lastly, the fleeting nature of digital content means that it often has a very short lifespan. Unlike traditional media, which could have a lasting presence, digital content is quickly buried under the avalanche of new information. This ephemeral existence means that even impactful content can be forgotten rapidly as attention shifts to the next trending topic.

In conclusion, the impotency of content in today's times is a multifaceted issue stemming from the overwhelming volume of information, variable quality, algorithm-driven distribution, changing consumption habits, commercialization, and the ephemeral nature of digital content. To reclaim the potency of content, creators and platforms must prioritize quality, foster trust, and find ways to engage audiences meaningfully and sustainably amidst the cacophony of the digital age."

Love and more ..

Amitabh Bachchan

[stevebattle]

SEGA CHAN New Entertainment robot (1982), Sega, Tokyo, Japan. "Here comes SEGA CHAN – the fantastic, futuristic robot that's sure to be a hit at arcades, shopping malls and other family locations. SEGA CHAN delivers promotional impact where it's desired. This walking, talking marvel can shake hands, play recorded music, display videotaped messages on a built-in video screen, serve food and drinks, distribute literature and more! A special voice recognition programming device allows SEGA CHAN to answer specific questions, while touch sensors and danger prevention sensors make him completely safe to operate. By using interchangeable attachments SEGA CHAN can perform even more tasks and be adapted to so many functions that only your imagination limits his many uses!" – SEGA.

SEGA CHAN was never commercially released, but in the final two photos from Gamest Video Game Magazine (1987), we see Sega Chan outside the Hi-Tech Sega Bashamichi arcade in Yokohama, advertising Sega games.

[genericpuff]

I feel like it's my duty to remind you all-

This art that she keeps advertising herself with?

It was an art study of a painting by Lynn Buckham, a commercial artist from the mid-1900's who specialized in gouache.

And Rachel did a "study" of his work replacing the original figures with Hades and Persephone:

Now, this would be fine if it had stayed as a study, but Rachel's now been using it as part of her branding without the attached transparency that she didn't come up with the original composition. Not to mention, it can barely even be called a 'study' - for anyone who is unaware of the definition of an art study, studies are usually used for an artist to learn the techniques of another artist, it typically involves a lot of shape breakdown, color pulling, note-taking, and, well, studying. Usually the goal is to try and replicate the original work or reference as closely as possible, it forces you to try new techniques and new angles you may not have tried before.

Art studies tend to look like this:

In fact, another artist on Instagram did an actual proper study of Lynn Buckham's work, which you can find here.

Studies are not meant to be polished final pieces of work, they are meant to be learning experiences - it's less about the end result and more about the process getting there.

Rachel did not do that here. She literally just loosely sketched Persephone and Hades over the original composition, changed parts of the composition to match her comic, and then colored it in without a shred of thought as to how Buckham would have painted that original version. The fact that the anatomy in her 'study' version is as whack as her usual art goes to show that she wasn't studying, she was just drawing from imagination and using Buckham's work as a base, called it a "study", and is now using it for her own gain to promote herself.

Lynn Buckham passed away in 1982. He did not go down in history as a world famous artist. He does not have any Wikipedia articles written about him or galleries hosting his work year round. Much of his original work has been preserved through private collectors at auctions.

Please do not let Rachel take away recognition of his work by making it her own.

[marveltrumpshate]

Talking about Marvel Trumps Hate on AO3

We love it when folks spread the word about Marvel Trumps Hate—the more people take part, the more money we raise, all of which goes to amazing charities!

We encourage all creators to shout from the rooftops (and their social media platforms) that they're participating in the auction, so people can check out what's on offer. We also really appreciate when creators acknowledge that their work was made for MTH to create awareness after the auction ends.

However, if you want to talk about MTH on AO3 specifically, there are a few things to keep in mind about how you're talking about the auction and your involvement so that you don't break any rules. We don't want you to get into trouble!

You can:

Say that your work was created for Marvel Trumps Hate

Provide a link to the MTH Tumblr, Twitter, or website to explain why a fanwork was created (we also encourage you to post to the appropriate annual MTH collection and use the gifting function to gift a work to the person who won your fanwork)

Refer to your fanwork as a gift (NOT commission or charity/gift commission) for your winner

You can't:

Say that you're participating in a current or upcoming charity auction and link to your auction listing (or anyone else's) in your author's notes, footnotes, or elsewhere on AO3

Call an MTH work a commission anywhere on AO3—instead, say that it's a gift for your winner for the Marvel Trumps Hate event

Solicit money by asking people to bid on you, encouraging donations to a charity and/or including a link to the charity or your auction listing, or mentioning that you take commissions (including charity commissions) on AO3

On platforms other than AO3, you're welcome to talk up your offerings, link to the specific charities that you're supporting through your auction offers, and share your (or others') auctions by reblogging your mthofferings.tumblr.com auction post or linking to your auction listings on the MTH website.

Why shouldn't you advertise charity auctions or use the word "commission" on AO3?

Using the right words matters.

MTH is proud to be inspired by other fandom charity auctions and positions itself within the long tradition of fans gifting fanworks and fan labor to each other. The auction event team members gift their time and talents to organize MTH, and fandom creators agree to gift their creative efforts in recognition of the donation that bidders make to the nonprofit organizations that are listed on our Supported Organizations page.

We want to make sure that people thinking about participating as creators and/or as bidders are 100% clear about what the auction involves and are confident about the integrity of the auction. One way of doing this is making sure that everyone knows how the money travels—directly from bidders to the nonprofit they're supporting, without ever being touched by MTH creators or the event team.

That being said, AO3 is not an advertising space and has Terms of Service around commercialization of fanworks (Section I. D5) that forbids any form of commercial promotion on AO3, even if it's for charity. This is not because exchanging money for fanworks is explicitly illegal but because the OTW legal team believes that one of the ways the archive can be protected legally, as both a collection of transformative works and as a nonprofit organization, is to have a firm "no commercial promotion" policy.

On charity events specifically, the TOS FAQ clarifies:

"The Archive will host fanworks of any origin, including fanworks created in response to charity drives or other challenges. A link to a charity drive to explain the origin of a fanwork is appropriate. Solicitation itself, however, should take place outside the Archive. We concluded that this policy was the easiest to apply fairly to everyone, given the wide range of possible solicitation activities." (AO3 TOS Content FAQ).

If you're reported by someone for soliciting on AO3 and found to be in breach of the TOS, you'll be emailed by their team, asking you to remove all the "commercial promotion" material (i.e., all the money-related words like "bid," "donation," or "commission") from the work, comment, bookmark, or profile in question. This includes tags, descriptions in author's notes, and comments on works. The Policy and Abuse committee doesn't screen fanworks; instead, all reports are made by users of the archive. That means that even though there may be places you violated these rules, the committee may not be immediately aware of it; however, as a violation can be found by a user and reported at any time, even from long, long ago, we encourage people to review the wording they used in reference to MTH—or any fandom charity events, for that matter—and make edits if necessary to be on the safe side.

Note: if this does happen to you, you can always appeal or ask for more time to rectify the issue so don't be alarmed. All Policy and Abuse reports are handled by real people who are volunteers for the organization.

We ask that you follow these guidelines so that if you spread the word about Marvel Trumps Hate on AO3, you do so in a way that won't cause you stress or trouble in the future.

If you ever lose track of this explanation and need to refer to it, we also have this information up on our website.

[brunettedelulu]

Feminism and Pop Culture: A Complex Interplay.

In the contemporary socio-cultural landscape, the interplay between feminism and pop culture is both intricate and profound. Pop culture, encompassing various media forms like film, television, music, and literature, serves as a powerful vehicle for disseminating and challenging societal norms. Feminism, as a movement advocating for gender equality and the dismantling of patriarchal structures, finds a fertile yet contentious ground within this sphere.

The Evolution of Feminist Representation :

Historically, pop culture has been a double-edged sword for feminism. On one hand, it has perpetuated stereotypes and reinforced traditional gender roles. The early decades of cinema and television, for instance, often depicted women as passive, subservient, or overly sexualized. Such portrayals not only mirrored societal biases but also contributed to their perpetuation.

However, the feminist movement's waves have progressively infiltrated pop culture, demanding more nuanced and empowered representations of women. The 1970s and 1980s saw the emergence of strong female characters who defied conventional norms, such as Ellen Ripley in Alien and Sarah Connor in Terminator. These characters marked a shift, albeit a gradual one, towards a more complex portrayal of women in media.

Pop Culture as a Platform for Feminist Discourse :

In recent years, pop culture has become an increasingly significant platform for feminist discourse. The rise of social media has democratized content creation and dissemination, allowing feminist voices to challenge mainstream narratives more effectively. Movements like #MeToo have leveraged pop culture to bring issues of sexual harassment and gender inequality to the forefront of public consciousness.

Television series such as The Handmaid’s Tale and films like Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel reflect and amplify feminist ideals, resonating with audiences globally. These narratives not only provide entertainment but also serve as catalysts for discussions on gender politics, power dynamics, and societal change.

The Commercialization of Feminism :

However, the relationship between feminism and pop culture is not without its complexities and contradictions. One significant issue is the commercialization of feminism. Brands and media companies often co-opt feminist rhetoric for profit, diluting its radical essence in the process. This phenomenon, sometimes referred to as "commodity feminism," risks transforming a movement aimed at systemic change into a marketable trend devoid of its original political potency. The feminist slogan t-shirts, empowerment-themed advertisements, and "girl boss" narratives proliferating in pop culture can, at times, reduce feminism to a mere aesthetic or consumer choice, rather than a sustained commitment to gender justice. This superficial engagement with feminist ideals highlights the tension between authentic representation and commercial exploitation.

Intersectionality in Pop Culture :

A crucial aspect of modern feminist thought is intersectionality, a concept introduced by Kimberlé Crenshaw. Intersectionality posits that various forms of oppression, such as racism, sexism, and classism, are interconnected and cannot be examined in isolation. Pop culture's engagement with intersectionality has been mixed, with some progress and notable gaps.

For instance, while there have been strides in representing diverse female experiences, much work remains to be done. The success of films like Black Panther and shows like Pose demonstrates a growing recognition of the importance of inclusive storytelling. Yet, the underrepresentation and misrepresentation of marginalized groups, including women of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and those with disabilities, persist as critical issues.

Conclusion :

The intersection of feminism and pop culture is a dynamic and evolving terrain. Pop culture holds the potential to both challenge and reinforce societal norms, making it a vital arena for feminist engagement. As consumers and creators, it is imperative to critically examine the media we engage with, advocate for more authentic and inclusive representations, and resist the commodification of feminist ideals. By fostering a more nuanced understanding of gender and intersectionality within pop culture, we can contribute to a more equitable and just society. The journey towards this goal is ongoing, requiring vigilance, creativity, and a commitment to transformative change.

[iuliacaesar]

The reason why MF DOOM is underrated

Daniel Dumile was a British and American rapper and music producer who is considered an underground hip hop icon, as he never achieved mainstream success.

He used to be part of the rap band called KMD, but unfortunately one of their members, his brother, passed away, and he decided to continue his solo career wearing a mask and creating an alter ego, MF DOOM, inspired by Marvel's supervillain Doctor Doom, as he wanted to become the musical industry enemy, attacking with his music, characterized by complex lyrics, obscure references, and unconventional beats.

He mostly mixed hip hop with jazz and moreover he added some samples and cartoons dialogs embedded in his songs that explained his plan to revolutionize the music industry and stories about his alter ego, MF DOOM. Nevertheless, he didn’t just have that character, as he used some other alter egos, such as King Geedorah, the hip hop beast, Viktor Vaughn, the rapper for the mass and Metalfingers, referring to his producer facet. He also has done many collabs with many artists, Gorillaz, Madlib, Quasimoto and the Wu-Tang Clan among others.

However Dumile used many metarhymes that complicated its comprehension. His intricate wordplay, dense references to comic books, cartoons, and obscure pop culture made his music difficult for casual listeners to access, because he acted as a powerful villain, always in the shadows, ready to transform the fixed guidelines of hip hop and musical production and industry.

His choice to stay true to his artistic vision and refusal of mainstream standards, coupled with his enigmatic persona, kept him from achieving widespread commercial success, but it also solidified his status as a legend in the underground and among hip-hop purists.

MF DOOM often worked with independent labels and avoided traditional music industry practices, and his avoidance of conventional song structures, such as hooks or choruses, made his music less radio-friendly, further limiting his mainstream appeal.

While he’s celebrated as a genius in the underground hip-hop community, his influence is more subtle and less recognized by the mainstream. His contributions to hip-hop aren’t widely acknowledged outside of dedicated circles, leading him to be criminally underrated.

Unfortunately DOOM’s death in 2020 brought him much of this recognition that came posthumously, reinforcing the idea that he was underrated during his life. I’d like to finish this article highlighting his first ever solo album Operation Doomsday, where he starts talking about his evil plan, his masterpieces Madvilliany and MM…FOOD, full of samples and audio extracts from vintage cartoons and advertising and Take Me To Your Leader, his only album as King Geedorah and my personal favorite.

P.S.: shotout to this video that has helped me a lot with my research: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvC0Epdz-yU

[pinkiepiebones]

What would you change about the movie renfield if you could?

Please know that I say all of this with a genuine love for the movie we ended up getting.

-Well for starters they shoulda changed the release date and edited it down to PG13 for theatres. I think the R rating and the weird mid-April release killed it, box office-wise and audience-wise. Hold it until October so it can win the box office a week or two before FNAF drops, you know?

-It also needs some breathing room. 94 minutes from end to end is a bit too brisk. 110 minute runtime, at least- edit back in cut footage, from Doug's "he cut the power, he smells like death" rational fear response to Renfield to MORE BACKSTORY (ie, Hoult and Cage greenscreened into more iconic Dracula films), to the take of the apartment confrontation where Cageula is playing with the eyeballs in his martini, to the fucking manic pixie dreamboy dance number. Tonally, the movie changes with these, um, changes, but I feel like these changes would have also made the movie more... approachable? Maybe give it "so bad it's good" vibes?

-Don't do the blockchain game thing? There was some kind of blockchain game promotion that I can't find much info about but prizes included 24carat rings, a 24carat spider pendant, an original Dracula pinball machine, etc... I've seen the jewelry come up on eBay a few times but. Yeah. Bad and stupid decision. Of all the ways to try and advertise your movie...

-While I'm on the commercial side of things: MERCH! Do you know how disappointed I was that Spirit Halloween did not have a SINGLE Renfield item? No shabby suit, no pastel sweater, no Teddy Lobo tattoo sleeves, no Dracula suits?????? I would even gladly settle for a horrible little f*nko pop. Why are you afraid of my money, Universal?

-Hell, a title change might have helped. "DRACULA...'s assistant." "Renfield: The Vampire's Assistant." Something like that. Renfield lacks the name recognition. Make everyone very aware that it's a monster movie.

EDIT: Oh, the reasoning for the "edit down to PG13" is twofold- one, more box office draw, and two, by marketing the DVD/streaming version as "unedited," "bloody good," etc., it attracts more attention. I think.

[rcvana]

  ꙰  𓈒 ˙ 𓍼 RAVANA’S DISCOGRAPHY : A DEEP DIVE

tw. flashing lights, photosensitive epilepsy triggers

RAVANA debuted in 2013 under HONEYMOON AVENUE with the hit single ROCK ME. The boy band went onto become the first and only successful artist under the label aside from the collaboration group TROUVAILLE (2016) to which they ultimately lost the rights to following a lawsuit in 2018. Ravana was met with what seemed like instantaneous success, angsty teenagers eating up the song like hot cakes. Honeymoon was completely shocked regarding their reception, genuinely not expecting them to take off as soon as they did—or take off at all. Ravana and their debut in it’s entirety was a shot in the dark. While all of the boys worked on the song, ICHIRO and producer ADDY were largely at work in the studio.

In 2014, Ravana released a major milestone within their early career, their first mini album CHRYSALIS, with the title track CAN WE DANCE? that was considered a chart monster at its prime. The album also featured promoted and popular tracks like NOBODY COMPARES and THEY DON’T KNOW. The tracks were even bigger than their debut and could be heard any and everywhere: on commercials, movies, YouTube videos, at the mall, the social media’s of youth all over, everywhere. Classified as pop perfection amongst fans, this era introduced the concept of the FRONT BOY. In Ravana, depending on the era, the lead would alternate between members, or as the fans nicknamed it: THE FRONT BOY. During Chrysalis, Kyrie was the front boy, which proved to be a smart move when his popularity skyrocketed among the fandom. He was easily the most biased member. Fans seemed to love him, favoring his mysterious persona, considering virtually nothing about his pre-debut days was publicized or talked about like his bandmates. The music video also gained extra attention when NATALIA HWANG fresh off of the set of her teen film BEACH HOUSE was casted as the love interest. With her following, she only further popularized the band’s video. Although, shipping theories went wild alongside this. This was also the era that sparked an onslaught of recognition from TUMBLR, the boys even being advertised by viewers as Tumblr Icons. The album sits at over 1 MILLION SALES.

FRONT BOY: KYRIE

Riding off of the success of their previous release, Ravana came out with the single CONFIDENT in 2014. Confident was heavily praised for it’s slick, pop-r&b sound, feeding into the image already surrounding them. RAVE’S were huge fans of their new sound, raving (no pun intended) about it’s darker tones and blush-inducing lyrics. Earning Front Boy for a second era in a row, Kyrie began to pick up his pen and get to work on Confident. He both wrote and produced Confident, and you could tell by how different the sound was compared to distributions prior.

FRONT BOY: KYRIE

In 2015, Ravana released the Extended Play DREAM DAZE. Of course, Dream Daze went onto be an utter success, selling over 2MILLION units in total. The era of Dream Daze had two Front Boy’s and was generally lead by Ichiro in PERFECT and Kyrie in SOMEBODY TO YOU. The music video for Somebody to You had a special appearance from POISON’S HAYOON, which of course sparked dating rumors and shippers to go wild. Some shippers having insufferable debates about who was the better ship: Natalia and Kyrie, Hayoon and Kyrie, or Eunki and Jamie. There were even a slew of in-group shippers, pitting pairs like Eunki and Jamie and Ichiro and Kyrie (if they weren’t being shipped together, they were being pit against each other) against one another. Aside from these odd antics, the band went onto have a commercial success on their hands, only furthering their path.

FRONT BOY: ICHIRO / KYRIE

2016 came their biggest release yet, with the release of their first full-length album OUT OF TIME. Preceding the albums release, a pre-release single was put out by the title of TREAT YOU BETTER, which was later featured as a track on the work. Treat You Better sent fans into an orbit, constantly tweeting about how excited they are for D-DAY, even starting the semi-viral trend: EVERYBODY KNOWS WHERE THEY WERE WHEN OUT OF TIME DROPPED, followed by either a funny picture of their current situation while they stalk the release of the album, or a chance to take a cute selfie directed at Ravana, desperately hoping for a Y/N moment.

Speaking of Y/N moments, this era sparked the infamous ever-controversial recurring occasion of KIMOON flirting with fans. He regularly would call them pretty during fan-meeting events, comment on pictures, and talk to them almost as if they were his girlfriends or partner. There were mixed opinions about this.

When Out of Time finally dropped, you bet the internet probably broke for the first few hours. I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER is probably still their most popular song to date racking in over 500 MILLION VIEWS. The track included a feature from TROUVAILLE’S BRIAR, who had just debuted not too long before the collaboration. If the tracks on Chrysalis were everywhere, then the tracks on Out of Time were like the plague. I Know What You Did Last Summer constantly topped charts alongside the side tracks like WILDFIRE and APOCALYPSE. Out of Time went onto sell the most units compared to all other releases, sitting at over 7 MILLION SALES.

FRONT BOY: N/A ... KYRIE

Ravana took MUSICAL.LY by storm in 2017 with the single PERSONAL. The music video featured an appearance from WITH LOVE!’S ICHIKA as the love interest. While the song was a virtual hit, the boys weren’t too fond of its generic sound. KYRIE never went a moment without mentioning his disdain for the song and actually protested against its release. However, they redeemed themselves in the summer, coming back with the Extended Play PASSIONFRUIT. The song was mostly written and produced by Kyrie and Kimoon. This came with another trend created by fans, naming summer a “PASSIONFRUIT SUMMER.”

FRONT BOY: EUNKI / KIMOON

Ravana geared up with their first mini album in 2018 by the title NO CALLER ID. This year brought on a fan favorite era for the quintet. Kyrie wrote and produced majority of the album and stated that all releases this year were some of his favorites for the band. FRIENDS performed incredibly well on charts and with the public. No Caller ID is still regarded as one of their best albums musically and statistically. Their second release came in the later part of 2018 with the mini album POLARIZED. This was also a Kyrie-written album, also a fan-favorite album. SWIM and Friends were constantly battling for top 5 spots on the charts.

FRONT BOY: KYRIE

2019 came the release of the single DOUBLE BACK. The song was excessively popular with the masses, peaking at #1 on charts and garnering a plethora of streams. Double Back even had a viral dance trend on TIKTOK. This song was a very collaborative piece of work, the studio process being their favorite session ever. They filmed the recording process and showed that this era was probably the most fun they’d had working on a project even down to the music video. Although, around this era the boys ventured into solo activities, working on projects of their own more-so than group promotions. This lead to nearly two years of musical silence from the band as a whole.

FRONT BOY: KYRIE

After their unofficial musical hiatus as a band, Ravana came back in 2021 with the single NOBODY BUT YOU FT. CHARMEINE. The collaboration was a huge deal with the public, considering PINKETTES’ Charmeine was already embroiled in dating rumors with KYRIE. The fact that Kyrie wrote the lyrics for the song only fueled the rumors, alongside the Instagram lives they did together and other questionable interactions that they swore were just platonic and delusional fans warding off the theory that their fave could possibly be attracted to a pretty girl that isn’t them. Aside from this, the single was a smashing success, in spite of it’s minimal official promotion.

FRONT BOY: KYRIE / KIMOON

[waitingforminjae]

came across this small opinion piece and they just said what i've been thinking so well:

In the episode of the podcast I just posted, one of my guests says that, traditionally, one of the important elements of Kpop was the intertextual relationships. We see group members on variety and dramas and commercials and get to know them through these lenses, adding another dimension to our enjoyment of their songs and performances. These media appearances also bring in new fans to the group. [...] This is a very traditional way for idol groups to become popular.

So, let’s circle back to Cha Eun Woo. He’s not a dance, rap, or vocal ace but he has something equally valuable to Astro--numerous and popular drama roles and brand endorsements. Cha Eun Woo is known the way idols used to be known. His extremely handsome face isn’t just some random idol on a birthday advertisement in the subway, it’s recognizable by normal people. Cha Eun Woo is a huge asset to a group like Astro. His popularity not only brings new fans to Astro but also helps open doors for other members. “Oh, he’s in Cha Eun Woo’s group” is a much more compelling hook for the average viewer than “Oh, he’s in one of the dozens of idol groups I’ve never heard of and have no connection to and whose name goes in one ear and out the other like a puff of smoke.”

I’ve written about this before but views, streams, physical album sales, etc. are transitory measurements. These numerics that the young generation of fans have been trained to see as the ultimate prize are just numbers. It’s understandable that fans are being encouraged to value numerics by the big Kpop companies because it keeps fans engaged on the fandom treadmill, buying and streaming and spending hours voting on music show apps like their lives depended on it. But it’s not all that valuable to the idols themselves--certainly not as valuable as having a member who is known by the general public for his drama roles and handsome face. I don’t know where the idea that every group needs to have attention evenly divided or that one member can’t have solo work if others don’t have solo work entered into fandom but I have my suspicions. While there’s nothing wrong with fans advocating for their favorite member to have more solo work, I do think there’s something wrong with fans advocating to hold a member back as I’ve sensed has been the case from certain corners with Cha Eun Woo. The long term health and success of a male idol group in the mold of SMAP--which is what very much Astro is--depends on the members having strong individual images and brands outside of the group. The idea that the members have to do everything together at all times is unworkable in the long run just as the idea that a group can rely completely on the obsessive streaming and viewing and buying of a core group of fans is unworkable in the long run. This new generation of foreign fans has lost those intertextual connections. “KPop” has increasingly become isolated not just from old subculture spaces where fans mixed with anime and Jpop fans but even from mainstream dramas and variety shows and Korean show business, generally. It’s led to this odd bubble where the most popular groups among stans barely even have name recognition in Korea outside of Kpop fandom. It wasn’t always like this.

[valetinas]

Ngl one thing that has bothered me from sing like the movie about singing animals competing for 100,000. Why was he broke? Like he had a gigantic theater he could’ve rented it out as like a venue for concerts like it’s gigantic there’s no way no big singer wanted it. They could’ve had some community theater and charge like five a ticket and have good advertising. They could’ve held big events like ceremonies or award shows for rich people like it’s a big theater with a lot of space it’s pretty there’s no way NOBODY at all didn’t want to rent it out like…? Maybe he wasn’t a good business guy or something like he couldn’t have invested in a commercial or something to spread the word about his theatre so rich famous people knew? Loans man. So much opportunity and he used it on some scam? Like he could’ve pretended it was to get people more recognition and charge like fifty-hundred dollars to get them to make a professional audition and get them more recognition to start up an acting career. You can’t tell me in that big city nobody wanted to be an actor or singer. They could’ve easily held a couple tours or award shows or even a game show for that matter with the right advertising like no way flyers was all it took for people to take hours out of their day to preform like yeah money but a commercial or going on the news like those people selling stuff would’ve done the trick like come up with a slogan man or a logo and get more people to recognize your business for more profit. I’m pretty sure he didn’t pay for a big theatre out of pocket he would’ve used loans yeah debt but extend those loans win win bank gets more overall money from you and you get less amount needed to pay every month. Even so the second he figured out the error he could’ve been like “my bad yall it’s only 1,000” like I bet at least two or three people would’ve stayed like it’s free money and it’s not a little yknow like he HAD to go with the lie??

[govindhtech]

Genio 510: Redefining the Future of Smart Retail Experiences

Genio IoT Platform by MediaTek

Genio 510

Manufacturers of consumer, business, and industrial devices can benefit from MediaTek Genio IoT Platform’s innovation, quicker market access, and more than a decade of longevity. A range of IoT chipsets called MediaTek Genio IoT is designed to enable and lead the way for innovative gadgets. to cooperation and support from conception to design and production, MediaTek guarantees success. MediaTek can pivot, scale, and adjust to needs thanks to their global network of reliable distributors and business partners.

Genio 510 features

Excellent work

Broad range of third-party modules and power-efficient, high-performing IoT SoCs

AI-driven sophisticated multimedia AI accelerators and cores that improve peripheral intelligent autonomous capabilities

Interaction

Sub-6GHz 5G technologies and Wi-Fi protocols for consumer, business, and industrial use

Both powerful and energy-efficient

Adaptable, quick interfaces

Global 5G modem supported by carriers

Superior assistance

From idea to design to manufacture, MediaTek works with clients, sharing experience and offering thorough documentation, in-depth training, and reliable developer tools.

Safety

IoT SoC with high security and intelligent modules to create goods

Several applications on one common platform

Developing industry, commercial, and enterprise IoT applications on a single platform that works with all SoCs can save development costs and accelerate time to market.

MediaTek Genio 510

Smart retail, industrial, factory automation, and many more Internet of things applications are powered by MediaTek’s Genio 510. Leading manufacturer of fabless semiconductors worldwide, MediaTek will be present at Embedded World 2024, which takes place in Nuremberg this week, along with a number of other firms. Their most recent IoT innovations are on display at the event, and They’ll be talking about how these MediaTek-powered products help a variety of market sectors.

They will be showcasing the recently released MediaTek Genio 510 SoC in one of their demos. The Genio 510 will offer high-efficiency solutions in AI performance, CPU and graphics, 4K display, rich input/output, and 5G and Wi-Fi 6 connection for popular IoT applications. With the Genio 510 and Genio 700 chips being pin-compatible, product developers may now better segment and diversify their designs for different markets without having to pay for a redesign.

Numerous applications, such as digital menus and table service displays, kiosks, smart home displays, point of sale (PoS) devices, and various advertising and public domain HMI applications, are best suited for the MediaTek Genio 510. Industrial HMI covers ruggedized tablets for smart agriculture, healthcare, EV charging infrastructure, factory automation, transportation, warehousing, and logistics. It also includes ruggedized tablets for commercial and industrial vehicles.

The fully integrated, extensive feature set of Genio 510 makes such diversity possible:

Support for two displays, such as an FHD and 4K display

Modern visual quality support for two cameras built on MediaTek’s tried-and-true technologies

For a wide range of computer vision applications, such as facial recognition, object/people identification, collision warning, driver monitoring, gesture and posture detection, and image segmentation, a powerful multi-core AI processor with a dedicated visual processing engine

Rich input/output for peripherals, such as network connectivity, manufacturing equipment, scanners, card readers, and sensors

4K encoding engine (camera recording) and 4K video decoding (multimedia playback for advertising)

Exceptionally power-efficient 6nm SoC

Ready for MediaTek NeuroPilot AI SDK and multitasking OS (time to market accelerated by familiar development environment)

Support for fanless design and industrial grade temperature operation (-40 to 105C)

10-year supply guarantee (one-stop shop supported by a top semiconductor manufacturer in the world)

To what extent does it surpass the alternatives?

The Genio 510 uses more than 50% less power and provides over 250% more CPU performance than the direct alternative!

The MediaTek Genio 510 is an effective IoT platform designed for Edge AI, interactive retail, smart homes, industrial, and commercial uses. It offers multitasking OS, sophisticated multimedia, extremely rapid edge processing, and more. intended for goods that work well with off-grid power systems and fanless enclosure designs.

EVK MediaTek Genio 510

The highly competent Genio 510 (MT8370) edge-AI IoT platform for smart homes, interactive retail, industrial, and commercial applications comes with an evaluation kit called the MediaTek Genio 510 EVK. It offers many multitasking operating systems, a variety of networking choices, very responsive edge processing, and sophisticated multimedia capabilities.

SoC: MediaTek Genio 510

This Edge AI platform, which was created utilising an incredibly efficient 6nm technology, combines an integrated APU (AI processor), DSP, Arm Mali-G57 MC2 GPU, and six cores (2×2.2 GHz Arm Cortex-A78& 4×2.0 GHz Arm Cortex-A55) into a single chip. Video recorded with attached cameras can be converted at up to Full HD resolution while using the least amount of space possible thanks to a HEVC encoding acceleration engine.

FAQS

What is the MediaTek Genio 510?

A chipset intended for a broad spectrum of Internet of Things (IoT) applications is the Genio 510.

What kind of IoT applications is the Genio 510 suited for?

Because of its adaptability, the Genio 510 may be utilised in a wide range of applications, including smart homes, healthcare, transportation, and agriculture, as well as industrial automation (rugged tablets, manufacturing machinery, and point-of-sale systems).

What are the benefits of using the Genio 510?

Rich input/output choices, powerful CPU and graphics processing, compatibility for 4K screens, high-efficiency AI performance, and networking capabilities like 5G and Wi-Fi 6 are all included with the Genio 510.

Read more on Govindhtech.com

[stephblair]

Reaction #1 - Black and Decker

While reading The Black & Decker Corporation: Power Tools Division, I was reminded about how ubiquitous a brand B&D is.  I associate it with going to Home Depot with my dad on the weekends and watching HGTV with my mom. However, after asking my parents and my fiancé what home power tools they use, I learned that no one I am close to owes B&D - I simple recognize the brand because of their brand recognition power.

While I do not know much about the power tools industry, I was surprised to learn that although B&D leads in the Professional-Industrial and Consumer spaces, it lags in the Professional-Tradesmen space. Why would this be? To me, it seems that if you trust B&D in your own home & you trust the tools that your commercial contracting company uses, why then as a tradesman who brings your own tools to the job would you not trust B&D? The case proposes 3 ways to handle the Tradesman segment: focus on the other segments; create a sub-brand; remove the B&D name from the trainmen segment and utilize a different name. The consumers in the Tradesman space seem too well informed to me to be fooled by the latter two proposals - if they are meticulous about what tools they purchase for themselves, I would assume that they would do enough research into a new tool and learn that it was made by B&D. I believe that if B&D wants to make headway into the Tradesman segment, they must do so with their own name at the forefront and with a change in advertising.

Additionally, I am new to branding and was surprised to find how research heavy it is! In their initial assessment of their brand awareness, B&D conducted research on brand perspective, product research on how effective their tools are (with the logos removed), and brand awareness research. Eager to learn more!

Case: The Black & Decker Corporation (A): Power Tools Division

#MITSloanBranding2024A

[talenlee]

The 2024 Pitch

Hi. I’m Talen Lee. It’s 2024. Let me tell you what you’ll see here. But first I need to talk to you about podcasts.

I listen to a lot of podcasts? Well, that’s not true. I listen to a small number of podcasts, but I listen to a lot of them. In 2023 I listened to 45 days of one podcast, and that podcast has absolutely no advertising and sponsorship, just supported by patrons on Patreon. That archive empty, I went to listen to another podcast, which does have ads, which means that in listening to this one podcast daily, I have listened to a lot of adverts for other podcasts. Podcast advertising is a special kind of hell where you get a 30 second audio spot with some music in which someone

Look yeah you clicked on the right link I’m doing something here, shut up

In which someone who you might recognise, but usually just some mediocre person with a media career access, tells you that hey, they’re making a podcast, and you should check it out because hahaaah, it’s a podcast! They’re there to talk about the subject, another subject, and another subject and whatever strikes their fancy.

I hate this.

I haaaate this.

I hate this because it betrays this ambiguity of purpose, and feels like the person in question isn’t really interested in what they’re talking about. I’m doing a podcast or whatever, y’know, come up with some reason to engage with this if my name recognition or my tone of voice doesn’t specifically do it on its own. It’s the worst kind of basic advertising that isn’t trying to connect a person with something they might want, it’s instead throwing the seeds into the wild with all the enthusiasm of a Nigerian Prince spam scam email, casting fistfuls of rotten seeds into the air in the hopes that they will land and arrive in a listener’s ear and at that perfect moment tell them: Ah, products exist.

It’s even more dire because in many cases these are podcasts that are essentially working as a kind of marketing product, a literal form of ‘content’ that an attract ‘an audience’ of ‘a demographic’ which means they can ‘monetise’ that content by sticking ads between the ‘content.’ True Crime podcasts are dire as a whole genre but that is at least a genre with a problem and that problem can be examined in terms of what the genre is doing and what it’s affecting.

This? This is just ‘I make content, and that content is a land of contrasts.’

Okay.

Then.

With that in mind.

Hi, I’m Talen Lee. I’m a game maker, games studies academic, game critic, and media studies graduate with an honours degree working on a PhD in board game making. I’m bisexual, I’m cis, I grew up in a cult. I think that people make games as cultural artifacts, I think there are more interesting ways to talk about games than as just commercial products, and I think that academic concepts are not beyond you, a casual or common audience who are tangentially interested in them. I have had students who have scraped through classes with minimal effort managing to wrap their heads around ideas like paratext agonic play,  you can get there too, I’m confident.

Every day, there’s a new article posted on Press Dot EXE. What you’re going to find here fits broadly into these categories:

Games, from my perspective as someone who makes and loves games

Media, from my perspective as someone qualified in Media Studies

My experiences growing up with Fundamentalism

Like, that’s kind of it. Games, media and fundamentalism, that’s all I do. That takes a lot of different forms, of course.

I don’t like repeating on a topic too much. That means there are things I do with a mindset of ‘once a month’ – I try not to make a single subject too common, too often. To hit that goal, I try to limit myself to once-a-month articles about:

My original characters

My ‘original’ world for tabletop RPGs, Cobrin’Seil

Worldbuilding advice and guidance in general without a specific example

The franchises Transformers, Pokemon, and Magic The Gathering

I do write about D&D a fair bit, the two editions I know well, which are 3rd edition and 4th edition (which is the best edition). They get a slot each each month, and so does the special series How To Be, which describes a process for trying to make a particular character from pop culture media in the game system of 4th Edition D&D. I started this because I thought the complaints about 4e D&D being ‘inflexible’ or ‘like an MMORPG’ for character building didn’t make any sense to me, and then decided to show that you can translate a lot of different kinds of characters to that format.

Every week, I start the Monday with a piece on a media work, which I call Story Pile, and then the Friday, I publish an article on a game, which I call Game Pile. Every two weeks, the Game Pile article will be a video, and published on Youtube, and here!

Every even month, I use a theme to unite the content on the blog. That means if you like a particular type of content, it’s easy to look for in the archives. The themes and their corresponding months are:

February is Smooch Month, where I talk about romantic media

April is Talen Month, where I talk about things that matter to me personally

June is Pride Month, which is about queer media

August is Tricks Month, where I talk about magical tricks and illusions

October is Dread Month, where I look into horror and darker topics

December is Decemberween, a celebration of cool things I’ve seen through the year

That’s the goals for the year, with an aim for every article clocking in at one thousand words. I also aim to be better and more consistent about alt text this year – this is an example of a bad habit I’ve let fester for a long time, like not using categories and tags, and I intend to address it going forward.  

That’s what you get here. You get media analysis. You get games. You get an ex-cultist thinking about things and a deliberate attempt to keep things from getting too repetitive and boring.

Where all good podcasts are sold.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[marveltrumpshate]

Talking about Marvel Trumps Hate on AO3

We love it when folks spread the word about Marvel Trumps Hate—the more people take part, the more money we raise, all of which goes to amazing charities!

We encourage all creators to shout from the rooftops (and their social media platforms) that they're participating in the auction, so people can check out what's on offer. We also really appreciate when creators acknowledge that their work was made for MTH to create awareness after the auction ends.

However, if you want to talk about MTH on AO3 specifically, there are a few things to keep in mind about how you're talking about the auction and your involvement so that you don't break any rules. We don't want you to get into trouble!

You can:

Say that your work was created for Marvel Trumps Hate

Provide a link to the MTH Tumblr, Twitter, or website to explain why a fanwork was created (we also encourage you to post to the appropriate annual MTH collection and use the gifting function to gift a work to the person who won your fanwork)

Refer to your fanwork as a gift (NOT commission or charity/gift commission) for your winner

You can't:

Say that you're participating in a current or upcoming charity auction and link to your auction listing (or anyone else's) in your author's notes, footnotes, or elsewhere on AO3

Call an MTH work a commission anywhere on AO3—instead, say that it's a gift for your winner for the Marvel Trumps Hate event

Solicit money by asking people to bid on you, encouraging donations to a charity and/or including a link to the charity or your auction listing, or mentioning that you take commissions (including charity commissions) on AO3

On platforms other than AO3, you're welcome to talk up your offerings, link to the specific charities that you're supporting through your auction offers, and share your (or others') auctions by reblogging your mthofferings.tumblr.com auction post or linking to your auction listings on the MTH website.

Why shouldn't you advertise charity auctions or use the word "commission" on AO3?

Using the right words matters.

MTH is proud to be inspired by other fandom charity auctions and positions itself within the long tradition of fans gifting fanworks and fan labor to each other. The auction event team members gift their time and talents to organize MTH, and fandom creators agree to gift their creative efforts in recognition of the donation that bidders make to the nonprofit organizations that are listed on our Supported Organizations page.

We want to make sure that people thinking about participating as creators and/or as bidders are 100% clear about what the auction involves and are confident about the integrity of the auction. One way of doing this is making sure that everyone knows how the money travels—directly from bidders to the nonprofit they're supporting, without ever being touched by MTH creators or the event team.

That being said, AO3 is not an advertising space and has Terms of Service around commercialization of fanworks (Section I. D5) that forbids any form of commercial promotion on AO3, even if it's for charity. This is not because exchanging money for fanworks is explicitly illegal but because the OTW legal team believes that one of the ways the archive can be protected legally, as both a collection of transformative works and as a nonprofit organization, is to have a firm "no commercial promotion" policy.

On charity events specifically, the TOS FAQ clarifies:

"The Archive will host fanworks of any origin, including fanworks created in response to charity drives or other challenges. A link to a charity drive to explain the origin of a fanwork is appropriate. Solicitation itself, however, should take place outside the Archive. We concluded that this policy was the easiest to apply fairly to everyone, given the wide range of possible solicitation activities." (AO3 TOS Content FAQ).

If you're reported by someone for soliciting on AO3 and found to be in breach of the TOS, you'll be emailed by their team, asking you to remove all the "commercial promotion" material (i.e., all the money-related words like "bid," "donation," or "commission") from the work, comment, bookmark, or profile in question. This includes tags, descriptions in author's notes, and comments on works. The Policy and Abuse committee doesn't screen fanworks; instead, all reports are made by users of the archive. That means that even though there may be places you violated these rules, the committee may not be immediately aware of it; however, as a violation can be found by a user and reported at any time, even from long, long ago, we encourage people to review the wording they used in reference to MTH—or any fandom charity events, for that matter—and make edits if necessary to be on the safe side.

Note: if this does happen to you, you can always appeal or ask for more time to rectify the issue so don't be alarmed. All Policy and Abuse reports are handled by real people who are volunteers for the organization.

We ask that you follow these guidelines so that if you spread the word about Marvel Trumps Hate on AO3, you do so in a way that won't cause you stress or trouble in the future.

If you ever lose track of this explanation and need to refer to it, we also have this information up on our website.

[adventuresinclientservice]

Built to Last

Not knowing an ad’s genesis, I make it a rule to refrain from commenting on it, but there are times when exceptions to the rule are necessary:

Appalled by commercial after commercial appearing on a recent Super Bowl, I didn’t hold back, dismissing the dozens that were dismissible, praising the one  that wasn’t.   

Impressed by the long overdue recognition of my former agency, Ammirati & Puris, I didn’t hold back there either, acknowledging what was great about a shop most everyone considered stellar.  Like other once-great-now-gone firms victimized then extinguished by holding company avarice, Ammirati’s rightly celebrated work endures.

Australia not only has earned a reputation for inventiveness when it comes to films and scripted television drama, they are marvelously iconoclastic when it comes to advertising, best reflected in the spot, “Dumb Ways to Die.” Suspend judgement on the wickedly direct, very unsettling title and watch; you’ll see why Australia is home to some of the best creative work ever.

Given the deep respect I have for Yvon Chouinard and the company he founded, Patagonia, years ago I cited one of the print ads I hold in high regard, recognizing that to this day remains true to the company’s core values.

That makes four examples in nearly 750 posts written over more than 13 years, so I often don’t give in to the need to play the critic, but am reminded of this because Chouinard was in the news recently, this time with a New York Times guest editorial, where he observes: 

“The company I founded turns 50 this year. People ask me how it has managed to stick around so long when the average life span of a corporation is less than 20 years. I tell them it’s been our unrelenting focus on quality, which includes making things that last and that cause the least amount of harm to our planet.”

He observes that critics,

“thought we were crazy for repairing our own gear and urging our customers to buy less. They said our focus on quality would drive up prices and put our products out of reach. “But the naysayers were wrong.”

Then goes on to say,

“Quality is smart business. Even during economic downturns, people don’t stop spending. In our experience, instead of wanting more, they value better.”

Patagonia makes stuff – climbing gear, all-weather apparel, a variety of outdoor equipment – but step back from the items they produce and you see not things, you see values – durability, sustainability, longevity that borders on timeless, unimpeachable, and eternal.

I work in a business that doesn’t make stuff; at its best, it makes ideas; ideas that find their voice in all forms of advertising and marketing, in colleague support when its needed most, in client service at its best, when it solves problems, pursues opportunities, and builds enduring relationships.

It’s a business to which my former advertising agency, Ammirati & Puris, dedicated itself, explaining, in part, the post I wrote about it, in an industry where fewer such shops exist, seemingly losing their sense of mission, vision, and purpose. 

It’s a business to which The Art of Client Service dedicates itself, explaining, in part, why I’ve written three editions over the last 20-plus years, and always am thinking how I can help people get better at what they do.

And it’s the business to which Yvon Chouinard and Patagonia dedicates itself, explaining in part, why it could succeed when predictions said couldn’t.

As Chouinard points out, “the poor can’t afford cheap goods.”  Clients can’t afford cheap advertising either, or short-changed client service, or work that is perishable, disposable, and forgettable, something all of us should keep in mind the next time we search for something cheap, which often means, something not worth whatever you paid for it.

A concluding thought:  “Built to last” is a fitting way to end the year; the next time we connect, it will be 2024.  To repeat what I said in my last post, if you’re traveling to see family or friends, by all means travel safe.

Thursday also is Roberta’s and my 26th wedding anniversary, another thing that’s built to last.  Happy anniversary Honey!  Xoxo mbb