Great way to get some attention without the usual tactics. Such a simple idea that cost next to nothing had a huge impact on people and really the rest is a sight to be seen…

watch the video here

I’ve been following the antics of one Johnny Cupcakes for a few years now. This guy impresses like no other, his passion for what he does rivals only Gary Vaynerchuk in my book, and that’s a good thing.

Recently Johnny did something you never see from the face of a company, a throwback to his early days of hustling t-shirts out of his suitcase while on tour with his band. Johnny along with his crew of people have embarked on a “Suitcase Tour” visiting bake shops, galleries and toy stores nation wide. Check the video below for the full story.

So what? Some guy you’ve probably never heard of decides to pack up some t-shirts into an old suitcase and document their antics of all the tour stops along their journey. Why is this important at all? Why take the time? The effort? Proof of how awesome this whole concept is for the JC brand is immediately evident if you watch any of the tour stop videos. The lineups alone show the dedication of people to the cupcakes brand, their love for Johnny and his shirts. But it extends further. People tell their stories about how they first found out about Johnny, how they randomly connected with somebody over a brand of t-shirt. Like VW owners giving each other the friendly nod when they drive past. This brand has captured its fanbase and is actively participating with it, seamlessly, honestly and transparently. Even before the tour you might find Johnny tweeting out and posting to the Facebook page that if you just showed up to a spot that night with a cupcakes shirt on you could get a free icecream sandwich. (see below)

All of this does wonders for the people that love Johnny Cupcakes. The fans are rallied together to create a memorable experience that they’ll share with their friends and family for years to come. That kind of experience is seemingly simple to accomplish with a little bit of planning and the desire to meet with your fans, interact with them and give a part of yourself back. How much is that worth in the end? Johnny success relies heavily on his dedication to his fans. He lives out his brand to everybody doing that requires guts and persistence and you have to admit that seeing what hes accomplished is nothing short of awesome.

Skip on over to the JC blog and watch some videos, get inspired and figure out how this type of thing can be incorporated into the work your doing now. Yet another example of brands who understand their fans.

via AdAge:

After more than a year of consumer research and agency brainstorming, McDonald’s global chief marketing officer unveiled an updated take on its iconic, 7-year-old “I’m Lovin’ It” campaign today before an audience of 15,000 franchisees, marketers and suppliers.

click for video

I save a lot of things online. I like stuff on vimeo which is where this video came from, via a friend on twitter (thanks zack!) I favourite videos on youtube, they auto post to facebook. I favourite tweets while on the train, they get auto synced to delicious via packrati.us. I post to my blog which posts to facebook, to virb (which I no longer maintain), same goes to my tumblr which held my interest for a short time relegated to be just a stream of what I’m doing elsewhere. My list of personal URL’s is long, peppered with different screen names, passwords, recent findings and abandoned ideas. Truth be told I manage them poorly, I update less and less and constantly look for the simplest way to integrate them all so they all don’t go stagnant. Maybe it is time to get up and go

This is an awesome blast from the past. CBC’s first report on this new thing called, INTERNET (I love that they didn’t call it THE internet back then). It’s just a good reminder of how we used to live before we were constantly wired.

The best part is that they claim INTERNET is mostly free from “cursing, swearing and scrutiny”. My how things change.

In the age of multitasking and constant interruptions (facebooking, twittering, taxi blogging), I find this interview with 37signals’ Jason Fried particularly poignant. As a producer, I’m always doing 10 different things at once. But I’m a firm believer that you can’t actually do 10 things at once well.

Think of your computer. If you have 10 different programs running, and all of those programs require heavy processing, your machine will come to a screaming halt and will be rendered useless.

We need to stop making ourselves useless. Everything doesn’t need to happen ASAP, despite the little red exclamation mark on that email. As Jason says in this interview, there are almost NO true emergencies in this business.

Watch it over at BigThink.com

New video from the team-Obama website: “Organzing for America”….. speaking to the new health care laws passed in America.

From New Media Director Natalie Foster: Ever wanted a quick explanation of how health reform will benefit your and your community, to share with friends and family? We made this one-of-a-kind customized video to do just that. Watch now. Opponents of reform are already calling for its repeal — and spreading outrageous lies about what it means for America. We can’t let them tear down public support for reform.

I’f your a fan of digg nation and I mean who really isnt… then you’ll no doubt know hippy glenn. Well here is a video re-cap from his perspective of SXSW. Pretty self explanatory.

For kicks please name as many people as you can in the comments.

p.s. I’m going next year for sure.

thanks Michael Lebowitz

Pop culture news and commentary, fans send in their version of “come on son” that can be chosen and included in the latest video, there’s a website where you can join the blog, buy t-shirts (currently sold out) and iPod cases, there are twitter and facebook groups a radio show…Ed Lover gets himself out there big, and on the cheap. Tiger Woods? Come on Son!

http://cmonsononline.com/