final days in barcelona

after we did the walk around we took a tour of the pedrera which is an apartment building that was designed and built by guadi.it was super interesting the way he built it with arches that held up and structure so there were no support walls or support beams . how crazy. the roof reminded me of candy land with like ice cream swirllys and and mushroom tops and all of the color it was so weird. the apartment area relly got to me cuz of all of the old ads and products. how sweet. we wanted to make sure that we would make it to the flamenco show so we just got little snacks, which they call tapas here but they were way good! i got a greek salad, a pepper stuffed with crab, chicken with lettuce and a blue cheese  ( my favorite) as well and raw salmon with cream cheese. i also got lindsey to try sangria and it was super awesome at ferrnans so we totally got 1.5 liters and were a bit tipsy for the flamenco show. and it is a good thing we were because it was a total dissapointment. they only did one dance and then they had these two litle kids come out and sing, which i mean the boy definatly had a good voice but that was NOT what i was there for ... whatever. when we got back to our room the guys next door were partying and kept trying to talk to me . i talked to one in the door way for a bit and all of a sudden his drunk friend runs in, jumps on our bed and starts giving lindsey a lap dance. it was hilarious. she had no pants on under the covers so she couldn't get up and she kept saying no pantelones no pantelones lol. and then this way rude front desk guy came in and started yelling and acted like it was our fault, it really pised me off.
our final full day in barcelona we slept in and just walked la rambla. it was fun to get a little piece of art and we found a shop called sukot and i got a shirt and liynz got a cute purse . we also went to the magicall fountain which took forever to get there but lynz was really exciited so we went even thou i was bored and not a big fan of getting sprayed. by this time all of the good restuarants were closed and i was far from a happy camper. so we went to the same restuarant as the pealla night and got pasta and this time 1.5 liters of sangria de cava.. which is like local champagne. it definitely got us tipsy and lindsey was way funny... you wanna take this outside... i mean further outside, or there are gonna be tables flying. lol on the walk home thou the convo turned to home and i got upset so we decided to stop for just one more drink. it turned out to be a blast there was these to awesome bar tenders tht we talked with the whole time . one spoke very good english and we were talking about bartending for forever and when it was time to close they just locked us in with them so we got free rounds of shots while they cleaned up. it was the most fun i have had in a while. but i did how to mop properly as well as how to dance properly with that mop lol it was a hilarious night and the bar tender even gave me a flower as we left at 5 am to go home... needless to say we were pretty hungover and tired when we got up to leave in the morning. we went to find some food and all lindsey wanted ws a cheese burger and would not stop talking about it so we stopped at a sandwich shop and my wrap was good and her burger ws terrible lol how ironic. we had a few hours before our flight so we did some final souvenier shopping. got mom this cook tiled cat. also found this way random shop that reminded me of the silver spider and i got a totally awesome purse . it was 25 but all i could scrounge up was 24.05 lol but he still accepted it . we stopped again at princes 23 for some really good nachos with homemade guac. and then off to the airport. it was funny cuz we were so tired that we sounded so insane. like linz was annoying the shit out of me saying... ya know what i like to do when i get board... nose picking lol ...feel asleep on the two hour flight and then we were in PARIS

a few days behind ...need to catch up

officially in paris now so i will catch you up on the last few days we spent in barcelona...
6/9 it was the warmest day we had there out of the whold time so i took the opportunity and we spent the day around port vella and barceloneta beach. we were planning  on starting off at the aquarium but somehow ended up walking straight past it and ended up at the mall which is nothing new to me lol ended up getting a shirt and then stopped at starbucks which was the worst frappacino EVER. then made our way to this super cute little hole in the wall burrito place called itlzi or something like that but the minute we walked in the door lindsey didn't feel so welll and ended up puking all over the street outside.... super mood killer but i still went inside and ate my burrito. at the time it was super annoying but everyone has their moments and she not used to walking so much so i just got over it. we needed to chill for a while after the puke fest so we went to the beach ... lindsey had her first experience with the sea... or as she put it first encounter with coastal waters. she freaked out when the waves hit her feeet lol. after that we officially got lost and walked all the way to the end of one pier before we figured out we were going the wrong way so being the lazy americans that we are we decided we were done walking and flagged down one of the young guys that do bike taxis lol finally reaching the aquairium . it was kind of expensive but i know it was one of the things that lindsey wanted to do the most ... no surprise there were lots of fish... most i have seen before when snorkeling but o well. the glass tunnel under the aquarium was pretty sweet and i got to see a guitar fish which i have personally never heard of before... reminded me of cody or at least the old cody. ANYWAYs i think the defining moment was at the end of the tour and there was this little 'explore area' for kids and lindsey ABSOLUTELY FREAKS OUT to get her picture taken by this big plastic frog. i couldn't believe it and then she crawls into this tub thing and some guy snapped a picture of her.. i guess i not the only one who thought it was silly/ funny.  we headed home and got all dressed up because we thought we were gonna go to a flamenco show but by the time we got to the plaza it was ten minutes till the last show and we hadn't ate yet ... so food won . we tried to be authentic by getting paella for dinner ( even thou lindseys looked like mac n cheese with hotdog slices lol) i took a chance and got one with prawns, squid, and mussels and it turned out pretty good even thou it wasn't the favor punch i was expecting.
6/10 the day of architecture. we got our first metro experience while making our way out to sacrada familia on a very rainy day... i told someone to bring an umbrella and she forgot it hahaha . the sagrada familia was more amazing than i could ever put into words but i will try for my favorite parts. the entire church is covered in figures and scenes and decorations. the inside is amazing what guadi did is beyond words yet again. the whole thing including its support system was inspired by nature and its genius. the pictures say alot. it was really to learn that every thing on the inside and outside had a purpose. and the gaudi mesuem in the basement was fascinating. when we were leaving it was pouring. i thought i had a restuarant picked out for us but it was actually a hotel . didn't notice it was a red number instead of a blue number ... damn color coating but it all turned out ok cuz we ended up just getting out of the rain to eat at this irish pub and they had homemade everything so i got guiness /steak pie and hand mashed potatoes and steamed veges . it was perfect for the cold rainy day a long with a hieneken draft pint yyyyyuuuuummmm afterwards i just wanted to take a nap in the booth. we went on a walking tour around town to check out all of the cool architecture.... but i have to get up in four hours for school so i will catch u up on the rest tomorrow.

spain so far...

well it has definatly been a crazy few days.  got to see hurc a few hours before we left which was amazing. go to get lynz and she had been searching for her swimsuit for over an hour . i pick one thing up and there it is lol. last meal in iowa : wendys loaded baked potato that really hit the spot.  the first plane i thought lynz was gonna have a heart attack. she was freaking out and holding my hand so tight it left an impression so i forced her to get medicine when we got to minneapolis st paul (idc if it was orange). then we had some margs and tacos at taquillaria to calm the nerves. the ten hour flight was super draining but was totally psyched that i got to see hall pass, just go with it, and the new narnia movie. some thing to keep me entertained since i can never manag to sleep on planes. the next stretch of the journey was getting from the airport to the hotel. and of course with my luck there was some big car accident. i thought i was gonna kill the driver all i wanted was sleep and nicotine but instead it took over an hour to get to the pension cuidella . over all though the digs here are pretty nice. me and lynz are sharing a double bed in a room that shares a bathroom but it works well.
 6/8    the first day we wanted to just kind of get our bearings so we stayed in el born for most of the day . hitting up the santa maria del mar. el catedral, the history museum of barcelona, and the picasso museum which i must say is brilliant. snapped a few pictures of my favorites even though we weren't supposed to lol
we were totally exhausted so we took a nap before heading off to dinner which here doesn't start till about ten pm. we went to picnic which had amazing gourmet amrican/chilean food which again i must emphasis was freaking DELICIOUS! and there sangrias were good too even thou lynz wouldn't drink hers cuz there was a blood orange in it... whatever more for me... well need to wake up lynz will write of more adventures later

billboards from south carolina

so first of all the advertising  in the South is very different than that of Iowa and i am really starting to catch the details of advertisements. the first one i don't  have alot to comment on except that i truly find this one creative and cute. go Starbucks

 

the next one i find to be very odd i mean who mixes languages and  southern slang on top of that? At first i thought it was a case of horrible advertising but in the end here i am talking about it (with a lot of different people) and thinking about it so i guess it succeeded in getting my attention. It definitely caught my eye so Kudos to this terrible yet memorable billboard

social networking sent to paper : Twitter business cards?

When you meet anyone in a professional environment for the first time it is customary that you would give them your business card. This swapping of information creates an opportunity to further network with that individual. This was easy enough because professionals included their email and phone number on their card. In the current business world social networks such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare are the newest technological opportunity to advance one's business. Some individuals have taken this social media revolution to the next step. Twitter business cards. I am not sure how I feel about this product. On one hand, it is incredibly progressive and creative but on another it seems a bit too informal compared to the average business card... They certainly look impressively cool to me but who knows. Anyone else have any thoughts about these business cards?

stop and go evolution

I personally live in a small town but we still have quite a few stop lights that drive me nuts! when i am going somewhere i am on a mission to get there as quickly as i can ( within reason) and it is so frustrating when you are sitting at a red light waiting for it to change or better yet the light just turned yellow so should i speed up and try to make it or is there not enough time? this new technology for street lights seems to take care of that problem.

In today's world the old fashioned blinking red, yellow, and green lights just don't cut it in comparison with this digital stop light. the first intriguing aspect is its shape which is associated with time in the average individuals mind. second is the counting down sequence for go and stop. If people know the actual time left before a light changes i think it adds a level of extra protection to the roads. I say this because if people are aware of time they will be less likely to risk running a red light. thus, decreasing the chances of accidents on intersections with this stop light design. four stars from Steph on both creativity and practicality

beverage and instrument: tuned pale ale

I must say i giggled when i first saw this picture. It has always been a stereotype in my mind that the only people that use glass bottles as musical instruments were hilly billies. I love that fact that one company decided the reintroduce this "vintage" idea with Tuned Pale Ale. Kudos for such creativity. It has combined the fun and music, playing a fun game, and drinking all into one. I believe that people would be willing to try it for the "fun factor". That is a great hook to get a customer to try your beer over the hundreds of other choices in the beer aisle. I will be off drinking age in a month and i can't wait to try tuned pale ale, not only for the beer but to jam out on a beer bottle lol

back from cybernation part II

I am also i huge fan of art. i have my walls covered in photos, pieces from local young artists and a few from my trips abroad. it is really fun to wake up every day surrounded by so many beautiful things but part of the beauty of it is what it is in. it is a blast going on the hunt for an awesome frame to put it in. I have seen my fair share of awesome frames, from metallic to animal print to vintage inspired. but its always four corners. and then this person thought outside of the box ...literally .... this is such a simple idea but i love it . it uses space that would not usually be used.

and my final thing i want to talk about till i must return to my homework for the night. is jewelry... even if you are not the biggest fan of wearing jewelry your self s a woman, one should be able to appreciate a beautiful, unique, and/ or cool piece of jewelry . ( men can disregard from this point on) I found this really interesting piece of jewelry. it is a common phrase that nature is true beauty and this designer took a completely simple thing that made nature a lasting product . this necklace is pretty classic looking chain that i think a lot of women might wear and how fun to find a flower to wear in order to go with your our fit colors,  in reality it is the piece of jewelry that goes with anything, maybe replacing the timelessness of a pearl necklace!

back from cybernation

well lately i have been absolutely buried with homework so i had to neglect me cyber self for a bit . but my hibernation is over and am back to do some serious blogging . I have this collection of random picture about things i like to do so you will learn about me while simultaneously hearing my thoughts about a few different products i have found. To start with i am a big fan of food , both consuming and creating it. i have always been told i am best at baking plus i have an obsession with chocolate so it all works out very conveniently. when i saw these i couldn't help but giggle and want them...how can you not be impressed with these . Pac man and chocolate chip cookies are some of the strongest memories of child hood and they are for me as well because even though i am only twenty years old the only type of video games in my house with this little joy stick box that you could plug in to the front of your TV and play any of these five old school games like dig dug, pac man, that spaceship galactica game. these cookies bring back some really fun memories. I'm sure that all of the people that grew up with pacman have a lot of fond memories from it as well so what a cute idea to combine to great child hood memories. Such  a cookie cutter really gives parents a chance to connect with their kids and share their childhood. thus passing this iconic shape / character on... i think the pacman people need to definitely send me some of these cookie cutters. i am ready to eat some ghosts! =)

Hair Care giant on Facebook

I am a huge fan of the fashion industry so i was super thrilled when i found a website called Fashionably Marketing.me. It is this super awesome website about social media and fashion! What an amazing combination. As i was surfing thier website, i found an article about L'Oreals big move on Facebook and decided it was something worth talking about =) It seems that they (along with Buddy Media) are creating a page platform on Facebook which means there will be professional and streamlined pages for all saloons carrying L'Oreals products. How cool is that! Not only is L'Oreal self advertising on social media they are helping to promote all of the saloons that work with them as well . It will also be easy for customers to access info about their saloon from Facebook. What a fun way that helps everyone!
ps to check out the article/website go to http://fashionablymarketing.me/2011/03/buddy-media-loreal-salon-facebook/

coke goes green

I love the idea behind this new bottle design for coke products. Going green creates better efficiency of shipping space and storage with its square shape and a offset top for easier drinking capabilities. The article I read also talked about how it will be easier to crush in the recycling process, so it saves space in transporting there as well. At the same time, the coke bottle is one of the most iconic shapes of my life( mind you i am only 20) so what will win original shape of a coke bottle that is so recognizable to the world or the pressures of the green movement changing the bottle to a square shape.

money is an eye catcher

I think that this is a fun way to make a good advertisment. Everyone values money no matter how much. I mean dont lie to yourself, if you see a coin on the ground it catches your eye and you will most likely pick it up . So when you first see this ad board at a bus stop you would totally stare at the massive amount of money inbetween glass. After fully looking at the ad i realize that it is for security glass but, my question is what customer base is there for security glass at a bus stop? hmm if anyone has any ideas please let me know! I'm kind of stumped

test drive a car...without ever getting in it

Granted it is only in Norway but Volkswagon has come out with a way way cool and innovative marketing campiagn. So this is how it works. There are various ads in magazines in Norway of  a road in winter/ summer (depending on the mag you get) and then you get an app on your i phone and when you hold your phone over the road you can test drive the car. COOL. the only thing is i don't own an i phone nor do i live in norway but the video demonstrating it was interesting. very smart use of technology. the only thing that is kind of frustrating is that EVERYTHING is an app for your phone these days which kind of decreases its value / my interest level. And i just wondering how exactly it works.

mac and jinx!

Everyone loves Mac and Cheese (and if you don't i think you should go see a doctor because there is something wrong with you). Kraft is taking it to the next level and making it a Twitter trend. I love that they are rewarding their customers to market for them! Brilliant. It goes like this two people tweet about Kraft Mac and Cheese and they are sent a mac and jinx link. The first to call jink by clicking the link is sent a mac and jinx t-shirt ( everyone loves prizes!) so not only is the Kraft name going to be all over twitter BUT it will engage people to check out their website AND the winners will be walking billboards in their "mac and jinx" t-shirts
-kudos to Kraft and now i really want a shirt!

gone bananas

so i was browsing my twitter the other day and i found someone talking about individually wrapped bananas by Del Monte.

This absolutely blew my mind. There are so many things i personally think is wrong with this. First of all, in the time of "going green" why would you add packaging to something that has NEVER been packaged before? Anyone can buy a single banana at a gas station or super market so what need is Del Monte trying to fulfill by packaging it. The only thing i can think of is making a larger profit because people would think that the package was cool or pretty or something stupid like that.

Second, when i think of something being individually packaged i think of an item that is meant to be taken on the go. A banana is not meant for the inside of someones backpack, purse, or brief case. They bruise way to easy and then after they get all nasty from the bruises most people don't want to eat them and just end up throwing them away.

Disclaimer: these are only my first thought upon seeing this product aka i haven't done any research maybe there is some use to this packaging but i can't think of a reason at this moment

it all starts now...

hello my name is steph wyss and this is my first post to my new blog .how exciting. the main focus of this blog will be my opinions on new creative advertising. I am a marketing major at University of Northern Iowa, so i enjoy looking at the work of others in the business i want to go into. for now my influence in the social media world isn't anything worth talking about because i am a new comer to blogging and twitter so i only have 12 followers and s klout score of 10 but my thoery is that now i can only go up!