But the nice people at High Road have apparently decided I’m “hip” enough for a Smirnoff party! Thanks peeps!

Looking forward to this event, the #SmirnoffExp as they call it, and I will be sure to post a review of expectations vs actualities. Plus, the ever-famous Guy Gal will be my date, so how could it possibly be a bad night?

But I will give kudos – the invite was pretty sweet. Nicely done, High Road & Smirnoff Canada! They’ve also offered this handy little Twitterfall widget so I can “share the conversation with my readers.”

…Let’s just not tell them I have like, two readers. (Hi Mom and Aunt Jan!) Our little secret, k? Wiiiiiiink.

I’ve been waiting a long time to watch Lemonade. A long time. Case in point: I signed up for their e-newsletter list in the fall of 2009. I’ve been waiting patiently since then.

I was going to go try and see Lemonade movie earlier this year at a Toronto ad event but was unable to do so unfortunately because work got in the way. Ironic? I’d like to think so. Since then, Lemonade has been released for streaming pleasure on Hulu. However, as many Canadians know, Hulu is not available to anyone outside the country.

Thankfully, today Lemonade announced they have now found a home for Lemonade on Snag Films. This is accessible by anyone in the world. I am very excited and I am now watching it.

A trailer for Lemonade is below:

Watch more free documentaries

You can watch Lemonade on Snag Films here.

Enjoy!

It started off with the “I. AM. CANADIAN.” spot all us Canadians know probably off by heart:

Then, during the Olympics, Molson did it again. This time, with epic LOTR/Requiem for a Dream music too!

And now this. This little gem:

I know. I’m a simpleton Canadian. I like it because it makes me proud of Canada. Not because I like Molson Canadian. Oh no. I wouldn’t ever drink that stuff. We all know I’m a Keith’s girl at heart. But at least I like the brand. That’s got to count for something right? That might justify, oh, 0.000005% of their budget, no? No? Oh.

Of course, I’m more interested in their Seize the Summer contest right now. Looks similar to Foursquare, no?

Available on Facebook now, with a mobile app coming July 1, 2010. They’ve even created a video to explain the app. I’m sure that’s been done before, but I can’t think off the top of my head of another brand who has. A Canadian brand, at that.

Looks like Canadian digital ad agencies are growing up, getting better.

I think I might actually try it out. See how it goes. After all, I wouldn’t mind winning 1 of 16 cross-country trips from a brand I don’t even drink. Hmm, do you think this blog post will help or hinder my chances?

The Pepsi commercial is good:

The FIFA 10 commercial is better:

The Nike commercial is unbelievable:

Gosh, do I love great ads.

[Source: Online PhD Programs for MashableMashable.com]

Great creative from Puma.

Smile, thanks.

:D

Because my entire career has been on the side of the “growing,” the “booming,” the “emerging” of digital advertising, I really haven’t ever had to face the worries and wonder of the future of traditional advertising or publishing. I often catch myself thinking about what my thoughts on the future of my career might be, if I was on the mass or traditional side. That said, I often wonder about the future of my “digital” career all the time anyway. I guess I’m just a wonderer.

But as Marketing Mag’s Blog framed this, “This popped up recently as a little flicker of light for publishers and those toiling in embattled traditional media outlets.” And I think they’re right. This is a lovely outlook.

PopCap Games, of many fames including my favourite Bejeweled 2 and the awesomely titled, Plants vs Zombies, recently released their “2010 Social Gaming Research” report.

There were several surprising findings – at least to me – in this report. Among them was the fact that your typical social gamer was more than likely: female, possessing only a high school degree, with an annual income of under $50,000, and over 48. Coloured me surprised! I did not think that Farmville really extended beyond those college kids looking for the next distraction from studying. (The more I thought about it, though, the more it made sense.)

However the really big shock to me from this report was that, according to PopCap’s research, just under 33% have said they’ve spent real money on virtual currency or virtual gifts.

So I decided to put my Math Hat on. And for those that know me well, know I rarely – if ever – wear this hat. I mean, c’mon, math is the reason I’m in advertising and not accounting! (And for that I am eternally grateful every day to my 10th Grade Calculus teacher.)

So, as of February 26, 2010, the Farmville application has 82,565,873 active monthly users.

The minimum amount of money you can spend on anything in Farmville is $5.

So to be conservative, let’s say 30% of Farmville users spent $5 on something once a year. Highly doubtful that it would be a one time annual purchase but roll with me, folks. This, my friends, translates into annual sales for Zynga, the makers of Farmville, of over $123,848,810!

That’s just a little ridiculous, don’t you think? And these profits are just for the 82 million Monthly Active Users (MAU) that play Farmville! Think of all the other social gaming properties Zynga owns.

In fact, according to AppData.com, Zynga has over 241,429,522 MAU across all their gaming properties.

Based on our earlier assumptions, that’s easily over $362,144,283 in annual sales for the company!

No wonder they are one of the fastest growing social gaming companies in the world: Farmville? Pure cash cow, my readers.

Much like the cow I gave my roommate as a present back in my Dark Days (TM) of playing Farmville. But, you know. Without the cash part.

It’s from the DICE Summit 2010. The speaker is Jesse Schell, a Professor of Entertainment Technology at Carnegie Mellon University and this was his talk on “Design Outside the Box.”

It started out innocently enough. “Yea! Points for brushing my teeth! My dentist sure would love that.” It even started building up to a good climax. “Sweet. Tax breaks for riding public transit!” Then it just got scary.

I won’t ruin the ending for you. But let me know what you think in the comment section. Is this a realistic view for what we could see in the future? Or taking it too far – too “doomsday” – for your tastes? Leave a comment and let me know.