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.

But I know what you’re really here for. Oh, boy, do I! You loaded up this page in the hopes of seeing a majestic, nay! a magical! top ten list from yours truly. And I shall not disappoint my readers, no! I shall fulfill their every wish, their every whim, because that is how wonderful I am. How good. How kind. How… blah, blah, blah, amirite?

I could go on and on about myself. I do it a lot. I have already done it a lot in two paragraph. Have I ever! So I’ll stop. I’ll stop so you’ll keep reading this. Instead, I will present to you:

Emma’s Top Ten Favourite Blog Finds of 2009! Da-da-da-da!

1. Clients from Hell

The latest fad in the advertising/marketing blogroll. Clients from Hell is “a collection of anonymously contributed client horror stories from designers.” Funny and frustrating all at once!

A recent post which is definitely LOL-worthy:
Last night I was sleeping and Jesus came to me in my dream and had this image in his hand. He said that he has blessed this image and this image only for the book. If I use any other image I am going against the will of our lord.

2. Behind the Seams

One of my favourite new fashion blogs, BtS is a blog created and updated by Trang, a truly beautiful and fashionable girl. She lives in Florida and sporadically posts what she’s wearing, DIY projects or reviews on collections. She recently won Stylelist & Bluefly “America’s Most Stylish Blogger” contest, beating out several other contestants.

Unfortunately, she does not allowed downloading or reproducing images so I will respect that and not post a picture here. But if you want to see the winning outfits for this contest, check out this entry. Congrats, Trang!

3. AdJoke.ca

AdJoke.ca is an advertising blog that was created by Tyler Turnbull and Paul Crowe in 2007. I have had the pleasure of working with both Paul and Tyler at Publicis Modem here in Toronto and I can say that I’ve seen first-hand how brilliant these boys are. Don’t let my bias distract you though, this is a great blog, filled with hidden gems, strong opinions and good commentary.

Tyler even wrote a great article, The Top 10 Badass Brands of 2009, upon my suggestion. Thanks Ty!

4. Generation Y Comics

Where would we be without a little friendly plugging? Generation Y Comics is a comic strip created by my good friends Matt and Bryan and it is kinda? autobiographical. I can’t tell. I mean, they do have a mutant, giant turtle as a friend… Either way, it is good times, trufax!

Local Torontonians will recognize such gems as TD Bank in the background or the Alice Fazooli Stella specials on Thursdays. And what comic is complete without a little Farmville joke?

5. He Loves Me Not

As many of my friends will attest, I like talking about relationships. So naturally, I really like Sarah’s blog “He Loves Me Not” which details her trials and tribulations with personal relationships. This girl has been through a lot in the last year, including finally breaking free of an emotional and physically abusive relationship with an alcoholic and drug user. As a reader who has been following her for a long time, I am so proud that’s she’s moved on and is healthier and happier for it.

It’s definitely not the cheeriest blog around but it’s real and my heart goes out to her for all she’s been through. Keep moving forward Sarah, and don’t look back!

6. The Uniform Project

If you haven’t heard of The Uniform Project yet, let me introduce it to you!

In May 2009, The Uniform Project pledged to wear one dress for one year as an exercise in sustainable fashion. There are 7 identical dresses, one for each day of the week and every day, the outfit will be reinvented, with the help of layers, accessories and all kinds of accouterments, the majority of which will be vintage, hand-made, or hand-me-down goodies.

The Uniform Project is also a year-long fundraiser for the Akanksha Foundation, a grassroots movement that is revolutionizing education in India. At the end of the year, all contributions will go toward Akanksha’s School Project to fund uniforms and other educational expenses for children living in Indian slums. So far, $50, 943 has been raised which translates to 141 kids in school.

Not only is this a great cause, but the fashion is awesome. It’s so interesting to see the same thing worn every day but how many different looks can be pulled off with it. Please go check it out!

7. Things Marketing People Love

So this blog has been dead for a while now but while it was hot, it was hot! Buzz words that marketers love to use were posted to this Tumblr over the period of a few months. Funny to see things you may have (and I am guilty here) used in conversations with coworkers or clients.

8. Digital Buzz Blog

A great resources for the latest and greatest in the digital world. Digital Buzz Blog features “the latest digital ad campaigns, hot new websites, interactive marketing ideas, virals, industry news, social media, insights, and other great digital trends from all over the world.”

Contributors range from Australia, Turkey, and the US and cover a wide variety of topics. Want to impress someone on your knowledge of the latest in the industry? Head over there and take your pick of posts. You’ll look better for it. Just remember to source. ;)

9. Starting Over at 24

This blog has been a little bit quiet for a while, but I’ve got it in here because even if it’s not being updated, going through the archives is definitely worth it.

As the about section describes this blog: After 6 years of dating only one girl, I found myself single at 24 (now 26) and tackling the dating scene for my first time. These are my adventures, my mishaps, and stories of triumph… Lordy it’s rough.

There are some pretty hilarious posts here, including my favourite: To Don Quixote Pt 2 of 2 aka one of the worst dating stories I’ve read probably ever.

10. The Renegade Agency Confessional

Last but not least! we have The Renegade Agency Confessional. An ad agency in Baltimore, they definitely have some great posts and are a good resource for any wee ad agency wannabe. I’ve talked about them before and you’d do yourself a favour to ad them to your blogroll.

Two recent posts of theirs I really enjoyed: It’s beginning to look a lot like McChristmas (a great picture of the number of McDonald’s in the US) and Nothing like an A-hole with B-roll (a great find – a YouTube video all about B-rolls). Check them out!

And there we have it! My Top Ten Favourite Blog Finds of 2009! I hope you find some blogs in here that pique your interest. If you have any you’d like to share, leave them in the comments! I’ll be more than happy to check them out!

Happy holidays everyone! Here’s to a brilliant 2010!

The reaction is not immediate. It’s only when the tagline comes up that you begin to realize what you have just seen. And then you play this ad back over in your head and it’s only then the heart-wrenching, sickness-in-your-stomach feeling hits you.

I am having trouble watching it a second time. It’s a great parallel, this idea of “burden”. Brutal but well done.

PUNISHMENT
1. It is up to the punishee to pick their final punishment.
2. Punishment options can be picked from either the punisher’s suggestions, or if any commenters have suggestions.
3. Must be blog-related (i.e. will be in post form, though can be any of the aforementioned acceptable formats) and please, nothing too illegal, TMI or dirty. We are “professionals” here, after all.
4. Punishment must be done within 48 hours of missing a deadline.

STARTING
Tomorrow, June 9, 2009 with yours truly!

ENDING
Tuesday, July 9, 200. The day of freedom. The day I celebrate my momentous victory. The day I will allow myself to run out of ideas.

—

Let the write-off begin! (Well, tomorrow.)

I watched this video, laughed and marveled at how true it rang and then re-tweeted it on my account.

Since then I’ve seen it pop up at least 4 times on other accounts I follow on Twitter and on advertising blogs, such as AdJoke.

As of 5.47pm, this video has been viewed over 2,500 times and my guess is the majority of them were today. Already it’s received well over 63 comments – a much higher view/comment ratio than one would normally find on a YouTube video. It’s also been favourited 524 times, so clearly the video is clearly hitting a nerve in the ad industry.

Comments include things such as, “This made my stomach hurt. I have had this same type conversation three times this week alone” (shawngoesgreen) and “Five stars isn’t enough” (jforrest55).

This video was added to YouTube 5 days ago on an account that was made 6 days ago. Sounds like someone’s trying – and succeeding – in making this thing viral. Should be interesting to see what the numbers are like in a few days. I’m also curious to see whether “Mr Bennett” really did see this thing on Facebook or whether it was actually created by Leo Burnett itself.