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Most companies lean toward a ”Casual Friday”, but at here at the Plexipixel studio we like to do things a little differently. Instead of the traditional “Casual Friday”, we opted to kick-off a new tradition with our first ever “Formal Friday.” This idea was the brain child of Lisa and Stephanie, AKA “Da Christmas Crackaz”, and had a very succesful debut.

Steph and Vics are ready for a walk down the Yellow Brick Road and Matt in his “power suit” giving a lesson on how to tie a tie.

Ian and Lisa ready for their high school prom.

The partial family photo. Visit our Facebook page to check out more pics from our first Formal Friday and other Plexipeep craziness!

Now that the excitement has calmed down around the Super Bowl (except in New Orleans, where I am sure they will be partying for the next year) people’s interest in the oh-so important Super Bowl ads has faded. With the hype and excitement built around the “big event” no longer prevalent, the interest in watching, talking, and examining the Super Bowl ads has dropped from the public’s mind. I know this is true for me. After spending the days following the Super Bowl discussing the ads around the water cooler I am hard pressed to remember any of the commercials except for Snickers Betty White commercial of course.

People have moved on to the next “big thing” and with no shortage of content and channels to receive it they are having no problem doing this. Maybe this is another reason that influenced Pepsi’s decision to pull out of the Super Bowl after 23-years of being a sponsor.

A great example of this is the weekly AdAge Viral Video Chart that shows the majority of Super Bowl ads haven’t gained traction as viral campaigns. According to the viral chart and Micheal Learmonth’s AdAge article, “Most Super Bowl Ads Don’t Go Viral”, the majority of the ads that dominated the viral chart the week following the Super Bowl fell from the list the very next week, just two weeks removed from the event.

“This week, only four ads from last week’s Bowl-dominated chart remain: Doritos, Snickers, E-Trade and Google, while a fifth Super Bowl ad, from Bud Light, joins the list for the first time. Doritos came in at No. 1 with an impressive 5 million views, even though that’s a 73% drop from last week. Gone are many of the ads that generated heat around the game, such as Audi’s “Green Police,” Tim Tebow’s Focus on the Family ad and Motorola’s Megan Fox ad.”

Learmonth believes that this is a testament to the power of TV as it is the driving force behind the Super Bowl ads popularity. This may be true, but I believe more than anything this shows the power of the “big event.” The event and the excitement surrounding it, not TV is the driving factor in the popularity of the ads during the Super Bowl. Vicky Tamaru discusses the concept of the “big event” in her AllBusiness article, “How Entertainment Can Avoid Becoming a Commodity.”

At the same time more legitimate viral campaigns powered by social media have returned to the chart, showing off the lasting power well-planned strategic viral campaigns can have. And this can be done without dropping the exorbitant amount of coin a Super Bowl ad spot costs; $2.5-$3 million for a 30 second spot. So at the end of the day maybe Pepsi made the right decision to pull out of this years “big event.” Will other big brands begin to follow in their footsteps?

Can you feel the excitement? The kind of excitement that can only build as millions of people prepare to gather to watch the most anticipated commercials of the year. As a sales and marketing professional I will be one of the millions waiting in anticipation to view the most expensive advertising spots of the year. According to the AdAge article, “Super Bowl Ad Time Is Sold Out, CBS Says”, as of Monday ad time for Super Bowl XLIV was sold out at a cost of $2.5 to $3 million per 30 second spot.   

In this down economic climate CBS took a creative approach to fill these slots by designing customized packages of ad time rather than relying on a solid price for a 30 second spot as traditionally done.  CBS also turned to some unusual sponsors including a Christian advocacy organization in order to fill ad slots after losing some of the events long time sponsors such as Pepsi.

But in all this hype over the next great ad campaign I almost forgot there is also a football game. For me I’m trying to remember when the commercials became bigger than the game itself. Almost every poll I have seen or heard has people more excited about the ads than the game itself. Budweiser had over 100,000 people register as Facebook fans to vote in a Super Bowl ad poll, which brought back the iconic Budweiser Clydesdales to the Super Bow line-up.

Personally I am a huge football fan and am stoked for this year’s game, but I have to admit there have been years where I was more interested in the ads than the game. I remember the first year I was truly more excited about the ads was Super Bowl XXXV between the Giants and Ravens. No offense to Giants and Ravens fans, but I had no interest in watching Trent Dilfer battle Kerry Collins. But for the record I cheered as loud as anyone during the Giants most recent Super Bowl, sorry Tom Brady, but you already have Giselle. 

 Even though I had no interest in the game itself that year I still had a great time watching Super Bowl XXXV; eating, drinking, and enjoying the ridiculous ads and the extremely over-the-top halftime show. I don’t remember a single play from that game, but I will never forget the Budweiser “Wassup” commercial and the absurd MTV produced halftime show that paired Aerosmith with N’Sync, Britney Spears, Nelly, and Mary J. Blige. What was Aerosmith doing and why was Britney Spears wearing a gym sock on her arm? Looking back now that is not even close to one of her worst fashion statements. 

So whether you are excited for the game, the commercials, or just looking forward to the great food, drinks, and friends and family Sunday is going to be a great day. Enjoy it and come Monday let us know what your most memorable Super Bowl ad was, good or bad.

The Plexipixel holiday party included some great food, drinks, Rock Band, karaoke, and the debut single Plexi Christmas by Plexipixel’s very own Da Christmas Crackaz. Da Christmas Crakaz are Lisa and Stephanie on the mic with Andy on the board and lending his screemo expertise. Trev kicked in some post prod magic. Check out the hot chart topper!

The holiday party featured some of the best musical performances the world has ever seen. The Mamas (Mindy, Alyssa and Bonnie) and the Papa (Ian) helped start off the evening with some Rock Band. Lisa tried to call out Allen with a Baby Got Back Off but ended up having to do it solo. Jesse and Matt definitely took the top honors with their touching duet rendition of Hello by Lionel Richie. Andy rocked the Rock Lobster and topped off the night with Missy Elliott.

Check out our Facebook page to see photos from our holiday extravaganza.

Last Friday was a day full of shenanigans at the Plexipixel studio. Friday marked the day for our 2009 Wrap-Up Report, but more importantly this was accompanied by our annual Christmas Sweater Contest and Albino Pachyderm Gift Extravaganza. These events are not taken lightly around the studio. You all remember the stiff competition from our Halloween Costume Contest.

This year the veterans at Plexipixel inadvertently decided on a slightly different format for the sweater contest, using it as a hazing stunt on for the newbies. Conveniently only the newest members to the team, Jake, Vics, and Justin, showed up wearing hideously ugly sweaters with Jamie who was just so nice join us. After lining up for the firing squad for some good natured teasing about ridiculously amazing Holiday attire, Matt started off the voting process.

Before we announce the winner, we should describe these sweaters. Each one brought its own unique flavor to the table: Jake’s sweater was a button-up with a popped color, the preppy; Vics sweater had many large bells accompanied by reindeer ears and bow; I had a child’s midriff sweater, a little creepy; and Jamie literally had an Xmas tree. In the end Jamie deservedly was the run-away winner for her attention to detail and ability to wear the most uncomfortable holiday sweater we’ve ever seen.

After the sweater contest we moved onto the much anticipated White Elephant Gift Exchange, which included a toilet seat, a hand-painted framed picture of Ponch (painted by our own Ian Ross), and some odor eating underwear. After a few hours of gift stealing and strategic positioning all the gifts were opened and the worst and best gifts were picked. Worst: poop shaped soap on a rope and odor-eating underwear; Best: Ponch. The best and the worst gifts were then switched… suckers!

Check out our Facebook page to see all the photos from our holiday shenanigans and post some photos of your favorite holiday sweaters and white elephant gifts.

Apparently the holiday weekend was not as kind to B Loon as we originally thought. It appears that all the food he consumed while guarding the Plexipixel offices has severely affected is loftitude even though his fillitude has appeared to stay intact. In a drastic change of health B Loon lost nearly ¾ of his loftitude overnight. A lot of this could be due to many years of rough living on the streets and in Looner slavery, but I also believe it serves as a warning to the dangers of over eating. Hopefully we can all learn a valuable lesson from the mistakes B Loon made and hopefully be inspired by his perseverance.

The competition in the B Loon Poll is heating up and appears to be a tight two person race between Steph, and Justin. If B Loon perishes at some point before midnight tonight Stephanie will walk away with the title and the $28, but if he stays a float until tomorrow, being the fighter that he is, then Justin will walk away with the title. Make no mistake, this is serious business. Office supremacy and $28 hang in the balance.

After a weekend alone B Loon is still looking lively as ever. He appears to have lost none of his loftitude. Some people claim he is losing some of his fillitude, but I think that is more hope and desperation on their part, rather than reality. He appears to have a lot of life left in him, which is not great news for those people who predicted an early demise for B Loon, such as:

Jesse- 11/23/09

Matt- 11/24/09

Ian H.- 11/25/09

Kristi- 11/26/09

Vicky- 11/27/09

Vics- 11/30/09

So if B Loon meets an untimely demise we will have a short list of possible culprits, not that we are pointing accusing fingers. We are above that at Plexipixel, but with Thee Balloon Death Poll heating we will have to watch out for possible sabotage. With emotions running tremendously high it might be time to ramp up security efforts around B Loon to ensure the fairness and integrity of this event. Expect to see motion sensors, surveillance cameras, guard dogs, and a possible web cam focused on the balloon in the near future. We wouldn’t want to come in one morning and find that B Loon as met an untimely death at the hands of a rogue tack. With the tension so high around that could send the office in to a frenzy like a pack of prepubescent girls at a Twilight movie.

Stay tuned for updates on the ongoing saga of B Loon. Don’t forget to join the Balloon Death Poll by posting your guess for the balloons demise date. Post a comment on the blog with your guess or on our Facebook page where we will be giving daily updates.

Loftitude- The amount loft achieved by a gas filled semi-permeable membrane.

Fillitude- The amount of gas sustained with in a semi-permeable membrane.

For those of you who couldn’t read the office picks for the death poll from the picture in the previous post here they are. Don’t forget to join in the office pool and let us know your guess for the date that B Loon will perish.

Justin- 12/4/09

Kristi- 11/26/09

Andy- 12/17/09

Ian H- 11/25/09

John- 1/16/10

Vics- 11/30/09

Vicky- 11/27/09

Steph- 12/3/09

Jamie- 12/23/09

Matt- 11/24/09

Jesse- 11/23/09

Lisa- 1/1/10

Allen- 12/9/09

Ian R- 12/1/09

After reading the most recent post by B Loon you may be thinking that we have gone slightly crazy. A talking balloon with real thoughts and feelings, it’s true. If you don’t believe me just check out his Facebook page and truth be told we were already a little bit crazy.

To give an explanation the B Loon Death Poll is an office pool for guessing the date that the helium in this paticular balloon will finally evaporate and the balloon will touch the ground. The rules are simple and follow the guidelines of the Price is Right once hosted by the great Bob Barker. Each person in the office was required to pick the date they felt the balloon would finally cease to float and lay to rest on the floor of the office. The person who picks the closest date with out going over wins the whole pot, which is now up to $28, big money. No research was allowed an no changes were allowed once a date was picked even though some people chose to ignore these very specific rules. Your choice had to come from your gut, fully scientific. Pictures were taken to document the condition of the balloon, each persons picks, and the science that was used to determine the picks to ensure there will be no cheating (see pics below).

I know what you are thinking, what a brilliant idea for an office pool. And it is not morbid at all having a death watch each day at work. The balloon actually arrived at Plexipixel as part of Matt’s Halloween costume. You may have seen him in the pics from our costume contest. On Wednesday this week we realized the balloon was still going strong and looked the same as the day Matt brought him into the office. It all started with some friendly guesses on when the balloon would finally die, but soon escalated into a full on betting pool and balloon death watch. After much bickering and debate each persons pick was finalized and money was collected. This was not taken lightly; it is big money and serious business.

Join the office pool yourself by making your guess on what B Loon will perish. Post your guess on our Facebook wall or post your comment on the blog. Stay tuned to our blog for daily updates or follow Plexipixel and B Loon on Facebook for up to the minute stats on the B Loon Death Poll. Don’t be afraid to accept B Loons friend requests on Facebook. He needs as many friends as he can as he lives out his final days.

I will tell you who he is; he is the glue that holds the Plexi team together. He is the creative influence behind the scenes. Ok that is enough of me talking in the third person, but that is what the team members at Plexipixel would say if they were ever compelled to introduce me. I don’t mean to sound bitter, but I have been here for two weeks and have not gotten an introduction or welcoming blog. Vics has been here two days and she has already received a clever, witty introduction on the blog and Facebook.

I guess I should be used to no one caring by now. I grew up an orphan on the mean streets of Toon Town. I was taken into the Junior Looner Academy at a young age with dreams of making something of myself. Little did I know that the academy was grooming me to be sold into the world of Looner slavery. After moving onto to Looner University I was sold to a “Non-Popper.” I don’t want rehash my years as a Non-Poppers toy, but eventually I became old news. I was thrown out like yesterdays trash or sent to the pasture as some people say. The pasture for me was the local grocery store where I was to be sold as a decorative toy.

The local store in Seattle is where my life changed and I met my new family. The nice man in an orange cat suit picked me up and brought me into the Plexipixel team. After everything I have seen in my life a grown man in a cat suit seemed normal. I am now here to serve as inspiration and provide motivation to the members of the Plexipixel team as I live out my twilight years on this planet. I guess that is why I don’t mind that the other team members have begun to bet on when I am going to perish and have actually created B Loon Death Poll. I am just glad to serve a purpose that I am not ashamed of.

Stay tuned to the Plexi blog to learn more about the B Loon Death Poll and to follow my plight. If you get a chance become my friend on Facebook  and why not become a fan of my friends at Plexipixel . It’s always nice to have more friends and know people care.

- B

Terms:

Looner- Balloon fetishists, Non-Popper- Like their balloons to stay inflated during activities