I found this insert in a recent ESPN magazine:

At first this struck me as very, very odd, but the concept (if not the product) started to make sense when I read more about the science behind it (light filtering, color spectrum, all that). I’m mostly just surprised that they didn’t work out a way to have the swoosh wrap around your eyeball.

Check out the Nike Vision product site: www.nike.com/nikevision/main.html

For the nerds out there…is just it me, or does the cropping of the photo on the insert above make Michelle Wie look almost exactly like Sharon from the new Battlestar Galactica?

I found this single-use lipstick applicator in my wife’s purse. I didn’t test the product to see how well it works, but it looks like a nice alternative to carrying around a quick-to-melt tube of lipstick, especially in Arizona. (For the record, I carry neither purses nor quick-to-melt tubes, so my impressions here are merely superficial.)

Update: Carrie just tested this, and it worked great!

We’ve been working on a new web site. Actually, I should drop the “new” ad just say that we’ve been working on a web site since we can hardly define this current one as an actual site. I was reminded this morning how eager I am to finish the site when we saw the post below about my FifteenStraight parody on Coudal Partners’ popular blog.

Daryl’s response was something to the effect of “good job, you went and got us noticed [thoughtful pause] too bad they’re referring people to our web site.”

Update: our friend and client Mike has been reviewing our new site throughout the design process. After reading this post he sent the following admonishment: “You forgot to add the part about the new site being the greatest website in the history of the internet. That would pull them in. Hyperbole always works.” Mike always exaggerates.

I’ve tried to be an Arizona Cardinals fan since the franchise moved to Phoenix in 1988. As I told you earlier this week, I AM a big fan of Coudal Partners and their Chicago Bears Sixteen Straight T Shirt.

I offer this remix of their concept in honor of the latest Cardinals loss in which they have (in the words of Tony Kornheiser) snatched “defeat from the jaws of victory.” I actually think that FifteenStraight will last longer than SixteenStraight – after tonight I am convinced that the Bears will lose their first game before the Cardinals win again, even with the Raiders up next on the schedule.

My shirt is also a better deal – as a service to you, the reader, I will not be printing any shirts so that you won’t be tempted to buy one. As an added bonus: the shirt design has this season’s only victory pre-marked and since we’re tracking losses instead of wins…no smelly Sharpie required! I also will not be printing little scorecards or cute buttons. But I will post a weekly update on the NFL’s sorriest franchise for the rest of the season.

By the way, can anyone else think of another business context in which habitual failure is rewarded by profitability?

Update: Find out how this post has contributed to our our web site inferiority complex.

Apple sent me an email last week with a picture of their (PRODUCT)^RED iPod Nano. My sister-in-law came over for dinner last night with her (PRODUCT)^RED bag from Gap. These things made me curious, mostly because the products were well designed. I read this explanation on the (RED) web site this morning:

“(RED) was created by Bono and Bobby Shriver, Chairman of DATA to raise awareness and money for The Global Fund by teaming up with the world’s most iconic brands to produce (PRODUCT)^RED branded products. A percentage of each (PRODUCT)^RED product sold is given to The Global Fund. The money helps women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa.”

In addition to Apple and Gap, companies like Motorola, Converse and American Express are now offering (RED) products. Considering the amount of need in Africa, it probably makes sense to tap into our ravenous consumer culture to supplement aid there. Lots of people will probably buy Apple’s(PRODUCT) ^RED iPod. They will pay $199 and Apple will donate $10.

I really do see the good in this. I will likely buy a (RED) product at some point in the near future. I wonder, though, who will feel the most (direct) benefit from (PRODUCT) Red? Is it the retailer (profit), a child in Africa (medicine) or the consumer (new product + good feeling)?

Of all the subtle motives that advertisers play on, none may be more powerful than allowing the consumer to think, “I’m doing good by buying this product that I don’t really need.” There is nothing better (from a business perspective) than a customer who feels morally good about purchasing a product.

The most powerful aspect of (RED)’s campaign will likely be awareness. The amounts donated per product are pretty small, but people who otherwise would not know (or care) about women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa will become walking advertisements for the problems (RED) is trying to address.