Saturday, July 08, 2006

Multiply. Please.

While TiVo-scanning through commercials Doug hit the stop button, backed up, and watched - twice - then exclaimed, ”I love this commercial:”

It’s called “Multiply,” so that should take any guesswork out of what’s going on. Also note the multicolored door panels. Classic. You can also go to VW’s site and "breed" Rabbits in a bizarre middle-school science fair project kind of way.

Doug’s not the only one smitten with the Rabbit ad. BrianofPJ in the Pearl Jam message pit:

woohoo!!!!

when i saw the commercial i was so excited and happy!

maybe because i remember my dad having an old one and that’s the car he tried to teach me to drive a stick with.

think i might look into getting one...for around $14000 i might get two!!!

Photos of the ad shoot are here. They’ve got a microsite to go along with the launch, Gypsy Cab Project, that I don’t find as successful. But then, I’m not the target demographic.

MEMO TO AD INDUSTRY EXECS: Stop complaining that we’re skipping your lousy ads; try attraction not coercion and give us ads we want! Crispin Porter + Bogusky has certainly done that here.

Shock the Monkey remix contest

Dan Dare’s remix was the first submitted:

At first, I signed up for the competition just to download the seperate tracks of this cool and legendary song.It’s a fresh and modern tune and it could have been made in 2006. My contribution is inspired by the jungle-sides of the lyrics. The second half of the song is inspired of a modern jungle beat, but it all ends in a tender coda.

Commenters like its heavy base. His tech notes tell us he did it with a Digi002, ProTools and instruments he’s “collected over the years.” Entries have to be in by September 30; the winner will be announced October 7.

Via Steve Safran at Lost Remote. Says Steve, profit from your fans, don’t fight them:

I have written here before about the terrific remix site that Peter Gabriel’s Real World Records label now has. Real World Remixed - offers music loops as downloads to help fans mashup its songs… Gabriel fans are working on a contest right now to remix “Shock The Monkey.” The results are fantastic. You can bet Real World will see an uptick in the sales of a 20-year-old album and perhaps the remix as well. Contrast this to the labels (and movie producers) who attack their fans instead of work with them.

Spitzer on gay marriage

I liked him even before this:

ALBANY - Eliot Spitzer, the front-running Democratic gubernatorial candidate, will propose, draft and sign a bill legalizing gay marriage if he is elected in November.
“He plans to make it a priority if elected,” Spitzer campaign spokeswoman Christine Anderson said Friday.

The two other candidates oppose gay marriage.

Cross burning at gay home in TN

Locals called the FBI for help but Federal charges can’t be brought:

(Athens, Tennessee) FBI investigators probing a cross burning in front of the home of a gay couple said Friday that even if the people responsible are caught they cannot be prosecuted under federal law.

The flaming cross was discovered by Brandon Waters on his front lawn earlier this week. (story) [...]

The federal officers said that under federal hate crime law there is no provision for crimes against gays, lesbians or the transgendered.

Legislation that would have included crimes against gays and lesbians in federal hate crime laws was been dropped in the Senate in May. (story)

A House version of the hate crime bill passed the House earlier this year. [...]

Extending hate crimes law to include members of the LGBT community is endorsed by more than 175 law enforcement, civil rights, civic and religious organizations, including: the National Sheriffs’ Association, International Association of Chiefs of Police, U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the  Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association.

Republican “Block the Vote” effort thwarted. Again.

But it won’t end here:

For the second time, a judge has blocked a Republican-sponsored effort to require Georgia voters to present government-issued photo identification cards before they can cast a ballot.

The judge, Melvin K. Westmoreland of Fulton County Superior Court, said the requirement violated the State Constitution by placing an undue burden on the fundamental right to vote.

Although the legislature passed the requirement, Judge Westmoreland said, such a change would require citizens to approve an amendment to the State Constitution, which now says only that voters must be 18 years old, mentally competent and state residents.

The judge’s temporary restraining order was in response to a legal challenge against the requirement filed by former Gov. Roy E. Barnes, a Democrat. Mr. Barnes argued that the requirement would make it harder for minorities, the elderly and the poor to vote.

State officials immediately vowed to appeal the ruling to the Georgia Supreme Court. Gov. Sonny Perdue, a Republican who signed the measure into law earlier this year, said it was needed to ensure the integrity of the ballot box. [...]

Secretary of State Cathy Cox, a Democrat who oversees Georgia’s elections and who is also vying for the Democratic nomination for governor, said there had not been a proven case of voter fraud in the state in nearly a decade. Her office has estimated that some 676,000 otherwise eligible voters lack a driver’s license or state-issued photo ID.