Panelists in the discussion include: TRON: Legacy director Joseph Kosinski and producer Jeffrey Silver, and visual effects supervisor Eric Barba and animation supervisor Steve Preeg from Digital Domain. The panelists will present a special reel from the movie and answer audience questions.

TRON: Legacy is the story of Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), a man who is haunted by the disappearance of his father Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges). Kevin Flynn was once known as the world’s leading video game developer. When Sam investigates a strange signal sent from the old Flynn’s Arcade–a signal that could only come from his father–he finds himself pulled into a digital world where Kevin has been trapped for 20 years. With the help Quorra (Olivia Wilde), father and son embark on a journey across a cyber universe that was created by Kevin himself.

TRON: Legacy hits U.S. theaters on December 17, 2010.

I’ll admit it. I’m a rabid fan of AMC’s Mad Men and Sunday is the season premiere!! That gets a full on wag of the tail from me, for sure! Weekends are my favorite time, since all the creative types scurry off and go to their own hip and trendy places. Me, I stay here. I’ve got my run of the place and that’s sweet. That means I can eat all the dog treats I want, can sleep on any couch in the place (which usually gets me in trouble), pass gas without being judged, watch whatever I want on TV and bark as much as I want if there happens to be lots of activity at the nearby fire station. Excellent!!

Let’s talk about Mad Men. Mad Men Mania consumes many, but especially us advertising types. And it’s funny to see and think about how the world of advertising has changed so much over the course of the last 40 years or so.

An ad like the one above, which was the brainchild of the folks Young & Rubicam, ran in 1964 as part of a campaign for Arrow shirts. The ad was pretty risqué, especially for the times, and the headline was “Can a Humble Cotton Shirt Save This Marriage?” In fact, it was so risqué that the New York Times ran a short article about it, explaining that apparel ads typically focused on a romantic angle and explaining that this was just another take on that. That a fresh, crisp, stylish shirt could in fact save a marriage, thus perpetuating the happily ever after image that was so important for the times.

Funny to think about now. A newspaper explaining to its readership the logic behind running an ad campaign – it seems almost prehistoric. Today shock value is actually factored into a lot of today’s ad campaigns and brands like to take advantage of the buzz that that generates. Positive and negative.

What about you? Are you a Mad Men fan? If so, tune in with me this Sunday night and we’ll talk about it on Monday. But only if you bring me a dog treat.

OK, yes, I love great design. I live in a world driven by design. Fueled by design. And that’s why I love great designers. Watching this film moved me – like the first time I saw film/art from Charles and Ray Eames.

Dieter Rams is a visionary. He was then, even in the early days of working with Braun, as he moved from a focus on industrial aesthetics to aesthetics for the home. And he is now. In his laboratory, the environment was such that new products were influenced by many and ultimately, made better for all.

The world has come full circle – but some things remain certain and true for all time.  The world of design – and advertising – has always been defined by creativity.  But what really defines great work – is collaboration – work that is influenced by many, working seamlessly together, creating a finished product that is better for all.

Rams’ Ten Principles of Good Design are timeless as well — tenants to live by:

Good design is innovative.

Good design makes a product useful.

Good design is aesthetic.

Good design helps us to understand a product.

Good design is unobtrusive.

Good design is honest.

Good design is durable.

Good design is consequent to the last detail.

Good design is concerned with the environment.

Good design is as little design as possible.

In the film, Rams says “The unspectacular things are the important things, especially in the future.” Real word or not — I liked the way that made me feel.

Photo Credit: Abiasag Tullmann

Gasland was directed by Josh Fox and it was the Winner of the Special Jury Prize – Best US Documentary Feature at Sundance in 2010 and it also screened recently at Cannes. Fracking is not only happening all across rural areas in America, it’s spreading to Europe and Africa, too.  Property owners are tempted by very lucrative offers from big energy companies and, given today’s economy, it’s not surprising that some opt to take the money and run.

I think this is a huge deal – and I agree with Josh that this is a situation that deserves a big spotlight aimed right at it – and this documentary definitely does that. If the trailer intrigued you at all, and you want to do more, visit the Gasland website. Request a screening in your city. Make a donation. If we all just did a little, we could make a huge impact.

And that, my friends, is why I LOVE documentaries. I love watching them. I love making them. I love their inherent power to make a difference.

The Fun Theory is a competition itself where people can upload ideas designed to make mundane tasks interesting. Take the winning submission for example:

And the Nike Chalkbot was a machine that would imprint hopeful messages along the Tour De France– submitted through texting, Twitter and a website. The Chalkbot received some 23,000 messages to be chalked on the roads of France, so it was truly a viral experiential phenomenon.

What’s fantastic about these two projects is that they both incorporate people. They’ve humanized their brands by bringing the individuals who interact with them to the surface. And, what they’ve created is an artifact of real-time interaction. Volkswagen, instead of creating the experiences themselves, created a space to give others a chance at pure creativity — people designing for people. The Chalkbot allowed the community to be a part of spreading a message during the Tour de France, and this made people the world over feel as if they not only had a voice, but as though they were a part of the experience.

What’s even more interesting is just how invisible the brands tied to both of these pieces are. These are proof that you don’t always have to slap your logo onto a piece of experiential design to get the point across. Experiential design lends itself to a conversation. Through a good experience, your brand will be represented, and the people you’ve designed it for will have a new-found understanding of what you stand for.

Design + Technology is the hot new “creative” as it relates to the ad industry. The big Cyber Grand Prix winners at Cannes are indicative of where advertising and the world of design are headed. There’s no argument that great design will always be great design and regarded as such. But, in today’s advertising world, where we are routinely charged with producing great design that drives results, the addition of technology into the mix is, in my opinion, the best recipe for success.

DDB Stockholm’s work for Volkswagen took home a win for its terrific Fun Theory campaign that took ordinary experiences, added technology and not only made the experiences fun, but changed behavior as a result.

Weiden & Kennedy’s Chalkbot campaign for Nike Livestrong was evidence that by integrating technology into an event, you can actually bring the public into the event and make them a part of the experience, almost seamlessly.

In both cases, technology was the hero, and the driving force behind the concept, but the beauty of both of these integrated experiences is that the technology was invisible. The winners at Cannes validate that this is where the world of advertising is moving. Design + Technology may seem like strange bedfellows at first – similar to the traditional agency creative process integrating with the digital creative process. Those agencies that mastered that were way ahead of those who kept them separate.

For us, it has been an adaptive process over the last couple of years. Our designers were at the top of the heap – so we had to learn how to embrace the collaborative effort between technologists and designers. There were fits and starts – but today, I can say without reservation that the line between our designers and our technology gurus has blurred into one big integrated space. And happily, it has changed the face of our business, as well as the kind of work we are able to do for our clients.

*The poster is the 1939 Cannes Film Festival vintage poster, which is from the year of the planned festival debut. The film festival was canceled that year, because of the start of World War II

We’ve all heard the saying that “winning isn’t everything,” but let me ask those of you who’ve ever won anything in your life – how did it feel?  Did you get an emotional high? Feel that overwhelming sense of pride and/or teamwork? Did it spur your competitive nature even more? Chances are, however you expressed yourself, it was an experience you’re bound to remember. I know it was for me.

A few weeks ago we were notified that T2 + Back Alley Films won a National Addy and we were invited to Orlando to attend the ceremony and accept our award. Guess who got to attend on behalf of T2? Yeah — it was me!! I’ve been a member of our local AAF chapter for over two years and this was my first national event. To say that I was psyched is an understatement.

Fast forward to the event itself, which took place this last Saturday. I arrived at the event venue and chatted my way through a crowded cocktail party filled with people who make their living in the ad business and, well, other winners, waiting for the ceremony to start. We exchanged names, companies, laughs, all eager for the big show to start. Then, promptly at 7pm, the doors opened and we were ushered into the ballroom. The stage was lit, the hosts were poised; it was game on.

As the first reel of Gold Addy winners started to play, I could feel the anticipation begin to build. Every time I saw an agency from the Midwest I felt a sense of pride, a small win for the “Fly-Over” states. Suddenly, I hear it, the announcement of T2….and here I go up on the stage to accept that beautiful award on behalf of my entire team. The walk. The congratulations. The handshake. The photo. Hearing the applause of our peers. The walk back to my seat. A quiet and proud sigh followed by a big satisfied smile.

That’s what winning feels like. It’s wonderful to be recognized for hard work. I smiled on behalf of my entire T2 + Back Alley Family –- we all won. Two Gold Awards for the T2 website design and a self-promotional, experiential design piece, the “T2 Massacre.”

What an amazing experience – and certainly one I will never forget. And I couldn’t be more proud of the team of amazing people that I’m lucky enough to work with on a daily basis. And, maybe winning isn’t everything, but it sure feels good.

Diesel stores in Spain are on it. They have introduced Diesel Cam, an interactive installation that is really on the cutting edge when it comes to integrating social media into the retail experience. The installation allows shoppers to try on clothes, then log onto Facebook by using Facebook Connect, post (and edit) pictures of themselves, and then ask their friends’ advice, show different choices and bring their friends into their buying decisions and/or their buying experience.

With some 400 million active Facebook users, savvy brands are finding clever ways like this to advertise and promote themselves. Add to that the fact that 50% of active users are on Facebook every day and the average user has 130 friends and you see the potential. Creating integrated experiences for today’s consumers and making an ordinary experience – like shopping – an extraordinary experience, just makes sense.

What kind of innovative integrated experiences do you know of that brands are using today? We would love to hear about them!

Not unlike most businesses, ours has undergone many changes over the course of the past several years. And our strategy has guided it at times and tried to keep up with those changes the rest of the time. This post was inspired by David Bowie a veritable master of change. Listen to the song while you read this post and you’ll see why I was inspired.

Take Two used to be known mostly in the Kansas City market for our post-production work. In order to keep up with a changing industry, we created Back Alley Films to do original film production and motion graphics design. We then created our Integrated Experience Lab to focus on emerging digital and multi-platform work: things like augmented reality, interactive design and experiential design. We’re now known as T2 + Back Alley Films and, while our client base still includes Kansas City based companies, it has expanded to include clients all over the world.

Change has been a great opportunity for us to reinvigorate our business, reinvigorate our staff and completely reexamine our business model. As a result, it has literally changed the way we do everything.

These days, from the very first moments of working with a new or prospective client, the people that we bring to the table is an eclectic group — and a strategically formed one. No longer do we rely on our new business development team — or our producers — to do all the work, instead, we bring the talent to the table. We combine the strategic and the creative thinkers – for a new age of strategic/creative thinking. That means our team, our creatives, our brand experts, our interactive and experiential design teams, our mobile technology team and our social media strategists are part of just about every project or idea, from its earliest inception.

The reality of our business – and any business, really – is that change IS the reality. And in this case, we’re finding that change is making us better at what what we do. It’s creative services — but it’s broader than what it used to be. I bet it’s happening everywhere. What about you? How are you changing the scope of the way you do business? Our generation will be defined by this. Let’s talk about it — and learn from each other.