I’ve been seeing these around LA – PSAs from the Ad Council that must be the work of second year advertising students as this campaign appears based in ZERO audience research. Let’s break it down:

- my first read was “FAME,” not “FAKE.”

- the first statement is a request to “Take steroids.”

- but apparently you aren’t a “fake” until after you’re caught – hungh? what?- the whole point of using steroids is to make obvious gains in speed, size, and strength- outside of competitive sports (the ad is co-sponsored by the US Olympics committee) and Hollywood movie stars, no one really hides the fact they’re using them – they want the results to be seen.(And are there really that many Olympic athletes shopping at the Americana in Glendale where I saw this ad? No.)

- Did the creative team really think getting labeled a “fake”  is the biggest deterrent to using steroids? Hello. Have you seen that copper-orange goo bodybuilders openly slather themselves with before a competition? They aren’t hiding that they didn’t get that hue by putting in hours in the sun, nor do they care that you know they used steroids.

- There’s no distinction between illegal use and prescribed.

- I think going to jail would be a bigger deterrent to illegal use and stating so would clarify that the ad is addressing illegal use specifically.

- “DontBeAnAsterisk.com” – nice try but i don’t equate doing steroids with being an ass – having one, yes. And if they were trying to reference possible unwanted side effects with the asterisk graphics, well, they didn’t do anything with that idea.

- Steroids? This is the problem that warrants an ad campaign? There’s like a million other behaviors that are far more problematic and widespread – like incorrect use of apostrophes. Are there really more people “being fake” by going to the gym, eating right, and doing steroids, than the gazillions of people who are sedentary blobs taxing every aspect of healthcare (and my elbow room on a recent flight – ahem!)?

I highly recommend seeing “Bigger, Stronger, Faster,” this terrific documentary, mostly about steroid use and America’s contradictions with winning and cheating – and someone recently put it all on youtube. Do check it out before it’s gone.

There’s a bunch of WTWTA-related things at the Space 15 Twenty just north of the Hollywood Arclight. It’s like a stuff white people like hipster Eggers skater kid assplosion, so of course i love it but have guilt about said feeling.

Evil witch holds hero prince hostage is the fairytale image, but gay revenge fantasy is what I read.

Maleficent was the ugly thin gay kid in school who now finds his fierceness (power) in dressing in outrageous, yet well designed outfits, while wearing excessive makeup and accessories to distract from his not-hot features (check out the shnozz and chin). In other words, feeling he possesses no celebrated masculine power traits he opts to gain attention by going full tranny – which of course just gets him/her labeled an even bigger freak who’s now not just ignored but shunned. (Remember the entire Sleeping Beauty debacle happens because Maleficent wasn’t invited to a baby shower.)

The tall skinny gay kid/Maleficent hates the prince because he’s the hot jock kid with rich parents who never had to work a day in his life and will get a sweet job from family connections by doing nothing. IT’S SO UNFAIR!  He lives in a bubble having no idea how the rest suffer. To make it worse, the tranny Maleficent also sorta wants to have sex with the prince but hates that she wants to – aghh, internal conflict, what to do? Tie him up – but not do anything to him! This way he’s forced to aknowledge you for once in you life and at least make eye contact, forcing him to see everything isn’t going as well for you because people like him disregard people like you.

Maleficent knows its a temporary victory and she will lose and he will win – like always. But before it’s over he’ll face the full force of her don’t-u-ignore-me bitch rage (when she becomes the dragon – FULL DRAMA QUEEN MODE!) After which, he will hopefully, she wishes, live the rest of his happily-ever-after days implanted with a tiny shrapnel of fear knowing there are people out there like Maleficent, who were not born pretty, rich, and connected, and they’ve got his number should he ever cross them again.

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 Willowlamp

And I’ve been tweeting and spacefacing and chatting while watching Obama all while charging my iphone with the plug under my seat. So much for reading The Informers. Luv u Richard Branson.

It’s the same hill that burned a month ago, this time it’s the eastern side. Maybe by the end of summer the middle part with the Hollywood sign will go too. No smoke here in Burbank – but sucks to be in Glendale. Local humidity 7%.

(I realize that title could be misunderstood but whatever.) If you don’t know who Banksy is, or are unfamiliar with Ok Go’s GRAMMY winning lo-fi treadmill video, then you must have been with the press covering the red carpet on Sunday, because they were clueless and Ok Go was not going to explain.

UPDATE: Ok no. It had nothing to do with Banksy. The wallpaper look was from their new video. (- still looks like the elephant though.)

Friday was spent at rehearsals for Sunday night’s GRAMMYS, saw Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, and a fun performance from Chris Brown (fire! smoke! trampolines!), but it was seeing our GRAMMY Brand designs projected all over the set that really tickled me. These 5-line treatments and pin-striping details were developed for the fashion line, and we always thought they’d make great motion graphics but we didn’t know they were being used in the show until now – very exciting.

And here’s graphic designer Agnieszka and I modeling eyeware from the GRAMMY Style Studio. We passed on the shades but did sample the fruit tarts.