Australia Brings The Dog Fish

There were some really great ads at the 2009 Cannes Lions Premiere.
It was my first time paying to watch a two hour block of straight
commercials, but it was a neat experience!

Many of the commercials stuck with me, but I especially loved this
Australian commercial about a dogfish (that's what I'm calling it).
I thought it was a fresh approach and a fantastic idea! Check it out!



Another ad that I thought was really well done was this (sort of) creepy one for a new playstation game.



Of course, there were some really funny ones to give your day a smile too!



And this BRILLIANT Canadian Shreddies campaign!

Tweetards Unite

Yes I have joined the Twitter club.
I thought I'd never see the day I joined what
I thought was a useless social networking site
where people give day-to-day itineraries of
their personal lives.

But, we were told in our PR class to join the latest
craze and you know what? It's not so bad after all.
I now realize that it can be more useful than I had
imagined.

Now, I will wait and see what I get out of the
twitter experience. Probably more intances like I had
the other day, when I declared myself a TWEETARD because
I replied to a tweet that I thought my instructor typed,
but it was someone "tagging him" instead(okay, so that's probably
not the correct tweeting term, but like I said I am
completely new to this).

For those of you who are also new to this foreign operation,
don't worry you will probably also embarrass yourself using
twitter as I did, but at least it will provide humour for others!

East Bound

After I graduated high school, I travelled out east for a month. I visited all of the maritimes and Newfoundland. It was an incredible experience and I could go on and on and on telling stories. But I figured it would be easier just to post some of my pictures on my blog instead(only a few of the thousands I took). I will say this: I recommend everyone from the prairies who has a chance to go see our other half, DO IT. You will not regret it. It is absolutely BEAUTIFUL all over the maritimes and the people are GREAT! That's all for now! (From top to bottom: Rocky Harbour, Newfoundland; Dungeon Park, Newfoundland; Whale sighting off the coast of Nova Scotia; Hopewell Rocks, New Brunswick)

Shock Value

Controversy. Reaction. Shock Value.

Adam Lambert and Lady Gaga make for an American Music Awards night of controversy.

I don't think they need to do this to put on a good performance. Does Lambert have to show something sexually controversial like this at the AMA's in order to get people talking? I don't think it was necessary, to say the least.

What do you think?

I'm open to hearing your opinion!

Would You Like a Falafel With That?

The character, Matt, says on the movie Extreme Days: "Ok, one bobaganuse burger, would you like a FALAFEL with that?"

I watched that movie years ago and always wondered what a falafel was.
I enjoyed my first falafel experience about a week ago at the Lineup in the Exchange District.
To say the least, it was WONDERFUL.

For those of you who don't know, a falafel is popular Middle East food.
It's a pita filled with deep fried chick pea balls and all the goods like lettuce, cheese,
and tasty tahini sauce.

Mmmm Mmmmm GOOD!

Did you know McDonalds in Egypt serves them? They're called McFalafels!

Click here to check out an easy recipe for falafels.

Blogging Destroying Social Skills

To blog or not to blog?
I have a strong opinion when it comes to the internet. And of course, blogging.

So you ask... why do you have a blog? It's simple, I have to. We are asked to blog in our Public Relations course at Red River College. And, I admit I have enjoyed my experience blogging, more than I had expected. I had a very negative view on blogging when we were first given the assignment. But, as I do more and more of it, I realize it's not so bad. It's an avenue to put my opinions and experiences onto "paper". Also, it provides an opportunity for others to read into what kind of person I am.

BUT, I do believe that the internet is slowly destroying society in social terms. I believe people depend on electronic communication too much. People rely on social networking sites, blogs, email and instant messaging to connect with friends, family and co-workers. It frustrates me that people don't take time out of their day to talk to a friend about an experience they had. Or discuss their opinion on a hot topic with a co-worker. Or call a family member to see how they're doing.

I believe as a society, we have lost the value of personal communication. Too often I find people will just rely on facebook to write how they are feeling, and update what they have been doing.
And people share their well thought out opinions on blogger instead of sharing a heated argument with others in human-interaction.

People speculate about why many teenagers are socially inept nowadays. The internet, in my opinion, has played a big part in ruining our social skills. And social skills are so important. Now people don't have to interact with others face-to-face, they can just message them, or blog about what's on their mind.

I admit, I have fallen into this trap too. I recently caught myself becoming the person I never wanted to be. I come home from school, where I use the computer/internet in almost every class, and one of the first things I do is power on my laptop... to check my facebook, email and... blog.

What have I become??

Lately, I have told myself not to use my computer unless I need to go on for a reason.. ie.homework. But, I'm not that disciplined. Facebook always gets to me. Some of my friends have actually deleted their facebook accounts because they thought they were spending way too much time on the social networking site. It's not a bad idea, come to think of it. But that's a whole new topic for a whole new blog post.

Oh, and I have noticed myself falling into the text trap too. I text way too often. Instead of calling someone I just text them. But, in my defense: it's usually because I can't afford to call, and texting is free. I am a POOR STUDENT.

Even my room mate, who lives up a flight of stairs (yes I am a basement rat) will text me to ask a question instead of coming down to talk to me face to face. And, of course I answer her! So.. yes even I have fallen into that trap. It's just so convenient. TOO CONVENIENT.

To end this post of my ranting and raving on blogging and the internet, I will post a quote I am fond of, but wish I knew who it was by:

"Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach that person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks. " ~Author Unknown

Staying Fit Can Be Stressful

Choose something consumers can relate to.
Warn consumers.
Protect consumers.
Inform consumers.

In my advertising class we were put into groups and asked to
choose a topic to further investigate sort of like a consumer
report.

Lindsey, Shelley, Nicole and I investigated the ins and outs
of local gym contracts/memberships.

Our goal was to make consumers more aware of how contracts work
and which local gyms are the best choice.
We chose this topic because we often hear people complain about
how hard it was to cancel their gym contracts. Plus, we thought
it would be interesting to compare gyms and see which ones can be deceitful.

First, we did a survey within Red River College on Princess Street.
The survey was non-gender specific and non-age specific.
We randomly surveyed 60 people. Twelve of those 60 said they have had
trouble exiting a gym contract at one point in their life.
Half of those 12 said their bad experience was at Shapes.

Survey Results
Mode average:7
Mean average:7
Median:7

Our next task was undercover field work.
Each of us chose a local gym to research.
The gyms we investigated were Shapes, Curves, Good Life Fitness, and the YMCA-YWCA.
Each group member assumed the role of a potential customer and
walked into their gym with the "intention" of purchasing a membership.

Here are some of our findings:

Curves

• Is a womens circuit gym. You cannot work out on your own agenda.


• $51.45 monthly ($617.40 annually)


• $100 start-up fee


• Duration of membership: one year


• Cancellation of membership before the end of the year: $52.50


• Friendly customer service


• We were not able to get a copy of a contract

Good Life Fitness

• Many programs offered with a membership


• $19.00-$24.50 bi-weekly ($456-$588 annually)


• No start up fee


• Duration of membership : one year


• Cancellation of memberhip before the end of the year: $99.00 with 30 days notice


• After one year, cancelling is free


• Very friendly customer service


• We were not able to get a copy of a contract

Shapes

• Many classes to join offered with membership


• $22.84 bi-weekly ($548.16 annually if paid up front)


• $50 start up fee, unless there is a promotion


• Duration of membership: locked in for one year


• Cancellation of membership before the year is over is not possible.


• After the first year you must submit a written letter with 30 days notice


• Unwelcoming service, deceitful and pushy.


• Was not allowed to look at a contract, but managed to get one from someone who works there
  

YMCA-YWCA

• Has a pool, waterslides, steam room and rock climbing.


• Cheap babysitting rates


• Charitable organization


• $38 monthly ($456 annually)


• Offers Membership Assistance program for those who can't afford the entire membership fee


• $50 startup fee


• Can cancel at any time with a written letter


• Exceptional customer service


• Was given a copy of a contract when asked
  

Interview With Former Shapes Employee

I stumbled across a 23-year-old woman who used to work at Shapes, and she agreed to do an anonymous interview about her horrible experience at Shapes two years ago.

She started working in front desk sales as a receptionist and then quickly ‘moved up the latter’ to work behind the scenes at the head office as an administrative assistant. She claims that during her employment with Shapes, she witnessed many tactics that Shapes employees used to deceive and manipulate customers, and potential customers.
“Shapes doesn't operate on customer satisfaction,” She says. “It's all about profit.”

She hated her job at Shapes, and said that she was happy when they laid her off. She informed me that every January employees would be let go for no apparent reason.

“It's a revolving door, the staff there is always changing.”

She believed it was so that the owners could hire inexperienced workers and not have to pay them as much. Also, she says the owners don't want their employees to learn too much about the corrupt system. The anonymous Shapes worker says the reason why people find it so difficult to get out of their contracts has a lot to do with the unorganized head office and sloppy communication problems. She explains that many letters don't even get read. The sales people at Shapes are told exactly how to sell memberships and are told to never use the word contract, and instead “use the word agreement, because people are scared of contracts.”

She goes on to say that sales people at Shapes are very pushy, and for a reason. She explains that when they start working they receive an hourly wage plus commission. Once they make “too much money” they get a very low salary instead of an hourly rate. And she says the salary is so low the sales people must try to sell as many memberships as possible so that they can make enough money on commission.

She says, “I don't agree with a lot of the things they do. They are very pushy.”

CONCLUSION:

We decided that based on our field work, surveys, research and an interview with a former employee, the Shapes Fitness Centre scored the lowest in terms of customer service and business antics, contract flexibility.



In terms of best facility, we all agreed that the Y was the most efficient in meeting their customer’s needs both financially and amenity-wise. As well, we also agreed that the Y scored highest on customer service, largely based on the fact that they were willing to let us have a copy of their contract.

But, remember each fitness facility offers different services that meet different people's needs.
Each gym has its pros and cons, but in terms of 'most bang for you buck' we believe the YMCA-YWCA is the best choice for someone in Winnipeg looking to join a gym.

We rated each gym out of five pairs of sweaty gym socks.

YMCA-YWCA: 5 pairs
Shapes: 1 pair
Good Life Fitness: 3 pairs
Curves: 2 pairs

When you consider joining a gym remember: it's important to do some background research before choosing which fitness centre you are BOUND TO FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR.

And remember: salespeople can be very deceiving. WATCH OUT!