CoreyTess» Corey Tess

Comic Con or BUST!

Corey Tess — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:46:04 +0000

So here I go, off to Comic Con… and I am a Comic Con Virgin… but I will be going with two Geekalicious Ladies who live for Geekdom.. and hopefully we won’t be trampled by a slew of Iron Men in the process… I am both excited and freaked out. I have been to CES many times and been among geeks in regular clothing, but Comic Con is where I will for once be one of the most conservatively dressed people in any given room. This is going to be good!

FYI: Video is some dude I don’t know who put together some highlights from last year.

4 Things I learned from Old Spice Man About Marketing!

Corey Tess — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 18:03:31 +0000

Learn Marketing from the Old Spice Man!

Old Spice is like Oldsmobile… someone drives/uses them, but it certainly isn’t you or anyone you would consider having drinks with… right… Their new campaign featuring a hot man speaking only to WOMEN in a pseudo “romance novelish” series of scenes offering women tickets to “that thing you love” which quickly turn into diamonds is hysterical! This product truly suffered from being “out of style” and pigeon holded as something your Dad used that someone always gave him along with Soap on a Rope for Christmas. It was definitely not HOT or Modern!

The new campaign virtually resurrects OLD SPICE from the dead! Why is this so effective?

#1) Humor is a gift…

If you want people to love you and your product or service, humor is the #1 way to make them immediately appreciate and identify. WHY? because when someone can make us laugh, they have made us happy and brightened our day for a moment and that moment caused a positive reaction association with the product/service. Every time you see a duck or even Ben Afleck’s name.. someone shouts out AFLAC! and Geico has a series of great ads that made them a household name including the Cavemen, the Money with Eyes and the famous Gecko who originally would get wrong number calls from the phone book when people were looking for Geico (making the odd name a memorable image). Sex sells as they say, but can also offend.. HUMOR, you cannot go wrong with it!

#2) Viral Space & Have you seen this?

Whether it is the humor or the gorgeous man, this video has been shared millions of times since it aired and he comes up in conversation on twitter, facebook, myspace etc.. I have talked to my friends about him and heard women in the market talking about him.. BUT THE PRODUCT IS FOR MEN! Ah Ha! But like the AXE commercials TRY to show, men’s goal is to impress women… it is the ONLY reason they wear cologne in the first place (gay guys.. you just liked the ad because dude is hot! and anyway, nothing would persuade you to wear Old Spice and you know it- mmmWAH!) The ad conjuries up this man’s image with the mention of it’s name.. and men cannot possibly help but notice the reaction he causes, after a while, the image may fade, but the positive association to OLD SPICE remains and now it brings words like “Sexy, Rich, Funny, Hot” to mind.. Bravo!

#3) Keep it Brief! (or in briefs)

This ad goes by super fast.. they don’t waste a moment of air time and the urgency of his introduction and the set changes CATCH your attention! He is talking JUST TO YOU and he is moving fast.. the ad is over by the time you are able to react and you what? WANT TO SEE IT AGAIN! Lingering would have made it less funny and given you enough content to feel satisfied, however, his last words “I’m on a horse” cut.. the image is indelible, funny, sexy and GONE.. it leaves a great mark.. and you will most likely look it up on YouTube later or ask someone; “Have you seen that Old Spice ad?”

#4 Come Out of Left Field

Think about how many ads a day you see that are boring or extremely similar to other ads featuring similar products. One good example is Shampoo.. think for a moment about Shampoo ads.. aren’t they all the same.. they have a model with frizzy hair (or an actress we know from some tv show) she uses the product and we see some animation of how it nurtures the hair from inside, then the final shot – she is all glam now and her hair is so glossy it actually shines.. she spins or tosses her hair and says the tag line for the product and its over… BORING! Most ads stay in formula.. this ad comes out of no where, from it’s opening scene to the closing line, you are off kilter and have no idea where it is going… it surprises you. Approaching a product like Old Spice could have been similar to the ad for Aqua Velva that features a man playing catch with his son, then tossing him a bottle of the green liquid, then we see them shaving together – then the tag line.. BORING! Does that make ANYONE want to use Aqua Velva??? No, it is just as dowdy and old fashioned as ever! SURPRISE your audience and make them pay attention.. come out of left field!

These rules work for any product or service really. Something as serious as Insurance.. or as light hearted as Candy..

What are your favorite ads that follow this formula?

Follow That Truck!!!!

Corey Tess — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:20:24 +0000

Food Trucks Have Gone Gourmet in L.A. and We Love It!

If you live anywhere in Los Angeles, you have no doubt eaten off a “Taco Truck” in the past for a quick lunch or a late night grab after clubbing or working late, but chances are before 2010, you didn’t follow your Taco Truck on Twitter, Track who was eating there on Foursquare or FAN it on Facebook. With the invention of these new tools and the resurgence of Street Food Integrity, Food Trucks are making a huge comeback and lines are around the block!

As a kid I remember seeing the trucks parked in the neighborhood, silver or white usually with a name hand painted across the sides. They were usually surrounded by Men mostly; ordering food, eating. laughing, standing around. When I entered the work-force, the trucks were a lunchtime inevitability, people joked about grabbing a burrito or taco off the “Roach Coach” which left an indellible image in my mind that I needed to overcome to enjoy the new level of Street Food available now. This is not your Father’s Food Truck.

Follow That Truck!

With the invention and more importantly BOOM of Twitter, Street Food is now stalked down! A truck can park in Venice Beach, tweet/facebook it’s location and wait for the lines to begin. People from Downtown, Pasadena, Culver City even Long Beach will actually drive to find it after work, as a dinner treat! They will wait in a huge line with the threat of the food running out before they get to the window just to eat a magnificent GRILLED CHEESE! This is what happens every day for the Grilled Cheese Truck that boasts gourmet Melty Goodness. Their website outlines their menu and features a lot of “cheesey” graphics! and of course gives a schedule of where you can find them. The Grilled Cheese Truck was the first of these new animals to catch my attention, mainly because I am a Grilled Cheese fanatic, but also because I saw it mentioned more than a few times on Twitter by people who are definitely NOT your classic “food truck” eaters. I decided, I must find this truck and taste the Cheese!

A short Google session later I was amazed to find more than 40 such Gourmet Trucks including, The Buttermilk Truck, The Kobi Truck, The Flying Pig, Taco Zone Truck, and more… and as I was bookmarking and adding to my Twitter Follows, I found findlafoodtrucks.com and realized... THIS IS A WHOLE NEW BREED OF STREET FOOD VENDORS, something is happening here! Making the most of the new Social Media tools and the Foodie Fusion Crowd as well as Los Angeles’ love for being in on something exclusive that you have to wait in a huge line for… these Rolling Gourmets have opened up a line of business that their parents never dreamed possible for their service.

A Social Phenomenon?

People who follow the Food Trucks use the opportunity to socialize with others in line and meet people they normally wouldn’t have a chance or reason to talk to. They use the trucks as a central meeting point with friends from different cities, so they can Eat and then move to other plans for the evening and some people bring folding chairs and sort of tail gate around trucks that have stationary locations like the Tacos trucks in Downtown who are always located in the Alameda/Traction parking lot. Where is the party at? Just follow a food truck!

In an economy where companies are contracting and people are watching every penny, these small businesses have found a way to “sell out” their product on a regular basis and leave their audience begging for more! Much of the Social Media Advertising is bogus and annoying, intrusive and flat, but for these Small Business Owners, it has been a perfect fit and wisely used. BRAVO!

If you are thinking of starting a Gourmet Food Truck, now is the time, but make sure you are Social Media Saavy and offer something either in the Comfort Food arena, Ethnic Goodness or a Fusion that make mouths water. So far I haven’t run across a CUPCAKE truck! So maybe that is an idea! A lot of my readers are out of state, so perhaps starting your own Food Truck Movement in town would be a fun idea!

A Quick List of Food Trucks:

Look here for Food Truck Reviews on YELP, to see what people are saying about them!

kogibbq

Korean BBQ Taco Truck

57,344 followers | Follow

Grilled Cheese Truck

Chef driven grilled cheese… ’cause that’s how we roll…

12,060 followers | Follow

sprinklesmobile

9,749 followers | Follow

COOLHAUS

Making Architecture Digestible! Roaming the streets of LA with gourmet, hand-made ice cream sammies.

7,768 followers | Follow

Nom Nom Truck

Banh Mi Food Truck serving Los Angeles!

5,965 followers | Follow

The Buttermilk Truck

Mobile diner bringing housemade breakfast favorites day and night!

5,837 followers | Follow

Border Grill Truck

Gourmet tacos, quesadillas, ceviches, and more from “Too Hot Tamales” Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger.

4,635 followers | Follow

Frysmith

Truck with fries that eat as a meal

4,439 followers | Follow

Green_Truck

Organic , vegan-friendly mobile food, and production catering.

4,429 followers | Follow

Marked5

Japanese Style Burgers

3,902 followers | Follow

The Sweets Truck

Taking Sweets (and coffee) to the Streets of Los Angeles!

3,689 followers | Follow

Calbi BBQ

Beef, Pork, Chicken or Shrimp?

3,602 followers | Follow

Get Shaved Shave Ice

SoCal’s Finest Shave Ice…You Bet Your Ice It Is!

3,506 followers | Follow

Fish Lips Sushi

REAL SUSHI MAN INSIDE!

3,421 followers | Follow

dosatruck

Brooklyn Born Street Urchin Grew Up Eating STREET FOOD off TRUCKS NOW Bringing You DOSAS my FAV South Indian Street Food But Now I’m Driving The Truck

3,118 followers | Follow

Don Chow Tacos

Where Mexican and Chinese food get together. Home of the Chimale, Ultimate LA Taco, and Carne asada Chow Fun!

3,075 followers | Follow

Babys Badass Burgers

2,983 followers | Follow

SouthPhillyExp

Food truck roaming the streets of L.A. slinging Cheese steaks, Tastykakes, and Herr’s chips.

2,950 followers | Follow

India Jones Truck

Gourmet Indian street food truck !

2,684 followers | Follow

BarbiesQ

A Rollin’ BBQ Joint

2,679 followers | Follow

Flying Pig

Mobile Food – Asian Fusion with French Technique

2,603 followers | Follow

LetsbeFrankLA

Dogs Gone Good, Grass Fed Beef Hot Dogs from our trailer

2,535 followers | Follow

Lomo Arigato

2,494 followers | Follow

Dainty Cakes LA

We’re a cupcake truck but we serve more than just cupcakes! We carry items that cafes have and only use fresh local ingredients & recyclable paper supplies.

2,002 followers | Follow

Bool

Just Awesome Fusion Food!
Email us: BoolBBQ@gmail.com

1,982 followers | Follow

Asian Soul Kitchen

Peace, Love and Asian Soul

1,892 followers | Follow

The Gastrobus

Roadside bistro

1,818 followers | Follow

Grill Em All

GRILLING IS OUR BUSINESS AND BUSINESS IS FINE!!!

In a battle of cheese and sauce, finally burgers and heavy metal unite in harmony.

1,765 followers | Follow

Adam Fleischman

1,550 followers | Follow

Komodo Food

Dangerously Good Food. Not your average taco truck.

1,546 followers | Follow

Mandoline Grill

Traditional and Vegan-Friendly Vietnamese Food Truck

1,537 followers | Follow

Franken’s

Spooky -Theme Mobile Cuisine. Taking Plant-Based Food to the Streets!

1,475 followers | Follow

La FuXion

Latin Asian FuXion

1,371 followers | Follow

Little Spoon Dessert

Little Spoon Desserts is a boutique dessert company that showcases the talents of Los Angeles’ finest pastry chefs, bakers, and chocolatiers.

1,239 followers | Follow

Louks

Greek Gourmet Truck hitting the streets of LA & OC.

1,201 followers | Follow

King Kone

King Kone is a mobile ice parlor providing treats out of a sweet butter yellow truck!! mmmmm

1,190 followers | Follow

Fresser’s Pastrami

Food truck offering fresh hot pastrami and other deli favorites throughout the Los Angeles area.

1,018 followers | Follow

Chris at Mattie’s

Southern Food For All Y’alls

1,014 followers | Follow

SliceTruck

Pizza Truck in L.A.
Deliver 310-944-2474

974 followers | Follow

Gabino

Meat on a STICK/ @Marked5 partners

954 followers | Follow

The Burger Bus

894 followers | Follow

la bbq guy

The BBQ truck is on the move. If you can’t find us or want great bbq any time stop by our restaurant sssmokehouse.com

850 followers | Follow

Uncle Lau’s BBQ

Genuine Smoked BBQ with an Island Flair! Great pulled pork, beef brisket, smoked ribs, shrimp scampi and more. Come find us in Santa Monica, CA.

795 followers | Follow

Crepes Bonaparte

French Crepe Catering + GASTON the Crepe Truck

785 followers | Follow

Vesuvio

LA’s first and only Italian specialty food truck.

774 followers | Follow

bullkogi

633 followers | Follow

The PupusaMobile

mobile pupuseria! still in the works…

609 followers | Follow

Panini On Wheels

Delicious Gourmet Italian Panini

550 followers | Follow

Grill Masters

Best Rotisserie Chicken by Jonathan Gold, L.A. Weekly

484 followers | Follow

Qzillabbq

Qzillabbq truck delivering southern style wood fired bbq.

403 followers | Follow

tacos sinaloa

178 followers | Follow

LA Fuxion

89 followers | Follow

Chefkoch

Hello friends of German food. We will update here our Food Truck schedule and have news about German food and where you can enjoy it!

48 followers | Follow

Credit: List from Listorious / FOR FULL FOLLOW FUNCTIONALITY OF THIS LIST, YOU CAN GO HERE!

TED, I love you!

Corey Tess — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 03:13:02 +0000

Some of my favorite TED TALK videos for your enjoyment!

Child Genius!

Corey Tess — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 07:05:18 +0000

Don’t you just love these genius kids that make you feel like you got cheated when it came to the talent pool? This little guy is a guitara virtuoso! He is gonna be a big hit with the chicks when he grows up! Watch out!

Ahora vengo mama chula mama chula?

Corey Tess — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:22:03 +0000

Ahora vengo mama chula mama chula?
Current mood: curious
Category: Blogging

Does anyone wonder why Maria fell in love in East LA.. but grew up in Spanish Harlem.. and is living da life just like a movie star… I mean, if she was so freggin poor – how did she get from Spanish Harlem to East Los Angeles? I was thinking that maybe she got the eviction letter in Harlem, so she hitchhiked to East LA, and while cleaning houses and thinking of way to make it better she fell in love with Mario Lopez at a bar where Carlos Santana was playing guitar (i think she was bussing tables there), and is now dancing with the stars…. and living the life just like a movie star….

does anyone else find this song somewhat stereo type heavy…. and what the heck does “Ahora vengo mama chula mama chula” mean?

I thought at first they were saying Mama CHOLA? Like tear drop and tattoo Sad Girl or something… odd

oh Maria Maria
She reminds me of a west side story
Growing up in Spanish Harlem
She’s living the life just like a movie star

oh Maria Maria
She fell in love in East L.A.
To the sounds of the guitar, yeah, yeah
Played by Carlos Santana

Stop the looting, stop the shooting
Pick pocking on the corner
See as the rich is getting richer
The poorer is getting poorer

See mi y Maria on the corner
Thinking of ways to make it better
In my mailbox there’s an eviction letter
Somebody just said see you later

Ahora vengo mama chula mama chula
Ahora vengo mama chula (east coast)

Ahora vengo mama chula mama chula
Ahora vengo mama chula (west coast )

oh Maria Maria
She reminds me of a west side story
Growing up in Spanish Harlem
She’s living the life just like a movie star

oh Maria Maria
She fell in love in East L.A.
To the sounds of the guitar, yeah, yeah
Played by Carlos Santana

I said a la fella los colores
The streets are getting hotter
There is no water to put out the fire
Mi cosa la esperanza

Se mira Maria on the corner
Thinking of ways to make it better
Then I looked up in the sky
Hoping of days of paradise

Ahora vengo mama chula mama chula
Ahora vengo mama chula (north side)

Ahora vengo mama chula mama chula
Ahora vengo mama chula
(south side)

Ahora vengo mama chula mama chula
Ahora vengo mama chula ( world wide)

Ahora vengo mama chula mama chula
Ahora vengo mama chula ( open up ur eyes )

Maria you know you’re my lover
When the wind blows I can feel you
Through the weather and even when we’re apart
It feels like we’re together maria
She reminds me of a west side story
Growing up in Spanish Harlem
She’s living the life just like a movie star

oh Maria Maria
She fell in love in East L.A.
To the sounds of the guitar, yeah, yeah
Played by Carlos Santana

Puttin them up yo
Carlors Santana with the refugge gang
wite clef jerry my dog Mr santana GMB
yo carlos u play that guitar proud

Graphic Design Nazi!

Corey Tess — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 07:34:13 +0000

Honestly when you work as an in-house design team – no matter how fun or rockin your job is, every now and then.. you know.. you feel that little pang of the GD Nazi regime! This is hysterical, but if you are a GD or in Marketing, you will HOWL!

So you are having a BAD DAY at work!

Corey Tess — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 06:38:22 +0000

One of those days when you want to throw your lap top, pc, Mac, iphone, blackberry, co-worker out the window? Yes, we have all had those days, but don’t lose it man! Live vicariously through this video and then grab some coffee and GO BACK TO YOUR CUBE!

Build a Woman Cent by Cent..?

Corey Tess — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 06:54:20 +0000

Something so true and scary in this as we watch the Polygamy drama unfold… when will women stand up and say NO MORE as a group… how can we stop tearing eachother apart with envy and start protecting eachother and helping eachother learn better behavior, self worth and the secret of our power..

Dehumanizing depictions, breast implants, sugar daddies, and violence against women

I found the following three websites, and I asked some female friends of mine which one was the most horrible–they were all pretty bad.

With one vote, we have a pageant of “comely mugshots of selected [female] arrestees” from a local prison with instructions for the (male) readers to “review the cavalcade of incarcerated corn country cuties, and vote for the one that sets your heart a-twitter.” (hat tip toFeministing). These men are literally gazing at these women through the eyes of the state and participating in their discipline and punishment. It probably says a lot about our society that men choose to gaze at, rank, classify, and mock powerless women kept under lock and key.

Tied for second place, also with one vote, we have “sugar daddie dot com,” a dating service that hooks beautiful women up with rich men (and rich women with good-looking men, but they don’t really announce that). The problem isn’t so much that such a site exists but that we’ve reached the point where it’s “necessary.” There are definitely advantages to be found on both sides, and such a relationship can be (or at least seem) empowering for women that get pampered by their “sugar daddy,” but it’s still… creepy. The other striking aspect of this site is the class issue. Someone could probably write a really insightful research paper on class using this site as Exhibit A. There are dozens of lines like these:

Successful men wanting to be a Sugar Daddy are ultimately caring individuals. Sugar Daddy dating delivers to people who are aware of the finer things in life and understand that good living is not a luxury, but a necessity… Second best is not an option in online dating and we understand the needs of single people when delivering an unrivaled matchmaking service that is admired by many, but equaled by none.
Millionaire dating is exclusive and people nowadays see that, the more exclusive it is, the more of a must have it becomes.

I’m ashamed that members of my species are drawn in by this tripe. The whole site is like a bizarre parody of itself. The page design tries to be classy, extravagant, and elegant, but it tries too hard and ends up looking unprofessional and tacky. Especially when they start adding UPPERCASE FLASHING TEXT. And exclamation points! They scream exclusivity but look like a cheap knockoff. Furthermore,

Sugardaddie.com does not take responsibility in checking the truth or accuracy of any information posted to the website, nor do we undertake to screen the content of any information provided to it, or guarantee the proper use of such information by any party, including its members.

In other words, if you can rent a tuxedo, you can pose as a “millionaire” and hoodwink hot women. Classy. Weirdly, they also ban the terms “mistress,” “goddess,” and “money slave.” I’m not sure how they picked those three, but they did. To top off the weirdness, almost every page is littered with weird word usages, suggesting that they’re trying way too hard to sound classy but have no idea what they’re talking about (evolvement? setting precedence?). I’m surprised more people’s bullshit detectors haven’t gone off. Even when there’s nothing quite wrong with their diction, their prose often reminds me of Bush’s obvious-speak (“Russia’s a big country and you’re a big country… Russia’s big and so is China”) or Tom Cruise’s writing (“is there anything in a name—J.J.? Look at the Jays we have now—Jay Leno, J. Lo, Jay-Z—but he’s got two Js.”). Depressing.

But the third site I found really takes first place. And now, with a whopping six votes, I present to you “My Free Implants Dot Com.”

Create The Perfect Girl at MyFreeImplants.com!

Your eyes haven’t lied to you. That actually is an animated hand dropping coins into the back of a seductively-posed mostly-naked woman whose breasts grow with each coin added, and it really does recommend that you give them money to “create the PERFECT girl.” The site really is a place where men pay for women to pay attention to them and the women are required to spend that money on cosmetic surgery so that more men will value their attention because of their appearance. It’s like prostitution but without the freedom provided by the money the women earn. They don’t get to use that money except to please their viewers even more. The site is pretty up-front about that: “the surgeries are paid for through the network of benefactor members in our community, and they ultimately decide on who gets the procedures they want first.” Nice. According to The Houston Press,

Jason Grunstra, 28, launched the site last year. It’s free for women, but men have to pay around $1.80 for each e-mail they send. The women make a buck off each e-mail; Grunstra and PayPal take the balance. So far, about 700 women and 2,000 men have joined. Grunstra, who lives in L.A., says he keeps each woman’s money in a bank account until they reach their target, and he keeps the interest.

Not only that, but it turns out that once they get fake breasts, they can parlay them for even more money:

In 2003, a fellow calling himself Hugh Jass launched [pimping the poor dot com] as a way to kill two birds with one stone. Hugh and his friends claim to have an annoying boss named Kurt Smith. They also enjoy fake-boob-cyberbegging sites. So they contacted the cyberbeggars and offered them a few bucks if they would model skimpy garments on their own sites that read “Kurt Smith Sucks.”

At least that way they get to keep the money.

Still, while these sites are all pretty horrible, they seem to be more symptoms than problems in and of themselves. If women want to earn a dollar every time a creepy guy sends them an email, I don’t think anyone should try to stop them. But these things are symptoms of a broader problem, where women are constantly degraded and even attacked. At The Debate Link, I found a story showing how the courts treat battered women they don’t like:

In California, a Mexican women [sic] went to court to get a restraining order against her husband, who was abusing her. Instead, the presiding judge asked if she was an illegal immigrant. When she said yes, the judge replied:

“I hate the immigration laws that we have, but I think the bailiff could take you to the immigration services and send you to Mexico.” Then the Judge had a creative idea: he would count to 20 and Gonzalez would disappear by the time he was finished. No trouble for her; no trouble for him. “One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. When I get to 20, she gets arrested and goes to Mexico,” said the judge according to the court transcript. This week, in an interview with the LA Times, Judge Fink explains his intent to get Gonzalez from trouble with the INS. He also said he saw nothing more than screaming between the husband and wife, although reportedly Gonzalez had moved last month into a domestic violence shelter. The Superior Court is now reviewing the hearing.

There’s also a fascinating and almost unbearably depressingcomment thread over at Bitch, Ph.D. where women discuss their personal experiences with misogyny, how those experiences fit into the big picture, and how to fight back. Some of the things men do to women (and women do to one another) because of gender are unimaginably horrible, and reading these women’s stories and the way they perceived and analyzed male dominance helped me understand sexual politics much better.

Some of the comments from men were enlightening as well. One guy used the analogy of living in a town with a gas chamber, knowing that you don’t work there but that you’re not all that different from the people that do, and that you’re not really doing anything to stop them, and that basically summarizes my reaction as well. I think everyone should read it (despite its length) so more people understand women’s continuing subjugation and what we’re up against as we challenge male dominance. It’s a tricky bastard of a system, it’s linked with other systems like racism and statism, and it hurts us all, even those that sometimes benefit from it.

Advertising WTF?

Corey Tess — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:29:55 +0000

Carry Your Maxi Pads Everywhere, Girls!
Current mood: silly
Category: Life

Proof positive that women are needed in the high paid and competitive world of consumer advertising….

I can see the ad exec pitching this idea now… then she leaps into the air ninja style, with the pad in hand and BLOCKS the massive leak.. soaking up every last drop… she lands on her feet and her friend strokes the pad lightly and smiles as she realizes the pad is totally dry….. surely this will sell more pads!

COME ON MEN! PULEEEEESE!

Advertising by Design