Check me on tumblr

This blog has been dead for some time, but there is good news. You still find me on tumblr at giraffeLookout.tumblr.com.

Ben and Slayde get married

Our friends Ben and Slayde are getting married and our mutual friend has brewed up four different beers for the occasion. As if that weren't enough to be excited about, Ben designed these great labels for the beers. Each one depicts Ben and Slayde in a place that they've spend a considerable amount of time in and what they remember about that place most.

First up is the Oregon Hipster IPA. Yup, "I liked            before it was cool" sounds about right.  

Then we have the Virigina Road Rage Altbier. Anyone that has spent anytime in or around Fairfax County in the past 15 years knows what this is all about.

The DC Impossibly Expensive Dubbel. Ben and Slayde live out in Vienna and commute each morning to Georgetown. Enough said.

Last but not least is the Alaska Biting Insect Amber. I've never been to Alaska so I'll have to take their word for it.

What these lack in commercial appeal, they make up for in taste. Trust me.

Friday in the Harris Teeter

I just got our of the grocery and snapped a couple of iPhone photos. 

I was going to pick up a 6 pack of Spaten but I noticed the price went up by a dollar (it's been $6.99 for like at least a year.) Anyways, the geniuses in the marketing department wanted to raise the price but make it look like they were lowering it so they did this. Good thing I'm so stingy. Otherwise, I might have fallen for it. 

Then there was this. I'm having a hard time figuring out how the good folks at Kraft figured out that people want to buy frozen pizza and frozen cookies in the same box. I guess people like doughy baked things. Maybe when the two are packaged together people feel less guilty about eating frozen pizza and then moving right onto cookies. These people also brought you the Marlboro Red. Just sayin'

Wutang x Rocksmith Collab

These are obviously strong hats. The giants style typeface is sweet. Giants fans will grab the blue on red. I like the blue on grey the best. The clincher is the merchandising though. These hats are so fresh they came over from the sweatshop packed on ice.

via Hypebeast

Shwood

Shwood

This is the kind of brand that I'd normally be really guarded about. I got a pair of sunglasses made of rosewood for my birthday last year and I get my fair share of compliments on them. Even when people don't say anything, I can tell they notice those shades. Not the type of thing you want the average DC prepster to catch onto. Anyways, I ended up breaking my pair last spring and the guys at Shwood were so cool about fixing them for me that I have to give them some love on the blog. Also, they have great marketing so I shouldn't try and keep them a secret (not that it's up to me anyways.)

This is a cool video, they started to build a tree fort out near Mt. Hood and they provide you with the coordinates so if you feel up for it, you can go hand out there and add on to it. 

Experiment No. 2 - Backcountry Nest from Shwood Eyewear on Vimeo.

Patagonia Common Threads Initiative

I don't typically ride for Patagonia because I think most their clothing is over branded. I guess people that spend a lot of money on sweats like to have lots of labels. Snarkiness aside, they do have some corporate initiative when it comes to corporate responsibility. One thing I'm excited about, from a marketing perspective, is their Common Threads Initiative.

Basically, Patagonia helping people sell, and buy, old Patagonia gear on Ebay. They think it will reduce waste, which may be true. What I find intriguing is that Patagonia is making a bold statement about the quality of the gear. If it's good enough to be sold second-hand, it's probably pretty good stuff, (especially new.) The funny thing is that you might that it would hurt sales of new products but I actually really doubt it. I think people that buy new and used Patagonia stuff come from two totally different market segments. Anyways, I'll definitely have a look.

Red Wing shows off its Workhorse

This is the kind of the new old thing. When you make things the old-fashioned way with care and precision, you tend to have some special machinery. Showing off your connection with the machinery is a convincing way to show that you are for real with this. It's also just a great way to talk about how much you care without actually talking about yourselves.

Self Edge just made kind of a deal of the fact that they finally tracked down a chainstitcher that they'd been trying to track down for years. It's pretty cool.

Red Wing is a little bit beyond that though. They've got a fleet of classics that they've used for years. They also just made a great video about it, The Puritan Stitch Machines. It's a nice and sincere video about what the machine can do. The narrator is totally a guy from the floor and you can easily tell that this is no bullshit. I mean I already wanted a pair of Red Wings so maybe they are preaching to the choir but I hope this video inspires some other consumers.

Why does deodorant have to be so corny?

I just ran out of deodorant the other day and buying a new stick is a bigger decision than you would think. They make these sticks so big that I think I only need a new one like every 10 months. With that said, it's a small purchase that you make every 10 months but it sticks with you, literally, everyday. Obviously branding is important here. But what about guys like me that are a little turned off by trying too hard to be masculine in everything I buy and do.

To be honest, it's hard. Deodorant packaging and branding is god-awful. It's all got to be uber-manly so much so that I'm hesitant to be seen in the checkout line with some of these brands. Cases in point

Speed stick used to be my go to brand. The regular scent. My dad wears it and I always used it until I noticed they put grips on the edges. Grips? Why do I need grips on my deodorant stick? My life is so action packed that I put my deodorant on under extreme duress? Using this helps me understand what guys must feel like when they wear mandals.

Seriously Old Spice? You used the word Swagger on this label? Way to ruin a perfectly good word for everyone. It was fun to say "swag" but now it feels cheap and bought. Then it's got to be from the Red Zone Collection. Deodorant collection? Even if you hadn't just ruined the word swagger, that's just dumb.

It's the Mountain Dew meets Newport Cigarettes meets some vague aspirational feat of masculine accomplishment meets my armpits. Everest Adrenaline Series. Cool story bro.

I'll have to reach out to the brothers on what they think about deodorant called Dark Temptation. This one's not going to work for me though.

Well it could obviously be worse. I do like the 48 hour protection touch. Like maybe I'm going to get laid on a weeknight and have to roll to office the next day without a fresh coat of deodorant. Glad Dove is behind me on this one but everyone is going to notice my wrinkled clothes and look of shame.

Stumptown Coffee Tells You How to Brew Coffee

I'm sure it's no surprise to anyone that reads that blog that I could go for a cup of Stumptown coffee right about now. I was buying beans there onetime and the girl at the counter told me, in a French accent, that the coffee I was buying had hints of watermelon. I understood this to mean, "You'll never be as cool as me you preppy dork."

Fair enough, I'm still going to give them credit for this little feature on their site about how to brew coffee. Maybe this is what it takes to actually get those subtle notes onto your palate.

Stumptown Guides

Bring back some simple packaging

I'm getting older and need a little less flash and a little more honesty. Look, I still like Nutella and I'm still going to need Windex. Just make it a little easier on me. The folks at A2591 have worked on  a project to strip down some common labels to their bare essence. I'm posting a few down here for you. Wouldn't you feel better if the supermarket where more like this?

Thanks to The Fox is Black

Harris Tweed, an inside look

It should be pretty clear at this point that I'm becoming obsessed with videos and pictures that show how nice products are made. I really think if you have a great product, the marketing possible is to demonstrate the care that goes into it.

Anyway, Nike and North Face each just dropped a collaboration with Harris Tweed. Only you wouldn't know it unless you read blogs religiously as both runs are probably so limited that you'll never have the opportunity to buy either. In fact the North Face tweed bags are exclusive for the Japanese market.

The Style Salvage writer recently traveled up to the highlands of Scotland to visit Harris Tweed and he took plenty of photos. Please check it out- Style Salvage

Put this by the checkout,

and I don't care with the price tag is. You are telling me about hand crushed rosemary tea infusions with white chocolate and the packaged has watercolor and says "smile" at the bottom. It's going in cart. I don't even like chocolate.

via Lost in E Minor

Even cooler than Madvillianny

Do you remember when Madlib and MF DOOM collaborated and put out that crazy album? Yeah, me too. Everyone was a little shocked, like, "It happened. They really did it." I think it was a solid year before it left my heavy rotation.

I've commented on collaborations a bunch here recently. I'm usually kind of skeptical where the value add is. Sometimes the result is cool. Sometimes it's just really exciting and you can't wait to taste/listen to it. That's the case with this Sierra Nevada X Anchor Steam collaboration. These are my two favorite brands that have national distribution and I'm pretty excited about this (though I highly doubt this will be available in beer backwater Washington D.C.)

It appears that we are celebrating Sierra Nevada's 30th anniversary with Fritz and Ken's Ale which, I'm told, is a stout. An interesting choice as neither brewery is particularly known for stouts but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

Cheers.

vis Cool Hunting 

Would you try it in this package?

I think it's pretty well established that Kimchi is a little daunting for the uninitiated but delicious for the initiated. The question remains, how does one cross over? Mother in Law Kimchi is here to help. I love the name but I love the packaging even more. Doesn't this just look safe to eat? It's almost like the yuppie salsa that Pace spent so much time warning you about some years ago. I'd try it, but I already like the stuff.

via Lost in E Minor

Field Notes manufacturing video

If I could do it all over I might not have gone to grad school or even college. I think I would drive around the states with a camera and capture American manufacturers that love their jobs. If I was good at it, I might put these videos up on vimeo. Even if I wasn't that good, I'd probably put them up on youtube.

Here's a video about a Field Notes notebook and the care that goes into making them. It's a little long but it's nice to watch.


Wings: Making the Field Notes 2010 Fall Edition from Coudal Partners on Vimeo.

ROY jeans

I've got to admit, Giraffe Lookout has fallen off in the past few weeks. There are two main factors, one being time and the other being interest. Frankly, I just don't care about ad copy much anymore. I'm not really even that into viral videos either now that I don't have anytime to watch them. Hang in there though, things will even out soon. I may even have a new project on the way (with help this time.)

One thing I'm really excited about, though, is American craft-made apparel and the videos that champion it. Case in point, Roy Slaper making jeans by himself with vintage equipment and denim from the Cone Mills plant in North Carolina. Watch this video and tell me you don't want a pair. 

Roy's Jeans - Video by Self Edge from Self Edge on Vimeo.

Carhartt is Holding Out on U.S.

Few brands have what Carhartt has- it is synonymous with quality, it is based out of Detroit, it is utilitarian and it somehow doesn't go out of style. Why can't I just be happy?

photo via Carhartt Europe

Brandweek is reporting that Carhartt is set to launch it's first nationwide intregrated marketing campaign complete with- television spend, a microsite, p.o.s. elements and facebook bells and whistles. It's targeting at young males between 18-34 and as you might expect, television ads will be on ESPN, Discovery and The History Channel. 

A couple of things come to mind here-

First- Part of Carhartt's charm is that the product speaks for itself. Not having a real marketing push has provided credibility to the brand. It's sort of amazing how disparate Carhartt's market reach is. Anyone from red necks to aspiring hip hop stars wear Carhartt. It also seems to be immune from the boom and bust cycles that apparel brands face in trendy youth market. I always figured it was because they weren't actually trying to be trendy as much as they were making durable clothes at good price points. And I figured this was by design. Carhartt didn't want to appear to be concerned about projecting an image because it was so busy creating clothes. 

Second- Did you know that Carhartt also has a streetwear label in Europe? For the longest time I just thought that Europeans viewed Carhartt differently than we did in the States whenever I saw websites advertising Carharttt gear. It's actually a completely different line and it's really cool. I imagine the brand didn't want to sell these products in the states because it's afraid to soil the good thing it has going by appearing to bowing to trends. I say this because I refuse to believe that Carhartt doesn't see the market for streetwear in the states. 

So what gives? The brand wants facebook gimmicks but doesn't want to look too trendy? That doesn't work for me. However, Carhartt can make this right by sending over it's A.P.C collaboration. We will look the other way about your "built Ford tough" television campaign. 

What kind of guy are you?

Draft FCB USA made these great print ads for Dockers. I'm really feeling the use of typeface and copy to describe the man that is wearing the pants. The description comes across quickly and, I think, probably resonates really well with Dockers' target market.

via Typography Served

The Best Running Video Yet

A few weeks ago we looked at a cool running video from Japan that Nike did with Undercover. Seems like we've seen a lot of this kind of thing in the past couple of months so it's a little difficult to get excited about them at this point. Then this comes along. Now I know that wheat paste isn't really all that new and I don't live in a cosmopolitan city so it is difficult for me to tell if it is even still in style. However, it's what they do with it in this video that is so cool and makes me want to drop out of the start-up world and go to film school.

This come from Nike Stadium and was shot in Milan. Enjoy.

via Hypebeast

Someone Did Their Market Research

There is a new bus service from DC to NYC that is called TheKnowItExpress. That's not the biggest deal in and of itself but this one goes from U St. to Brooklyn, it's got bicycle storage and it has free wifi. They should have just called it the "hipster express" because that is what everyone is calling it anyways.

The reason this have been mentioned on Giraffe Lookout is because I'm super impressed with the research that went into this and what they figured a certain demographic wanted. You can file this under, "why didn't I think of this." Not that I'm about to jump in and operate a mid-Atlantic bus service but it is inspiring that someone saw something and made a move that makes a lot of sense.