Smart car

Well I started to see those tiny cars in Europe in those big glass building next to the freeway almost 10 years ago, but I am starting to see those tiny car in downtown San Diego.

Living in the SUV capital of the world I always thought a Smart will not be safe for American road. While road rage is everywhere and French people can get pretty aggressive, we all have tiny cars so it is just fair game, but imagine having an Escalade changing lane, I am not sure if they will even feel crushing the Smart.

My wife and I have two cars but we mostly only use the same car to go surfing, grocery shopping
or going to Big Bear so I can see having a Smart to go to work or going out instead of having my Element.

It is not only because the gas mileage is much better than on my car, Mercedes use friendlier materials that pollute less during the manufacturing process and can be later recycled.

So my wife and I tested a Smart last weekend and I was actually pleasantly surprised: it is comfortable, fast and fun...I will certainly not drive 10 hours in it but this barely happen anyway.

I would highly recommend a test drive, it is fun and you will have certianly have a good conversion later that night on other ways to become more ecologicoly responsible.

Spy Optic: "Expect the best"

With So many sunglasses brands, It may be difficult to create a brand uniqueness.
Spy sunglasses are genuinely hand-crafted in Italy but most importantly they get inspiration from the legendary Southern California coast, where surfers are able to catch the best waves in the world.
The youth culture is permanently evolving and Spy is managing to stay true to its core customers and provide unique and stylish sunglasses.

Pigeons - Todd Francis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TInWHsW74I


Todd Francis has worked on graphics for skateboard companies since 1993, he did the illustration for Bam Margera and Jeremy Wray and helped define Skate companies such as Element, Stereo, Real Skateboards.

Well it is now possible to see his work on Oakley sunglasses, named the Eyepatch. Everyone knows about the excellent quality and performance of Oakley sunglasses but I really find interesting that a Eyewear manufacturer explores the fact of adding some original graphics that resonates with the Action sport subculture, so what better example than having Todd using some sick pigeons patterns for Oakley.

WeAretheSuperlativeConspiracy: WESC

WeSC-WeAretheSuperlativeConspiracy was founded by six skateboarders and snowboarders in 1999. they have their roots in a subculture that sets its own rules and follows its own trends.

The major difference with other brands is that they speak about "life after skateboarding", while many other skate brands have good clothes that would do just fine for fashion streetwear, WeSC has became synonymous of what it is cool to wear after a skateboard session, which quite frankly shows the power of a good marketing strategy: the Brand.

In addition they are reaching people in the art, music industry that has always shared some common roots with the action sport lifestyle.

to compete in today's market, one must be innovative

I grew snowboarding, skateboarding and surfing. Every month I get in the mail my favorites mags. I love to read cool articles about the lifestyles, trips,etc... but something that bother me is that half the mag are loaded with ads.

I think it just become a routine, I briefly look at the ad but frankly if you ask me later what ad I saw I may only remember an ad with Kelly, Taj, Parko or Bruce. Most surf brands think it is enough put the face of a pro surfer and a nice surf picture.

How am I going to believe that X sunglass print ad is going to help me in my surf. My two cent of advice is think outside the box: to compete in today's market, one must be innovative.

So my award for the only ad in mag that have sparked my interest is Insight, they are unique and creative which then make me think that there stuff is like their ads. Clearly it seems I am not the only one appreciating their work, because the result sparked a 50% increase in clothing clothes sales.

“We wanted to do something different,” says Insight Marketing Director Jesse Faen. “Most companies simply sponsor athletes or add their logos to action photos. Our company is not so much about an individual surfer as about a mentality. The response to our prop campaign has been incredible. We’ve had a lot of attention from international surf magazines. Across the world, our accounts were blown away by the originality. Most importantly, our customers have gained a deeper appreciation for what Insight represents.”