5 Things You Might Have Missed

Here’s our weekly roundup of social media nuggets, techie tidbits and advertising gems you sure don’t want to have missed.

1. LEGO’S Latest Online Film: “The Brick Thief” is a whimsical short film from Pereira & Odell and part of LEGO and LEGO Click’s online video campaign. The visually fantastic film features a man with a memorably-large mustache who discovers the fun just a few colored bricks can provide. If you’ve been bogged down with work since returning from the holidays, take a break with this nifty movie from a brand that continues to do it right.
2. PandoProjects: The trend of empowering folks to do something for their communities using social media is one we’ve seen more and more of over the last 2 years. PandoProjects is the latest campaign to help empower individuals to make changes. The concept is simple: The website serves as a platform with online tools to start local activism while giving aspiring do-gooders the chance to fundraise and grow without mountains of red tape. The Beta site doesn’t launch until February, but PandoProjects has already piqued our interest.
3. Popcorn, Indiana is on the Map: The indie snack food company from New Jersey has been popping up all over the place. First the brand was featured on The Apprentice when contestants had to cook up an ad campaign for the company. This week, Popcorn, Indiana’s Munch Better Contest got press when it enlisted the help of amateur videographers to come up with a popcorn commercial superior to those featured on The Apprentice. Not too shabby for a brand nobody had heard of a few months ago.
4. Death to Ed Hardy: Like most people who have eyes, we are totally tired of seeing sparkly Ed Hardy t-shirts and embroidered trucker hats. So when we found Super Top Secret, we jumped for joy. Send Super Top Secret your Ed Hardy or Affliction t-shirts, and the organization will donate your clothes to the homeless and give you a new shirt in exchange. As its website says, “You get some rad new gear and at the same time help bring this gaudy, glittery, gold-flaked trend down to its base function as a shirt.”
5. Amazing Movie Posters, Meh Movies: As we pondered this list of last year’s best movie posters, we were blown away with how stunning the images in film advertising were last year. Yet we couldn’t help but notice how many of 2010’s films themselves were not that fantastic. Regardless, we’re happy that awesome movie poster art has come back strong.