This ad campaign caught my eye with its very funny (and timely) parody of political campaigns.

It is one of the most clever advertising schemes that I’ve seen online in quite some time. It’s built with such entertaining detail that the target audience has already invested a significant (and memorable) chunk of time before even finding out what the product being sold is. It rewards curiosity, and assumes that the audience will be savvy, and will appreciate being talked “up” to, rather than being lectured or shouted at.

The entertainment value of the campaign also helps to ensure viral spread through Facebook and even just old-fashioned word-of-mouth (or newfangled word-of-email forward).

Kudos!

CNN has decided to sell custom, on-demand t-shirts featuring headlines from their website. No, I’m not making this up.

There seems to be very little rhyme or reason behind their choices of which headlines are permissible for t-shirts — not all of the daily gems can be plastered onto an oh-so-esoteric cotton tee.

And, of course, it has to be “Beta,” since that term has lost all meaning.

Sarcasm and condescension aside, Woot has a far more entertaining way to look at this marketing misstep:

PS: I guess I shouldn’t expect too much from a website that still posts such sensitive, journalistic links as:

Ah, yes. I suppose sensationalism’s best friend is voyeurism.

Matt Pestinger, 18, started his group, “Your relationship doesn’t count unless it’s posted on Facebook,” as a commentary on today’s world, he said in an e-mail. …

“Our generation is much more open with these types of things being on the Internet, Facebook and MySpace,” [Ashley] Shinn said. “We don’t have any secrets or anything. We don’t hide anything. We show everything to each other. Since we don’t have any shame in anything, we don’t hide it.” …

“I’m not sure what they did before Facebook,” [Taikein Cooper] said.

Read. Discuss.

When is a coin worth more than face value? When it is invested with a striking visual (and tactile) design.

(Via, Daring Fireball.)

Perhaps the simplest tribute is the best:

A fascinating look at a prototype sketch of the iChat “bubble” conversation interface design from 1997.

(Via, Darling Fireball.)

Yes, it seems that even NASA astronauts sometimes forget and leave their iPods in the hot sun out on the dashboard while they’re away…

(click to embiggen)

(Via 9 to 5 Mac.)

UPDATE 3/18: If you have an interest in other objects traveling into orbit, you might also like this piece on OSU president Gordon Gee’s bow tie, as well…

Have you ever wondered what wild animals do all day? Now, through the magic of modern technology, you can follow the life of a deer in Eastern Pennsylvania.

The deer has been fitted with a special collar with GPS device and and cell phone (to transmit SMS messages with the current GPS location). A clever system captures the data from the collar every few minutes, and saves it to a spreadsheet. The data is then automatically made available on the web in Google Maps/Google Earth format.

It’s fascinating to take a look:

(Via Google Earth Blog.)

I’ll send you to the link first so as not to spoil a very well-written post. Meet me back here for a short nostalgic waxing afterwards (if you want):

Brings back fond memories of the first time I travelled with my first-generation iPod in early 2002. Despite the fact that it had already been an entire Christmas season since the iPod had been introduced, the crack team of TSA scanners at LAX accosted me and demanded to know what the device was.

“It’s an iPod”

“A what?”

“It’s an MP3 player…”

Blank stares. I worry that they’re going to take my precious new baby and chuck it with the knives, scissors, and other Instruments of Destruction.™

I tried getting simpler: “It plays music… like a CD player, but without CDs.”

I had to show them my headphones and how they plugged in, as well as describe how one ‘puts music into it’ before they finally let me pass.

I always look back on that scene with a smile — within just a year or so, there would scarcely be anyone on Earth who hadn’t heard of an iPod.

(Link via MacNN.)

UPDATE: Also in MacBook Pro news, Steven Levy has discovered that the laptop is so thin, it might have gone out with the recycling:

(Via Daring Fireball.)

In Apple’s SDK announcement on Thursday, it was revealed that all iPhone users have a brand-new 2.0 update to look forward to in June.

Steve Jobs finished the program by saying that they would be talking more about it in the coming months, but some clues have been left to suggest features beyond what was specifically announced (Exchange support and other enterprise features, the App Store, etc.).

First of all, Apple itself mentions that Mail (”Mail Touch”?) will include:

the ability to view PowerPoint attachments, in addition to Word and Excel, as well as the ability to mass delete and move email messages.

Blog blargKABOOM points out that sharp-eyed viewers of the event video may note the presence of a new magnifying glass icon on the contacts list in the Phone app. Search is finally coming to the contacts list! (This makes sense, given that the new enterprise/Exchange features open up potentially tens of thousands of contacts, which would make scrolling a chore.)

The presence of a new & improved Calculator icon also caught my eye:

(click the icon to see it in context)

Perhaps this means we’ll finally see a more full-featured calculator, rather than just the free-from-the-bank pocket calculator?

I’ll keep my fingers crossed, but I do recall that the last time the calculator icon was changed, we got no such new features.

Additionally, of course, there are minor cosmetic changes to see in the video, such as the new iTunes WiFi Music Store icon (at right), which is presumably shedding its download arrow in favor of an iTunes style musical note to help eliminate confusion with the new App Store, which offers downloads of a very different sort.

And, of course, Calendar reflects changes to help facilitate the new Exchange features, moving the buttons to the bottom of the screen and adding an Inbox icon for meeting invitations, etc.

But, perhaps most exciting to see in the event video is Bob Borchers, senior director of iPhone product marketing, outside of that dark iPhone tour room that made him famous:

It’s nice to see the iPhone family out and about! :) And check out that stylish new MacBook Air, too…

If you haven’t seen it, make sure to check out the full video: