Facebook Hits 500 Million.

Facebook announced it signed up its 500 millionth user this week. To celebrate, it launched Facebook Stories and Diane Sawyer interviewed CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Meanwhile, I don't have time to Facebook because I have work to do.

360° Life Wins Telly Awards.

The 31^st Annual Telly Awards were recently announced, and 360° Life with Billy Joe Daugherty took home awards in both categories it competed in. 360 took top honors for Religious/ Spiritual Series and YouTube viewers voted our “Fear” text animation (see our June 23 blog entry) a second-place “People’s Choice” award in the Programs/Segments category. Congrats to the entire team and our client, Victory Christian Center! The awards are a nice reminder of a job well-done … but viewer letters and emails we receive each week about how the show has helped them are the real purpose of the show, and certainly the real reward.

Since You Asked ...

So where are the cuts in the video from the last post? Watch the piano in the background at 2:01. As we pan across, it shifts position. The bar was used as a wipe to a new scene. Then, as we're panning down the curtains at 2:26, the light in the left curtain suddenly disappears when the curtains are opened. Another transition to a new scene. Is the video any less great? Nope. It still LOOKS like one long single take ... and it almost is. An amazing piece of work.

Genius (But Not A Single Take).

Working on a video script tonight ... but thought I'd take a break to share some (more) video genius from one of our favorite bands. Their treadmill video is still at the top of the list, but this is pretty fun. Click the full-screen option. Trust me.

Happy 4th From Erma and CCC.

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism."

— Erma Bombeck

Hope you and yours have a safe and happy Independence Day. Have fun ... and be thankful. Signing off for the long weekend -- CCC

TV is Not Dead.

We recommended TV advertising to a client the other day. I know, you’re shocked by such a throwback notion, especially in this age of Facebook and Twitter. But consider this: the average U.S. home has at least four televisions -- more than the people who reside under the roof. Americans watch an average of 5 hours and 9 minutes of live TV each day. Not Tivo … LIVE. With commercials. And my client could reach his target — a very specific target — on a high-profile cable network with a local buy for less than $40 per spot. And it’s a virtual guarantee that 90% watching that channel would be interested in his products. So is TV his only advertising? Absolutely not. We still believe in the value of building an interactive relationship with customers, and tools like Facebook can be great for that. But it’s important not to ignore the old standby just because it’s not the new trend. Take a hard look at your product and carefully consider what would work for it – even it feels “old school.”

TMS Taps CCC.

When Tribune Media Services, an international leader in entertainment navigation and content, needed a video to introduce their new Channel Guide Magazine format to the likes of Time Warner, Cox Cable and others, they turned to CCC. We provided a turnkey solution from scripting and shooting to graphics and editing. The video, which is being deployed online, drew rave reviews from the client. Need a video, too? Give us a call.

Second Season of 360 Set.

Shooting of the second season of the successful 360° Life with Billy Joe Daugherty starts today. The first season, which is currently in its fifth airing on TBN, still consistently generates positive viewer feedback, prayer requests, testimonies and traffic to the 360° site. In addition to the second season, a new book based on the series has been recently released and season 1 is now available on DVD. With Pastor Billy Joe’s passing, this season will obviously have some changes, but we’re honored to continue his vision and excited about the changes you’ll see. Watch for it in September on TBN.

2010 National Design Award Winners Announced.

We’re told this is the closest thing we have to a Nobel Prize in design. The Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum announced winners in ten categories — from communication and product design to architect and interior design. Nominees were drawn from solicitations of over 2,500 design professionals. Take a look at the winners and finalists here.

The OTHER Slogan.

What do you do when everyone — and we mean everyone — knows your product’s slogan? You change it, naturally. At least that’s what the National Pork Board is doing. They’ve grown tired of their “The Other White Meat” line and will soon be investing lots of time and money in creating an unknown line that will then take more time and money to introduce and repeat enough that it becomes well-known. Oink.

Bonnaroo, Baby.

If you missed Bonnaroo this weekend (everybody reading this, right?) ... cheer up. You can listen to it here without having to endure all the oddities fans. Every performer. Every song. Sweet, huh?

Free Doughnuts!

Don't forget, today is free doughnut day. Really. Swing by Dunkin Donuts or our fav, Krispy Kreme, for a free circle of glazed goodness.

MTV Announces What CCC Already Knew.

Congrats to our friend (and supremely awesome dance choreographer), Heather Hall! MTV just listed the “Top 5 Videos With Killer Dance Sequences.” Right there, on the top 5 ALL TIME list, along with Jacko, OkGo, Beyonce and Janet was a little dance number Ms. Hall worked up for Hanson’s latest video, Thinking ‘bout Somethin’. Okay, so it wasn’t a little dance number. It was a huge dance number with a cast of thousands (or so it seemed). Bottom line: MTV noticed that Heather rocks. Way to go, girl.

I Poo In Blue.

Well, we've hit the "I don't feel like working" time just before a long weekend. So before we sign off, here's a little extra something to make you smile. Have a nice holiday.

Pick Your Price @ Panera.

Panera Bread, Carol’s office away from the office, has opened a unique St. Louis Bread Company store in Clayton, Missouri. The hook? Pay what you want. It’s true. The store has suggested prices posted, but you can pay whatever you like for your order -- $1, $10, $100 — it’s up to you.

The pilot restaurant is run by a nonprofit foundation. If it can sustain itself financially, Panera will expand the model around the country within months. It all depends on whether customers will abide by the motto that hangs above the deli counter: "Take what you need, leave your fair share." Intrigued? Read more here.

The Google Job Experiment.

We smiled. We shook our head. And all we can say is "great." (Of course, he has to work in NY -- so it's not all good)

Turn Left ... It Is Your Destiny.

It's official: Tom Tom rocks. We're big fans of innovation and creativity, so when a product taps into legions of fans in an unexpected way, we applaud. Tom Tom, makers of those portable navigation systems that tell us how to get to the closest Starbucks when we're out of town, isn't taking the expected innovation route (new and improved maps! Now in 3-D!). Oh no. They've licensed celebrity voices to give you directions. From Homer Simpson to Mr. T, you can have some of your favorites tell you where to get off (the highway). Other GPS makers are in on it, too, but Tom Tom scored big by landing Star Wars voices. You can now have Darth Vader as your co-pilot, with C-PO, Yoda and Han Solo coming this summer. Awesome. Entertaining. And more importantly, differentiating. The (sales) Force is with them.

What We're Reading: Rework.

Buy it now. Here. It’s a quick read … which is good, ‘cause we’re all busy (too busy to be posting here, to be honest). But Rework isn't just short, it’s really good — full of common and some not-so-common sense takes on how to run your business (and life, for that matter). It’s all the substance of a seven-course meal, whittled down into bite-sized appetizers that will either remind you of things you know you should be doing, or make you consider a whole new approach. “Brilliantly simple rules for success” one reviewer called it. And CCC agrees.

It's Too Late For April Fool's, Right?

In what would've been a brilliant prank a few days ago, KFC has announced The Double Down. But, apparently, it's real. Key ingredients? Chicken, cheese, bacon and chicken. That's right ... a sandwich with fried chicken for bread. Hospitals everywhere are staffing up for April 13.

Want An iPad? Raid Your CD Collection.

Be honest. Somewhere, in the back of a hall closet, you have an old Ricky Martin CD collecting dust. Oh, it’s there. Right next to Kris Kross, Deee-Lite, The Verve and Bo Bice. But don’t worry. Thanks to iPodMeister, you can trade in those long-forgotten gems for the latest and greatest gotta-have: an iPad. Too good to be true? According to The New York Times, this is the real deal. iPodMeister was founded by a group of musicians and students who realized that, though CDs are virtually worthless in the US, they can fetch higher prices abroad. So, they collect your discarded CDs or DVDs and give you an iPod, iPhone, or iPad in return. This saves “The Macarena” from ending up in a landfill somewhere while giving them valuable merch to peddle in foreign lands. Everybody wins. How many CDs do you need to trade? Here’s a list. Yes, it’s a lot, but as The Unnofficial Apple Weblog reports — an iPad ain’t cheap. Frankie say “go for it.”