Tag Archives: iTunes

Creativity, advertising genius and a bit of flexibility

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Every so often I see an ad that is so mind-blowingly clever, and it can be for something I might have no plans of ever purchasing!  Case in point last week with the Volvo advert with Jean-Claude Van Damme (JCDV) that went viral (31 million views of the video as of today – 5 days after it was released; that’s viral at a whole new level).

Volvo trucks

Most of us know JCVD from his martial arts movies – some good, some not so good.  It was “Bloodsport” (in the late 1980’s) that got me hooked – and not just because it was set for part in Hong Kong (my home town).  JCVD’s martial arts skills are somewhat impressive and he’s extremely flexible.

I can remember some shots from “Bloodsport” of some unbelievable high and targeted kicks.  I’ve studied karate for a few years since those days and know a bit more about how the body works and what static and dynamic flexibility is all about, and know even better how difficult things like this are to master!

If you’ve not seen the video yet watch it before reading further…

Epic split doesn’t do it justice!  It’s unbelievable.  It took me 2 takes of the video to realise the trucks were going backwards!  The skill of the professional drivers is amazing as well – they’re not driving that slowly but in a perfect straight line!

The genius of the advert for me is on so many different levels.  The music is perfect – very relaxed and almost mesmerising.  It’s “Only Time” by Enya and all of a sudden the track is up in the charts on iTunes and conveniently a whole £0.20 higher in price than all the other tracks on the album (that’s 13 years old).   Yes I’ve downloaded it through iTunes now and listened to it a lot.  Even the little Nobles know the name of the track.

I also now know a bit about Volvo Trucks and their amazing dynamic steering control (2000 readings per second for the steering goes into the trucks’ on-board computers) and have even watched a few YouTube videos showing how it works – and it is very impressive.  A hamster can even steer these trucks with a bit of help and a fan case!  Some of the ads Volvo have done for these trucks are pretty cool – do take a look at Volvo Trucks on YouTube and check out the others.  Did JCVD know what he was letting himself in for when he signed up for this?

A very very clever ad.  Sure most of the people viewing the viral ad won’t be buying a truck but they will know about them and are sure talking about them.  I was only helping on a school trip today for my little girl’s class (7 to 8 year olds) and telling them about JCVD and his splits!  Viral marketing at it’s best.

Connected content – it’s nearly time!

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I’ve long preached the time when we’ll be paying a single fee that covers all our home connectivity and includes unlimited access to all the content we would ever want (music, videos, games, books and more), and all through a single joined up service provider that knows what they’re doing and where it all just works (including how I access everything and when – so a big mobile and hardware bit).

Are we there yet?  Nope, but there are some very clever interim solutions and ways to almost get some of this.

I caught up with a good friend this week who I’ve not seen for some years and we were talking about the joys of using Apple devices and in particular how good Netflix was on it.

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So far I’d resisted the Netflix move.  Just couldn’t convince myself it was worth it and that it would be that good.  But I took the plunge today and boy am I impressed.  On the Apple TV it really is as if it’s a content channel with the same great Apple usability as the Apple TV box.  And even the little Nobles can successfully navigate it.  There are box sets on there to watch, that I’ve recently bought the physical DVDs for – yes I know it’s physical but I couldn’t find digital anywhere for the right price (until now).  My DVD collection (that has been getting smaller as we move to a digital world) is now pretty much obsolete thanks to Netflix – minus Disney and Star Wars (technically though that’s also Disney).  They’ll all come I’m sure – they’re already on Lovefilm and similar.

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So my Apple TV is now looking even more appealing.  The music link is still missing – sure I can link to my iTunes library but I want more content streamed, not my library only.  Spotify can plug that gap for the music but it’s not on the Apple TV (yet).

I can only see this getting better and very quickly.  Whether we need Apple to bring out a physical TV box I’m now not sure.  Their little Apple TV box of magic does it all and plugs into any screen I want.  I can control it with my iPhone and it works.

Total connected content as I described above?  Not yet.  My broadband, phone, TV and content are all with many different (carefully) selected (good) providers – including Sky, BBC (care of the license fee), BT, O2 and now Netflix.  But thanks to good devices it’s all joined up and it won’t be long before we see some very clever services coming in that offer more or all of it in one package.

Anytime, anyhow and anywhere – IS coming soon…!

How many recovery days over Easter?

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Last run was last Thursday – 4 days off over Easter and then back tomorrow.  That’s a whole 4 days with no running (or any other exercise).  Too many recovery days this close to the marathon?  Don’t know.  Feels good but not quite right – part of the taper feeling.  Feet working nicely and not sore, and blister that I’d had on one big toe has gone, so all good.

Recovery days are definitely a must and I normally have one day of no exercise, between runs when training.  Got to let the body get back to it’s best and get ready.

First image that showed up with Google search for “recovery” was Eminem’s album cover – never heard of it before (a quick listen on iTunes and not for me).  Never mind it being the first image on the search – it’s like the first page of them.  The power of page ranking!

No running today but will do some stretching and strength training later.  And get the foam roller out for some torture training.  Nice site here with some good hip stretches in – worth a look if you’re not sure how to stretch or need some new ones.  Still not got into the habit of daily stretching – rubbish really.  Can’t get my head around why it’s so difficult to do.

Do you stretch every day?  If yes, how did you get yourself started?