The Bunge

By TJ Ryan

Bob Dylan has been known throughout his career to be a very reserved and mysterious person. Either hiding behind his famous black glasses or toying with interviewers, it’s has been very difficult for people to hear what Dylan really thinks. This aspect of his character is partly what makes the man so intriguing. As soon as anyone figures him out, Dylan is redefining himself again. A great example was when he was labeled as the “king of folk music, ” and he busted out the electric guitar much to the audience at Newport Folk Festivals distaste.
Once again, Dylan is surprising listeners when he announced on April 19th that he would be on the other side of the mic as he hosts his own XM radio show. The first episode of “Theme Time Radio Hour with Your Host Bob Dylan” will air on May 3rd.
Each show’s play list will follow a specific theme. For example the first show is devoted to the weather. Playing songs like “The Wind Cries Mary” by Jimi Hendrix and “Keep on the Sunny Side” by The Carter Family, among many others. Song lists for future episodes will be built around themes such as “cars,” “dance,” “police,” and “whiskey.”
The show’s press release ends saying, “With ‘Theme Time Radio Hour’ Bob redefines ‘cool radio’ by combining a sense of intellect with edginess in a way that hasn’t been on radio before,” said Lee Abrams, chief creative programming officer, XM Satellite Radio. “Bob has put a lot of work into his XM show and it’s clear that he’s having a good time behind the mic.” Each week the show will feature an eclectic mix of music based around a theme, and Dylan will offer stories about the music and topics of interest. Dylan also will read and answer select emails which is a long awaited opportunity for his fans. Also, “Theme Time Radio Hour” will feature contributions from special guests such as famous musicians and comedians.

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By TJ Ryan

For my mass communications class this semester, we had to do group projects interviewing professionals in the field we intended on studying. In communications, there are countless tracks you can take. I choose to do the project on advertising. The professor told us to aim high; some did, while others interviewed the Date Doctor from the student newspaper (not to say he/she doesn’t offer some solid advise, but come on). Through some friends, I got a hold of the Art Director at Fallon Worldwide. This company is money. They are the best firm in Minneapolis, and steal markets from all the major cities. They have clients such as BMW, Starbucks, Sony and many more. They are the proud makers of the BMW short films, which helped double sales, cut costs by a third and increase showroom visits by %400 percent. They marketed the films as entertainment and had people coming to them to watch their films, instead of paying to get them played on TV and other media outlets. People didn’t even realize they were being sold anything, just that they really wanted to drive a fast car. BMW released them online and then on DVD, mediums were they can actually show off what the car can really do without stupid warnings on the bottom of the screen. With the help of Clive Owen as the driver, and many other famous actors and directors, the films got viewed by over 75 million people. The films were released about 4 years ago, and I know this is old news, but they are still very cool. They changed the face of advertising. However, no one has been as successful at Fallon. I guess it’s harder to make short films about something a little less “sexy,” like paper towels. The films are no longer on the BMW site, but they are still up on Fallon.com. Click on the link to see all the films. I personally recommend, “The Hostage.”
Fallon BMW Film Series
Because it’s a flash site i can’t give a direct link, but at Fallon.com click on “Case Studies” then “BMW Films” then “Work.” It’s worth it.

The Art Director, Dean Hanson, said that “research is an excuse to make bad ads.” Fallon takes a different approach. They’re a balls out company that takes risks. They are the proud creators of the Sony Bravia ad. Swarms of colored bouncing balls bounce down the hilly San Francisco streets in the minuet TV ad. It’s a sight to behold, and the commercial says and shows, “colour, like no other.” A friends told me they show this commericial to students in design class. In the making of section, they show how they actually took bins full of thousands of balls and dropped them down the hill. As the cloud came close, the cameramen put up shields. Imagine getting hit by hundreds of balls at once. I guess I never have thought about kid’s toys as being so destructive, only kids. But, I guess everything in excess can be harmful, even techno-colored bouncing balls.

Below is the “balls” ad. To see other Fallon highlights, which are all very entertaining, funny and smart, click on the link below.
Fallon Highlights
At Fallon.com click on “Our Work” and then “Television”

See behind the scenes features click here

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