Bite-sized chunks of info from Vancouver-based freelance copywriter/web editor Rob Mathison, including recent projects, info/articles, links, and interesting stuff found on the web. And a picture of a doughnut.
I'm available for freelance/contract work.
1907 Vancouver tram-cam
I think this takes you around Granville-Hastings-Carrall-Cordova-Cambie-Robson. Still driving on the left in those days and there are noticeably more hats and fewer Starbucks outlets.
El Clasico: Round three
Round three of the El Clasico marathon today. Let’s hope for more artistry from Messi and co. Animation (of November’s amazing Barcelona performance) by Richard Swarbrick of Gareth Bale vs Inter Milan fame.
Inside Vancouver - a tourism blog done well
It amazes me that not every city or country’s Tourism Board has a blog. There’s a limitless amount of content that can be produced and no shortage of writers, photographers, videographers and other content creators who would jump at the chance to get their work featured.
An example of a tourism blog done very well is Inside Vancouver from Tourism Vancouver. The content is really well organized, with clear categories (instead of the vague “Things to Do” you often see on travel-related blogs, or worse, content organized by month as in many blogs), and it does a brilliant job of showcasing the people, sights and things to do within the city. A quick search on Google for a couple of topics sees the blog rank pretty highly, so the SEO element works well. And of course every post is easily distributed through Twitter and Facebook.
Fancy gadgets more viral than gorillas?
This video from Corning Glass has had over 10m views and counting on YouTube - compared to just 90,000 or so for their one featuring a gorilla.
It’s a nice way of telling a story about a pretty mundane product, not to mention looking very plausible. Man in gorilla suit - not so much. Should have had him play the drums.
Gareth Bale vs Inter Milan
Breathtaking. (Bale’s performance and the animation.)
Surely won’t be long before we’ll see this animator used in a Nike or Adidas ad.
Travel Marketing Case Study: Tourists + camera + curious squirrel + Internet + creative thinking + Twitter + someone funny = @Banff_Squirrel
When I signed up to Twitter I didn’t expect a squirrel wearing glasses and a hockey helmet to generate the most entertaining tweets in my feed.
But that’s what’s happened. Credit to Banff and Lake Louise Tourism for recognizing an opportunity and making the most of it.
Update: Squirrel wins Best Online Campaign at the Canadian E-tourism Awards.
Great website - A New Warrior | Greenpeace.
For the first time in ages there’s a Flash intro I actually wanted to watch and listen to, and that had a purpose other than to look flashy. The soundtrack then stays with you while you’re on the site, making browsing feel like a cinematic experience.
The content is great in bringing a famous ship to life, and the whole website works superbly as one big call to action, as well as tackling the problem of how to show people exactly how their donation can help.
There’s the clear overview copy on the home page, making it obvious what the site is for; the sense of urgency generated by the construction percentage widget and the crossing out of items already bought; the very prominent viral Facebook and Twitter buttons; the interactive navigation; the brilliant design and imagery that lets you see the ship built donation by donation; and the donor incentive of being able to help build and become part of the new Rainbow Warrior.
Not perfect I suppose as Flash won’t work for everyone, but superb nonetheless.
Just scroll it.
Seeing more and more imaginative scrolling navigations (eg Ben the Bodyguard).
More:
Super Bowl ads, Darth Vader and shameless namedropping.
It’s all about the ads. I like the VW ‘Force’ one, but then Star Wars was a major part of my childhood. Collected the cards, got a couple of the figures, pined after Princess Leia…
That’s why a major event in my life was attending a work-related BBQ at Gold Leader’s house a few years ago, before coming to Canada. Yes, Gold Leader survived being shot down by Darth Vader during the assault on the Death Star and now lives somewhere in Scotland (or did several years ago).
The perfect gift for people who like moustaches and typography.
A Field Guide to Typestaches is a poster by designer Tor Weeks. I wouldn’t mess with Mr. Federal.
