Let's say you make apps for handhelds. What are you really providing? Ones-and-zeroes? No. Nyet. Non. You are giving your customers the ability to do more than they otherwise could have. Giving them the power to fill orders on the spot. Trade stocks from the airport lounge. Do pretty much anything that needs doing. In real time. Without delay. So if you think about it, they're not "using apps." They're deploying happiness.

Mortar client Antenna launched their shiny new Mortar-built website Monday – complete with shiny new logo and shiny new tagline.

We're predictably proud of it, but perhaps even prouder of the client's Facebook tribute to their new logo.

"Please leave 1/4" clear space around logo. Please do not eat logo."

Visit the site. Watch the video. Let us know what you think.

A scant week after overtaking Microsoft as America's second-largest company, Apple has apparently decided to retire the venerable "Get A Mac" campaign. Now, we could argue about whether this makes good business sense or not all day long, but here's the important part:
In a sea of sucktitude, "Get A Mac" consistently brought smiles to our faces. The moment we saw John Hodgman's fact-packed melon, we knew we were in for a good time. How many other campaigns can you say that about? Uh-huh. That's what we thought. Hopefully this tribute video takes a bit of the sting out. 

This is the official logo of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

To say it's "caused a bit of a stir" is a bit like saying "The Titanic had a few bugs to work out."

But did those Londoners back down? Never, never, never! They doubled down. Not with delicious chicken sandwiches, but with this:

Presenting "Wenlock" and "Mandeville," the official mascots of the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games. 

No, we're not kidding. They even did a video!

But you know who is kidding? The kids. As in, "The Kids, They Will Mess With Your Brand."

Let's see what you scamps have gotten up to with your PhotoShop.

Expected. (But still funny.)

"Not in our house, Chalmers!"

"Say "What the #*#$&* are those things supposed to be?" again, mother#*$er.
Say it again. I dare you!"

 

"Sweep the leg-like protrusion, Johnny!"

We're through the looking glass, people.

 

This explains so much. Enjoy the rest of your Friday – and please continue twirling, twirling, twirling to freedom.

There's more (NSFW but hilarious) fun over at Deadspin.

"Make stuff people like. It's in the rulebook."

Mortar client Antenna just bought out Vaultus Mobile Technologies, the people who designed the eTrade app for iPhone and Droid – and gave the world the power to invest using the trusted knowledge of golf-playing talking babies.  Putting our well-documented antipathy toward The Talking Baby Gimmick aside for a moment, we think this purchase says something interesting.

Gene Signorini, vice president of market watcher Yankee Group’s Anywhere Enterprise Research division, says: “With this acquisition, Antenna has positioned itself to tap directly into…mobile market dynamics.”

To which we say, “Get to the interesting part, Gene.”

At which point Gene says, “Employees are demanding that mobile applications for business deliver the same type of user experiences that they are accustomed to getting from their personal life."

Thank you, Gene. That’s what we were looking for.

It’s like this, y'all: Somebody (Antenna) is building really cool apps that people use at work. The guy who fixes your Xerox machine. The guy who delivers Murphy’s Stout.  Instead of the clipboards they used to carry around, folks like that now have smartphones. Which do smart stuff.  So naturally, those folks – and the people who got them the technology in the first place – demand that level of functionality in their personal lives. Vaultus delivered that. And Antenna wisely snapped them up. See need, address need. Smart.