Enjoy.

I’ve never thought of agency folk as tightwads, but apparently some of our fellow ad peeps have deemed April Fool’s Day jokes inappropriate for the workplace:

“Employees tempted to fill the boss’s office with balloons or plant
whoopee cushions in their coworkers’ chairs this April Fools’ Day may
want to think twice. Seven out of 10 (71 percent) marketing executives
polled by The Creative Group consider April Fools’ jokes unsuitable for
the office. The responses were more evenly split among advertising
executives, with about half (51 percent) finding workplace pranks
appropriate versus 45 percent who gave a thumbs down.” (courtesy of Agency Spy)

But never fear. "Inappropriate" is our favorite buzzword at the Mortar:

in·ap·pro·pri·ate /ˌɪnəˈproʊpriɪt/ Pronunciation Key – Show Spelled Pronunciation[in-uh–proh-pree-it]
–adjective 
not proper or suitable; highly entertaining and worthy of praise.

Who wants to Vaseline the doorknobs and saran wrap the toilet seats with me?

Barnbrook Design of London has just completed an identity project for a Japanese company called Dignity that hails as the first truly contemporary funeral director. Along with their funeral home, Dignity has plans for a branded ambulance, gravestones, and a couple less traditional offerings. Here’s where it gets weird.

First, Dignity t-shirts. For retail purchase. I understand the whole "as stylish in death as in life," but, "as stylish in life by promoting how stylish you’ll be in death"? I’m not so sure.

Now for the true kicker. Gemstones made from… the ashes of the deceased. Um, yuck. Have we really come to a point in society that our prized self-image lives well beyond our departure? A fancy box or urn to rest in is one thing, but a set of studs for our kids to pass on so we’re present at our grandchildrens’ weddings? I’m officially creeped out.

But, this does point to a trend that I’m sure will continue – the careful management of our self-image through what we buy, join, and associate with. It’s a longstanding phenomena, but what’s changing is the scope. We’re seeing parents managing their kids’ personal image from the moment they’re born (think Myspace for tots), and we’re just beginning to see the tip of what’s possible for managing one’s identity in death and beyond.

Courtesy of CR Blog.

Anyone notice the rabbit-like explosion of speech bubble logos in this crazy Web 2.0 world? If you haven’t, the folks over at eachday will be kind enough to show you a horrifying collection (pointed out by IF!). And, they’ve got a good point:

Yes, speech bubbles communicate all the warm fuzzies of connection, dialogue, messaging, community, collaboration, social media, etc. of Web 2.0 applications. Unfortunately, and rather like rabbits or pigeons, there are simply too many speech bubble logos in existence. It’s officially overdone. Sorry.

Here’s a small sample of the expansive speech bubble family from eachday’s post.