Games to Play While Lance Armstrong Lies, er Talks to Oprah: BingoSTRONG, Armstrong Bingo, A Doping Game and A Drinking Game.

Most every social bungle, depressing news item or fallen hero usually inspires some clever soul to create something humorous for the masses. To help stomach watching the Lance Armstrong Oprah two part interviews, there's a bunch of fun interactive games - and some products - circulating around the web.

Parody Silicone Bracelets:

above: you can buy the 'cheat to win' bracelet here at The Onion and/or the LiveWRONG bracelets here

BingoSTRONG and Armstrong Bingo, both play at home bingo games (you print out the hi-res boards I've included here), a doping game for those who keep steroids in their cupboards and of course, a drinking game. All mocking the once admired cycling legend Lance Armstrong while watching his interview with Oprah*.


click on the above image to download it at high-res

The game above now has rules, shown here:


Not the only Armstrong Bingo game out there. The Telegraph is offering this game board for you to play as well:



Join in the fun with the Lance Armstrong-Oprah Interview Doping Game:


And yes, of course, there's a drinking game, too.



*Oprah Winfrey's hotly anticipated, two-part interview with Lance Armstrong will air Thursday and Friday nights at 9 p.m. EST/PST on OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network. For those without a cable subscription, "Oprah and Lance Armstrong: The Worldwide Exclusive" will also be streamed live at Oprah.com.

Kate Middleton's First Official Portrait Is Revealed To Mixed Reviews. Let's Take A Close Look.

The Duchess of Cambridge's official portrait commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery in London was unveiled today.

How The World Searched in 2012 and A Little Analysis of Google Search Trends For The Past Five Years.

I recently saw a recut of this video for a television ad that I really loved and tried to find to share with you, but sadly, I could not locate the 60 second version of this (which I actually preferred to the original video), so I figured I may as well share the entire 2 minute and 46 second version with you:



Music: "All I Want" by Kodaline, Video production by Whirled Creative

Mark Lee from the blog Overthinking It did a little data analysis of his own regarding the past five years of Google's Zeitgeist (their year-end round up of search trends on Google) that I'd like to share with you. I've reprinted his findings, complete with his hypotheses and commentary below.

His first step was to compile the last 5 years of Google Zeitgeist Top 10 Trending Search Terms and assign each item to a category:


A few things to keep in mind regarding these lists:

• These are lists of top trending Google search terms, not highest volume Google search terms. Google defines “trending” as “search queries with the highest amount of traffic over a sustained period in 2012 as compared to 2011.” (Emphasis is his.) Hence the “flash-in-a-pan” nature of the more derided results like Rebecca Black and Chatroulette.

• These lists reflect worldwide Google activity. Remember that Google’s share of the web search market is not as dominating in some parts of the world as it is in the United States; China being the most notable example.

• He used his own taxonomy based on his intuitive understanding of the different phenomena presented in the results. For example, rather than lump both Whitney Houston and Rebecca Black into the “music” category, he put Whitney Houston and Steve Jobs together in the “celebrity death” category.

• Although Google Zeitgeist goes back to 2001, Lee only went back 5 years, partly because it’s a nice round number, partly because there was no year-end roundup for 2006, and partly because he wanted to limit the amount that changing search habits and demographics could skew the results.

Here’s what the data looks like when you aggregate across the years, by category:


All fine and good, but what we really want to see is if there are any changes in search interests over the past five years:



So what do we make of this? Here are a few possible takeaways according to Lee:

• TV and movies are surprisingly underrepresented. The sole TV entry in the Top 10 over five years is Big Brother Brazil 12, and the sole movie entry is Twilight: New Moon.This is consistent with the idea that our media landscape is more diverse and less mass-market than it was in the pre-internet age. That being said, I’m still surprised that not even Avatar made the list, perhaps due to the year-over-year comparison calculation that powers these results.

• Searches for various social media sites has steadily declined since 2008. Is it because people are using social media less? Far from it, if Facebook and Twitter’s statistics are to believed. Instead, it’s probably due to two things: 1) the growth of social media is slowing as Facebook approaches near-total saturation and 2) the growth of social media web searches is slowing as more people access them using smart phone apps instead of a web browser.

• Sports cracked the Top 10 only twice, both in Summer Olympics years (the Euro 2008 soccer tournament also made the list). Why less love for the Winter Olympics? It may have something to do with the lack of beach volleyball (and exposed skin in general). Just a wild guess.

• Celebrity deaths are a reliable source of spikes in Google search activity, but 2010 had no such searches make the top 10 list. He perused several awful slideshows of 2010 celebrity deaths (so you don’t have to), and reports with some confidence that no one of the iconic stature of Steve Jobs, Whitney Houston, or Michael Jackson left us in 2010. Not that iconic stature is the only requirement for making this list; Ryan Dunn of Jackass fame seems to have qualified based on the alignment of the circumstances of his death and his daredevil image.


To Lee, the biggest surprise in this exercise was the tailing off of social media searches. As a reminder, it’s not because the total volume is declining; it’s because the year-over-year growth in searches isn’t enough to get these terms into the top 10. Still, if his theories are right–that social media is approaching full saturation and that the usage of it is moving towards mobile devices–then we do have a finding that approaches the idea of a “zeitgeist” in the traditional sense of the term: “the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time.” Social media–this potentially radical revolution in how humans interact with each other–not only became a “new normal” over the past five years, but is also undergoing a radical shift from the stationary computer screen to the mobile, always-on-you device. And if this radical reinvention of the radical reinvention isn’t reflective of the zeitgeist, Lee claims he doesn't know what is.

One last thought on the nature of Google Zeitgeist itself: Lee wondered if he was imbuing it with outsized importance by assuming that the Google Zeitgeist is more of a part of the popular imagination (the zeitgeist, if you will) than it actually is. To find out he asked none other than Google:

Over the last five years, Google Zeitgeist has remained a popular year-end search term, though not with any consistent growth or shrinkage in popularity:



That being said, it’s still dwarfed by other popular search terms like “iPad” or “Michael Jackson.” Even “lolcats,” a niche but once-hugely popular internet meme, has towered over Google Zeitgeist over the past 5 years:



Granted, the gap has narrowed recently as searches for “lolcats” has declined while “Google Zeitgeist’ remains more or less consistent, but the point should be clear: the Google Zeitgeist itself is far from a cultural juggernaut compared to the items it contains. It’s not surprising, but it does provide some needed perspective on the matter.

About Lee
Mark Lee is, depending on the day and the hour, a management consultant, a musician, a technologist, and one of the managing editors for Overthinking It. He is a devoted fan of the Terminator movies and Microsoft Excel. Follow him on Twitter: @goestotwelve.

Empire State Glows Blue As CNN Projects Re-election Of Barack Obama. Brand New Lighting Technology Courtesy Of Philips Color Kinetics.

above: CNN projects the re-election of Barack Obama as President of the United States and the Empire state building is lit up blue to reflect the electoral tally.

CNN joined forces this evening with the Empire State Building to display to New Yorkers, the network’s viewers in the United States (and around the world) the results of the presidential election. As each state was projected by CNN and electoral votes were allocated to the candidates, a vertical LED-illuminated “meter” located atop the spire of the building displayed CNN’s running tally of the race to 270.

This occasion marks the iconic Empire State Building’s first-ever use of their new custom LED panel technology, a state-of-the-art dynamic lighting system from Philips Color Kinetics that is unique to the Empire State Building and allows the building’s façade and mast to change lighting scenes in real-time. The four-sided tower, which sits atop the building more than a quarter of a mile from the streets of Manhattan, was illuminated in patriotic red, white and blue vertical stripes, while the mast was lit in blue and in red on two sides each to represent President Obama and Gov. Romney’s respective electoral vote totals:

CNN, exclusively shot footage from the rooftop of a neighboring building, and aired live images of the illuminated tower as the evening’s results progressed. Once CNN projected Barack Obama as the winner of the presidential election, the tower lights of the Empire State Building changed to all-blue:

above: Instagram photo by facelessnyer

The Empire State Building celebrates many cultures and causes in the world community with iconic lightings. Its tower lights recognize key milestones, events, charitable organizations, countries and holidays, a tradition started in 1932, when a simple searchlight was used to announce the election of New York-born Franklin Delano Roosevelt as President. To honor the United States Bicentennial, the Empire State Building installed colored floodlights to illuminate the building at night, lighting up red, white and blue, leading to today’s very popular Lighting Partner program.

Soaring 1,454 feet above Midtown Manhattan (from base to antenna), the Empire State Building is the “World’s Most Famous Office Building.” With new investments in infrastructure, public areas and amenities, the Empire State Building has attracted first-rate tenants in a diverse array of industries from around the world. The skyscraper’s robust broadcasting technology supports all major television and FM radio stations in the New York metropolitan market. The Empire State Building was named America’s favorite building in a poll conducted by the American Institute of Architects. The Empire State Building Observatory is one of the world’s most beloved attractions and is the region’s #1 tourist destination. For more information on the Empire State Building, please visit www.esbnyc.com, http://www.facebook.com/empirestatebuilding, or @EmpireStateBldg.

Tune in to CNN’s “Election Night in America” coverage beginning at 6 p.m. ET, or join the conversation on Twitter by following #CNNElection and @EmpireStateBldg.

CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is the most trusted source for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; CNN Digital Network, the No. 1 network of news Web sites in the United States; CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively syndicated news service; and strategic international partnerships within both television and the digital media.

The 2012 Winner and Visionary Award Finalists from London's Alternative Hair Show.

above: This year's winner of the Alternative Hair Visionary Award

2012 marks the 30th anniversary of Alternative Hair, during which time many of the world’s greatest hairdressers and hairdressing teams have appeared across the globe at Alternative Hair events in the UK, USA, Austria, Korea, Italy and Russia.

The 2012 Alternative Hair Show was held on Sunday 14th October, 30 years after the first Alternative Hair Show was held at London’s Camden Palace and adding funds to the £8.5 Million already raised in support of Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.



The vision of Alternative Hair is to recognize and honor creative talent as well as recognizing the future stars of tomorrow. The Visionary Award, has developed from the original concept of Alternative Hair President Anthony Mascolo, and has become an increasingly popular addition to the show. Now an international competition, this year the Visionary Award semi-finals will be held at the World Championships in Milan.

Here's a look at the 2012 Visionary Award Winner and all the finalists. (to see images from the show's presentation, LEGENDS, go here)

This year's Winner Helen Reavey's work graces the cover of the October/November 2012 issue of Irish Hairdresser Magazine :

in the London show:



The 2012 Visionary Award Finalists in alphabetical order:

Anthony Kilcoyne, (3rd place of VA Ireland):


Ceri Cushen, UK:


Cristiano Leuzzi, Italy:


Emmanuel Esteban, UK:


Evequoz Francois, Switzerland:


Deiter Ferschinger, Austria:


Freda Rossidis, Australia:


Joe Yves-Asmar, Sweden:


Koczka, Hungary:


Lina Shamoun, Canada:


Mauro Santurro, Italy:


Michelle McDermott, 2nd place in VA Ireland):


Misha Cadkova, Czech Republic:


Olexander Gryshko, Ukraine:


Olga Provotorova, Russia:


Pawel Babicz, Poland:


Pino Troncone, Italy:


Robert Masciave, UK:


Roger Persson, Sweden:


Ruslana Moroz, Ukraine:


Tom Connell, UK:


Tony DeLiddo, Italy:


Why Alternative Hair exists:
In 1983 Tony and Maggie Rizzo lost their small son Valentino to Leukaemia. To keep the memory of Valentino alive and try and make a change: to improve the chances of a child surviving this terrible disease, Tony organised a ‘one off’ charity show. The immediate popularity of the Show meant he just had to do a show the following year and 30 years on the following within the hairdressing industry remains strong.

Alternative Hair Show links creativity with charity and is everlastingly dedicated to the hairdressers and to supporting the life saving work of Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.

The Alternative Hair Shows have raised an astonishing £8.5 million thus far for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research in the UK and for leukaemia charities worldwide.

This vital work continues with the establishment of The Alternative’s very own charity, The Alternative Hair Charitable Foundation.

The Top 100 Global Brands of 2012. Who's Moving Up, Who's Dominating and Who's Declining.

Best Global Brands 2012
INTERBRAND RELEASES 13TH ANNUAL BEST GLOBAL BRANDS REPORT

Coca-Cola retains the #1 spot — Apple jumps to #2; Facebook enters Top 100 as Google overtakes Microsoft

NEW YORK, New York, October 2, 2012

Coca-Cola, Apple and IBM lead Interbrand’s 13th annual Best Global Brands report. While Coca-Cola retained its #1 position, Apple jumped to #2 with stellar sales in both developed and emerging markets over the last year. Social media giant, Facebook (#69), enters the report after making headlines as the third largest IPO in US history, and Google (#4) experienced a 26% increase in brand value over the last year, exceeding rival Microsoft’s (#5) brand value for the first time in the history of Interbrand’s report.

Interbrand, the world’s leading brand consultancy, publishes its Best Global Brands report of the world’s 100 most valuable brands on an annual basis. Interbrand’s methodology - the first of its kind to be ISO certified – analyzes the many ways a brand touches and benefits an organization, from driving bottom-line business results to delivering on customer expectations.

To develop its report, Interbrand examines the three key aspects that contribute to a brand’s value:

• The financial performance of the branded products or service
• The role the brand plays in influencing consumer choice
• The strength the brand has to command a premium price, or secure earnings for the company

2012 OVERVIEW: Delivering Meaningful Brand Experiences Across All Touchpoint

Against the backdrop of continued global economic uncertainty, this year’s top 100 brands excelled in securing their market position and delivering more personal and enriching experiences to consumers -- across geographies and platforms.

“As global competition increases and many competitive advantages, like technology, become more short-lived, a brand’s contribution to shareholder value will only increase,” noted Jez Frampton, Interbrand’s Global Chief Executive Officer. “The world’s 100 most valuable brands are leading the way by listening to consumers, employees, and investors alike and delivering a seamless and holistic brand experience across an ever-evolving range of touchpoints.

In a fast-moving world where consumers’ offline and online brand experiences constantly intertwine, the leading brands are staying actively engaged, tapping into the inexorable rise of data and information in order to drive innovation across all industries. They are spending the time and money required to understand the role their brand plays in consumers’ lives – and they are strategically weaving their brand proposition into every interaction.

2012 NEW ENTRANTS: Pampers, Facebook, Prada, Kia, Ralph Lauren, MasterCard

Pampers (#34): Pampers, the top-selling diaper brand in the US and P&G’s number one selling brand in the world, earned the highest ranking position among this year’s new entrants. Pampers has effectively used social media platforms and loyalty programs to connect to its consumer base. Such efforts (and increased financial transparency on P&G’s part) have earned Pampers a high-ranking spot in this year’s Best Global Brands report.

Facebook (#69): Facebook’s IPO in May enabled Interbrand to examine the social media behemoth’s financials for the first time. Despite its rocky start as a publicly listed stock and lingering uncertainty about its business model, Facebook’s growth as a brand, especially in developing markets, earns it a position in this year’s report.

Prada (#84): Prada returns to the Best Global Brands report this year. The brand’s continued growth in revenue is fueled largely by 250+ DOS (Directly Operated Stores) worldwide – a network that has expanded by keeping a careful eye on increasingly sophisticated customers in developing markets.

Kia (#87): For the past few years, Kia has been one of the fastest-growing global automotive brands. In the US, Kia’s market share has grown for 17 consecutive years and its sales numbers continue to rise, even in the troubled European marketplace.

Ralph Lauren (#91): Making its first appearance in the top 100 since 2009, Ralph Lauren’s notable brand growth in the past year can be attributed to highly innovative communication patterns and consistency across all touchpoints and formats

MasterCard (#94): MasterCard makes its debut in the 2012 Best Global Brands report after an impressive year. The company’s launch of its “Priceless Cities” campaign and a growing suite of solutions for business owners are steadily increasing consumer satisfaction – and contributing to its rise in brand value

2012 TOP RISING BRANDS: Apple, Amazon, Samsung, Nissan, Oracle

Apple (+129%): Despite Steve Jobs’ passing, consumers’ emotional connection to the Apple brand remains stronger than ever - this was made clear just recently with the launch of iPhone 5. Even in the face of increasing competition from rivals Google and Samsung, the company continues to demonstrate its commitment to protecting the Apple brand and its intellectual property. Such commitment enabled Apple to post quarterly revenue of USD $35 billion and quarterly net profit of $8.8 billion in July.

Amazon (+46%): Amazon has introduced the Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire in 175 countries, stretching the Kindle beyond its e-reader origins and turning it into a serious rival to the iPad. The Kindle Fire now enjoys the world’s second-largest tablet market share.

Samsung (+40%): Samsung became the global leader for smartphone shipments in 2011 ahead of Apple and Nokia. Samsung also generated a great deal of online buzz by integrating its Galaxy SIII and Note into the Opening Ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. Despite its legal battle with Apple, Samsung’s global market share is 32.6% and its brand value increased by a meteoric 40% in the past year.

Nissan (+30%): Nissan recovered quickly from last year’s natural disasters in Japan and grew its market share by pushing the envelope on innovation and by creating bold vehicle designs like that of the Nissan Juke. Nissan’s ability to overcome challenges and continually innovate caught the attention of consumers and helped increase its brand value by 30%.

Oracle (+28%): Oracle has been branching out beyond database solutions in order to stay ahead of competitors. The company continues to make strategic acquisitions and grow its capabilities and offerings, especially in cloud computing. Oracle’s 28% increase in brand value this year proves that such strategies have impressed customers and investors alike.

TECHNOLOGY BRANDS CONTINUE TO DOMINATE
Technology brands continued their strong push of recent years, with four of the five top risers hailing from the sector (Apple, Amazon, Samsung, and Oracle). In addition, five of this year’s Top 10 brands come from within the technology sector (Apple, Google, Microsoft, Intel, and Samsung). Apple, in particular, experienced record growth in brand value. While there is no question that products like the iPad and iPhone 5 are attractive to consumers around the world, Apple‘s values and unmistakable human touch are what set it apart from competitors in the end.

AUTOMOTIVE BRANDS MOVE BEYOND RECOVERY
Automotive brands are becoming more attuned to the emotional connection consumers have with their cars. This has caused many automakers to develop more effective, technologically savvy ways to reach target markets and help prospective buyers better relate to car brands.

Audi’s (#55) digital showroom, Audi City, is revolutionizing the future of retailing by combining digital product presentations and personal contact with dealers. Similarly, Ford (#45) is working hard to improve MyTouch, its in-car communications and entertainment system. Brands like BMW (#12) and Hyundai (#53) are investing in global brand campaigns and are becoming more digitally connected and tailored to narrower target groups.

For the most part, the entire industry appears to be focused on engaging customers and prospects in a more relevant and personalized manner throughout the entire purchase cycle.

LUXURY BRANDS PROVE RESILIENT
Despite the current economic landscape, all of the luxury brands in this year’s report increased their brand value. As the meaning of luxury shifts, this year’s top luxury brands reflect a changing global consciousness – with success dependent not only upon a portfolio of superior products and superb quality of service, but also a strong cohesive brand, a formidable digital presence, and reputation that is timeless, elevated, and refined.

The 2012 Best Global Brand report includes seven luxury brands: Louis Vuitton (#17), Gucci (#38), Hermès (#63), Cartier (#68), Tiffany & Co. (#70), Burberry (#82), and Prada (#84).

FMCG/CPG (FAST MOVING CONSUMER GOODS/CONSUMER PACKAGED GOODS) BRANDS INCREASE IN BRAND VALUE AND EXPAND PRODUCT OFFERINGS
The rise in value of several FMCG/CPG brands -- Kellogg’s (#29), L’Oréal (#42), Heinz (#46), Colgate (#47), Danone (#52), Nestlé (#57), and Johnson & Johnson (#79) -- reflect successful growth, especially in the developing markets. Another growing trend observed this year was the increasing number of FMCG brands expanding into the healthcare space. Avon (#71) and Kleenex (#80) were the only two brands to lose brand value (-4% and -7% respectively).

FINANCIAL SERVICES
Financial services brands are continuing to feel the impact of 2008’s global economic downturn. Recent events, such as the notorious Libor scandal, have tarnished the reputation of leading brands like Credit Suisse - it declined 5% in brand value and ranked #95. There is reason to be optimistic about the future of this sector, however: Five of the 12 financial services brands in this year’s report increased in brand value, including American Express (#24), Morgan Stanley (#54), AXA (#58), Allianz (#62), and Visa (#74). 

MasterCard (#94) was a new entrant to this year’s report, an indication that its “Priceless” campaign continues to succeed in building a stronger connection between the brand and its growing customer base.

Interbrand’s 2012 Best Global Brands report, including detailed sector analyses, is available in full on interbrand.com and bestglobalbrands.com. The Best Global Brands website also includes in-depth CMO interviews and interactive charts & graphs.
Interbrand’s 2012 Best Global Brands



About Interbrand
Founded in 1974, Interbrand is one of the world’s largest branding consultancies. With nearly 40 offices in 27 countries, Interbrand’s combination of rigorous strategy, analytics, and world-class design enables it to assist clients in creating and managing brand value effectively, across all touchpoints, in all market dynamics. Interbrand is widely recognized for its annual Best Global Brands report, the definitive guide to the world’s most valuable brands, as well as its Best Global Green Brands report, which identifies the gap between customer perception and a brand’s performance relative to sustainability. It is also known for having created brandchannel.com, a Webby-award winning resource for brand marketing and branding. For more information on Interbrand, visit interbrand.com.

Promoting Peace Through Food. The Recipeace Ads, Peace Meals and Peace One Day.

Recipeace is a social movement that aimed to join conflicting people through food in celebration of International Peace Day on September 21, 2012.




Throughout history, food has played a large role in bringing conflicting people together, turning times of crisis into times of peace. Recipeace is a social movement that brings people together over food. The intent is to build awareness for Peace Day on a global scale, while inspiring peaceful action on an individual level.



People could pledge for peace by cooking a meal inspired by recipes that have resolved conflict in history, visit a participating restaurant reserving tables for peace meals or tweet ideas of individuals who should come together over food for peace.(See the participating restaurants here.)

Check out the Peace Meals, the recipes and their inspiring stories here.




To help communicate the event, Leo Burnett, Chicago asked chefs, restaurants, food ambassadors and foodies around the world to join the Recipeace movement.

The print executions by Leo Burnett heralding the event were very simple - comparing weapons to food that have similar silhouettes:







More about Recipeace:
In 2001, Peace One Day successfully petitioned the UN to make September 21st, of every year, International Peace Day. Ever since, Peace Day has been a day of life-saving activities and action by individuals worldwide. This year, in partnership with Peace One Day, Recipeace aimed to continue that tradition.

Ad images courtesy of We Love Ad. All Other images courtesy of Recipeace and Peace One Day.