During the postseason baseball games, the commercials have tended to be dry and highly repetitious. Not so for the Emerald Nuts commercials, each of which has made me at least giggle. First there was the Egomaniacal Normans, and I was hooked from there.

So I finally found the product at the grocery store. We Noggles are nut consumers, especially on salads, so I picked up some cashews, since we already have quite a stash of both pecans and walnuts. Mmm, cashews.

Slate seems to agree with me about the Emerald Nut mania.

There's no better way to make us remember a name than to shape the entire campaign around the name itself. Each ad hammers home "E.N." for "Emerald Nuts." I can't think of a campaign more likely to "get credit" for its spots—the mnemonic ensures that we'll never forget which product these ads are for.

And the ads themselves are goofy and appealing. My favorites: "Elegant Naysayers" (a teenager wears a frilly, aristocratic costume—and hates everything) and "Evil Navigators" (a guy in the passenger's seat gives directions from a map ... and then calmly spins his head 360 degrees, a la The Exorcist, before grabbing a handful of nuts from a jar on the dashboard).

But the true genius here isn't the content of the ads. It's the length, the abundance, and the careful scheduling of the ads. According to Diamond's vice president of marketing, Sandy McBride, once the "E.N." idea was settled on, everything else fell into place. They decided to run a whole lot of 15-second ads instead of a few 30-second ones. In part this was because the joke is so simple, it can't fill even 30 seconds of airtime. But Diamond also knew that, with a limited budget, it would get much more bang for its buck. There are 15 different spots in the campaign right now. (McBride says they shot them all together, in three days.) The diversity helps prevent ad fatigue, where we've seen the same spot so many times that we tune it out.

Posted by: hln at 06:57 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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If you know a smoker who wants to quit, pass this on.

SUNDAY, Oct. 24 (HealthDayNews) -- A large Internet study designed to evaluate the best way to help smokers kick the habit is being sponsored by the American Cancer Society.

QuitLink is the largest Web-based trial of smoking-cessation programs ever conducted in the United States. Enrollment is free and open to any smoker over the age of 18. The study will accept 6,000 people.

"We know there are a lot of smokers out there who really want to quit, and it's difficult," Joanne Pike, of the American Cancer Society, said in a prepared statement. "So sign up now and be one of the first people to take part in a study that will give us answers on how best to help smokers today, and in the future, quit using online resources."

Posted by: hln at 10:13 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Once upon a time in the great city of St. Louis, there lived and played a wonderful baseball team called the St. Louis Cardinals. During the regular season - and the first two series of the postseason - Cardinal batters were feared and mighty. Those days are gone.

Sigh. That's where I've been. Sitting in front of the TV with my Propel on one side and crochet materials on the other. And until the last three games, it's been a treat.

But all Fairy Tales must come to an end. When, as a fan, you turn off the TV in top of the 7th and consider making other plans for the night of game 4 (tomorrow), your hope is lost.

I'll not boo hoo on your reading time any longer.

hln

Posted by: hln at 09:55 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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That was the big headline on the Drudge Report this morning. Yeah, I clicked it.
Who "fakes it" more? Democrats. Perhaps that alone is the answer.

I'm waiting for the "who's happier with self" poll. I bet the answers will be the same, especially among the personally responsible crowd, which is usually in the conservative/libertarian arena.

hln

Posted by: hln at 08:25 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Brian and I have been following the Cardinals in playoff baseball. Because neither of us is a TV watcher except for live sports, we're really not all that attuned to commercials. But we have seen quite a lot of the two new Subway commercials wherein Jared lightly snarks on McDonald's fat content.

Brian said, "yep, Jared's gained back a bit of that weight." And he has, that Jared boy. Probably nothing that will affect his health, but you can see a bit of pudginess and lack of muscle definition even through his dorky sweater (that thing will probably show up on e-Bay some day, and boy is it ugly).

So I paid more attention each time the commercials appeared (oh, those half inning breaks). You know what it really is. Jared Fogle has MANBOOBS!

They're not huge or anything, but they're there. Some incline presses posthaste, m'man.

hln

Posted by: hln at 12:18 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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I found this a few weeks ago linked off of some right-wing site - only bookmarked this site. Found it funny and thought I'd share.

It's Politically Incorrect Fitness.

Actually, if you do nothing else, scroll down to the pic of the author doing a one-legged squat. I'll steal the picture. Caption ideas?


(And note that his knee doesn't go over his toe. Good boy, Matt.)

I'll certainly buy a couple of things he says without questioning. I've done only about a quarter of the strength training I usually complete for the last month. There was the week of rest for the MS 150. There was the near week of rest following it. I felt weak and out of sorts with my upper body. I hadn't lifted since Tuesday until today, opting for a short home shoulder and back workout. That travel stuff can get you, especially if the nights aren't down time. Back on track - I'll take soreness over aches and pains ANY time.

And don't forget the cardio. Balance, balance.

hln

Posted by: hln at 09:28 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Well, first it was Kansas City with Brian. Much eating, drinking, and book buying. A really good time and a weekend that we deserved - perhaps a reward for the full summer of bike training.

Then I took off Tuesday for the Ft. Lauderdale area on business. I was able to briefly visit some family members in North Palm beach, FL, which was hit by Jeanne. You'd see a row of palm trees, and one of them would be uprooted and lying by its side. Seemingly random. At least half of the traffic lights were out, some completely ripped from the poles. It was crazy. Thankfully, no property damage for my relatives.

Flying out of Ft. Lauderdale on Thursday was interesting. Remember the debate? Yes, it was in Coral Gables, but Senators Kerry and Edwards flew into Ft. Lauderdale. It would not surprise me if President Bush did as well. All traffic coming into Ft. Lauderdale and leaving it was delayed a half hour to 45 minutes, and that includes Jet Blue and Southwest Airlines. As we taxied out, I saw the Kerry/Edwards plane. Kinda neat - a symbol of democracy two planes over or something like that. A ways down and also in the "private" section of the airport, a much smaller plane was painted in such a way to root on President Bush.

Back on Friday, but we've been social fiends - two parties in two nights, and yesterday was couch time watching the Packers lose (and consoling my spouse).

Back and ready to blog. Got a bunch of food-related stuff queued up. Hope I can hit at least one of those when I get back from my evening activity.

Sorry for the nearly empty blog.

Oh, St. Louisans. Anyone looking for a cat? I have a friend who, unfortunately, has some converging life issues to the point where she cannot keep hers. The cat's name is Josie, and she's 9 years old. She's not been around other cats or really exposed to children from what I know. She's a bit shy, but I believe she let me scratch her once. Give me a hand finding her a home?

hln

Posted by: hln at 06:46 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Drudge Report states that Senator Kerry may have had "notes," specifically against the agreement for the debate.

Whether or not this is true (I'm going to stipulate it's a big no), this quote from the Kerry insider is equally bad.

"Kerry did not cheat," said the Kerry insider. "This is more lies from Republicans, who are hoping for a quick change of subject away from the president's performance, and the new polls."

Posted by: hln at 06:25 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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