the world beyond recruiting

Hope you all enjoyed your Labor Day!  Three day weekends are always a great way to start a four-day work week.  Here are some links from around the “creative world.”

“The American” won the weekend box office. “Machete” came in second.

AdvertisingAge: What Big Brand Are Spending on Google

Ever sat back and wondering, “Hmm…I wonder what are the top 10 viral ads of all time?”  Now you know.

AdAge: Israeli Teens Swipe Wristbands to Update Facebook Status

Joaquin Phoenix skipped his own world premiere of “I’m Still Here” at the Venice Beach Film Festival today.

CNNTech: Kanye West and how Twitter’s changed how we communicate

For old time’s sake: ImmaLetYouFinish.com

BrandFreak: ‘Machete’ spoofs imagine other films based on racial stereotypes

AdFreak: Fake girl plays in traffic to scare bad drivers

In case you are looking, here are 100+ upcoming social media and tech events

This is, most likely, not the way you want to go into a job interview. Wait… This is definitely not the way you want to go into a job interview. That’s what I meant to say. In preparation for your interview with us, make sure you don’t do any of these things. However, with this guy’s resume, he wouldn’t have to worry about that step in the process anyway…

Enjoy your weekend!

You’ve gotta give it up to GEICO and The Martin Agency.  They keep bringing simple, memorable, humorous spots to TV/Internet.  Between the Cavemen, the gecko, and these new animal-inspired ads, they know what they are doing when it comes to building a brand name and building up brand equity.

If you haven’t seen them, here are a few of these ads. Enjoy these while on break…

Woodchucks

Little Piggy

Octopus

Today’s Rundown LA features a guide on the right way to do next weekend’s Charlie Saikley 6-Man Volleyball Tournament on the south side of the Manhattan Beach Pier. For those of you who don’t understand how a volleyball tournament can be so much fun, this picture will offer 1,000 words, which is still not enough to describe the good time to be had…

If you are in the area, you should definitely consider participating in some manner.  And consider checking out The Rundown’s guide to maximize the potential of your day. And, also, tell everybody there about Eleventh Hour…but in the most professional way possible at a beach full of inebriation and sand volleyball.

California lawmakers are considering putting flashing ads on license plates, doctors are urging the Coliseum not to hold another rave, and the Los Angeles Dodgers of Los Angeles beat the San Francisco Giants last night.

That’s what’s going on around Los Angeles, home of recruiting/staffing agency Eleventh Hour. Here’s what’s going on around the “creative world”:

• Toy Story 3 won the weekend box office for the second consecutive weekend (by the way, THR dubs this second consecutive weekend a “sophomore session,” just in case you need an unnecessary way of saying it).
• The Hollywood Reporter: B.O. trading venture won’t launch despite OK
• You’ve probably heard that Steve Carell is leaving The Office. This completely sucks, but, he has not changed his mind.
• AdAge: Why TV Advertisers Are Spending More for Less This Season
• Branded entertainment is set to increase, according to ADWEEK. I guess it’s better than advertisements on license plates.
• FIFA actually feels bad about some of the horrible mistakes made by referees during the 2010 World Cup. They are going to consider using video technology. (Technology: 1 – Stubbornness: 0)
• Mashable: iMovie Hacked to Work on iPhone 3GS
• The Rundown (USA): iBad: Admit you’re wrong with iPology
• CrunchGear: Barnes & Noble financials: e-book store blowing up like what
• And, in closing, yes, it was a tough loss for the U.S. weekend. But, let’s, at least, remember the good times.

Brian Laesch is an independent blogger posting on behalf of Marina del Rey-based boutique recruiting/staffing agency Eleventh Hour.

The Lakers parade to celebrate their second straight championship (and 16th for the franchise) kicks off in about 15 minutes. You can watch the entire thing on a live Internet stream here.

Or click on the picture of the buses the Lakers will be riding below…

Or, you can follow the official Twitter stream of the Lakers for coverage. And check us out at Eleventh Hour if you came here for the parade and are thinking about staying.

Tonight is the night. The 2010 NBA Finals featuring the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Boston Celtics. The media couldn’t ask for a better match-up (except for maybe Kobe vs. Lebron–good thing there was no puppet show this year). (Here’s the STAPLES Center getting ready for tonight’s starting lineups. And, Ron Artest gets his own column here.)

Here is ESPN’s preview of the series:

Here’s a video that has hardly anything to do with basketball:

Here at recruiting/staffing agency Eleventh Hour, there is some conflict. We are located in Los Angeles (Marina del Rey), but President Jeff Ganter is a Boston Celtics fan. Uh oh.

(This is a blatant attempt to attract LA transplants from Boston to Eleventh Hour. My apologies…but I still think it’s a really, really good idea, Boston-originating LA transplants. You should definitely check us out.)

Best of luck to the Lakers and Celtics. And congratulations to ABC/ESPN. You guys have already won. The rest is gravy.

Hope you all enjoyed your Memorial Day. Governor Schwarzenegger, Mayor Villaraigosa and actor Jon Voight led the celebration/observation of Memorial Day at West Los Angeles National Cemetery yesterday. That’s what was going on in Los Angeles, home of boutique recruiting/staffing firm Eleventh Hour. Here’s what’s going on around the “creative world”:

• R.I.P. Dennis Hopper
• Shrek topped a slow Memorial Day weekend box office (worst in 17 years).
• Guillermo del Toro has left The Hobbit. Who will take over as director?
• AdAge: Americans Downing Less Beer, Sparking Brawl Among Brewers
• Volkswagen weaves their arm-punching campaign into the opening of Jimmel Kimmel Live.
• Tom Cruise vs. Tom Cruise in an MTV promo. Remember when Tom Cruise was on the verge of crazy and it seemed like his career (or at least, reputation) was beyond repair? It seems that he’s recovered nicely.
• A baby takes over Rodeo Drive (or somewhere) in a jort-inspired diaper.
• TechCrunch: GeeksOnAPlane In Korea: 12 Demos From Local Startups
• And, some more Chris Klein auditions have leaked onto the Internet.

Brian Laesch is an independent blogger contributing to Eleventh Hour’s “the world beyond recruiting.”

According to the LA times:

Gary Coleman, who soared to fame in the late 1970s as the child star of the hit sitcom “Diff’rent Strokes” and whose post-TV-series life included a stint as a shopping mall security guard and an unlikely run for California governor, died Friday. He was 42.

The diminutive Coleman, whose adult height was 4 feet 8 inches, died at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo after suffering an intracranial hemorrhage earlier this week, according to a statement from hospital spokeswoman Janet Frank.

The child star whose life after stardom consisted of anything but stardom (unless it was ironic) has passed. It would probably be pretty easy to make some jokes, to take some parting shots at the actor who never seemed to age or grow as he struggled through later life. But that would show no class. And it wouldn’t be funny. There will no doubt be some lame, “upcoming” comedians or bloggers who will try. We, obviously, won’t be one of them.

Rest in Peace, Gary Coleman. Different Strokes will always be a classic show. “Whatcha talkin’ bout Willis?” will remain a catchphrase embedded in American pop culture for quite some time.

It was always cool to make fun of Gary Coleman. It always seemed to work. Well, the man seemed to have a very tough life after television was done with him (including a stint as a mall security guard). Let’s hope he’s in a better place and can finally rest.

Rest in Peace, Gary Coleman.

Happy Quatro de Mayo. What’s going on in LA—home of recruiting/staffing agency Eleventh Hour? Well, tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo, a tranquilized 200-pound black bear got stuck in a tree in Oxnard, and Twilight: Eclipse will premiere at the L.A. Film Festival this summer. That’s what’s going in Los Angeles—home to recruiting/staffing agency Eleventh Hour—but here’s what’s going on around the “creative world.” (Did that last line make you think to yourself, “this writer is Cronkite-esque?” No? OK.)

• A Nightmare on Elm Street won the weekend domestic box office with $32.9 million. You could say (wait for it) that audiences didn’t sleep on it. (Hey-oh.)
• Jimmy Fallon has been named host of the Emmy’s, airing on NBC in August. Um, that’s like, so. Haha. That’s like so. Haha. Yeah. Have you seen the new iPad? Hit it, Roots! OK, that’s our show!
• Risky Business: Spielberg mounting ‘War Horse’ for DreamWorks
• William Morris Endeavor forgetting where a certain percentage of them came from?
• Swagger Wagon brings it hard.
• Anheuser-Busch has outbid MillerCoors to be the official beer of the NFL. Of course, what this really means is that the end of the “press conference” commercials is, sadly, imminent.
• BrandFreak: Painter looks at American fast food in the Middle East landscape
• Have you heard the new Gatorade jingle? Yes, it’s a jingle, and not an old song pulled from obscurity. Kind of hard to believe. And you can even download it for free.
• Mashable: Gmail Gets Its Name Back in the UK
• CNNTech: Can anyone compete with Apple’s iPad?

Brian Laesch is an independent blogger working in association with boutique recruiting/staffing agency Eleventh Hour.