I Want A Home

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I want to be a contender.
I want a warm belly to sleep on.
I want a big house.

What could possibly be cuter than talking cats?

In this commercial, the Animal Humane Society uses cats to tell their story and a sad story it is. Last year, over 30,000 companion animals were brought to their rescue shelter. The vast majority - 20,000 - were felines.

They implore the viewer to make homes for these sweet little cats and to give them ...

... a young child to snuggle up to at night. 
... a big house to romp around in.
... someone special to play with them.

In a nutshell, someone to love.

Interestingly, the Animal Humane Society could easily be confused with the Humane Society of the United States, which is the nation's largest animal protection organization and the one you are most likely familiar with.

The sponsor of this ad - the Animal Humane Society - only has five locations, all in the state of Minnesota. So, as cute as this ad may be, it's not particularly meaningful to about 95% of the people that live in the United States.

Regardless, we're happy it came to YouTube so we could all enjoy these adorable little talking cats.

Wrangler Sees Red

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Wrangler taps into man's animalistic nature with its new "We Are Animals" campaign, seen on TV and print in France.

This is a disturbingly dark campaign that casts the Wrangler brand into a whole new light. The brand emits edginess and a rebellious nature that one would not typically associate with Wrangler.

For Americans, this campaign is a radical departure from where the brand has been in the past ... an iconic American brand that conjures up images of clean-cut, all American cowboys and football players.

 Frankly, I prefer the kinder, gentler side of Wrangler. Hopefully, this campaign will stay on the other side of the ocean.

White House | Black Market Taps Out Its Style

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White House | Black Market is currently airing a new TV campaign that is somewhat reminiscent of Gap advertising from a few years ago ... showing off its latest fashions by toe tapping to the beat of an upbeat dance song.

While the theme of the ad isn't necessarily new, the ad delivers its message in a fun, eye-catching way, using model Coco Roch as the star of the dancing fashion show.

Known for their black and white clothing, the viewer may be somewhat surprised by the splash of red that sneaks into the middle of the spot. In the midst of the sea of sameness, it jumps off the screen, eloquently informing the viewer that White House | Black Market sells more than just white and black clothing.

The main intent of this ad is to launch their new Spring business collection ... the WorkKit. The ad makes an interesting play on words,  tying the collection back to the dancer who happens to be WorkingIt.

Similar to the Gap dancing ads, the new White House | Black Market ad breaks through the clutter, simultaneously entertaining and educating the viewer.

Well done.

ASICS Gel Shoes Take Flight During March Madness

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This month, ASICS kicks off its global TV campaign with the launch of its new lightweight shoe, the ASICS Gel Neo33.

The ad entered the psyches of basketball fans everywhere with its debut during March Madness. Great venue to reach the perfect target during a period of time when athletes and athlete wannabes are glued to the TV.

The spot begins with runners carrying brightly lit balloons through city streets. Running to the lively soundtrack of Temporary Blues, the athletes convene on a hilltop holding their blue, green and white balloons in a colorful cluster of happiness.

As if by magic, the balloons take flight to reveal a giant ASICS 33 shoe. The shoe gently floats away into the sky, revealing the super: ASICS: The Enemy of Limits.

Interesting tagline and message: ASICS can take you anywhere you want to go.

ASICS Gel Neo33 Balloon Shoe from TV commercial

Google Father Writes Memoir To Sophie

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Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of hearing Catherine Roe, head of Consumer Packaged Goods at Google, speak to the Milwaukee Chapter of the American Marketing Association. It was a terrific presentation and one that made me realize just how pervasive Google has become in all of our lives.
For example, how many times have you used Google as a verbin the past few weeks ... or even in the past few days?  
(Just this morning, I was looking for an iPad case and thought, "I'll have to Google that.")
Catherine shared this heart-felt video with us.


The video, affectionately titled “Dear Sophie,” tells the story of Asian American Google employee Daniel Lee, who sets up an e-mail account for his newborn daughter Sophie. Over the course of the next few years, he captures all the important milestones in Sophie's life, by sending her pictures, videos and e-mails. 
This video is part of a larger campaign designed to show how important Google has become in all of our lives. The brilliance of this campaign is that it tells Google Chrome's message through masterful storytelling. This heartfelt story emotionally draws each of us in, putting a warm, friendly face on the Google experience.
Brilliant. Just brilliant.
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Sprinkles Cupcakes

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I have only been to Sprinkles Cupcakes once in my life and this was in August of last year. Being a baker I find it really difficult to fork over money for treats that I can make myself. I first heard of Sprinkles Cupcakes from the show "The Girl's Next Door" on E! Yes, I admit I watched that show, but I only caught reruns when nothing else was on during the last couple of seasons. I remember the girls would make a big deal over Sprinkles Cupcakes.

We are lucky enough to have a Sprinkles location in the La Jolla area of San Diego. Last year when my daughter was still part of a play group, the moms would talk about the huge line they would stand in at Sprinkles. Again, being a baker I wasn't overly interested in Sprinkles. I figured they are just like most cupcakes and overpriced. The hype is because of their Los Angeles location and reality stars talking about their cupcakes on television.

One day I was in the La Jolla area with a friend and we decided to stop by and check it out. Fortunately there was no line, only a couple of people ordering in front of us. It was nice to step into the cool, small, but bright store since I remember it was very warm that day.

I apologize that I can't remeber what I ordered, but this cupcake was mine. I want to say it was maybe a hazelnut flavor?  I know the colored dots tell you what flavor your cupcake is, but I couldn't find this color combination listed on their website.

This was my daughter's half eaten cupcakes. A double chocolate concoction with a creamy filling.

I picked this out out for my husband. I think it was vanilla.

In the end I was quite impressed by Sprinkles Cupcakes. They are the original cupcakery afterall and they have their business down to a science. I also thought the prices would be more expensive but found they were very reasonable.

Have you tried Sprinkles Cupcakes?

Sweet Treat Idea List for Mom

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Mother's Day is next week on May 13th. Here is a list of sweet treats I have whipped up in my kitchen in the past that may help to give you ideas if you are looking for a sweet treat to present to your mom! These are Vanilla Butternut Pecan Truffles dipped into tempered milk chocolate.

These are Key Lime Truffles made the same way as the Vanilla Butternut, just with Key Lime oil in place of the nuts and Vanilla Butternut. They are also dipped into tempered milk chocolate.

Have an ice cream maker? Break it out and put it to use! There are a lot of creamy ice cream recipes out there waiting to be made. You can package it up nicely in a container and take it to Mom! If she needs any bowls or dessert cups you could package it up together! This photo above is Richer Than German Chocolate Ice Cream.

This is a recipe I put together in a springform pan using a homemade Oreo crust, chocolate and whipped cream base that I froze together. Decorate the top by piping some extra homemade whip and adding cherries for color and interest (and to eat!) Serve frozen.

This is my Mom's favorite. It is the Caramel Macchiato Cheesecake on AllRecipes.com

Don't forget the homemade Whipped Cream! It is very easy to make! I serve this on top of the Caramel Macchiato Cheesecake with caramel.

Is Mom coming over to your place? Serve this Chocolate Pizza straight out of the oven. It will likely be a conversational piece. Who knew about Chocolate Pizza? 

I like to fall back onto my signature recipe and the first one of mine that AllRecipe published, the MySweetCreations Peanut Butter Cookie Pie.  I do admit that I now make this with homemade whip in place of Cool Whip and wish I would have written the recipe to reflect that. Make sure you serve it with extra Reese's, chocolate and caramel sauces on top. I also add a side of whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

How about these Chai Latte Muffins? It has been a while since I made these but I still remember how delicious they were. Serve with an extra drizzle of caramel and sprinkle of cinnamon/nutmeg on top.

Go easy with Peanut Butter Gem Squares. They are basically cookie bars of the peanut butter and M&M variety. Decorate with extra goodies on top if you want! I lightly press the M&M's onto the dough just before baking.

Whoopie Pies are fun, but best made and consumed the day they are made.

I can't tell you how many times I have made the Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie. It is also one of my favorite recipes to fall back on when all else fails. A couple of tips if you want yours to taste like a "mall cookie"is to decorate it using homemade buttercream and store bought rich chocolate icing.

Guaranteed everyone will swoon over this dessert. The Buster Bar Dessert tastes just like Dairy Queen's Peanut Buster Parfait. I made this using homemade vanilla ice cream and whip. Seeing this photo makes me want to make this again.

Simple yet delicious....Marshmallow Pops. Stick a lollipop stick through a marge marshmallow (they even make jumbo ones now) and dip into the chocolate of your choice. Roll them into a variety of sprinkles or topping such as coconut, nuts, cookie crumbs, etc.

Classic Red Velvet Cake.

This is my twist on one of those Snickers and apple salads. Try my Delicious Candy Apple Salad.

Monogram your Chocolate Cookie Cheesecake. This is another of my Mom's favorite sweet treat recipes. I make this for her each year when I visit during the summer.

This is the MySweetCreations Peanut Butter Cookie Pie recipe with a brownie bottom in place of the Oreo crust. I drizzle this with chocolate sauce and melted peanut butter.

Keep it easy and dip fortune cookies into white chocolate or candy melts! Wrap them up in a clear cellophane bag with a ribbon.

Seriously....who doesn't love cookie dough? Try this Eggless Cookie Dough.

Take it a step further and dip your cookie dough into tempered milk chocolate to create a Cookie Dough Truffle.

 ***  I hope this helped to give you all some ideas for Mom! What is your Mom's favorite sweet treat? ***