Thursday, November 29, 2012

A Chain Email Worth Sharing



An Interesting Story about an Ad Agency on Madison Avenue

The boss of a Madison Avenue advertising agency called a spontaneous staff meeting in the middle of a particularly stressful week. (This is one pretty sharp boss!) When everyone gathered, the boss, who understood the benefits of having fun, told the burnt out staff the purpose of the meeting was to have a quick contest. The theme: Viagra advertising slogans.The only rule was they had to use past ad slogans, originally written for other products that captured the essence of Viagra. Slight variations were acceptable.

They turned in their suggestions and created a Top 10 List.. With all the laughter and camaraderie, the rest of the week went very well for everyone! The top 10 were:

10.Viagra, Whaazzzz up!

9. Viagra, The quicker pecker picker upper.

8. Viagra, like a rock!

7. Viagra, When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight.

6. Viagra, Be all that you can be.

5. Viagra, Reach out and touch someone.

4.Viagra, Strong enough for a man, but made for a woman.

3. Viagra, Home of the whopper!

2.Viagra, We bring good things to Life!


And the unanimous number one slogan:

1.This is your peepee... This is your peepee on drugs

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

VSBrooks' Flavors of Thanksgiving

Turkey, green beans, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. These are the tastes and smells of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. But at VSBrooks we're not as conventional. We asked around to find out what  the different flavors brought to the VSB family table are. There are some very different and palatable answers!


Vivian Santos:
Her Thanksgiving meal is very traditional, with the exception of the tequila shot everyone (over 21) takes right before eating. According to Vivian, no one remembers when the tradition started, and I think we know why.




Diana Brooks: 
Their Thanksgiving claim to fame is Krispy Kreme bread pudding with homemade whipped cream. Wow.




Junior Jimenez:
Junior brings his Puerto Rican background to the table with arroz con gandules, guineos en escabeche and templeque for dessert. Hispanic much?




Nicky Goicouria:
Nicky combines two traditional tastes; one Cuban, the other very American in her Pumpkin Flan.




Olivia Errasti:
Olivia augments the flavors of traditional pumpkin soup with the addition of craisins and green apples.





Becky Benitez:
Even though Becky's family cooks a traditional Thanksgiving meal, her cuban grandmother refuses to give in. She makes ropa vieja and fried yuca and twists everyone's arm to eat it.




Cristina Alvarez:
Well... we'll let her tell you:

"Turkey a la Cristina, injected with everything from mojo to wine to garlic. Non-Kosher stuffing with sausage, bacon, olives, dates, walnuts, pistachios, pecans, raisins, figs, onions, garlic, and peppers.
White rice a la Elsa (my sister in law) - venezuelan style. Potato salad a la Minita (my mom) with thinly sliced onions, peas, and hard boiled eggs, with a secret batter that includes mayonnaise, dijon mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Mini miga sandwiches of a variety of flavors, including anchovies and hard boiled eggs; and prosciutto and goat cheese."

Eclectic as always.


Maria Williams:
Choose your carbohydrate! Maria makes her super secret potato salad, baked mac and cheese and sweet potato casserole with pecans.




Ingrid Trigo de Serrano: Her family mixes cuban and american flavors with their Sweet ham and congri and yuca.




Daniel Timiraos:
His Thanksgiving dinner is strictly traditional, except in how the turkey is cooked; with bacon, lots and lots of bacon...



So now that we've got your mouth watering go and cook something already!  All of us at VSBrooks Advertising wish you a happy and safe Thanksgiving, spent with good food and better company.


Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Fundraising in Paradise.


South Florida has long been deemed one of the playgrounds of the wealthy.  The southernmost parts of our peninsula, along with parts of California and New York, are where people think fundraising for worthy causes should be a breeze because everyone has money, right? Not necessarily.

Our local newspaper recently shed light on how difficult the fundraising environment has become, due to many economic factors beyond the control of nonprofit agencies. In this climate of uncertainty and change, gaining the attention and trust of supporters is very challenging, putting the onus on agencies to be creative.

At VSBrooks Advertising, being creative is what we do daily. But no one said coming up with unique, eye-catching, funny, thought-provoking, engaging and interactive ways to gain support was easy. Yet, when charged with leading Feeding South Florida onto new paths of revenue-generation and mass communication, Diana Brooks, one of our founders and the board chair of FSF, came up with a few ideas that even impressed The Miami Herald.  

We’re proud of Diana and any idea we can generate that will help keep a person from going hungry. Because if you can’t use your talent to help others, really … what good is it?