The new website retains the recognizable rust color but changes dramatically in its design, content and interactivity.  New features such as a winners gallery and judge’s comments will enable us to be more dynamic and informative.

The winners gallery on our home page will be constantly changing as we will be uploading some of the best and most interesting submissions.  In addition, judges will be blogging about what they are seeing.  We will also be profiling some of the entrants and their extraordinary work.

The 2012 competition has many new categories that reflect the rapidly evolving creative marketing and communications industry.  There is more emphasis on new media, web interactivity and social media, while still recognizing the importance of traditional media such as brochures, print advertising and periodicals.

2012 Entry brochures will be mailed to our database on Friday.  If you have never entered Hermes, MarCom or AVA and want a brochure, let us know. info@hermesawards.com.

Check us out at:
www.hermesawards.com

In honor of the Super Bowl commercial we are offering another look at the best of all time.

Superbowl ad video:

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/03/the-7-best-super-bowl-commercials-ever-aired-videos/

After you see what the favorite picks are, click on to the next link to view a discussion at what made some of these commercials click with the audience.

Superbowl Ad discussion:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16691199/ns/business-us_business/t/best-super-bowl-ads-all-time/#.TyGDLPmHSSo

New App

If you like the Beatles or really like music, specifically guitar licks, you are going to love this new app.  George Harrison fans, this is for you.

Did you ever wonder what guitar George’s guitar collection looked like?  Did you ever wonder what guitar he used for certain songs?  If you answered yes to one or both questions, check out this new app which premieres later this month.

George Harrison App

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/george-harrison-ipad-guitar-app/

Each month, HOW editors peruse hundreds of websites to find the best of the best—the Top 10 Websites for Designers. In reviewing these websites, the editors are looking for exceptional design as well as functionality.

Check out this month’s Top 10 Websites for Designers below. (courtesy of www.howdesign.com)

January 2012: Top 10 Websites for Designers

Pinterest’s Mission: Our goal is to connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting. We think that a favorite book, toy, or recipe can reveal a common link between two people. With millions of new pins added every week, Pinterest is connecting people all over the world based on shared tastes and interests.  http://pinterest.com/

Check out their top 5 tips for using Pinterest to help market your company!

Just read this on http://marketing-expert.blogspot.com/ talking about Pinterest and, specifcally, how you can use it for your company or business.

Happy Pinning!

This post is written by Lianne Froggatt, a fresh faced internet marketer at IdeasByNet, a UK promotional gifts distributor. Interested in social media marketing, SEO and general internet marketing, she would love your feedback. Find her at lianne.froggatt@ideasbynet.com or tweet her @Lianne_Froggatt.

BY GREGG ELLMAN

@greggellman

PrankPack gift boxes will definitely get a laugh out of any recipient on your gift list.

The boxes are decorated to look like a ridiculous product is packed inside, including devices to mount any gadget on your arm, steering wheel, in your shower or the ever-popular Wake & Back Dream Griddle alarm clock.

The griddle box is pictured with a woman sleeping along side the alarm clock/griddle. This allows you to be awakened by the tasty bedside options of eggs over easy and pancakes, which doesn’t sound bad!

The enthusiasm (or lack of) will be priceless while watching the gift recipients read the package only to open it to find the real gift.

Other choices include iArm, which displays photos on the box to show how it can mount everything on your forearm including tablets, remote controls and meals. (Some men might really like the idea of the remote control mount.)

The Bathe & Brew is both a shower-mounted coffee maker and soap dispenser, pictured with the shower faucet coming out of the coffee itself. When you read on, you find that a 120v outlet is needed right there in the shower!

The iDrive is pictured to be a mobile device mount, with photos of tablets and even calculators mounted for easy use while sitting in traffic.  www.prankpack.com. $8 each or 3 for $20

The XtremeMac Soma Travel speaker dock is as good a traveling portable speaker system as I’ve seen.

It’s built with a dock for the usual Apple devices (iPad, iPhone & iPod) and is sized to easily fit in a computer bag or any type of luggage since it measures about 10 x 2 x 3.5-inches.

One thing I noticed right away: typically descriptions on the side of electronic boxes indicate what is included in the box, but that’s not the case with the Soma Travel.

What it does say is what’s not included and XtremeMac tells you there are no AC adapter or batteries are required because the speaker is powered by your device.

XtremeMac refers to the speaker as a “dock and play” and it certainly plays your music or videos anywhere or anytime.

If the first thing that comes to your mind is that your device battery will be drained, there is an option to charge and sync with a pass-through USB connection on the back.  www.xtrememac.com $44.99

Shopping for iPhone cases seems more challenging than car shopping until you come upon my favorite from OtterBox.

While I’m not trying to be a marketing agent for the company, I’ll just tell it like it is: they make great stuff.

You’ll see how true this is when you have one in your hands. It’s no wonder they are the industry leader when it comes to protecting high-priced portable gadgets.

My personal choice is the Commuter series ($22), which is a two-piece design consisting of a silicone skin-tight shell that fits perfectly into a hi-impact polycarbonate shell.

This enables my phone to be nearly 100 percent protected since the case includes a self-adhesive screen protector.

The rugged Defender series has about everything needed for battle and can be broken down to use in parts or as a whole.

When enclosed in the complete package, your phone is covered by several layers of protection, yet is still fully functional.

A polycarbonate shell has a built-in screen protector and then is surrounded by an impact-absorbing silicone shell, which fits in perfectly in the included belt clip that swivels both north/south and east/west depending on your preference.

The newer Reflex Series is the more stylish option. A neat feature of the case allows it to be split in half for easier docking options.

OtterBox’s Impact series is pretty sweet and simple since it’s just a silicone shell (with the self-adhesive screen protector) and comes on and off in seconds.

Non-Apple users can enjoy OtterBox cases, which are available for Blackberrys, Androids, tablets and just about any portable electronic device.  www.otterbox.com Prices vary by device and case

Verbatim’s Wireless (2.4Ghz) Mini Slimboard and Mouse are a great combination so it’s a great thing they package together.

The keyboard is built with an ultra-slim, ultra-narrow design to keep the keys in a low profile but easy to access and very responsive.

Measuring just 12.5 x 5.25 x 0.875-inches, it doesn’t take up much desktop space and is also able to control any media play with its built-in Media Console.

This gives users control to play, pause and adjust  the volume on the keyboard itself.

As for the mouse, it does what it’s supposed to do with left and right clicks along with a scroll wheel.

Both the keyboard and mouse are built with what Verbatim calls a “piano black finish,” which translates into an attractive shinny black finish.

I guess it’s important to point out that in addition to the looks, they both worked great with no delay from the wireless connection.  www.verbatim.com $31

I’ve written what seems like an endless amount of items about backing up your digital files, especially irreplaceable family photos and videos.

The fact is most people do not back up and many only start the practice after a computer crash has taught them the hard way.

Clickfree hard drives with C6 EASY Imaging automatic backup will do it for you, but only after you purchase and install it.

The software is designed for non-tech heads and small business owners who want to back up an entire PC, not just part of it

In the event of a complete computer crash, which everyone says won’t happen but it will, the software effortlessly restores your data.

Installing it is painless; just plug the hardware it into any open USB port and the Clickfree EASY Runlaunches to automatically start backing up everything on the computer.

On the restoring end, EASY Fix will restore all the personal files, software applications and the operating system.

In addition to the backup/restore features, the hard drives can be used for standard storage of any type of files.

Other features include EASY Music to import music from an iPod/iPhone/iPad into the iTunes on any computer, EASY Viewer to view backed-up photos and EASY Organizer to help organize your photos and other files for backing up.

The drive also enables password protection with 256-bit hardware encryption.

Clickfree is available in portable and desktop solutions in capacities of 500GB ($140), 1 TB and 2TB ($180) choices.  www.clickfree.com

This one has absolutely nothing to do with technology _ unless you  consider my coffee pot an electronic gadget.

Recently I was sent a holiday gift of Godiva Coffee, which in simple terms was outstanding.

The company that has made eating chocolate an art is doing the same for coffee since you can’t just stop at one and I’m hooked.

Enough said.  www.godivacoffee.com

Most of the entries were 30-second commercials, 30-minute documentaries, 15-minute company overviews or hour-long training sessions. Projects tended to be single purpose with a well-defined audience. There was not much integration with print materials and back then, the web was little more than a handful of computers connecting a few mad technologists.

In the mid 90s, as Avid’s non-linear editing became popular, the ability to quickly change or copy a shot or segment and to do so without compromising quality, opened up a whole new world for video applications. Digital eventually replaced tape and found itself  in other mediums like audio, photography and electronic text. Finally, the web provided a way for multiple media to work together to enhance the speed and flow of information. Now the creative convergence of digital arts, technology and information is changing the way we market, communicate and socially interact.

It has been interesting to watch many of our early entrants reinvent themselves. Many quickly embraced new technology, the internet and the interactivity of various media. I know a number of video producers and cameramen that were at the forefront of web development and social media.

The lines are now blurred between video, print and audio.  Most magazines and newspapers have online editions that feature video and animation. Websites, twitter and other social media are important communication tools for television stations.  Most professional communicators are expected to be proficient in all forms of media and communication.

New AVA Categories, New Logo, New Statuette

Ava Awards began as a celebration of the audio-visual arts.  Today, it also recognizes the evolving role that digital is playing in the transfer of information through text, graphics, animation, video, audio, etc. Our categories now include audio and video production; websites that present interactive components such as video, animation, blogs, and podcasts; and interactive social media sites and other forms of user-generated communication.

In addition, we changed our logo to reflect the evolution of digital in the communication world. The old reel that represented film and tape, now morphs into an array of cubes representing digital interactivity. Winners of our web categories will be eligible for a new award that features this new design.

AMCP is currently undergoing a Graphic and web overhaul. Check back soon for an all-new amcpros.com!