Are you a creative, media savvy, advertising genius who loves competition? Do you enjoy high socks, shin guards, sweat and soccer balls?

If your answer is “yes”, then 160over90 wants your team to compete in the Agency World Cup!

Advertising, branding, design, media and interactive agencies in the Philadelphia area are invited for a soccer showdown on Thursday, August 5 from 3pm-5pm for the Agency World Cup.

The teams will be co-ed and consist of 5 v 5 plus goal keepers.  Each game will last 20 minutes. There will be a minimum of a three game qualification stage, followed by a knockout/bracket stage. Teams will be scored three points for a win, one point for a draw.

The Agency World Cup will take place in Philadelphia and the exact field location will be determined based on the number of participating teams.

This competition will separate the creatives from the athletes so leave your projects at the office and bring your A-games to the field!

Please RSVP by Thursday, July 22

Michelle Prescott

AgencyCup@160over90.com

Yesterday morning when most of the sane world was still sleeping, 30,000 runners, including five of us from 160over90, congregated in North Philly at the top of Broad Street to race ten miles in muggy 80 degree heat. We organized the team as a part of our efforts to  encourage sustainability and health, and to prove that running and beer are a copacetic combination.

The Broad Street Run is deemed the biggest ten mile race in the nation, and it’s a point-to-point run that follows Broad Street from North to South (passing city hall, and the 160over90 office along the way), ending at the Naval Yards.

Race highlights included: mummers jamming on the sidwalk, marching bands, lots of gatorade, fire hydrant sprinklers, and a free soft-pretzel after the race. It was hot.

Huzzah to the finishers!

Ro and Michelle before the race

Below are a few photos from Philly.com. Check out their page for more.

Our lives are marked by a series of milestones. Pivotal points where the way we live our life changes from that moment forward. Here’s a quick rundown of some of mine: Marriage. Job. House. Kid. Move. Job. Kid. Hawthornes. What is a Hawthornes? It’s a beautiful new invention known as a beer café and about five months ago it opened around the corner from me. Now a beer café is exactly what it sounds like. Awesome. A lovely little bistro with over 1,000 beers from around the globe that you can either enjoy there or take with you. Most of these 1,000 beers come in bottles that you can peruse through the glass doors of the seven large beer fridges, conveniently categorized by geography. But then there is the growler altar, sitting humbly by the fireplace, hissing sporadically as one of the beer wizards turns mysterious dials and knobs before emerging with a glowing amber jug filled with some new unusual beer. A chalkboard lists the 10-12 daily offerings from true craft breweries that obsess over the quality of their hops and grains. Often these beers are seasonal, small-batch brews with ABV’s ranging from 6.5% to 13%. A growler, which is 64 fluid ounces to us non-metrics, can cost anywhere from $12 to $34 to fill depending on the beer.

Now here is the important part: Normally your first growler requires an initial $15 investment for the vessel, which you then keep and bring back for refills. However this Tuesday, April 20^th your growler is free. Hawthornes is hosting one of its many beer-tastings events, this time with Boulder Beer. Just fill your growler with your favorite Boulder brew and you gain free membership to the growler club. There really is a club—your 20^th growler is free. This is your moment to jump. It seems like a no-brainer. Otherwise you’ll just have to listen to me and Dan Shepelavy wax on about our growlers with way too much emotion and enthusiasm than is appropriate.

Hawthornes Beer Cafe

11th and Fitzwater Sts.

Boulder Keep the Growler Night

Tuesday, 4.20, 7-9 PM

One of my favorite parts of living in Philadelphia is the odd mash-up of bougie-international-nerdy-hipster-eccentric characters that you can find in one place, at any given moment.

I was reminded of this particular urban charm on Sunday, when a few of us decided to bike up to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Fairmount Park.  It was a perfect day for a bike ride, a picnic—and everything else that ensued. Among the attractions:

1. Japanese tea gardens, and group demonstrations of traditional Japanese weaponry.

2. Kimonos, Gothic Lolitas, kites, face paint, platform shoes and adorable children holding paper parasols.

3. Feathered nunchucks (no kidding!)

4. Cherry blossoms, and a series of cat-embroidered flags.

5. A Japanese punk rock/rap group that kept the jams pumping (whether this was a good or bad thing is debatable)

6. A “Pretty in Pink” dog costume competition. Soukie took home the prize, with Pickles in a close second.

7. A quick zip by the Plateau, known to pop-culture enthusiasts as the place where The Fresh Prince & DJ Jazzy Jeff have their fly picnic in the Summertime music video.

Needless to say, it was an awesome day. Check out the photos below, (courtesy of Ro & Kelly). Feel free to go Sartorialist on this blog and comment on your favorite look. I suggest you listen to this song while perusing the photos.

THE SCENE

this flag can be purchased at shepelavy.com:

THE LOLITAS

Gothic Lolitas checking out the Sweet Lolita picnic:

Sweet Lolita picnic:

the girl in the sunglasses is awesome:

Michael Jackson-inspired menswear:

THE YOUNG’NS

THE CULTURE

THE RANDOS

The Mad Hatter:

Look close. It’s a goat! In a tutu!:

I call her Socks:

For all the Philadelphians out there who are sad they missed the spectacle, have no fear. You still have this to look forward to.

]]> http://www.160over90.com/blog/2010/04/14/america-is-weird/feed/ 1 http://www.160over90.com/blog/2010/03/04/heaven-is-a-place-%e2%80%94where-everyone-bikes/ http://www.160over90.com/blog/2010/03/04/heaven-is-a-place-%e2%80%94where-everyone-bikes/#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:47:25 +0000 kdorsey http://www.160over90.com/blog/?p=5346

I am a cyclist and a fervent music fan. So you can imagine how excited I was a couple weeks ago when David Byrne stopped by Philly to talk about how bicycling has helped transform the urban experience. Unfortunately, no  music jams or giant-suit wearing were involved. But, all that bike talk was just as stimulating for the noggin.For those of you who aren’t aware, Mr. Byrne has been a cyclist for the past 20 years (he started back when biking wasn’t a cool or even socially-accepted mode of transportation). His recent book, Bicycle Diaries, chronicles the observations and insights he collected from his experiences biking in cities around the globe. (It’s one of his favorite things to do during his downtime on tour.) I received the book at our agency’s secret santa gift exchange, and have been thinking a lot about how cycling has changed the way I interact with our fair city, and how the city (powers that be/motorists/pedestrians) has responded to the growing popularity of urban biking.

The whole idea of bike-person-city interaction is also really relevant to my own experience in Philadelphia. As a car-worshiping Midwest transplant, I felt isolated and intimidated by the city during my first months here–until I bought my SE Lager, I finally made the switch after test-riding a friend’s bike, and getting my first taste of freedom. It made me realize how much more quickly I could get around–and get a feel for–my new city.

Now I’m hooked. My favorite time to ride is after a late night at the office when my brain can take a breather, I feel the wind on my face, and I become human once again. Second to that feeling of midnight euphoria, I also love my morning commute to work, where I pass through several different neighborhoods, each with its own distinct personality. Part of Philly’s charm is that neighborhoods can change so drastically from block to block. It’s great to see all of the funny interactions that neighbors and strangers alike have when they bump into one another on the sidewalks, sharing greetings and laughs. I also love the random snippets of conversation that I sometimes pick up out of context (it feels like I’m experiencing in real-time one long take in a Wes Anderson movie).

I’m not alone out there either. At the forum I learned that almost 10,000 Philadelphians bike to work, a higher percentage than in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago or D.C. This makes sense, I guess, since about half of our creative department gets here on two wheels.

It will be interesting to see how the city changes as more people start riding bikes in the next couple of years. From the way the David Byrne discussion went, it seems like Philly has a promising future to become the most bike friendly city in America. We’ll see, but with the recent win of the $17.2 million Tiger grant, we might be well on our way.

Photography was prohibited at the event, but I was able to snap some quick shots of the beautiful film montage that played on a loop beforehand as we waited in the crowd. It was composed of bicycle scenes from the movies that portrayed how much fun it is to bike. I thought it was a nice way to start the night and complimented  the speakers’ talks which focused heavily on how cities have been planned, how we get around them, and how these factors ultimately affect the city dweller’s everyday life. Scroll down to see if you can name that movie or television show.

Odds and Ends from the Forum:

Extremely Interesting Books Mentioned:

The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs, The Timeless Way of Building by Christopher Alexander

For The Ultra Curious:

The event was officially titled Cities, Bicycles and the Future of Getting Around: A Special Urban Sustainability Forum and was hosted by the Center for Environmental Policy at The Academy of Natural Sciences. Fellow panelists included Ignacio Bunster-Ossa, a landscape architect and urban designer from Wallace Roberts & Todd (WRT),  Alex Doty, Executive Director of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, and Katherine Gajewski, Philadelphia’s Director of Sustainability and implementer of the mayor’s Greenworks initiative.

One of our favorite blogs, Logo Design Love, is a site devoted to news, trends, and generally cool projects in the branding world. The blog’s author, Irish graphic designer David Airey, has just recently published a book by the same name and has filled it with lovely logos, anecdotes, and tips from designers and agencies around the world. We were proud to be included in this love letter to logos and brand identities, which features our work for the City of Boston’s Downtown Crossing and Woodmere Art Museum.

The book is chock-full of input from well-known designers like Gerard Huerta, designer of many high-profile logos including Time Magazine and Waldenbooks, and Lindon Leader, creator of the current FedEx brand.  Click here for a sneak peek at a free chapter.  Also, if you’re interested in seeing more of our work for Downtown Crossing and Woodmere, check out our case studies on the 160over90 web site here and here.

Photo credit: friendswelove.com

Love Letters, a massive public art project between artist Steve Powers and the trailblazing folks at Philly’s Mural Art Program, has been gaining acclaim since this past summer, but I’ll be damned if it still isn’t the cat’s pajamas. Besides, all that cheerfulness and optimism feels just that much better on a windswept 20 degree December day. So if you don’t feel like spending this Saturday watching little kids micturate on Santa’s lap at the mall, take a tour that is run by the Mural Arts folks (though don’t worry, they offer more later this month).

Photo credit: Adam Wallacavage/WSJ

Photo credit: aloveletterforyou.com

On a recent (COLD!) Friday night, we traveled to Brodheadsville, PA  to surprise an unsuspecting high school senior with a visit from the Wilkes University Mascot, the Colonel, as part of their Be Colonel campaign.  The scene was very “Friday Night Lights”:  Pleasant Valley High School was battling their rival Stroudsberg High School in the final football game of the season.  At the end of the first quarter, the Colonel hit the bleachers with an entourage of Wilkes University cheerleaders who launched t-shirts and rally towels into the rowdy crowd of student fans.

The focus of all this attention?  Jordan Borger,  an all star PVHS softball and field hockey player who was recently accepted to Wilkes.

Though clearly shocked, Jordan was all smiles when she heard the announcer shout her name and realized the spectacle was in her honor.   She was surrounded by excited friends and cheering classmates as the Colonel presented her with a bag full of Wilkes gear, including her very own Colonel Bobblehead, and a box of soft pretzels.  Pleasant Valley went on to beat Stroudsberg 28-7.

The Pocono Record liked the stunt so much, they interviewed Jordan about her experience:

http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091117/SPORTS/911170316

Thanks for being such a good sport Jordan!  Welcome to Wilkes!

Perhaps it was NBC that told the story best during their live interview with us this week:

Well our 15 minutes days (or so) of fame are nearing an end, as tomorrow (Friday, 10/30/09) is the last day of the who-wore-it-best competition. However, we will be posting photos on the site next week from the punishment that’s in store for the loser, so be sure to check back.

www.TieOrDie.com

Additional context and some fun interviews after the break.

The name “Tie or Die” proved to be the most worthy of the few options we considered when launching this site that was originally intended to be for our coworkers amusement. I suppose it’s an intriguing title, albeit a little bit creepy. We assure you there is nothing creepy about the site,  unless you are completely and utterly creeped out by young men wearing ties. I wish that everyone was creeped out by young men wearing ties, because then I would at least have a Halloween costume picked out.

But despite the quick-launch of this unplanned escapade, our quirky rivalry has garnered its fair share of attention. Check out the sites below that were kind and interested enough to feature our contest. The interviews were a real gas.

Man Over Board: “A collaboration of original content from a select few authors from around the world, delving in the male species.”

http://man-over-board.com/2009/10/17/mob-interview-the-cofounders-of-tieordie-com/

Shmitten Kitten: “We talk about dudes and dating in Philadelphia although our observations seem to be relevant to people in all time zones.”

http://www.shmittenkitten.com/2009/10/flippin-our-shades-boys-from.html

Philadelphia Weekly Style Blog:

http://blogs.philadelphiaweekly.com/style/2009/10/28/tie-or-die-who-wore-it-best/

She Knows Best: “Fashion and Style Tips for Men from a Female”

http://www.splendicity.com/sheknowsbest/vote-in-the-tie-or-die-contest/