It’s been a crazy summer at 160over90. There’s been miles of travel (what’s up Los Angeles, London, South Bend), plenty of fun, and a lot of great work, thinking, and collaboration. But before we leave the dog days of summer behind (it’s been one of the hottest Philadelphia summers on record) we wanted to share some of our most recent client work.

We’ve added 11 new clients to our site and over the next few weeks The Boomerang Table will feature a behind-the-scenes view into the work of each. Get your phones, iPads, and computers ready and let us know what you think.

Mercedes-Benz

University of Notre Dame

Maverik Lacrosse

Michael Ryan Architects

Hang Ten

Yume Ume

Tectron

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Nike Australian Open 2011

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Pirate Surf

The weather in Philly is perfect right now. 12 hours out my window(which is a little dirty on the outside,sorry).

Shortly after the picture was taken, the Phanatic had to give Mr. Met the heimlich. Unfortunately, he couldn't stop him from choking... again.

I am a Philadelphia Phillies fan.  That means I love the Mets (I mean I love how much in shambles they are), love October, and love having the best 5-man rotation in the baseball.  Yes, that’s right; I said 5-man rotation, not 4.  With all the hoopla and hype surrounding our big 4, I thought I’d take a stand for the best 5^th starter in baseball – the one and only Joe Blanton.

You see, as somewhat of a baseball purist, and one king-hell of a cynic, I’ve always hated these little nicknames given to our pitching staff.  H2O was bad enough, but with the return of the prodigal lefty, Clifford Phifer Lee, it opened to floodgates to a whole new level of cutesy.  And let me tell you, there’s no room for crying or cute in baseball. (Ask the coach of the Rockford Peaches, Jimmy Dugan).

When you miss the cut-off man, you deserved to get yelled at.

But what I hated even more about names like the Phantastic Phour or the Phearsome Phoursome or R2C2 was that it left out the all important 5^th starter, Joe Blanton.  See, Doc and Cliff only take the mound once every 5 days and Ryan Howard only gets to bat 4 or 5 times a game. (And plus, Cliff and Doc never hit a dinger in the World Series). In the meantime, you need not only good players to fill-in those gaps, but quality clubhouse guys who don’t have egos, who don’t complain, and who play ball the right way.

And that’s exactly what Joe Blanton is.  He may not be the most dominant pitcher (except maybe when playing Edward Fortyhands),  but he’s amazingly durable, having started at least 30 games each year from 2005 up until last year, where he missed the mark by a single start.  He has a respectable career ERA in the low 4’s and will give you close to 200 innings pitched every year.  And I imagine he’s what Babe Ruth used to look like when he pitched.  And that’s the kind of guy Philadelphia should be able to get behind.

Back in the day, plump was beautiful in art.

That’s why I don’t support anything having to do with the Phillies staff that doesn’t include Joe Blanton.  It’s also why there is only one name for the Phil’s staff that I find acceptable:  Fat Joe and the Terror Squad.  Not only does the name include our jolly Heavy B, but it’s also a beautifully random hip hop reference.  I choose to stand by Joe because he doesn’t complain about being overlooked, because he was was a vital cog in our ’08 championship run, and because I’m pretty sure I saw him on The Biggest Loser the other week.

So for all the fans of the Phightins who overlook our portly 5^th starter, and especially for Ryan Lawrence (the Phils beat-writer from the Delco Times who asked Cole Hamels what it felt like being the only starter with a World Series ring when Joey B was sitting a couple seats down on the panel,pictured below), this is a reminder that baseball is a team game.  And with Heavy B taking on the back-end starters of most teams, he may end up being the difference maker down the stretch.

I wouldn't be laughing either if I was the Rodney Dangerfield of this staff.

So here’s to Fat Joe and the Terror Squad and another dangerous October riot through the streets of Philadelphia.

At this point you’re probably asking yourself, “what is Jobathon”? And you’d be right. Which is why we’ve laboriously prepared this short informative video. Take a look!

Basically, we’re hiring. Designers, art directors, copywriters and just about any other job you can think of (as long as you are thinking of “designer, art director or copywriter”). In order to fill all these job openings, Executive Creative Director Jim Walls will be conducting interviews non-stop for at least 24 hours, or until he collapses.

Will he collapse during your interview? There’s only one way to find out.

Jump on over to http://72.10.33.187/jobathon to fill out an application, read more about Jobathon, or to just check out some mind-boggling, eyeball-searing, awesome-ness web design. It will probably be fun!

What do you get when you mix a few Philadelphia creative agencies with a hot summer day, fierce competition, team spirit and soccer?  The inaugural Agency Cup, naturally.

Yesterday, 160over90, TrueAction, Evoke, The Brownstein Group and Tierney Communications gathered at Drexel’s Vidas Athletic Field to indulge in some serious soccer matches. Luckily the threat of thunderstorms didn’t pan out…but the 100 degree temps did.  Nevertheless, everyone pushed through the scorching heat and came to play.

Congratulations to Trueaction, who battled it out in our super sweaty tournament to take home the trophy as the Agency Cup champions!

Thanks so much to the participants and those who came to cheer us all on. Also, a huge thanks to Drexel for providing their fantastic facilities and services.

Attention soccer-loving, competition-hungry Philadelphia creative agencies!

This is the last call to sign-up for 160over90′s Agency Cup taking place on Thursday, August 5 from 3:30p.m. – 8:30p.m. at Drexel University’s Vidas Grass Field.

E-mail us at agencycup@160over90.com to sign-up your team. Hope to see you there!

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.

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