Wine Time

I promise my interests do go beyond wine.  If you were to cite my blog and apartment, I could understand why you may think I'm lying, but really, they do. 

I'll wait after this has been posted and at least a week has gone by before I try to defend myself again, though.

My Adfab Writings on Viognier:

Try something new this summer with this fruity, full-bodied wine.


A CROWD PLEASER. When entertaining a crowd of people this summer, you
probably will serve a chilled white wine. If you’re worried that your
choice will leave all the red wine drinkers in your group thirsty,
pick out a good Viognier. Like most reds are, this white variety is
dry and has a very full body. The difference: The dryness doesn’t come
from tannins, and the fruit notes are pear and melon rather than
cherry and strawberry jam.

AGED FOR FLAVOR. How a wine is aged affects its overall flavor and its
bouquet notes, which are any aromas that don’t come from the grapes.
Even if the wines you’re looking at are the same variety, the barrels
in which they were aged will cause taste differences. Wine aged in
stainless-steel barrels will have the familiar bright, clean, acidic
taste. Viognier aged in oak barrels will have a creamier flavor, such
as vanilla or butter.

Thanks for reading.  I'll post again soon.  In the meanwhile, I'm going shopping for decorations that are NOT wine related.

KT
katherkildsen@gmail.com

Get UNleashed!

As happy as I was to graduate early, it was still very bittersweet.  I had to leave my friends, coworkers, and professors behind, and I could no longer be an active member of the SIU Magazine Project: UNleashed.

During the summer of 2009, a close group of Salukis got together with ambitions of starting a magazine.  SIU is already well known for its newspaper, the Daily Egyptian, but we wanted to create something that wouldn't revolve around hard facts.  We wanted to make something fun that was our own.  After a lot of debating and name shouting, we decided to dubbed that creation UNleashed. 

I was lucky enough to be named the editor of the magazine's "Body, Mind, Spirit" category, and I was excited to see the project to the end.  Unfortunately, as we all know, Rome wasn't built in a day.  While a lot of progress had been made, we weren't exactly close to print ready by December of 2009.

So a bid a sad farewell to all my MCMA friends and mentors and traded in the magazine for a degree.  Not a bad bargain, but if I would have loved to have my cake and eat it too.  (Side note: I think that cliche should be conditional for each person.  For instance, it would make more sense for my taste if I said, "I want to have my salt and vinegar chips and eat them too," but it's not really acceptable.  Just something to think about.)

Now, five months later, it has arrived.  I feel for all those who designed, wrote, and edited in between marathon library sessions for 407, but it was all worth it!  Congratulations to the UNleashed team!  The magazine looks great, and I could not be more proud to be a founder.

And now all you readers, please enjoy the premier issue of UNleashed magazine.

Thanks!
KT

Confession: I didn't write this

Confession: I really wish I did

This Kotex commercial captures in 30 seconds 3 1/2 years of college.

Okay. Maybe that's being a little dramatic.  


But really, it's so refreshing to see an ad like this that is completely honest about the entire process of market research and execution of (in my opinion) a very successful commercial. This is the kind of writing I would love to get 
to do one day.


I want to be not only allowed, but encouraged to think outside the box. I 
really wish I had a TV so I could monitor how 
tampon ads will be changing in the upcoming months. I think Kotex 
started a revolution, and I can't wait to watch what happens.


KT
katherkildsen@gmail.com

I've been missing my workouts...

Writing is a lot like working out.  You can get into a good rhythm of going to the gym every day at dawn, and you feel great about yourself.  You’re stronger, more confident, and your pants fit better.  But then it rains, or you were out really late one night, or you had a tickle in your throat, so you decide to skip a day (just one!) of pumping iron.  The next day, you realize how much really enjoyed that extra hour of sleep, so you press the snooze button eight times instead of twice.  Those two days turn into a week, and we won’t even talk about what that one week turns into.

Basically, most of us feel really good about exercising, but if we don’t really force ourselves to do it on a regular basis, it’s really easy to forget why we liked it in the first place.  I love writing, I really do.  I like what I think it does my own skills, and it allows me to express myself.  The problem is, when I put off writing for too long because I’m “busy” with other things, I forget why I like it so much.  So my apologies go out for not keeping up, and this is me doing my writing lunges.

Quick background: I took a wine tasting class while in college.  It was not as much fun as it sounds, but at least it gave me some wine knowledge that's been useful for me outside of school.

My Adfab Writings On:

"Cellar Talk" for Spring Wines

A cool, refreshing breeze comes to mind when you think of spring.  The same should come to mind when drinking wine.

 

Try a Riesling

A good, light wine for the season is White Riesling.  Predominately grown in Germany, this variety is fruity and floral, which makes it perfect to sip as everything around you starts to bloom.

 

Keep it Fresh

Find a White Riesling that has especially prominent peach and apricot characteristics to match the fresh, clean tone of a picnic or wedding shower.  Sweet Reislings might be too heavy in the heat.  Serve chilled for a lighter taste.

 Happy spring, everyone.  And drink up!

-KT

What do guitars and ice cream have in common?

Until now, not much.

Sophomore year of college, I took my Introduction to Advertising course, which we referred to as "Campaigns Light."  For the class, we had to develop an entire campaign for a Taylor 12-String Acoustic/Electric guitar.

The benefits of owning a 12-string guitar is that it creates a fuller sound for your music.  It's not a necessary instrument, but it gives a song that extra something.  I examined some existing print ads Taylor had been running and saw a theme.  They had been replacing everyday objects with their guitars.

I brainstormed for a while trying to find a way to create a new ad without diverging too far from the concept Taylor already knew worked.  It took some time, but eventually, I came up with the ice cream idea.  

The 12-string is the little extra goodie that can take something from average to extraordinary.  What everyday item does the same?  My answer: the cherry on top of an ice cream sundae.   

My Adfab Writings on:

The Taylor 12-String Guitar

                                     

Out of all the campaigns turned in for the class, this won the award for "Best Ad."  Please note that my design skills are limited, so if you were wondering why all these ads look very similar, it's because that's all I really know how to do.  I can analyze ads with the best of them, but I'm not so great at the actual design process.  I guess I'm asking a lot of you to use your imaginations and to think of these as fancy thumbnail sketches.  

So now you're wondering if you want to go see a concert or splurge at the local Dairy Queen.  As long as you think about this Taylor ad as you rock out or pig out, I'm happy.  

Thanks,

KT

katherkildsen@gmail.com 

"One Stop Shop" is so dated.

One thing I've tried to do at any job is not keep my mouth shut.  Not in a rude way, of course.  What I mean is, if I have an idea or a suggestion, I make sure I voice it to show initiative.  Then, who knows?

In this instance, I was sitting in on a meeting with my boss and a client.  We were talking about what his ad should look like and what he would like included, and he listed off a laundry list of items.  Basically, he wanted to let readers know that his company was a "one stop shop" without actually using that cliché.  My wheels started turning, I jotted some words down, and at the end of the meeting, I gave my notes to my boss.  As luck would have it, my copy got placed in the ad.

My Adfab Writings on:
Worth Exteriors Corp.
(Advertisements created by Marlena Vogt.)

This is how the ad appeared in the magazine.

This is the copy I wrote.

Seeing what I wrote in a real life magazine feels amazing.  I hope it happens thousands more times.  I also hope all those grade school teachers who told me I need to stop talking in class feel pretty silly right now.

Thanks for reading,

KT

katherkildsen@gmail.com 

99% Perspiration

You might recognize the title of this post as part of the genius equation.  Hopefully, genius Scott Turner was wearing deodorant for the majority of the time he spent inventing the FlexiSnake.

If you have a slow drain, then the FlexiSnake is for you!  FlexiSnake is the new hair clog tool that removes obstructions from any drain in your house without the use of chemicals.  When Turner kept soaking his feet in backed up shower water, thanks mostly to his wife and daughter's hair, he began to get frustrated.  After examining the plumbing situation, he realized that the majority of clogs in a home are not far down the pipe but right near the opening.  Then came the 1%!





My Adfab Writings on:
FlexiSnake

There are good places for a foot bath.  The shower is not one of them.  FlexiSnake.

I know three options are not much to choose from, so I'll do my best to come up with some more once I think of another direction to take this project.  Until then, critiques are welcome!

KT

katherkildsen@gmail.com