Poland: Day 35

Sure Polish foods can be bizarre and a bit "different" ... but after visiting a restaurant on the border with Slovakia I'm certain that everyone should try these specialties!

Witches are delicious! And apparently a Polish delicacy - at half price!
Also, if anyone knows how to make a crumpet right, it's a highland robber. Mmm-hmm.

Tags: Poland, restaurant menu, Engrish, English translation mistakes, food, witch meat

Poland: Day 5

Going abroad is a time to discover new ways of life and exciting foreign cultures cultures. Part of this grand tradition therefore, is the discovery (or in my case, re-discovery) of great food staples. What comes to mind when one thinks of authentic Polish fare, however, has been completely shaken with my latest food discovery.
Lay's Potato Chips - shaped like French fries - and seasoned with a ketchup flavoring.

They're Ketchup STIX and they're sensational!

Now hear me out. I was skeptical too ... at first. I usually don't even go for regular fries with ketchup. But pop a handful of these in your mouth and you'd swear they were topped with the most spot-on ketchup you'd ever be likely to find, but with no goppy mess. I just couldn't get enough. They were so perfect - and they made you come back for more just to see if the flavor would still be 'soo right' (it was). This was seriously one of those finds, the kind of thing, which - like Pop Tarts or a certain brand of soda - might truly become a staple of one's pantry.

But of course there would be a problem ... why in the world do we not have these in the US!?
It would only make sense, wouldn't it? We're the country that invented McDonald's. We're the one's enamored with junk food and fast food. So why in the world would a combination of the two PLUS ketchup, not be an instant hit?

Now, I understand that Polish people love their ketchup too. We even put it on our pizza when no one is looking. So, this whole thing could just be a marketing ploy honed on to Poland as a target demographic.

But surely - Idaho - the potato state - which is more than likely even bigger than Poland could at least act as a gateway for the States? Is there no hope? What can one do? I need some stix really bad. Maybe you can order them online? The label on the top left corner does say "new" so maybe I just missed this hitting the local supermaket? Is there a slim chance it really is around? Have you seen this product!?

WANTED.

Seriously though, if you've seen these around - let me know. I'll probably be bringing back half a dozen bags with me (unless I find a different addictive snack that'll take priority). They're just that awesome. Oh - and if you haven't noticed - see that blue stripe running down the bad vertically? Well, the bag opens on the side as well, for easier access to the fried-chippy goodness. Seriously, this snack has everything!

Tags: Poland, Lay's Appetite, new, Ketchup Stix, Chips, french fries, flavor

This is the Day!

I'm a fan of M&M's. There's just something special about those iconic hard shelled sweets that can't be denied. Each lower case 'm' stamped individually onto each little bit of chocolate just seems like an affirmation of the magic of marketing and for the most part M&M's has been able to play the game relatively well over the years. Ultimately, while they may often compete with Starburst when facing off for my vending-machine change, they're a candy I just can't say no to.

Unless of course it's Lent, I've given up chocolate, but I get the chance to hop-skip through the 3 story tall M&M's store in New York City's Times Square ...

Fight it, fight it, fight it ...

But, I digress. I've been meaning to tackle this latest round of M&M's advertising, which has both my marketing sensibilities and candy love working over time. While I've found the anthropomorphized red and yellow characters to be great representatives of the brand, the idea has been expanded vastly to encompass not only the family of colors (the crazy minis, smexy green, etc) but now each and every member of the M&M's nation!

You can check out these "Inner M" commercials on the M&M's commercials page. Or right here:

Sure the idea is clever and they even have an M&M avatar promotion behind it, whereby you can make your own freaky 3D M&M avatar, but that's not the main reason why I've gotta love the commercials ... even though my M&M me is oh-so lovable.


The MAIN reason has definitely got to be the supremely good music choices M&M has recently begun to use for its commercials. While they can't touch the randomness factor of a good Starburst or Altoids commercial with a 10 foot pole, they can surely get enough music ear worms around that the commercials becomes memorable for almost that sole reason.

Case in point, the last commercial to get this treatment used Iron & Wine's Such Great Heights to an amazing effect - giving M&M's the mellow indie cred that is as almost as sweet as chocolate itself. As people returned from commercial, finding themselves unable to shake the tune of this catchy but obscure song, they were forced to look beyond the top pop charts and dig a little deeper. All the while then, M&M basked in the beautiful synergy of good music and web-literate listeners.

Now, as listeners come out of this latest round of commercials, yearning to find out more - they're pointed to the M&M's main page ... but, I can cut out that middle man. The source of this amazing song is none other than the eighties, nineties, and even 00's under appreciated sensation, The The.

Yes, that's right, the band's name is The The.

And here's the music video for their catchy chocolate commercial cameo. Enjoy!

What's more, if you're like me and need to have this song around - whether on computer or iPod, you can find it on The The's album Soul Mining (through The The's website) ... or listen to it here

The The - This is the Day (mp3 via Rapidshare)

So now that I've devoted an irretrievable part of my life to blogging about chocolate commercial tunes, I feel about ready to drown my self-pity in a sea of colorful chocolate friends ... hmm, M&M's you may have made the best possible choice yet, what with pandering to a demographic of New Wave loving bloggers! Kudos! While today may not be the day, tomorrow will be the day -- my life will surely change!

Tags: M&M, commercial, advertisement, Inner M, avatar, Iron & Wine, The The, This is the Day, music, music video

Altoids: Curious Advertising

When I was in New York City last month (and walking pretty much everywhere for four days straight) my camera and I happened upon a couple of instances of clever, but seemingly unassuming Altoids advertising.

Careful, It's a trap.

Sure it wasn't some new fangled viral marketing or anything, but the minimal approach to the ads - a nice clean design paired with a witty phrase - was enough for me to get out my camera and take a photo. There was something about the subtle way Altoids managed to sneak a bit of humor or radomness in, without making it something absurd or over the top, that really appealed to me.

Well, after being pulled in by this minimalistic but effective approach to their posted adverts I really was 'curious' to learn more (har har). Apparently after making an appearance on Valentine's day (with a jab at sentimentality) this follow up series of street advertisements was meant to further awareness of the new "curiously chocolate" Altoids. Chocolate you say? Well, after seeing the success of their usual peppermint, cinnamon, and ginger flavors what natural progression was left but to dip them in dark chocolate!

(image originally posted on candyaddict.com)

While my initial reaction to this news was of ... well, puzzlement. I do have to confess that other combinations which I had previously been skeptical of - chocolate covered pretzels, for instance - have fast become some of my favorite food hybrids. So, curious combination aside, it seems Altoids genuinely has something special on its hands. While I'm yet to pick up a box of these choco-mints, others have taken the liberty of reviewing the different flavors, which apparently are pretty good!

Plus it seems Altoids not only has this clever series of paper ads, but also a number of quirky commercials that play with the notion of consumer's initial surprise at seeing this hybrid. Truly, if you couldn't think of anything more bizarre than chocolate covered mints these commercials provide some close alternatives.

Banana-Hands Allen


Half-Deer Edwards

Produced Biscuit filmworks under Leo Burnett-Chicago and directed by Tim Godsall, the series of four commercials definitely continue the vein of weird, yet humorous ads that have come to define the Altoids brand. The two spots I posted above were definitely the ones I enjoyed the most, but if you want to see them all there's also Blow-Hole Bob and the Australian Double-Back - but I'll leave these up to your discretion.

While I'm not sure that these commercials can top my love of the ad-sense portrayed by the Skittles brand, the similar vein of quirky humor and that mix of surreality with the sense of mundane definitely brings them to the top of my list.

Now I just need to get my hands on some of these buggers -- why in the world must the deer men hoard them so? If you've tried these already let me know where I can find them, and what flavor you'd recommend. Otherwise, let me know which Altoids spot you enjoyed the most!

Tags: Altoids, Dark Chocolate Dipped Mints, New York City, advertisement, billboard, bonbomb, curious, commercials, banana hands allen, half deer edwards, blow hole bob, australian double-back, Biscuit filmworks, Leo Burnett, Tim Godsall

Cram Session Sustenance

As a follow up on my How to Survive Finals post and because I have a bunch of procrastination-based photos floating about: here's a recap of what I did as a study break during my intense finals review, complete with tips on what is and ISN'T a good idea for midnight snack-age.

Stopping at the campus convenience store can yield a bounty of foods beneficial to the cause of a late night food break. Mac & cheese, different sandwiches, soups, or pizza type things are generally good as they're light enough to feel like a snack - but not the kind of sugary, highly carb based creations that're going to knock you out in a couple of hours. Thankfully our campus food and coffee shop, Bart Mart - located in Bartlett Hall, is open until 2 AM on the weekdays - making these sustenance and caffeine stops easy.

After picking some seemingly filling looking foods and paying with flex dollars, I walked back over to my dorm and got my snack-on! With a box of cheese-filled garlic bread sticks and a cup of Cambell's Soup-at-hand ... on hand, my hours of watching the Food Network would finally pay off in the crafting of this finals night meal.

Ultimately, the soup sort of made me think of airline food, with that sort of added flavoring that makes even the most uninteresting and otherwise blah foods passable - but for the trade-off of being portable, I think it works. Just make sure to mix it with a spoon (or in my case, chopstick) after it comes out of the microwave - otherwise it forms a sort of soupy skin layer.

And I've gotta admit, the bread sticks were surprisingly good ... although I would mainly attribute that to our semi-functioning house toaster oven. I'm almost sure that if I had tired using the microwave the results would've been somewhat sad and probably soggy.

All in all though, the snack was a good thing to have before delving back into a study of the vestibulo-cochlear systems. Even though I don't look too excited in the photo above - truly - how can anyone be unhappy when reading about the marvels of, um, whatever that marvelous structure in the ear was?

While the snack is important, the thing that's really going to ensure you'll be awake is your choice of energy drink - and for college students normal coffee just doesn't work anymore! Indeed, the heavy stuff if almost mandatory when a real cram session is in order.

If the $7 four-pack of Starbuck's doubleshot wasn't going to do the trick, nothing would!

Of course, I have to admit - I was already in possession of a so called caffeinated beverage back in my dorm room. Found in a Chinatown convenience store, Mr. Brown was the magical beverage I had relied on when faced with a Calculus final exam and an entire night of review during my first semester of college. Marked by a squat little can with an endearing character grinning on it's front, Mr. Brown definitely seemed like the kind of guy who would help you out, without asking too many questions. Yet when matched up against the stoic Starbucks coffee mermaid, could the jovial Mr. Brown stand a chance?


I knew I would feel bad for picking the sleek and confident can design of the doubleshot over the squat yet loveable Mr. Brown iced coffee. Yet the situation called for the hard stuff. While Mr. Brown's $1 pricetag was a welcome sight to a college student on a budget, this fact really only ensured a caffeine kick, the flavor was rather watered down, and not unlike what I would imagine the essence of Brown to taste like.

Ultimately then, I hoped the higher reputation of the doubleshot would ensure energy drink supremacy.

After a couple of sips the potency of the doubleshot became obvious. With an almost thick coffee flavor (definitely NOT watered down) the doubleshot certainly tasted like a drink of magical caffeinated properties. I hastily gulped down the rest of the stuff and, wanting to see how effective it could really be, I decided to get a quick caffeine nap. Well ... lets just say this stuff works - almost frighteningly well.

After 20 minutes of some highly bizarre dreams, as the caffeine entered my system, I awoke to quite possibly one of the worst, most unbearable coffee-aftertastes I think I've ever experienced! Sure the flavor was great as I took those initial sips, but this was a high price to pay -- so remember kids, brush your teeth before caffeine napping!

Admittedly in the aftermath of this little experiment I was more awake than I had been in something like the past 24 hours, but for a moderate to light coffee drinker such as myself I'll try to limit this behavior to major cram sessions only. As the time whittled down on my clock, with study progressing at a steady rate, I definitely did not feel tired that entire morning, entering an almost intensely focused state at times (I did sort of miss blinking after a while). The final came and went without any trouble and by the time the stuff finally started wearing off it was already coming up on the evening. I had even managed to see Hans Blix speak at the Harris School of Public Policy after attending a French lector session that day.I couldn't have done it without you caffeine! Thanks!

Tags: Finals, University of Chicago, Study Break, Bread Sticks, Campbell's Soup at Hand, Energy Drink, Starbucks doubleshot, Mr. Brown, caffeine nap