The Idea List

Williamsville Wellness, a recovery center for gamblers and alcoholics located in Mechanicsville, VA was featured on MTV’s True Life: I’m a Gambler on January 9th at 3:00 pm. The show featured Cory, an 18 year old who had been arrested for embezzlement. This was a wakeup call for Cory, and he chose to go to Williamsville Wellness to get help for his addiction. Cory has now been gambling free for over 6 months since leaving Williamsville.

Bob Cabaniss, the Owner of Williamsville is a recovering gambler and alcoholic himself, and he’s made it his life’s mission to save people from their addictions so that they can lead a truly enjoyable life. The property itself is set on 400 beautiful acres with a main building that was built in 1794. Both General Lee and General Grant stayed at Williamsville during the Civil War. It is so peaceful and serene at Williamsville it’s a healing experience just to visit the property.

Visit their website (which we are currently rebuilding) at www.WilliamsvilleWellness.com .

Popularity: 2% [?]

From Emma Hall of Advertising Age:

Imagine the reaction if the British determined that U.S. ads weren’t sexy enough — and saw to it that some steamier ones got aired.

Ridiculous? Maybe not so much, if you consider the situation Mars and H.J. Heinz recently found themselves in when U.S. pressure groups lobbied successfully to get their ads booted off U.K. TV. It’s a lesson learned in an internet age when no ad is local anymore and clashing cultures can intrude on a global brand. [...]

Popularity: 39% [?]

From Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan of the Wall Street Journal:

Kohl’s, Sears Build Brands As Children Clothe Their Avatars Online

Retailer Kohl’s Corp. this month launched a new line of apparel, but the plaid skirts and printed T-shirts won’t be sold in its 957 stores. Instead, it’s selling them on Stardoll.com, a virtual community for teens and tweens where kids can fork over “Stardollars” — purchased online at a nominal sum — to buy apparel for their online characters.

With back-to-school sales off to a slow start, more old-line retailers and clothing labels are reaching out to kids online, enticing them to try virtual versions of their togs in hopes of making actual sales later. Kohl’s first virtual line features pieces from its new Abbey Dawn collection, designed by singer Avril Lavigne. In its first 16 days, Kohl’s Stardoll boutique logged some 2.2 million visits and sold 1.8 million items. Kohls.com lured 97,000 visitors who clicked through from the boutique site. [...]

Popularity: 36% [?]

The collective response from bloggers, (I could only guess the rest of the world) about the new Microsoft commercials featuring Jerry Seinfeld and developed by Crispin Porter + Bogusky can be summed up in one “digital” word – WTF?

Apparently the concept here in their first run is to, like the Seinfeld Show, create a “Commercial About Nothing.“

But seriously, is this Vista’s response to the relentless “mac attack”?

Popularity: 61% [?]

From Jeremy Herron of the Associated Press, August 18, 2008:

NEW YORK (AP) — Fewer Americans are reading newspapers and are instead getting their news online, but television remains the leading source of news in the country, according to a survey released Sunday.

Not surprisingly, younger people tend to get more of their news on the Internet, while older folks use traditional media such as television and newspapers, the Pew Research Center’s biannual survey on news consumption habits said.

Pew said the results show an increasing shift toward online news consumption, but that there is now a sizable group of a more engaged, sophisticated and well-off people that use both traditional and online sources to get their news. [...]

Popularity: 36% [?]