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Monday
May 13, 2013 8 Best Beer Cities in the USAFiled under: Fun
Having lived in the Philly area a decade now, I know this town knows beer. And knows it well. From the annual Philly Beer Week to the multitude of established, well-respected brands in the area (Yards, Sly Fox, Nodding Head), I was curious if the City of Brotherly Love had made it onto CNN’s Top 8. Lo and behold, Philly’s there and representing hard at #6! Here’s the complete list:
And please send us your thoughts on the list. Did they get the list right? What cities or towns are missing?
Monday
April 8, 2013 How’d They Do That? The Making of a Logoed LollipopOne of my favorite sections of Advantages magazine is the Strategy section titled “How’d They Do That?” where the making of promo products comes to visual life! This month’s product: A logoed lollipop. Here’s the 7-step process, provided by Grumpe’s Specialties Inc. (asi/58480). Enjoy! (Click below for a larger pdf version to see all the sweet detail!)
Click here for a larger image (PDF).
Thursday
March 14, 2013 Exclusive Team Blog Interview with Grumpy CatGrumpy Cat, the new Internet sensation that’s sweeping the globe faster than the Harlem Shake, is currently killing it as the star attraction at the annual South by Southwest Conference and Festival (SXSW) in Austin, TX. Interviews with His Grumpiness are hard to come by these days, but I recently had a chance to sit down with the legend — also known by his real name “Tard”, short for “Tardar Sauce” — to ask him a few questions. The following is the transcript of our conversation. Team Blog: So Grumpy Cat, let’s start with an obvious question: Why are you so grumpy? Grumpy Cat: Team Blog: OK … coulda fooled me. Anyway, onto the next question. I work in the promotional products industry, or ad specialties, you know, products with logos that promote a company, product or service. Like T-shirts, pens and mugs. Got any favorite promotional products? Grumpy Cat: Team Blog: Alrighty then, appreciate the honesty. Now that you’re a big Internet sensation, inspiring thousands of grumpy memes and rubbing elbows with celebrities, you must have some good stories, right? Grumpy Cat: Team Blog: I’ve been called worse. But anyway, there must be things you like, right? Got any favorite movies? Grumpy Cat: Team Blog: Awesome! Well, that’s a start. Whaddya think about the new Star Wars Episode 7 currently in pre-production. Are you psyched? Grumpy Cat: Team Blog: Well, that makes one of us. Grumpy Cat: Team Blog: OK, I guess we should end here before your claws start doing the talking and I end up with cat-scratch fever or something, ha ha! Grumpy Cat: Team Blog: That was a joke … a bad one … sorry. Please don’t hurt me.
Tuesday
March 5, 2013 10 Books That Inspire SalesFiled under: Fun, General, Tip of the Day
From the popular (The Biography of Steve Jobs) to the unusual (Who Moved My Cheese?), this article titled “Book It! 10 Title to Inspire Your Sales” is loaded with great tips and advice on how to find motivation when you need it. Read this article now, and in the meantime, here are the 10 titles chosen:
Thursday
February 28, 2013 Save The Date - Exclusive ASI Radio Interview with Ben SteinFiled under: Fun, asi radio show
If you know that line and who uttered it repetitiously in the famous 1986 film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, then you know the deadpan humor of Ben Stein. The actor — who’s also an economist, best-selling author, attorney and professor — will be giving an exclusive ASI Radio interview on Tuesday, March 5 at 10:30 am EST. Ben, who will also be the keynote speaker at the ASI Show Long Beach in March, will be discussing everything from small-business challenges to political predictions, and everything in between. So if you’re up for a lot of good business advice and a little humor to boot, then you don’t want to miss this show!
Tuesday
February 19, 2013 The Harlem Shake Goes Viral in the Ad Specialty Industry!Filed under: Fun, Uncategorized
Featuring a song by Baauer of the same name, The Harlem Shake is basically an Internet meme that went viral earlier this month where groups of people film themselves emulating a funky dance style. Lasting no more than 30 seconds, The Harlem Shake begins with one individual — usually masked or helmeted — dancing alone for 15 seconds and surrounded by people who seem quite oblivious. Then, as the music kicks in, everyone joins the convulsive dance. It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. Well, not really, but you know what I mean. How or why this has become such an Internet sensation is befuddling, but it’s so pervasive that some of the folks in the industry — including ASI — have jumped onto The Harlem Shake bandwagon. Check them out below, and if your company is doing one, we want to know! Post a link here, or email us at feedback@asicentral.com.
Wednesday
February 13, 2013 6 Sexy Promo Products for Valentine’s Day
And in keeping with his annual tradition, Joe Haley of The Joe Show fame presents his top sexy promotional products of the year. Watch this year’s video here, and in the meantime here is the list of the 6 Sexy Products for Valentine’s Day:
Friday
September 14, 2012 5 Highlights of Hoodie HistoryFiled under: Fun, Tip of the Day
This month’s Wearables feature “Hoodie Nation” by Christopher Ruvo drops the knowledge on how you can tap into the sheer awesomeness of this wearable and strike sales gold. Read on for details, and in the meantime enjoy these 5 hoodie pop culture highlights:
Tuesday
September 11, 2012 ASI Radio Show Finger PuppetsFiled under: Fun, asi radio show It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s … the ASI Radio Show finger puppets?! Just when I thought I’ve seen it all in the studios of ASI Radio, in walked SGR Editor Michele Bell today with a straight flush of superhero finger puppets, each depicting a different host of the show. We’ve got:
In case you’re interested, Rich Carollo from Lion Circle (asi/67620) created these. Here’s a pic of them all:
Wednesday
September 5, 2012 Photos from the Democratic National Convention in CharlotteFiled under: Fun Another week, another political convention! My colleagues Joan and Jen visited the RNC last week in Tampa and sent back fun pics of ad specialties they found (Click here for products from the RNC). This week: It’s Joan again, and our very own Joe Haley, scouring the DNC in Charlotte for promo products. See what they’ve found, below.
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For those who know me, just mention the word beer and you’ve got my attention (unless, of course, it’s immediately preceded by the word “Lite”). That’s why when I saw the headline “
I’m not much of a book reader outside the occasional novel about serial killers (don’t judge). But when I found out 
“Bueller? Bueller?”
There’s no denying the power of the hoodie. From the classroom to the boardroom, the popular apparel seems to be everywhere. Even my grandmother has one … with bling no less!
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