There’s a new pep in everyone’s step here at Davis & Warshow’s Maspeth Headquarters.  Many of our employees have signed up to participate in the Virgin Health Miles program, Richard Branson’s popular employee health tracking application. Employees who participate in the program pay a monthly $5 fee and carry a small pedometer throughout the day.  The device measures the number of steps, the frequency of steps and several other metrics which get automatically uploaded to the Health Miles website when you plug the pedometer in to the computer.  The website gives you all sorts of stats on how far you…

There’s not much to smile about these days on a crowded subway. But, it was hard to suppress an outbreak of laughter after I did a double take reading a No. 6  train poster this week . The billboard extols the handiwork of Dr. Armond, the Canine Plastic Surgeon. Aside from the before and after photos of a droopy-skin bulldog transformed into a pert and precious Jack Russell terrier, the text amused, claiming, as well, services such as the San Diego Diet for a pooch with a pooch problem. Reading on I realized that Dr. Armond was Nick Kroll –…

One of the perks of working in SoHo is certainly pop-up shop culture, offering us a plethora of interesting gift options and research-heavy lunch breaks. Around the corner, we can peruse these limited-time, one-of-a-kind experiences from United Colors of Benetton, Etsy, and Wired. Each year retailers try to one-up each other, create marketing buzz, and connect with existing and new customers through these intimate shopping experiences. The Etsy shop in particular is an interesting application of the increasingly common pop-up shop model. Not unlike the hilarious ebay store scene in 40 Year Old Virgin, it is an online retailer taken…

The London games have been uplifting, heartbreaking, and all-around inspiring. Yet, no matter how fast you click the remote, good, bad and politically-charged advertising still punctuates the epic feats of athleticism. Unlike America’s annual Super Bowl advertising spectacular ­– which makes us gasp, laugh, and roll our eyes – the Olympic promos tend to tug at our heartstrings and stir up our sense of purpose. The best commercials are often a combination of unique, relevant, heartfelt, surprising, comical, poignant, and awe-inspiring. One of my favorite approaches this time around is Proctor & Gamble’s ‘Thank You Mom’ campaign, which includes TV…

You know your team is in sync when you arrive at the office donning the same styles– unplanned! For a boutique PR agency with a team of less than 20 members, it’s uncanny how often we show up looking shockingly similar. Wonder why this is? Maybe we’re just a trendy bunch. Check out a month’s worth of our groovy get-ups!  

This month marks the fourth anniversary of my coming to NYC. In some respects, it seems like yesterday that I boarded the puddle-jumper in South Dakota with little more than a suitcase and a prayer. But for countless other reasons, I feel like I’ve been here forever. Because of its glamour and its grime, I love this city. For every overpriced coffee or pull-your-hair-out subway delay, there are ten more visits to a world class theater production, opportunities to try a food you didn’t know existed, totally-ridiculous-but-totally-awesome performance artists in Union Square, and nights of dancing with your friends until…

Have you seen the latest Twitter scandal?  On the occasion, I present An Open Letter to Sweden: Dear Sweden, In theory, you had a really good concept there, letting ordinary citizens take control of the @Sweden twitter handle. We’ve enjoyed getting to know your people; young and old, sporty and intellectual, sexual, political, often compelling and sometimes underwhelming. The problem, of course, is that when you let a person speak through you, we forever associate their words with you, too. Which was sort of your point, but a perilous one. So although this has been a bold and inventive publicity…

Today,  we’re bombarded with clips of everyday people getting “Auf’d,”  voted off the island, or not receiving the rose. We evaluate these individuals, and remove them from the playing field because of the negative associations others assign them. In today’s culture, we tend to assume that we too are always being judged negatively. This was especially evident recently,  when VP+C did a project with New York based anonymous performance artists The Bumbys. Offering a “Fair and Honest Appraisal of your Appearance,” Gill & Jill Bumby provided assessments of guests based on a purely visual interaction. For many, this was nerve…

Lately, I have been looking for something fulfilling to do with my spare time. I find it easy to get wrapped up in the busy noise of the city, but it’s refreshing to just put everything on hold for a day and recap. Recently I got involved with NY Cares, an amazing non-profit program that allows people to take on interesting volunteer opportunities. I attended an hour-long orientation where a quirky man told us all about the different regulations and benefits that come with the program. How does it work? After you have attended the orientation you are free to…

This year, VP+C was on site at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) with Dornbracht, and while the company’s the new Horizontal Shower is fabulous, we noticed a few other showstopping designs, as well. Check out what caught our eye at ICFF this year… Parvez Taj is always armed with fun business cards that double as samples of their contemporary prints. Up for grabs this year were shimmery illustrations printed on brushed aluminum. With each one so unique, it made selecting ONE quite challenging, it took all my might not to leave with all of them! Local NY design studio…