Creative Guise is a blog by Doug McArthur, a marketing and communications dude currently based out of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. This site offers my spin on happenings in the worlds of advertising, online and traditional marketing, technology and other related issues.
I invite anyone to contact me about my blog (or to give me a job) so feel free to email me!
Also, you can find me on Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn.
I'm a lazy alcoholic with no career goals or other life aspirations who enjoys dumpster diving, nude walks through high traffic areas, growing a beard to a length habitable by families of small rodents, dining on the finest rotten banana peels and washing it all down with a nice gulp of river swill from a 2-litre of coke cut in half.
OK but really, I'm a Internet marketing consultant. I also dabble in web design and graphic design. I graduated from the UofM with my degree in English and minor in Philosophy in 2004 and from Creative Communications at Red River College in 2008 where I majored in advertising. 
Can I submit a bi-weekly scan of the worst print ads that are running in the Winnipeg Sun?
They make me cry.
There is little doubt that we are going to be entering a rescission, how bad it will be and how long it will last will really depend on how the Americans respond to the mess of their own making. But as long as we are not looking at a full scale economic disaster ah la 1929 the smart companies will continue to build their brand during an economic downturn because while the may not be making as much profit, the rates for ads are going to fall and when the economy rebounds the smart firm that invested in brand building during the slow times should be the first to be rewarded.
Or maybe we are all screwed and its time to ride the rails like Hobo’s.
Not sure what this post has to do with anything. You should probably stop writing.
Thanks for your input – but I think your comment only motivates me to keep writing until you do get it.
Cheers,
Doug
I agree with dontgetit. I don’t get it. Please don’t keep writing. People still won’t get it.
I don’t blame her. I would want to get out of Winnipeg as quick as possible even if it meant going to Regina.
i dont get what a creative guise even is. if you can’t offer anything useful instead of your opinion you should stop blogging.
/girl from winnipeg
You have cut me deep, anonymous girl from Calgary (via Winnipeg). I am shutting down my pointless blog.
Wait a minute. Aren’t blogs just everyone in the world’s opinions? Aren’t I entitled to that? This is the Internet, after all. If I wanted to make a blog about rainbows and unicorns, who would stop me?
This blog needs more pictures of Paris Hilton’s vagina.
Just saying: Paris Hilton’s Vagina = hits.
It’s clear that the mixup was not her fault, as her intentions were clear and genuine from the explanation, and fans just jumped the gun.
At the show I saw she had mom and dad written on the bottom of her shoes. What was I supposed to take this to mean? As a rational individual I took it to mean ‘hey mom and dad’ or ‘thanks mom and dad’. Not ‘my mom and dad have secrets to tell everyone, go rush their house’.
You can’t seriously be mad at Feist that 200 people over reacted in a blind fervor can you? It’s unfortunate for those who thought something was going to happen, but from all accounts, it’s not even implied that she was thinking of showing up there.
I’m not a moron and I understand your point and it’s well thought out and might make more sense had there been any sort of backing for Feist actually making the trip.
Gord, you’re right. I went back to Feist’s site the other day and I read the post on her tour blog about the Winnipeg show. Whoever is writing entries in there (and I do think they should identify themselves, I hate faceless entities) apologized for misleading people into thinking something was happening at the Pyramid. The point of my post remains, though, that people with that kind of influence should be careful of the messages they are sending out to their followers.
Sa’ll good. I wasn’t looking for a retraction or anything, just appropriate blame. And while I love Feist, I’d be the first in line to complain right along with you. Though as I said above, some people just take things the wrong way sometimes, and so it serves these people right for taking cues where there were none.
Anywhosit, interesting little blog, look forward to future entries.
I am a huge Feist fan and think this story is interesting – I think so celebs/artist forget the power they have with a microphone and camera. I’m sure she was just trying to make a statement or reference, but still, when you have thousands of adoring fans watching your every move with interest you need to think out the various interpretations of that message. Ah well, she is still fabulous and I’m sure her loyal fans will forgive her, her music and spirit are too good to punish for long!
Is there a way to become a content writer for the site?
It’s pretty much a personal blog for me now, but if you have some relevant content you’d like to share I’m all for it. Thanks!
Oh Doug, you have my complete sympathy. After experiencing the heady taste of Wild Rose’s Brown Ale this Christmas, I doubt I will ever be a size six again. Nevertheless, I applaud your self-induced challenge, and will recommend the following alcoholic beverages, researched and tested personally by yours truly:
Red wine has 3 grams of carbohydrate per 6-oz glass compared to 13 grams of carbs for a beer. Go with the red wine, amigo
-Red wine – Suggestion: Rosemount Shiraz – tasty and under 15 bucks (red wine has antioxidants and lowers risk of heart attack)
-More red wine – Santa Rita Cabernet Sauvignon – robust taste, and 11.50 (seriously, it’s practically cheaper than a Happy Meal)
If you hate red wine:
-Gin and tonic – Refreshing and relatively lo-cal (roughly 175 calories per glass)
STAY AWAY from sugary coolers, liquors, sherries, anything sweet. These are death to the fitting of the pants.
Good luck with the non-resolution resolution!
Thanks for the tips! My guitarist told me that red wine is pretty good for you, and I love the stuff so that’s a viable option, certainly.
Doug-
I am disappointed. Our first business trip in 2010, with plenty of great things to celebrate and no BEER? To be honest I have reduced my Beer intake and have since been able to play an entire Hockey Game without feeling like I need to take Oxygen when I get home.
I agree with Susan, Red Wine is the way to go. Over Indulgence though definitely gives you the worst headaches in the morning, to the point where poking your eyes out with a spoon would seem to be the best relief.
Gin and Tonic, another deadly combination. Although I have never woken up with a headache after an evening of over indulgence on gin and tonics, the challenge here is remembering what the heck happened the night before, or even worse, where the heck you are in the morning. If it weren’t for my caring and loving wife to take me home, and tuck me snuggly tight in my own bath tub with a pillow and a ratty old blanket, I think I would still be trying to figure out where the heck I am.
Here’s to you and your Beer Free 2010. Best of luck!
BLASPHEMER!
Challenge Accepted! Tomorrow we’ll have a drink just for you on our 365 Drinks a Year at Boozeblogger. That will be drink #15 I think. Let us know what you think.
Do you have a favorite base Liquor? Are you adverse to sugar or just calories? Isn’t “Healthy Cocktail” an oxymoron?
Hey Doug, the drink we created for you is up at our website at http://www.boozeblogger.com Let us know what you think!
Just drink shots of jack. Enough with your fancy drink searching ways!
No problem man, let us know what you think of the cocktail once you get a chance to try it. We thought the recipe was pretty badass.
I’ll make sure to have plenty of whisky on hand when you come to Sweden!
Is there a good place to order Peychaurd’s bitters online? Or where would they be sold vie retial in Peg City? I’ve only ever seen Angostura.
You have two containers of margarine in your fridge.
Huh … no, I’ve got one margarine, one cottage cheese, one strawberry cream cheese and a thing of Parmesan cheese. That’s a lot of non-solid cheeses.
@brent
We got our Peychaud’s at a local wine shop. If you don’t have a place like that around, check Amazon. They have a pretty fair price and one of the few places that will ship it outside the States.
That Macbook Pro is a sexy piece of machinery. I got my macbook 2 years ago and it’s still awesome. There’s just no reason to have a computer that you have to fight with. It’s worth the extra cash just for that in my opinion.
Garageband is awesome. I recorded the demos for an entire album on it 2 years ago. It’s simply amazing for on the fly song writing. Are you imputing a guitar or anything? I always just used the mic to record. From what I’ve heard its actually a tiny condenser.
You can turn that old pc into a server using FreeNas and stream all kinds of media to your Mac, and TV! Don’t let it go to waste.
Alot of bloggers not very pleased with the new iPad.There was just 2 much hype regarding it and alot blogers got disapointed.Thing is, I for one see great deal of the cool potential uses of this device. Third-party apps for composing music, games, newspapers and magazines and books, all sorts of good stuff, but IMHO they failed to sell it properly (aside from the books). It looks kind of unfinished
Thing is, with one exception (and even that one’s debatable), every update to Facebook has been a vast improvement to the functionality and usability of the site. There has been literally no reason to complain, other than “It’s different!”. And that is hardly sufficient reason for the vitriol we’ve both seen regarding Facebook updates.
Cheers to you, sir! Well-reasoned.
No complaints here! I dig being able to use FB for free…not up to me to whine and moan when they make a few changes here and there.