In 2010 a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit. The unit promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Rochester, Michigan underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as salespeople for a boutique eCommerce agency. If you have a Volusion problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them (perhaps by calling 877-837-4792), maybe you can hire the B-Team.
So, in our previous post about Yahoo’s questionable choice of stock photography, we took issue with the odd, implied relationship between the nice folks in the picture. Surely, that whole assessment was open to interpretation and the problem could quite easily have been entirely in our heads. But, since that post, we’re inexplicably drawn to this series of banners and their consistently interesting image choices. Take, for instance, the ad at the left…
When we first saw the ad it was during the holidays and we barely noticed it. It’s red and green, after all, so we dismissed it as a random Christmas image, but when placed in a non-holiday context, it begins to make less and less sense. Seriously… is this child wearing some sort of stripper accessory on his/her head or is he/she an unholy human/skunk hybrid? Or worse… an incubating Don King clone? Also, who eats green ice cream? And among those who do, how many do so by absorbing it through the skin on their face? We know that kids are messy when they eat, but they often still manage to get some portion of the food in their mouth. This child has clearly chosen to bypass that portion of the process. Regardless of all of these things, we are not left with a desire to share pictures using Yahoo. We are left with the solid understanding that kids are sticky and gross and possibly equipped to spray us with an unpleasant musk as a part of their genetically-modified defense mechanism.
Perhaps you’ve heard of Texts From Last Night (or TFLN, as it’s more widely known). It’s a simple enough premise: gather absolutely mortifying (and private) texts and display them for all the world to see. Simple though the formula may be, it’s made some pretty big waves. Maybe you saw the site featured on MTV. Maybe you’ve seen (or purchased) their top-selling iPhone app. Maybe you even heard that they have a book deal in the works. Well, what you probably didn’t know is that one of the masterminds behind the incredibly popular site is one of Brand Labs’ own: Brandon Bayer. For the sake of clarity, it’s important to note that the real mastermind is Brandon’s partner, Lauren Leto. It was she who conceived the idea and Brandon who designed it. Even with this sizable success under their belts, this powerhouse team isn’t content to rest on their laurels. They’ve just launched Mom’s Messages.
Clearly Lauren and Brandon revel in the misfortune and embarrassment of others, because momsmsgs.com shares a format similar to textsfromlastnight.com, but this time, the target of their ceaseless ridicule is our poor, defenseless (and often socially clueless) elder population. Of course it’s all in good fun, but you gotta believe that an empire built on this much bad karma is bound to come back and bite these fledgling entrepreneurs in the ass. They can only hope that the targets of their first site are too blasted to be aware of it, and that the targets of their newest venture are too addled to do anything about it. If not, Lauren and Brandon are likely to find themselves on the bad end of an octogenarian, drunk-texting, pitchfork-wielding mob, screaming for their blood.
… but until that day comes, congrats to both Lauren and Brandon!
In 2010 a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit. The unit promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Rochester, Michigan underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as salespeople for a boutique eCommerce agency. If you have a Volusion problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them (perhaps by calling 877-837-4792), maybe you can hire the B-Team.
So, in
Perhaps you’ve heard of 
Clearly Lauren and Brandon revel in the misfortune and embarrassment of others, because momsmsgs.com shares a format similar to textsfromlastnight.com, but this time, the target of their ceaseless ridicule is our poor, defenseless (and often socially clueless) elder population. Of course it’s all in good fun, but you gotta believe that an empire built on this much bad karma is bound to come back and bite these fledgling entrepreneurs in the ass. They can only hope that the targets of their first site are too blasted to be aware of it, and that the targets of their newest venture are too addled to do anything about it. If not, Lauren and Brandon are likely to find themselves on the bad end of an octogenarian, drunk-texting, pitchfork-wielding mob, screaming for their blood.
