EMAIL SEGMENTATION

This funny (and strangely catchy) mashup of television footage from Carl Sagan's Cosmos and Stephen Hawking's Universe series (with the aid of some masterfully applied Auto-Tune singing technology) was created as a musical tribute to honour the two great men of science. It also begs the question, 'Why can't science be cool?' (Or so uncool that it becomes cool... like Sagan's skivvy.)

Stefan Sagmeister is New York-based designer with a fresh take on work and inspiration. Every seven years he closes his Manhattan studio for 12 months so he and his team can recharge their creative batteries.

The latest Gen Y viral video trend is something called "LipDub" -- where large groups of youngsters choreograph elaborate one-take videos in which they take turns lip-syncing a few lines each of a popular song. It might sound quite trivial to you and very YouTube, but the ones that are done well are actually quite infectious. And boy do they go viral. Here are two popular recent examples, one of which has a commercial purpose.

US telco Verizon seems to have settled on the open warfare tactic on behalf of Motorola's yet-to-be-released Droid handset. This ad, dubbed "iDon't", runs through all the things the iPhone doesn't do (that Droid does... or will).

US telco Verizon seems to have settled on the open warfare tactic on behalf of Motorola's yet-to-be-released Droid handset. This ad, dubbed "iDon't", runs through all the things the iPhone doesn't do (that Droid does... or will).

At Anthill, we often find ourselves at the receiving end of unsolicited marketing gifts, from keyrings to… well… Beatles CDs. Last month, we decided to film our reactions and opinions about some of the best (and worst), and called it, ‘cool for comment’. The response was so positive (James got ambushed in a pub by a guy called Steve and Lachy's Auntie Jean thought it was 'swell') that we've decided to do it again, under the new and improved, more apt segment heading, 'the monthly schwag.'

In this extremely entertaining talk delivered at TEDglobal 2009 in Oxford (bet you'll be hooked after the first 15 seconds), English ad man Rory Sutherland explores perception and reality in a commercial world.

Its latest campaign, The Fun Theory, is based on the idea that people's actions can be changed by something as simple as 'fun'. Played out (and filmed) on an unsuspecting public, a set of subway stairs transformed into a walking piano and a 'never-ending' bin manage to dramatically change people's typical behaviour for the better. And all of this with barely a reference to Volkswagen.

Its latest campaign, The Fun Theory, is based on the idea that people's actions can be changed by something as simple as 'fun'. Played out (and filmed) on an unsuspecting public, a set of subway stairs transformed into a walking piano and a 'never-ending' bin manage to dramatically change people's typical behaviour for the better. And all of this with barely a reference to Volkswagen.

Just because it makes sense to you doesn't guarantee that it will impress everyone that matters. By the way, what is a Chrysler Turbo Encabulator?

For all the buzz about Google Wave, not many people can explain it well in a couple of minutes (even the overview by Google developers Lars Rasmussen and Stephanie Hannon took over 1h 20m!). What hope do we poor sods without an early beta invite have? Help at last. This brilliant, slick, two-minute video from EpipheoStudios.com explains Googles new communications platform/concept for the layperson.

At last, an amphibious car designed for The Dude. Californian-based WaterCar, Inc. builds high-performance cars that are also high performance boats. Now going for a cruise really means going for a cruise. Put the top down, turn the tunes up and head for the big blue. As this promotional video reveals, there are bound to be bikini-clad grads on Spring Break, hanging around waiting to cheer you - and your WaterCar Python - on.

A nod's as good as a wink to a blind bat, claimed Monty Python. And they were right. If you can't 'see' something then you can't understand it. Comedian, writer and TV personality John Lloyd explores nature's various fathomable and unfathomable 'unseens' with dry wit, while drawing some amusing life parallels that leave you contemplating the importance of what lies beneath.

A nod's as good as a wink to a blind bat, claimed Monty Python. And they were right. If you can't 'see' something then you can't understand it. Comedian, writer and TV personality John Lloyd explores nature's various fathomable and unfathomable 'unseens' with dry wit, while drawing some amusing life parallels that leave you contemplating the importance of what lies beneath.

Some people have too much time on their hands. This is absurd, yet I cannot look away.

This is an oldie but oh-so good. If your office discipline is waning, it might be time to keep your colleagues on their toes by bringing in an office enforcer. No HR gab-fests here. This is old school office discipline, Terry Tate-style. Hellll yeahhh.

Now, the American telecommunications outfit Sprint Network has created it's own version. Informative, intriguing and well presented, this video once again reminds us that we live in a rapidly developing technological age that few, if any, can keep up with.

As Kraft's iSnack 2.0 debacle illustrates, companies don't have much room for error these days when it comes to launching a new product. That is especially true if that company's name is Microsoft and that product is Windows 7, the latest iteration of the company's flagship product and the follow-up to the much maligned Windows Vista.

As Kraft's iSnack 2.0 debacle illustrates, companies don't have much room for error these days when it comes to launching a new product. That is especially true if that company's name is Microsoft and that product is Windows 7, the latest iteration of the company's flagship product and the follow-up to the much maligned Windows Vista.

Derren Brown is a popular English magician (among other things) and host of the popular UK television series, Mind Control. In this clip, he achieves the seemingly impossible, conning people into accepting blank paper as money. Who do you think would be more likely to fall for his ruse? A street-corner hotdog vendor or an upmarket diamond merchant?