Plaid Pre-Tour 2009 from Plaid Nation on Vimeo.

In just a little over a week, the Plaid Nation Tour will commence. This is the third year that Connecticut-based agency Plaid will hit the road on a summer tour visiting current clients, brands they’d like to work with, and a host of internet Somebodies and Nobodies.

What makes the Plaid Nation Tour so much fun for people like you and me is that we’re invited along for the ride! No, you’re not finally going to get to sit in Darryl’s lap, but the crew from Plaid will be tweeting, blogging, and live-streaming the trip from cameras in their specially outfitted (and officially sponsored) Ford Flex.

The tour kicks off in Detroit on July 20th and ends a few weeks later in New Orleans. Check out all the Plaid-tastic goodness at the Official Plaid Nation Dashboard and follow them on Twitter.

Traffic stopping outdoor work out of New Zealand. Who says billboards have to suck?

From Brand Flakes.

One of the most well-written articles on branding, differentiation, and cost that I’ve seen in a long time. Do yourself a favor and read this one.

An analogy if you will: You’re a hard worker and a nice guy. In university you were always at the top of your class, and you take a lot of time to do volunteer work with needy groups. Not only that, you really love the work you do; if only someone would hire you. Oh, right… you also go to job interviews wearing a pair of sweatpants with the word “juicy” written across the buttocks.

A lot of companies do just this.

A really fun piece from a senior design student at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

WARNING: The above video has absolutely no educational value whatsoever. Pong Shot Miracles must be a new major program of study at Olivet Nazarene University. I bet these guys are great at weddings.