So we’ve all heard it and believe in it – bullying in any form is completely unacceptable. One of the burning issues in today’s society is protecting the vulnerable against bullying in schools, playgrounds and even popular social media communities. The virtual public abuse on any individual is humiliating and damaging and in the worst cases tragic. By putting our brands online in the social media playground, we are introducing them to a similar style of bully who will spit on them, stalk them, and publicly slam them until they get some goodies.

In social media we are at the mercy of the unreasonably squeaky wheel. Clients and agencies sometimes throw their hands up, wondering whether or not we “can’t just send them something free?” Sure, the squeaky wheel in question may not have demonstrated brand loyalty. Sure, they may not have even really earned it. It’s a quick fix of undeserved grease to get the squeak to stop.

How can we take a page from effective parents, teachers and principles and stand up for our brands without giving in to the “bullies?” Would a quick-witted timely response help? A precise explanation for every complaint? Or, do we expel them from the playground for being mean? Community managers, weigh in!

As we stare into the face of the Mayan apocalypse, our minds turn to two heavy questions to consider: the best ads of 2011, and what will shape the industry in 2012.

Thankfully, there are those across the blogosphere who have taken up the gauntlet, exploring each of these questions in detail. We rip off the work of these fine people for your reading pleasure today.

The Globe and Mail’s Top 10 ads of 2011 – A roundup of some of the best examples of :30 storytelling from last year.

Ace Metrix’s top ads of 2011 (based on focus group reactions) – A list of ads that ranked highly in focus groups for attributes such as “relevance, persuasion, watchability, information, attention, etc.” Creatives, beware.

JWT’s 100 things to watch in 2012 – JWT offers up a cool Slideshare presentation forecasting the hot new trends and events of 2012, from Cloud computing to The Rolling Stones’ 50th anniversary tour.

Five social media trends for 2012 – A new whitepaper from The Social Commerce Summit explores the state of the union in social media. Note: free registration is required to download the whitepaper.

It’s 2012, which means the world’s about to end. At least that’s what the Mayans and Roland Emmerich would have us believe. Whether or not you believe that we’re facing impending doom in the near future, there are some people who do. And it turns out there’s a new onslaught of apocalyptic products for these people to buy.

It’s not uncommon for people to create their own “survival kit” by stocking up on bottled water, non-perishable food and remote generators. But that’s not going to cut it for people who genuinely believe the apocalypse will happen this year.

That’s where the Survival Condo comes in. It’s a classic example of leveraging zeitgeist to generate product demand. The world’s population might be wiped out, but the affluent, forward-thinking family will still be able to enjoy life in the opulent luxury of a renovated missile silo. But I wonder: is a product like this really filling a need for some extremely niche market? Or is it just something to throw away a million dollars on?

And how absurd are both of those questions?

To me it doesn’t seem reasonable to use the end of the world as a way to convince people they need certain products. It’s just an eye-rolling kind of fear-based marketing. I don’t see how buying everything I can find on 2012supplies.com is going to adequately prepare me for something so routine as another Armageddon.

We all hate them, still we use them. Instead of agreeing with people, we’re “aligned” or “on the same page.” When meetings get derailed, we “take that conversation offline.” Yet when’s the last time you “circled back” with friends or family? It’s like the minute the elevator doors open at 9 am, our vocabulary takes a subconscious leap into a black abyss of buzzwords.

According to a survey on Meeting Boy, the most hated buzzword is “out of the box.” Is it? Do you agree? In the process of using buzzwords, are we enhancing our perceived competency, or ironically stamping it out?

Do you hear that? It’s the gentle hum of SkyNet going online. The Terminator films told us it would happen on April 19, 2011 — but they were off by about 20 months. But what is it that seems to be spelling the death knell of humanity? Is it engineers replaced by robots? Taxi drivers made obsolete by self-aware automobiles? No, it’s bikinis. Specifically H&M’s bikinis, which are now modeled by entirely digital bodies. If the raison d’être of these beautiful people can be usurped by our evil, computer generated overlords, than what chances do us uggos stand?

H&M argues that these digitized bodies show of their products better than a human body can. This approach lead to the maybe-purposeful-maybe-accidental omission of an entire model’s face from an H&M catalogue. It’s difficult to blame H&M though, as this seems to be the natural evolution of the photoshopped covergirl.

So how do these make you feel? Expendable? Creeped out? Robut-lustful?

Comment and let us know.

With Christmas only one month away, and our friends south of the border celebrating their Thanksgiving holiday, what better time to do a bit of a digital holiday round up?

The holiday season is all about friends and family connecting and celebrating with one another. Brands, and particularly brands with a social media presence, have a number of opportunities to ensure they become part of the traditions, preparations and memories surrounding this time.

One of the best pieces of advice for brands that want to weave their way into the holiday social talk is to start early. Let’s take a look at the first brands out of the holiday gate this year.

It’s an AR Christmas
Macy’s has gone AR this festive season with a special Augmented Reality Christmas Card App. The app lets you choose your favourite characters, take photos and then customize virtual cards and letters. Kids are in for a great surprise when Virginia and her little friends come to life.  You can check it out here.

The Christmas fan girl
is back!
In her now infamous red jumpsuit, Target’s crazy Christmas fan girl is known as the “Christmas Champ.” With a special comedic and sarcastic touch, she chats with her Twitter followers about the holidays and, of course, offers her shopping advice.

This year, Christmas Champ will be tweeting ads and content with tips for shopping on Black Friday, as well as interacting directly with fans. If anyone is heading out for some Black Friday bargains, you may want to check this girl out.

Make a wish this year with Esprit
In an international campaign launched on November 15th, Esprit is attempting to capture their own part of the Christmas spirit. The Esprit ‘Make Your Wish’ campaign is described as a one-off online cooperation with iconic photographer and blogger Yvan Rodic, also known as Facehunter. Hunting “eye candy for the style hungry,” Rodic went on the search for faces in Berlin, London, Sydney, Shanghai, Los Angeles and New York. With his famous street-style shots, he produced portraits of ten urban personalities in each city – each one of them full of charm, with a headstrong look and its own highly personal wish for the festive season.

The campaign has 60 images and 18 video clips of Esprit people describing their wishes and sharing their tips on the best things to see and do in their cities.

Forget the gift tag; why not just add a QR code?
This is a pretty cool way to use QR codes this holiday season – especially if shipping gifts to loved ones that are far away.

JC Penney has hit the QR code nail on the head with their “Who’s Your Santa” campaign. It’s super simple – everyone who buys a gift for Xmas will receive a unique QR code Gift Tag or “Santa Tag.” That QR code allows the gift giver to scan and record a personalized voice message for the recipient. Once you’re done recording, you just stick the code on your present and ship it off. How awesome would it be to receive a gift from overseas, accompanied by the voice of the person who gave it to you? That’s right: pretty awesome.

Make it a handmade Christmas
And finally, a personal favourite from last year that is close to my heart because of my love/obsession with the handmade site called Etsy.

Last year, Etsy launched a gift giving suggestion tool for the holiday shopping season: an app that helps you find the perfect gift for your friends and family by pulling in what they ‘like’ on Facebook. For the friend or family member you are just totally stuck on what to get, here is a way to find a super awesome, handmade (it doesn’t get better than handmade!) unique gift for them.

Food for thought: As the holiday countdown really begins, how important is it that your brand become part of your target’s holiday talk? How can you begin to transition your year round message into something relevant, inspiring and fun for this holiday season?

In a matter of hours, our neighbours to the south will be enjoying their well-deserved Turkey comas. Meaning that tomorrow, they’ll have ingested the caloric energy required to bravely face Black Friday – a day that traditionally signals the beginning of the holiday shopping season.

There seems to be increased mention of Canadian retailers offering deep discounts in an attempt to compete with the Black Friday cash cow. Which begs a question: should Canada also adopt the Black Friday strategy to kick off the Christmas retail period?

It used to be that every politician’s worst nightmare was to be caught in a lie. But now what is perhaps even more devastating is to be caught “faking it.” Nothing brought this to life more for me than Rick Perry’s now infamous debate gaffe where he couldn’t remember a key point in his campaign platform. On national television, and repeated millions of times on YouTube and through social media, Rick Perry was caught faking it. He might as well have said “I don’t really care about any of this stuff,” or “I can’t remember what my handlers told me to say.” It was cringe-worthy. Not because he was caught in a genuinely human moment, but rather because he was caught being disingenuous.

There used to be a time when a politician could get away with a lack of sincerity, but those days are over. We now live in a world of 24 hour news, “hot” microphones, social media, etc. Case in point: JFK’s first debate against Richard Nixon. Those who watched on TV believed JFK had won. Those who listened to the debate on the radio believed Nixon was the winner. It used to be easy to fake sincerity. Now it’s impossible.

So what does all this have to do with the world of advertising and marketing? Everything. As consumers become increasingly sophisticated, and immune to “spin,” brands caught “faking it” will pay a high price. Brands that stand for something and believe it to their core will win the day. And I’m not referring to lofty corporate social responsibility – I think a brand can stand for “value,” or “craftsmanship,” or pretty much anything it wants to – it just better genuinely believe in it. Because as consumers continue to force their way behind the curtain, the posers will be exposed. And it won’t be pretty.

If you don’t believe me, check out Rick Perry’s recent poll numbers.