Aaron Villalobos's blog

It's May folks and you know what that means. Spring is in the air and Old Hat Creative has officially kicked off HuMAYliation--our annual campaign to help the victims of child abuse.

Each member of the Old Hat staff has to pick an embarrasing task to complete once a certain dollar amount is raised. My amount is $1250. I spent some serious time trying to think of what might be a good task for me. I unintentionally make a fool of myself on a daily basis, so it's pretty hard for me to think of something embarrasing other than looking like the tenticle-wielding evil queen Urusla of Disney fame in our highly-acclaimed, "Addicted to Love" video.

Speaking of music videos, I've long thought that a good remake for Old Hat would be the 'No Rain' by Blind Melon. 

Purpose:
The online meeting point for #sportsbiz professionals looking to share their favorite picks for the best music in stadiums, arenas and in intro videos ever! 

The next #sportsbiz #StadiumJamz Hangout on Turntable.fm will be March 29th at 1:30 PM CT. Stay tuned to @OldHatCreative for the link. 

Feel free to invite other #sportsbiz professionals! 

Find all of these songs,  and many  more for your enjoyment anytime by searching for the '#Sportsbiz Stadium & Arena Jamz' playlist on Spotify.

Yesterday, I took a brief hiatus from sitting in front of my tv (around noon-ish) in eager anticipation of the NCAA selection show to hear who my New Mexico State Aggies would be paired up with, to watch a movie or two.

I decided to pop in one of my favorite sports-centric flick, Invictus, starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.

As the primary plot line begins to unfold, President Mandela (played by Freeman) calls in the captain of the South African rugby team, Francois Pinot (played by Damon) for tea where he attempts to plant a seed for success. Then after a series of anecdotes relating to inspiration, he essentially pleads with the embattled captain to win the upcoming World Cup, in order to unify the once violently-segregated nation.

Many times a year, the greater sports-entertainment community (and world for that matter) gathers for a series of ostentatious sporting spectacles unseen by mankind since the times of ancient Rome. But before the Super Bowl, March Madness, BCS Championship, World Series, NBA All-Star Game, Stanley Cup, MLS CUP, Daytona 500, or (Insert your Sporting Event Here) starts, the throngs of opposing fans join together solemnly like the Peanuts at the end of the Charlie Brown Christmas Special, for what they hope is a stirring rendition of our national anthem. At least, that's what's supposed to happen. Our national anthem has been in the news quite a bit lately, for reasons both good and bad.

This morning on Twitter, @tariq_ahmad shared a link from Sports Marketing 2.0 where Tomas Janca, of the Czech Republic, reviews how his predictions of 2011 trends went, and what the forecast looks like for sports marketers in 2012.

2012 has some great opportunities for early adopters and those of you in the industry who are willing to leave the confines of traditional engagement behind to find new and innovative ways to interact with fans.

Of his Top 10 of '12, I found these trends to be the most interesting:

Do you "Like" somebody because you like them or because you "Like Button" them?

 As I'm sure all of you are aware, today is National Unfriend Day--a movement started by late-night talk show host, Jimmy Kimmel, encouraging citizens of the world to weed through their friends list and 'un-friend' those individuals that you really don't have a sincere connection with.

Good morning y'all!

Old Hat World Headquarters is bustling with activity. No sooner had we put the finishing touches on Football, Cross Country, Volleyball, Soccer, Tennis, Equestrian, Field Hockey and Golf campaigns for schools across the country, we've started doing the same for a wide variety of winter sports. With all of these awesome project requests coming through, it's important to take a few minutes every day to recharge your creative batteries and avoid an imagination blow out.

 Recharging your Creative Batteries

Our quirky country is obsessed with #trends. It’s seems that a product, idea or movement barely has the time to establish itself before it quickly fades away into obscurity or the realms of pop culture.

Last week, people were planking and owling/hooting. This week, they’re ‘Batmaning’.

Nowadays, people are doing the Dougie and Shuffling, when it seems like only yesterday, they were doing the Macarena and the Butterfly (which was quickly deemed old and we were all asked to do the Tootsie Roll.)

Keeping in the spirit of Dane the Intern's thorough reflections on the trials and tribulations of today's recording artists, I too have decided to blog about one of my favorite subjects--music. Music that I am living without this morning having forgot my headphones on the counter at home.

Aside from the mind-numbing drone of the air-conditioner tirelessly working to keep the triple-digit temperatures outside, I find some solitude in the occasional outburst of Ke$ha's latest hit (Unicorn people and the 'Beek. 'Nuff said.) from Tracie's office across the way.

All of the boxes are unpacked, the apartment is is settled and Norman, OK is starting to feel like home (Learn about my old home HERE)! Three weeks ago today, I set upon my epic journey from Texas, through New Mexico, back into Texas and into Oklahoma to start working at the raddest company around--Old Hat Creative!