This post is about marketing in the most basic of form. The local market.

I recently read In Defense of Food, an insightful book written by Michael Pollan describing easy to follow principles for eating better, both for self and society (I highly recommend it - great summer read).

Part of the problem Pollan speaks about with our Western diet, amongst others, is that the food we eat is no longer grown anywhere close to where we live. I serendipitously stumbled upon this video and wanted to share as it tells an important story. Pretty self-explanatory and worth the watch.

An unfortunate side effect of the current city workers strike in Toronto is that the weekly farmer's market near my house (as well as many others) has not taken place for over a month. It is a shame that in peak season we can't meet the farmers growing the great local produce and raising the animals in our own geographic footprint.

Don't get me wrong, I 'm not against globalization and the connectedness of the world today. Not at all. But, perhaps we need to go back to the origins of marketing within our local market, bazaar or fair and support those around the corner or up the road. Nothing big and radical in terms of changing how we shop, just small ones here and there where it can make a real difference and help us know that little bit more about the food we put on our plates.

Update: I forgot to mention the video was produced by Hellmann's as part of Eat Real Eat Local effort. And, of course, they are on Twitter too. Hat tip to Mike Wrobel.

Unconventional. Interesting. Puzzling. A bit of creepiness mixed with the notion that you may never quite figure the entire thing out. Yes, these are a few of my favorite things. Is it any wonder I stayed up until 2am as a child to watch reruns of The Twilight Zone?

So, if David Lynch designed a website with Saw on the brain, I think it would look and act something like this gem of project from the Swedish Armed Forces.

Apparently it is a recruiting tool. I took the test. It seems they won't be requiring my services anytime soon. Mom will be happy.

Hat Tip to Simon Conlin via Facebook

How does an airline get your attention with the pre-flight safety speech? Even better, how can they do it when you are not even on the plane yet? Well, one way is to strip the crew, body paint uniforms on them and video tape the whole deal. Most would agree that might make for a more interesting run through of the run down on the runway.

Of course, this is a not going to fly when the plane is full of passengers. So, doing a YouTube only video shoot is certain to get some attention. Now, while I'm quite certain no one wants an airline to joke or make light of onboard safety, I believe this is done in good taste (somewhat at least) and shows a some brand personality. There is even a blooper real

Effective use of YouTube? Sure, why not. The next time I fly, I don't have to pretend I am listening and can boast to the passengers all around me that I watched the entire safety routine from the comfort of my own home. Heck, I can even watch it in flight on my laptop or iTouch if WiFi is available.