Stubble is the way to win a woman’s heart, a study has shown. Researchers found that women are more attracted to men with stubbly chins than those with clean-shaven faces or full beards.

Women participating in the research rated men with stubble as tough, mature, aggressive, dominant and masculine – and as the best romantic partners, either for a fling or a long-term relationships.

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The findings of the experiment, carried out on British women aged 18 to 44, could explain the appeal of actors such as George Clooney and Brad Pitt who cultivate their unshaven look.

The explanation for the preference is not clear, but experts in human evolution say that that facial hair may be a signal of aggression because it boosts the apparent size of the lower jaw, emphasising the teeth as weapons.

Psychologists at Northumbria University who carried out the new study believe that stubbly men may offer women the best worlds – not too strongly masculine, but mature and with the potential to grow a full beard.

The researchers carried out the study using computer technology to alter pictures of 15 men’s faces so that they displayed different degrees of hairiness. Five levels of facial hair were used – clean-shaven, light stubble, heavy stubble, light beard and full beard.

The pictures were shown to 76 women who were asked to rate them for masculinity, aggression, dominance, attractiveness, age, and social maturity. They were also asked how desirable each man would be as a short-term or long-term partner. Faces with full beards were judged to be the most masculine, aggressive and socially mature. They were also thought to look five years older.

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They were rated the least attractive and the worst choice for a short-term relationship. Men with light beards were considered the most dominant. Those with light stubble were rated the most attractive and as the ideal romantic partner for the short or long term. Clean-shaven men finished bottom for masculinity, dominance, aggression, and social maturity, and they were the least favoured choice as a long-term partner. They came second-to-last for attractiveness.

Writing in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, the researchers conclude: “Facial hair, or beardedness, is a powerful sociosexual signal, and an obvious biological marker of sexual maturity.

“Facial hair may have been sexually selected by females on the basis of associated male success, despite its threatening appearance. Clean-shaven faces therefore may suggest appeasement, as well as being an obvious sign of sexual immaturity.

“Increasing levels of facial hair were associated with increased perceptions of aggression, in that bearded faces were perceived as being the most aggressive, whilst clean-shaven faces were rated as being the least aggressive. And as facial hair increased in a linear fashion, so did female ratings of masculinity and dominance.

“In desirability for a short-term relationship, a female preference for male faces with stubble or light beard was found, with clean-shaven and fully bearded faces being the least preferred. This indicates that females are not selecting faces displaying relatively high or low masculinity, but are rather preferring males who are clearly mature – post-pubertal – but not too masculinised. The same pattern was found for preferences for a long-term relationship.”

The researchers now want to extend their study internationally. Dr Nick Neave, who carried out the study with Kerry Shields, said: “There are large cultural differences in perceptions of facial hair, and we are hoping to expand on this research by conducting a large-scale study assessing female perceptions of male facial hair in different in as many countries as possible.”

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This is the commercial everyone has been talking about. Did you also know that this spot was awarded a Cannes Lions 2008 Film Bronze award..? Interesting..!

This is what we call in the biz a spec spot or spec commercial. Spec commercials are usually done by creatives from an ad agency in cooperation with a director from a separate production company to help everyone gain a great piece for their demo reel. Usually spec commercials are not never even shown to the client they are being made for. Basically its a fake commercial but its a great way to showcase ones talents in their respective art form. Ad Agency Creatives, Editors, Directors, Colonists and DPs all benefit from the practice of spec commercials. In this case JC Penny probably never even heard of this commercial until we all did.

This commercial was directed by Mike Long of Epoch films. Mike did an excellent job on this spot. I found myself totally drawn in. I’m not sure if it was the controversy surrounding the commercial or that it is just that good.

When Valve summoned a handful of US and UK journalists to its Seattle headquarters at the end of last month, it promised to talk about the future of Steam, its digital distribution system. That it did, revealing the ambitious Steam Cloud service for remote storage of game data, and boasting that it would soon be making more money selling games digitally, all the while remaining untroubled by piracy.

Valve mastermind Gabe Newell and his cohorts had an ulterior motive for bringing reporters together, however, and unusually for an ulterior motive, it wasn’t a wholly self-interested one. It was this: to evangelise the PC as the games platform of the future.

“This really should be done by a company like Intel or Microsoft, somebody who’s a lot more central to the PC,” says Newell, pointing out that companies like Blizzard, PopCap and GameTap would have just as much to say as Valve about how PC gaming is leading innovation in technology, business models, and community-building. But, notwithstanding Microsoft’s occasional promotion of Games For Windows – an initiative Newell refrains from attacking directly, but exudes disdain for – that support has not been forthcoming.

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Although all consoles now offer download services and support for indie game development, Audiosurf’s creator believes his game could only have happened on PC.

Where console platforms have merciless and well-funded PR armies poised to combat any criticism, negative stories about the PC – mostly publishers, or developers like Crtyek, complaining of rampant piracy and flat sales – run unimpeded. Sales data that focuses solely on boxed copies sold at retail appear to back them up. Valve has had enough. “There’s a perception problem,” says Newell. “The stories that are getting written are not reflecting what is really going on.”

You want figures? There are 260 million online PC gamers, a market that dwarfs the install base of any console platform, online or offline. Each year, 255 million new PCs are made; not all of them for gaming, it’s true, but Newell argues that the enormous capital investment and economies of scale involved in this huge market ensure that PCs remain at the cutting edge of hardware development, and consoles their “stepchildren”, in connectivity and graphics technology especially. Meanwhile, Valve’s business development guru, Jason Holtman, notes that without the pressure of cyclical hardware cycles, PC gaming projects – he points to Steam as an example – can grow organically, over long periods of time, and with no ceiling whatsoever to their potential audiences.

More pertinent, perhaps, are the figures directly relating to games revenue that the retail charts – admittedly a stale procession of Sims expansions and under-performing console ports – don’t pick up. “If you look into the future, there’s an important transition that’s about to happen, and it’s going to happen on the PC first,” says Newell.

At its heart, he explains, is a shift from viewing games as a physical product, to viewing them as a service – something that is also happening in other entertainment media. Digital distribution is part of that; more fluid and varied forms of game development, with games that change and engage their communities of players over time, are another; as is, naturally, the persistence and subscription (or otherwise) revenues of MMO games. None of this is reflected in the sales charts analysts, executives – and gamers – obsess over.

Valve sees 200 per cent growth in these alternative channels – not just Steam, but including the likes of cyber-cafes as well – versus less than 10 per cent in bricks-and-mortar shop sales. Steam has a 15 million-strong player-base with 1.25 million peak concurrent users, and 191 per cent annual growth; none too far off a console platform in itself. The PC casual games market, driven by the likes of PopCap, has gone from next to nothing to USD 1.5 billion dollar industry in under ten years, and has doubled in size in just three. Perhaps most surprisingly, Valve has found that digital distribution doesn’t cannibalise retail sales – in fact, a free Day of Defeat weekend on Steam created more new retail sales than online ones.

Why should ads be boring? Check out this collection of unforgettable advertisements from around the world.

Nike Cars Advertisement

Cars decorated as Nike kicks in Mexico. The front car carrying the ball.

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Fitness Company Advertisement

Shopping bags given away to customers when purchasing fitness accessories or nutritional supplements at the Fitness Company fitness centers.

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Skin Cancer Towel Advertisement

“Please take care this summer”

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Outdoor Stunt by Goodyear

Lovely concept, but I think there’s something lost in translation in this outdoor campaign for Goodyear. The sign says:

(front) “Your vehicle has been towed. Call 0800 081-8181.”
(back) “For sticking on the roads.”

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Canon Advertisement

Creative Canon outdoor advertisement.

Canon Rebel XSi 12MP Digital SLR Camera w/ Lens $800

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