February 2012 – Wheeler Blogs.

Kohnstamm Communications Welcomes Eric Wheeler. — A fine welcome indeed. I had never seen my name on a sign before!

Tuesday, Feb. 21, marks the first day of my internship at Kohnstamm Communications in St. Paul, Minn. Yes, the long job search is finally over–at least for a few months.

I learned a lot during my 9+ month job search. I did the typical resume blast using job search sites such as CareerBuilder and Monster, I applied to jobs I found on LinkedIn and Twitter and I did my best to promote myself in the online world. In the end though, it came down to who I know.

Though I landed many phone calls and on-site interviews through the strategy mentioned above–even having employers reach out to me because of my blog or online presence–it was a former teacher who got me the initial contact.

It is definitely nice to know a former teacher believes in me and wants to see me succeed. I had Lisa Heinrich as a professor in both Advanced PR and Media Ethics at St. Cloud State University as I was working on my masters degree in PR & Advertising. One of my favorite professors for her ability to weave in her own professional experiences in lively class discussions, Lisa continued to stay in touch with me after graduation. She would occasionally send me job postings she thought might be a good fit.

My opportunity came when she informed me another former student of hers was looking to hire someone with a little social media experience. I sent an email to Katie Heinze at Kohnstamm that same day and a couple months later I was in St. Paul for an interview.

Though I was not particularly looking for an internship in my job search I felt this was an opportunity worth pursuing for a couple reasons. The position being full time and paid was definitely nice, but I also want to work at a PR agency and this should be a nice foot in the door. I currently do not have any public relations experience in an agency setting so this will hopefully open up new opportunities.

I knew as soon as I walked through the door at Kohnstamm that it was the right place for me. After being greeted by Gail at the front desk, my eyes were drawn to the large sign welcoming me to the “2010 Boutique Agency of the Year.” I had never really seen my name featured on a sign before so I snapped a picture and tweeted about it later that night.

It’s been nearly two weeks since I accepted the position. It may be surprising I haven’t been tweeting about it and posting the news on Facebook, but wanted to make sure my family knew about my new adventure and to make sure I found a place to live in St. Paul. I have made the appropriate phone calls and have found a nice house with a couple roommates (thank you CraigsList) in Midway just a 10-minute drive from the downtown office.

Thank you to everyone for the encouragement and for thinking of me when coming across opportunities. Please continue to keep me in your thoughts. My four to six-month internship will be over before I know it and I will continue to be on the lookout for my next opportunity.

Victorias Secret Adriana Lima Football in 2012 Super Bowl Commercial — Adriana Lima made an appearance in a couple Super Bowl commercials this year as well as a few other models and celebrities–none of which made the cut on my list. Please don’t hate me, Adriana.

Another good year in Super Bowl commercials. Last year I picked the most expensive commercial ever produced because of the overall tone, an intense music bed that climaxes at just the right moment and a final cut to a sleek shot of the Chrysler 300 that left me with goosebumps.

All the videos I have picked out this year are comical. For non-humorous ads, “NFL Timeline” was pretty good, but I felt the ad lacked the climatic build necessary for it to truly be successful. Super Bowl XLVI also had some of the worst follow-up ads in history. Though Volkswagen once again made my list, I think the YouTube-only teaser released a a couple weeks before the big game was far more humorous (and has nearly twice the number of views). Bridgestone took slightly different approach with its “performance basketball/football” ads and ultimately fell short. Finally, though I still get goosebumps watching Chrysler’s “Imported from Detroit” from last year, the follow-up spot with Clint Eastwood is less than chilling (though 4 million views on YouTube is pretty good).

Enough talk. Here’s my top five Super Bowl XLVI commercials:

#5. Volkswagen: The Dog Strikes Back

Again, I think this is a poor followup attempt and the ad took a lazy approach to tying back to the Star Wars theme from the previous year. The Web-only “Bark Side Teaser Spot” is much funnier and is ranked No. 1 on Hulu’s top 10 Super Bowl ads list. Still, “The Dog Strikes Back” managed to win this year’s AdBowl.

#4. Skechers: GO RUN Mr. Quiggly!

I actually missed this one during the game, but found it to be quite hilarious. A dog in running shoes is pretty darn funny I guess. Moonwalking across the finish line was a little over-the-top.

#3. Doritos: Man’s Best Friend

Now in it’s fifth year, the Doritos “Crash the Super Bowl” campaign keeps on delivering. This spot is great in that it tell a story in 30 seconds while still managing to be both funny and cute.

#2. Hyundai: Think Fast.

I can’t say I really remember any past TV ads from Hyundai–Super Bowl or not. However, this ad strikes a chord with me in a couple of ways… It has the element of humor and the idea of showcasing a car’s ability to bring someone back to life is quite amusing (and a great way to show the car’s features).

#1. Chevrolet: Happy Grad

This one might be the most underrated spot of 2012–not making the top 10 in the AdBowl or Hulu’s AdZone. In fact, this ad didn’t even make the top 10 chart on AdAge’s Super Bowl social media chart. Funny for obvious reasons, but I think it has strong sentiment because, let’s face it, this is what most people wish would have happened when they graduated. At least, I did.

So there you have it. Also, the New York Giants won the game. Now I want to hear what your favorite Super Bowl XLVI commercials are. Please post in the comments section below, send me a tweet or take the poll: