Coast, opens in the Luigi’s location the first weekend in May. Owned by Tony & Sue Berkhofer (he was the chef at West Lake Clam & Chowder House).

Ronjo – got a bronze job and is becoming a swanky hotel called Beach House.

Gosman’s Restaurant has a new chef! Dave Piacenti, who’s worked at ENE and 1770 House.

Goldberg’s Bagels is opening where Dr. Cannon’s old office was. Just around the corner Kathryn Nadeu’s been working her magic! Her new organic (and lovely smelling) hand spray is for sale at Moonlighting In Montauk.

Sloppy Tuna has an all-new second floor. The bar, now upstairs, has amazing views. New chef, Reed Lucas (a local) is doing a beach menu and a raw bar.

The Village Deli (aka “smelly deli”) got a big makeover. New tenants are the folks who own Fish Bar…we can’t wait. On the other side of the building, Chris Coleman is opening Saunders Real Estate’s first outpost in MTK.

La Bodega, owned by Paulette Davis and Julia Prince, is replacing Plaza Restaurant.

Lawrence Cook is asking everyone to come out July 21 and support the original locals – he’s the guy behind the new American Indian Museum and he’s trying to raise $750,000 to make it happen.

Sam Joyce, formerly of Gosman’s can now be found at Sammy’s on the dock where Clemente’s used to be. We hear there are large and small plates priced approximately $10 and $20 and locals are loving the food.

When Pig’s Fly has flown away. Kailani is selling Montauk Coordinates necklaces and Montauk nameplate necklaces and will hold trunk shows this summer. Willow has a new jewelry line coming in.

Dominique Garsten has purchased Sangha Yoga, she’s renovating and reopening in May. We’re so glad that Deep Hollow Ranch riding stable is now being run by the Keogh family! Ditch Witch is back. (Phew!) Vintage Pink (In a Pepto Bismol color, you can’t miss) is a new antique shop, owned by Julie Miller.

OutEast will host an opening for local artist Dalton Portella May 19th. Right next door Jesse Joeckel’s Whalebone is reopening with an expanded line of surf-inspired T-shirts, bags, hats and more.

Zum Schneider MTK, a satellite of a popular East Village bierhaus, is opening where Oyster Pond was.

We hear Lenny’s is going to be called Swallow East (and no, they are not the same folks who brought us the Sloppy Tuna! But they did just buy Surf Lodge.)

Salivar’s apparently has some issues…. and may not open this season.

Herb’s is for sale! Shagwong is for sale! Montauket is for sale! Heck, b+f is for sale… for the right price. Have a great summer, everyone. We will see you at the beach!

Did we miss some news you know about? Comment here or post it on our Facebook.

Lynn + Jill

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Late in 2010, The American Psychiatric Association announced it was probably dropping narcissistic personality disorder from its highly influential Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. They were considering the change because narcissism is so prevalent. You can blame the Kardashians, but honestly, they’re not the only one at fault. A culture obsessed with “15 minutes of fame,” preceded her by decades.

At b+f we argue about social networks all the time. “It’s narcissism,” says Jill. “Look at me, look at my kids.” “Maybe, but it’s also a great way to connect with people,” says Lynn. Jill’s a private person and a private thinker. Lynn’s more of an extravert, had to learn Facebook and Twitter for the business, and now secretly (actually, not so secretly) loves sharing items she finds interesting. Lynn’s always loved connecting people and ideas. Jill has always loved teasing Lynn. Ok, she’s only loved it for 10 years. Before that she had her siblings.

A year ago, Facebook had over 500 million users, and was used by 1 in every 13 people on earth. over 250 million of them (over 50%) log in every day. The average user has about 130 friends (we imagine you’re far more popular than the average user). There are over 465 million accounts on Twitter and 175 million tweets are sent a day. Lady Gaga and Justin Beiber lead the Twitterverse – Gaga has about 20 million followers.

So are Facebook and Twitter examples of pervasive narcissism (not to mention 4 Square and Pintarest?) Or are they actually great tools for your business and a way to stay in touch with family, friends and your date to your senior prom? Yes, all of the above! For some businesses, Facebook, is a smart way to reach customers and Twitter is a great way to stay on top of breaking news and establish yourself as an expert. If you want to start a revolution, (whether it’s the Arab Spring, or the Save Ditch Witch protest of 2011) social networks are fast, free ways to galvanize your community. Tell us what you think. Post something on our wall. Lynn will read it. Jill… not so much.

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Do you love the fact that you can swim in our bays? Do you appreciate our beautiful trails, the osprey nests and wildlife out here? Wonder who fights developers and encourages lawmakers to make decisions that protect the environment? And who do you think is in the classrooms and on the fields turning students into future stewards of our environment?

Group for the East End! We’d heard of the Group, but honestly didn’t understand how profound an impact they have on the quality of our lives. After meeting with their president, Bob DeLuca and a talented and committed team, we learned that without the Group, this place would be commonplace.

We want to send out a big thank you to the Group. And, if you live on or love the East End, we want to ask you to thank them, too. Please visit the new website we just created with them, find out more about how they’re protecting the nature of the place you love. We think you’ll want to become a Groupie, too!

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OK, true confession. We don’t love football. In fact, pretty much the only football game either one of us has ever watched is the Super Bowl (unless you count Friday Night Lights). Now here’s a real shocker, even thought we both make TV commercials, we rarely watch them. Just like millions, we’ve invested in technology that allows us to fast forward – but once a year, we can’t wait to watch commercials!

Why do people get so excited about Super Bowl commercials?

Jill asked me this question just the other morning and Kris, a designer who works with us called in from the other room, “because they’re more creative.”  Aha! They are. If you want to excite people – creativity is key. But just because something’s creative doesn’t make it good, or worth the $3.5 million in air time a thirty second spot costs. Remember the gerbil that got shot out of a cannon? Uh huh? Do you remember what brand it was for? We don’t either.

We think the best commercials are entertaining, intelligent, relevant, and actually tell you (or even better sell you) the brand’s benefits.

Based on those criteria, here’s our take on some of the biggest winners and losers from super bowl 2012:

Hyundai Genesis Coop: A

Funny, unexpected, involving, original and shows off the car’s benefits beautifully. Great casting, too.

CLICK ON THE HYPER-LINKS TO WATCH THE COMMERCIALS ON YOUTUBE.

Chevy Camero Happy Grad:  A

Fun. Funny. Relevant. Hate to say it but they get away with people going berserk over their product in virtually every scene. Get this: Not done by an agency, but created by Zach Borst, a 26-year-old filmmaker from Long Island.

ETRADE: A-

Terrific example of a great (ongoing) ad campaign that has built the brand, these spots are amusing, attention getting can’t wait to see what they’ll do next. In this case, the line “Ya know, everything can cost upwards of…” line is brilliant That said the speed dating was a bit odd.

Hyundai Veloster: A-

Car’s too fast for the cheetah and the trainer isn’t fast enough?! We laughed out loud.

Budweiser Prohibition Ends! Lynn: A-/ Jill: C

Lynn: Beautiful production, product as hero, anthemic.
Jill: Just not that entertaining (By the way, Jill’s a beer, but never a Bud drinker).

sketchers: A-

Perfect for the audience. Who doesn’t love an ugly French bulldog in sneakers? A pithy exchange between him and a greyhound could have made it an A+.

DORITOS Dead Cat:  A-

A bit predictable and sophomoric but funny (Even to a cat lover).

Chevy Silverado: A -

We both like competitive tone, Jill likes the Twinkees, too. Made Thom Fleming (The Giants and Jill’s biggest fan) want to buy a Silverado – and he’s their market.

TIMEWARNER Cable: B

We love Ricky Gervais. And the special effects were cool. Never really think of TWC as bringing you everything from Facebook and Twitter to Showtime…

Fiat: B

Beautiful girl. Cute car. Dorky guy, amusing but wanted it to be better than it was.

Toyota Camry: Lynn: A-/Jill: B

Lynn: Beautifully told, simple story. Non-clichéd interesting images. Emotional and relevant because it’s “everyman’s” car.
Jill: Yes, good imagery, but not an A as I’ve seen it before.

Samsung: B+

Ridiculously over the top but it kind of what Super Bowl ads are supposed to be so it worked for us.

PEPSI Elton John: B

Universal concept, great production values, and the product is the hero. Using the winner of the X factor and a character from Glee along with Elton John and Flavor Flave appeals to all ages – (as does Pepsi.) Totally in keeping with the Pepsi brand but not as exciting as their spots used to be.

H&M David Beckham: B

Calvin’s been here before, but we can’t lie, we don’t mind looking at David Beckham, but not many of the men we know liked this spot.

BUDWEISER: B (Eternal Optimism/CULT “Eternal Optimism”)

Pepsi may have done something like this years ago but this was cool. Great music.

Dannon Greek Yogurt “The Tease”: B

Funny send up of the typical yogurt spot. “Possibly the best yogurt in the world” – possibly the most mediocre tag line we’ve ever heard.

Volkswagon: B-

Dog gets in better shape so it can chase a car that’s in better shape. Good strategy. Great dog. We like the premise, but when they pull back to reveal the Star Wars crowd watching this year’s spot at the bar, it’s too self referential. Who cares?

Audi: B-

Mildly amusing, but is anyone going to buy a car because of headlights? And are Twilight fans really your audience, Audi?

Bud Light: B-

Here we go – again. Great rescue dog but we’ve seen this spot for Budweiser, for Coors, for decades. Derivative, but at least they’re helping rescue dogs.

KIA Jill: B-/Lynn: D

This spot has all the right ingredients but it tries too hard and the recipe failed. Imagine what Gerry Graf would have done with it.

TaxAct: C

Totally Free? How ‘bout totally borrowed interest, but very cute kid. Wonder if people will remember or care.

Met Life: C+

Charming. Sweet message. So much unrealized potential.

ACURA: C

Jerry Seinfeld is renowned for his collection of Porches, why is he doing this? There’s not a line in the spot that is as well written as his show was. (But he does elevate the material). We wanted to really laugh and we really wanted to like the spot, sorry, Jer.

Lexus The Beast: C-

Beastly weak. Great production value for absolutely nada.

“Masters of Style” Gillette Fusion ProGlide Styler: C-

What a waste of talent and money. We love these actors. It would have been nice if someone had written something interesting and filmed something stylish.

Honda CRV (Matthew Broderick): C-

We’re not wild about Matt, and honestly this ad nearly put us to sleep. That said, we get the strategy: For middle-aged people (i.e. Ferris Bueller fans) the CRV is a fun car, so go out and live your life in it.

Hyundai “Anthem”: C

Huge cast, huge production dollars, all to let me know that the designers at Hyundai aren’t that creative. Guessed that by looking at the cars.

Go Daddy: F

BADVERTISING on every level. We hate these spots. Sex may sell, sexism doesn’t. And we want our cloud to be strong and reliable, NOT STUPID!

Toyota Camry: F

What a waste of money. Completely borrowed interest. No product benefits. Bummer. (By the way an Ad Age Blogger loved this spot. That’s what makes horse races and Super Bowl Blogs.)

Spots too boring or expected to grade: Ford, BMW, GE, Budweiser Platinum, Breakstone, TelaFlora, Toyota’s Eli Manning, spot, and others.

Well, you know what they say about opinions – we hope you enjoyed ours. A few other random comments and observations: This year you could have called the Super Bowl the car bowl. Twenty-five percent of the Super Bowl commercials were for cars – what does that say about an industry that was in the toilet just 3 years ago? It could also have been called the been there done that bowl. Where was the breakthrough idea that we’d never seen before? Why are so many commercials SO AVERAGE when advertisers spend over a million on production and over three million dollars on thirty seconds? We’d like to suggest every advertiser have to pay 1 percent of what they spend on production (including talent and music licensing) and we’d like to see the NFL and NBC donate 1 percent of what they earn in air time to rotating charity, annually.

Related Topics: Elton John, Jerry Seinfeld, Matthew Broderick, Montauk, Super Bowl 2012, Super Bowl 2012 Commercials, and matthew broderick super bowl ad

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Part of the reason we love our work is we love where we work. Our office overlooks Deep Hollow Ranch, less than a mile from the Atlantic Ocean. We work with a lot of business owners all over the East End, remember integrity, honesty, and kindness? They’re alive and well out here. Whether you own an advertising, marketing and web design business, a landscape company, a car dealership – you work at a local bank, newspaper, magazine, or hospital, you can’t beat taking a beach walk before, after, or during work!

So, a few days after Thanksgiving and a few weeks before Christmas, Hanukah and Kwanza, we thought we’d say THANKS. There’s no better place to live or work than the East End of Long Island.

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In 1984, Steve Jobs changed all that. Click here to watch comercial. His Apple was built for us “creatives”. Design mattered. Fun mattered. Music mattered. Art mattered. Macs were intuitive, Iphones were smarter, and Ipads turned octogenarians and babies into believers every minute of every day. Genius is an overused word, but Jobs was pure genius, there’s no way to eulogize the man. Look around your home, your office, your world, at all the products you love. Do you know the names of the CEOs of the companies who made them? It is remarkable to feel so much loss and sadness and to see it echoed all over the Internet by millions of others, like us, like you, who didn’t know Steve Jobs, but knew he changed the game, changed our lives, changed the world.

Today, when so many people are “thinking the same” let’s remember, moving forward, to think different. (Or for you grammarians, to think differently.)

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Who you were with.

Who you knew who might be in danger.

I moved here on September 1, 2001. The morning of September 11, I was living in an East Hampton rental with no TV. A friend instant messaged me saying a plane had hit the WTC. I assumed it was a small Cessna, until my phone started to ring like crazy.

Jill was editing a TV spot. When she got back home to Montauk there was great surf, but she couldn’t bear the thought of enjoying it while so many people were suffering. Unable to face a scarred Manhattan, Jill didn’t venture into the city for six months. A few days later I returned for meetings and was devastated as the Jitney headed towards the tunnel, Ground Zero was still smoldering and my “true South” was gone. I felt lost. Haunted by the people searching for their loved ones. And my thriving work as a freelance writer was gone indefinitely.

September 11, 2001 changed history. It also changed this place we call home. Quaint villages became year-round communities. City slickers gave up Manhattan for a different life. School enrollments expanded. New businesses grew. The Internet was in place. The impetus was there.

Ten years later, life has changed. blumenfeld + fleming wasn’t even a dream then and is now a nine-and-a-half year old reality. I met our first client on the beach the day after the towers went down. I doubt we’d have spoken if it hadn’t been for 9-11. On September 11, we both were grateful to be here. That’s one thing that hasn’t changed.











What do you remember? How has your life changed?

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Long Island Aquarium & Exhibition Center

We’ve been working closely with our friends at the former Atlantis Marine world to create this new logo and ad campaign. And we’re all a flutter about the new Butterflies exhibit!

Suffolk County National Bank

We were fortunate to creative direct this TV spot that Plum TV did a great job producing. Click here to watch it. We’ve also created new print ads, radio spots and a series of brochures for SCNB!




Southampton Hospital

This is the first ad we’ve created in a new emotional campaign that reminds the community how much we all rely upon Southampton Hospital. We also developed this print and banner campaign to remind people that the excellent services they need are right here.

Hampton Hills

We don’t golf, but it doesn’t stop us from appreciating this members-only golfer’s oasis in Westhampton Beach that just got a new logo, new website and web-banner campaign on Hamptons.com

Coming soon from b+f!

Want to get in shape this summer? Coach Minardi will make it happen, his new website is almost ready. This new logo for CCOM will debut on their new website and Main Beach is being programmed right now too. SWEET! Want to get your new website and logo in shape? B+f will make it happen! Just give us a call.

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Everyone knows it’s better to give than receive, especially to the Red Cross Blood Bank!

Here are some of our favorite do-gooders in the Hamptons and around the world. Feel free to share the list and  click on any one of the links to learn more. And, feel free to tell us who you love and why! Happy Holidays, share the joy, count your blessings and give what you can. We’ll see you in the New Year!

Lynn + Jill

1. Local Food Pantries & Island Harvest
The idea that people could go hungry in the Hamptons seems impossible – with all the left over lobster and steak we’ve seen at $400 plate galas. But it’s true. As oil prices and unemployment go up many local residents’ cupboards have gone bare. Buying a turkey for a family in need or sending a check to your local food pantry are easy ways to help.

2. Peconic Land Trust, Concerned Citizens of Montauk & Group for the East End
If you moved here for the same reasons we did and you’re simply in love with this part of the world, we encourage to you preserve and protect it.

3. Heifer
Five years ago Jill and her daughter Maggie spend a few days at a Heifer camp. They came back inspired and knowledgeable about how much Americans consumerversus other countries. Since then we’ve been supporting this super-cool organization that donates cows, chicks, pigs and bunnies to impoverished communities and teaches them how to support themselves.

4. VDAY!
Dedicated to ending Violence against Women and Girls.Eve Ensler is one of Lynn’s mentors and heroes and Lynn was on the founding committee of VDAY. Protecting women and girls around the world is near and dear to our hearts. VDAY has virtually no overhead 96% of every dollar goes straight to the cause.

5. Paddlers For Humanity.
Don’t float through life, Paddle and Make a Difference.We love this small local charity. The generosity of spirit and the athleticism and the sheer determination they bring to everything they do is awesome. And they raise money for local and global good works.

6. Doctors without Borders.
Whenever there’s a disaster, this group is there. Katrina, The Tsunami, Haiti – these doctors fly in and get the job done.

7. Fighting Chance.
The C word. It’s pretty overwhelming. Fighting chance offers cancer counseling, patient navigation, resources and more free-of-charge to cancer patients and their families on the East End.

8. Wait wait there’s more! We also love and support:
Project Most, The Retreat, The Fresh Air Fund, CMEE, ARF, The Clamshell Foundation, Montauk Medical Center, Southampton Hospital and Swim Across America, Fiver,  Acumen. Safewaternetwork, Karmakidsart, and of course, the Montauk Fire Department.

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Lynn + Jill

Enjoy the Dog Days, Post your dog on our FB page and call Lynn @ 631 668 0007 if you want to discuss your logo, website or ad campaign.

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