Weekend events AND Request for feedback please

[misstia]

Our weekend event starts tomorrow, Friday December 12 thru Sunday the 14th Ads for OTC (over the counter) medications AND First Aid items. Both those items sort of go together, hence them sharing a weekend!

Request for feedback please!

Earlier in the year LJ got new owners and amazingly they are listening to users, have returned some things, allowed people to keep their own friends page if they wish, etc. They also want to help promote communities. We can be promoted on the LJ main page and in the LJ news. We also can also have a custom layout, which is what I am requesting feedback on.

I was sent 4 or 5 examples of custom layouts they had designed and only this one appealed to me. Though with vintage ads in the background, obviously. Also with perhaps off-white in the center and only with a calender and tags listed. Perhaps not having the ads slanted in the background either.

So, questions:

What do you think of that?
Any ideas for a header image?
What ads would you pick as 'favorites'? Obviously the Fiero ad; the jello monstrosity ad; and then? (I have asked how many we could have and will update when I get an answer)
Any other ideas/suggestions feedback on this?

ETA: Even if you only read the community on your friends' page (I do that most times), you are more than welcome to express an opinion! How our community appears to others is something that I would like everyone to have an opportunity to weigh in on.

ETA I have heard back, apparently there is no limit to the ads we could have in the background, BUT, to not make it so 'busy' and perhaps to allow for some uniformity (is that the right word? I've only had one cup of coffee thus far). How about we keep the favorite ads to no more than 12 tops, or maybe a top 10? From the suggested ads and a few I thought of, we can have a vote of them, for a final decision. So PLEASE, keep suggesting favorite ads!!

Also, apparently customizing can be done in a multitude of ways, so any other suggestions are welcome too! As they always are!

Comments

Love it

[noluck-boston.livejournal.com]

I like it too. I would ask that the font be verdana. I was always taught this was the best text for computers, mobile deceives and ect. to read.

The Cannon Towel ones too with the Soldiers lol. Those are gems!

As for the top,
Is there a way to use the Vintage Ads Icon? Its a pretty good one!

Re: Love it

[misstia]

i never thought/considered font!!

like the vintage ads icon idea and the cannon towel ad!

[booksandcheeses.livejournal.com]

I rather like it, and agree with noluck_boston that verdana is a good font.

I think a Maidenform ad would be great!

[misstia]

there are a lot of maidenform ads aren't there?

[pikkewyntjie.livejournal.com]

Definitely one of the "I dreamed I was . . . in my Maidenform bra."

[ticktockman.livejournal.com]

I read the community from my friends page so I'm not likely to see the layout at all. I abstain.

[misstia]

i read the community from my friends page too, but if you have an opinion on what it would look like directly, you are more than welcome to express it!

[samtyr.livejournal.com]

I agree with the Verdana font.

An ad with an Art Deco bathroom. Also, a "creepy kid" ad.

[misstia]

oh yes, creepy kid!! the pork and beans kid?

i haven't heard back yet with how many ads we could have in the background, but an art deco bathroom one sounds great! we definitely need a 'beautiful' ad represented!

[bradygirl_12]

I would suggest any sleek car ad (something from the '20s or maybe classic Cadillac from the '50s?) and a Coke ad. Everyone knows Coke! :) Also, any glamorous movie star ad. :)

This is fun! Though does that mean this current layout will be gone? I think it's perfect for this comm! I hope this is only for the promotional pages.

Heh, thought of another one. What's more vintage than fast food? We saw some great ads in the contest: food and architecture! ;)

Good luck!

[misstia]

Yes, the current layout would be gone. I do agree it is perfect for us; but I do like the idea of having our own custom layout. That's why I wanted to ensure I included the community members for feedback and one day didn't just plonk a new layout on y'all. I try to make sure everyone can express their opinion about community decisions. I did, of course, decide on my own, to accept LJ's generous offer to help us promote the community as who could argue with that? (Well I'm sure someone could! :)

I like the idea for the inclusion of a car, coke and movie star ad! Plus fast food! I still don't know how many we could have included.

[fallconsmate.livejournal.com]

i view in my own style because i just can't read stuff with that sort of busy background.

but i do like all the ideas bandied about, and think that this is a wonderful idea!

(edit for bad spelling. today is not good.)

[misstia]

I view things on my friend's page too....i didn't think it was THAT busy, but I do understand....i did make sure it wasn't 'white' in the center though as i know many, including myself, can have problems with the brightness.....

[bitterlawngnome.livejournal.com]

I don't dislike the Stan Lee one, but I also quite like this what we have now. I'd be happy with either.

Also I just realized I dropped the ball on "Suzy the Ad" mascot, if you remember her? is that something you wanted to use?

[misstia]

Suzy the Ad mascot could be perfect for a header!!

[bitterlawngnome.livejournal.com]

OK I'm in the middle of a huge upload but later today will post a link to the image files.

[misstia]

thank you!!

[kshandra]

FWIW, I actually like the slanted tiles in the background.

[misstia]

I thought for ads in the background that might be a bit discombobulating....

[heather mccrillis (from livejournal.com)]

I'm OK with a new layout.

One of my favorite ads: http://vintage-ads.livejournal.com/4729421.html?nojs=1

[misstia]

That is a very adorable ad!!!

[bitterlawngnome.livejournal.com]

oh and also, I nominate the lima bean and spam casserole ad.

[misstia]

oh yes!! that must be in there along with a jello ad!

[write-light.livejournal.com]

I like this layout, but I'm cool with a newer/fresher layout. It really should convey vintage (which the Stan Lee doesn't - it conveys comic books really well). Hopefully with some color changes and background images, it will be closer to vintage.

[misstia]

well that's why i thought if we had some vintage ads in the background---i still dunno how many we could have....or if they come up with something similar to what i described....as i said, i was sent a few of the custom designs they had done for journals and a few, well no offense to those who have 'em as they obviously love 'em, but i couldn't have anything like a few of 'em....i also know from previous discussions on here we like things somewhat rather simple....

they had widgets to offer us too, to feature top comments, posts, etc but i didn't think those fit us....as long as our community page has the calendar (i actually use that quite often, especially when tallying contest votes) and tags, i think we're good for add ons...

[noluck-boston.livejournal.com]

I wish they would have a featured that lets us re-post a post from the past.

Last weeks Airline theme had me go back to my old post and recreate them again for the weekend. It would have been cool to just bump them back to the top. Oh well.

[misstia]

reposting would be a great thing!!! if LJ has a suggestion box, i'd toss that in there!!

[write-light.livejournal.com]

I agree we need very few features, but are they going to design us a background from what ads we send them? That's a pretty sweet offer! Is it too soon to ditch our "LJ sucks" tag? ;-)

[misstia]

yes, they are going to design it with ads we send them and whatever we send for a header image for them to work with....we've also been given lots of LJ tokens to promote vintage ads on the front page or anywhere else on the site you can use tokens to promote and if i run out, i can request more--i will use them sparingly, but that was very awesome!!! plus as i said above, they will promote us in the lj news at some point in time....

already gone!!! removed it yesterday! :)

ETA: they're going to promote us on their social media accounts too!

[ejia-arath03.livejournal.com]

Actually, the theme I would like is one that lets you hide the long list of tags. I'm not fond of the way they artificially elongate the page.

Oh, here's one: Can we include the winner of each month's contest in the header? Or part of the background?

[misstia]

i have to say that on my computer the tags do not elongate the page, they fit in the box...i did ask that we have normal tags and not the different sized ones (can't think of the 'technical' name for that)....

i like that idea, but we would have to have the design team constantly changing the theme for us....as i wrote above, i did say i didn't see a need for widgets---i think there's only 2 available, one to feature comments and another to feature a post, but perhaps featuring the winner in a 'featured post' widget wouldn't be a bad idea?? since that's interactive, i'm sure i'd be the one who would be selecting what would be featured.....

what do you think of that as a possible idea?

[ejia-arath03.livejournal.com]

What I meant about the tags is that while it's fine when browsing the comm page, when it comes to the actual post it's so long that it makes the page tall even when there's only one or two comments.

The widget route would probably be a good idea. It could display the winner for each month with a picture of the ad, and a list of the finalists (similar to what bakebakebake does). It could also serve as a constant reminder of the current contest.

[noluck-boston.livejournal.com]

I like the idea of featuring a winner on the side bar.