The beverage industry is ripe with gimmicks these days. From cans that tell you when your beer is cold to liquor bottles that have a shot glass for a top, each brand is trying their best to differentiate from the pack in a crowded market.

Companies continue with these stunts because they work, at least for a little while. However, after the novelty of a beer bottle that you can write your name on wears away, people are off looking for something else to base their purchase decision on.

These tactics can be annoying after a while, thus paving the way for Heineken's campaign for their new can. Heineken's latest TV and print ads call out their competitors and focus on a can with "all perfection" and "no gimmicks".

Heineken "No Hype" :30 from johnny luisi on Vimeo.

I like the route Heineken is taking with this campaign. In essence, stating that they are above these gimmicks gives off an impression of a better product as well. Mainly, I'm just really tired of the predictably cheesy commercials from certain beer companies (I'm sure you can figure out which ones) and enjoy seeing Heineken harp on that.

Gimmicks may help generate sales in the short term, but they usually don't help to secure lifetime buyers. That is a lesson worth applying across the board.

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On today's WSAV Tech Tuesday, BFG's own Sloane Kelley discusses SCVNGR.

You would be lying if you told me that you were never inspired to be a painter because of Bob Ross and his happy trees. The Joy of Painting was one of the original shows that I used to lose hours of my life watching. I can barely draw a stick figure but I totally know that my favorite paint brush is the fan brush. Props to the good people at Flowtown for creating this infographic.

Einstein's theory of relationships states that for every guy who wants to go out and rage with his bros, there is one lady who wants to stay in, order Chinese takeout, wear PJs, and watch the latest Ryan Reynold's chick flick.

It's a part of life and many guys have been there. Often it takes a well crafted excuse for the girl to succumb to the guy's request for an evening of high fives, $3 PBRs, and screaming karaoke to Toto songs.

"I'm just doing my part to stimulate the economy". "Johnny is only in town for the next 15 weekends". "Tim just broke up with Stacy and I really need to be there for him". Although these are all worthy alibis, sometimes they just don't make the cut.

In steps Argentinean beer brand Norte. Norte Beer set out to find the best excuse ever for guys to keep in their arsenal to sidestep a potentially traumatizing evening of cuddling and Twilight. The premise of the campaign was simple: for every Norte Beer that was consumed at the bar, Norte would donate 1 minute of good deeds.

Norte put together a set of many tasks including fixing up needy homes, maintaining parks, and cleaning city buildings. Norte placed giant signs to act as counters throughout a Northern Argentinean city to display the accumulating number of minutes of good deeds to be performed. The brand followed up with a website where fans could keep track of what good deeds were being accomplished.

The end results of the campaign were pretty incredible. Norte consumers helped generate over 50,000 minutes of good deeds (that's over 833 hours!). Schools were repaired, monuments were restored, and...

For nearly two decades, Microsoft has been the leader in computing. It's hard work getting to the top and even harder work staying there. With other dominant players changing the game over the past 10 years, Microsoft has felt the whiplash.

Bloomberg reports that Microsoft's profits for last quarter fell below Apple's for the first time in 20 years. Analysts credit much of this to the introduction of the iPad 2, which was a dagger in the side of laptop sales.

In an effort to increase computer sales, Microsoft is offering a pretty hefty incentive for students that they hope will lead them away from the shiny Apple. On May 22, Microsoft began offering a free Xbox 360 4GB console (valued at $199) to any high school or college student that purchases a Windows PC for $699 or greater. The deal will be available at the Microsoft Store, Best Buy, Dell.com, and HP.com.

At first, this campaign appears to be a bit of a desperation cry from Microsoft. An Xbox isn't a cheap thing to give away. On the other hand, I think this may work well for the company in the long run.

Summer is the time that the majority of students are looking to purchase a computer for the following school year. Microsoft can likely capture several consumers that are on the fence about Windows vs. Mac with the promise of a free gaming system. They may even persuade some Apple fans who are in the market for a new computer and just can't pass up this deal.

I also like that this promotion ties consumers to another product in the Microsoft lineup. If by giving away an Xbox, Microsoft...