text: September 8, 2007 5:01 pm
  Comments Off on UFO Sightings…
  This is one of the best stories I've read on Creativity Online…
  A Partizan animator, called Nicolas, was playing with a couple of new software programs on his Mac. And tried out something on UFO's. Then posted it for fun. Prompting a new wave of UFO chatter.
  See the video here – looks cool. Love the blurred focus that makes it look like a handheld video shot!
  No embedded version of that available, but here's a follow-up video – watch the original too, though – it's better!
  Proof that Mac's are simply the best thing in the world, maybe?
  No Such Thing As Bad PR…
  The old adage was that there's no such thing as bad PR.
  Yet here we have a Miss USA contestant who stumbled on a question – you could think a number of things, one being that it's pretty intense pressure when you're up on the stage and she just crumbled a bit under the pressure. Whatever you think, it's clear her answer was a bit of a mess.
  So much so that, as I posted this, I counted around 20,716,000 views for her on Youtube (adding up all the views on the same video posted by different people – but only the first page of search results).
  So, the question is, will it make her a star or not.
  And, given the hunger for celebrity and the power of TV, my bet is that it will.
  The content will be forgotten, while the face will become 'known' – and that's enough.
  After all, look at the wealth and coverage still afforded by some of our own fallen BB stars.
  Comments Off on A Turkey For The Grey Goose…
  A Turkey For The Grey Goose…
  As critiqued by Bob Garfield on Advertising Age…
  And correctly slated, in my opinion, because it's so ostentatious.
  Yes – there's a super-premium market and they do live this life.
  But, it's displayed with such a lack of wit or self-awareness that it becomes laughable.
  Go here to see it in full…
  September 4, 2007 2:06 pm
  Thanks to Yousuf at The Bakery – and it took me ages to watch this, but I'm glad I finally did… because it's the best ad for a shampoo I can remember seeing…
  See it here or here…
  September 3, 2007 3:48 pm
  Scamp wrote a good piece last week on who should be held accountable. Well, accountable according to a quick poll from his blog, anyway.
  And planners come in for some finger-pointing. Which seems fair. Although painful. But then I started thinking more about it and…
  It used to be that planners dictated the message (the USP) and were the analysts of the results. Therefore, they were the primary culprits for ineffectiveness as well as effectiveness.
  Today, that doesn't quite work, though. Ads aren't simple vehicles to deliver 'Selling Messages.'
  We are all trying to find ideas. And good ones are usually a combination of the media, the message (if there is a rational message at all), the values/tone/attitude and the creative delivery… in other words (maybe simpler put), you can't divorce the message from the execution anymore. As such, there is no single person to point the finger at. You have to accept that the whole game becomes a team thingy – with shared responsibility. Shared success. And shared failure.
  I think that's why I still respect Mother for refusing to identify individuals on work – and ascribing credit on everything to 'Mother.' Although maybe they're just protecting themselves from people being hired out of there!
  And it's why the new Gorilla ad from Fallon is such an interesting piece of work. You can't do things like this when you're obsessing about the planning piece – the insight, the USP, the proposition, etc… – you have to be thinking about what produces results – the answer to a business issue/opportunity/need/desire/ or whatever you want to call that.
  This is as true for TV ads as it is for digital – it's about finding ideas, not about the media they appear in. Just make sure they're generous ideas, per Richard's piece!
  Museum of Low Resolution…
  Sony Blu Ray have launched a new site – extolling the virtues of high resolution.
  Have a look at the museum of low resolution. It's kind of like those museums you go to in weird European cities. Where there are only about 5 things to see and it's almost interesting, but feels a bit pointless – lots of stunning sections. Some really good v/o talk through. Some nice ideas. Just lacking content that really grabs you.
  Maybe that's unfair – there's lots to look at, but just nothing (that I found before getting bored) to play with. And the constant stream of "Blue vs. Red Laser" info begins to feel like propaganda quickly. It's a beautiful experience, but it feels like it needs to have more exciting content behind it.
  Or, to put it another way, it looks like the agency did a stunning job with some rather dry content!
  You Can't Beat A Gorilla…
  OK. You start off thinking "What The…??!!"
  Then you begin to twig it.
  And then you smile. Well, I did.
  It has nothing to do with Cadburys Dairy Milk, but you can bet more people will discuss this ad (and Dairy Milk) than anything else for quite some time… I won't say too much more because you have to watch it yourself, but I will say that I started off thinking "Is it Emperors New Clothes?" and ended up thinking "Genius!" You can't do this ad nauseam, but this is a perfect example of entertaining people rather than using some half-hearted insight to drive communication.
  Personally, I think it works. It takes the abstraction of "Balls" to a new height – and may lead to bad copycat versions, but it's the embodiment of branded content as advertising.
  August 30, 2007 6:22 pm
  Light Pollution…
  A while ago, Russell wrote a fantastic piece on light pollution. Then he followed it up recently with this thought about micro-campaigns…
  Then I came across this image today, while reading Right-Half Chow.
  I won't blather on about it – but they're all worth looking at or reading…
  Hairy Mail…
  Yes indeed. Every bit as scary as you think. And, yes, I know this was released ages ago – and I found it through the awards review in Creativity.
  But, just in case some of you hadn't seen it before either… here is Hairy Mail!
  Brought to you by "Truth" – so, really it's just more great stuff from the house of CP+B…
  Comments Off on Nike Football…
  This ain't no Yoga Bonita!
  It's more like Yoga Bonita's chav brother-in-law.
  But, after the initial "this isn't very Nike-like" reaction, I warmed to it more… sort of.
  Go here to see it…
  Comments Off on Norweigian Energy Drink…
  Norweigian Energy Drink…
  I stumbled across this on AdCritic – which is now Creativity Online – while trying to find something else and getting stymied by the non-functioning search function (oh how we get used to things working online!)… Anyway, that's all irrelevant. Now, ignoring the monkey visual that cuts in for a second on good old George Bush' face (and any political storm that could create), don't you just love this?
  Click here if you can't see the embedded version.
  And why… Because it's compelling viewing. Without any 'customer insight.'
  It's not an ad so much as a piece of branded entertainment. Wrapped up in product.
  Probably didn't take a lot of planning – in the old sense of that term (customer mining for insights and strategic focus) – but must have taken a lot of thinking from the whole team to rationalise why a piece of content like that could put a brand on the map. And that's still planning in my books. Because we should be doing planning as part of the whole process of creating communication and not as some sort of foreplay to creating effective work.
  It's part of a bigger thought that's brewing in my mind, but felt worth adding in. Even if it's a bit half thought through!
  All of this is thanks to this agency, by the way…
  "Fear The Gay Chicken! What the hell is that?" you think to yourself – and off you go, clicking on the link… You wait a while… listening to a weird "clucking" sort of noise. I won't describe it. Then you click on the chicken – and land on the "Fear The Gay Chicken (FTGC)" Site – proclaiming itself to be "The Official" site.
  It is just a self-perpetuating promotion for a T-Shirt seller on CafePress.
  And, as such, it's smart as you like.
  But, not that great.
  Tell you what, though – bet it sells more T-Shirts than my 'got nothing but ambition' CafePress site – which is a great idea still waiting to happen about 6 months later.
  Comments Off on Should be Nike…
  Should be Nike…
  I expected this one to end with a nike logo – or something.
  Great 30 seconds of film, though…
  Comments Off on Happiness Factory, The Movie…
  Happiness Factory, The Movie…
  Sorry if everyone's already seen this, but I've been away (moving this time) and I'm just catching up.
  But, you can't ignore this puppy… click here to see the site… another gem from Hunter & Rick.
  Great Quote from George Bryant…
  "Great advertising shouldn't resemble the act of looking through a window at the world. It should give back something surprising and rewarding. In a world where we're given so much in the way of horror stories, greyness and hardship, the last thing we need is more of that in our ad break."