Here Be Monsters|blog

What business should really be about

Isn't this what business should really be about? I love this guy. I love his values? I love his passion?

Chocolate wars

At times like this a more aggressive approach to your competitors might just work.

Something for the weekend, a 2D audio mixer

And heaven knows we've always wanted one of them. Limited, but fun, so perfect for a bank holiday friday pm. Enjoy

It's the long cuddle of the law

I like this, it's a little whimsical and odd, but why not. I like the fact that I don't know if it's an 'offical' ad or some quirky personal film. Either way I think it approaches the subject matter in a very fresh way - which is always a good thing. I also love the fact that it gets the message across very clearly without using words.

Brilliant design.

What's not to love.  Got me thinking, what other of life's little problems need solving and who could do it? Surely, a smart client and/or marketeer should look at doing stuff like this from their comms budget.

Like the above - if it was offered to you in a Chinese restaurant thanks to Persil/Ariel, you smile, wouldn't you?

Is this the funniest headline ever written?

the credit cruches on

Walking past a newsagents this morning I happened to see these in the window.

And it got me thinking. Is this a spin-off effect of eBay? Is this what the yummy mummy wives of Hedge Fund manager have been reduced to? Or is this just a smart marketing ploy for a local bag shop having a sale?

I'll let you come up with your own story.

Childish? Absolutely, but I like them

It's a strange thing, ads with puns I hate, but companies, well that's a whole different matter. Maybe its the utter commitment that wins me over.

Here's a selection the Torontoist have been compiling.  And now the Londonist are hitting back with a plea to build their own list.

Let battle commence.

Quality Prank

Nothing can be worse than that.

Oh, I forgot

Apparently some wag or wags from Texas University hacked into the road signs.

This is indeed a new era for America.

Lets spruce up awards nights

Let's be honest, awards nights are boring, win or lose, they're a struggle to sit through, not since Graham Fink turned up with his quiver at the British Telly awards have we seen anything like the drama, tension and excitement that they demand.

So, how about next time you're up on the podium, take the time to make it a memorable night, and do a Katie.

Just imagine  how much better the night would be as you thank those unsung heroes behing your ad; the typographer, the studio manager, the retouchers, the cab driver for getting you to the studio - the list is endless.

Now, must go got a meeting with PricewaterCoopers, I'm trying to convince them to frame their best audits and hang them in reception.

sometimes all you've got to compete against is the competition

For all you blood-lusting, war-moungering, bone-crushing, punch-throwing, head-butting, VW Golf-loving people out there.

Trendy dad syndrome hits Microsoft, again.

My first thought, no, dearest wish, was that it was a spoof. But no, it would appear not.

So if you need to justify to anyone why you bought an apple, even the new no keys computer, just show them this, sit back with your hands behind your head and give them the biggest, smuggest grin you've got.

worth sharing

This does more to convince me that just maybe riding the Underground isn't the second worst experience known to Londoners than any number of posters I've seen them do. They really should encourage their staff to  express themselves more. After all they are the face of the company and if they're happy, personable, witty and interesting, then....

You get the idea.

(Photo via The Londonist.)

Something for the weekend

Turns out to be a good week for work. Here's an impressive online game full of wit and style from a partnership between North Kingdom and Goodby Silverstein and Partners. I love the attention to detail and the depth of the experience. This was obviously put together by people who cared. Full credit should go to the California Milk Processing Board for stumping up the cash.

rock n roll

I don't know much about Nine Inch Nails. I know I don't like their music. I know I love their marketing  skills.

To launch their new album, Year Zero, they included URL clues on their tour t-shirts which lead fans to websites that described an apocalyptic vision of the US. Memory sticks were found in toilets with tracks on them. Samples of tracks were played on radio stations unannounced in the wee small hours. Telephone numbers appeared on fan sites. All very clandestine, all very brilliant. All very I love Bees.

I wish I'd done it.

Coke to sue Coke

Crispin Porter + Bogusky have done it again it would seem.  The joke goes, Coke Zero tastes so much like regular Coke that two representatives for Coke set out to question actual lawyers on hidden camera to gauge their chances of bringing a successful lawsuit against Coke Zero for taste infringement.

Personally the longer edits work best but nice joke none the less.

possibly the coolest skate boarding you've seen

Saw this over at the Stafenberger website, probably the coolest skate boarding I've seen. Definitely, the most hypnotic.

I LOVE SIMPLICITY

I love the simplicity of this.

why I love consumer power

I've just been made aware of the exceptional reviews on Amazon for the above album. Thank you Anna. Thank you.

And then there's the video.

The Art of Plagiarism

Advertising creatives have an odd rule when it comes to plagiarism. I think it says a lot about the ingrained arrogance of the  industry that you can copy any film, art or photographic style, comedian's routine, in fact anyone or anything, as long as you don't copy an ad.

I have heard it said countless of times, 'Great ad, pity it's been done', usually followed by the agency name and year of creation, as the all-knowing CD goes over to his D&AD annuals and finds it for you. Proof, as if proof were needed of his greatness when it comes to the history of ads.

The t-shirt industry obviously don't share this obsession.

Howies original

Mr Cloud's T-shirt Emporium rip-off

Seeing this made me angry. I now don't like Mr Cloud. Why? Because they're lazy and stupid and spend all their time surfing other t-shirt sites looking for the easy way to a good idea.

But the thing is I actually don't know who was first, I based my assumption on the fact Howies is an old friend (known for it's integrity), while Mr Cloud is a new acquaintance, regardless of whether I'm right or wrong. In fact I'd probably take this position even if I found this t-shirt design on some kid's MySpace page.

Okay, what I know of Howies and what I can gleam from Mr Cloud's website would suggest I'm probably right, but I don't know for sure, maybe Howies just improved on the design.

In a world where we are all now meant to be creating content and posting and uploading and plagiarising and inspiring one another, this is going to create a whole new level of problems for brands and their agencies.

great shop frontage

More shops should be doing this. Thank you Cass Art, thank you. Oh and I heartily agree. 

NEW BETA

Here's a lovely little beta site that might help anyone who made the standard new year's resolution to,  get fitter. Called GPSies, you can create, view and download tracks which have been recorded by a GPS device. Whether you're searching for running courses,  mountain bike tracks, with GPSies you can see what Tracks others have recorded.

Drug abuse is rife, but really..

This Christmas I was bought this book and having read it wassufficiently motivated to give breadmaking a go, and not in a lily-livered kind of way either. No not for me easy yeast and bread machines. So of course  I needed an oven themometer. And look what they put on it - I had no idea drugs were so accepted nowadays.

what I learnt at school yesterday

The thing that stuck me the most about yesterday was the way that logic and creativity really are one and the same thing to children - hardly the most insightful lesson perhaps but it was a real joy to be able to see how naturally creative, confident and resourceful we are in our early years.  As Picasso said,“ Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up".

My favourite moment was chatting with 3 kids about who lives in the sky. It started off with clouds, planes, helicopters and spacemen, went onto birds, butterflies, dragons and ended up with Santa, the wind, snowmen and water.  100% correct answers and all delivered with utter confidence and self-assurance.

I also learnt that, robots are never pink, monsters can have 3 ankles and that Lexi Bo likes to lay on the ground and pretend to be dead all breaktime, although I didnt find out why.

More on the dadhood vibe Russell has pointed out this as worth listening to, I just have and once again he's on the money and I urge you to do the same, it's half an hour long. I warn you though it's as much a tearjerker as the Dick and Rick Hoyt story

 

the most excellent CR blog

There's some great stuff over at the CR Blog right now, gawd bless em.  For starters there's Micah Wright's satirical remixes of WWI and WWII propaganda posters.

And if that's not enough, they've done a round up of their favourite videos of 2006.

quality

I love this as an idea. So what if it works better on YouTube than in real life. It's just a lovely, lovely idea. And one I wish I'd done. Even more so since I've discovered I'm going to be spending a lot of time in '07 working on a major sports brand.

tagged (again)

John Grant, has tagged me with this Five Fings thang that's doing the rounds. Normally I would ignore such tosh. But I felt different to this request. Okay, so there were no threats of looming disaster which was refreshingly honest, but then again nor will I be the recipient of good fortune in 48 hours. Damn.

No it's the blog-thing that makes it different. When I started this blog it was to take an active part in a community, and the more you put into a community the more you get back, right? So, if that means only one person is moderately interested in me, then so be it. I'm in.

1. I have already been tagged, actually it was my alter-ego on another site. It's not too difficult to work out who that alter-ego is, so I'll leave it to you to find out. Should you be in the least bit interested.
2. I have never watched any of the Star Wars films all the way through. The same goes for 2001 A Space Odyssey. And I sometimes wonder if I ever will.
3. Whenever I go abroad I take 300% more books than I could ever read in that time. And I've still haven't learnt my lesson. Although at least now they tend to be soft-backs.
4. Everything I have ever created has disappointed in the transition from the imagination to reality. I think this is one of my key motivations for working harder. One day I will be pleased
5. In the last year I have started to get stressed out by my stuff. I have too much of everything and am now scaling it down via eBay. I am now more drawn to experiences than ownership.

I'm now suppose to send this onto new five people. But I've already done that via my alter-ego. So, forgive me for not doing it again.

Wii with built-in viral appeal 2

Following on from my earlier post on Wii and it's build-in viralability, I have been pointed in the direction of this flickr set, by Russell. As, the man says, create something great and the marketing will be done for you.

Fun apps

Came across two new apps this weekend, BubblePly that allows you to add speech bubbles to any video footage. And piki pimp which allows you to pimp your photos with beards and glasses.

I know, childish, but no less fun for it.

toy story requiem

Toy Story 2, was wonderful and Requiem For A Dream is one of  my favourite films, so a mashup of both trailers was always going to work for me. But this is also one of the best mash ups I've seen.

Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you Toy Story Requiem.

I will possibly burn in hell for this

Young man, there's no need to feel down.
I said, young man, pick yourself off the ground.

Well, it made me laugh. 

And it is an original use of an iconic image that has been around for over 2000 years, which just goes to show that all you've got to do is take the time to look at things differently.

Which in turn reminds me of the late and great John Webster. One of his greatest talents was to be able to look at something he'd written as if it were for the first time, this allowed him to rewrite and rewrite a script until it was as good as it could possible.

In Hollywood there's a phrase used amongst writers, If you want to improve your script, kill your babies. It basically means, that if you're stuck and can't move forward the problem is likely to be your favourite scene, so get rid of that bit you've fallen in love as it's likely to be holding you back.

(Alison if you're reading this, it doesn't apply to ones' personal life.)

 

I so want to be able to do this

wanna waste some time?

Click here then.

God knows why this kind of thing is so addictive, but addictive it is. I'll say no more.