Here Be Monsters|blog

And what he says about TV and Publishing goes for advertising too

Great article from the creator of CSI on PSFK . When will advertising start to think along similar lines?

A cracking ad

You're in for a treat. A smartly written, brilliantly acted ads. Why oh why can't we Brits do work like this?

But wait, what do we have here? The same ad edited by a fucking moron.

And the rest of the campaign is nowhere near as good either.

Utter brilliance or am I giving them just too much credit?

I like the Ikea cat commercial from Mother. Personally I think It's a long awaited return to form for them, having got fat and lazy and rested on their laurels for too long.

And then today I got to see this. Okay it's patchy, in part, very funny, but then loses it's way at the end,but hey-ho, let's give credit where credits due.

Anyway I'm really hoping that this is from them as they try and get a Downfall Rant style consumer campaign going. If that is the case then this is probably the best work they've done in years. A really smart approach to consumer generated content. And idea for the Ikea brand

Does anyone know if that is the case, I'd love to know the truth. Although long may it continue

Thanks to Tony Snow for the nod.

The influence of Howard Gossage

Gossage Jeff Goodby interview from ETIO on Vimeo

I had no idea. Good to be back and busy though.

ideas v craft

I host a workshop from time to time called There are only 7 ideas in Advertising. It pretty much claims what it says, that there are only seven ideas in advertising, in much the same way there are only 7 stories and 3 jokes and only 4 real flavours for crisps

During it I claim that creatives would do well to focus on crafting executions along one or more of these 7 structures rather than keep aimlessly wandering around in a creative fog coming up with random executions that appear.

And that if you do, it's amazing how quickly you'll get to a solution. Yet so many creatives  are reluctant to accept that there is an easier way to do their job. Instead choosing to believe that what they do is mythical and requires much struggling and sweating and waiting for divine intervention from the gods of inspiration or some such bollocks.

An example then.

One of the 7 ideas is The Spokesman, where this archetype addresses the audience to explain/demonstrate the product. At it's dullest/least creative it results in a classic 2C in a K execution, but crafted and developed you could end up with something as sublime as the Al and Monkey campaign for ITV digital, or everyone's current favourite du jour, Old Spice.

I also point to You've been framed. as an example of an old, often lame idea being turned on it's head.

For the first, whatever years of its existence it YBF was utter shite. Some of the worst TV there was, it probably hit rock bottom when some lardy ex-soap actress hosted it. But over the last few years it;s became funny. Really funny

What changed? Not the content, it still shows the same trashy, lame family video footage, but now Harry Hill comments on them. And so, instead of a bunch of lame puns and word play and limp jokes we get genuinely funny commentary. And that is all it took.

So, worry less about what your idea is and worry more about how to show it at it's best.

Yes, this really is how we watch TV now

I pinched this from a blog I frequent. It needs little in the way of explanation. It just shows what's expected from content makers these days, be it films, tv programmes or ads. Today, if you've been lucky enough to engage people they will expect more from you and whatever they find the can and will share with their friends.

So disappoint them at your peril

Some of the best writing in an ad - ever

I promise you that is not an exaggeration. 'His personality is so magnetic he can't carry credit cards' - quality. This is a compilation of the campaign. Enjoy. Apologies about the cropping - probably best viewed here.

Coming to a pop video near you soon

An LD stage suit. My guess is Lady Gaga, but the race is on.

Smart example of transmedia storytelling

Regular readers of the blog will know that I'm a big fan of transmedia storytelling as one of the ways forward for brands to engage more with their audience.  So of course I was going to like the idea that Coronation Street actors will be appearing on Jeremy Kyle tomorrow. I think it's inspired. Congrats to whoever came up with the idea.

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?

if you were to advertise travel

I think this film does a wonderful job explaining the rewards of travel. Beautiful in lots of way, by mainly for it's heart.

Such wise words from a man in a silly shirt

On Sunday night The Southbank Show (don't bother clicking on the link if you want to see the programme, they don't have it up, yet. Or maybe never, I have no way of telling and itv aren't saying). 

Anyway, it was about Pixar and John Lasseter and what a wonderfully smart man he seems to be.

"I'm the thickest person here now, as we always make a point of employing people smarter than us." Okay, something we've not heard all before and certainly not true but you got a real sense that he  believes that you employ people for their thinking and not someone who can regurgitate your own thinking for you.

He also spent some time explaining about how, when he saw the computer generated animation film Tron, he was blown away by it. Not the film, but the fact that he could see the opportunity the technology offered. But the film flopped and the industry said people didn't want to see computer animation, when really they didn't want to see a shit film. So, when Toy Story came along and it went massive, the industry line was that people didn't want to see hand drawn animation and that the future was in computers.

Which is, of course, also bollocks. And he said as much. He couldn't understand why the debate wasn all about technology and not stories and engaging with the audience.

And so when he took over creative control of Disney he commissioned a new hand drawn film and got some of the old school Disney artists back to run it. I think I should rephrase that, He reemployed a bunch of guys who had been put out to pasture, because they had the right skill sets and he appreciates that the craft.

The parallels to our industry are obvious and so I won't insult your intelligence spelling it out.

Oh and he also said, quality is the best business plan. And I'm going to be saying that a lot from now on.

The JK Wedding viral continues

First this was launch it's been around about two weeks now and it's currently at 14million hits, 10 million in the first  week. That's right 10million in one week.

Then came this, this week.

But what's possibly most interest despite the speed of the build is the way that lessons have been learnt by the Sony people who are monetizing it, although Jill and Ken continue to share the love.

Gotta love VCCP

It's one of those campaigns people either love or hate, but everyone's noticed regardless. It's also become part of the wider culture. Why? Well apart from the freshness and attention to detail and downright lunacy of the idea they've also added some smart touches to give the campaign some more depth.

Stuff like showing bloopers and getting Aleksandr, the main character/spokesman, interviewed by the press.

Long may it continue. Big props to Compare the Market too.

You can see the ads here, naturally.

A slightly interesting aside are these ads, alongside the bloopers. Pity they didn't make them smart. Competitive business, insurance comparison.

Can a brand offend?

 
One of my many theories, I have one on pretty much everything by the way, is that we in comms who write comedy as a means to sell consumers stuff need to look at the wider, broader spectrum offered by comedians and not jut look at ads for guidance. Obvious one that I know, so why the hell doesn't the average creative bother then? I blogged about it here.

I also believe that there are 3 stages in the life of a brand's brilliant voice. 1) The creation of something original, thus creating stand out  2) The copying by many, thus making it trite and ubiquitous 3) A strong reaction against it, which is normally the opposite to it, and is implimented by an equally talented company, but not necessarily in the same sector.

So, if we take the the once brilliant and much copied (badly) Innocent drinks, where life is good in whimsical, middle England's very own Nappy valley. When it came out it was inspired, it connected in a way that most brands didn't (and don't) and success followed. (phase1)

Then came the many imitators. (phase2)

So what of phase 3?  Well I'm coming to that.  If my theory is right then we could soon see a brand soon that deliberately provokes it's audience/consumers with it's anger and bad-temperedness. It's already happened in the wider spectrum of comedy where to offend is the material de jour, (So with two theories combining I had to post, right?)

I even wrote  a blog to experiment along these lines - until I forgot my password which was then sent to an email address that I no longer have access to and so haven't been able to contiue with, which really, really pissed me off, I can tell you. Anyway I digress.

Should a brand talk to it's consumers like a Jack Dee or a Ricky Gervais? I believe 100% yes,but only if it's as brilliantly written and presented as guys like this. So that means a probable no then.

Only time will tell.

New ads coming your way soon #8

You can just see it now. Everything from computers, phones, games manufactures, insurance, even a COI excerise more campaign, all joining the race to use this first.

The photographer is Christophe Beauregard. His aim is to explore the ways in which technology has shaped our body language “to the point of creating new codes, new signs.” By removing the physical gadget from his photos he leaves just the interaction.

More here.

Writing comedy

There was an article in The Guardian at the weekend, featuring Paul Fieg sharing his wisdom on comedy writing. It was pretty lightweight if I'm honest but there was still one or two gems of wisdom which would benefit any copywriter about to  tackle his/her next script

Stuff like:

There are so many comedies that portray people living in the suburbs as living ridiculous or hypocritical lives. But I grew up in the suburbs of Michigan in midwest America and tend to think that everyone is just trying to get through life as best they can. You don't have to sneer or poke fun at them to get a laugh."

"A great comedy is about real characters who make you laugh because you appreciate their personalities and how they react to particular situations. They have to be believable human beings, not just vehicles for gags."

"If you're trying to make a great comedy, most of your time and effort should go into casting. Find the right actors and let them do their thing."

Once again, I'm reminded of a particualr bug bear of mine. The lack of time and effort that contemporay ad agencies spend on the craft side of what they do. And yet, this is for me is where the effort needs to be applied especially now, especially the written word.

I get down from my soap box now, before this becomes a full on rant

You can read the full article here.

Where Madison meets Vine

I've been aware for a while now, about this trend appearing. The Americans have a name for it,of sorts, Madison and Vine, it's the combination of advertising and entertainment. And the rightly awarded and previously commented on here back in January, The Queensland Best Job in the World campaign is the latest example.

This Thursday at 9pm the BBC are showing an hour long programme covering the final round of the competition, when an English lad called Ben is selected from the final 16.

Currently, I haven't been able to find out much behind the production company behind it, but if this wasn't conceived and made by, or at the very least pitched to production companies by CumminsNitro then it bloody well should have been.

Either way, a smart conclusion to a smart campaign.

With TV desperate for content this is definitely a trend that is going to go from strength to strength and yet another example of the return to a pre50's ad/comms model.

Are we moving forward?

It does seem so. First I get sent an advanced copy of what is a hugely inspiring book, Life Inc, you can read more about it here



And then there's a launch of this, Riversimple, an equally inspiring company looking to bring to the car industry some much needed innovative thinking.



It can't help make you feel optimistic about the future.

Bastard

Meet Jonathan Harris, he's an artist and computer scientist and the sort of person that makes you feel perhaps you're wasting your life. Not that he's smug about what he's doing, it's just that it's so vital, full of energy and relevance that whatever it is you're filling your days with becomes a little more pointless in comparison

His work celebrates the world's diversity even as it illustrates the universal concerns of its occupants. His computer programs scour the Internet for unfiltered content, which his beautiful interfaces then organize to create coherence from the chaos.

Here he is talking about storytelling

And here he's the We Feel Fine site

Now, Murdoch, if your newspaper sites resembled something like his, you could put me down for a paid subscription
.

Transmedia storytellling - the way forward

It's so blindly obvious that it's taken me three years to see it, but some of the most successful brands today have actually been embracing transmedia storytelling for sometime. What's been lacking has been the cohesive strategic overview that allows for a stronger relationship between all the separate elements oh and of course, that sodding desire agencies have for media hierarchy.

If you're not over familiar with the term, the mightily impressive Henry Jenkins who came up with it, describes it thus,

Transmedia storytelling represents a process where integral elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified and coordinated entertainment experience. Ideally, each medium makes it own unique contribution to the unfolding of the story.

I urge you to click on the link. It will be how brands/campaigns will be created and judged in the future.

Oh and the rather nice cityscape is by a fab illustrator called Borja Bonaque.

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.

New ads coming your way #6

This is just one of those lovingly executed ideas that is so going to have it's heart ripped out and end up in an ad. My money is on mobile communications, or maybe a broadband offering, but don't be surprised if you see a car logo or the COI dangling from the end of it.

wii/google mash up

I guess in someways this is a pointless/useless post. (It's amazing what spending a week in the company of a 6 year old will do to your brain. - it being Easter hols here in London and all).

Anyway, the picture is of a wii and google's street view mashup. The deal is, you go jogging on the wii via a road route shown through street view. The best of both worlds.

The pointlessness being that it's only available in Japan - and I have no idea where I found this out. Sorry.

But what I will say, is that I get as excited about stuff like this as I use to get about the latest Cunningham ad.

Grown up comms

This is a lovely site from honda. Currently it holds 3 films, my favourite being mobility 2088. There's much I like about them, not least the fact that I feel better of the company than I did previewing. It's intelligent communications and a perfect example of where the net and film can work well together.

lovely, simply lovely

Ornamental Life are a Danish design company, who have taken some chipped white plates and painted the most delicate of little flowers on them. Thus turning the flaw into a feature. I think they're beautiful. If you do too and want to see some more, you can do so here .

My favourite New Product Launch of 2008 : 2/2

My second nomination for New Product Launch of 2008 is of course, Barack Hussein Obama,

His campaign to the White House could almost be said to be the blue print for today’s communication campaigns and not just in politics.

First, they studied the product, analysed what was authentic about it and then distilled it down into one clear word.

A word that was both a product truth and something that would inspire the consumer.

Change.

He stood for change. That was it, above everything else, the one thing you knew you’d get was change.

They didn’t cloud this with too much detail about policy - that would just defuse the clarity of message. While for those who wanted to know more, it was there to be searched out, but that was your choice.

Instead, they just pushed the truth behind the claim in little nuggets of information.

He was a change from the previous government. He was a change from the usual type of person who became a politician.  He looked different. He sounded different.  He connected different. And he communicated different.

They embraced new media and online social network. They gave up control for advocacy, trusting his supporters to represent him to their peers in the way they wanted to. Entrusting the brand to them. The result was some extraordinary marketing.

And then there were posters, which were created for the campaign not by the campaign

 

You can see more at this flickr group here.

While to audiences who resisted listened directly to him, they enlisted and empowered those people the resisters would trust, to deliver his message for him.

Nor did they try and clip the wings of his supporters, even when it may not have been exactly what they wanted and instead trusted in the intelligence of the audience.



And they did this because they knew the universal online truth, you must give up control, if you’re to gain greater power.

And so, they fed it. Encouraging people to visit and revisit their homepage for content with regular video update, ringtones and widgets

And the virals flourished.

They facilitated connections through online communities that added a new dimension to what was already out there. Mybarackobama.com, was/is a social network of sorts that allowed people to create blogs around issues, and send in policy recommendations to the man himself.

They assisted in fund-raising activities with ideas and tools. And they encouraged people to fund raise however they wanted to.

They were light of foot. If there was a sudden rise in traffic from certain sites or communities they engaged with them and kept engaging with them with regular updates. By engaging with people wherever they gathered they were able to make maximum impact.

And this is just a fraction of the numerous marketing activities that the campaign spawn.

The result?

He was seen as inclusive leader, embracing everyone into his vision for Change, probably best summed up by slogan, Yes We Can.

And now there is a real belief the world over, that there is a President of the United States of America prepared to listen and lead rather than ignore and dictate.

A welcome change for politics, I’m sure you’ll agree.

And once helluva new product launch.

My favourite New Product Launch of 2008 : 1/2

My first favouirte NPL of '08 goes to the Venezuelan Black company - manufacturers of fine cacao - pure cocoa to you and me, pretty much.

A niche product by anyone's imagination, but one that was successfully launched with a multimillion pound TV campaign that succeeded in getting it listed in both a major supermarket chain across Britain, the shop of choice for WAGS - Selfridges and no doubt, all good independent delis.

Not bad for a company less than two years old and with a handful of employees.

Admittedly it was far from perfect with some surprisingly basic mistakes made, such as absolutely no cohesion, for example - packaging never matched their communication in style, tone of voice or, and perhaps potentially most damaging, name.

Because the VB Co. is probably better recognised as Willie and his Wonky Chocolate Factory, the name of the TV series which was shown over 6 weeks on Channel 4 in the beginning of 2008, repeated in late autumn and ending with a seasonal burst with it's very own Christmas Special, .

A series that followed the charismatic/annoying (delete as appropriate) Willie Harcourt-Coozie (above) as he followed his dream to get Britain using a previously little-to-unknown ingredient.

We saw every aspect of his business, from where it was sourced to how to use the product, to expert endorsement, to finding out about the health and slimming benefits of his product - nothing it seemed was over-looked.

The series was a venerable marketing masterclass for how to launch a product. 

I can't believe there wasn't an fmcg marketing director out there wondering, how did pull off  launching his company with 30 minute commercials shot at the production company's cost and with airtime (and a lot of airtime at that) donated free by a TV station?

Unfortunately I can't tell you much more, despite digging around on the web, I've failed to even come up with the name of the production company. Anyone any ideas?

Still, it's not all been one way sunshine basking. Maybe now would be a good time to take another look at that business plan when it comes to employee salaries

Great t-shirts

One of my intentions for this blog in 2009 is to become a dumping ground for inspiration, so I no longer have to bookmark stuff all the time.  And I think this site which is a blog can kick it all off, it's all about the t-shirt - which are starting to rival the paperback book in fine design.

Inspired

Found out about this via the excellent Digital Example blog. You can read what he said here, or you can read a brief summary in the next few sentences.

Word Magazine asked their readers to nominate their favourite songs of 08 - so far, so what.

The inspired bit was that they also allowed you to sample and then buy those very same tracks.

A great example of an online magazine taking advantage of the digital environment. Here's the article

Great film trailer

In what seems like another life now, I once spent 4/5 years in the film industry and boy is it dominated by fear, conservatism (possibly the same thing) and more fear. Which is a pity because there are some really sharp people working really hard trying not to make it so. So when I saw this remixed trailer from addictive tv, my heart was lifted a little. I love it.

Once you get away from the agents'/artists' contractual obligations and studio executive notes, a trailer can actually be a thing of interest, enjoyment and information. 

I was also lucky enough to see the film over Christmas (nothing dodgy, just one of the many benefits of being a member of BAFTA) and loved that too.

The next wave of TV ads coming your way soon - 1

There was a time when creatives could steal a smart idea from any number of sources; a student's graduation film, some obscure art house nonsense, a pop video, and the like - safe in the knowledge that few would know the source and so their originality could be lavished with money and awards.

In two memorable cases I can think of, the only contribution from 'inspiration' to ad was literally just adding a company's logo - okay so they made the connection between what they saw and a product). And both won loads of awards.

But that was before YouTube hosted everything and made it available to everyone. Which has made being a creative both so much easier and so much harder - oh, the irony.

So, I thought I'd start an occasional series showing the inspiration for ads hitting your screens in the coming months. (Feel free to join in with your own suggestions).

First up is for a sauce, something with the endline:  Make your meal a masterpiece, or something about an artist's palate (getit?!)

See this and/or this

Just a matter of time.

Just had this sent to me by a mate (thank you JB) and thought it amazing. Can't tell you anymore about it, (who, why when etc) but if any of you can do share

Otherwise enjoy

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.

THAT VIDEO

Everybody has been talking about this video, so what's the point me sticking it up here too?  Well, I've also come across an interview with Michael Wesch, the video's maker, which you can read here.

A breath of Fresh Air

Above is a freebie magazine from Vice. It's for students and while I most certainly can't claim to be one of them I dis pick it up and had a read. And I'm so glad I did.

Not since the first time I picked up an Innocent bottle have I been so impressed by the writing - no lazy adspeak here, no lame jokes, no pandering to the lowest common denominator. No siree, this was a joy; original, funny and risk-taking.

And before you start, well of course, it's for students, it's a niche brand, they can get away with murder  blah blah blah- that's simply bollocks and I'll produce any number of student, niche brand marketing material to prove it.

Sure it's not a tone that's suitable or desirable for a lot of brands (although it is one that's exactly right for them and their audience). But that's not what I was excited by. It was the freshness of picking something up and actually being engaged enough to read more.

Vice writers. I salute you.

A WISE LESSON FROM AN OLD AD

This is a bit like finding a fiver in the pocket of the pair of trousers you've just put on, or discovering an old jumper in the back of the cupboard whose style has just come back in fashion.

An old much loved ad from the past that I had completely forgotten about until I bumped into it on Youtube.

A lesson in life in 30seconds and yet it still does remembers who's paid for it for the brand. Can anyone think of anyother ad that occupies this space. Possibly Adidas, impossible is nothing. Any others? I wonder if you could put a self-help book together made up of only ads?

Nice vid.

Why can't the save energy ads be as much fun?

Thanks for psfk for the nod.

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.

IN Praise of Hard work

Okay, so you work long hours, but does that mean you're working hard? Because, "long" and "hard" are now two different things. In the old days, we could measure how much grain someone harvested or how many pieces of steel he made. Hard work meant more work. But the past doesn't lead to the future. The future is not about time at all. The future is about work that's really and truly hard, not time-consuming. It's about the kind of work that requires us to push ourselves, not just punch the clock. Hard work is where our job security, our financial profit, and our future joy lie.

It's hard work to make difficult emotional decisions, such as quitting a job and setting out on your own. It's hard work to invent a new system, service, or process that's remarkable. It's hard work to tell your boss that he's being intellectually and emotionally lazy. It's easier to stand by and watch the company fade into oblivion. It's hard work to tell senior management to abandon something that it has been doing for a long time in favor of a new and apparently risky alternative. It's hard work to make good decisions with less than all of the data.

Today, working hard is about taking apparent risk. Not a crazy risk like betting the entire company on an untested product. No, an apparent risk: something that the competition (and your coworkers) believe is unsafe but that you realize is far more conservative than sticking with the status quo.

Richard Branson doesn't work more hours than you do. Neither does Steve Jobs or Alan Sugar or Julian Richer.

None of the people who are racking up amazing success stories and creating cool stuff are doing it just by working more hours than you are. And I hate to say it, but they're not smarter than you either. They're succeeding by doing hard work.

As the economy plods along, many of us are choosing to take the easy way out. We're going to work for a big company, letting him do the hard work while we work the long hours. We're going back to the future, to a definition of work that embraces the grindstone.

Hard work is about risk. It begins when you deal with the things that you'd rather not deal with: fear of failure, fear of standing out, fear of rejection. Hard work is about training yourself to leap over this barrier, tunnel under that barrier, drive through the other barrier. And, after you've done that, to do it again the next day.

The big insight: The riskier your (smart) coworker's hard work appears to be, the safer it really is. It's the people having difficult conversations, inventing remarkable products, and pushing the envelope (and, perhaps, still going home at 5 PM) who are building a recession-proof future for themselves.

Author Seth Godin.

I share it because it sums up perfectly what we're forever banging on about alot at Here Be Monsters, the constant need to be smart in what we do.

WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM TV?

I've lifted this from an interview Creative Generalist did with Steve Callaghan, writer and producer of the Family Guy cartoon series. Here is how he describes the process of developing and writing a script.

"Well, as you might imagine, it is a highly collaborative endeavor. There are about 100 people or so who are in some way or another involved in putting together an episode. The process begins, of course, with the writing staff. My fellow writers and I will come up with a concept for an episode and discuss the general storyline that it would contain. The episode is then assigned to a particular writer who will write the first draft of the script. The whole writing staff then takes that first draft and, as a group, rewrites it -- improves jokes that might need some help, fixes any story issues, etc. -- before the show gets recorded by all of our voice actors. Once the audio has been recorded, then our animation team takes the baton, creating an animatic, which is a rough, pencil-sketch version of the show. Once we all screen the animatic, the writers take another pass at the script to address any remaining writing issues. A while later, the show comes back in color. We then do one more, smaller rewrite on the script before the finishing touches (music cues, sound effects, etc.) are added and then you've got yourself an episode of "Family Guy."

Now, compare that with how the typical creative team in the typical ad agency creates their script.

Account person and/or planner explain brief to creative team. They leave. Creative team spend anything from a day to a few weeks sweating it out. They present their ideas to the CD, who says yes, no, maybe, perhaps etc. What is very unlikely is that he will spend any time working with the team beyond this verbal input. Not through laziness, but because the script 'belongs' to the team. Work is then presented back to the account person-planner combo,  who are allowed to comment on it, but only within the confines of their job title remit. God help them if they mis judge this and over step into the creatives' domaine. Conversations between planner and account person, account person and client, planner and creative director, planner and client all take place in a isolation to one another. As a result nothing much changes in the script until a director is selected. Now the creative team will listen and make changes, because a) the director is also a 'creative' and  b) the team really want to be him.

I've been fortunate enought to have been a part of both processes and I know which one delivers the better work.

K. I. S. S. Apparently not

Great article over at psfk which itself has been inspired by an article posted by author and designer, Don Norman who argues that maybe the first thing we look for in a product is something that is accessible rather than totally simplistic, then we look for detail and complexity.

WISE WORDS

“There are three things I think about the most when it comes to making it as a marketer these days.

The first one is there's no amount of money I can pay to get my commercial in front of you, because you can powerfully edit what you spend time with. So my job as a marketer is no longer to interrupt, but to produce content that is so relevant, interesting, entertaining and involving that my best consumers won't want to live without it.

The second thing is understanding that instead of brochures and trade shows, marketing now really begins with the product. Great companies are investing a lot of time and attention into trying to make products that market themselves.

The last piece is that user-generated content has made it possible for consumers to own your brand, and if they don't, you're not doing your job. The brands that are adopted, blogged about and parodied the most are the ones that are going to win because they're involved in the evolution of pop culture. If you're scared to have your brand played with, you're going to be left behind.”

How I wish they were my words, but unfortunately all I can do is claim to whole-heartedly second them. They belong to Jeff Hicks of Crispin Porter + Bogusky

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.

peter callesen

Just been sent to Peter Callesen's site by my friend Mark. If you have the time, please visit. Enjoy.

I heart work

There's a great post over at Noisy Decent Graphics that talks about the love of being a designer. You don't have to be a designer to appreciate and recognise what he's saying, just someone who is passionate about what you do.

So if you don't recognise yourself in this, shouldn't you be looking for another job?

After all, if you find a job you truly love, you'll never have to work again.

I so want to be able to do this

GREAT CRM and the T-shirts aren't bad either

Got my new Howie's brochure this weekend. And when I saw it I felt excitement. I'm not saying I was singing from the roof tops, but I did genuinely smile. It dawned on me that I was looking forward to opening the brochure, not to see the clothes really but to read the other stuff. I wanted to know how things are with them, I wanted to see what random lists they've put together, I wanted to know if they've still keep their book lending going. I realised I actually cared about how they were doing. And that is some achievement.

Also, in an age when everyone is looking digital-based and away from paper-based, it dawned on me that there is real added value in being surprised by something in the post, to the extent that it can feel like a genuine gift.