Here Be Monsters|blog

Today's lovely idea

Again simplicity itself

Best fashion ads, ever, dah-ling

To be honest, even though I am of course a most stylish of individuals, elegantly attired at all times - Today I am writing in an emerald green smoking jacket and velvet slippers - I do find the whole world of fashion a little too up it's own arse.

And then I saw this, fun, stylish and rather wonderful ad campaign for Mulberry. 

As the great Stefan G Bucher so rightly pointed out to, the more hidden the monsters the better, the less you see of them, the more personality they seem to have.

You can see the rest of the ads in the campaign and read about how they took the look through to the catwalk during LDN  fashion week here at the Stylist.

Mawh mawh. Air kissy kissy.

More retail wonderfulness

A lovely execution of a famililar idea.

Korean Emart recently placed 3D QR code sculptures throughout the city of Seoul that could only be scanned between noon and 1 pm each day — consumers who succeeded were rewarded with discounts at the store during those quiet shopping hours.

Dubbed “Sunny Sale,” Emart’s effort involved setting up a series of what it calls “shadow” QR codes that depend on peak sunlight for proper viewing and were scannable only between 12 and 1 pm each day.

The video below explains all this in more detail in a frankly, pretty chee-zee way, pity.

Coffee Sleeves printed with the news



I love ideas like this. Even if it is a little niche.

I truly believe a bunch them, linked together with a single cohesive message, tailor-made to the medium and reflective of a brand truth, is one of the most effective ways for a brand to build relevance with its consumer today. A helluva lot more work for an agency and client, and a  need for restructuring your renumeration/ROI calculations, which is why we probably won't be seeing campaigns like that anytime soon.

Still lovely thinking,

Full explanation here.

Where's the joined up thinking?

Seldom do you see such a perfect example of how agencies are getting it wrong. What this. It's an impressive piece of sponsored entertainment. Care has gone into the ad, it's been crafted well; nicely written, faithfully shot and KS hasn't jus dialled it in. So full marks.

I don't know about the strategy so much, I'm guessing Acer aren't cool and need some cred if people are to buy them, if it's meant to be doing anything else, then that went way over my head.

So far, so okay.

But what is the ad really for, as viewed by the public? Dynamite Cupcakes

Dynamite Cupcakes of course. Just look at the end frame.

After all those sqillions they've spent getting noticed, what do they do? Click through to DynamiteCupcakes.com to find out.

What a wasted opportunity. What a complete misunderstanding of how we consume media today. What a wasted commercial.

And what makes it sadder on a personal level is that it was made by Mother, an agency that really should know better.

And all for the cost of the on set catering, even with KS was supplying the cakes.

Not exactly what they were hoping for, I assume

Wonderfulness

A live feed of geo-tagged instagrams from major cities arund the world as they're posted.

This for me is what the web is all about. Sure brands need sites and the like, but if you're really serious about increasing your web footprint then you could do better than to work with these guys. Perfect for an drinks co, make up brand,  or any number of way more inventive associations.  Enjoy the site here

 

Who'd of thought, weapons and data are cool

 

Pity it's for weapons. But this site is really cool, just goes to show presenting data doesn't have to be dull

is this the future of advertising?

I saw this the other day and it struck me that this really could be the future of advertising?

Create a product that is so desireable that it has already been discussed online  in such depth that there is no need to do anything other than simply announce it's arrived.

Then again, it could just be a lazy, uncreative poster.

What a lovely illustrator

Hopefully this will balance out yesterday

You can check her out here kind of contemporary 50s sweetness.

Oh dear, oh dear, oh, dear

Every now and them I'm ashamed to be an ad agency creative.

Mostly it's as a result of looking at a bunch of self-important twats getting drunk and snorting coke at an awards night - but occassionaly it's because of the work.

Here's one such an example. And it highlights perfectly the problem aging adlands less talented creatives have. YOU CAN NO LONGER SIMPLY GO OFF AND COPY SOMETHING YOU'VE SEEN ELSEWHERE AND CLAIM IT FOR A CLIENT.

And never, ever, ever,EVER copy something so badly as to sanitise it to such a degree that a global panel of P&Gs finest would all nod their approval at the level of banality you have achieved,

It's always worth the effort

I call this putting a treat in your copy. It's putting something in the copy that rewards the reader with more than straight information. My thought process is that, if they are rewarded with a little treat for reading, even when they aren't really interested in what you have to say they will happily stay with you for the treats.

I doesn't work in a lot of written mediums but is perfect for public notices or DM mailouts or website and google searches, Why, it even helped build a brand at Innocent

Proof Howard Gossage got it right

Anyone who spends anytime reading this blog will know that Howard Gossage is a bit of hero of mine. He was smart and when I want to look smart I repeat what he says. Stuff like, 'People don't read ads, they read what interests them. And sometimes it happens to be an ad.'  Well, here's the proof. 

The above is an ad for a wet suit. It comes with some pretty long copy in the description, which if I'm honest, isn't as well written as it could be, but the effort put in to it is commendable and it's effective is in the viewing figures which, currently stand at over 25,000. People are even engaging with him via email.

So, the next time some brain dead parroteer wants to tell you that no one reads anymore, send him this link and politley explain that it's all a question of content.

You can read it for yourself here.

Is this the worst TV commercial ever?

If you're too busy to view and can't be bothered to answer, then the correct answer is yes. Yes, it bloody well is.

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.

London Long Copy Challenge

CBS Outdoor have asked me to promote their competition for a long copy cross-track poster here on my blog. And why not, it seems very much the kind of thing I'm always championing, the importance of the written word, crafting narratives, storytelling skills blah, blah, blah.

About 5 years ago when I was an ECD, there was another of these competitions and we managed to get 3 of our 4 entries into the final, I mention this because then the competition, which may or many not have been run by CBS, was billed as long copy and encouraged long copy, I think our entries were  500-600 + words. It was fun to have the chance to prove Howard Gossage right when he said, People read what interests them. And sometimes that's an ad. 

Now, though,  according to CBS, long copy is 50 to 200 words, which seems to me such a shame as that's no more than a lengthy facebook post at one end and a short blog rant a the other.(Although you can use 300 words to explain why you've entered)

I hope they get loads of entries and the all the publicity they need from it, I just wish they'd been bolder with the length - cross tracks are after all the perfect medium for words.

Anyway they have some pretty smart judges that it's probably worth you getting your name in front of if you're that way inclined

Competition closes 1st October

The influence of Howard Gossage

Gossage Jeff Goodby interview from ETIO on Vimeo

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

2 well crafted commercials

While the pay off is perhaps obvious. The bumper -the line after the joke that's there to get the big laugh - works really well. Nice performances too.

Then there's this one. I thought this worth commenting on for the quality of the writing and the fact that they've made the assumption that the viewer will get what's going on without any heavy explanation - we're made to discover at the same time as the guy at the bar does. (That said, the strapline so doesn't work.)

Don't write dialogue? Why not, it's just your fucking job.

Over at the If This Is A Blog Then What's Christmas? Blog, Ben Kay has written a piece on why you should not bother writing dialogue for TV commercials. Do go and read the whole thing here

Now I should say that I don't know Ben, never, to my knowledge, even met him, but I read his blog and enjoy much of what is there. I also have a suspicion that he's a little bit of a weasel and that this post is really meant to provoke a reaction rather than share a passionately held belief - all of which is perfectly fine with me, I've been known to do it myself. 

But I passionately disagree with the premise behind the post that says; writing good dialogue is hard, you certainly shouldn't give it ago, copywriter. In fact you're probably so shit at it that you should leave it to chance/the actor (the actor! Christ, they're the last people you should leave anything to)/director, in fact anyone else in the room as all of them can write dialogue better than you.

Apparently it is also a waste of time as it locks your idea down too much allowing clients to concentrate on the specifics and pick your dialogue apart which it is implied will get your idea thrown out altogether

Although he does make the valid point that not reading out dialogue when presenting a script helps get the idea across without the whole thing getting "all choppy and losing the flow." Which is very true if you're not one of those creatives who can't put performance into their presentation.

He also claims that writing dialogue prevents 'the magic happening' as it leaves no room for 'accidents to happen'. Well, they're not mutually exclusive.

Having wasted too many hours at script-read-throughs where a film script has been rewritten tens if not hundreds of times over a 6-12 months, period I can assure you that is far from the case. Likewise, being in a writers room where people are pulling apart and building your lovingly crafted ideas and dialogue - surround yourself with the right people and your work can only get better. But to assume they'll do the hard work for you will just get you sack (as well it should). It also brings me to his last reason as to why you shouldn't bother, it's a waste of time - WTF. I shall say nothing more on this than that's plain fucking lazy.

The truth  as I see it is, done well, where it has been crafted with skill, with a ear for rhythm, region, age and an understanding of character and personality It will enhance your script, any script, perhaps especially when it's for a 30 second commercial.

End of rant.

Well almost, I just have to comment on this last quote:

By the way, none of the above applies to radio ads which need to be buttoned the fuck down before you go in. You can still have wiggle room, but very few actors/VOs like to be told to make shit up on the spot.

So there you have it, I care about my TV reel, but fuck radio, it's full of talentless fucks anyway. Which, going by the shameful state of most radio ads is a view shared by most of the industry.

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.

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.

some interesting thinking on magazine design

But why stop there, I'd love to see a website adopt some of this thinking.

Mag+ from Bonnier on Vimeo.

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.

Ten rules on writing fiction pt.1 and pt.2

This has done the rounds on a few blogs, but it's right up my street and so I'm adding it to mine. It's from the Guardian. Part One. And Part Two, My personal favourites

Do it every day. Make a habit of putting your observations into words and gradually this will become instinct. This is the most important rule of all and, naturally, I don't follow it. - Geoff Dyer

Description is hard. Remember that all description is an opinion about the world. Find a place to stand. - Anne Enright

It's doubtful that anyone with an internet connection at his workplace is writing good fiction. - Jonathan Franzen

Remember: when people tell you something's wrong or doesn't work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong. - Neil Gaiman

Style is the art of getting yourself out of the way, not putting yourself in it. - David Hare

By the same token remember how much time people spend watching TV. If you're writing a novel with a contemporary setting there need to be long passages where nothing happens save for TV watching: "Later, George watched Grand Designs while eating HobNobs. Later still he watched the shopping channel for a while . - Will Self

Turn up for work. Discipline allows creative freedom. No discipline equals no freedom.- Jeanette Winterson

Creativity. What's the big deal?

I've been thinking a lot lately about creativity, and what it really means in advertising. It was prompted by a conversation with a top ECD at one those agencies every creative wants to work at.

We were talking about the Stieg Larsson books and he said he had no intention of reading them as they're now so popular. But later went on about how brilliant he thought White Ribbon and Tank Fish were.  Now as good as they are, I suspect what appealed was as much down to their obscurity as their originality.

And then I read this in the Independent this morning.

Why is it an industry that needs by definition to be as popularist as possible tends to shun what the public love? This wasn't the case 50, 30, even 20 years ago. (And don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the public know what's good creatively, just that they do know what they like and for adland that's a good place to start.)

Well, here's my theory.

Unlike the creatives of yesteryear most creatives don't know what they're doing.

Let me explain.

Back in the day, creatives knew what they were doing. They were salesmen, who sold. They were writers who wrote. They were artists who art directed. Today's creatives stumble into advertising very confused about themselves, they can't sell, they can't write and they can't art direct.

And the industry must share some of the blame, Are you aware that not one adland course in the UK teaches craft?  Do you know of any agency that spends time teaching writing skills, or how to create characters, or build a narrative flow, or the principles behind art directing a page, or even the craft of film making - camera angles, or why a film score works or doesn't work, or the principles behind editing?  And before you say surely these are the responsibilities of the professionals they hire, well it's creatives who select them, so without even a basic understanding of their crafts what criteria are they using?  Invariably, what will my peers think of me working with him?

The end result, insecurity and ignorance reign and so they seek out the obscure and the hardly seen as a way of looking like they know what they're doing. And of course appearing cool.

Arrogant or just old-fashioned thinking?

I'm no hater of traditional advertising, I don't believe it's going to disappear (in the short term), in fact I enjoy a good commercial as much as the next consumer. My main gripe is that there's just not that much out there worth applauding - but that's always been the case and not something restricted to advertising either. We're all well aware of the 90%-10% rule.

I just wanted to get that out of the way as I'm about to lay into an agency that I've always had a lot of regard for, even if they aren't the force they once were. There are people in this agency that I have nothing but the highest regard for and one individual in particular who has had a massive impact on my formative years both professional and personally.

The agency in question is WCRS. They've done some okay work for Weetabix lately. (I particularly rate the use of music here). But then they go and do this - a website whose only purpose is to show a commercial -an online-themed commercial admittedly but just a sodding commercial none the less.

Why?

The only explanation can be that they thought it was too funny/clever to bin.

It's about as traditional or as arrogant thinking as you're likely to experience.

You can just see the agency scene as creative stereotypes rush around congratulating one another on their great TV script (and to be fair, it's an okay idea), as the creative director tells them it's not gonna work on TV, as some bright spark suggests, lets stick it on the net (with all the implications that implies).

What we're effectively seeing is some astonishingly old-fashioned thinking that people really do want to see ads, and will happily seek them out, even when the only 'reward' is the entertainment within. And some some good old-fashioned arrogance that those very same people will be so impressed that they won't be able to send it to friends ana make it go viral.

Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.

This has to be one of the most outdated pieces of work I have seen in recent years. And all that's really been communicated is that everyone attached to it has no interest in what is happening around them.

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.

If only all ads were this good

One of the reasons I'm bored with most ads is because they're just not very good.

And then something comes along and changes all that. This is one such ad.

A little poetry

I wrote some poetry recently. Never done it before It happened because I was reading something on the subject where they defined poetry as, making the familiar unfamiliar and the unfamiliar familiar. I don't know if that is true or even a good definition of poetry, but I liked it and I thought I'd give it a go.

Of course I've no intention of subjecting you to  it up here, that wasn't the point. But I did discover something useful.

Usually when I have to write something, the number of words aren't too important and so I can ramble on a bit, even when I write to a short(ish) word count. Stuff like this.

Poetry is something different in that each and every word counts. And counts massively. You really have to think about it's value, you really have to search for the exact words. It's fucking tough. It's not like polishing a draft or rewriting something to make it flow better, poetry only works when you give each and every word complete consideration.

And so I'm going to write some more, not because I want to be a poet, not because I'm any good, not even because I enjoy it, but because I think I will be a better writer for it, I think I will respect words more.

I really do recommend you give it a go

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.

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.

Top post from the main man, Rory.

Speaks alot of sense does Rory Sutherland of O&M. But don't take my word for it, read this quality post on his Campaign Blog.

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.

A little vindication, perhaps?

I was listening to the Radio 4's Front Row programme the other day, Russel T Davies was on talking about drama. For him the new drama is reality shows. He even went further and said that the piece of drama that had impressed him most recently was the Susan Boyle saga.

He went on to say that he wasn't just talking about her coming on stage and belting out her song but the way in which her story was played out afterwards keeping her in the public's mind for weeks.  He had real admiration for the people behind it.

For me, the most impressive drama has been the Katie/Jordan V Peter split. Don't get me wrong, I'm no fan of them or their desperate desire to live their lives in the public eye, but I do think that like Paris Hilton, they have shown those of us in the comms industry much in the way of how campaigns can be structure and played out in the future.

And I'm chuffed to bits that Russel T Davies thinks along similar lines.

What can bloggers learn from The Apprentice & Eastenders?

I’ve been working up this theory on writing for blogs to support a presentation and possibly create a new revenue stream for us.  So I thought I'd share my thinking with you guys see if anyone wants to contribute.

It’s about blogging - I'll share my thoughts on tweets later - and how brands should approach it in a more focused way

Right now brand blogging in the UK is in its infancy and because it’s cheap and quick and readership numbers are currently relatively small for most brand blogs, it gets treated with more contempt than this years BB contestants.

However, a quick glance across the pond will tell you that that doesn’t have to be the case. In fact a well-written, focused blog that serves and articulates a purpose, one that rewards readership can and does deliver a meaningful relationship that can be incredibly valuable to the brand.

But, this will not happen if you treat it as a freebie bolted-on to the main campaign because, well it’s cheap, trendy and so now, and that’s the kind of brand we are, so why not do it? Plus there’s a box here I have to tick, right next to the iphone app and the facebook widget. And, anyway, isn’t that what interns are for?

So the outcome is something that resembles a personal diary packed with minor milestones such as –

The sun is shining today, so why not go out and buy one of our new limited edition range of choc-ices. There are 3 to choose from lemon and lime, mango and multi-berry. Hurry and do let us know which one is your favourite. Yummy.

All written by someone who loves to replace full stops with :-) and can’t wait until a computer allows them to dot i’s with smiley faces.

The alternative to this, of course, is the dullard who thinks people love to read instruction manuals about products.

In short then, the kind of thing that no sane person can tolerate. And so a self-fulfilling prophecy that blogs aren’t important or effective.

And so, the next campaign gets the same blog treatment.

Now consider an alternative approach. Consider one where a blog is given a real purpose or positioning in a campaign, with a real benefit to consumers and is skilfully constructed and written by someone who understands narrative structure and the power of the written word.

What would that look like?

Well, I think a blog closely resembles two modern day narratives. Those of a reality TV show, like say, The Apprentice and that of a sitcom or soap.

How so, you say?

Well, a reality TV series is built around a script that is flexible enough to incorporate the unpredictable, the reality element, it doesn’t dictate the outcome but does add structure and order where there possibly isn’t any.

Characters are selected based on their personality traits and assigned a potential role in the series (the fool, the bitch, the quiet one who will flourish etc).

These roles are then clearly defined in the early stages and reaffirmed in subsequent episodes. So the dimwit character is edited to confirm his dimwittedness, the nasty bitch has only her bitchy acts included in the final edit and so on. Now established these characters can play their role in a pre-determined - albeit loosely plotted - script that has been drawn up from the beginning.

A manipulation of  reality, but a reality none the less.

Having become familiar with the characters we the audience can sit back and enjoy the drama unfold, safe in the knowledge of who is who and how they will react in certain situations.

Not too dissimilar to characters in a sitcom or soap. 

In this genre the characters have clearly defined personality traits that don’t change. It’s one of the few genres where this happens. Normally in a film or other drama, the lead character goes on a journey, a character-arc that changes him/her in some way forever. The workaholic at the beginning of the film discovers the importance of community and/or family. The idealist gets dealt a blow by fate preventing him from escaping his past and leaving him resigned to accept his lot etc.

But not so in the world of Soaps and Sitcoms. The reason they don’t change is because familiarity is what makes a soap a Soap, a sitcom a Sitcom. Dell Boy has to always chase the dream of being a millionaire, it’s that that determines the comedy. He can never become one nor can he change and discover less materialistic goals.

Likewise, Phil Mitchell of Albert Square is doomed to forever be the violent petty criminal he is. So, whatever situation he finds himself in he must act accordingly – not for him the enlightenment of learning the power of arbitration and peaceful compromise.

The reason both of these genres follow this path is because of why they are viewed and their relationship with the viewer.

They rely on repeat and frequent viewing, so they need to be consistent - people enjoy and need this familiarity, it allows them to build connections and feel a sense of loyalty to the characters.

And these character can’t be too complex and instead need to follow a simple human desire or personality trait because these genres also need to stand alone as pieces of entertainment and drama in their own right, so that infrequent or new views can easily grasp what is going on and quickly decide for themselves whether this is something for them.

What does all this sound like from a user experience, well to me, blogs.

So, before establishing a blog, define it’s role, define the narrative arc - what’s it’s purpose, what is it offering, what’s the story (know the beginning, middle and end). Establish who the characters are (people or product points) and what their role in the story is.

Oh and finally, give it to a writer. Someone that wants to write and who understands these things (which is why we have been quietly recruiting screenwriters, gag writers, comedy writers, journalists and novelists to write treatments and plot narratives for clients blogs).

Then you might have a blog that will attract considerable loyal readership who will engage and return to it time and time again and share their experience of it with others  – much like a good Soap or Sitcom

If this does or doesn’t make sense, or you want to challenge it some more, or you fancy joining the writers’ database, feel free to get in touch.

And now, just for fun and as way of a thank you for getting to the end, a completely unrelated video clip, other than featuring Alan Sugar, I present Cassetteboys best

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 #7

Richard Funch so rocks. Expect to see him on billboards very soon, maybe for BA, maybe for AT&T, maybe even Sony PSP. Don't move along, plenty more to see here

Many things of beauty

Jessica Hische is a designer, illustrator and typographer from Brooklyn, she's also very talented. enjoy.

 

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.

Makes me proud

I should come clean here, Scamp annoys the hell out of me. Our views are poles apart as far as how we see creatives, the role of advertising and the future of both. But so what? We're all entitled to our own views and we should never shy away from expressing them - after all, having an opinion and expressing it is a massive part of what being a creative is about.

Plus we should always be prepared to have our views challenged.

So when he put up the slides from a talk he gave on what being a creative is, I wasn't surprised to find myself shaking my head and tutting by slide 3, waving my fist by slide 8 and shouting obscenties and banging the table by slide 21.

What I was surprised at were the comments, the majority of which shared my opinion. Maybe creatives are finally growing up. I do hope so.