went to a pub the other day; on the walls they had all sorts of kitsch old advertisments from the turn of the century. one particular ad for 'bile tablets' caught my eye, graphically describing the constipations of an edwardian housemaid.
anyway, in the bottom right was a small box offering a free sample of the tablets, all you had to was write to the company and provide your name and address and the name and date of the paper the advert was seen in. it was humbling to know that direct-response ads were being tested over a 100 years ago. considering how much everything else has evolved since then, have we really moved on that much?
Thursday, 11 December 2008
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
if you thought jonathan ross' career was heading south...
if you get a quiet moment of an evening, do check out paul ross' black book of horror on the paranormal channel. never has a programme title been more appropriate.
why the dub movement sucks
our correspondent writes:
if you have cable or satellite, you'll probably have access to the comedy channel. you may have even come across a show called 'badly dubbed porn'.as the title suggests, each episode consists of some low budget porn film overdubbed with amusing english dialogue. often the absurd 'plots' (such as they are), bizarre costumes, sets and locations are played upon to good effect. very funny.
not so the increasing prevalence of badly dubbed foreign adverts on our tv screens. not very funny and actually rather irritating for a number of reasons.
the trend towards using foreign locations and actors appears to have come out of the growing obsession of the euphemist term 'out-sourcing' – better known as 'the exportation of british jobs to cheap foreign workers'. you know what I'm talking about. try phoning bt customer support or any of the major banks and you're unlikely to talk to anyone based in the uk. you're even less likely to resolve whatever you were trying to sort out because the person on the other end lacks even basic english skills. Ironic don't you think for customer support. maybe that's the idea. the experience is so appalling that you just won't bother to try again.
growing 'globalisation' and the growth of the eu means a wider market for corporations and this inevitably means rationalisation of marketing strategies across a number of languages. so what started out as a cost-cutting exercise has transformed into a tool for marketing execs. to easily repackage the same ads for multiple markets. prague is apparently the favorite low-cost location for glade. which is fine if you market your product across europe. much of europe has a common landscape, both architecturally and culturally.
there are, however, issues when you try to use the same ads in the uk.
architecturally, the uk is quite individual. not only do we drive on the left side of the road, our buildings are a product of our unique history. past isolationist policies prevented large scale european influence on our culture. being an island nation also played its part. our landscape has been sculpted by a combination of geological effects and ancient farming practices. our history is written on the countryside, as well as on our towns and cities.
not a consideration when filming the latest barclaycard ad in rio de janeiro. it's quite plain to any viewer that the location used isn't anywhere in the uk. So… Barclaycard are trying to sell us a uk product, aimed at the uk market with advertising that is foreign. literally. why? well, we all know the answer to that one, but there are basic advertising principles being ignored here. the most basic is the prospective customer being able to relate to the product.
the easiest way to do this is to place the product in the environment of the prospective customer. Easy. this creates an instant affinity to the product. it's possible for the potential customer to see this product in their life, in their home, in their environment because that's where it's been placed. if you replace that environment with one that is literally 'foreign', that instant empathy is lost. location! location! location! as they say. because of this geographical anomaly, the product becomes detached from the target audience in a way similar to a crowd watching a football game instead of playing on the field. spectator instead of participent. Getting consumers to feel like they're part of what's being sold to them is half the trick of advertising. what surprises me is how popular that ad actually is. i'd rather eat glass than see it again.
don't get me wrong, i'm not against lavish foreign locations, as long as they're appropriate. barclaycard's previous campaigns were set in various foreign locations that worked because of the creative concept of being on holiday. They also featured british actors and dialogue. this current campaign is nothing more than a cheap vehicle for the waterslide concept.
car manufacturers face more specific problems when trying to 'port' foreign ads to the uk market. that's assuming they care enough to try and hide their origin. the most obvious being that uk vehicles are right-hand drive. one european car manufacturer recently released an ad obviously shot in europe, but with uk plates on the vehicles shown. so someone thinks it's important to make us think that this is taking place in our own environment. not very subtle though. it also requires creative photography so that vehicles aren't shown as being left-hand drive. tinted windows are one trick available. vauxhall use uk spec vehicles but in foreign locations. road markings and street furniture are another important consideration.
probably the most obvious problem is language. it's really very simple. english bears no resemblance to any european language. Pretty obvious you would say. The facial expressions physically caused by speech in any other language are almost impossible to match to english dialogue. well, obviously not a problem to these marketing execs who think that they can just dub english over what is plainly a foreign ad. it's painful to watch. the sound comes out, but the lips don't move! the current prime offender is the new mr muscle ad. apart from being appalling in every possible way from creative to execution, it is one of the worst examples of what I would call 'language rationalisation'. the original dialogue is so obviously foreign that the pathetic attempt to pretend it's english is just insulting. And this is my point.
marketing managers and executives think that people in the uk will buy a product that has been marketed primarily for the european market, with the uk only as an afterthought. as a consumer, i want to see manufacturers making an effort in their communication to me – or risk alienating me with lazy, cost-cutting advertising that is neither properly targeted nor tuned to me culturally.
this is particularly true in these tough economic times. cutting costs might seem like a good idea at the moment but it shows a basic lack of understanding for the target audience. does some suit sitting in a plush office somewhere really think I'm going to buy something on the recommendation of someone whose lips don't even move when they're talking?
of course, most people won't even notice these details and you might well might say "why does all this matter?". well, it does. these people are trying to sell me things 24/7. the least they can do is acknowledge where i'm from. perhaps we're all supposed to be 'europeans' or 'world citizens' now? Well, as a consumer, i don't want to be treated like a fool. "no-one will notice it's in rio de janeiro" isn't good enough. we all need to be more critical of the advertising that increasingly invades our lives and more discerning about the products and corporations we let into our lives and develop relationships with, increasingly, involuntarily.
so next time you flinch or cringe at some poorly crafted love scene you may have 'inadvertently' come across whilst in front of the entertainment machine, just wait until the advert break and settle back for some 'badly dubbed ads'. Now that really is pornography.
if you have cable or satellite, you'll probably have access to the comedy channel. you may have even come across a show called 'badly dubbed porn'.as the title suggests, each episode consists of some low budget porn film overdubbed with amusing english dialogue. often the absurd 'plots' (such as they are), bizarre costumes, sets and locations are played upon to good effect. very funny.
not so the increasing prevalence of badly dubbed foreign adverts on our tv screens. not very funny and actually rather irritating for a number of reasons.
the trend towards using foreign locations and actors appears to have come out of the growing obsession of the euphemist term 'out-sourcing' – better known as 'the exportation of british jobs to cheap foreign workers'. you know what I'm talking about. try phoning bt customer support or any of the major banks and you're unlikely to talk to anyone based in the uk. you're even less likely to resolve whatever you were trying to sort out because the person on the other end lacks even basic english skills. Ironic don't you think for customer support. maybe that's the idea. the experience is so appalling that you just won't bother to try again.
growing 'globalisation' and the growth of the eu means a wider market for corporations and this inevitably means rationalisation of marketing strategies across a number of languages. so what started out as a cost-cutting exercise has transformed into a tool for marketing execs. to easily repackage the same ads for multiple markets. prague is apparently the favorite low-cost location for glade. which is fine if you market your product across europe. much of europe has a common landscape, both architecturally and culturally.
there are, however, issues when you try to use the same ads in the uk.
architecturally, the uk is quite individual. not only do we drive on the left side of the road, our buildings are a product of our unique history. past isolationist policies prevented large scale european influence on our culture. being an island nation also played its part. our landscape has been sculpted by a combination of geological effects and ancient farming practices. our history is written on the countryside, as well as on our towns and cities.
not a consideration when filming the latest barclaycard ad in rio de janeiro. it's quite plain to any viewer that the location used isn't anywhere in the uk. So… Barclaycard are trying to sell us a uk product, aimed at the uk market with advertising that is foreign. literally. why? well, we all know the answer to that one, but there are basic advertising principles being ignored here. the most basic is the prospective customer being able to relate to the product.
the easiest way to do this is to place the product in the environment of the prospective customer. Easy. this creates an instant affinity to the product. it's possible for the potential customer to see this product in their life, in their home, in their environment because that's where it's been placed. if you replace that environment with one that is literally 'foreign', that instant empathy is lost. location! location! location! as they say. because of this geographical anomaly, the product becomes detached from the target audience in a way similar to a crowd watching a football game instead of playing on the field. spectator instead of participent. Getting consumers to feel like they're part of what's being sold to them is half the trick of advertising. what surprises me is how popular that ad actually is. i'd rather eat glass than see it again.
don't get me wrong, i'm not against lavish foreign locations, as long as they're appropriate. barclaycard's previous campaigns were set in various foreign locations that worked because of the creative concept of being on holiday. They also featured british actors and dialogue. this current campaign is nothing more than a cheap vehicle for the waterslide concept.
car manufacturers face more specific problems when trying to 'port' foreign ads to the uk market. that's assuming they care enough to try and hide their origin. the most obvious being that uk vehicles are right-hand drive. one european car manufacturer recently released an ad obviously shot in europe, but with uk plates on the vehicles shown. so someone thinks it's important to make us think that this is taking place in our own environment. not very subtle though. it also requires creative photography so that vehicles aren't shown as being left-hand drive. tinted windows are one trick available. vauxhall use uk spec vehicles but in foreign locations. road markings and street furniture are another important consideration.
probably the most obvious problem is language. it's really very simple. english bears no resemblance to any european language. Pretty obvious you would say. The facial expressions physically caused by speech in any other language are almost impossible to match to english dialogue. well, obviously not a problem to these marketing execs who think that they can just dub english over what is plainly a foreign ad. it's painful to watch. the sound comes out, but the lips don't move! the current prime offender is the new mr muscle ad. apart from being appalling in every possible way from creative to execution, it is one of the worst examples of what I would call 'language rationalisation'. the original dialogue is so obviously foreign that the pathetic attempt to pretend it's english is just insulting. And this is my point.
marketing managers and executives think that people in the uk will buy a product that has been marketed primarily for the european market, with the uk only as an afterthought. as a consumer, i want to see manufacturers making an effort in their communication to me – or risk alienating me with lazy, cost-cutting advertising that is neither properly targeted nor tuned to me culturally.
this is particularly true in these tough economic times. cutting costs might seem like a good idea at the moment but it shows a basic lack of understanding for the target audience. does some suit sitting in a plush office somewhere really think I'm going to buy something on the recommendation of someone whose lips don't even move when they're talking?
of course, most people won't even notice these details and you might well might say "why does all this matter?". well, it does. these people are trying to sell me things 24/7. the least they can do is acknowledge where i'm from. perhaps we're all supposed to be 'europeans' or 'world citizens' now? Well, as a consumer, i don't want to be treated like a fool. "no-one will notice it's in rio de janeiro" isn't good enough. we all need to be more critical of the advertising that increasingly invades our lives and more discerning about the products and corporations we let into our lives and develop relationships with, increasingly, involuntarily.
so next time you flinch or cringe at some poorly crafted love scene you may have 'inadvertently' come across whilst in front of the entertainment machine, just wait until the advert break and settle back for some 'badly dubbed ads'. Now that really is pornography.
Thursday, 27 November 2008
Wednesday, 26 November 2008
hours and hours and hours and hours of endless fun
here's a great little site that gives you the chance to find out how many of you there are in the old blighty.
click here and away you go
you know you want to.
we had a go, as you would. all very interesting. we almost couldn't stop.
there are 1768 michael harris. 180 ian bates. 2 darren mower. and 1 geraldine sherriff.
now that sounds like a terrace chant!
click here and away you go
you know you want to.
we had a go, as you would. all very interesting. we almost couldn't stop.
there are 1768 michael harris. 180 ian bates. 2 darren mower. and 1 geraldine sherriff.
now that sounds like a terrace chant!
Tuesday, 25 November 2008
the uk's digital addiction
a recent ofcom report highlighted the ever-growing importance of the internet and mobile phone on us Brits.
the facts are impressively impressive. for instance, last year collectively we spent 99 billion minutes yakking on our mobiles.
here's another one for you: the average brit spends 727 hours a year surfing the net - that's up 21% from the previous year.
our appetite for digital communication bounds on at an rapid rate. the wind is in our digital sails. basically, we can't get enough of it - tippy tapping on our keyboards and phone pads like frenzied fools.
only the yanks spend more time on the net, and only the italians spend more time on their mobiles.
the stats keep on coming: did you know there are 121 mobiles for every 100 people in the UK? that's impressive penetration (as a foul-mothed celebrity chef might say).
the fact is, digital is now the core way that many individuals connect with others. like the atom bomb, it can't be uninvented. so, to all you digital doubters out there, we have a message: it's time to get with it or get left behind.
Monday, 24 November 2008
Wednesday, 19 November 2008
hardcore, you know the score
two status quo entries in the one day.
it's all doom and gloom these days. hand-wringing, melancholy and undiluted pessimism.
but not round here. we're beaming like cheshire cats. it's hardly surprising when we have access to stuff like this.
the ultimate mash-up featuring naff teutonic techno and a tragically-long-in-the-tooth gb rock institution. this makes us laugh on so many levels it's untrue.
H.P.Baxxter, Scooter's man on the mike, sounds not dissimilar to robbie rotten off lazytown.
as for quo, well, what would graham tumber say? blimey, it's a long way from ma kelly's greasy spoon.
whatever you want (well, we dont want this.)
we're told it reached 163 in the singles chart.
you can count on facebook
ever wondered how many people in the uk like something? i have. how many other 25 year olds love ultravox? did anyone actually enjoy 'bring it on'? to us marketers the questions are even more pertinent; for example a up-and-coming online fashion retailer may want to know exactly how many females aged 18-25 would consider themselves interested in fashion?
in the past, these questions have been answered by expensive lifestyle surveys and 3rd party data, but now a new opportunity has arisen for the savvy marketer; facebook.
facebook allows advertisers to pick exactly who their ads are targeted at. selling emo t-shirts? select anyone age 18-22 with 'my chemical romance' in their profile. selling travel insurance? select anyone over 18 with 'travel' in their interests. the possibilities are endless and it's a powerful tool for social network marketers, but whats in it for us?
well, when setting up the ads, facebook convieniently tells you how many people will see your ad. you want a count? just click on the 'advertising' link at the bottom of any facebook page and set-up a fake ad. it takes 30 seconds and allows you access to instant counts on the whole facebook base.
just extrapolate this out to the uk population, round down for safety, and you've got your count. whole thing done in a minute. fair enough it's not as accurate as a lifestyle survey, but it certainly gives you a pointer in the right direction.
so, for all of you who did enjoy 'bring it on', you'd better hope the count is high; when the revolution comes, you're first against the wall.
in the past, these questions have been answered by expensive lifestyle surveys and 3rd party data, but now a new opportunity has arisen for the savvy marketer; facebook.
facebook allows advertisers to pick exactly who their ads are targeted at. selling emo t-shirts? select anyone age 18-22 with 'my chemical romance' in their profile. selling travel insurance? select anyone over 18 with 'travel' in their interests. the possibilities are endless and it's a powerful tool for social network marketers, but whats in it for us?
well, when setting up the ads, facebook convieniently tells you how many people will see your ad. you want a count? just click on the 'advertising' link at the bottom of any facebook page and set-up a fake ad. it takes 30 seconds and allows you access to instant counts on the whole facebook base.
just extrapolate this out to the uk population, round down for safety, and you've got your count. whole thing done in a minute. fair enough it's not as accurate as a lifestyle survey, but it certainly gives you a pointer in the right direction.
so, for all of you who did enjoy 'bring it on', you'd better hope the count is high; when the revolution comes, you're first against the wall.
graham tumber: we salute you
sir. you are an odd-job builder. yet you convinced dover city council you were francis rossi of status quo. you looked like nothing like him. yet they fell for your audacious reworking of the truth for a full year and lavished you with VIP treatment. sweet!
we particularly liked your story about applying a stick-on ponytail before stepping on stage.
you never played that gig with sir paul mccartney, did you? we don't mind. it probably would have been a fake macca anyway.
they say you can't play guitar. they you you can't sing. they say you have no musical talent whatsoever. you'll go down a storm on x factor.
a loaf short of a sandwich
in the last couple of days, we've noticed a series of strips ads on the back of the metro from lloyds tsb. they offer handy hints suggests on how to save big bucks in these tough times.
these include such priceless gems as make your own sandwiches before you go to work and wash your car at home. genius!
the ads point you to a savvy savings website. here you can pick up hundreds of other top tips. all very useful.
but hang on. lloyds tsb? savvy savings? what's going on here? didn't they take a £600 million hit on all this sub-prime and credit crunch malarkey? and now they're extols the virtues of sandwich paste and chamois leathers. bizarre.
we just hope they're taking their own advice in their extravagant wood-panelled boardroom.
"what's in yours today, carruthers?"
"cheese and pickle, old boy. what about you, barrington-smyth?"
"oh, the filipino maid has rustled me up some delightful spam sandwiches."
weird times...
these include such priceless gems as make your own sandwiches before you go to work and wash your car at home. genius!
the ads point you to a savvy savings website. here you can pick up hundreds of other top tips. all very useful.
but hang on. lloyds tsb? savvy savings? what's going on here? didn't they take a £600 million hit on all this sub-prime and credit crunch malarkey? and now they're extols the virtues of sandwich paste and chamois leathers. bizarre.
we just hope they're taking their own advice in their extravagant wood-panelled boardroom.
"what's in yours today, carruthers?"
"cheese and pickle, old boy. what about you, barrington-smyth?"
"oh, the filipino maid has rustled me up some delightful spam sandwiches."
weird times...
the lego catwalk
JCDC Versus LEGO from Four H on Vimeo.
we're big fans of the lego, and we also really love the lego games on the wii: stars wars, indiana jones and batman. so imagine how happy we were when were introduced to this sweet fusion between our favourite power bricks and fashion. how very now, darling!
Thursday, 13 November 2008
where u @?
can this really be true? apparently, the ubiquitous @ email symbol has different names depending on where one resides in the world. this being so, here are a few examples to whet your whistle:
monkey's tail (south africa)
snail (france)
cinnamon twirl (sweden)
ear muff (iceland)
maggot (hungary)
little dog (russia)
strudel (israel)
bjork dot gudmunsdottir earmuff hotmail dot is
nelson underscore mandela monkey's tail gmail dot za
surely not! can anyone shed light on this?
monkey's tail (south africa)
snail (france)
cinnamon twirl (sweden)
ear muff (iceland)
maggot (hungary)
little dog (russia)
strudel (israel)
bjork dot gudmunsdottir earmuff hotmail dot is
nelson underscore mandela monkey's tail gmail dot za
surely not! can anyone shed light on this?
king ryan
entire creative club heartily recommends the fab lars and the real girl.
is ryan gosling the world's best film actor? possibly. the notebook, half nelson and now this. not bad at all.
Tuesday, 11 November 2008
lovin' it, hatin' it!
on these dark, dank autumnal night, nothing beats a spot of wii play. mario karts, super mario galaxy, super smash bros brawl - good, clean, laugh-out-loud family fun.
but please, nintendo, we implore you, take off those TV ads with c-plebs playing the wii in their bad-taste mansions. the redknapps, girls aloud - we can't take it anymore. our 'arry has even crept onto adshels. we thought it was a halloween campaign to scare the kids?
why can't you use ordinary families to showcase your fabulous games console? more celebrity emptiness, we guess.
by the way, has anyone noticed the uncanny resemblance of the tottenham gaffer with toad of toad hall?
PC world?
Bomber Harris writes:
"a mate of mine, who is a civil servant, was recently reprimanded for using the phrase 'brainstorming' during the meeting. his superior was concerned that this would be offensive to anybody who suffers from epilepsy. apparently, the correct terminology is this instance should be 'mind mapping'! what I'd like to know is has anyone received a similar telling off for not being PC enough?"
"a mate of mine, who is a civil servant, was recently reprimanded for using the phrase 'brainstorming' during the meeting. his superior was concerned that this would be offensive to anybody who suffers from epilepsy. apparently, the correct terminology is this instance should be 'mind mapping'! what I'd like to know is has anyone received a similar telling off for not being PC enough?"
Monday, 10 November 2008
japanese air force major commits career hari-kari
well, it made us chuckle. strange naked goings-on in the land of the rising sun.
the major's peculiar shopping habits
the major's peculiar shopping habits
eating aldesko - a free lunch during the credit crunch
this will be the first and last time we recommend an article found within the daily mail, but it does have a certain degree of insight, albeit a shallow one.
it seems that the dreaded credit crunch is not all doom and gloom for businesses. it seems those flogging lunchboxes are cashing in big time as cash-strapped workers reach for the medium-sliced loaf and sunflower spread.
the lunchbox times
following on from this, we'd like to know your preferred choice of workplace sandwich? are you the cheese and pickle type? or crunchy peanut butter? or something more exotic?
go on, tell us your favourite filling!
it seems that the dreaded credit crunch is not all doom and gloom for businesses. it seems those flogging lunchboxes are cashing in big time as cash-strapped workers reach for the medium-sliced loaf and sunflower spread.
the lunchbox times
following on from this, we'd like to know your preferred choice of workplace sandwich? are you the cheese and pickle type? or crunchy peanut butter? or something more exotic?
go on, tell us your favourite filling!
obama wins, no thanks to darren
imagine our dazza's surprise a few days ago when he got an email inviting him to click his way to a url linked to the presidential race. being the inquisitive sort, he did.
what it revealed was a fantastic way to engage obama-minded voters who'd rather sit at home and eat cream donuts by the dozen. hats off to obama and his digital team!
see it in action down below:
voter apathy
Friday, 7 November 2008
stop looking at me
a certain video has been brought to our attention, revealing interesting facts about the way we communicate with each other. edward muzio of group harmonics has conducted some research into the problem of dealing with, well, problems, via email.
we've all experienced someone misinterpreting what we've said in an email, but muzio has concluded that only 7% of communication between us is based on the actual words. the remaining 93% is made up of visual cues (55%) and tone (38%), which are a little hard to convey through outlook.
it therefore seems wise to save your emails for saying nice things to people. bad news is better communicated face to face or on the phone, a useful piece of information to those of us who live and breathe through email.
(plus, they've got no record of what you've said then... you don't know me, right?)
we've all experienced someone misinterpreting what we've said in an email, but muzio has concluded that only 7% of communication between us is based on the actual words. the remaining 93% is made up of visual cues (55%) and tone (38%), which are a little hard to convey through outlook.
it therefore seems wise to save your emails for saying nice things to people. bad news is better communicated face to face or on the phone, a useful piece of information to those of us who live and breathe through email.
(plus, they've got no record of what you've said then... you don't know me, right?)
Thursday, 23 October 2008
Monday, 20 October 2008
a man after our own heart
we've long believed that storytelling is the most powerful way to impart a memorable thought. so imagine our delight to find more people who share the view. this article by ray george, a US brand strategist deals with storytelling as the most powerful way to transmit brand values within a business.
beautiful.
insight, insight everywhere but not a drop to drink
from a creative point of view, customer insight drives a proposition.
using traditional techniques to find it, like data and market research, you will tend to find where customer has been but that’s only part of the story.
what many brands are seeking these days are leaps - a jump in understanding the customer. for this traditional techniques are simply not enough.
to get the breakthrough you need new techniques or perhaps, more importantly a new person to approach the challenge.
ideally this resource is in-house, someone who can approach the issue with an intelligent naivety that allows you to see where opportunities lie in the future rather than how customers have behaved in the past.
as marketers we have to realize that the ‘consumer’ (if there ever was a typical one) has moved on. they sussed the techniques of the past and know how to play the game. so while those techniques can be used to help define who and when you communicate they won’t necessarily tell you with what.
the resource that produces this insight may not use ‘techniques’ at all. the really good ones are born or bred rather than trained. they are obsessive people-watchers who are prepared to go out on a limb to find the real fruit. by taking a leap they discover where they can lead a market, not follow.
this skill provides the space to engage with consumers in new and exciting ways - driven by insight.
examples include virgin, lush, apple and ikea.
and the cost? if you want insight that create leaps, reframes the market and gives you a competitive edge, employ someone who can make the jump or find a good agency to do it for you.
using traditional techniques to find it, like data and market research, you will tend to find where customer has been but that’s only part of the story.
what many brands are seeking these days are leaps - a jump in understanding the customer. for this traditional techniques are simply not enough.
to get the breakthrough you need new techniques or perhaps, more importantly a new person to approach the challenge.
ideally this resource is in-house, someone who can approach the issue with an intelligent naivety that allows you to see where opportunities lie in the future rather than how customers have behaved in the past.
as marketers we have to realize that the ‘consumer’ (if there ever was a typical one) has moved on. they sussed the techniques of the past and know how to play the game. so while those techniques can be used to help define who and when you communicate they won’t necessarily tell you with what.
the resource that produces this insight may not use ‘techniques’ at all. the really good ones are born or bred rather than trained. they are obsessive people-watchers who are prepared to go out on a limb to find the real fruit. by taking a leap they discover where they can lead a market, not follow.
this skill provides the space to engage with consumers in new and exciting ways - driven by insight.
examples include virgin, lush, apple and ikea.
and the cost? if you want insight that create leaps, reframes the market and gives you a competitive edge, employ someone who can make the jump or find a good agency to do it for you.
Saturday, 18 October 2008
that's what you get for kissing a girl and liking it
"it felt so wrong; it felt so right. why did i leap into that giant cake?"it just goes to show: never get entangled with an oversized pink sugar-based construction under hot theatre lights. it's a recipe for disaster.
perky kate's exit on her hands and knees is particularly funny. this would never have happened to dusty springfield.
all in all, a top pop moment!
kate takes a tumble
Tuesday, 14 October 2008
financial news from the far east
following the problems in the sub-prime lending market in america and the crisis within the british banking community, uncertainty has now hit japan. in the last seven days Origami Bank has folded, Sumo Bank has gone belly up and Bonsai Bank announced plans to cut some of its branches.
yesterday, it was announced that Karaoke Bank is up for sale and will likely go for a song while today shares in Kamikaze Bank were suspended after they nose-dived. while Samurai Bank are soldiering on following sharp cutbacks, Ninja Bank are reported to have taken a hit, but they remain in the black.
meanwhile, 500 staff at Karate Bank got the chop and analysts report there is something fishy going on at Sushi Bank where it is feared staff may get a raw deal.
you come in search of wisdom?
a wise man once said: here's an interesting little thing to explore. oodles of stylish white space, too.
and we know what you're thinking: isn't that clint eastwood looking good for his age.
click on the link below and find out more. you may yet change the world for the better.
wise words indeed
and we know what you're thinking: isn't that clint eastwood looking good for his age.
click on the link below and find out more. you may yet change the world for the better.
wise words indeed
Friday, 10 October 2008
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
time
just to make sure everyone knows that google can do anything they put their mind to, they've brought back the internet from 2001, the whole(ish) internet. using their oldest available search index you can now search and view pages from way back in 2001. looking for youtube? myspace? facebook? not invented yet. what's really interesting is seeing the first version of wikipedia, back when it was still run by a couple of blokes in a shed.
anyway, can't really think of a marketing application for it, but it's all very interesting (try searching for 'breaking news', or search some competitors websites and laugh at how crap they are), and is a great reminder that google are all-powerful. be afraid.
back when limp bizkit could be number one
anyway, can't really think of a marketing application for it, but it's all very interesting (try searching for 'breaking news', or search some competitors websites and laugh at how crap they are), and is a great reminder that google are all-powerful. be afraid.
back when limp bizkit could be number one
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
the craziest lollipop man in the land
it was late and entire creative club were just goofin' around. but here's a thing: we made a remarkable and highly unlikely discovery. an i-can't-believe-that fact.
so here it is... without further ado... hold onto your floppy hat... it would seem that salvador dali, the salvador dali, designed the chupa chups logo.
surely not... but surely yes. it's true. where's the lobster? and the wobbly clocks?
can't take this in? go see for yourself at everyone's favourite online encylopedia. un lollipop andalusia indeed.
salvador dali's finest hour.
another brick in the wall
3d web browsers have been knocking around for a while now, but until recently none of them seemed to provide the user with anything useful... well now steps up cooliris.
this small firefox add-on allows users to browse web-pages as a 3d wall, displaying hundreds of images and videos at any one time, allowing fast, intuitive navigation around them all. indeed, some quick mouse-work was all it took for one of my more discerning colleagues to be drooling over 1,000s of images of lindsay lohan within seconds... a must have for any marketing agency.
that aside, the marketing applications of this tool are phenomenal. amazon are onboard and you can already quickly browse books by authour or title in a large virtual bookshelf. no clothes retailers are involved yet, but the ability to quickly survey a stores range using images and videos has obvious advantages to department pages that have been kept plain and functional by countless web usability studies.
with the whole application weighing in at a mere 2mb, it won't be long before websites will be pushing the app when you arrive, enabling instant 3d viewing for all those who aren't likely to voluntarily add this to firefox, which, lets face it, is about 99.9% of the population.
would you like to view this page in 3d? i know what i'd pick...
a new dimension to online
this small firefox add-on allows users to browse web-pages as a 3d wall, displaying hundreds of images and videos at any one time, allowing fast, intuitive navigation around them all. indeed, some quick mouse-work was all it took for one of my more discerning colleagues to be drooling over 1,000s of images of lindsay lohan within seconds... a must have for any marketing agency.
that aside, the marketing applications of this tool are phenomenal. amazon are onboard and you can already quickly browse books by authour or title in a large virtual bookshelf. no clothes retailers are involved yet, but the ability to quickly survey a stores range using images and videos has obvious advantages to department pages that have been kept plain and functional by countless web usability studies.
with the whole application weighing in at a mere 2mb, it won't be long before websites will be pushing the app when you arrive, enabling instant 3d viewing for all those who aren't likely to voluntarily add this to firefox, which, lets face it, is about 99.9% of the population.
would you like to view this page in 3d? i know what i'd pick...
a new dimension to online
more partridge than partridge
check this out! it's a cringeworthy interview between bbc radio wm's lee ross and writer hardeep kohli singh. at first, we thought it was a spoof, but it ain't. it's car crash radio and we love it!
to tell the truth, we're not sure how poor old hardeep sticks it out for so long.
listen, laugh and grind your teeth at lee's egregious interview technique, as it were...
very poor interviewing skills
Friday, 26 September 2008
the start of an ad campaign?
is this the start of a new campaign? nike? agent provocateur? swedish tourist board?
crazy swedish chicks
crazy swedish chicks
cheeky, cheeky
for those of a sensitive disposition, please look away.
we bring you sexy animations!
www.12ozprophet.com/index.php/grotesk/entry/xxx/
we bring you sexy animations!
www.12ozprophet.com/index.php/grotesk/entry/xxx/
Thursday, 25 September 2008
snipping, snipping, snipping goes the scissor man
congratulations to nick 'the rock' barthram for crushing the opposition in our inaugural rock-paper-scissors championship.
the final was a titanic 2-1 tussle between the blonde punkster and catrina 'i am the' law. make no mistake, the crowd were on their feet and screaming for more.
here's a picture of nick savouring his stunning victory. doesn't he look thrilled?
"my strategy was deep, my tactics profound," mused the deep-thinking digital type. "whatever they had, I gave it back and then some. no-one can beat the barts!"
all wrapped up
here's a creative club fave: disturbing tales of roy orbison wrapped in clingfilm. actually, they are wonderfully funny, though twisted in every sense of the word.
cut and paste the url into your browser, click, scroll down the page and see how many exotic, erotic ways roy gets wrapped. freaky!
http://www.michaelkelly.fsnet.co.uk/karl.htm
cut and paste the url into your browser, click, scroll down the page and see how many exotic, erotic ways roy gets wrapped. freaky!
http://www.michaelkelly.fsnet.co.uk/karl.htm
Tuesday, 23 September 2008
all i wanna do is rock... paper, scissors
cut and paste and pop along. it's the ultimate resource for killer rps strategy!
http://www.worldrps.com
http://www.worldrps.com
your eagle has landed
ah, there you are. we've been awaiting your arrival. don't forget to bookmark this very spot in cyberspace. does anyone actually use the word 'cyberspace' these days?
look out for all kinds of cool stuff on confabulations. and feel free to contribute with ideas and suggestions.
to start the ball rolling, here's a feature to boggle your eyes:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article4799369.ece
it's all about the proposed elevator into space. how fab would that be? but we know what you're thinkin' - that's one long cable. darn right it is.
look out for all kinds of cool stuff on confabulations. and feel free to contribute with ideas and suggestions.
to start the ball rolling, here's a feature to boggle your eyes:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article4799369.ece
it's all about the proposed elevator into space. how fab would that be? but we know what you're thinkin' - that's one long cable. darn right it is.
Thursday, 28 August 2008
open for business
Wahey! Our blog of blogs is up and running... well, up and staggering to be more precise. What wordy and visual treats lie in for store for club members? Now that would be telling...
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