Bald spot

Very simple strategy that appeals to the basic needs in all of us. As it should. Can't help thinking this is a bit pre financial crisis, though. Especially as the Lovemark for banks at the moment surely would be trust.

Website of the years

Genius, absolute genius...www.yearbookyourself.com

Me in 1958

Me in 1970

Me in 1988

MS vs Mac

Nice of Microsoft to remind us of a great campaign (Apple's, that is).

Yay...it's time for a fiesta...

Makes those of us working on miniature budgets weep, frankly.


Interesting to note that the people behind this were Microsoft Advertising, according to the NMA article that first flagged up the work.

Tiny street art

Discovered the book in Waterstones then the blog after. Bah, could've saved myself £6 if it had been the other way round. Never mind, it's actually easier to see what's going on in the book but take a look at the Little People - A Tiny Street Art Project, anyway. Or visit Slinkachu's separate blog.

17 years of time-lapse ageing

Begs two questions...

1. After 17 years, why did he stop?

2. What's the psychological trigger that, after having grown his hair long, makes him shave it all off? It happens six or seven times. You'd think he'd learn.

AdEaters

Hungry for more ads? 350 commercials in one night:


Night Of The Adeaters from The IPA on Vimeo.

Beer Goggles

So simple and brilliant that to tell you any more than the headline above will ruin it. Just click the lady above.

Too old for Volvo

All this time I've been telling myself I'm too young to consider Volvo. But now, after trying to play their interactive film, Rush I find the pace so frenetic that I'm starting to think I may actually be too old to understand what the hell is going on.

Not advertising

But a lovely, lovely idea.

The Hovis ad

Couldn't let it go by unmentioned as apparently people and the press are talking about this in droves. Creative Review thought the theme was hackneyed and the first ad person who mentioned it to me called it self-indulgent. Neither view is wrong IMHO, but neither view matters either. For its huge production budget and media spend Hovis has hit paydirt - fame. And TV ads are about making your brand not just recognised, but famous.

If you're a practitioner of advertising, 'watch' the ad again - only with your eyes closed - and listen to the soundtrack - genius.

Simple, brilliant, watch it.

Those Minis are so cheeky

Reminds me a little of the Corsa ad a few years ago in making small cars cute again.

Tasteless but fun

In very poor taste and published not quite quickly enough to be uber-topical but nevertheless this will probably fly virally.

Slick BBH site

Funny, just as we are working on our own site, using BBH as an example of how not to do it, they re-do it. Very smooth it is too - check out the 'global navigation.'

Pesky laws...

So, the law now says you have to make it clear that consumers know an advertising activity is indeed an advertising activity. Goodbye to the days of teasers, spoofs and the kind of games played by Gatorade in the previous post.

Notice how Oasis tackle the thorny subject for their latest microsite, where you get to decide the outcome of the current TV campaign:



Look hard and you'll notice the 'proof of advertising':

Gatorade Viral

This caused a lot of fuss in the US, gathering a lot of attention for the brand on TV news etc. when the catch was 'discovered' to be a stunt by Gatorade. Of course this kind if activity is now illegal in the UK, but this is an almost perfect exercise in how viral should work.

Inviting other agencies to educate you and your clients

Clever stuff this. Iris held a series of informal seminars down the pub where they invited luminaries, including those from competitive agencies, to talk about their subject to both staff and clients. Brave? No, wise in the current climate where information should be shared not guarded.

Best for me was Poke's Ian Tait talking on where he think digital experiences are going.

Nice one, Gordon...

Let's have another one. But I get the impression this was a nice idea that was sold to a client just to get it out there, rather than a neat solution to a client's brief. It is campaignable though (he sniffed).

Have fun out there.

The note from the agency explains the genius of this viral ad.
"Last week saw some of the worst storms in recorded history to hit New Zealand and what defined this in the hearts and minds of New Zealanders was viral footage and News coverage of a falling tree almost hitting a car in Nelson, South Island. 99 Auckland thought about the Jeep brand proposition of 'Have fun out there' and what would happen if a Jeep was there? The original footage was sourced, and we recreated the scene of a Jeep owner doing just that, 'Having fun out there.' The viral was sent out a day after the news coverage aired, to maintain relevancy."

A lesson in branded ecommerce

This site from Australia's Crumpler bag brand demonstrates how creativity can directly aid sales. The design is based on a photo of a Japanese vending machine and features slightly insane product demo videos - see the film for the Mahoubar rucksack to see what I mean.

The State of Art Direction

An interesting piece following on from last month's article in CR

Follow your instinct

Brilliant interactive campaign from Samsung in Canada. Literally, follow your instinct...

iPint

Just about the cleverest, yet simplest way to use technology for marketing I've seen yet.

The New Football Pools

Nice stuff. Was made aware of the new Football Pools by a passing cab, clearly showing the URL (literally driving traffic online). Got to the site and found a nice mix of user-centric design, marketing messaging and UGC functionality. And they've managed to make it look good too.