The Biggie Hendrix Experience

Notorious B.I.G. (RIP!) + Jimi Hendrix (RIP!) = This zip file of MP3s (alternate link here) from DJ Doc Rok. (thanks Matthew R. Rose).

Found on boing boing

McDonalds - HR Campaign

The headline definitley makes you read the body copy. I think this ad will inform Sweden that McDonalds has a diverse workforce; but will it make anyone want to work there?

Going Green

Going Green. Everyone's doing it, just some are doing it better, faster and actually having an impact.

The other day I saw a shipment of cars on a truck trailer. They were covered with plastic wrap both inside and out. It made me think that if they didn't wrap the cars shopping for vehicles could become more like picking apples. You could go dealership to dealership trying to find the one that is the least bruised and the proper colour....I now, my mind wanders into some odd territories.

Back to the point; going green in my mind will become the number one factor in companies dedicating more and more of their ad budgets to the wonderful world of digital. Why? It avoids printing and is a environment that the supporters, early adopters and evangelists of green are already comfortable using. In fact they are using it to organize themselves and make their lives more efficient or sustainable.

Many exciting recent developments in sustainable living are ideas that have emerged within this domain:

Freecycle is sustainability working with raw interpersonal technology. 4.5 million people have joined a simple community to enable you to pass on goods you might otherwise have thrown away.

Actics (active ethics) allows people to give each other and companies feedback. It is potentially what you could describe as ‘the missing link’ in corporate ethics.

WhatDoIdoWithThis is a site built by people in the building industry. In every building job there are materials left over – tiles, piping, bricks, timber. These were usually thrown on a skip. Now you can sell them on, to others who necessarily large quantities.

WalkIt.com, Seat61.com (the train traveller’s bible) and other information resources like that help you take control of how you travel

Localfoodshop.org is a virtual farmers market. It allows you to pick and buy food from individual local farms, who can then combine these orders to share some deliveries. It is the ethic of boxed deliveries combined with the convenience and choice of Ocado.

City Car Clubs uses the latest GPS and database systems to allow you to locate, book and use a car when you need one.

Blogs such as Treehugger, Grist but also the individual and little group of friends’ efforts (like GreenGirlsGlobal) allow people to share information in a rich and digestible form.

Facebook groups (and Yahoo groups before them) make organising a party, demonstration or circle of friends who share things as easy as clicking through a few screens and sending an invite.

Green pledge communities such as Pledgebank, TheNag.net and DoTheGreenThing give individuals the experience of being in a crowd of people all doing something that makes a difference and which therefore adds up to have a significant, visible effect.

Rentmineonline, Couchsurfing.com, the Barter Card and other schemes are addressing the need for all of us to share things (for instance homes) more efficiently. Economists reckon there are many trillions of dollars stranded in non-liquid assets; things that people own but get no value from until they sell them. That may also be the key to living better while using less. Why own a lawnmower? Why not share one with your whole street? Get to know your neighbours in the process.It’s a diverse list, and it’s probably just the start.

Since eBay launched I have been arguing that it’s almost as if consumerism is trying to rebalance itself. We do need a vision of a good life (beyond the American dream) that is also sustainable and - paradoxically - the answer may lie as much with fast routers as slow food?

The latest developments were found onhttp://greenormal.blogspot.com - The blog of John Grant, who is author of The Green Marketing Manifesto (Wiley, 2007)

A book I am 12 pages into (printed on post-consumer recycled paper using vegetable inks) and no I didn't ask for a plastic bag from Chapters.

INTERNET FAMOUS - NEW CLASS AT NYC

Students' grades are algorithmically determined by their Internet fame, as measured off the web. Basically the course is; create content for the internet and do everything you can to make yourself famous on the internet.

Seems like a the type of course that should become standard in all advertising schools. I saw one of the creators of this course speak at FITC in 2005. His Graffiti Analysis project was extremely entertaining as was his project to become the internets #1 BAD ASS MOTHER FUCKER. It took him 13 days, 11 hours to become the top google search result when "Bad ass mother fucker" is entered in google.

Check out the full story from Time.

Ad Quote of the week

Congratulations to Amanda on the big promo today....

"If I had to sum it all up, I'd say there are three breeds of account executives: the play-it-safe-and-by-the-rule-book transmitting agent; the neutralist, who's never quite sure from one day to the next of his role in the agency-client relationship; and the truly creative account man, who may never write a line of copy in his life, but who, in his own wy, is every bit as creative as the finest copywriter in the business."

- Emil Mogul (1960), ad executive, quoted in James B. Simpson, Contemporary Quotations, 1964, Binghamton, NY: Vail-Ballou Press, p. 84.

Smoking is worse than terrorism

Last September, we did a post on some brands that used 9/11 imagery in their campaigns. Copyranter has been excellent and blogging about these images and he's found another one.


DDB New Zealand created the ad for ASH (an anti-smoking group). The copy reads - "Terrorism deaths since 2001: 11, 377. Tobacco related deaths since 2001: 30,000,000.

Can the creatives really not think of a better idea? Or at least a better visual?

Diamond Shreddies!

If you haven't seen the new Diamond Shreddies campaign, you might be missing one of the best cereal campaigns in the last 20 years.

As a non-cereal eater and someone who doesn't wake up before noon on Saturday's (thus missing the morning cartoons and cereal commercials), this is one of the only cereal campaigns I actually remember (aside from Lucky Charms).

Shreddies hasn't changed in a number of years and unlike many cereals, it's not going too. This presents a problem from a marketing standpoint. The campaign objective is to make people think about Shreddies again - to make them talk about the simple cereal.

The "Diamond Shreddies" campaign meets this objective by having fun with the brand. Everyone knows that nothing has changed about the cereal. Everyone knows that turning the Shreddie sideways isn't that special. But some of the spots around the campaign are.

From the simple billboards to the research groups asking people to evaluate new diamond Shreddies vs. the old square ones, this campaign is creating word of mouth and has become a big hit.

Some people think the campaign is just plain dumb, others believe it's absolutely hilarious, but if we're talking about it (good or bad), it has done its job.

Check out the 'research' video below.

Live Fast; Ignore Bad Ads

Diesel does it again - creating "shock" value print ads in the hopes to be even cooler and more stylish. Although I don't hate these as much as the Global Warming campaign, I've got to say that these rank a close #2.

Nothing makes me want to wear $500 jeans more than the visual of making a blind man run or praying in a church on a treadmill.






Thanks for the heads up, Jen!

Apple's New Competition

Microsoft made a large decision this week and awarded their $300 million ad account to one of the hottest agencies in North America, CP+B.
According to Adrants, Microsoft spent over $1 billion in advertising in the US during 2006 and they have finally found their new agency.

CP+B are the creators of Whopper Freakout, Volkeswagen's "Ego Emissions" and "Safe Happens" campaigns and the "Man Law" Miller Light campaign. They've won a number of awards in the past couple of years and are on track to win more with their latest BK campaign and their Domino's Pizza website.

Fallon was Microsoft's previous AOR and I have to admit that I did enjoy their brand campaign TV spots for Vista. That being said, every time the marketing execs from Microsoft watch an Apple-PC commercial they must cringe at the success of their competitor.

Microsoft and CP+B have their work cut out for them. The reviews of Vista have not been kind and Apple's creativity continues to uplift their share price. Could an agency change be exactly what the company needs?

Maybe. But CP+B's ideas have been more on the irreverent side of impact than what Microsoft might be expecting. They have created impact and won awards but this will be their largest challenge.

For Microsoft, the next campaign will be their most critical. Can they shift from being the nerdy, boring brand that Apple made them? Better yet, can they go back at the folks at Apple to raise some points about their competitive advantages?

My guess is we will find out, one way or another, in about 6 months.

Horrible Parents

I just found this video on Digg and I have to say that it's one of the meanest pranks I've ever come across.

If you've ever said that your parents are mean, watch this and be thankful you grew up in the family you did.



Tech superblog Engadget has offered a free Microsift XBox 360 to the boy on the condition that he doesn't let his family play it at all. They've had some luck getting in touch with him and we will update the story when the reward has been given.

Microsoft might want to take this a bit further for some good PR - give the kid a ton of games, gear and swag. Then take it a step further and destroy his parents lives through a series of personal computer hacks (like Sandra Bullock in The Net), canceled social security cheques and mysterious withdraws from their bank accounts.

In the end, have the son get them on video as their house is being foreclosed. Then, in a fun ironic twist, have the son give them an XBox 360 as he drives off into the sunset in his Microsoft Hybrid car.

10 Interview Questions for the Digital Candidate

Found a quick (and simple) list of ten questions for aspiring interactive candidates. If you work in the space or are thinking about moving over, these questions may help to decipher who might be a good fit.

What these questions attempt to answer is whether someone is genuinely interested in the space or just simply aware of it. Everyone has heard of blogs, Google, Facebook and YouTube but if you've never taken the time to actually use them, how do you really know their capabilities?

Check out the full article from Logic+Emotion here and if you're interviewing anyone soon, be sure to throw a few of these in.

1. Do you read blogs? Which ones?
2. Do you have a personal blog? What's it about?
3. Do you participate in at least one social network? Which one?
4. Have you ever uploaded a video online? What did you use to do it?
5. What's your favorite search engine. Why?
6. Have you ever used an online classified service like craigslist?
7. Besides making phone calls—how else do you use your mobile phone?
8. Have you ever registered a domain name?
9. Do you use social bookmarks or tagging?
10. Do you use a feed reader of some sort? Which one? Why?

Ameriquest Campaign

I have got to thank my buddy Chris for this link. The entire "Don't judge too quickly " campaign one after another. Great campaign.

Your Guide to Viral Videos...By Jimmy Kimmel

We are a bit behind in posting these two videos from the Jimmy Kimmel show, however they are worth it if you haven't seen them.

It all started with Sarah Silverman's video to her 'boyfriend' Jimmy:



You can image the effects that something like that would have on a guy - anger, dispair and frustration (especially when it's Matt Damon).

Jimmy just aired the response to this video and with over 8 million hits in just a few days, it's become quite the web hit.



Is it shocking that a video with about 50 celebs became viral? Not really - especially when Ben Affleck is involved.

FED EX CUP - CONFERENCE CALL

Ad Quote of the day

"A brand exists in your mind. It's a collection of associations or feelings people have about a particular product, service, or an organization. Branding is the tangible process of creating the signals that generate these associations."-- Allen Adamson, "BrandSimple"

Entertaining little video

Just for fun. Excellent brand placement by lego ;)

Found on exitcreative

Etrade - Baby gets Clown

The other day a girl I work with had a birthday. Her boyfriend sent her a singing clown.

He totally underestimated the creepiness.

This campaign is awesome. Babies, comedy and great casting on the v/o.

DC Shoes Gets it

DC shoes founder and current Chief Brand Officer is also a rally-car driver.

He is the guy behind the wheel. This doesn't feel forced, DC shoes isn't trying to be cool; it is cool so it can pull this sort of thing off. Skechers please don't try this.

Viral marketing is the future of entertainment

OOH - I liked

I mainly liked it because I despise smoking. Thank you Elana for the heads-up!

Old Bell Solo - Great Idea

Transit Shelter Ads were posted in different Canadian cities. By pushing the walkie-talkie button you were instantly connected to another shelter in a random Canadian city.

A great way to demo a product benefit while entertaining. I hope they recorded teh conversations.

From adgoodness

Do You Know Your Target?

Do you really know your target? What they think, what they want and what they do?

A large number of people in our industry - account, creative even production - have no idea. It's easy to get sidetracked; we've got timelines to meet, clients to answer too, research, studio, production, creatives, more briefs to write, copy decks...the works.

But that's no excuse. Are you working on a product that targets children 8-16? Well then you must know who this is. No?

It's Disney superstar - Hanna Montana. Currently one of the hottest tickets in the world to see...and yes, she even dances. If you watched the Oscars on Sunday, you might recognize her as she was one of the presenters.

You don't have to love what your target does (even though Aladin was amazing) but you should know what they do. It might take a few days of reading and watching shows you wouldn't on your spare time, but it will be worth it.

The "Fun" of Client Approvals

How many approvals does your creative have to go through?

My guess is that the norm would be at least 4:

• Creative Director

• Brand Director

• Direct Client Report

• Clients Boss

For some, it's way more. But hey, at least the feedback is never consolidated...



From Bannerblog

Hey Jude Cover

This video currently has over 2200 digs...

How Agencies Sell Themselves

Found this great post from the W+K London blog tonight. It's all about the different slogans that agencies use to help position themselves to clients.

What do you think? Rhetoric or meaningful?

JWT
Slogan: 'Time is the new currency'
They say: "The power of brands can be measured in their ability to attract people's time. Time is what's most valuable to people all around the world, and the way they spend it is predictive of the way they spend their money. Our role is to ensure that more people spend more time with our clients' brands, in the knowledge that their money will follow."

DDB
Slogan: 'Co-creation'
They say: "Co-creativity is a process that puts consumers at the heart of the solution. It's agnostic about where the best idea comes from – online, branded content, advertising, an event – in fact, it is increasingly likely that it is through combining all of these and more that the most creative and influential ideas will be gained."

M&CSAATCHI
Slogan: 'Brutal simplicity of thought'
They say: "The slogan comes from the idea that it's easier to complicate than simplify. Simple messages enter the brain quicker and stay there longer, so brutal simplicity of thought is therefore a painful necessity."

Saatchi &Saatchi
Slogan: 'Nothing is impossible'
They say: "From the outset the Saatchi brothers broke the rules, challenged industry norms and created work that was groundbreaking in every respect. Brands are faced with the danger of becoming commodities that lack differentiation, but we believe that bold and infectious creativity can drive loyalty beyond reason for brands."

BBH
Slogan: 'When the world zigs, zag'
They say: "Our first ad was a poster for Levi's black denim: a flock of white sheep heading one way, with one black sheep going the other way. The message captures our approach to life."

TBWA\London
Slogan: 'The disruption agency'
They say: "All brands have ambitions to outpace the competition, but too many go through life copying their competitors. We aim to uncover the clichés, assumptions and conventional wisdom that hold a category back, then look for opportunities for brands to grow by disrupting those conventions."

Ogilvy Group UK
Slogan: 'To be most valued by those who most value brands'
They say: "The slogan was coined in 1993, but its roots go deeper, to David Ogilvy's belief in the power of brands, as long as they stay relevant and continually refresh their appeal. Our view is that branding is a genuinely useful concept that helps good companies defeat bad ones, so the clients we most want are those who share this belief. We don't apologise for this idealism, since the most successful brands tend to have longstanding ideals at their core, which can be dramatised in myriad ways over time."

Wieden + Kennedy
Slogan: 'Creating strong, provocative relationships between good companies and their customers'
They say: "We believe that great brands lead from the front. They provoke, inspire and change the cultural landscape. The most successful brands have fans, not customers, and the relationship between a brand and its fans is based on dialogue, not monologue."

Euro RSCG London
Slogan: 'Contagious ideas'
They say: "We live in a world where consumers can more judiciously edit what they consume, [and can] mould and reconfigure ideas relatively easily and be far more expressive to their friends, family and colleagues about what they like and don't like. Contagious ideas live beyond the space in which they first appeared by creating word of mouth, word of keyboard or media interest."

Fallon
Slogan: none
They say: "We choose not to have a fixed positioning point. In an increasingly open media and creative environment, where more is possible every day, we feel that it doesn't make sense to pre-pack what we do. What we do, and how we do it, is fundamentally bespoke and about building the confidence to do something different."