30.6.06

RE-CASTING ROLES WHEN IN ENTERTAINMENT

Can low involvement brands create entertainment like cool fashion & tech brands?

Did a presentation to a bunch of friends on brand entertainment and the question was ah but only cool brands can do stuff like you are showing us for example technology and fashion but what about brands that are just low involvement by definition. So my answer was: I think any brand can make entertainment as long as it finds cultural truths that are relevant. Consumers then don't buy a product benefit but a share of the story that the brand created through the entertainment - a cultrual benefit proposition if you like. Ah and guess who made the above example ... yep it is them again Fallon US the ones who did the BMW films.

27.6.06

I recieved this unusual c.v. now that's what I call a c.v.

The rest of his c.v. is here: http://organic-frog.blogspot.com/ I wish I had the budget to hire him.

20.6.06

Speaking of ICON Creation

CP has created a campaign that invited people to go into research groups about 'what fast means to you' and sent them DM afterwards with a customised 'fast' which drove them online where you could customise a VW and of-course the t.v. followed with looking after your 'fast' executions. Apparantly sales were 80% above expected. I love the fact that VW has won a direct Lions award for this. Isn't it interesting that an ad agency won a dm award? Or is it an ad agency -:)?

BLOODY BRILLIANT

The is a great example of how timing as well as iconography can make an already brilliant advert even more brilliant. The poster appeared on the M4 on the morning of England v Sweden in the world cup as well as Sven's announcement that Rooney will be in the starting line up. This one ad made it to the front cover of no less than 4 national UK dailies. Well done w+k more here.

16.6.06

Courage is the vital ingredient

"I am glad we had the courage to say yes – with VW we’ve created something that didn’t previously exist anywhere in the world” - Kirsten Brochner Owner and operator of Park hotel that was transformed into Hotel FOX - the VW hotel in Copenhagen. It is throughly annoying and navel gazing of ad folk to keep talking about nothing except how wonderful and creative we think we are. I think we should shift the conversation to how brave we are. Withought courage and a series of people client, partners, planners, creatives making brave decisions along the way original creative won't happen. If we are so creative how come the world is full of shit boring ads. VW & the owners of the Hotel Fox property took a big leap of faith, 300 million impressions later did their courage pay? Definately. I think it was Bernbach who once said: 'The future belongs to the brave'. Amen.

Bonding.

Stuck on the tube today. Trying to breathe inside the the equivalent of a human straw. The driver apologetically announced that we have to 'de-train' - London underground jargon for emptying a train of its hot and sweaty passengers onto rat infested tracks and walking for half a mile till the station. Morning rush hour and people are hot and nervous. Is it another bomb attack is it something equally sinister? No, just bits fell off the train ahead causing our train to get stuck for two hours. The bonding started promptly with people in the dark heat of the carriage cracking jokes and it became almost a funathon. The best jokers collected mini team mates and pretty soon everyone was laughing creating an ironic atmosphere. It was a brilliant example of how humour certainly binds, diffuses and makes people stick together even if they are stuck inside a human straw.