Three of my favourite things, found via Amnesia Blog (Where I work)
This is why technologists do matter and why a tech head should be sat lovingly in the creative process.
Category Archives: Campaigns of note
A coincidence an Englishman won ‘The Best Job in the World’?
Being English myself I’m pleased to see that fellow Englishman Ben won ‘The Best Job in the World’ yesterday and will soon be spending 6 months as a caretaker of the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef. Now I’m not one to be cynical, even though I am English, but I’m sure that this little stat may have had something to with it.
Nothing against the campaign, it’s super awesome and well done Ben I’m sure you are the best man for the job!
Posted in Campaigns of note, Social, Social brands
Playing catch up
It’s been good catching with all the great work and thinking that has been going on since I have been away so here are just a few of my initial favourites.
First of all is Poke’s work for Orange. It’s up there with their ‘Spot the Bull’ work they did for them over the last two years. It really is the World’s First Internet Balloon Race.
Then there is Leland’s new blog on Transformation Design.
In Leland’s words: “When businesses look at marketing, they focus on things like integration, brand measures and ROI. While these are important, we must respond to the fact that we are now in a situation where the recipients of marketing are, at best, numb to it or, at worst, revolting against it. We must put emphasis on designing new marketing activities that engage with people’s behaviors, emotions and lifestyles in ways that help them and our clients.
To that end, design thinking and techniques can help us rethink marketing systems and structures and – possibly – redesign them from beginning to end around the “user.” This is genius and right on the button in my opinion.
And also Noah Brier’s Brand Tags project is neat along with it’s supporting blog and battle mode. It would appear that Lego is the current brand to beat.
An actual Zebra crossing
Anyone who has tried to cross the road in South America will know that Zebra crossings are just a complete waste of paint. And if you have been to Bolivia you will also know that they are possibly the worst drivers on the planet. However I loved this campaign in La Paz that consisted of people dressed up at Zebras trying to get cars to stop and pedestrians across the road safely. I hope they got danger money for that.
Posted in Bolivia, Campaigns of note, La Paz, travelling
The Jane-O-Meter
This is Jane, otherwise known as my beautiful other half (I don’t know why she insists on wearing this mask). One of the many things that I love about Jane is her straight talking, say it how it is attitude. Jane isn’t afraid to give her opinion on a whole host of issues. Most notably me leaving my socks lying around. So whenever an ad of note comes on TV I always listen to see what she blurts out. I never prompt her and she probably doesn’t even know I do it until now. I think it’s a good way of getting an anecdotal, objective opinion straight off the cuff.
Now there has been quite a few posts lately relating to the Cadburys Gorilla ad and Smirnoff’s airplane ad with many people arguing the whys and wherefores of each.
So I thought I would post how they scored on the Jane-O-Meter, who is a heavy consumer of both vodka and chocolate I might add…
Smirnoff Vodka
The blogosphere said this, this and this
The Jane-O-Meter said: “How random…I bloody love it”
Posted in Advertising, Cadbury, Campaigns of note, Planning, Random observations, Smirnoff, TV
Mickey sounds like an arse!
Watch the ad here
I like to think I’m a bloke that knows. And in my opinion every bloke that knows, knows a bloke like Mickey and probably thinks he’s a bit of a dick!
Cringe alert
The BBC has shown off its understanding of youth culture and social media by creating a ‘virtual desktop’ for one of their teen characters in Eastenders. After all: ‘Now Lucy’s parents have read her diary she wants to put her thoughts somewhere they won’t look – Online.’
I can’t even begin to rationalise it because I have no idea what they were thinking of. It’s bloody awful. At least they didn’t try and do it on Facebook I suppose.
If you really want a laugh have a look at Lucy’s videos.
Posted in BBC, Campaigns of note, Digital, Eastenders, Random observations
I’ve made the front page…
…of Marketing Direct
This magazine normally sits in the pile of things I’ll flick through if I have the time and to be honest, I very rarely get to this one. But while I was having a sort out I caught sight of my name literally plastered all over the front page.
It’s a great piece of personalised DM in my opinion and to be honest I agree with most of it. I am the best planner ever, I am cool and I should be Prime Minister. I’m not sure about loving Southampton though, only parts of it.
A campaign against warm beer
It’s all got a bit political on here of late so I thought I would lighten the mood.
I was intending to post about this after coming back from the IoW Festival in June, but I completely forgot until I was in a pub this weekend. But for those of you who have been to festivals over the last couple of summers it’s likely you would have experienced Carling’s campaign against warm beer. At various festivals Carling has been operating a Beer Amnesty. You can take any brand of warm beer to its tent and swap it for a nice cold Carling – even Tesco’s own value brand! Admittedly after three days drinking Carling it can get a bit too much but it’s a great example of a brand being generous.
It also seems quite fashionable these days for brands to adopt some kind of environmental or political position. Some of which are genuine, but often they’re too far detached from the product and people’s relationship with it. They are merely token gestures. So it’s nice to see Carling doing something small but massively relevant and helpful. There’s not much worse than drinking warm beer. OK, maybe global warming.
The Simpsons Movie
Matt Groening’s, The Simpsons Movie opens this Friday on the back of a huge promotional launch which has been taken to another level (and no I don’t mean Dane Bower’s house).
First of all there is the TV and print ads….
…then the trailer…
… and if you haven’t already created and downloaded your avatar from the slick site then what are you waiting for.Here’s me
There are some great promotional tie ups such as these two from Samsung and Xbox. 
But probably the greatest is 7 – Eleven turning a number of their stores in the US into actual versions of Springfield’s Kwik-E-Mart. Even Apu’s stock and uniforms have been replicated. The PR coverage and buzz it has created has been huge. The press have covered it, blogs have been created and images of the stores have made it on to Flickr.
and last but not least. Some PR agency has caused up roar in the UK as a 180ft chalk drawing of Homer Simpson was supposedly carved (more likely Photoshopped) next to the Cerne Abbas Giant in Dorset.
Posted in Advertising, Campaigns of note, Cinema, Digital, Experiential, PR, The Simpsons
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