Finished my duties in Dublin on Saturday, a great bunch of people who really believed in the power of good work - in fact the debate amongst the judges is still raging via email as I type. Currently sitting in the MAXjet lounge at Stansted waiting to go to New York to begin a rather intensive six day shoot. Made all the more fun by restrictions of time, budget and access.
Lovely full motion
I am some thing of a sucker for video based navigation.
This promotional site for the new Nokia N95 is pretty cool.Based around a fictional tailor Henry Needle & Sons and his amazing pockets, Psion did a similar gag many years ago, but without the wit and humour on show here.
Update on 2007-03-27 09:08 by Philip
I forgot to point out that the normally very cold corporate communications of the Nokia brand were being soften by some rather good use of disruption media. The on-line brand ads for this phone were accessed via links on both Popbitch and Holy Moly, nice media buying to find the eternally inquisitive. The Nokia brands music festival activity is also sort of well executed featuring as it does in both UK and European marketing awards this year, so the obvious question is why does all sense of adventure and innovation desert them when they execute in-store work?
Judge Slade
In Dublin for a couple of days helping to judge APMC the Irish Promotional Marketing Awards. Day one over and quite taken by some of the work I have seen. There is quite a bit of 'almost' brilliant projects. either great ideas and rather sloppy execution, or eye popping art direction with no soul or idea to back it up. Still another day tomorrow to find the show winner.
HD chef
Had a very long day last Thursday filming a remarkably unflappable Antony Worrill Thompson. Was amazed by the results, we shot on HD video with an incredible Director of Photography who has made the whole thing look like 35mm film. Today we saw the first edits and I really am staggered by HD capabilities. Busy week ahead.
What seems like ages ago i wrote a bunch of scripts for a new range of household cleaners. I don't do that much TV work so its quite a treat that after rather drawn out BACC approvals suddenly the time is upon us to shoot one. We have just done the final location reccie and Thursday is shoot day. The best bit of being a 'Consultant' to a number of brands is that life is really very varied right now. Tricky for a job title but good for the soul.
I am very nervous about Thursday. There is a lot to consider. Its a premium brand that needs the right 'feel' One of the investors is a celebratory chef and the script we are shooting is written around his wife. We are shooting on location in his new house that he only moved into 10 days ago (the builders are very much still in residence) what else? oh yeah, two of the cast are children, still the catering should be good.
Spare five minutes?
I've been using Stumble on! these past few weeks. Its a fab little application that can sit in the Firefox toolbar . 
It finds sites it thinks you might be interested and randomly fires them into your browser. There is a neat little community feature where you can access other peoples recommendations. Has separate video and image 'find' features. Seemly aimed at the hyperactive like myself, got a spare five minutes? Hit Stumble and bang! something from the blind corner of the web pops up, strangely appropriate to your life. weird but rather fun. Perfect web tool.
PS3 almost geek launch
The Sony Playstation3 launch (TBWA) seems to be spot on brand. Bringing as it does existing technologies together to make an easier to understand whole. I like the fact Sony appear to have mashed Second Life with Flickr meets The Sims linking to cinema and broadcast messages. Or rather the last 18 months tech' highlights for those who couldn't previously be bothered. Launch press HERE. Bit about the ads from Brand Republic HERE. tech insights to it HERE.
Trendy Vicars
'Like a vicar dancing at the school disco' has long been a phrase to describe out of touch communications. Saw this amazing site today from a youth church in Seattle. pretty dam fine work all in all.
Does make you wander what a pray based 2.0 app' might perform. Not withstanding the amount of praying that takes place every time an ad runs past the deadline.
Its been built on the expression engine platform from ellis lab, my chum Bill reckons this rocks compared with standard blogging apps. There is a really informative blog about it HERE.
Energy & Passion
Great start to the day, running a brainstorm for a fab PR agency: Clarke Mulder Purdie. I have been helping them plan for
there future, its a great outfit, 3 years old, full of beans and great ideas gunning for the next stage in there development. A really exciting project that should mature in the next couple of years.
Unfortunately it is true that most agencies that talk of change/next level/moving on etc, really don't have the will for real change, only getting as far as a new logo and web site before running out of steam.
Flash for sale.
Mix Flash 8 with wide spread broadband low cost access and suddenly you are seeing some really neat ideas about menu interfaces and homepage design.
Alex Frank from Essen in Germany did THIS, as part of his final year diploma in Communication Design.
Wildcard in Japan have done THESE amazing intuitive line animations.
Taeko Onuki's fan site designed by Wildcard is worth a look (takes awhile to see it all)
Not able to think of anything original? buy THIS. instant flash site's to reskin from $145
But does your web site need to inform or to excite? do you even need anything more than a mono blog if up to date information is the only reason your on the web in the first place? I feel many brands have lost some focus over the crucial question of what part online communications play within a marketing mix.
A fully featured site can do many things, some of them incredibly whizzy. Classic question really, just because you can, should you?
Consumer Insight
I was asked to answer a few questions about consumer insight today. My answers are HERE.
With so much open source information (i.e. stats and slides etc) there appears to be quite a debate about the role of traditional market research for brands. Market research can appear so dull, but mixed with hunch based analysis often derived from immersion amongst an audience and bingo! real energy and excitement following what could be a whole new insight into behaviour. You might not be right but its a hundred times more fun than studying excel sheets.
Volvo C30 dull DM, great online.
I got a second Volvo C30 mailer the other day. It annoyed me, I couldn't quite work out why. The Volvo brand does come 
with something of a bumper set of matching baggage. But looking past that, what is wrong with this piece of communication? The yellow and green colour scheme is cold and grates, but its the copy that I found so off putting. Do I believe I will '..avoid crushing disappointment..' if i don't arrange a test drive, er no. Plus the '..its going quick..' pun about limited edition sports cars is as old as the hills.
What shows it up so much is that the the online communication is fab. very interactive, fun, tongue in cheek and most of all informative. The obvious answer appears two different agencies were involved. Its nuts in this day and age to waste resource in such a manner. Especially when the ideas online would make amazing mailings. 
Volvo have done some really innovative marketing in there time, One of my favorites being the Volvo estate converted into a racing car (that won races). Even the recent TV has been good.
The Volvo C30 is such a quirky car that appears to drive well. Why settle for such bland direct marketing?
Recycled junk emails
John cancelled lunch today so I had an idle surf around while enjoying desk based catering. Found this amazing site that recycles spam emails into animated art, lots of fab little details like the moving wires on the menu. Quite hypnotic in a weird way. Would be a great interface for an FAQ or 'Ask us' sections on a commercial site.
Update on 2007-02-21 13:33 by Philip
- as ever forgot to share where the link for the German spam recycling above came from. All thanks to Netdiver for that.
Execution in search of a campaign
I am currently searching for a photographer (s) for a large scale shoot featuring still life and people. The plus point being there are loads photographers around, the down side being not whether some one can turn out the job to budget, more what can be added to crate a unique visual equity.
Kevin pointed out this amazing set of shots from the French photographer Denis Darzacq. Strangely peaceful almost totally tranquil pictures of young people caught mid air. The pictures are so eye catching it's crying out for a campaign for...well...not sure actually, trainers are a bit obvious, maybe chewing gum (as in dropped on the floor) or maybe the sound of something being so shocking it makes you flip mmm. -They could just be fab pics to be enjoyed of course. 
Update on 2007-02-21 09:49 by Philip
OK, OK, as was pointed out last night, yes while it is important to have an identifiable photographic style for a launch campaign. You do need an original idea to start with. I would just like to say we have a cracker (or two)
Do you get excited?
Wow, really weird conversation today with a chum high up in another agency. The chat revolved around whether you get excited by or in work. You see I do -a lot, but, it seems he doesn't. well not any more. He was very happy with doing a good job and pleasing the Europeans (his paymasters) its just his new house and impending holiday were much more what was getting his pulse racing. I don't know why I was so shocked by this, I just was. I get very involved in what I do, some times deeply, deeply involved, its more than a job its a passion.
But is it wrong to be a creative and 'just do a good job' mmm properly not, I guess I am not quite at the buying a spread in Wiltshire stage of my career (being skint not withstanding)
I am going to write more on this soon - The excitement of creation versus the management of creative progression.
Whats the point of a blog?
'What's the point of blogging?' was today's random question. well for me it was two fold, I started one to not only prove to a client how easy it was to set one up but to also provide a platform for my thinking at a time I was going through some thing of a crisis in my career. My worklife not yet sorted but getting there, bit like this blog. 
Gwen has a most amazing blog that is a real point of difference, Pages of her life. Thanks to Richard Weston via Paul Coleman for finding it
Big presentation
Its done! massive presentation yesterday. 20 people in a room 9 till 3.30, far too much coffee but I got to do a manic bit of arm waving that seemed to do the trick, aided by a killer idea (Thanks Kelvin/Kevin) and £500 worth of polyboard (thanks to 24hr Kinko). But the best bit of the day had to be the view out of the windowUpdate on 2007-02-14 22:47 by Philip
Actually a bit of self promotion is needed here (its a blog after all) We presented two fab new campaigns based on my brief, insights, ideas and scamps. The beauty of the finished design was the work of the power house that is Kevin Mura and the most readable copy the efforts of Kelvin Tillinghurst. A great team effort.
On line retail
Just brought a rather fab new Crumpler bag (Aus site, very er Aus), the on-line purchasing experience was as ever rather less than fab. (See below) But by chance came across this amazing shopping site along the way called Shop Composition. Based in Colorado. Eye popping menu and product display, a real joy to use, simple, clear and easy.
If you do want a cheap Crumpler (UK site, very 2.0) by the way, a brilliant tip I got was to ignore bag retailers and go for IT geek suppliers who don't have the client base that pay 'style' prices. All praise to Memory Card Zoo, slightly dodgy over animated site but extremely speedy service and a fantastic price.
On the subject of bags I still think the recycled freitag designs are excellent. The web site is a whole world of interaction and 
customer power as you design your own bag from used truck tarpaulin. My only worry is the thought of all those young swiss designers hanging round lorry parks late at night. The chap on the home page only adds to my concerns.
Snow stops London (again)
The answer to putting together presentations during inclement weather is to only hire designers who live within walking distance of the office. Step forward Kevin & Mark, fantastic! we're plowing ahead while all around us grinds to a halt. There is the small issue of the clients not actually being able to make it in to see the work, but that's a minor point.
Update on 2007-02-08 23:02 by Philip
Genius editing
Its often said the best Creative Directors can edit a wall of paper down to a line of copy, you just so rarely see it done.
Michael Pollan writing in the New York Times has managed to take the last 30 years worth of research into eating disorders and condensed it into one line. Brilliant.
Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.
Michael Pollan, a contributing writer, is the Knight professor of journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. His most recent book, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” was chosen by the editors of The New York Times Book Review as one of the 10 best books of 2006.