Came across this fascinating site for amateur photographers: Woophy. Plonking photos on maps is hardly new but this does it with such style and grace it draws you in. My only gripe being the colour while a logical choice (the world = Green) I find it not a little unsettling, all those years of colour theory coming back to haunt me either that or the Dutch collection behind it have been getting way too mellow.
The new St Pancras looks stunning, although it should be said with only a handful of weeks left before opening there is a lot still to do, as evidenced by a huge number of scurrying blokes in Hi-Vis jackets seen today. The new St Pancras branding I am not so sure about. The building is so stunning, has such history (Spice Girls launch included) The new branding leaves me a little cold. The agency behind it Brand Story have really worked it so maybe its one of those sleepers of a design.
I find large railway stations deeply romantic, something about sudden travel and impulsive actions. I've travelled most of Europe by train and despite our best efforts to get everyone off to the States via MAXjet trans-continental train journeys still have a lot to offer.
This week have been spending a lot of time explaining our new agency's 'specialist' positioning and why it makes us different. Today central Scotland is grid-locked by 1000's of escaped chickens roaming a motorway following a lorry crash. Best bit? The Police spokesman who said 'specialist chicken catches' were at the scene! -where did they get them from? is there some secret group of chicken catching ninja's hold up waiting for the call. ready to spring into action and clear our roads of marauding fowl. What is the betting the local pubs have all got roast chicken specials this week?
Well a year banging on about brands, digital and marketing seems to have paid off. I have officially become part of t7F London as a partner and Creative Director. We have spent the last few months sorting out what the compnay stands for and what its point of difference is. A base version of our new creds is HERE. Its is all very exciting and lots happening right now, including trying to sort out a New York offering/office/desk. Robert my new partner seems happy to be swept along with it all -my perfect straight man!
With all the fun and games going on at my old agency Hicklin Slade the traffic on this site has gone through the roof - almost 10,500 unique this month!
-To prove you should never give up t7F London is the third agency I have helped launch.
Can i really be bothered to wait? I want the site open NOW! -A huge conundrum for media rich sites is the rather A.D.D nature of most online audiences, me included. There are a whole host of funny/interesting solutions to the 'PLEASE WAIT LOADING' message, albeit often on the gimmicky side that don't reward a second viewing. So a big 'good work fella' to the gang at Sadowski Interactive for incorporating a game of pong. details make for audience loyalty every time.Hicklin Slade & Partners the sadness lingers on?
In 2004 I was forced to leave the agency I helped found; Hicklin Slade & Partners. The relationship between myself and my partner Justin Hicklin had broken down to the point of crisis. The driving force to all our woes being money or rather a lack of cash in the business. Today's news of our ex-Financial Director (Sharon Bridgewater )being convicted of a £2 Million fraud against Hicklin Slade & Partners is a bitter coda to the whole affair.
I have always said the future is the answer. The past being stuff that happened. But boy, today is a tough reminder of quite what was left behind in that whole sorry mess of 2004.
What lessons have I learnt from my downfall at Hicklin Slade & Partners? - well apart from the obvious of not appointing convicted fraudsters as your FD (In mitigation she was appointed by our auditors Kingston Smith, who one would of thought need to study there recruitment criteria a bit more)
Slade's Six lessons for any Creative Director going on the board
1. Which Business partners? - You are going to spend more time with them than your partner/wife/children. have some values in common, because when it all hits the fan you will need points of reference to each others private worlds.
2. Why are you getting into business together? Again during total melt down you will find the needs of school fees & divorces clash mighty with agency ideals and creative standards.
3. What does the business mean to you? Call it sad, but at the time the Hicklin Slade brand was the most important thing in my life, ever. We had built it from scratch, together. Why would anyone ever consider breaking it up? Losing it was like a death in the family.
4. Could you step away from success? (see above) In my new role as consultant I often advise companies in crisis to consider a pause or at the very least letting senior directors go on sabbaticals while a fresher team focus on a fight back strategy. But as Seth Godin has so recently pointed out, sometimes you have to quit. Its simply the smarter move.
5. Never stop learning. Everything you do builds on what you could archive tomorrow. Joe Strummers mantra of The Future is unwritten must be used to mend any broken hearts. It took me the best part of two years to get over losing Hicklin Slade. But what drove me on was the excitement of tomorrow and what 'might be'
6. Can you add Perspective? Advertising is just mucking about with peoples buying habits. No one dies. OK Sharon stole £2 million quid from us, but at the time we didn't know we had it. I felt like killing my partners and there misguided advisors when i was forced out. But the relationship was over.
Today? well I still don't talk to Justin Hicklin or Matthew Brown but Hicklin Slade is still going, They are now run by Mark Runacus, a really top chap. Me? A bunch of consultancy clients and a new role as CD of a small agency called t7F London.
Never give up.
It has been said that on the whole American advertising lacks the subtle touch found in Europe, well i do agree in general its just sometimes you need to get to the point. This billboard on the way out to JFK is one such work of brevity i can't fault.Sat in the apple store NY in the middle of a manic 48 hours in Manhattan. 5 meetings, a bit of shopping and the most random collection of events ever. Best so far, unknown to me lost my blackberry in the back of a cab very late the other night. woke up with calls from England checking i'm ok. A white Knight had found my phone, called the last few numbers in the address book to try and find me. The White Knight? Tall, blond, works for a hedge fund, she was charm personified - New York tales, you just couldn't make it up. 
Getting close to your clients product is very important for any creative. Having an all business class airline as a client does have certain advantages until the matter of a fleet of only four 767's leaves you at Stansted, due to there being no spare.
oh well perhaps its not ment to be. flight cancelled, meeting off, back to London
The online world seems cool with flexible ideas regarding copyright. The automotive industry (outside of kit cars) has never really faced such dilemma until now.
Much talk in the motoring press at present about Chinese Car makers copying western models. Michelin's newsletter has a good overview HERE. Shuanghuan are the company of the moment with the BMW X5 look-a-like called the CEO. Everything seemed ok while the cars were only sold in China but now plans are afoot to export them suddenly everyone's getting very excited. Honda appeared first off the blocks a few years ago pulling legal moves on a CRV-a-like weirdly called the Laibao.
My favorite (!) is less a copy more a rebirth. The delightfully named Roewe is indeed a Rover 75 first seen in Europe in 1999. Apart from being ludicrously cheap i really can't see any brand benefits.
We have just had a demo of the music discovery mash-up we're planning for one of the 7th floor clients. really rather full on,
if all goes to plan it should be something rather special. In the mean time a few things that caught my eye that are actually up and running (beta nonsense notwithstanding) One Llama sweet music discovery and play list maker neat share via Facebook tool. Speaking of which came across Ning a build yourself facebook type private communities tool. good graphics and a starting point for a number of mash up ideas. Finally Twittervision design by David Troy is a fantastic bit of time wasting. A Google earth Globe spinning while Twitter icons appear showing the slacker world in action, excellent.
This is a heart warming Japanese TV spot. Kids are a bit of an easy call when a corporate brand wants to make a statement about seeing things different.In this case Japan / whales / ad council mmmm But just like the epic Lego 'box' commercial this still works so well.
You just would won't you? the new ipod range including the touchfeely (not iphone) touchpod, I still get really rather childishly excited by new stuff and this is no exception. A smart brand doing smart things (mm Starbucks tie up aside)
The smoking ban has seen a rush to the pavements from all corners of society's puffers. The Royal British Legion on Lavender Hill can be seen embracing European cafe culture like no other. The detailing in using cones to mark out there territory is rather charming. Truly an inviting location.
Sharing an office with a bunch of media planners means you can get an insight into the finer points of the perfect placement. However, as this rather amusing site I'm bored by Christian Lin shows awareness of the real world counts over any demographicgooglemapmashupoverlaywith%buyingpower examples HERE
How to sell a TV production brand. Oh my, did the boys and girls at HBO have fun with someone else's money (BBDO and Big Spaceship spending between them $7 - 10 million to get it done) THIS is the most amazing use of cross media to push a media brand i've seen. Everything from street screenings, blogs, faq, even phone numbers plus of course youtube previews. What I really like is that it could so easily have been a cliptastic experience but has ended up as an exercise in lateral utilisation of the media platforms its broadcasted on. HBO as a brand in the UK is so linked to certain key shows, but here you get much more a sense of what the brands values are. Detail, Realism, Risk and audience reward. While i have seen notes about Voyeur on other sites, big thanks to Ashley Ringrose at Bannerblog for a fullsome review of the idea.
The 200 most successful websites on the web, ordered by category, proximity, success, popularity and perspective. mmm very Friday friendly bit of research time killer. Very very cool interactive version here Found on the Information Architects site; map by Oliver Reihenstein. via a link from Greg Verdino blog, which in turn came via Charles Arthers blog -(championship level WILFing today)
Already posted on the jolly excellent All The 7th Floors
Fed up with your neighbours using your broadband connection? find passwords passe? try this. code HERE. turns the images files upside down and back to front. Genius. Thank ex-parrot for taking the time to work it all out.
I always think subjugating brands is a good sport*, and a good test of a the brands resolve to with stand such attacks, but this is one of the first I have seen for a whole service.
* = That highly questionable VW agency gag HERE. Not the Australian Tourist board HERE
or go HERE for the full 1976 > 2007 pictorial mac progress which you then can't help plotting your own career against via the machines you have used. A real joy. Big thanks to Edwin Tofslie for taking the time to do it