Monday 31 December 2012

Wimpys Braille Burgers


As sad as it sounds one of the things I look forward to at christmas is getting books for my course, I cant justify spending my own money on them so its nice to get them as presents. This year I got the book Goodvertising, which is literally like an encyclopaedia of advertising. Ive already managed to read it back to back, and found so many new things. Starting with the Wimpys braille burgers.

Wimpys aim was to let visually impaired people know that they offered braille menus in all of their restaurants. So to spread the word with the help of Metropolitan Republic, they built braille burgers using the sesame seeds on the buns. Reading '100% pure beef burger made for you', they sent them to three of the biggest blind institutions in South Africa and let 15 blind people finally see what they were eating. When I read about this I instantly thought how powerful and simple the idea was, although as mentioned in the video it was only small gesture, its executed brilliantly and brought together with a genuinely moving video. Nice to see fast food chains finally doing something sincere with their marketing. 

Tuesday 18 December 2012

Its the motherhood, its another hood.


For a while now Ive been meaning to do a blog post but time has been limited with the large amount of work I have to do. And probably down to the fact that every time I sat down to write a post, I had nothing to write about. Listening to music on youtube I came across one advert I chose not to 'Skip' and actually watch. Known for their witty and funny approach to advertising, Fiat have released the Motherhood rap advert. Listing everything a mother has to go through from spending three months in pjs to swapping your sexy handbag to a snot stained sack, the advert features a range sharp lines with a catchy tune. Clearly targeting the everyday mum, Fiat barely promoted their car throughout the ad and focussed on appealing to a potential consumer. Really refreshing way for a car company to engage with its audience, hats off to Mother for creating what is being described as 'viral video gold'.


Tuesday 6 November 2012

War Child


As I started watching the video I felt like I could predict what was coming next, the machine gun hold ups, hidden land mines and the grenade explosions. But each scenario didn't quite play out how I expected. The bloodshed was replaced with crayons, bubbles and children's laughter followed by the campaign slogan, 'Where Childhood thrives, war does not'. Canadian ad agency, John St teamed up with the non profit organisation War Child to launch its new campaign 'Jam', which aims to raise awareness of the thousands of children affected by war globally. Every time I watch the video I cant help but feel relieved by its ending, with the combination of a powerful concept and stunning cinematography the campaign comes to life and creates an immediate impact. 

Monday 22 October 2012

#FirstWorldProblems


In a new advert for Water is Life, the charity features Haitian children and adults reading out tweets that used the #firstworldproblems hashtag. The 1-minute video features "complaints" such as "I hate it when my neighbors block their wifi." and "I hate when my phone charger won’t reach my bed". The video's concept of taking what has become a popular theme within social media and using it to expose the irony of the #FirstWorldProblems Twitter hashtag is brilliant. Not only does it make you cringe as they repeat the tweets you know you have posted this week, it makes you realise what is actually going on outside the not-so-crazy world of social media. DDB delivers one of the first campaigns that opts to eliminate the hashtag rather than encourage people to use it. What makes the whole campaign that bit more moving is the personalized responses in which various Haitians console those who have used the hashtag on Twitter. I think this is probably one of the best responses I have ever seen a charity create in order to raise awareness of those who are struggling to gain even their basic needs.

Sunday 7 October 2012

Helpless


For the past few months I have been exploring the ways in which brands use shock tactics to raise awareness and looking at how effective they are. This short film 'Helpless' is the definition of an extremely effective use of shock tactics. Telling the story of a man who's diagnosed with cancer, undergoes treatment, and lives, only to choke to death at a family gathering because no one knows basic first aid that could save his life. The campaign was developed after a recent study by St John's Ambulance discovered that over four times as many of us think more people die from cancer than a lack of first aid. St John Ambulance is now appealing to people to obtain a free pocket-sized guide featuring first aid skills that can help in the five life-threatening situations by texting HELP to 80039. The execution of the idea has been handled with such sensitivity whilst getting across the hard hitting statistic that 140,000 people a year die in situations where first aid could have helped. A very impressive approach to an issue that many people dont consider.

Monday 24 September 2012

Fitness First Bus Shelter



As I started to watch this video, I slowly realised what Fitness First had set out to do and Im not quite sure if it's worked in their favour. The bus shelter located in Rotterdam, boldly displays your weight using the scales built into the seats. Many people have argued how clever the advert is but the general reception is any company that has just publicly exposed your weight without your permission is not somewhere you want to spend your money. I cant decide whether I love it for the brilliant execution or hate it because if that was me I would be rather embarrassed. Although the idea is meant to be a motivational tool, I wonder if Fitness First considered those with eating dissorders and how it might effect them when they took a seat. I understand companies cant please everyone when they create an advert but it doesn't seem like they pleased anyone with this.

Monday 17 September 2012

This Is Nursing


The Royal College of Nursing launched their ‘This is Nursing’ campaign today which aims to promote the challenges and rewards that a career in nursing can bring. This short film displays the ups and downs of being a carer, whilst at the same time showing a patient’s journey through life. The RCN have said they wanted to challenge the negative publicity about the patient neglect and poor conditions, 'It’s time to celebrate the outstanding work nurses do on a daily basis, often in extremely difficult situations’. I personally think it’s nice to see a campaign supporting the NHS, especially as it shows the reality of modern day nursing and the skills needed to be part of this profession. I can’t say I spent much time in the hospital myself but this promotional video definitely gives a more positive vibe around the NHS and its services.

Thursday 13 September 2012

Olympic Torture Games




Yes, I know the Olympics are over and done with now but whether your bored of them or not I still seem to be finding more campaigns that I need to share. Although the Olympic adverts released this year have been pretty impressive, I did come across these Amnesty International torture campaigns that were designed in 2008 following the Beijing Olympics. The human rights organisation used popular sporting events and displayed them in a slightly less patriotic way, with the slogan reading ‘after the Olympic Games, the fight for human rights must go on’. Unfortunately for ad agency TBWA, the adverts were deemed too graphic to be released. I can understand that the use of the Olympics in this context might have been considered offensive, but it definitely gets the message across. Organisations like Amnesty struggle to compete against large corporate brands on a daily basis but when they produce such powerful imagery, I think it should be shared and not hidden.

Wednesday 8 August 2012

Fauxlympics







Unfortunately none of these adverts are officially supporting the Olympics, these adverts were designed for the Fauxlympics, a competition set by marketing company the Drum. Inviting all ‘creative athletes’ to help brands and agencies discover what will and won’t be allowed by LOCOG.

The competition was split into four catorgories:
The Sprint: Guerrilla ads that would be taken down faster than Usain Bolt can run 100 metres.
The Long Shot: Ads which probably should be allowed to run, but probably won’t.
The Hurdles: Ads which manage to get around the advertising rules.
The High Jump: Funny ads which break all the rules.

Here Ive selected a few of my favourites but there are endless amounts of humorous ideas, the entry date for the competition has already closed but voting continues until tomorrow night. To view more and to vote for your favourite visit http://www.facebook.com/thedrumpage

Sunday 5 August 2012

the boys

(all images from streetfsn)

 Feeling really uninspired with the high streets end of summer sales and limited new collections I looked endlessly through style blogs yesterday for some new inspiration. And it appears that the men of the streets are stealing the show. Covered in tattoos with their graphic prints, camouflage turn ups and modern tailoring its nice to see some alternative style emerging. Currently loving all things oversized its time for me to route through the mens collections and follow these guys with original pieces and laid back style. Would also love to know where these guys go in the spare time.


Wednesday 1 August 2012

David Beckham takes the stage


For a while now I’ve been banging on about how the use of celebrity endorsements is usually just a waste of money, however after seeing this video I take it all back. I don’t know if it’s my strong love for David Beckham or whether the idea itself is so simple but Adidas have definitely hit the nail on the spot with their ‘Take the stage’ campaign. Adidas invited people from around the country to support TeamGB in their photo booth at the London Olympics, but little did they know a guest visit from David Beckham was coming their way. It’s clear to see what an impact this endorsement had on the public, sometimes its just knowing how to use a celebrity to your full advantage.

Thursday 26 July 2012

Meet the Superhumans


Although many people living in London are dreading it, I’m quite looking forward to the start of the Olympics, in particular the Paralympics. Every time I turn on the TV I seem to catch same advert supporting the Paralympics ‘Meet the Superhumans’ campaign and each time it grabs my attention. I admire the way Channel 4 have portrayed the athletes and their approach to telling their stories. To me I feel a lot more interested and intrigued to watch the Parlalympics after the release of the campaign, and the idea of watching the ‘superhumans’. Director Tom Tagholm said, "We knew we had to make some noise. We knew we had to add some edge and grit and attitude.” The campaign has been a huge success, with critics saying ‘its put other Olympics adverts to shame’ and I think I have to agree.

Sunday 22 July 2012

Porn is moving





Slightly crude but still love this. Great way to let viewers know that internet porn was moving to the new .xxx domain, playful work from M&C Saatchi.

Saturday 14 July 2012

vending trending



I originally started writing this post on the latest BOS Iced tea vending machine campaign and the term 'vending trending'. But when I researched the different ways vending machines are being used in marketing I found Unicefs Dirty Water campaign. We have all seen the adverts on tv about developing countries having to drink dirty water but when the people of New York were presented with the same dirty water, it finally hit home. With the choice of 'Hepatitas water' and 'Typhoid Water' priced at $1 many people got involved and helped to donate. With the alternative option to text, one dollar could provide a child with 40 days of clean water. The campaign was a huge success and spread online and offline around the world.

I think its easy to be impressed by brands like Coke and BOS for their attempt to create a cool marketing vending machine but when organisations like Unicef create lifechanging machine they deserve a lot more recognition. Unicefs approach was subtle, it got the hard hitting fact across that the consumption of clean water is still an issue world wide whilst collecting donations in the process.

Sunday 8 July 2012

the power of Youtube



Anyone who has a blog knows that it takes a lot of reading and searching through websites for inspiration, today I read through a lot of rubbish but eventually I found this. Ad agency BBH created a short tutorial on 'how to look your best the morning after' but the video is not quite the make up advice you'd expect. The ametuer style video shows an abused women giving tips on how to cover up any bruising and cuts with the help of make up and the use of accessories. As soon as I realised what the video was supporting I was taken back by the idea. Combining the simple concept of Youtube tutorials with the message 'Dont cover it up' has such a strong impact. Its not an easy issue to tackle but its possibly one of my favourite ads of seen in a while.

Sunday 1 July 2012

mobstr.








“If you keep your mouth shut people will always underestimate you” – Mobstr

Named after his pet lobster, the London based street artist Mobstr is known for his hilariously witty typographic interventions sprawled across walls and billboards. Solely using typography to get his views across, Mobstr targets public spaces in cities to demonstrate his opinion on the overwhelming use of advertising. Sarcastic and straight to the point, his minimalist style appears to be grabbing the right attention, even if it is from us ‘bloggers’. Its nice to see a new style appearing within street art, especially when its challenging the authenticity of advertising and prompting the viewer to question their relationship with public environments.

To view more of his work visit
http://mobstr.org/

Tuesday 26 June 2012

Moving Day





Ikea has been acknowledged for its interactive stunts over the years, but most recently they have won a North American Gold Effie for “Moving Day”. Due to the number of leases ending on June 30th, many people are required to move house on July the 1st, with this in mind Ikea launched an experimental campaign providing people with boxes for their move. Printed with moving tips, check lists and discounts on furniture, the boxes could even be transformed into a chair for moments of exhaustion. Placed around Quebec, the boxes were hung flat on walls and designed to be the hardest working posters yet.

 Ikea considered peoples desire to return to a time when neighbour helped neighbour, by offering a small helping to hand to get them through stressful times. Their aim was to guide all those feeling a sense of disorganized desperation to a state of composed and organized optimism. Seeing Ikea communicate with its customers in such a supportive way shows that the brand wants to further build its relationships not just sell products.

For Ikea, the sales increase from the ‘cardboard box’ campaign was the equivalent to building, stocking, and opening an additional 300,000 sq. foot store in that market. A clearly successful, thoughtful and surprisingly useful campaign designed by Leo Burnet Toronto.

Thursday 21 June 2012

Gottwood









So working for a music magazine definitely has its perks, one of them being free tickets to festivals, in particular Gottwood. Ive been working as a graphic designer for the music based magazine Movement for the past two weeks which features articles on Hideout, Louche, Garden Festival and Gottwood Festival. To say thanks they offered me two free weekend passes to Gottwood Festival in Wales. With Disclosure, Huxley, Bondax, Apogee and many more headlining its set to be a good weekend, let just hope the weather gets a bit better.

To read more on this festival and up and coming events this summer
check out Movement Magazine here


Wednesday 20 June 2012

Who cares?





When the Swedish armed forces needed to recruit more young people, they decided to create a campaign that would test how far people are willing to go for one another. The digitally intergrated event consisted of one person sitting in a box until someone replaced them. The question was: Who cares? Every hour a door would open, and if someone else was there to take their place, they could leave.

The campaign directed people towards a live-streamed website where they could follow the person in the box in real time via 4 different cameras. But visitors to the site could do absolutely nothing to help him. Unlike many other social campaigns no like or tweet could save them. The only way to help was to physically take the place yourself.

With nearly double the applicants, the campaign was clearly successful as people all over city visited to take part. I think what I like the most about this idea was that it went against many social networking campaigns, and insisted that you physically got involved. It’s not an easy thing to have to promote but I think they have approached it in a really memorable and unusual way.

Tuesday 19 June 2012

Visitnorway.com




As the video explains commuting the same route every day is exhuasting and reptitive but what if there was a way to entertain people whilst riding the subway. Visitnorway.com had the idea to use in-tunnel advertising, mounting multiple LED screens on the tunnel walls displaying scenic Noway imagery. With every screen perfectly aligned to each passenger window, it creates an enjoyable animation promoting Visitnorway.com. This idea has the ability to reach out to millions of passengers each day, its not the first time this type of outdoor medium has been used but its one of the most effective I have seen.

Thursday 14 June 2012

Obsession





For this year’s annual AAF Dallas ADDY awards, TM Advertising created ads that celebrate the ‘obsessive’ advertising professional. The nine short videos that define the life of an advertising creative are brilliant. Ive sat through and watched every one and these are my favourite, short, witty and definitely worth a watch.

Tuesday 12 June 2012

Nike building twist



To work for a company like Nike, your ideas need to be one off, unique and never done before. I think its safe to say I’ve never seen this done before. Using projection mapping, the ‘Building Twist’ campaign was controlled by a Nike trainer that was wired up with pressure sensors and plugged into an Arduino board. This allowed users to literally twist a building like you can the shoe, demonstrating the trainer’s main feature of flexibility. I have to say it is a pretty cool interactive experience but I’m not sure how much it sells the trainers or whether it just shows how much money Nike have to waste on stunts like these. I enjoy reading about the different ways big brands like Nike engage with their audience but I cant help but feel they very rarely sell their products anymore, they sell campaigns.

Wednesday 6 June 2012

depressed copywriters







I recently discovered a group of copywriters who have decided to pretty much go against all current marketing and twist its original meaning. By placing scraps of paper over the ads with either a witty slogan or a humorous line, the group known as the ‘Depressed Copywriters’ have thrown a spanner into the copywriting industry. Reading through their Tumblr, I am a huge fan of their work, I love what they do and how they do it. It maybe considered as slightly cynical but I personally think its intellectual on a whole new level. It makes you realise how much we crap we are fed to believe, and how changing a few words can reveal a completely different message. Clever stuff from Chris Sheldon, Mariana Oliveira, Whitney Ruef and Tedd Wood.
View more - http://www.depressedcopywriter.com

Monday 4 June 2012

Dream Job

Finally finished university for the summer and couldn’t be happier. My lack of posting was mainly due to my never-ending workflow towards the last few weeks, in particular my portfolio. One of the briefs set was to think of a way to grab the attention of a dream employer. With advertising being the career I intend of venturing into, I considered the ways in which I could stand out to creative director Damon Collins who previously worked for Y&R Advertising.

In order to grab his attention, I researched his interests and hobbies and discovered he has a strong love for Nike trainers, as he owns 47 pairs. With this in mind I suggested sending him a pair of paper Nike trainers designed by the illustrator David Brownings, with nothing but a QR code placed on the shoebox lid. The limited branding and lack of explanation aimed to intrigue Damon into scanning the QR code, which would then lead him straight to my online portfolio.

Understanding who you are targetting can make things a whole lot easier.

Saturday 19 May 2012

KKK

Currently bogged down by the ridiculous amount of uni work I have at the minute, I have been looking into the shock tactics that PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) enforce to gain media attention. Generally impressed by their passionate approaches, I was more than shocked when I read about the organisation dressing up as the KKK outside the Westmister Dog Show. PETA dressed in white sheet-like clothing to evoke the presence of the KKK, the protesters claimed that the American Kennel Club wee attempting to build a master race of pure-breed dogs and by doing so is unhealthy to all dogs. The controversial stunt gained tons of publicity which was exactly PETA’s aim, but I can’t say I agree with the comparison and I actually find the organisation quite inconsiderate comparing the two. Until the Westminster Dog show starts to lynch and burn dogs at the stake, Ill choose not to support such a ridiculous campaign.

Thursday 10 May 2012

text and collect.




If I liked coffee I would be even more impressed than I already am with Zipwhip’s new text enabled espresso machine. Exclusivley for Zipwhip’s offices only, the machine allows you to text your choice of coffee and by the time you get to work your coffee is made. Pretty impressive, but it doesn’t stop there, it then prints out the last three digits of your mobile number in edible ink to ensure you collect the right drink. I have to admit I had never even heard of Zipwhip before I saw this video, but its definitely a good way to get themselves noticed, and with over 12,000 views already they're not doing a bad job.

Wednesday 9 May 2012

Indifferenti






When it comes to branding we are all aware of the multinational companies in the industry but what would happen if you were to combine the unexpected? A project brought to you by Tommaso Guerra,‘Indifferenti’ merges six company logos, arch enemies of their business and demonstrates the way in which they would sit together. When you look at each one you cant help but think how well it works. If it is this easy to adapt, you have to ask the question of what a logo really means.

You think differently, just like Tommaso Guerra intended.