Advertising/Marketing - the good, the bad and the ugly

Engaging the viewers

Nowadays you see a vast amount of adverts that simply just don't engage the viewer. With ever decreasing budgets, it's NOW even more important that advertisers attract the attention of the viewers.

I came across these two very interesting platform, courtesy of our friends at Trendunter.
1. Create your own TV Commercials - Virgin wants to know 'what happens next?
Virgin have come up with a campaign to conincide with one of their campaigns that allows you to get your ad on TV. Deadline for submission is 31 August 08 so get creative.
&
2. Create your own games - Playcrafter.com
Playcrafter is a free site that allows the viewer to design, build and customise games.

MapJack

Came across this fantastic Google earth / map alternative earlier. Called MapJack you can immerse yourself in a city. Check it out here.

Eisenbahn Strong Golden Ale. When we say strong beer, we mean it

Fantastic idea... ads probably come to life when your pissed!

Thanks to ads of the world for the spot.
















Agency: CCZ Comunicação, Curitiba, Brazil
Creative Director: Gilson Genez
Art Director: Pericles M. Kwiatkowski
Copywriter: Thiago Bernardi
Released: January 2008

Diageo - drinking campaign

A nice campaign for Diageo by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO that tries to get the point across of responsible drinking. There becomes a point that turns a fun night of drinking into a regrettable one. Hang on - what happens if you get laid?? I'll leave that one for the puriest.


























The tagline of “A Night to Remember ? Or One to Forget ?” uses scenarios of how drinking too much can ruin your night.

Read the article here.
Reminds me of a night out in Brighton.

Self-promotion (spec work)

There's nothing quite like a bit of self-promotion!

Please not this is just spec work. The photography comes courtesy of flickr. However, the copy and idea is all mine.































Excuse my art direction... that's not my strong point.

Olympikus Tube - Full Shock Absorption

Fantastic illustrative work here... very impressed.
















See more work of Olympikus by clicking here

Advertising Agency: DCS, Porto Alegre, Brazil
Creative Directors: Roberto Callage, Regis Montagna
Art Director: Rafael Bohrer
Copywriter: Tiago Mattos
Illustrator: Casulo
Photographer: Claudio Menghetti
Published: February 2008

Hovis soft bread - 'the softest thing since slice bread'

Simple but effective. Need I say anymore!











Advertising Agency: McCann-Erickson London, UK
Art Director: Ben Brazier
Copywriter: Johnny Skinner
Photographer: Kevin Summers
Published: May 2008

Nip Tuck - analyse beauty

Being a big fan of the programme, I was very excited about Nip Tuck's launch of goldenration on Facebook. A fantastic viral campaign! Launched to promote not only the programme but its new channel (FX). Golden Ration lets people evaluate how close they come to aesthetic perfection.

Golden Ration technology analysez uploaded photographs and calculates facial beauty.

I guess the idea is to uncover the most beautiful face on Facebook. High vanity but very clever - exactly Nip Tuck.

Check out the application here.

Fresh & Green

Well finally it's here. A whole year after originally shot, the client; Fresh & Green and their TV ad, that I worked on, has aired on our television screens. Doesn't it look great! Fresh & Green are a company going places!

Fashion industry boom

The fashion industry is constantly evolving, both in terms of seasonal trends and the advertising that sits beside it.

It just so happens I was reading an article in the Metro this morning about ‘debt build up’ of the middle class society, due to a burning need to fund their lavish lifestyles. An interesting article. Ok, this is partly fuelled by the credit crunch, which we know could/has serious repercussions on our economy, but for the fashion industry, this will NOT!

We live in a society where we perceive ourselves to be better than we are. We want to be seen wearing the latest celebrity look, hanging out in the trendiest bars (where a vodka and “water downed” coke, served by an arrogant waiter, costs £15), driving fast cars and lapping up the rays in Monaco.

For as long as there are magazines on our shelves, and websites showcasing the latest celebrity catwalk trends, there will always be millions of people prepared to go to any lengths (like maxing out their 4 credit cards), to get their hands on their prize possession; the new Gucci handbag.

Nose Knows Consulting - the nose knows where the nose goes

I came across a new form of marketing - scent marketing.  Everyday our senses capture different smells and according to research this makes smell the most effective to influence emotion. Which leads me onto Nose Knows Consulting - a Canadian company that takes the characteristics of a brand and produces a scent.

Courtesy of Trendhunter“Scent design is really simple – we create a scent that compliments the design principles! An average person smells over 10,000 aromas daily – Nose Knows Consulting offers a service that captures a specific smell for psychological, emotional and physical enjoyment,” Nose Knows explains.

The most sought after box on the planet

A new phenomena called sexvertising and quite possibly the best tag line I seen - The most sought after box on the planet. Great product placement. Just what the hell is it? Apparently it's a body building supplement called Gaspari Nutrition recently displayed inside Iron Man fitness magazine. But we don't care about that. Her name is Marzia Prince - a bikini clad famous fitness model and the 2007 Ms. “Bikini Universe” Wow!!

FREE love

This month’s new trend; FREE LOVE, is a really interesting trend. The trend is about the ongoing rise of ‘free stuff’, and brands already making the most of it.

FREE LOVE is fuelled by many reasons including:

• The consumer’s need for a bargain
• The online world
• Decreasing costs of products like Ryanair

Click here to view March’s latest trend. Whilst there are many free sites out there, the one that most struck me was FreeHand Advertising – a US company that distributes free notepaper to students on their way to classes. Every page of the notepad is branded with a banner ad at the to of the page. The best part is – your ad will be visible for at least the duration of a college lecture, and longer if students refer back to their notes (as they should). Simple ideas are always the best ideas!

Calvin Klein and Eva Eva

I'm shaking in my boots just thinking about Eva Eva Mendes. Wow... week at the knees, can't stand up, short of breath and sweating like a pig. What would I pay to be that CK top right now?

Anyway, enough of my drooling! She's just a stint in rehab... you would have thought this would have damaged her reputation, but it appears this is not the case. Eva's only been signed up by CK as the new face of their perfume.

Tom Murray, the president and CEO of Calvin Klein, "We are trying to get across that these new products are for fuller busted, shapelier kinds of women." Tom's obviously been watching Colleen's Real Women.

A lack of CREATIVITY

I have long thought that the advertising industry is lacking creativity. Either creatives nowadays at ad agencies are going back to their mentors for advice or the retired are getting off their deathbeds to show the 21st century creatives a 'how to in creativity.' An article by Lucy Tesseras of MAD echoes this very point.

No ordinary Tony Montana aka. Scarfaca

Apologies... I've been rather slow on blogging recently. During my browsing this am I came across this fantastic poster of the one and only Tony Montana from Scarface. However, this is no ordinary poster. If you look closer you will notice this poster is created entirely with letters. This technique used to create the poster is called micrography and the poster was created using the film’s entire script from the 1983 film.
 

MyDeco - create your own interior

I came across this fantastic design application earlier today called MyDeco. A website that allows you to play virtual interior designer with your real home.

You can choose anything from tiles to carpets to wallpaper colours. Check it out here.

Montage-a-Google

Stumbled across this fantastic application earlier “Montage-a-Google” by Grant Robinson. Simply enter a search term and Google will grab twenty images ad arrange them in a montage grid. A twist is to play Guess the Google. See if you can guess the search term that created the montage.

How to... be CREATIVE

I came across this fantastic article from Jon Bentham of The Guardian on Monday 21 January 2008.

Creative people really do live in a crazy world. I’ve always said I think in a different way to other people – I guess this proves it.

Click here to read the full article.

Fat Belly - 2008scandinavia promotes new training and fitness center

2008 Scandinavia have created, perhaps the simplest ad I’ve ever seen for their client – Oxygo (a fitness and training centre for people). This ad first ran on 19 January. I’m not sure whether this ad is part of a campaign but its given me a great idea for a series of online banner creatives.

A nice spot by Frederik Samuel