iPad photography

Like my wife (and kids for that matter) the first thing I thought of when I heard the new iPad had a camera was who's gonna take a photo with a bloody iPad.

Well now I know the answer.

Spike Lee.

Yeah I know the camera is primarily for Facetime and Skype.

But if it's good enough for Spike Lee...

Nuff said

via

50 things to know

Every Monday for as long as I can remember I have been sharing job hunting wisdom on Junior.

Similar in spirit is the Top 50 list put together by British designer Jamie Wieck.

His list was written for wannabe graphic designers but I think there's something for every young creative in his list.

My presonal faves include:

4. You can't score without a goal.

7. Have a positive self image.

16. Don't waste your internship.

19. Be patient.

Click here to see the full list.

Bloody bookmark

How about this for a great promotional idea.
Imagine that book with this bookmark.
Pretty good huh?

I like it

One of the things that fascinates me about the internet is the speed with which certain things become commonplace.

Facebook Places is a great example.

I know it was only introduced quite recently but it already seems like it's been around for ages.

Same with the ubiquitous Like button. Which believe it or not celebrated its first birthday this week.

Yes its first birthday.

Don't know about you but I find it hard to remember a time before the Like button.

According to Facebook around 10,000 websites add the Like button feature every day.

No wonder it seems to be everywere!

Art Director & Copywriter

Is the art director & copywriter team dead?

Maybe. Maybe not.

In my experience the best ideas evolve out of collaboration.

Interesting to hear the opinions of others though.

21st century MadMen

Just got sent these in an email.

Revamps of the Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce logo in the style of modern agency logos.

This Saatchi & Saatchi one above is a little dull.

And obvious too if truth be told.

The JWT version however is lovely.


The TBWA one below's not too bad either.

Be sure and let me know if you know of any others.

The other W&K

I am so jealous that Age has gone to work with the clever kids at W&K London.

Sure they make great ads. But best of all they just seem to do lots of interesting stuff.

Like their recent window installation to celebrate the fact that a certain royal couple have the same initials as W&K.

People passing the agency's window get to pose in front of the window and create their very own royal portrait.

This is then uploaded and shared via the W&K Facebook.

how cute is that!?

Phraseology

I'm not sure of the what or why but I have to say I kinda like The Phraseology Project.

You simply type in a phrase or combination of words and somehow or other they transform it into some lovely typogography.

Why not click here and give it a go.

Make mine a Magnum

Never in my wildest dreams would I get the budget to commission three one minute ads with Rachel Bilson in front of the camera and Karl bloody Lagerfeld behind it.

Never ever.

So congrats to the people who pulled off that coup.

No idea if the ads are any good.

Nor if they'll make me wanna go and buy a Magnum.

But the combination of Bilson and Lagerfeld is sure to have some effect on Magnum sales.

Around the Blogosphere

Just posted my Marketing magazine column to my dedicatd Around The Blogosphere site.

This latest column looks at some of the chatter around a much publicised Fast Company article on the future of advertising. And includes some great thinking from the very clever John Dodds.

Click here to go take a look. Why not join the chatter and leave a comment while you're there.

Listen up kids!

Back to the future

Loving the retro style of these Apple ranbow stickers.

They give your silvery sleek and oh so modern MacBook or iPad a little touch of 1984.

Get yours here.

Ads worth reading?

Last couple of times I've travelled for business I've seen people on the plane reading a book on a Kindle or an iPad.

What was once a novelty has quickly become commonplace.

Now Amazon are about to launch an ad supported version of the Kindle.

It'll retail for about 30% less than the normal Kindle.

And ads will be mainly banners on the homescreen and possibly screensavers.

Given the way Amazon collects data on its consumers I'd say the ad supported Kindle will definitely appeal to brands looking for tightly targeted advertising.

And Amazon will definitely promote the fact that consumers are more receptive to advertising that has been tailored to them.

Which is all good and well.

But what I wanna know is when the big digital brands and media owners are gonna stop using good old fashioned interuptive advertising and start coming up with a genuinely innovative alternative.

Happy birthday to me!

This blog is five years old today.

Much has happened since I started it.

It was created during my sabbatical year I spent teaching in the advertising degree at RMIT University.

Doing this blog helped me get to speak at a PR conference, guest lecture at Melbourne University and talk about brands at the Design Festival where I shared the stage with an old colleague - Chloe Quigley from Michi Girl.

It also helped me to secure a monthly column with Marketing magazine.

The column also has its own dedicated blog which you can find here.

Doing the blog has helped me meet literally dozens of wonderful people both in Australia and across the globe.

When I began I had never heard of Facebook.

YouTube had only just launched and neither Twitter, Foursquare or the ubiquitous iPhone had been created.

Quite a busy five years to honest.

Not sure I'll still be doing it five years from now.

But then again when I set up the blog during my time at RMIT I was seriously thinking that my career as a creative was over.

So here's to the next five years.

Thanx for stopping by.

My very own Joanie

Finally got around to checking out the MadMen Barbie collection today.

Gotta confess I want me a Joanie.

I'm not rich or strong enough to handle the real one.

So a Barbie version should suit me just fine.

Here's how the Barbie copywriters are presenting her on the website:

Mad Men Joan Holloway doll puts the “B” in bombshell!

Doll features Joan’s signature auburn upswept hair, and curvy silhouette.

Her curves are accentuated in a fitted navy suit dress with red collar. “

Like I said - I gotta get me one.

Amnesty International

For 50 years Amnesty International has been fighting the good fight.

During that time they have produced many fantastic posters.

Flick through any major award annual and you're sure to find an Amnesty poster.

These three are particular favourites of mine.

Not because of the graphics especially but because I love seeing well known artists getting involved with protest and issues.

The one above is by Picasso. it dates from 1959

The two below are by Spanish artist Juan Miro from 1977 and Alexander Calder from 1975

No luxury for China

China is one of the fastest growing markets for luxury brands.

It's also the source of most of the fake luxury brand items you find in Sunday markets.

So as you can imagine luxury is a concept the people of China are very familiar with.

Perhaps a little too familiar.

At least in Beijing where use of the word luxury in advertising and promotions is to be banned from April 15th.

Weird I know.

But the big wigs of Beijing have decided that an obsession with luxury is contributing to hedonism and feelings of spiritual emptiness.

And the punishment?

A whopping $4,500 fine.

Ouch!

Twitter Animal

Trust the Japanese to invent a cute little creature that reads your tweets for you.

Sadly it only speaks Japanese at the moment.

But one day...

Best of Britain

Not surprised but very pleased to see the legendary Hello Boys chosen as Britain's best ever outdoor poster.

Kudos to the team at TBWA London who gave us this magnificent piece of work.

Runner up was the incredibly powerful Labour Isn't Working poster by Saatchi & Saatchi.


Wonder if we'll ever see beter posters than these in my lifetime?

Somehow I doubt it.

Albums as books

In the age of digital music the art of album cover art is being lost.

Not to older people like me or the young folks who've helped bring back vinyl but to the average music buyer.

Actually let's be more accurate and call them music downloaders.


I realy don't think these people could care less about the thumbnail sized pics of album covers that appear on their iPods.

But that's a topic for another day I think.

My topic for today is a gorgeous set of album covers re-interprated as books by See Gee.

I'm sharing my faves with you here.


Why not visit See Gee's Flickr and check out the rest.

Sex with a Kindle?

Talking CV