I hate brainstorms

Text on film

Really interesting look at the use of text messaging in films and TV. Well worth five minutes of your time. 

Porn free Emmys

I'd never heard of jasmin.com until I heard about NBC refusing to run their ad during The Emmys telecast.

Turns out jasmin.com is a porn site. So it's not surprising that NBC won't run their ad.

But surely double standards apply here?

I bet NBC run ads for alcohol brands.

And I bet they used to run cigarette advertisin back in the day.

So why not porn? It is legal after all. 

Out of the box thinking

Terrific idea from two young London creatives, Josh Norbury and Leo Bellis-Jones to raise money for the youth homeless charity Depaul.

They've started a business selling cardboard boxes to people moving home that carry Depaul branding and of course a very clever message.

Fingers crossed this idea will end up raising a huge box full of cash for Depaul.

Don't drop it

I wonder how many people have casually glanced at this ad then turned the page.

Probably quite a few I suspect.

Which is a great shame as once you get it this ad really makes you smile.

It was created by Grey in Tokyo.

Enough already

Bottled water banned in San Fran

I've just been reading about the ban on bottled water sales in San Francisco.

Quite surprising to be honest.

Not because you can get water from a tap.

But because it is a classic non-essential me-too product that is heavily marketed.

Where's the bottled water lobby?

Where's Coca Cola? They account for most of the bottled water sold in Australia.

It's just unheard of for a product with this much advertising and marketing money behind to be prohibited from sale.

Don't get me wrong. I agree with the decision. I really do.

I just don't know why cigarettes can continue to be sold (not to mention guns) but water in a bottle is banned.

Only in America.

Not just any green

Cannot believe that this hasn't been done before. Liverpool red, Hawthorn brown, Celtic green, etc etc. Kudos to whoever came up with this cracking idea. #monstereverywhere

Never forget

The Crazy One

Like everyone I was shocked to hear about the death of Robin Williams. A true original and a total maverick, he was the personification of what Apple termed "The Crazy Ones' all those years ago.

There's been no shortage of Williams clips shared over the last few days but nobody (as far as I am aware) has shared this classic ad with Robin as an Italian speaking robot. Enjoy. 

Dirty bird or filthy?

Welsh chicken company Dirty Bird are shocked to hear that people think their new logo is phallic.

Personally I'd say it looks more like a cock 'n balls than phallic but apparently that's a bit crude.

Much like the logo if you ask me.

Baltimore Bus Stop

Now this is a lovely idea don't you think?

Certainly nicer than a bus shelter covered in advertising.

It's actually an art project in Baltimore.

I suspect it'll become a permanent bus stop sometime soon though!

Sylvia says...

Elephants and Volkswagen

I have the Guardian photo app on my iPad which is where I first saw this pic of an elephant scratching itself against a VW Polo last week.

Next thing I know it pops up in an Australian newspaper looking like this.

It's raining again

My wife and I have just finished watching the final season of the US version of The Killing.

For me the endless rainy weather of Seattle is almost like a character in the show. It is just so omnipresent.

Which may explain why I love this rain activated idea by Publicis from where else but Seattle. 

Hold your breath

Good to see someone has finally done a toilet paper ad worth talking about. Not sure if this is part of a campaign or just a one-off. Either way it's a lovely spot. 

Meanwhile at Corporate HQ

The scene portrayed in this cartoon is played out in meeting rooms across the globe time and time again.

What I want to know is why?

I mean really. Why bother getting an agency involved if you're not prepared to listen to what they have to say?

Heineken turns blue?

Heineken have just announced a brand partnership with a high profile Scottish football club.

The club in question is from Glasgow.

But which Glasgow club do you think it is?

The obvious choice would be Celtic.

After all the green Heineken bottle and the famous green hoops of Celtic would appear to be a perfect fit.

But it's not.

It's Rangers. The team in blue in the pic above.

Which is kinda weird don't you think?  

Lynch & Louboutin

Been a while since David Lynch made a film. So his fans are sure to lap up this ad he's just made for Louboutin nail polish.

I sure hope there's plenty of profit in a little bottle of nail polish as Lynch don't come cheap. And the ad doesn't look like it was made on a small budget either. 

Listen to Stefan

I've lost count of the number of disagreements I've had with brand managers and strategy planners about story telling.

Yes it's important. Actually make that essential.

But some stories really aren't worth telling. Especially when nobody is interested in listening to them.

Of course I'm just an over opiniated Melbourne copywriter. So my thoughts often fall on deaf ears.

But when Mr Stefan Sagmeister decides to rail against everyone being a story teller suddenly the world starts to listen.

That's okay. I don't need the credit.

I just hope all those brand managers and strategy planners out there are listening to him. 

When is too much Beckham?

I had a couple of up and coming creatives come and give a talk to my crew the other day.

One of the things they spoke about was a brief that had as a mandatory players from a particular football team.

To highlight how they felt about this they showed a print ad featuring David Beckham.

Then another.

And another.

Until they'd filled the presentation screen with them.

I mean really. How can having someone like Beckham in your ad be worth the effort (and money) when he's also appearing in loads of other ads at the same time?

Guess I'll never know as I doubt I'll ever get to work with Beckham.

Not that I'd want to!