The quiet creative dept...

Beware the garlic sauce

An idea so damn obvious you gotta wonder why nobody has done it before.

Anyone know who created it? 

Snickers on Valentines Day?

Maybe I've been been busy these last few weeks but I can't recollect seeing any fun Valentines Day ads or stunts.

And whilst this Snickers campaign from BBDO NYC didn't have me laughing out loud it did provoke a wry smile.

If Carlsberg made supermarkets

Man this made me laugh. A supermarket that actually is super. If only Carlsberg really did make them... 

Velocita is lighter than air

Been a while since I showcased some work from one of my favourite agencies - Love from Manchester.

What you're looking at in the pic above is their box design for a new lightweight football boot. The Velocita.

It's apparently the lightest boot on the market. At least it is for this week anyway!

The box design is pure genius.

Clear plastic with the boot suspended from the lid of the box.

It quite literally looks like it's floating on air.

Best of all is when you lift the lid of the box and the shoes inadvertantly lift with it.

Magic. Don't you think? 

Small things - Big difference

I'm not familiar with the brand Vertu. I think it's a mobile phone for the upwardly mobile.

Although according to this UK billboard it may be a phone for rather dull people.

Then again perhaps not.

Damn good advice

Brand or product?

In a mere three minutes the Global CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi will clearly explain to you why brand is more important than product. If you work with sceptics please show them this video. 

Almost made from beer

If there's one beer campaign I've always been a fan of it's the Carlton Draught's Made From Beer.

For me it has a lot of what made the early DDB Volkwagen work so good.

Ads that looked like they were written by people who loved writing ads.

These three ads for Newcastle Brown share those characteristics.

Especially the first one.

Kudos to all involved.

Solving the Ikea puzzle

Short. Sweet. And to the point. Seriously what's not to love?

Clever thinking by Thjnk Germany. 

Natalie Portman and Miss Dior

Does the world really need another what the hell was that about perfume ad?

No. Of course it doesn't.

But this one stars Natalie Portman and it's directed by Anton Corbijn.

Make of it what you will. 

The big reveal from BAFTA

I could be wrong but the movie industry appears to be in competition with the ad industry to see who can have the most award shows in a year.

Obviously advertising wins. But only just. And just like in adland there are top tier award shows and lower ones.

I'm not sure where the BAFTAs sit in the movie watching award show hierarchy. But they sure do make some nice awards night posters.

Fan engagement on Twitter

A year or two ago I went to a sports related talk by a representative of Twitter.

He spoke a lot about the huge followings of sports personalities and clubs on Twitter.

But he completely overlooked (in my eyes) the importance of fan interaction.

When I tok him to task over it tried to divert the question to one of the power of all those followers.

In other words he didn't answer my goddamn question.

This week Adidas sponsored footballer Karim Benzema from Real Madrid took part in a Group DM with fans.

And as you would expect it got fans excited, engaged and telling their friends on Twitter.

Seems I was right after all. 

Computers in our lives

If you have ten or so minutes to spare grab yourself a coffee and watch this look into the future from 1980. fascinating stuff. 

Lights on!

The pedant in me hates the innacuracy of the pie chart. But this is a damn nice idea none the less from Dentsu in the Philippines. 

Superbowl spending money

As the dust settles from this year's Superbowl I bet a lot of number crunchers are breathing down the necks of marketers who spent $4.5 million on a 30 second spot during the game.

That's media money by the way. You can probably factor in another million for production and agency fees.

So what else could a marketer have bought for $4.5 million? Quite a lot actually but here's just one thing:

3.5 billion display ads.

Now I'm not sure how long it would take for a brand to run 3.5 billion display ads but it sure as hell sounds like a lot of bang for your buck to me.

Aaron Draplin makes a logo

I reckon Portland based designer Aaron Draplin has a lot of fun at work. Because he certainly has a lot of fun in this video knocking up a logo in a mere 10 minutes! 

How to create a great ad

Someone told me they'd picked up a cheap copy of this book in a charity shop the other day.

Lucky them. It's a pretty good book.

But let's face it. You don't need a book to create a great ad.

And you definitely need to know there are 100 ways to create one.

You just need an idea. Preferably a big one. 

Lady Gaga selfies as ads

Celebrities have been doing ad campaign stuff in Japan for years.

So it should come as no surprise to hear Lady Gaga is doing something with make up brand Shiseido.

Of course being Gaga it's not your typical ad campaign.

It's a series of fifty ads. Each one featuring a different selfie by Gaga.

The ads appear in different papers. So obsessive fans need to put in a lot of work to find the full set.

All of which you can now find on the Shiseido website. 

Snickers and the Brady Bunch

To be honest the internet has ruined the excitement of Super Bowl advertising for me. Way too much hype. I am however prepared to make an exception for this Snickers spot. Great cameo towards the close too!