Is an ad enough?

Click the pic and it'll be easier to read. But seriously. Do VW actually think a cleverly worded press ad will undo all the damage?

Sketch & Sniff

Whilst I cannot see a genuine reason for pencils to be scented I have to say I love the name of this product. 

Do you do happy farts?

Love this quote which I came across via Iain Tait the ECD of W+K London.

Pretty much sums up what it takes to be successful in an agency.

Yes you can have talent. But it takes passion and love for what you do to create something truly great.

Ohh agh Cantona!

French footballer Eric Cantona was banned for quite some time for famously jumping the crowd barrier and kung-fu kicking an abusive fan many years ago.

Like many Nike sponsored athletes Cantona he polarised people. Often walking the incredibly fine between genius and nutcase.

Anyway yesterday I came across the Nike poster than ran on the eve of his return to football.

It's brilliant. Don't you think?

Far better than that try hard tvc they did for Tiger Woods a few years back. 

Controversial but lazy

As you can imagine this campaign has been causing a bit of controversy in New York. Where they're running in the Subway system.

I suspect anyone who took issue with the recent 'Beach Ready' campaign would not be offended.

And why would anyone really?

Periods are a real life problem for every woman. So why oh why do we skirt around the issue in advertising?

What I do have a problem with though is the copywriting.

Seriously. Those headlines are lazy. And un-inspired.

It's only the used of the word 'period' that grabs attention.

BMW + La Scala

This visually striking campaign to promote the BMW sponsorship of the La Scala Opera House is by Havas Milano.

To be honest I don't think seeing the ads at this size really does them justice. But I bet they look stunning up large in Milanese Metro stations.

The tagline's a bit on the punny side if truth be told. Could be lazy copywriting or it could be that it suffers in the translation from Italian to English.

Still beautiful looking posters though!

Buckle up & login

I know I should, but I hardly ever put my seat belt on when I get in the back of a taxi. Perhaps if they introduced this free wifi idea here in Aus I might. Very clever thinking from Leo Burnett Sao Paolo. 

Ghost signs

There are many of these faded advertising signs around Melbourne.

Atmospheric memories of days long past.

Ghost Signs I believe the popular name for them is.

These are from Detroit. A city I imagine has a helluva lot of them.

You can read a bit more about Detroit ghost signs here.

Books brought to life

Man I love the internet. Where else would I come across stuff like this? I could stare at it for ages. Animation by Henning M. Lederer.

All beer - No bullshit

 I hate to say it but the whole craft beer thing is in serious danger of disappearing up its own arse.

Don't get me wrong. I love a hand crafted cold one.

But the whole wank around it it getting a tad too close to the wine world for my liking.

Enter the crew from Garagista in South Africa. Love it!

Timeless design

Timeless. That's the best word to design classic design.

Yet once upon a time what is now classic was once new.

Like much of the furniture by Ligne Roset. As this campaign clearly shows.

Times have changed

Pinched this pic from Russell.

Can you imagine getting away with this in the age of the Nanny State?

I certainly can't... 

Victoria's not so secret

Major fail from Victoria's Secret this week when they posted the pic above to their Facebook page.

As you can see the model only has one bum cheek.

Which is either a freak of nature.

Of poor photoshopping.

Fans felt the latter and promptly fixed the photo for them.

Thus far no comment from Victoria's Secret.

Guess they're just happy to be talked about!

Kitten Kollege

Come on. How can you not love this campaign out of AMV London? 

Archival imagery

Some stunning archive photography has made its way onto the web of late.

Last week NASA posted all the photos taken during the Apollo missions to Flickr.

These pics were shot on Hasselblad cameras and scanned at ridiculously hi-def.

Seriously. These pics look like they were shot last week the quality is so good.

Just as beautiful and probably just as mysterious is a set of pics called Christine In Red.

These exquisite images we shot in 1913 using the early colour process Autochrome.

This pic is one of several posted to this website.

Nailed it!

Beautiful and beautifully simple ad for 3M spray glue.

It's from a few years ago via DDB in Singapore.

Almost Wes Anderson

There's more Wes Anderson in this short for Georgetown Opticians than you'd find in an actual Wes Anderson film.

It's a little too long but seriously charming.

My dog just ate my favourite pair of glasses. Pity I don't live anywhere near Georgetown! 

VW and truth in advertising

In particular pay attention to point number three.

Not you Mr Copywriter.

I'm talking to you Mr Client. 

Not so cheesy Panda

I was at a brand workshop the other day where the facilitator screened a series of ads by Panda.

It's a cheese brand from Egypt. And they sure as hell know how to differentiate themselves in the crowded dairy cabinet. 

Mobile ads eat data

I wrote recently about ad blockers.

They're now making their way onto our phones.

Of course what many people forget is it's not the ads we hate. It's the bad, annoying and intrusive ads.

Make 'em good and we're happy to look at them.

Anyway it turns out that on a mobile phone ads can chew up a large part of your data allowance.

Now that's really annoying.

For more on this take a look at this New York Times article. 

Beckham meets Corden

David Beckham and James Corden. Together at last. Just don't expect to find the product in stores any time soon. 

Random is good

Found this on a Tumblr.

It made me laugh. A lot.

No idea why to be honest.

It just did.

Much like a lot of great advertising.

Well I think so anyway!