Album advertising

As a teenager I devoured the weekly music press.

Sounds, Melody Maker and NME used to regularly fight it out for my attention.

Now only the NME is left. And it is a shadow of its late 70s peak.

Ads like these were commonplace. Just enough naughtiness to annoy the straights whilst instantly appealing to us kids.

The Lou Reed ad above has top notch copywriting. Great art direction too.

This New York Dolls ad is very clever.

It uses self promotion AND reverse psychology!

And as for this one for London Calling...

Well I may not have got it as a kid but the old me loves the knowing wink it gives to the viewer by using Elvis.

Search up London Calling + Elvis on Google if you don't know what I'm talking about.

Sticky idea

Saw this on a Tumblr.

No idea who did it or where it was photographed.

But ya gotta admit it's a pretty clever idea. 

Maximum maker

Let's face it. Everyone is talking about the maker movement these days.

Hell even a bank has got in on the act.

But ain't nobody more maker than this guy. 

Unreal bikinis

Click the pic to enlarge as this is an ad worth looking closer at.

It's from BBDO NYC and it's in the swimwear issue of Sports Illustrated.

Apparently there  are 11 photoshop 'errors' in the ad.

Take a closer look and see how many you can spot.

Get dirty in a Jeep

These pics landed in my inbox on the weekend.

I've worked on Jeep so I know the brand pretty well.

And this little 'gift-with-purchase' idea is spot on.

The tagline for Jeep down under is 'Don't Hold Back' and even though this piece doesn't come from Australia it shows how universal that line is.

Furever friends

Not exactly sure what this has got to do with phones but it sure is a damn cute minute of fun.

Going to new heights

This made me chuckle.

A regulation NBA height ATM.

It's by the Bank of Montreal for an NBA sponsorship.

Pretty clever huh? 

Time to get away

Yes I know it's hard to see what's actually going on in this ad.

But if you squint just a little I'm sure you'll feel the horror of recognition.

Yes it's an overloaded work week calendar.

Mine has looked like this since the day I went back to work after the Xmas hols.

Very clever of the team at Ethos Travel to tap into this ongoing nightmare. 

Not a single comment...

This story appeared on Aussie ad industry blog Campaign Brief last week.

Last time I looked it had received not one comment.

Which for me says such much about the mentality of the sort of people who have made the comments section of Campaign Brief so 'notorious'.

Marcello Serpa is a true legend of modern advertising who is (almost) singlehandedly responsible for the growth of creativity in South America and hence the world.

To be awarded the coveted Lion of St Mark speaks volumes.

Sadly so does the lack of commentary for disgruntled Aussie creatives.

Valentines Day cards = Comments.

Power company pitch = Comments

Crappy outdoor for Zoolander 2 = Comments

St Marks for Serpa = Deathly silence

Hmmmm!?

*UPDATE: Just checked. One comment. Oh dear...

Live like a Creative

This is way funnier than it has any right to be.

It takes every hipster creative wannabe cliché in the book and collates them into one easy to consume infographic.

Click here and go amuse yourself. 

The art of noticing

Last year (or was it the year before) I spent a day in a small group inspiration day with Seth Godin.

It was without doubt one of the best work related things I have ever done.

Very smart man. Great and very infectious energy. Which really comes through in this chat. 

Tommy Cooper & Lego

One of the thing I always loved about British ads when I was younger was the way they made their choice of voiceover artist part of the idea.

This classic Lego spot from 1981 is a great example.

Of course the ad is strong enough to work with pretty much anyone doing the voiceover.

But if you grew up in the UK in the 60s or 70s then the sound of Tommy Cooper doing the v/o makes this ad even better.

I can't think of any Aussie ads that use v/o like this. Can you?

Brands as friends

'Join the conversation' is an expression that really took hold in marketing departments a few years back.

Thing is. Not everyone wants brands to be their friends.

Useful yes. Caring yes. But friends?

Not so much.

After all. How can a global corporation whose sole focus is shareholder value really be your friend?  

Oh dear...

Here we have a little something from the golden age of advertising.

A time when it was considered perfectly okay to sell chocolate bars as a healthy treat.

Not too sure about that headline though...

Need a password?

More and more organisations are making people choose long more complex passwords.

Which is annoying if you like to keep things simple.

Passweird has the solution.

Actually it has lots of them. All dynamically generated.

Click here to generate yours.

I should warn you they're kinda weird.

But then again that is the point. 

Audi and the Starman

Audi cashing in on the death of Bowie for the Superbowl?

Or total coincidence as they most probably had this ad in the can prior to his death?

You decide...

Black sheep wanted

Is this the best agency promo ever? I think it might be you know. 

Metallica vs Helvetica

Genius I tell ya. Pure genius.

Not so fine

Rumour has it this clever trick on the eye was adapted from a tattoo on the leg of a lady who suffered badly with depression.

To save you the trouble of turning your computer upside to reveal the punchline I've rotated the image for you.

Pretty clever huh?

Hard to see drama

Given how large images appear on this blog it's bloody hard to appreciate how cute this ad is.

So give it a click and hopefully you'll get a better look.

If not. The teeny weeny turquise headline says: Born To Create Drama.

It's an ad for the Young Directors Awards.

Genius of Gaffa

This just came up in my Linkedin feed.

No idea who did it or how old it is.

Loved it so much I just had to share.