Adventure awaits

 
Ask anyone who's ever worked with me and they'll tell you I'm an absolute sucker for a bit of space exploration.

But I'd never ever have thought of using Apollo mission audio to soundtrack a TV spot for butter.

So big thumbs up the team at W+K for doing just that. Brilliantly. 

Edwin = Japan

Exquisite little brand film for Japanese denim-maker Edwin. Hope you like it as much as I do.

Above the fold

Remember the good old days when websites had actual pages?

Back then we did everything we could to ensure content never fell below the fold.

But with the introduction a few years back of infinite and parallax scrolling (not to mention the growth of mobile) the below the fold thing has gone well and truly out of fashion.

Don't believe me? Click here for more info. 

Music of the mind

Go make yourself a coffee. Then find a quiet spot in the office and take in every gorgeous moment of this very powerful new film for Volvo by D.A.R.Y.L..

To be honest I'm still struggling to see a strong connection to the Volvo brand but philosophically it is definitely true to their brand values.

Love to hear what you think of it.

Wisdom from Steinbeck

More to uncover on SBS

Been in bed with flu for a couple of days so I've watched a lot of TV and/or Netflix on my Macbook.

In between shivering sessions I saw a lot of promos for upcoming programs.

None of them stuck in my memory quite like these ones for SBS from a couple of years ago.

Proof that sometimes you don't need a big idea (or budget) just a simple technique.

Kudos to the team from Method Studios.

Imagery as comment

If there's one positive to come out of our current political shenanigans it's re-emergence of statement-making magazine cover design.

A picture they say is worth a thousand words. But these two covers may say even more...

Never trust a battery

This new Duracell spot by W+K is quite possibly the most ridiculously over the top ad for a battery ever made.

But then again it does clearly bring home the message that you should never trust a battery to do a Duracell job. 

Proof Read or Spell Check?

Run a spell check over the copy in the ad and it'll probably come through all ok.

But run your eye over it and it most definitely won't.

Which is why I always say if you can't afford a proof reader then at least get someone not familiar with your work to go over it.

They say a lot

Long copy billboards are not very common.

So it's nice to come across one.

Especially one a well written as this one.

Click on the pic for a much better look.

Staying Inspired

I'm generally not a fan of self help guru type vids but being inspired is so important to being creative. Which is why I'm sharing this. It's well worth 10 mins over a coffee. 

Always proof read

Unless I'm misreading things I very much doubt that Donald Trump wants to unleash a bunch of furry critters on North Korea.

But that's how it looked on the front page of the Kennebec Journal.

Which is why I always insist if you can't afford a Proof Reader then you at least get someone other than yourself to read anything you write. 

Twitter has a problem

 
Social media is brilliant. it connects us. It enables us to share. It introduces us to new people and diverse voices.

But...

Twitter has lost its way. There are far too many keyboard warriors ranting on it. Especially on Twitter.

So Shahak Shapira decided to do something about it.

Why?

Because Twitter doesn't seem to be...

Write, write & write again

For the first ad I ever wrote way back when I spent four whole days just coming up with headlines.

Four days.

I have no idea how many headlines I churned out but it was a bloody lot because my creative director kept asking to see a few more.

My experience on that first ad gave me the work ethic I still have today.

Just ask anyone who's ever worked for or with me about how I believe you need to generate a ton of stuff to find the gold.

A great example of this is copywriter Sally Hogshead who was tasked a few years back to come up with eight headlines for a BMW campaign.

To nail those eight she generated no less than 800 lines. Yes 800!

So was it worth all that effort?

I reckon Sally would say it was as five of her eight lines were recognised at One Show.

Variable Fonts

The likes of Adobe, Apple, Google and Microsoft have been working together of late to develop a new style of type - The variable font.

In essence they take the varying weights from within a typeface family and package them up into a single small file.

Dan Rhatigan knows far more about this than me. So click here to read all about variable fonts.

Meanwhile at ChocoTravel...

What the actual!?!?!?

Terror and The Economist

It's been a helluva long time since I featured a magazine cover on BrandDNA.

So who better to break the mag drought than The Economist.

Two colours. Simple graphic. Big statement.

What's not to love?

Tesco safety bags?

This is a very clever idea for Tesco from Cheil WW Hong Kong.

But surely in an age when we are so focussed on environmental issues and plastic bag usage surely Tesco should be more focussed on the food chain of their suppliers than plastic bags that remove pesticides from your fruit? 

Millie goes back to school

It's coming up to back to school time over in the U S of A.

And who better to bring to life the horrors of back to school than Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown.

These are 3 of a series of GIFs for Converse created by Big Spaceship.

Don't know about you guys but this is my idea of a fun campaign that really gets its target audience.

Principles

Viva le apartment!

This pic's from a tweet by George Rowland. It's a promo poster for an apartment development.

Yes that's right folks a socialist revolutionary is being used to flog over-priced abodes.

Seriously. It's not that hard to have a half decent idea. Is it?

Twice the price store!

A clever and very funny film for a telco. And amazingly I had no idea it was for a telco till the last couple of seconds.

Truth be told the branding is practically non-existent. But that only adds to its charm and credibility.

Stop kids

I love this ad. What makes it interesting though is it's obviously aimed at parents not single people.

How do I know this?

Because only a parent of a small child can truly appreciate the horror this ad so clearly portrays.

Single people? Well they just want to not make a baby.

Which is very different from avoiding the nightmares associated with an addition to the family.