Illustrated Magnum

How beautiful is this new campaign for Magnum by MullenLowe Spain?

The idea of using the shape of a Magnum to create advertising images is hardly original.

Especially when all lolly ices are pretty much the same shape.

But what the hell.

Great art direction and beautiful illustrations by Thomas Danthony.

Love to see it run down under next summer!

The doctor explains

Human Flow

I haven't seen Human Flow yet but Ai Weiwei has an enormous installation on Cockatoo Island in the Sydney Harbour at the moment.

It's part of the Sydney Biennale.

I visited last week and it is incredibly moving. Well worth the ferry ride if you're in Sydney any time soon. 

Not a shit name

Friend of mine was down on the Victorian surf coast over the weekend.

Sent me this pic of the branding on a plumber's truck.

Pretty clever don't you think?

It certainly made me laugh!

Interview with Paula Scher

This is a terrific podcast interview with the legendary designer Paula Scher. In it she talks about pushing outside of your comfort zone, the benefits of failure, why you should take on a job you're not qualified for and so much more. A very engaging 39 minutes. 

Firey chicken

 I bloody love this campaign for KFC out of Ogilvy Hong Kong.

Of course given it's a campaign of three print ads (I'm only showing two)  originating from South East Asia with teeny tiny logos means there's a scent of scam.

But what the hell I love it. Very tasty work.

Remember Google Plus?

The other day I decided to delete some dead links from my collection of blog bookmarks.

One of those links was for the blog above.

Below is the final post on the long deceased Always Thinking blog.

Wonder how the move to Google+ is going 5 years later?

Data? What data?

The first cat meme

This old ad landed in my inbox the other day. It was apparently the first ad created by DDB way back when.

Which I guess makes it the first cat meme. At least in my eyes!

The story goes that Mr Ohrbach was a client of Grey who wasn't happy with Grey.

So he told a very young Bill Bernbach that he would back him in starting his own agency by giving him the Orbach's account.

And the rest as they say is history. Cat meme history.

What the!?

I challenge anyone to hit pause at the 26 sec mark and tell me what this is an ad for. Because I sure as hell have no idea. And when the pack shot does eventually reveal the product all I could do was shake my head in bewilderment.

Seen any good Skip Ads?

Saw the following on Twitter. Really made me smile:

My daughter and her friends have grown up to refer to commercials of any kind as 'Skip Ads'.

For instance, 'I saw this really funny kitten in a skip ad yesterday.'

Brilliant don't you think?

Now that's fast!

Classic ad from Tom McElligot that even the likes of Porsche don't make any more.

And how amazing is it that a headline can paint a picture of speed like that?

Almost makes me pine for the good old days...

The D'ohnut

I cannot believe that no brand has ever done a Simpsons donut promo before.

It's such an obvious thing to do.

And I really can't believe the first country to make it happen is Australia.

Which of course makes me really happy.

Well played AdAge

Not sure how Pepsi feels about it but this Error-404 page for AdAge is hands down the best thing I've accidentally stumbled upon on the web this week. 

Welcome Back Tiger

This Nike spot celebrating the return of Tiger Woods is very different from your typical Nike ad. Not that there is such a thing as a typical Nike ad. Obviously.

Great product demo

Spotted this ad in my Twitter feed the other day.

Click the pic for a better look if you need.

Anyway since seeing it I can't help staring at the 'sooty' sandstone buildings in the city.

And wondering what all that shit in the air is doing to my lungs.

Not to mention the planet! 

Creativity is messy

In an era of clean desk policies and minimalism at home this Einstein quote rings louder than ever.

And if your eyesight's as bad as mine here's what it says in the pic:

If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what then is an empty desk a sign? 

Ferrell and the Hammer

I'm a big art person but I often find a lot of the conceptual stuff baffling. Or annoying. Depends on the day!

Obviously I'm not alone in feeling like this, which is why the Hammer Museum got Will Ferrell in to make this very cute promo film. 

Cringeworthy Copy

Seth 'n Tina

An utterly charming conversation via Facebook Live between the great Seth Godin and the always inspiring founder of Creative Mornings Tina Roth Eisenberg. It runs around 20 mins so grab a coffee and enjoy.

Nice pipe

Laying out artwork for the back of a bus is always a bit tricky.

No two makes of bus are the same.

Plus there's number plates, tail lights and exhaust filters to factor in.

But I doubt anybody had any idea that placing the guy in this ad on the left of the ad would be a problem.

Until they were sat behind it in traffic...