Leo Burnett and the pencil

Like the bowl of apples in reception the signature pencil is synonymous with Leo Burnett.

And it was the pencil that obviously inspired the makeover of the Burnett's office in Singapore.

Beautiful isn't it?

Sure wish I worked there!

Future of design

Go make yourself a cup of coffee before settling down for seven or so minutes to watch Oliver Grabes, Design Director at Braun, talk about what the future holds for design and technology.

Spit or Swallow

Creativity has a diversity issue.

How else can you explain a tasteless concept like this ever leaving the creative dept?

Couple of lads. Sitting around cracking gags.

Except if you're a young woman you may not find a toothbrush brand flirting with pornographic oral sex suggestive imagery all that clever.

As for the 'spit or swallow' line. I mean seriously.

Juvenile lad humour at its absolute worst.

Pumping Unplugged

This has to be the most unexpected idea I've seen all year. Cleverly written and beautifully cast too. Kudos all round the Mother London. 

You had one job...

Full story here.

Inner Harmony

The illustration style of this campaign for digestive brand Gastrina is really very simple.

Which is what gives it its eyecatching power I think.

So kudos to McCann Mumbai for resisting the idea to overcomplicate.

KFChill

I've been doing a bit of mindfulness this year. So when I heard about KFChill from Mother London I had to investigate. It's very clever. And soothing. Although I can't help thinking that 10 minutes of listening to chicken bubbling away in the fryer should probably come with a health warning. 

Idea ratio

The harder you try and have an idea the less successful you are.

So rather than stressing simply start writing or scribbling.

Because in order to have a good idea you've first got to have a lot of shitty ones.

Stop Brexit button

There's nothing new about the idea to create a fake news story. But I still kinda like this Stop Brexit idea by Brit agency Mr President. That big red button is almost impossible to resist.

Real Milkshakes

The size and placement of the headline says to me this is a scam ad.

But what the hell. I like it!

Very clever twist on the product demonstration genre. 

Friday Funny

Nice rocket, man

Magazine art directors have always been good at slipping in sly gags and cleverness into their work.

And one of the best examples of this of late is this double page spread by Chris Barker for WORK magazine.

Amazon boss Bezos is the founder of aerospace company Blue Origin. The gag speaks for itself. 

Puma & Polaroid?

I've been a Puma a fan since I was a kid. Big fan of Polaroid too.

So in essence a collaboration between these two iconic brands should have me excited.

But it doesn't.

Whilst I'm sure hipster kids might love the idea of bringing new life to retro brands and products I'm not so sure.

But given how many new styles of sneakers launch every week maybe this gives Puma a point of difference.

But it's not exactly Colin Kaepernick though. Is it?

Elon & The Guardian

Kudos to The Guardian for striking while the iron is hot and taking criticism from Elon Musk and turning it into a reason to believe.

It is the role of our media to hold public figures to account. And The Guardian does a terrific job at this.

Because no matter how powerful a Silicon Valley tech mogul may think they are they are never above reproach.

Don't Quit

Last week I was involved in a workshop at RMIT University researching the traits that people in industry look for in graduates.

One of the most important for me is persistence.

Never give up.

Keep on trying.

Go again.

Fail. Learn. Fail again.

I could go on forever but I won't. But what I will say is persistence beats talent.

Not always. But nine times out of ten.

New look Library

I could sit and stare at this short video for hours.

It's the new identity for the Library Of Congress by Pentagram.

So simple. Yet so clever.

One for the price of two!

Let's face it. Most of us do our best to ignore banners.

But an offer as good as this Snickers one will always catch the attention.

Problem is the offer is not as good as it looks with just a quick glance.

Click on it and it takes you to this video:



UPDATE: Video no longer available. Sorry. I'm sure you can find it buried somewhere on the internet if you look hard enough.  

Blockbuster beer

It would appear stories of the demise of Blockbuster may not be 100% accurate.

Seems there is one lonely little Blockbuster Video store still open for business in Bend, a small town in Oregon USA.

Local Bend brewer 10 Barrel Brewing decided to celebrate the Blockbuster outpost with a Blockbuster beer.

Brewery founder Chris Cox said, "Blockbuster is a cultural icon, and we couldn’t be more excited to celebrate over three decades of movie fandom with them."

No arguments from me.

Cute Raider

This is super cute. Please try and watch it at fullscreen.

Farmland x Supreme

Fashion brand Supreme has a history of design related culture jacking.

It one of the traits I really enjoy about it if truth be told.

This week however they were given a taste of their own medicine by US bacon brand Farmland Foods.

Now I don't know about you but I love the images below that Farmland shot using Supreme branded products.

Pretty cool huh?

You can see a whole lot more of them on the Farmland Instagram.