Hell on Earth

During Superbowl week Budweiser took over a hotel in Miami and branded it.

Smart thinking given how big beer consumption is during big time sporting events.

But then they went and 'invited' 200 influencers to come and hang out at the hotel during Superbowl.

All invitees had a minimum 1,000,000 Instagram followers.

Actually typing this is making me feel ill. So I'm going to sto...

Brands shape us

This is a terrific talk by Debbie Millman from the Design Matters podcast.

Definitely worth putting aside some time to take it in.

I'm also excited to tell you that Debbie will be in Melbourne in a couple of weeks for Design Week.

I've already got tickets to her talk Courage vs Confidence on Match 15th. Click here to get yours.

Google auto flip

Most creatives these days understand that there's more to film and video than the classic 16:9 format.

Usually you need someone who knows what they're doing to edit and reframe a film for different social media sizes and formats.

Not any more.

Google auto flip does it for you using artificial intelligence.

Find out more here.

Refurbished thinking

Reusing and recycling is hardly a new idea. Just ask Patagonia. But this is a very kooky way of showcasing it. 

A better way to go

I've had a fascination for funeral businesses for years.

They all look kind of the same. And they all seem stuck back in the 1950s.

Which is kinda weird when you think that people dying at age 80 are the same generation as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

And McCarney and Jagger definitely don't look or act like their parent's generation.

No such problem with West London funeral parlour Exit Here.

Great name for a start. But as you can see from the pic above it's a cool looking shopfront.

Hell I actually came across the pics on Wallpaper!

Fingers crossed this is the beginning of the end of daggy old school funeral homes.

The Booksellers

Digital may have lead to the demise of the local record store, but it's having a much harder time killing off the book store.

And just as specialist record stores have re-invented themselves in the 21st century, so too have antiquarian booksellers.

This is a trailer for an upcoming film that I am very keen to see. Hope it whets your appetite. 

Rough Guide to X-Box

The Rough Guide is (or should I say was) a competitor to Lonely Planet.

Handy guide books we took with us when travelling. But with the growth of the smart phone these books are becoming redundant.

Which may explain this unexpected collaboration between Rough Guide and X-Box.

It's actually a really clever way to showcase just how beautiful computer games can be.

Hell it may even be the future as people with an eye on their carbon footprint choose to travel virtually rather than on a plane.

Guess we'll have to wait and see...

Just not Mini enough

I've owned two Minis. My parents had one too when I was a teen.

Suffice to say I am a serious brand advocate.

Which is why I was so excited to hear that Mini USA had done a campaign film about the creator of the Mini, Alec Issigonis.

It's lovingly crafted. And really quite charming.

But for me it's just not exciting enough for the Mini brand.

Visuals by Virgilio Villoresi and illustrator Virginia Mori for the agency 360i. 

Crocs + KFC

I am a huge supporter of random ideas and unexpected brand collaborations.

But KFC and Crocs?

Come on!

That's just a little too random for me.

Kudos for W+K for pulling it off though.

Change is a team sport

Hot on the heels of the silly Adidas StanStar I posted on Friday comes this new Adidas campaign directed and narrated by none other than Jonah Hill.

With its retro vibe it reminds a lot of the early work of Wes Anderson. Of which I am a big fan. So of course it's a thumbs up from me!

SuperStan

Two classic sneakers come together as one. The Stan Smith + the Superstar.  Dumb idea. Kinda silly ad. Now where to I place my order? 

Lexus off-road DM

So good to be able to share a direct mail piece on BrandDNA.

It's been a long time since I've seen a good one.

This piece is for the Lexus SUV and uses the classic 'manila envelope with string tie' to demonstrate the vehicle's off-road capabilities.

Big thumbs up to the team from Lexus Canada for approving something out of the box.

Sadly I have no idea who did the creative. Sorry. 

Still here

I started this blog about 100 years ago (in internet years).

Back then there were loads of interesting advertising people blogging.

Many of them planners.

There was a real sense of community too. In fact many of them are now my friends.

Then along came Twitter and one by one the ad blogs began to stagnate.

Well Brand DNA is still here. At least for the foreseeable.  

Ghibli for Lawson

Lawson is a Japanese convenience store. Kinda like a 7/11.

This sweet little 15sec TVC was created for them by an animator from Studio Ghibli under the direction of Academy Award winning director Kunio Kato.

It's not the greatest ad I've ever seen. But the charm and warmth we associate with the work of Studio Ghibli comes thru each and every frame. 

Negative into positive

This poster for the East of Chicago Pizza chain has just been banned.

I can't imagine why. LOL.

What's clever is it's using a negative product feature - pizza makes you fat - to sell the product.

Crazy idea that just might work.

But not when it upsets people. Obviously.

Click the pic!

Google remembers

As charming as this Superbowl spot it is, I have to say I feed it deeply troubling. We all know Google is collecting data on us like crazy. But as this ad shows (at least for me) there is personal information that Google really shouldn't know. 

#BushfireBrandalism

A group of Australian Artists have done a truly outstanding guerrilla campaign to raise awareness of the realities of climate change, govt inaction and how much of our media spreads disinformation. Fuck I love this shit!

Be sure and follow the hashtag on Twitter: #Bushfirebrandalism

The Kobe fade away

Really lovely press ad in tribute to the recently passed Kobe Bryant from the Kayo sports network.

Sadly the ad is impossible to read in the photo. So here is the copy. Enjoy!

HEADER
"The most important thing is to try and inspire people so they can be great in whatever they want to do." ~ Kobe Bryant 

FOOTER
This page has been left blank for you to tear out, scrunch into a small ball and attempt a Kobe fade away into the nearest paper bin. 

Ryan bought an ad

He's a damn smart marketer is Ryan Reynolds.

Damn smart.

His Tweet above is for the ad below. Enjoy.