September 2010
5 posts
2 tags
Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra
I just came back, drenching wet, from a fantastic performance of the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra at Paradiso (Amsterdam), and knew I had to share their big sound. The Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra has been in my music collection for the last fifteen years (they were originally formed in 1988). They are from Tokyo, play Ska / Rock / Big Band music and they are devilishly good at it. I can’t...
Cows, beards and Danish Gypsy beats
Wrap your ears around some of this: Danish gypsy beats, perfect for a Friday morning - right after the cows have been milked and the first bottle of moonshine has been emptied. Their music is simply awesome. The instrumentation is rich and exciting, the songs will have you tapping along and they simply bring the house down when given enough room to make noise. I saw them two years ago at Fusion...
Ever been to an American Wedding?
Only just came across Gogol Bordello, a gypsy punk-rock band that seems to have been making the rounds for a while, with a hard, high-energy transatlantic cultural mix of music all covered in sweat, alcohol and raw energy. Via Boing-Boing: http://www.boingboing.net/2010/09/16/gogol-bordello-immig.html “Boing Boing Video proudly debuts a new music video for the “Gypsy-punk”...
Footprints
My four year old daughter picked this random photo as her favourite - from all other ‘snow in Amsterdam’ pics. The others were boring, she said. So young and she already has a strong sense of ‘interestingness’ in her criteria to make choices. She came back with some homework yesterday, and the teacher had crossed it as ‘not paying attention. They were given eight...
Wonderful, intriguing photography - Clayton...
http://claytoncubitt.tumblr.com CONSTANT SIEGE, Clayton Cubitt’s tumblr blog covers intimate photography and images from NY city life, as well as interesting clips picked around the web that have a message and a meaning. His photography has meaning and message; his lifestyle is intriguing to say the least - he seems to live with two of his models, and it’s not clear what their...
April 2010
6 posts
Kill your darlings
One of the hardest things to do as a creative being is to kill your darlings. Sometimes other people will do that for you, sometimes they fall under their own weight. But more often than not, you are ultimately responsible for which ideas must die in order for others to survive. So what does ‘kill your darlings’ mean to you? “In the creative sense of the term, the more you...
Kill your darlings
One of the hardest things to do as a creative being is to kill your darlings. Sometimes other people will do that for you, sometimes they fall under their own weight. But more often than not, you are ultimately responsible for which ideas must die in order for others to survive. So what does ‘kill your darlings’ mean to you? Have your say on the comments, we’ll have a round-up...
Branding and the International Pillow Fight Day
The International Pillow Fight Day is serious business. From their website: “One of our goals is to make these unique happenings in public space become a significant part of popular culture, partially replacing passive, non-social, branded consumption experiences like watching television, and consciously rejecting the blight on our cities caused by the endless creep of advertising into...
4 tags
The macro-niche
Back from a client meeting I got thinking about a concept which follows up on the Long Tail: The macro-niche. When a brand wants to talk to its audience it usually makes sense to convey an advertising message to a large, mainstream crowd. It brings larger return of investments, has more potential customers and more possibilities of sales. There might be cases however that from a strategic...
Consumer insight - Why (he) won't buy an iPad
The model of interaction with the iPad is to be a “consumer,” what William Gibson memorably described as “something the size of a baby hippo, the color of a week-old boiled potato, that lives by itself, in the dark, in a double-wide on the outskirts of Topeka. It’s covered with eyes and it sweats constantly. The sweat runs into those eyes and makes them sting. It has no...
Less is less, more is more
If there was to be a ban on cliches that have caused a disservice to the creative and design community, the “Less is More” mantra would be the first I’d throw into the fire. To be clear: Less is always less, and more is alway more. Any other interpretation is a grab-in-the-dark of pears and apples, comparing things that are not related to each other. The overused mantra has...
March 2010
9 posts
2 tags
Friday Inspiration; Jill Tovey - Fashion Artist
via jilltovey.com Wonderful, messy, colourful work. A nice departure to the mostly vectorial work seen online nowadays. Please share on the comments your favourite artists! Posted via web from There is a method | Comment »
Inspiration: The Last Advertising Agency on Earth
… or at least, the last traditional advertising agency on Earth. For anyone who works in an interactive agency, this is old news. It doesn’t cease to surprise me how creative agencies keep coming with cliche TV scripts and passive perfume-ad brain wanks, even when the client is screaming for something their consumers will actually engage with. And when I say creative agencies I...
Where are the women gone?
Ada Lovelace Day is an international day of blogging to celebrate the achievements of women in technology and science. Find out more at http://findingada.com/about/ I had a hard time thinking how to write a post to celebrate women in technology and science. Partly because gender is not a detail I keep in mind when following someone’s work. I also feel there are enough women represented in...
The Long Tail theory and creative advertising
When deciding on a creative communication strategy for a large brand, the Long Tail theory could be interpreted as follows: “The amount of people who may receive a mainstream message is smaller than the total of people who receive a niche message.” Let’s say a multinational soft-drink brand wants worldwide exposure. Traditionally, it may choose to aim its message to a...
Branded events: London Olympics and...
via boingboing.net An excellent case of saturated, overly zealous branding of an event. When does branding go too far? When the police are given powers to enter private homes and seize posters, and are able to stop people carrying non-sponsor items to sporting events. What boggles the mind is how people allow this situation to get so out of hand, and yet they accommodate. Seriously, when did...
Event branding
On occassion, a branded event can be a good solution to launch a brand awareness campaign or to create an emotional association with the brand. It gives the brand a reason to communicate with the public. This may require a large budget and media support, specially if it the event has to stand on its own. Part of the budget will have to be set aside to create the event, while the remaining budget...
3 tags
On Social Innovation and changing the world
via peepoople.com I am playing Urgent Evoke (http://www.urgentevoke.com). My first task is to explain how to achieve Social Innovation, with real-life social change as a goal. I develop creative interactive advertising campaigns - which are a lot about Social Innovation and modifying people’s behaviour. The same principles can be applied to change the way people do things - for a...
Action: Urgent Evoke - A crash course in changing...
via urgentevoke.com Visit the site: http://www.urgentevoke.com/ Here is a game with a difference: there are no rules, and the players and their actions will help real people around the world. It looks promising, and it requires a proactive approach. It is an ideal game for those of us who prefer to break (or invent) rules rather than follow them, who don’t like predictability, and who are...
Put a face to it
via massiveblack.com Image via www.massiveblack.com When writing a story, creating a character or understanding your intended audience (or players) a little better, it is a good idea to put a face to it. Flick through the pages of a magazine until you find the person who looks like what you are looking for. Sometimes it will be an actor/actress who will exemplify your intended audience;...
February 2010
4 posts
2 tags
Inspiration: JESSICA HISCHE
via lettercult.com “The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life.” — Jessica Hische Great story on Jessica Hische, typographer and designer, by Lettercult. Jessica Hische, 2009 person of the year: http://www.lettercult.com/archives/1396 LetterCult: http://www.lettercult.com/archives/1184 Daily Drop Cap, Jessica’s blog:...
Inspiration: Brendan Wenzel
via brendanwenzel.info Beautiful animal illustrations at http://www.brendanwenzel.info/blog It’s a good idea to always be on the lookout for fresh style and artists, should the occasion arise to contact them and work with, one day. Posted via web from There is a method | Comment »
It's better raise confusion than not to talk
When working in a team, or with other agencies or third-parties involved, the chance of misunderstanding increases exponentially. Too often this is due to assuming or ignoring issues. The best way to avoid misunderstanding? Talk about it. And if you are unsure how to bring it up, raise issues which have to be addressed and responded to. Hence, It’s better raise confusion than not to talk ...
Friday wisdom
via images2.fanpop.com “When an ad looks like an ad, then it’s bad” So true. Posted via web from There is a method | Comment »
June 2009
6 posts
A series of wisdoms
To negotiate difficult briefings or clients you need to have a very clear idea of where - and why - you stand. I hang onto clever little thoughts which throw light on difficult situations.
Ten wisdoms to consider
1. If you build it, why would they come? The old motto “Build it and they will come” has proven useless. Go to where your audience is, instead. “Consumer touch-points”. Here’s a...
Party like it's 2009
It is no secret the recession is having a serious impact on the way business is done on the internet, both in budget and method. At the same time, the way people use internet has changed in the last twelve months, with social media becoming the star of 2009.
If 2008 was about online video and blogging, it seems 2009 will be about social networks and mobile devices. Keeping this in mind when...
YouTube success
Once you have the brilliant idea, here are some guidelines to making it known (if it is a viral video)
1. Not all viral videos are what they seem
Get the viral word out with people like http://www.thecomotiongroup.com/
2. Content is NOT King
Once the video or idea has been created, here are some ways of making it known:
Make it short: 15-30 seconds is ideal; break down long stories into...
Everything you know about ARGs is wrong
An ARG (alternate reality game) is an interactive narrative that uses the real world as a platform, involving multiple media and game elements to tell a story affected by the participants.
Alternative Reality Games have been around for quite some time - DreadNot (1996), The Art of Heist (2005) for Audi… and Nokia Games by Euro RSCG 4D (1991 - 2005).
About that last bit, Nokia games. Euro RSCG 4D...
Prepare your PR/Buzz idea
There is no book of rules just yet - but until then, here are some thoughts to guide and test your ideas. They are values appropriate for just about any Big Idea or briefing, but particularly true for Viral mechanisms.
1. AT A GLANCE What is the most relevant and differentiating idea that will surprise consumers or challenge their current thinking of the brand?
2. TENSION What is the...
Where is all the great Interactive Work?
Why are we not yet seeing consistently great work, and in particular strong enduring campaigns, in the interactive space? Here are a few thoughts - and hopefully by identifying the problem, we can come up with answers.
Via BBH-Labs
1. SPEED - A lack of speed in responding to the changing landscape, a blight suffered by agencies of both old & new skools, digital & analogue, hampers...