....My second advertising post in as many weeks, this time is slightly closer to home. AMV's own 'Big Picture' campaign for Aviva, where the public are encouraged to upload their picture online. The result is to have it projected on to the side of a building in a major international city, or at the very least receive your own unique film showing how it might look. In return Aviva will pay £1 to 'Street to School' for every new picture uploaded, with the aim of reaching a total of £250,000. It's worth getting involved both for the fun, but also the good will - I was obviously attracted to seeing myself on the side of a building, so the following film was the result!
It's an incredible tool, that takes place before our eyes after uploading your image. It is one part of a huge, exciting Global campaign that encourages social interaction from the outset.
....A superb ad for The Independent from when advertising was good. I don't usually feature a whole load of ads on this blog, but being in the industry I find it remarkable that one of this length, quality and level of risk was ever bought by client. And that it is still totally relevant today is testament to it's calibre. Top marks, (again), to Charles Inge and Lowe. Spotted on an advertising blog no less, here.
....Yer what? Well, I was only introduced to this supercalifragilistic word when reading Richie's blog. He is super in to type, whereas I only dip in and out. But, in a nutshell it refers to the 11 meter wide typographic wooden wall that legendary designer Lou Dorfsman, art director for the CBS Network, created and installed at the CBS offices in 1966.
To celebrate Dorfsman's work, with this as a centre piece, (a reproduced section at least), Kemistry Gallery are also exhibiting his original art directed work for CBS. Kelly and I popped along to the Private View tonight to check it out. And to sup on a free beer of course.
Although obviously no substitute for the real thing, to see a reproduction of the wall was fantastic, but I was more impressed by the newsprint pages upon the wall, each showcasing ad after ad that he created for CBS. Each one typographically and art directionally thought out. Negative space as key as positive. Bold and to the point. Basically, unlike any advert that you will see now, because clients are too scared to buy them.
A small, but perfectly formed show and certainly a must see for any media savvy type, or those with even a passing interest in typography. Lovely.
....Good friend, Red, told me a little while ago that she'd landed a TV ad for Maynard's Wine Gums. Most people still remember the, "Hoots mon this joose, loose, aboot this hoose"version from the late 80s. Well this iteration has set upon a more hypnotic theme by way of memorability. And Red plays off her kookiness perfectly.
Great stuff Red, here's to more of the same. Oh, and did you get a life times supply or anything?!
...I got the opportunity to go and see the Adam Buxton hosted, Bug, for only the second time tonight. Like the first, it was a rambling, funny, cringe worthy and altogether learned evening, trawling music videos, ads and internet phenomena for all the wrong and right reasons.
There was also a live interview with Sean Pecknold, that whilst interesting, was somewhat stifled by the music director's inability to maintain a decent conversation. He seemed so introverted that it was only Buxton who could draw any fact and humour from it.
There are many videos from tonight's show that I liked. This for example. And this. And this. But I am going to end this post on one that I seem to have gained a particular dislike for:
OK GO, 'This too shall pass'
Now this video has got my back up a bit. Watch it all and you might be amazed, joyous, wonder struck, tickled pink. Find out that it was, (more or less), shot in one take, then you might be more so. This music video has proved an internet phenomenon, passing from email to email, screen to screen. But what gets me is not it's artistic merit - for there is a lot of hard work in this. Not it's undoubted positivity, because many will watch with a smile. But it is the hugely unoriginal idea behind this video. It is a well trodden one too and it seems to me they haven't been so gracious as to acknowledge it. Preceding this, was in 2003, the Honda 'Cog' ad from creatives at Wieden + Kennedy.
This ad won a host of awards. Perhaps rightly so, (for its execution), but I was annoyed even then, as I had seen this idea before. It was stolen. A fraud. My art school education had paid off in one small way - I had been shown a video of artist duo Fischli & Weiss, from 1987 called 'The way things go'. In one take, household parts, flora & fauna were set up to create one larger, sprawling continuous machine. It was a less polished 'Cog' - but only because it didn't exist in adland.
Anyone who watched the Honda ad, and new about the above video would be lying if they didn't admit the incredible similarities. But then, Fischli & Weiss weren't entirely original themselves. Whilst they were the first to create such a chain reaction for real and in a live setting, they based their work of art on the American cartoonist Rube Golderg. His cartoons depicted the accomplishment of something simple through a complex means. In fact his name became a dictionary based adjective for exactly that.
Maybe, all this proves something that I already knew, but daren't admit in my fury. Nothing is original. But the best works of art, the best ads, films, music and so on, succeed by using an existing, celebrated idea and putting a new twist on it. OK GO's video only scrapes in to this category in my view, the uplifting nature securing it a place. But, I guess that's enough. Now just watch the awards roll in.
....A day off work afforded me to step back in time, in to my own industry. The MBPA is a wonderful little museum in a quiet and beautiful Mews in West London. It houses products from a bygone era that are the collection of consumer historian Robert Opie. It is a fantastically reminiscent journey, but also an entirely overwhelming one as there is just so much to take in. Well worth your time.
The products and ads on show rekindle not just memories of childhood, but also scenes from your life when that particular product was involved. Among the many, these ones stood out.
Childhood and still current best friend, Paul, was nicknamed Bran Buds after the cereal I used to eat most mornings. Since no longer produced, the nickname has similarly demised!
Heinz are as much a part of everyday life now as they always have been. Particularly as it is one of my Accounts at work, so is interesting to see some historical packaging, that, interestingly and perhaps importantly has hardly changed.
The 1966 World Cup Souvenir Programme in the bottom right of this image stood out. Only last week, for no particular reason, I rooted through an old chest of 'memories' at my mum & dad's house. Amongst the school reports and dodgy photos, was this exact programme. With a Uruguay v Brazil match report written up in the back. It was in pristine condition, but no one knew where it had come from. It excited me massively. More so now, as it's presence in a museum seems to give it more exclusivity.
....James's blog has alerted me to the arrival of series 3 of Mad Men. I'm sure it will take a little while longer to get over this side of the pond, but it will be worth the wait. Mad Men is one of the most beautifully cast, styled, written and shot TV programmes in a long time - the opening credits alone are a thing of wonder:
....Flashmobbingis the new cool thing. And Michael Jackson is le musique du choix. This makes my hair stand on end - and you just know there could easily be a million people taking part in a spontaneous dance to MJ.
....Alicia is in the process of making a series of paper sculptures for club night Matter. Commissioned and latterly designed by Village Green Studio on their behalf, the work will feature in monthly flyers, beginning in June. It should look something like the images below. There will be a couple more flyers to come, each with a different paper design. (Click images to enlarge).
....Last year I blogged about an article and illustration that Lorenzo and I had created and submitted to The Ride magazine. We were told just after Christmas that it was to be published and today it finally landed on my desk. The whole magazine looks beautiful and it's particularly satisfying to see the work in print.
....Lorenzo and I had mentioned it previously, but only in jest. However, a couple of weeks ago we decided that we'd like to team up and take on the advertising world. Him the art director, myself the copywriter we would form a creative team, building a portfolio of work that would eventually let us leave our current careers behind. Our first brief has come through AMV and is for a competition called Young Lions. It is for Christian Aid, to raise awareness that poverty is the root cause of HIV and Aids. A tricky debut brief then, but we've mixed morning meetings with weekends, (and even some work hours!), to create an ad we are hugely pleased with. It has been approved by AMV and will be entered for the competition. It will be the first ad in our portfolio. Here's to many more.
....A few weeks ago I posted some photos of me, taken by a friend, for Levi's Dockers. There was an outside chance that these images would make the website, but as the stylist was having an off day and made me look ridiculous, I had hoped they wouldn't. Well tough luck for me - I'm published! (If you so wish to see them at first hand, then from their home page, click 'main menu', then 'your style'.)
....You'll only find the title of this post humorous if you've watched Flight of the Conchords. If you haven't, you should. Anyway, I digress. Yesterday I (un)willingly helped soon to be photographer to the stars, Robin, on a shoot for Dockers. He works with friend Lior under the name 'F/27' and they embarrassed me on camera by using a stylist that was clearly still asleep at 8am this particular Sunday morning!
I look like some strange hybrid of Will Youngand Jake from Scissor Sisters. O H D E A R. It's a good job the images are technically brilliant - keep an eye on F/27 you lot.
