Present Generation

Hondamentalism 2

Okay, when you are done with this, you can move on to this:

Vroom

I now know what I'm doing this weekend:

Somebody is trying to tell you something

My favorite crowd sourced art project this week - written on the city

A collection of urban graffiti statements. 

Be interesting and make it a goal to be a weekly contributer.

Chicken or the egg

As technology becomes more and more pervasive in everything we do, including advertising, in order to come up with new innovation you have to take one of two approaches:
1. Keep tabs on new application in other areas and think of ways to apply them relevantly to the creative marketing challenge at hand.
2. Think of something first, then find the people to build it.

The former you see in things like Subservient Chicken or the Sith Sense for BK.  Both of which, as I understand CPG innovated by keeping tabs on cool and nifty new technologies, or applications of technologies from other industries.  Subservient Chicken came from the porn industry of all things. 

What is really interesting is when you can do the second, think of it then find the people to build it.  This happens in certain areas, like visual effects and in particular website design.  But it would be safe to presume that this will only accelerate as the pace of adoption or duplication itself accelerates.  People will be lining up to find a marketing application when something new gets innovated.  But hopefully we will continue to push innovation into what "could" be possible rather than what "is" possible.  Then instead of small steps you make leaps.  Can't help but to think that's what the R/GA team on Nike+ team did.

Here is a neat example of thinking of something first then finding a way to make it.  In a funny way I can't imagine how else could one have thought of this.

Viva la South Park

The boys at South Park have set an interesting precedent for content distribution and non broadcast revenue through South Park Studios.

The lost art of detail

As an industry we are focused on bigness and greatness.  But often it is the smallness that lets us down.  To some it is laziness.  When someone relies on "fix it in post" reeks of never really knowing what you wanted in the first place. 

I love detail, and I love it when someone pays attention to them all.  For example I love reading about how integral detail is to the Mad Men series.

the big rub is that detail, be it authenticity in the set of a commercial or anal attention to detail in visual effects, is lost on the greater audience.  But those who care, care a lot, are are probably the ones who actually care about your product.  It's kind of like 10 year old syndrome.  Remember when you were 10, and whatever you were into, you were really really into.  How many times did you read that comic book or magazine you were into.  As adults, we lose a lot of that, but still retain one or two things in our lives still in that regard.  For some it's golf, others NASCAR and others still fashion or home furnishings.

Though, while detail is most pertinent to your core audience, while they may not consciously recognize it, great detail, be it elegant design, typography or just beauty can still affect or still the broader population.  While a bit of a tangent, this changing typography of highway signs is really interesting, given it's something we never think about, but use daily.

The 5 Rules of Wieden Kennedy

http://nikkaia.blogspot.com/2007/08/5-rules-of-wieden-kennedy.html

** Act Stupid. "Our philosophy is to come in ignorant every day. The idea of retaining ignorance is sort of counterintuitive, but it subverts a lot of [problems] that come from absolute mastery. if you think you know the answer better than somebody else does, you become closed to being fresh." states Jelly Helm, creative director.

** Shut up. "The first thing we do when we meet with clients is listen. We try to figure out what their problems are. Then we come back with questions, not solutions. We write these out and put them on the wall. And then we circle the ones that we think are interesting. More often than not, the questions hold the answer."

** Always say yes. "What I've learned from improvisation is to let go of outcome and just say yes to what4ever the situation is. If you say an idea is bad, you're creating conflict--you're breaking an improv rule. You want an energy flow that moves you forward, as opposed to a creative stasis."

** Chase Talent. "Find people who make you better. It's best to be the least talented person in the room. It's reciprocal. It challenges you to keep up."

** Be Fearless. "Do anything, say anything. In the worlds of our president, Dan Wieden, 'You're not useful to me until you've made three momentous mistakes.' He knows that if you try not to make mistakes, you miss out on the value of learning from them."

That's Sizzling!!!

Notes from a 1982 McDonalds Canada marketing team creative review:

Product shot - check

Show our clean cooking environment - check

 

Sizzling taste appeal - check

Prozak perky employees - check

Happy customers - check

Time limit call to action to drive sales today - Check

Approved!

Brewtastic

Never knew beer could be so classy.

Long way off from what this Molson Canadian has become.  So much for being the Friendly Beer. 

(Note to self: affix Maple Leaf crests to all blazers...)

Sao Paulo

Adding more context to the Sao Paula advertising ban, as well heralded in the flickr set, is this video looking at the politics of the ban.  Frankly, I don't  really disagree with the ban as it's hard not to be against urban spam and the proliferation of more ads in more places.  If more ads truely were of higher creative merit and spke to people on human or semi intelligent terms, maybe there wouldn't be such backlash.   

Vinorama 2007

Off to the Okanagan tomorrow to experience the BC wine country.  Will oblige in the tasting ritual.  Glad this guy isn't coming though:

All me all the time

There are two things, that despite my familiarity with technology that still blow me away.  One is when I watch a major sporting event live from my couch.  Like Wimbledon or the Olympics.  Just soo cool that travels all around the world, and often through space to my little boob tube.

The second thing that blows me away is this, seeing what someone else is doing at any hour of the day on the other side of the continent from my little laptop.  Justin.tv has come a long way since launched last April. 

Crazy man!  Just crazy!

iBill

It's tragic that something so sleek as the iPhone, comes with something so clunky as this monthly AT&T invoice.

Firing up integration

There is so much chitter chatter about integration, which is natural as great pressures for conformity escalate in an environment of increasing disparity as media and entertainment time continues to fragment or at least shift to different things and ways.

The good news in a way is that no one has really yet even figured it out.  In their biannual review it was surprising to see that even the folks at Wieden London, who many hold up as a gold standard, themselves haven't figured it out.

5. Fully embrace interactive media and turn W+K into the UK's first agency to offer genuinely integrated, creatively brilliant offline/online campaigns.
We're working on this one. We’ve done a fair bit of digital work for Honda (Hondamentalism site up and running, plus various other bits of interactive stuff and web content, with more in development), Pizza Hut, Wales (new site to launch soon), Emeco (new site to launch soon), and projects are in development for Cravendale, Nokia and more. We’re also staffing up with interactive talent. We hired AKQA San Francisco ACD David Lee, BBDO Montreal’s head of digital production Jessica Manchester, digital producer Will Misselbrook, and we have two more hires confirmed and starting work shortly, with more to follow. I couldn’t honestly claim that we’ve achieved this objective yet but we’re making real progress.

Clark and Michael

This is fantastic.  It is my new favorite show and a fascinating mashup.  Basically, it's the non-sitcom model of a show about nothing trail blazed by Seinfeld, mashed with blog style video capture of a day in the life of Joe Public.  Basically, jutin.tv and tastybloagsnack mashed into How I Met Your Mother with hints of The Real World.

It's funny, well written and simply entertaining.    Not certain but this seems to be a project by CBS, if so nicely done ladies and gentlemen.  Embracing your content creation talents and being open to new distribution methods other than "TV Channels."

Russel Davies - U of Oregon

Stumbled across this today when looking at some Oregon video (was to be a summer vacation local, that was canceled twice and is no more... your welcome boss.)  It's student footage a visit Russell Davies made to the U of O Journalism school.  From back in the days when he rules the Plannershere.  It simply is interesting.

(Russell, I am still interested in importing an Interesting 2007 type event to Canada, let me know if you've worked out whether it would work.)

Monday fun

Personally, I like a quiet night at home on a Monday eve.  Fortunately, if you're looking for something to do or are the competitive type, there is this:

Firework Art

Unfortunately, the art Galleries around here don't allow even non-flash photography.  No I took some non-flash photography last week in a flash environment at the Vancouver Celebration of Light.  Something neat about the chaos (yes they are deliberately chaotic, I don't have shaky hand at 9 on the richter scale.)

Noticed

Book by Ronald weight notes that "the world has gotten too small for is to make any big mistakes.:"

As an observation, that world of marketing has gotten so big you can only make mistakes.

Ciao amigo

Further evidence of Facebook hitting it's tipping point. 

West Coast Partay

That's right prepsters, it is back, but this time left coast style.  As always, the original is better...

Greeni$m

A cool thing about the modern green movement is that it is focused around real change.  Not just greenwashing. And whether it is as simple as you turning off a light in an empty room or an empowering as developing your own marketable green business models, there are so many actual and tangible ways for people to participate.  The PICNIC green challenge is just the latest.

If there is one area that is going to fully see the fruits of all those new fangled things and mentalities folks are banging on about these days (you know like the wisdom of crowds, always in beta, consumer participation in brands, etc..) my money is that is will come to fruition in the greenspace.  Change is in the DNA.  Most big companies can adopt components of these new thought models and approaches, but it's just not in their DNA to act and live them.  Profitability through generosity just isn't in the business model.

This isn't a critique of them, the big companies are very good at what they do and are big because of the systems and mentalities they have developed over the past 50+ years.  And they will generally continue to be big and good at what they do.  Just the pie continues to get bigger as new business models become viable and are added to the mix.  This article in Fortune on the newspaper business notes how many times they have been "dead" over the past century. Newspapers will likely continue in a very similar for for decades to come, though they may not have the influence they once did.  But their core product wasn't selling dried wood pulp, but "news" which is something that can be delivered through many mediums.  They just haven't figured out a model as successful as printed newspapers.

So, maybe there will be a green news company with a model we've yet to see.  One who's only pressure on the environment is sending reporters to cover events and the electricity you electronic viewing device consumes.  Far less demanding than the thousands of trees your daily paper requires.

That's just one example.  Given the fact greenism touches every industry, I can't wait to see the new ideas and models that arise.

On the Road

Heading on the road this week.  Doing the creative presentation exective tour.  Blogging will be light or more frivilous than normal.

But here's a little bit of heft to start your week. Thanks to the blogospheres favorite Wannabe Ad Man for the discovery.

How do you rebrand a city?

Apparently, the city of Vancouver rebranded themselves today.  That's right "rebranded." Seeing that headline I was looking forward to seeing a brand promise, a new spirit and mantality at city hall.  Maybe even some fun brandspeak on the envelope of my next property tax assessment notice.

Sadly, I read further and learned rebranding means we no longer do we live in a place GVRD (Greater Vancouver Regional District) but Metro Vancouver. 

That's it...

So you mean like just a renaming?

Yep, a new name on the business cards and letterhead.  Thats about it.

What's with all this fancy "branding" verbiage.  Kind of feels like an over promise.  Don't know why people insist on using these words that have such varied definitions and understandings.  Kind of the classic, five dollar word when a one dollar word would do.  But maybe that's just my mother's influence.

Running real value

I have always been an advocate of the Nike brand and the creative work they do.  And of all the things they have done, their runner's ecosystem is the most impressive.  A post by Bruce Nassbaum of Business Week kind of points out how often people miss out on the breadth and richness of the Nike running experience.

I think he made a great point about Nike+ being what social networking is all about, and something a lot of agencies can learn from instead of some crappy "we gotta be in social networking" campaign linked to tile cleaner.  But,I think a lot of people mistake of Nike+ as just a social networking experiment, or an innovative pedometer.  The bigger thing here is a brand, Nike, rather talking about running and trying to increase perceptions of value to runners, instead creates actual value for runners by developing a new training aid and community for runners to rally around.  It is so much more than just a networking site.  It is Run London, the Nike Runner's lounge in Vancouver and other cities, training podcast with Paula Radcliffe on iTunes and countless other things.  They all are part of a runners ecosystem where Nike doesn't just inspire you but gives you the tools and community to become a better or more devoted runner.  Take away the social networking or add something else next year and the ecosystem is just as rich and broad.

It's official

Following some intense data analytics, econometric modeling and in depth ethnography it is now official that 14.5 seconds ago at 11:06 Pacific Standard Time, Facebook officially hit the Tipping Point.

Looks like it's all downhill from here.  The backlash is in full flight.  As many have mused that blogging time has now been replaced by Facebook time, it will now remain to be discovered whether blogging now becomes retro cool taking back time ownership from Facebook. 

To help illustrate the exact moment of the Tipping Point the research staff at Think Small prepared the following visual.