We’re an inventive agency obsessed with turning complex information into simple, creative communication. Obsessed.
As you all know, in fashion one day you’re in, and the next day you’re out. Last weekend, I was so lucky to be invited to several of London Fashion Week’s catwalks…and I had one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Completely randomly, I had a chance meeting with my fashion muse: Kate Lanphear, Senior Fashion Editor at Elle Magazine (US). Continue reading ‘Yuan’s In – Yuan’s Out’
I’m still trying to figure out what the connection is between weird children with dancing eyebrows and Cadbury chocolate (other than the subtle branding in the costume and set design) but one thing I can tell you for certain is that this is easily my favourite advertising campaign at the moment. Continue reading ‘Freaky Eyebrows and Chocolate’
These really are taxing times for brand custodians. A confluence of media has created a cacophony of uncertainty. Much has been written about the vaunted fall of the thirty-second spot with the rise of ‘New Media.’ But now even ‘New Media’ has become passé. We’ve moved on from the Television era, through the Internet age and into a more complex time when content is king and medium is almost an irrelevance.
DISCLAIMER – I WILL NOT BE TAKING ANY BOOKINGS FOR DRIVING LESSONS, THIS WAS JUST A ONE-OFF INSTANCE (SEE BELOW FOR CERTIFIED ADVICE) Continue reading ‘Learn to teach to learn…’
Horizon uncovers the secret world of our dreams. In a series of cutting-edge experiments and personal stories, we go in search of the science behind this most enduring mystery and ask: where do dreams come from? Do they have meaning? And ultimately, why do we dream?
As a teenager I loved rocking out to a bit of Heavy Metal. From the thrash industrial stuff to the more melodic beat driven nuskool stuff. The genre is still alive and well and has a strong place in a lot of teenagers’ hearts today – as does the need for a ridiculous band name. Continue reading ‘Nickleback?’
I saw on TV the other night the worst Peugeot advert ever. It was really really bad. I personally resented this deliberate attack on the French brand. Someone must really wanted to sabotage sales in the UK! Continue reading ‘When Peugeot meets Citroen…robotically speaking’
A friend of mine recently applied, which is how I found out about the Best Job in the World. If you haven’t done so already…check this out – it’s ridiculously clever. Continue reading ‘Best (PR) job in the world’
In an obvious (yet somewhat unimaginative) rebuttal to the British Humanist Association’s recent advertising campaign on London buses, I noticed this morning that many buses around central London were adorned with adverts proclaiming “There definitely is a God. So join the Christian party and enjoy your life”. My research suggests that this new campaign has been funded by The Trinitarian Bible Society and the Russian Orthodox Church. Continue reading ‘There definitely is a God…maybe…’
I’ve just returned from my fourth Mandarin lesson: six hours in, and I’ve just about pinned down how to say “I’m from London,” and “I can speak English” (as if that weren’t obvious enough from my dubious pronunciation). Rapid strides… Continue reading ‘Lasting language’
Amy Winehouse sells records. Her talent is undeniable but in recent times this has been overshadowed by her highly-publicised drug addiction. In 2008 her Grammy wins were knocked by several leading artists, publicly stating that she was a poor role model and therefore not a worthy winner of the coveted awards. Continue reading ‘Trying to make [her] go to rehab…..really?’
This is truly the most hilarious video I’ve seen in some time. I found this while discussing a youth-orientated brand with my female colleague. I felt it important to emphasise what guys really get up to for most of their spare time between the ages of 14 and 74. It’s easy to get carried away with Puritanism or hide our heads in the sand, but real consumer behaviour -- though sometimes inconvenient -- is no less real. Anyway, let us breathe a hefty sigh of relief…
I’ve recently been invited to show my short film Diana at this year’s London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. And with Diana being my first short film since leaving film school, I’m naturally very excited. Continue reading ‘The 23rd London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival’
If anyone has found Safari getting a bit slow to load or run then it might be something really simple: a dodgy Flash plug-in. Put simply, you might have two files for Flash Player but one is a rogue! Go here MacintoshHD/Library/Internet Plug-Ins. Keep the new file (Flash Player.plugin) and lose the old one (flashplayer.xpt). After you restart your browser, you’ll notice a little pickup in pace for flash. I particularly found those annoying script warnings in flash went away.
I originally found this tip here on Mac OS X Hints
In a quick skim of the newspaper yesterday, I came across an article that mentioned Obama had been heard using fairly controversial language…one quote going a little something like this…
This week’s entries reminded me of this brilliant piece of branding for Puccino’s coffee shop I came across a while back at a small train station stand in my home town of Bishop’s Stortford. Brilliantly simple, witty copy and a hand-drawn illustration style (that serves it perfectly) adorn the entire range of packaging from cups and sachets to paper bags. Continue reading ‘Puccino’s branding’
So as I was going through the BBC website for my usual dose of news from around the world, I came across this article…
Indians, outraged over an attack on women drinking in a bar, gathered together to protest. More than 5,000 people, including men, have joined a Facebook group called ‘Consortium of Pub-going, Loose and Forward Women.’ Continue reading ‘For effective communication: use underwear.’
There are, I’m very pleased to say, some positive effects of this recession we’ve been sucked into. My favourite without a doubt is improved customer service. Retailers it seems are now going out of their way to make sure your experience is as memorable as possible and have finally remembered what going the extra mile really means. Continue reading ‘Service…yes, please’
After a rather irresponsible Friday night, I decided to cleanse my soul with some culture and dragged my self to an exhibition at the Design Museum on Saturday morning. The cleansing came in the form of Fashion Designer Hussein Chalayan. Continue reading ‘Hussein Chalayan’
So I’ve just discovered (courtesy of Mac Break Weekly) a really cool new tool for writing blog postings on the mac called Blogo. The guys over at Brainjuice have managed to create a tool for blog authoring and editing that finds just about the right balance between functionality, intuition and no more than I need. It’s a great little intuitive app that’s just about the simplest route to adding ideas… now all I have to do is have some.
Whilst there are plenty of Timeline generators available in the world, there are very few which are both free and available online. TimeRime is both of these. Continue reading ‘Mastering the 4th Dimension’
Has anyone here been on eBay? Of course you have. It’s the one-stop shop for cheap goodies. And I’ve always had admiration for the folks who put together such a great concept, or at the least perfected and popularised online auctions. Until now. Now I’ve found a new online auction site that makes eBay look like a child gandering with a plaything. My friends, say hello to Swoopo.co.uk Continue reading ‘Under the Hammer’
Normally I’m not a fan of music videos. More often than not, I think they spend too long making the band look good as opposed to actually servicing the song. But every now again a video turns up that I can’t help but be impressed by. Like this one for Her Morning Elegance by Oren Lavie, co-directed by Lavie, Yuval & Merav Nathan. Proof that – sometimes – with imagaination, you really can achieve anything.
It seems hope really is contagious. Or so it seems, as this recent report on Pepsi and Ikea highlights an apparently-Obama-inspired ad campaign. Though I’m not convinced they were a direct response to Obama, it’s not surprising that brands would want to cash in on the emotional upswing we’ve witnessed since inauguration day. But what will the long-term cost be? Particularly in the case of Pepsi – who modified their logo this October (it hadn’t been tweaked since 1998)… life imitating brand or brand imitating Obama? Continue reading ‘Jumping on the brandwagon’
How is it possible that a little bit of snow has forced London to entirely seize up? The trains, buses and roads are frozen. People stuck at home. It isn’t as if it’s never snowed before. A country brought to its knees by little flakes of cold.
The saving grace is the solitude, the peace, the lovely silence of the city. I must say London is much improved by the addition of wonderful white snow and the absence of its obnoxious rabble (me excluded). The snow reminds us of our childhood. Transforms our familiar environment into a wonderland. Makes event the most sullen of hearts dream of snowmen and sleds. It’s wonderful here and long may it remain.
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