Right-Half Chow

Twin Peaks Anno 2006

We're not really television afficionados, meaning that I miss most series on a regular basis, then catch up in marathon sessions comprising 8 straight hours of 24, The Sopranos, ... but mostly it's games and movies on the tellie these days.

One of the last series we followed on-cable was Lost, and by the end I was losing interest in the side-stories and histories of the different characters. In my mind there is only one series that succeeded in losing the plot completely and keeping my intrest going for longer than 3 episodes after that happened and that is Twin Peaks. Charles has revisited Twin Peaks and took pictures of a lot of memorbable places which he puts on display here.

And since my old collection of episodes (on NTSC) is starting to wear out and I will soon be able to start citing the dialogues season one on cue I'm checking Dugpa a few times a month to see if news from the season 2 DVDs is transpiring. Apparently there is an agreement and David Lynch himself oversaw the rerecording of the dolby sound. I'm hoping it'll be here before spring because this is perfect winterfood...

Vintage Public Service

A great collection of vintage AdCouncil and other stuff, over at FallonTrendpoint. And I've mentioned Ethan Persoff's collection of public service comics before but it ties in nicely, and is frequently updated with new stuff.

This one remains classic, but he doesn't seem totally into it though, a bit more enthusiasm would not go amiss:

Marketing Lingo Gone Wrong

Seth Godin has an interesting point about some of the clichés that are commonly used in advertising and marketing. Infuriating stuff, I'll add some to start with:

We have a great consumer insight: ranging from product characteristic to simplistic statements like 'people need to eat', everything counts as an insight these days. And it probably can, but the interesting part of a good consumer insight remains the fact that it's an insight: surprising, unexpected, fresh,... Not just a benefit repackaged as a consumer need.

We need to bring more emotion into the campaign: we'll tell the same crap people have been forced to listen to for years, but we'll change the language and call it emotional branding. Emotion is not just words people, it's relevancy and things people care about, and advertising seldom is a part of that. Unless you're prepared to let go of what you think is interesting.

Add your own if you feel like it and check the ones Seth already wrote about: 4 out of 5 for me...

The early adapters will use it. Actually, they're adopters, not adapters. The mistake in wording represents a fundamental misunderstanding of how most markets work. People don't adapt to what you make, they adopt it. They can't be forced to adapt, so they won't.

Half my advertising works, I just don't know which half. Actually, it's closer to 1% of your advertising that works, at the most. Your billboard reaches 100,000 people and if you're lucky, it gets you a hundred customers...

Let's do a focus group, they'll decide. A focus group is supposed to focus you, not them. It's supposed to lay out ideas and issues that mean little to the group and plenty to you. If you're not prepared to focus, better to not go.

That's a wacky idea. Actually, doing what you're doing now is wacky. Because what you're doing now is certain to become obsolete, possibly sooner rather than later. Just ask my old boss!

We need a bigger marketing department. Probably, you need everyone in the organization to do the marketing... from scratch. More brochures aren't the answer.

Paradox of Cheese

Borat faces the problem Barry Schwartz describes in his book The Paradox of Choice:

Slate's YouTube Slideshow

Slate has a slightly different view on the milestones on YouTube. Similar initiatives will offer you the 'freaks' and oddities à la numa that made it into minor celebrities but this retrospective shows some off the mass moving stuff that actually had some content and does not contain people making fools of themselves or others. They're not obscure finds (oherwise they wouldn't feature in a retrospective) and LonelyGirl is one of them but it's well worth a look.

Timeless Science

We went to see Kraftwerk this weekend, they remain one of the most timeless acts you can witness. U2, the Rolling Stones, even Madonna, they've been around for a long time as well (Kraftwerk disappeared for a while, granted) but they had to reinvent themselves time and time again, whereas the structure and feel of the original Kraftwerk allows for continuous innovation with less effort.

They took a while to come up with the original concept: the sound, the act, the imagery and the fascination with technology, mobility, science and a host of other phenomena associated with increasing urbanisation. But it turned out to be really solid, most of the original songs were played in their original versions (while mixing the bass in separately, a good decision in front of this public).

It was amazing to see so many younger spectators in the public as well, each and every one of them as enthusiastic as the thirty somethings who just came for the occasion. Like good wine, they get better with age, and the tangible presence of 20 years of beats and electronic dance music only added to their glory.

Now that's something brands should aspire to: not just driving innovation, but improving themselves through the same innovation they inspired.

Weasel words & Travel Guides

Seth Godin has an interesting tip for anyone who needs to write down stuff every once in a while. Try to avoid justifying the things you descrive by adding more (limiting) adjectives, which he calls weasel words.

I had a similar experience a few years ago while we were touring Myanmar, in one of the places we visited we saw the worlds largest cracked bell made from copper (or something in that vein). But travel guides probably get away with it since you're not really in a mood to criticise the tales they tell you. Most people really want to see things on holiday and if that means adding some conditions that warrant you being there, why not...

Random interestingness

Dove with a great new film, they're getting more explicit every year, and I love them for it:

Some interesting shirt pictures for P&G by Saatchi, but the logos seem to be on vacation:

Brilliant idea or one of the worst forms of urban spam?

Dans la publicité

Thanks Toon!

It's here

Speaking of slow-motion, the new Bravia ad can be admired on the campaign site as of this morning. If there are as many consumers mailing the link to eachother as there are advertising afficionado's, this should work out pretty well.

Great film but  I don't really like the soundtrack, it's a bit too obvious and it gives the film a very 'engineered' look, whereas balls was a really organic and nicely flowing bit of film. I'll put it up on the blog as soon as it appears on YouTube.

EDIT:
Upon seeing it again this afternoon it really feels completely orchestrated (especially given the 'classic for beginners' tune used to score it).

Balls was so organic that it made you think about all the stuff that could have gone wrong (I saw San Fransisco being overrun by bouncy balls in my dreams). It really was something 'like no other', the sequel is 'colour, like the first one' 'just not as brilliant and playful'.

What I found interesting for the first one is the fact that 'the making off' was downloaded and showed almost as much as the spot itself. Seeing people chuck thousands of bouncy balls down those hills is just more exhilarating than people planning to explode some paint barrels over a building, eliminating all sense of spontaneity.

That being said, I still think it's a brilliant campaign, they just raised the bar to impossible heights with the first one.

The commercial: