Yesterday I saw this new spot for Proximus being spread out on several blogs. Pretty nice to look at, but it's hard to focus on the voice-over with that much spectacle on display.
And it's even harder when you hark back to the fabulous Fashion vs Style spot by French Connection from a few years back. I've been using that one in presentations for ages. Even the setting and background seems to be similar...
A great product centered idea. Fallon at their best by putting drama into an everyday still life, with product details that don't devaluate the rest. It kind of reminds me of older Tesco or Albert Heijn work (the 'talking products bit') but it's a lot better scripted, and you can't go wrong with candy, obviously...
I had missed this film for the BBC, but according to NME it was directed by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett and features characters from their opera Monkey: Journey To The West.
I first saw the news on Creativity Online but posts older than 7 days are no longer accessible to those who are not graced with subscriptions to the site, so do a Google search or visit Adland for more juicy bits on the story.
The discussion is an obvious one: how can anyone who works for Burger King and Domino's Pizza write a book on the portion-size explosion in the US without disappointing (and potentially offending) his clients. I have a hunch that David Ogilvy would have fired him but then those were different times.
The fact that this is possible is probably proof that our communication culture is finally changing. Advertising is no longer all about embellishment but about finding relevant truths that have cultural appeal beyond what the marketeer thinks is the big strength or, heaven forbid, the usp. If anything, the fact that he can write this book ensures relevance and authenticity for Burger King campaigns for as long as they continue to make them...
A new Ableton mix, and I'm pretty chuffed with this one actually, it sped up my saturday run considerably, so you can imagine it's pretty uptempo stuff.
And yes, it contains tracks by Justice, Boys Noize and Crookers, but don't let that hold you back. The full tracklisting should give you a better idea of what to expect, or maybe not:
The new Typepad iPhone application: perfect to keep track of how many times Amazon.co.uk screw up my deliveries: pic and on the blog with it. I've had it with their packaging dept and the small nicks & scratches that devaluate my orders, but don't really warrant sending it back and waiting another few weeks.
I'm thinking of using some graphic template to keep score. You can ogle my most recent annoyance in the meantime.
Cadbury's gorilla got a lot of people worked up during the past few months, not in the least after it was awarded the grand prix in Cannes a few weeks ago. Influx has a great roundup of the most important learnings: it worked, some people get it and some people don't (if you're part of the latter group, think about why you'd want to stay in advertising), there is no formula, research can't explain everything, and last but not least: planners were involved. Even it was just to set the scene and break out some real truths:
Why being matters more than saying
Being true to yourself, rather than pretending to be something you are not
Being authentic vs. contrived
The idea of brands taking on the role of entertainers.
By the way, from the stories I've heard the account people did have a big role to play in selling the bloody thing to the client as well. And some pretty nifty tactics were used to get it in for re-presentation every time...
So just because we feel cheery today, one of my favourite remixes:
Bill Willingham: Fables: Legends in Exile (Vertigo) How would snow white cope in the real world? And what would the wolf be like? Answers in here. I'm a bit too late to discover this and am having a hard time finding the second bundle, if anyone can help me out let me know.
Francis Preve: The Remixer's Bible: Build Better Beats Fancy me building better beats ;-) This is quite good actually, I'd be better of polishing up on some of the basics but this has got some really cool tips and tweaks.
Crispin Porter: Hoopla Probably one of the hottest shops around, so I was kind of curious. An intense experience for a book...
Beyond The Wizards Sleeve: Beyond The Wizards Sleeve Ark 1 Erol Alkan and Richard Norris on a psychedelic trip with Kraut- and Postrock influences all over. Great stuff but a tad harder to find, check out the Rough Trade webstore if you're interested.
Various Artists: Ed Rec Vol.3 Pedro Winter and the boys from the Ed Banger label are still very much alive. Some purists might try and tell you otherwise but they've still got it. Not for the neurotics among us though.
Hollywood Mon Amour: Hollywood Mon Amour I'd never take this out on the basis of the tracklist, but the female vocals and the attention to detail to every last song on here makes it into something truly fantastic.
Boys Noize: Bugged Out Presents Suck My Deck: Mixed By Boys Noize Excellent overview of some of the hottest stuff from the past years (with some rare, reworked classics dropped in for good measure). If you want to get a taste of what a dirty dancefloor can offer today, this is a fantastic place to start...
Carl Craig: Sessions Still going strong after so many years, and this (rare) compilation makes it that much clearer. And 'throw' will get you every time...
Alter Ego: Why Not ?! Funhouse techno redefined. Completely bonkers and all the better for it.
Daft Punk: Alive 2007 If you had not noticed, I love this album... this is Daft Punk at their best. Harder, faster, better than a normal album, and the crowd noise just makes it better