Latest merchandise ideas for the Generation Green project...

This is what I have been working on for the last few months - a series of games for kids that focus on environment saving tips, for British Gas...

http://www.generationgreen.co.uk/games/eco-rangers/

I went to the Green Awards last night, hhttp://www.greenawards.co.uk/, sadly we didn't win however this was my favourite piece of work from the evening...

I love this outdoor media piece for Nokia... a simple interactive idea, executed in a place where people often have a couple of minutes to spare... at the bus stop.

Social Storytelling
How long can branded stories last in the digital landscape?

It's all about the conversation...

http://creativity-online.com/?action=news:article&newsId=131936§ionName=pov

This week's power play... heavy dubstep... good for losing yourself in your headphones and getting work done

Doing some research for a new brief just recently (I was looking for some images of 'chintzy' gold taps, gold baths and other examples of decorative bad taste, for a villainous character I was creating)... I found this image from Saddam's palace... Apparently, this painting depicts a series of scuds launched towards Jerusalem. Saddam would sit in front of this mural and entertain guests! Now, I'm no psychologist but... something tells me this guy was not of a fun loving, easy going disposition.

GSK Contemporary at the Royal Academy is showing this installation by T.V. Santhosh called Counting Down - a series of fibreglass dogs (wish they were made of solid stainless steel), with timers around their necks and a running LED ticker showing quotes from Yoshitaka Kawamoto, a survivor of the bombing of Hiroshima.

I found this piece really impactful - maybe its that the dogs look like T1000 androids, (from Terminator 2), and that there are many of them repeated in a squad formation, poised, waiting... waiting for what, I don't know? Maybe until the timers run to zero and they all come to life savaging anyone that happens to be there at the time?.... It's like the frozen moments before the apocalypse kicks off.

http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/gsk-contemporary-season/

Just found these ads for Alka Seltzer... cute idea, well executed

My heroes... Eric Cantona, Alberto Giacometti, Ronnie Barker, Burger King King, Michael Caine, Delacroix, William S Burroughs

I was left feeling rather indignant when I saw this sign in the toilets at Waterloo Station

Death Penalty Map











Found this map today and was shocked and appalled at how many countries still use the death penalty.... Aesthetically, I also found it interesting that information graphics (maps, diagrams etc.) by nature are quite passive and non-expressive - the message is serious and aggressive yet the map is visually placid and nonpolitical - I found this juxtaposition quite compelling.

I think this is quite interesting as an idea - Doritos allow you to remove all the unwanted banner ads on a web page and replace them with images you like.... although, the replaced images are subtly branded so in effect it's still an ad!

Baptazia.... this probably the funniest thing i've seen in ages, the similarities between these god fearing folks dancing in church and those e loving folks dancing at a rave are phenominal...

Having just become a father I guess I am sensitive to all things 'baby' at the moment... research has shown that babies respond to high contrast images - this book, Art for Baby, features work by artists that include Damien Hirst, Julian Opie and Bridget Riley. Certainly my daughter has a fixation with my girlfriend's zebra print dressing gown!... so at first glance I would agree with the theory... I'm going to get a copy when it's released on 2nd October...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2008/sep/26/family

Cool Hand Luke - No man can eat 50 eggs scene.

RIP!

Why say it, when you can get others to sing it for you!...http://www.sr.se/P1/src/sing/index.htm

Image by Mario Mariotti: http://www.italian.it/mariomariotti/

Great new site from Uniclo... no big idea as such but a really nice way to show off their product range and guide users through to purchase... http://www.uniqlo.com/merino/

What with Lehman's going down the tubes yesterday, we can really say that the credit crunch is here.

So, after reading this article, http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2221575/credit-crunch-drives-sad-music, which reports that songs by the Smiths etc. are climbing up the download charts as a result of our melancholic state, I got to thinking...

What if I were to release a 2 CD album - CD1 would be '10 tunes to get depressed about the credit crunch to' and CD2 would be '10 tunes to beat the credit crunch'...

CD1 - titled - 'Pass that bottle of gin - I'm in a hole and ain't never coming out'

CD2 - titled - 'Fuck the credit crunch and pull yourself together - songs for the shamefully optimistic'

My initial thoughts were for CD1:

We go to get out of this place - The Animals
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP1w5Hl8D0E&feature=related

Nirvana-In Utero-Rape Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpfSKNUmIfY

Johnny Cash - Hurt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmVAWKfJ4Go

Beck - Nobody's fault but my own
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFWsGa88APM

Neil Young - After The Gold Rush
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI-48M-LPGo&feature=related

Billy Holiday - Strange Fruit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ZyuULy9zs

Jeff Buckley-Hallelujah
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKnxmkOAj88

Depeche Mode-precious
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwXWVpg65Rs&feature=related

Joy Division - Love will tear us apart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0dfd_L4tDk

The Streets - Dry your eyes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHOf3s70w-c

Thoughts and suggestions...?

A brand that has actually taken the time to listen to it's audience/customer and bothered to reply... this is great.

I shamelessly stole this link from:
http://www.freshenmeup.com/

Wait until September



IKEA has launched this site 'Wait until September' which features Nils sitting in a scruffy, partially furnished room waiting for the next IKEA catalogue to be released - presumably so he can do up his flat.

Beat Goes On - All Seeing I

I can't believe that this ad has caused offense to gay people at all, there is certainly no reference to homosexuality here - unless the implication is that anyone wearing tight shorts and participating in speed walking is a clear indication of being gay? Surely not!

I'd say this is more a case of projection by a small minority of busy body fuckwits, who don't live in the real world....

Just seen this great site that has archived all the great moments in UK TV history, from titles, public information films to idents and test cards... http://www.tv-ark.org.uk/

Be sure to check the Public Information films - I learnt a valuable lesson in this one...

http://hub.tv-ark.org.uk/dsplus/m.php?p=fatalfloor1974.rm

"Polish a floor, put a rug on it. You might as well set a man-trap."

btw - you'll need to install Real Player, if you don't already have it

After a conversation with a colleague, I was reminded of those old skool rave days - about 2 mins investigation on Youtube later, I've unlocked a box I can not shut!! Here's the tunes of my time...

I'd just started listening to Colin Dale's abstract dance hour on Kiss and this was the first tune I ever heard of it's kind... check the Led Zep sample and the 'alert' sound from Star Trek!

Joey Beltram
The Omen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbt2YybgVk8&feature=related

ACEN - Close Your Eyes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8DjNtZLZUw
Check for Beatles sample!

Joey Beltram
Energy Flash
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJG5XlQRmeI&feature=related

4 hero - where's the boy remix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQvo6Z-mpNM&feature=related

Project One - Smokin'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1EcsbVpRXk&feature=related

Project 1 - Smokin' Chalice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al0t8WJcekc

Human Resource - Dominator
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NGF7u6tjTg

I could be here all day, so i'll leave it that... remember 'hardcore you know the score!'

p.s. Last one...

Urban Shakedown -Some Justice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhcOD85EfsU&feature=related

Chanel.com












Just been looking at what fashion brands are doing online and the latest offering from Chanel really has to be the best in class... this site brings you a close as you can get to fashion show without actually being there.... both stylish, luxurious in it's scale and execution.

http://www.chanel.com/fashion/7#7-haute-couture-fall-winter-2008-9-chanel-fashion-show-7,0

Pot Noodle: The Musical


















Mother have extended their ideas for Pot Noodle into a musical.... brilliant!

http://creativity-online.com/?action=news:article&newsId=129816§ionName=from_creativity

World Vision Ad





Charity ads never really do it for me - all those pleading faces and tales of woe just don't evoke any emotion in me. Maybe it's because we've seen it all a million times before.

However, this ad for World Vision really got to me. Beautifully shot, it really brings home the message that 'Each day over 1.1 billion people have to wash with, bathe in and drink dirty water'. In fact it's because the ad is shot in the home that it creates such an impact. We're not thousands of miles away in some poor distant country, but in our very own kitchen... to close for comfort... especially the last scene!

Been thinking about Twitter and it's suitability for spontaneous prose... Burroughs, Kerouac and Ginsberg
were big on this so I'm gonna just post random lines of text from their work and see what happens...

http://www.twitter.com

Here's a great little invention... a jam jar with two lids. No more scraping around at the bottom trying to get that last little bit of jam out for your toast in the morning...

http://www.skforlee.com/independent_work/easy_pb.html

My thought for the day: Russell Brand should be the new Dr. Who... who better than the qucik witted, reformed junky to add a slice of risk and panache to the role!?

CHOOSE YOUR PATH - The game where YOU control my fate!

I really like this interactive movie on YouTube, reminds of those fantasy/adventure books that asked readers to turn to a certain page depending on what decision they made...

The title says it all really, but English graf artist 'Moose' creates his art by removing dirt, rather than adding paint...

http://www.reversegraffitiproject.com

The Sweeney Titles

A Ford Granada, Jags, big side burns, wide lapels, revolver pistols, (not Desert Eagle's), police brutality, and a massive dollop of sexism... I happened to catch an old episode of the Sweeney this weekend and was reminded how iconic the title sequence was... were the 70's really like this!?

It's been a long time since I have posted... largely due to the amount of work I've got on at the moment, and once you get out of the habit of writing it's damn hard to get back into it... so my pledge to myself is to get back on it again!

Writing the word Honda in free falling skydivers is not that inventive - but the notion of a live TV ad is a real innovation... award winning in fact! However what is most significant about this ad is that my mum text me to ask me whether or not I had seen it!...

The Selecter - On My Radio

I've been listening to the new Santogold album and was reminded of this ska classic...

I went to the National Portrait this weekend to see the Vanity Fair exhibition. Overall all it was pretty good, I wasn't aware of how early editions of Vanity Fair were responsible for creating so many iconic images of famous people. I was also unaware of the long list of photographers that worked with the magazine to really define those iconic images, like Annie Leibovitz and Herb Ritz.

This image of Mick Jagger, Madonna and Tony Curtis is fairly unique in the sense that it has a spontaneous feel to it whereas many of the other images are far more staged.

I particularly like the photograph of Margaret Thatcher, her power and enormous stature is captured brilliantly, so much so that I even felt a pang of nostalgia for the 'Iron Lady', and was reminded of the Brighton Conference speech, which feature the immortal line 'U-turn if you want to, this lady's not for turning".... then I remembered how much of a dictatorial warlord she was and moved swiftly on.... go along, but go during the week, it's far too busy at the weekend.

This what the internet was made for.... DJ bloodhound! http://www.beatbox.tele2.se

Sleeve Face

As seen this morning's Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk a site that celebrates album art by allowing people to upload images of themselves obscured by their favourite ablums...







http://www.sleeveface.com

The humble Christmas is the tree - during the festive period families unite around it, giving and receiving gifts. It's role is significant, but come the new year...

http://www.flickr.com/groups/christmas_treeson/

Great quote for the day...

Chaos does this amazing thing that order can’t: it engages you. It gets right in your face and with freakish breath issues a challenge. It asks stuff of you, order never will. And it shows you stuff, all the weird shit, that order tries to hide. Chaos is the only thing that honestly wants you to grow. The only friend who really helps you be creative. Demands that you be creative.
Dan Wieden

These little tiled space invaders have been around for ages, however I never grow tired of discovering one! I found this little one just on the corner of Bishopsgate and Artillery Street.

I love the way that they actually blend into the architecture of the city's surface - they're much less imposing than traditional spray painted graffiti. These little pixelated icons actually enhance the urban experience rather than degrade it like the usual mindless tagging that goes on. I would imagine that many municipal cleaners probably pass these things everyday and wouldn't even think to clean them off, so integrated are they into their surroundings.

To me they represent the retro, (those atari games systems were the coolest of the cool about 25 years back - I was never allowed one - bollox!), and they demonstrate how far we've actually come over those years -think X-box, Wii etc. But there's also something really modern about them as well... this one here has mirrored eyes!...They are indeed little invaders, sneaking up on us, watching us until the alien uprising!! Ha, Ha

hhttp://www.space-invaders.com/

It's a new year, and we're in a new office... here's to 2008!

This is a great site for visual research - a social bookmarking site just for images...
http://ffffound.com

I'm currently reading Paul Merton's new book 'Silent Comedy' and have been reminded about the genius of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton...

Amateur - Lasse Gjertsen

This idea from Lean Mean Fighting Machine has left me feeling like I've been hit over the head with a shovel! The piece for Emirates airlines, promotes their non-stop flight from Dubai to Sao Paulo which takes 14 hrs and 40 mins... so LMFM have produced an 'ad' that features 'Fernando' talking for no-stop for 14 hrs and 40 mins... brilliant!

http://www.nonstopfernando.com

A stark message, well communicated....

Once again, Agency Republic have done a piece of work for o2 that is so brutally simple, I couldn't help think "I wish I'd come up with that!"

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2341278532

(If this link doesn't work - just type o2 in the search field on facebook)

This is a great example of a brand infiltrating an existing media channel and delivering a message that is totally relavent to the audience that use that channel.

... proving he's the best

Loving this, humour in an old skool style... http://www.dogjudo.co.uk/video.html

TBWA Vancouver

i've just been handed a brief to come up with ideas for an xmas card for one of our clients... great (said in a massively sarcastic tone)... i've been trawling around for inspiration and have come across the usual rubbish featuring Father Christmas, Elves, snow, penguins!!? reindeer etc... finally I found this

Fashion/political statement/improvised graphic design? I found this old image of the Dead Kennedy's and love the simple addition of an 'S' to an ordinary shirt and tie to make a statement.

Cracking Up












As ususal - the eighth installation to occupy Tate Modern's Turbine Hall has caused some debate... personally I really like it.

A crack in a man-made structure that looks and feels so solid actually suggests fragility against the forces of nature... that or the foundations were just too shallow.

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/news/story/0,,2186331,00.html

Yes to Johnny Nash!... written the year I was born 1972

Phil Collins Gorilla Ad Cadburys Dairy Milk

ermm, sorry... this is a great movie, watching a Gorilla play the drums to 'In the Air Tonight is cool... but in no way does it make me want to buy Dairy Milk

I'd never been a massive Dali fan over the years - seeing all those melting clocks stuck on mugs and t-shirts had made me a bit desensitised to the whole thing. Yesterday however, I went to see the Dali exhibition that's running at the Tate Modern and thought it was great. There's a really wide range of work to see and from this you can really get an understandiing of Dali and his influences... here's his film 'Un Chien Andalou... beware not for the feint hearted!

London underground dinner party

Yes!... it's one thing thinking about it, but actually doing it is another thing all together... brilliant!

This is fantastic... Although I still hate Skittles, ... I would never actually buy those disgusting little pellets of sugar and coloured additives...

Norwegian Kids Mess With Train

This is mental - I just wish I knew who it was for...

London College of Fashion: Graduate Show

Everything-I-Touch, Everything-U-Touch

When I first saw this site I really couldn't work out how I felt about the concept of taking a picture of every object you touch - was it just a dull waste of time or was it something that, if done, would reveal some interesting lifestyle habits... I think this line within the text, sums it up pretty well...

"If you like user research data, the results are a rich orgy of the mundane."

http://www.janchipchase.com/blog/archives/2005/10/post_16.html

Vibrating rings













Interesting idea - not great looking though, send them over to Dior for a makeover perhaps?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6905286.stm

prison thriller

PSP


















Saw this really simple, yet very incisive idea on http://www.scaryideas.com/
I'm not sure which agency has done this - but it doesn't require much explanation...


http://www.scaryideas.com/print/2637/

John Smeaton - Come to Glasgow and we'll set about you.

Yes to John Smeaton!

The streets of London have become an art gallery... who needs Banksy, when you can look at a Carravagio.


http://www.thegrandtour.org.uk/
Take the tour, listen to a commentary on mp3, just brilliant!

The Break Up
Uploaded by geertdesager

Nuff said...

The third album form Dizzee, Maths & English now out in the shops - well worth the wait

Rayban

Spot the bull

Poke, http://www.pokelondon.com/ have just done this great promotional piece for Orange. Not sure about the crazy farmer voices - however I do like the competition mechanic, win tickets to Glastonbury... and you too can get ecoli rolling around in all that mud and cows*hit.

http://spotthebull.orange.co.uk

As written about in this Saturday's Guide, in the Guardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk - a new social networking site that connects people by a series of images they select - discover your visual DNA
http://www.imagini.net

This has got to be one of the best TV ads I've seen for ages...
http://www.newfabia.co.uk/SkodaFabia.mpg

What is this?

Find out at, http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id=7

I'm on a vintage British comedy trip... it doesn't come much better than this... best line 'it depends on whose wife it is'!

Rising Damp Opening Credits and clip

I can never get bored of watching this... genius!

Plan B- No Good

this is a great video... lyrics not for the faint hearted

Man, I want one of these... the V&A are doing bespoke murals. Choose your picture, choose the size and they send it to you... beware, it does cost £75 a metre though... ouch!!

http://www.surfaceview.co.uk/

The 100th edition of Wallpaper Magazine is out this month - and they're running a 'vote for your favourite cover' competition. Although the prize is a bit rubbish, just a set of their city guides.

Still, it's great to see all the covers together...

http://wallpaper.com/content/feature/covers/index.html

Gilbert & George, 'gave away' a piece of their artwork on the http://www.guardian.co.uk website last week...

Is advertising dead?

Just read a fairly apocolyptic, yet very insightful article about how big brands completely misunderstanding their consumers on http://www.adrants.com

http://www.adrants.com/2007/04/marketers-meet-the-new-consumer.php#more


Is this the end of advertising? Not really... but I do think that ad agencies need to rethink how they engage their customers, especially in our current web 2.0 culture. More and more people are doing it for themselves - they don't need or possibly trust big glossy ad camapigns that showcase products yet show no interest in their potential customers... current advetising tends to be an interruptive monlogue, whereas people now want a dialogue with the products they use...

Brilliantly Boring

I read a great article in the guardian this morning examining why a webcam focussed on a piece of maturing cheddar cheese has had over 803,414 since January 2007.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2048707,00.html/

In my view, I feel that because we live in an ever more vibrant, colourful, faster world, it's actaully quite refreshing to stare at something quite inconsequential on the off chance something might happen to it. We live in a world 'just do it', 'colour like no other', 'kills more germs than any other cleaner' etc. There's pressure to sieze the day, live for the moment, because every second counds... well isn't it great sometimes to just forget all that and just sit and procrastinate for a bit and do something relentlessly meaningless... my personal favourite is, http://www.hencam.co.uk, a kind of soap opera for chickens - beats Eastenders anyday.

A great example of experiential/brand advertising at the moment is the Guinness 'hands' campaign. Firstly, Guinness' end line 'good things comes to those that wait' is brilliantly supported in a really single minded way. What do you do when you're waiting for something to happen, you 'twiddle your thumbs'... a really simple insight that is then creatively taken to the extreme with the fingers and thumbs animation. Executionally this campaign also stands out because of its contemporary use of 'stop frame' stlye photography.

http://www.guinnesshands.com/

This site is providing me with a great deal of amusement at the moment... and it's educational as well!

Videojug is a site that contains loads of documentary style 'how to...' videos. The great thing is that they are all useful and enlightening, however they all seem a bit tongue in cheek... which makes them great entertainment!

http://www.videojug.com/