ADS ARE BORING

The Pisa Tower of Leaners

2008-10-27T14:23:00.001-07:00

Just came back from a short trip to Florence and Pisa. Did the usual sight seeing and shopping and found out a few things:

1. Italians love to eat. They take 3-hour dinners; starters, first course (which are the pasta dishes), main course (usually a roast meat or stew) and desert.
2. Florence love their Michelangelo's David statue. There are no less than 3 in the city and the real one isn't all that different from the replicas.
3. The Leaning Tower of Pisa... ahh... Who can resist doing those customary poses.

So I set out on a mission - taking pictures of people doing exactly that. Pay attention to those who are taking the pictures because they are actually the gung-ho ones, 'directing' their subjects on what to do.

I'll leave you to fill in the captions.

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Flashback 80's

2008-10-10T00:46:00.000-07:00

We love a bit of 80's. Especially on Fridays.

Check out this literal take on Aha's 'Take on Me'.

That aside, this is quite possibly the best 80's music video.

Dyslexia in Tesco

2008-08-04T10:28:00.001-07:00

So according to Tesco Metro on Dean street, I've just bought a W 800G Seeded, Carbonara, Prepared Salad, Phoiledelphia (??) and parma ham. Talk about cryptic.

PS and nope I didn't have a clubcard. ;)

F**K me, social media

2008-07-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

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Pretty neat but cutting presentation/guide to social media. Probably tells us what we've already know but there's this bit that gave me a dose of reality check.

It says that by 2010, Millenials/Gen Y-ers will outnumber Babyboomers. And they spent an average of 16 hours online with 96% of them on a social network program.

It really had me thinking because I genuinely feel that there seems to be an inborn resistance to embrace online advertising. I do not know if it’s the hereditary nature of the industry but one day, very soon, most of us are going to next head of some agencies, or at least someone that will be making key decisions to talk to these late Gen Y-ers and early Gen-Zers (I'm presuming most who read adsareboring are our age, sorry folks). And when THAT time comes, it will probably be all webspeak.

Sure, there will still be print and tv but as far as engaging goes, they will increasingly become irrelevant when compared to the internet.

So very soon, it won't be 'is it talked about down at the pub' but more like 'is it talked about on facebook?'.

We've moved house.

2008-06-20T01:39:00.000-07:00

Myself, Janson and our old CSM chums David & Phoebe created this little moving film for our agency DHM London. It meant we had to move the entire office in stop frame but we think it was worth it.

Thanks to Margaret len tang for the music and Billy for the edit.

Don't hate the player, hate the game.

2008-06-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

This post is in response to Scamp's view about Cannes 2008, scam ads and advertising in Asia.

I'm from Singapore by the way, or better known as the land of scams. Although i can see us losing (or have already lost) the title to India pretty soon.

See, in the business we are in, and as most have agreed on Scamp, we are judged by how good, creatively, the work are (fuck the sales and brand recall bit). But unfortunately in a country like Singapore and I believe most part of Asia, we are still pretty much an ad-illiterate country.

Having said that, there were some memorable ads I saw on TV over the last few years. It probably gives you an idea as to where we are at but this is not a yardstick and I may be wrong as I’m only back once a year. They were short of award winning but it had everyone talking. Some even spoofed the mocca ads and post it on youtube. Search for it.. pretty hilarious stuff.

But generally, our TV and print ads resemble those that you see on daytime TV and regional papers over here.

It's all a bit presumptuous, mind you... Because both clients and agencies seem to hold on to the notion that the general public probably won't appreciate a Harvey Nicks boxing ring ad, so would rather chose to splash across, the prices of as many products you can squeeze, onto a broadsheet spread.

Add that to a combination of clients playing safe, agencies can't be bothered to fight for better ideas, and the public 'not ready' for it (according to erm, the clients and agencies).

SO herein lies the problem - how do you judge how good an agency is doing... right down to who gets promoted next year? Yes, billings counts but it means fuckall for creatives. You don't go knocking into Creative Directors and tell them 'after I did this ad which i showed the product now at a 50% discount, sales shot through the roof, their profits went up by 67% year on year'.

Another problem - the JWTs, DDBs, Saatchis of Singapore, India, Malaysia all have to answer to their parent companies in London and the US on how well they have performed. As much as it is about bottom line, being creative is our product. So something like 'TBWA Singapore this year had an exceptional year winning 5 big accounts and is the top billing agency in Asia' doesn't read excitement, except to perhaps the few money men/top management... I will be damn surprised if the head office MDs and CEOs only look at that when do their yearly review of worldwide agencies.

My point is, we are (increasingly, may I add) judged by how creative we are, not how much business we can win.. Things like the Gunn Report and those awards league tables don't help either.

So what do we do?

Scam ads. To show what we are made of. Not necessarily who we are.

It’s depressing if you ask me. I was just looking through the Cannes press shortlist of Singapore based agencies. One had ‘Post-its’ as their product. The Client? Gin He Stationary & Office Supplies.

But if I ever head home, I guess I'll have to live with that. And obviously I wouldn’t mind having a couple of Lions on my CV, a week of partying at Cannes and a pay rise straight after.

Advertising is quite fun if we forget about the bitching.

Janson

PS I'm not condoning scam ads but the industry we are in, sort of, manifests itself isn't it. It's vicious. It's ugly. But then again what isn't?

PPS Dave Droga did his stint at Saatchi Singapore. Saatchi Singapore is the mother of all scam ads according to a headhunter I spoke to recently.

PPPS One final thing. I want to give a special mention to BBH. Apparently BBH Singapore has always adopted a 'No-Scam-Ads' policy. The flip side is that with them refusing to ‘play the game’ they have fallen off the radar quite considerably.

My First Video

2008-06-12T03:06:00.000-07:00

MATHS CLASS - 'NERVES' from ollie & brad on Vimeo.

Its for a forthcoming single called Nerves by a Brighton band called Maths Class.

I've put up some behind the scenes shots too for your enjoyment. let us know what you think.

Day 12: Be@rbrick x Fendi

2008-05-31T01:31:00.000-07:00

Spotted a giant Bearbrick outside a Fendi Boutique here. A little late to jump on the designers + fashion bandwagon but still got me a little excited nonetheless.

Day 11: You Are What You What?

2008-05-29T01:28:00.000-07:00

Eileen insisted that I should not put this picture up as it would paint a pretty bad picture of Singaporean's usage of English. Personally I do not know if it's bad English, lost in translation or the writers trying to be 'creative/different'.

Day 10: Kungfu Hair Treatment

2008-05-28T01:23:00.000-07:00

Found this interesting package design - 2 faces on the front - on my supermarket trip this morning.

Day 9: The World is Our Playground

2008-05-27T20:45:00.000-07:00

I walk pass this playground near my fiancee's flat practically everyday but today I decided to take a closer look at the make and feel of it. It's sponsored by Little Tykes. No big, bold branding. Just a little logo on the roof of the slide.

Day 8: Here's Our Ferris Wheel

2008-05-26T19:18:00.000-07:00

And we've named it the Singapore Flyer.

Day 7: Picture Postcard

2008-05-25T19:03:00.000-07:00

Day 6: Today's Menu

2008-05-24T19:36:00.000-07:00

I visited a friend whose wife had just given birth to a baby boy and saw this vending machine at the hospital lobby.
Sorry for the poor photo quality but today's menu is Cheese and Egg Omelette Sandwich and Fillet of Fish Sandwich.

Day 5 - Hair Problem Detection

2008-05-23T19:49:00.000-07:00

I think they are selling some hair loss treatment although the graphic illustration baffles me.

Day 4 - Public Service Messages

2008-05-22T22:36:00.000-07:00

4 messages in one go, on a local food centre table.

Day 3 - Matte or Glossy?

2008-05-21T22:35:00.000-07:00

Matte tends to be sexier.

Day 2 - Multi-lingual

2008-05-20T18:42:00.000-07:00

I had a few people asking me recently what is my first language. I find it quite difficult to explain. There are 4 main races and languages. I'm Chinese. My forefathers came from China. But Singapore, as a country used to be part of Malaysia so the national language is Malay. I can understand some of that but can't speak or write in Malay.

Then there's English, which we are taught since young. In fact I consider English to be the first language as everything in school is taught in English, except of course the respective mother tongues. So there you go.

Revamp & Day 1 - Random Sale

2008-05-19T17:07:00.000-07:00

Apologies for not posting for a while. Amongst other things, we've been pretty busy with our website (which has been taking way longer than expected) and our work at DHM.

As you would have probably noticed, we've made changes little by little to the blog just to freshen it up a bit.

And to kick start adsareboring.com again, we are doing a picture of a day for the next two weeks while I take a little holiday. Here's the picture of the day - the only flea market of Singapore. It's a lot less organised than London's and the things sold are a lot more random.

Super Tuesday

2008-02-05T09:54:00.000-08:00

I used to watch loads of American football when i was a kid but fell out of love as i grew up to realise how slow it is. So slow that they have hours to fill with ads.

Here are a selection of the ones from this years super bowl which which didd'nt suck ass ( as they would say)

Will Ferrell in a tie up with his new film.

A coke spot with fighting parade balloons including Stewie Griffin from Family Guy. It seemed fresh set against some of the other cruder ads.

And finally the Justin Timberlake Pepsi Ad.

If you are a blogger you must see this

2008-01-20T08:54:00.001-08:00

Headless fun in east London

2008-01-11T10:29:00.000-08:00

Nicely Done

2007-12-20T09:35:00.000-08:00

This is probably the best use of taxi media we have seen for a long time. I think it was done by CST.

The whopper Freakout

2007-12-14T02:31:00.000-08:00

Crispin porter have come up with a great film showing the side effects of what will happen if Burger King took the Whopper off the menu. It's funny and it sells all the benefits of the burger. What struck (and scared) me was how passionate people got about the loss of the whopper. If only they could channel that energey into a cause worth shouting about like...erm...i don't know.... the war in Iraq for example.

Look pretty pictures

2007-11-23T09:54:00.000-08:00

A few people have been taking about the fact that the new John Lewis ads have been influenced by the artists Tim Noble & Sue Webster.
I found this guy Fred Eerdekens the other day who is doing some equally interesting work making type out of objects.
Look out for it in an ad coming your way soon.

What does Micheal Jackson do in the bath?

2007-11-23T04:45:00.000-08:00

This is a diagram showing how joost works. You can follow the path of the tv shows and trail the route the ads take right to you screen. What is does'nt show is the route that cokes taken. They have just launch a new app for joost enabling you to rate how good you think a particulr show is and mark your favourite clips with a bubble.

Does anybody use Joost though? I downloaded it for my mac but i havent touched it.
I'd be there if they've got The Wire. I'd put a bubble on the scene in the first series when they only use the word fuck!

When Castles Fly

2007-11-13T08:34:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was probably my last warm weekend of the year (I'm due back anytime now) and I decided to hit to beach.

Came across this stall that sells sandcastle building kits and shrewdly enough, they also conduct sandcastle building classes for free by the side. And there were some really obvious and interesting pointers that I would never have thought of. While other tips require a nifty pair of hands and a set of really good tools.

What struck me was a real genuine effort by the demonstrator (whom I realised later is also the boss of the company that sells these kits) to encourage parents to allow their kids to be creative. He said that local kids don't use their hands enough and almost pleaded with parents to allow them to use their hands more, whether it's arts and craft or building sandcastles.

He later added that sand is free. If they think that the kit is too expensive they can feel free to just come by every Saturday and let their children use the sample kits and tools that are strewn all over the beach.

Respect.

IPHONE

2007-11-02T17:13:00.000-07:00

Another spoof iphone ad from the states only 7 days to go till its over here. Not a good deal though.

Full price phone and not enough minutes.

But you do get to go cheap to the new tutankhamun exhibition at the O2. Sold.

While the mice is away

2007-11-02T16:31:00.000-07:00

Well Janson have been away for good few weeks now (getting his visa) and i'm begining to settle into being a single person team at DHM.
It's a little strange knowing that you can roll with your own ideas without having to run though them with somebody else.

I'm finding that it's helping to establish some more self belief in my ability as a creative. Rather than waiting for somebody to valadate if your right.

I've created a new self management idea filtering system and im calling it:
IF IT FEELS RIGHT RUN WITH IT.
It's working quite well.

Dhm is good clean fun. Working on howies is great, plus it's helping me to hone some copy writing skills which you dont really pick up when your at Saint Martins.

Anyway...erm somthing to post...i havent really seen that much around thats has taken my fancy but maybe thats because i've been tryin to keep my head down with work un all.

I do quite like the new apple iphone ads from states this has to be my favourite.

They should have cut it half way to keep it the same length, made me smile though.

Back in the deep south

2007-11-01T01:45:00.000-07:00

In case some of you didn't know I'm currently in Singapore sorting out my visa while Ollie is holding the fort at dhm.

Everything is pretty much the same since the last time I was back in February. Except that we have the world's first Boeing A380, the Singapore River front looks like a war zone as cranes and excavators work through the night to build 2 super casino/resort in down town, my entire neighbourhood going through a similar 'demolition' phase to beautify and enhance the surroundings and everyone here is excited about the F1 race here next November.

Here's another news that's making headlines:

Read the comments and you can get a sense of the general feelings of Singaporeans about this incident. I personally find the clip funny initially but as it wore on it looked increasingly outrageous as the 3 Brits clearly had the intent to take the mickey out of the poor trishaw rider from the start.

I met a Scottish guy yesterday and he asked me if the reaction would be the same if it's a bunch of locals that did it instead of 3 Brits. Probably not because you don't go to someone's country and take the piss out of our their countrymen, especially one that is clearly poor, old and illiterate. It's respect.

I think most of us were upset by the fact that one of them had the cheek to post the clip on Youtube to further ridicule the old man. For all it's brilliance, Youtube has also become a platform to showcase ridicule and flaunt violence as though it's some sort of trophy.

---

PS for the record:

1. One of the guys post up the clip on youtube and then took it down due to unprecedented abuses and complaints. This clip is hosted by another Singaporean.

2. The three of them left without paying a single cent.

3. Ten dollars is roughly 3 quid.

Moving on

2007-10-12T23:57:00.000-07:00

We have left Cunning.

It was a combination of frustration, lack of appreciation, change of leadership and most importantly, we don't believe we will be going anywhere if we had stayed on.

It was good while it lasted. There were some great days and equal amount of bad days. Then it came to a point where we felt that we probably have got the best out of Cunning and vice versa.

To which we thank them.

We are now on a placement sort of thing at Dye Holloway and Murray. Nice little place, great mentors and even better clients.

We are also working furiously on Here's What You Could Have Won and did a photoshoot a few weeks back for the website. Here's a selection of a few of the pictures we took down at street studios with the help of an amazing photographer Alec Mcgue (my flatmate) He did everything for free and was a real star. Thanks Al x

The whole set was build out of card over a week in my lounge. After leaving cunning it felt great to finally have a bit of time to get some stuff done and feel a bit like Pat Sharp.

Last of all my good friend Rory, who for some reason decided on this little pose. Oh he is big isnt he!

IF WE TOOK A HOLIDAY

2007-09-24T11:51:00.000-07:00

Well i'm back from my sunny holiday in Mexico and thought i would share a few shots from the trip.

Brake screeching sirens

2007-09-21T03:02:00.001-07:00

Apologies for the lack of posts. something went really wrong on blogger. Well, they actually changed some settings to make it more user friendly but they fail to inform all blogger's bloggers that they have added this function which will cause web forwarding to fail.

Before I get into the nitty gritty and sound like a geek,

TA DAH!

Our very first Product! This is one of three 5-a-day fruit posters that we have designed and produced. The next 2 will be revealed in the upcoming posts. We will also have the selling details if you're interested.

If you didn't know what these posters are all about, read the fine print on the poster here. Click 'download' on the bar at the right hand side.

Don't you even dare think about what we think you gonna do.

100th Post

2007-09-10T13:38:00.001-07:00

Here it is. Our 100th post and we thought we should do something special.

Back in January, Ollie mentioned here that this is the year of do. More doing and less talking. And here's one of the dos we have done.

As an offshoot, we present you Here's What You Could Have Won, which we loosely call it the product design arm of adsareboring.com. Loosely because all the ideas we have at the moment are product led. We do not want to be pigeon holed as yet.

We are still working on the website but hey, it's a start.

In the next post we will be unveiling our first product but here's a teaser...

"A Damn Good Movie" - Daily Mail

2007-08-30T02:33:00.000-07:00

Why do movie posters have to have quotes from journalists about how good they are? It almost feels like they are suffering from a lack of self-confidence and that they need to be reassured that they are are not... crap.

It's not just movies. Musicals and plays are at it as well.

I remember seeing a poster for Green Street a few years ago that had 'A Damn Good Movie - Daily Mail' plastered across the top. I'm not sure if that is actually a good thing or bad thing.

Likewise, this picture I grabbed from the official site. It looks great, sounds great but why do I need some journalists' quotes to reinforce how good it is? Don't get me wrong. I do read movie reviews and such occassionally but I don't think I will be swayed over to watch a movie after some over enthusiastic reviews. Certainly not after seeing one or two quotes on a poster.

This morning I heard a radio ad of the latest John Cusack film and it is all but a collection of tense voice-overs from the movie. I didn't know what the movie was about. Something about 'one man and his mission to.....' and 'Now showing nationwide.'

PS Our 100th post coming up next. It's something rather special and that we've been working on for a while.

Shall I be mother?

2007-08-29T09:22:00.000-07:00

Funy new vid for Smirnoff green tea follwing up the east coast tea party video for Smirnoff Ice Tea.

Here's Johnny

2007-08-28T11:36:00.000-07:00

I went down to see Johnny Borrell perform for part of a Ben Sherman tour last week at the proud bar in Camden. Not the best gig ever as the girlfriend ended up passing out due to the heat!! I did manage to take a few shots though on Janson's wonderful pap cam, god I looked cool. The whole experience got me thinking about the results that brands hope to achieve through these sorts of gigs.

These are my main gripes:

1:Most of the people there were on the guest list with all the fans waiting outside, unable to get in due to the size of the venue. Some had been queuing since 4pm only to be told at 10:00pm that they couldn’t get in. Nice.

2: Johnny left as soon as he had finished which shows that he doesnt really care much for the cause.

3: Ben Sherman wasn't mentioned at all, not once.

The PR must have been good but i just feel for all the fans who queued, they would have been better off spending the night in the Hawley Arms across the street where Johnny went straight after the gig!

Back in '64...

2007-08-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

More old D&ADs... I was looking through the one in 1964 (only the second year of D&AD's inception) and I realise how difficult it is to look at book of just black and white pictures.

Quite amazing book though.

At the end of the annual was where sponsors put up ads and job opportunities. Pretty tough job, writing an ad for your agency for the D&AD annual.

Some clever copy from FCB.
A classic 60's style ad from Y&R
But this takes the cake. Respect.

Red Rock Cider

2007-08-14T04:34:00.000-07:00

Rob our new creative director brought in loads of old D&ADs the other day and I found these old red rock cider ads in there. I remember watching them as a kid so they might go some way to explain why i got myself into advertising. They are still fresh now using that great american style of putting the product at the heart of the ad but using irreverence to pull it off.
Good old Neilsen.

Those little things

2007-08-10T01:06:00.000-07:00

I have probably fulfilled my ice-cream consumption intake for the year last weekend at the Ben and Jerry's Festival. I said this to myself this time last year and went on to buy more Ben and Jerry's when there's a 2 for £5 offer at my local supermart.

It was the same usual affair: Free ice-cream but this time they served them in cones (which I suspect is a cunning ploy to make you feel fuller so you ask for less ice-cream, but then again i saw many empty cones in the bins), great music on stage and the eco/green brigade was out in full force.

One funny thing I noticed this year was a RIP corner for ice-cream flavours that didn't quite made the cut over the years. I didn't know they had so many other flavours and some of them were quite unusual, to say the least.
Small little things like these that just adds a little bit more to a brand. Have a read at this well-written article from Richard Huntington about the Innocent Fete he went to last weekend. He's a planner. He says it better. Even his 'helter skelter ride' picture is better than mine.

Special delivery

2007-08-07T02:21:00.000-07:00

I got sent this film today from my girlfriend, she works for the PR company Canoe. With the help of Grain Media they've made a beautiful little film for New Balance to celebrate 25 years of domestic manufacturing. Sweet idea, well executed.

Same Execution, Different Strategy

2007-08-03T08:03:00.001-07:00

I found these ads while browsing through WPP's 2005 yearbook. They are from JWT, Argentina.

Funnily enough, a few months ago, we submitted similar looking ads to a competition organised by some low carbon/green organisation. The ad was originally for SMART but we tweak it for stopurban4X4.org to enter it for the 'responsible vehicle use' category. We did win it but was later disqualified and given commendation instead because we made a schoolboy (quite literally) error.

Anyway, not to digress further, I just find it baffling that while we are mocking 4X4 users about urban road conditions, the Argentinians actually use them as product benefits.

Maybe it actually is an urban jungle in Buenos Aires.

Never quite like this

2007-08-02T02:16:00.000-07:00

Upon the discovery of quite possibly Britain's biggest hand-cooked crisp, we've decided to call in the experts.

*measurments in centimetres.

Blackle

2007-07-31T11:11:00.000-07:00

It's seems here at Ads Are Boring HQ we have been unknowingly doing our bit for the enviroment. We both recycle and i turn the light off at work after i have had a wee, but i had never thought about how much energy we would be saving having a black blog.

It turns out that if google had a black page instead of a white page it would save, according to calculations, 750 mega watts/hour per year.

Well they were told and in response to this Google has created a black version of its search engine, called BLACKLE with the exact same functions as the white version, but with lower energy consumption.

Now we can all search for porn and do our bit at the same time.

Thank you Google.

UPDATE: Just seen that it was created by heap media but it's powered by Google.

Thats sooo 2003

2007-07-30T10:57:00.000-07:00

Janson was going on about the new MFI ads all of last week. I finally managed to catch them at the weekend and thought that the argument (the one above) with the daughter was great; really intense.

So i skipped away with a nice warm feeling for M&C untill............ i saw this.

Did they? Didn't they? We may never know.

1-18-08

2007-07-17T02:50:00.000-07:00

The Internet is kicking off about this film. It doesn't yet have a title yet except the release date of 1-18-08. Some people think its called Cloverfield while others think it's a movie to preview the new season of Lost. All i know is that i'm obsessed with trying to find out about it.
I have never been dragged into a marketing campaign as deep as this due to my skecptical eye but I was hooked. I spend a good 40 mins trawling through fake blogs only to be spat out the other side, none the wiser.

Here are the links to the fake blogs that are setting up the story.

Slusho
Eathan haas was right
Ethan haas was wrong

Get my slippers out

2007-07-16T08:40:00.000-07:00

I really think that the latest VW work for Golf is stunning. Great strategy; driving for the sake of driving. But it’s VW. Good work is expected from them.

Ditto the latest Passat Ads (Shown below ) out of CP+B. Showing a Car crash in an ad is pretty fresh I thought.

Then there's the latest MFI work. Go look up youtube. It won’t win awards nor make me go to MFI. In fact it’s an old idea but it made me sit up and watch. It's the familiarity of domestic situations such as those that had me in chuckles each time I watch it.

I think I’m growing old.

The best thing about mud is...

2007-06-27T12:35:00.000-07:00

I'm sure many will attest to this. Glastonbury is quite truly an experience. Probably one of the best things I have done. Everyone is just so happy. There's so much feel-goodness about it that I felt like a hippy, in clean socks and spotless t-shirts (I change everyday and tread carefully).

It's one of those things where one minute I wondered what the fuck was I doing there and the next, I thought to myself, "This is an experience of a lifetime". Like on a roller coaster.

The only real poster I saw. A spoof movie-like poster that warns people against taking drugs with those classic quotes like "You will never forget the single 'The Cell" and etc.

Yup. Mud.

I love big colourful tents. It just reminds me of my childhood.

And nice flags.

Other than seeing how dire the ground was, there was a little stage at the far end in this picture where people turned up and play random tunes. I heard country and western when I walked by. Yes. People did stop and watch.

Spot the pepperami at the far left.

Best bit about mud is once it's in it's semi dried up stage you can almost peel it off revealing a clean pair of wellies!

PFSK Conference

2007-06-26T10:40:00.000-07:00

My camera phone has been playing up of late so this is the only image I could get from the PSFK conference last month. It was put up by Hugh MacLeod one of the highlights of the day.

He talked with such passion about how he had created a campaign for a South African vinyard Stormhoek by using the geek blogging community to generate a buzz. This snowballed with it becoming the cult drink at Microsoft to th epoint where they even got their own lablels!!

A great presentation and a truely interesting guy, it really showed the power of 2.0.

I've just finished reading "A GUIDE TO BEING CREATIVE" which is a collection of his musings and lessons which he a learnt over the years. I don't think i have read a better piece about being young creative yet. Drink it in here

Check out his wonderful site and drawings here

I LOVE TYPE

2007-06-26T10:36:00.000-07:00

Falling type from the 56 on the way home from the airport.

Nice type from a shop in Spain.

More from Barcelona

2007-06-26T10:04:00.000-07:00

I do love people who just get out there and do stuff. These posters where plastered all around sonar i don't what they mean but you can just about make out an email. I'll try and decifer it and get in touch.

Sonar 07

2007-06-25T02:15:00.000-07:00

While Janson was out watching Daft Punk last weekend I was on a jolly in Barcelona at Sonar. If you have'nt heard of it it's a electronic music festival which runs over 3 days and 2 nights in the heart of the city. Theres a bit of beard scratching by day but it gets very messy at night.

There where thousands of people their but it seemed that no brand had managed to genuinely intergrate itself within the festival.
T-mobile had some Bumper cars which didd'nt strike me a logical idea when your trying to sell European roaming. Plus they had these beautiful signs up saying that you could'nt bump, brill !!

Budweiser did have some nice ident films which they used as visuals around the venue. But they missed a trick here i think, as they should have had a booth where you could go and film your own clip, upload it and become part of the visuals for the festival.

Head Spinningly, Mind Blowingly, Eye Pleasingly, Ear Splittingly, Jaw Droppingly (and etc.) ...

2007-06-18T07:07:00.000-07:00

good.

Cunning Rebrand

2007-06-05T10:11:00.000-07:00

As part of the Cunning's rebrand, we were told to each produce a logo that will become a collective of Cunning's logos. It is a pretty neat idea and here's our Cunning logos.

Feel free to submit one if you will. Visit us and our new website to submit one of yours.

PS Special thanks to James Cuddles Cuddy, our designer, for making all this work; from start to finish!

Best Female Artist 1993

2007-05-30T05:37:00.000-07:00

Jess our in house designer wins a SMASH HITS AWARD.

JANSONS LOVELY POSTER

2007-05-23T11:55:00.001-07:00

Doing our bit

2007-05-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

A while ago we where given a brief for IFAW to come up with some ideas to warn of the dangers of ivory trade ahead of a major international conservation meeting.

We sent over a few thoughts one of them being a funeral procession with a giant elephant coffin.
They liked it but we didd'nt hear back for a while. Then last friday we got an email saying that the coffin had been built and on Sunday morning it was off to be toured round London. What a nice surprise, doing our bit and getting an idea out the door!

Unfortunatly we both couldnt make it but please let us now if you saw it / heared it / read about it. ; )

Check out the article on their site here

Fun in the cunning window

2007-05-23T10:43:00.000-07:00

Our wonderful graphic designer Jess fresh out of the jar from Marmalade has help create a beautiful focal point for the front windows of Cunning HQ.

Each person in the company was given a box to put in what ever they fancyed, sienna miller could'nt fit in mine (i know , I know)

The results are below, Jansons camera was on the blink so some of the shots are a bit dodge.

Theres a better view now from across the road.

Janson checking out the finished boxes

My box testing the power of the mind.

Jansons lovely animal eye chart which we should make into a poster.

Whats that naughty boy listerning to?

Some dirty strippers thats what!

Mix tape from James " CUDDLES" Cuddy.

Pissed up animal farm. By Jess a farmers daughter

Matt PP's staring contest.

Rob who has just joined us from Dubai with a winning £100,000 lottery ticket.

David Dao presents love is?

Matt J 3D killer insect.

CHANGE IS GOOD

2007-05-23T10:07:00.000-07:00

We have upgraded so you can now check us out at
WWW.ADSAREBORING.COM

Here's OUR lunchtime revolution

2007-05-20T13:23:00.000-07:00

Ad coincidences happen all the time. Sometimes they are deliberate because that particular style or execution is in vogue. While rarely it is down to pure coincidence.

What do you do when someone made a campaign that has a rather uncanny resemblance to yours; from the style, the line and right down the sentiments.

We were alerted to this by a kind friend in February. He asked if we did a placement there. We wished. (Well, we could have. But that's another story.)

Then we saw the ads start popping up all over the place last month in the papers. Just last weekend, Theo asked if I saw the ads on the Internet. Apparently they were all over hotmail as well.

I was desperately scouring the Internet for examples of that work for the last hour or so. Then strangely enough a look on their blog and the latest post is about that campaign.

And there's an icing on the cake. They have won some award from Metro London for having an "innovative creative that successfully communicates with our urbanite audience".

I am not saying that they are blatantly copying us. We haven't got any proof. How do you proof that anyway? Theirs ran. Ours didn't. But if those ads were done by a particular team then we have no doubt it is a rip off.

Maybe it's great minds that think alike and I would like to think so. It's a strange, mixed feelings of flattery and disappointment if it is not.

And here's the worst and most frustrating bit: showing people our book and hearing them say, "Seen this before."

It's no longer in our book now anyway. We took it out quite a while ago. They were not good enough. :P

(PS If you did see any of those ads, take a picture or screen shot and send it to us. We will post it up. Don't worry we will credit you guys. heh.)

GET ON BOARD

2007-05-14T02:25:00.000-07:00

Friendly Fires 'On Board' from O W L S on Vimeo

I had a great laugh a few weeks ago helping make a music video for the band the Friendly fires.
It was great fun a proved what you can do in a day with a bunch of mates and some energy.
I'm the geek in the dolphin outfit!!

"Good night and thanks for watching"

2007-04-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

Waiting for the next band to play at a concert is simply dreadful. You either go get more beer, talk about the previous band, talk about the band that's coming up or eavesdrop others talk about the previous band and the band that's coming up.

I do not know why there are such a lack of activities in between the changeover of bands at a concert. Here you have the perfect opportunity to entertain the restless crowd and anything you do, music related or not, will be appreciated. This is pretty much a marketer's dream playground, a place to pillage and plunder as the crowd are at their most vulnerable but receptive best.

Like promoting a new band from the same label/concert promoter, show music videos, screen movie trailers, play XFM, get someone to do standup, do a contest... anything. Anything is better than listening to a couple of 16 year olds rambling about Johnny Borrell and Kirsten Dunst.

The woes of engine searching

2007-04-10T04:29:00.001-07:00

The recent and perhaps sudden switch in strategy by Ask.com just proves how difficult it is to change, and to borrow the term used in their radio ads, ‘the status quo’.

I really like their “Ask and you will get” strategy but the current “The other search engine” just fall way short of the warmth and fun generated by such a great brand with a great name. I just felt that it is too familiar and generic, probably deliberately.

Ask.com is not alone. Every search engine is in the same predicament except the web monster we now know as Google. Strangely enough Google finds itself in the same boat in China which again proves how tough it is to change behaviour and norms.

Amazingly not a single person I spoke to over the weekend remember what search engines they were using pre-Google. Google only gained it’s dominance over the last 2 years so surely some of us must have relied on one of the search engines in the picture above.

I have fond memories of using Alta Vista and this other search engine named either ‘monster’ something or something ‘zilla’. It was the alternative and rebel of search engines then and appealed to us, teenagers, almost instantaneously, which is somewhat the current strategy of Ask.com.

The question is how do you make Ask.com (or any other search engines) cool and relevant?

For a start Ask.com should start a diploma/degree course in Internet research or something similar. Lessons should be fun and fulfilling, like putting students in foreign countries and giving them specific tasks.

Ask.com should then move on to create their own educational institutes.

GIRLS ON BIKES

2007-03-29T02:03:00.000-07:00

Working out east you get a lot of well dressed women on bikes. But none of them wear any protection mainly due to the fact that most of it does'nt really go with S/S 07.

What's needed is a line of safety gear for women which is trendy , modern and wont leave you looking like a parking steward.

My first thought on this is a Brouche which will WOW your friends by day and doubles as a safety light at night.

War? Cool!

2007-03-27T14:25:00.000-07:00

So wrong it's unbelievable.

Here's why.

2007-03-27T00:43:00.000-07:00

This is a great website
There are literally thousands of meetup groups all over the world talking about everything from fishing to Dolly Parton. It’s so simple as well. Pick a spot; name a time and your rocking.
But why is it only planners that meet up?
Do they have more to bring to a coffee morning than creatives?

Janson and I are toying with the idea of doing a creative meet up once a month, but we wanted to test the water first.
David our creative director was hesitant saying that creatives are too ambitious and are not known for sharing ideas unlike planners. Fair point, but something with a monthly structure would be nice even if it were just " THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF PHIL COLLINS" (You know who you are.)

Spot the stooge

2007-03-26T09:45:00.000-07:00

Really interesting piece from the bbc website. It will be interesting to see who they pick for particular brands. I could personally talk all day about the high you get off Leffe.
Check story here

Our first press clipping!

2007-03-23T09:09:00.000-07:00

Last photo of the day

2007-02-25T01:57:00.000-08:00

Photo of the day 13

2007-02-25T01:50:00.000-08:00

Photo of the day 12

2007-02-25T01:46:00.000-08:00

SPEND A DAY WITH STANDY STILL PEOPLE

2007-02-23T02:12:00.000-08:00

To some people they’re artists; to others they’re just deeply annoying. But there’s more to costumed street statues than being decked in odd clothes, sweating silver make up and asking children for money.

Check out the pictures and interview at spendadaywith.blogspot.com

Photos of the day 11

2007-02-22T19:15:00.000-08:00

Photos of the day 10

2007-02-21T22:17:00.000-08:00

Photos of the day 9

2007-02-20T22:26:00.000-08:00

Photos of the day 8

2007-02-20T09:11:00.000-08:00

MONDAY MORNING

2007-02-19T02:49:00.000-08:00

Starting week two of our photo diary shot by Janson in Singapore and and me (Ollie) in London.

SATURDAY SHOTS

2007-02-19T02:44:00.000-08:00

FRIDAY SHOTS

2007-02-19T02:30:00.000-08:00

Photos of the day 7

2007-02-18T11:36:00.000-08:00

Photos of the day 6

2007-02-17T17:32:00.000-08:00

My internet didn't work so can't post pictures yesterday but here they are anyway.

Photos of the day 5

2007-02-16T18:29:00.000-08:00

THURSDAYS PHOTOS

2007-02-16T03:43:00.000-08:00

NICE BINS AT THE ARCHES.

I THINK THAT THE BLUE CAR WILL WIN

WEDNESDAYS PHOTOS

2007-02-15T08:15:00.000-08:00

Photos of the day 4

2007-02-14T18:46:00.000-08:00

Photos of the day 3

2007-02-13T17:50:00.000-08:00

TUESDAYS PHOTOS

2007-02-13T01:20:00.000-08:00

My laptop was in a meeting yesterday so i could'nt get the shots off my trusted Sony Ericsson, but here are Mondays and Tuesdays shots.

I've included this shot from Sat night. I was walking back from a pleasent night out when i meet the meat deliver people on Rigley Road market. They had just started their shift at 1:00 am and had 17 delivers to do. They had come up from near Dover to deliver and reckoned that they would be back in bed by midday. Quite interesting people to do a spendadaywith.

Photo of the day 2

2007-02-12T18:36:00.000-08:00

Photos of the day

2007-02-11T16:57:00.000-08:00

As a filler for this two weeks while I'm away and as we are working out the details of the new blog, here's a photo a day for the next 2 weeks. One from Singapore and one from London. Maybe 2-3 from me.

Here's an idea

2007-02-11T16:43:00.000-08:00

I think we might have an idea as to what we are going to do next. Apologies that it has taken this long. Work and holidays hangover meant that... Alright, hands up. We were just procrastinating. Hopefully we'll get this project up and running by March.

SPEND A DAY WITH

2007-01-11T03:00:00.000-08:00

This year is going to be a year of doing rather than taking about doing. One such thing which i have been discussing for a while is a little project called SPEND A DAY WITH.
You see so many people everyday walking through your life. But what are they going. Who are they thinking of. Why are they running is it just because they are late? Whats with that awful tattoo.
The concept is simple. We hand out a number disposible cameras to people that interest us. They then document their day by taking shots of anything which interests them. The hope being that they may find beauty it something others may have ignored.

Our first subject is John a crane man working out in east London.

Check it all out here.

Enjoy
Ollie

Another round of thanks

2007-01-05T02:10:00.000-08:00

It's such bad timing. Just when we were thinking about revamping our blog to give it a better direction, we were told on Wednesday morning that our blog (along with several others) had been picked up by several other renowed blogs, largely but loosely discussing "Why don't creatives blog?".

It's a nice accolade and thanks to to Gemma from Kendall Tarrant, Simon from Here Be Monsters, Beeker, Scamp and many others...

I hope guys coming here to look at our blog for the first time aren't dissappointed. Like we mentioned in the previous post we are looking to do something new.

But if you're bored, take a look at our portfolio. It has ads, ideas, random things.

Leave a comment. Say something.

Here's to more Britney Spears

2006-12-31T13:37:00.000-08:00

It has been a pretty good year.

We have received numerous messages and support from people who has stumbled upon our blog.

It has also helped us open some doors that had us meeting some great people, one of which is our current employers.

To which we thank all of you.

However we are getting bored now.

The very existence of the blog is to do something different. That is what we (try to) pride ourselves against. And we have seen enough people doing the same thing these days that makes us want to do something different.

Do not get us wrong. We did not invent this whole blog/potfolio showcase and this idea thing. Credit must be given to Martin and Theo, The Staufenberger Boys and personally, a certain creative team's book I saw at TBWA about 2 years ago.

Besides, over the last month we debated that we might have veered off course a bit. Posting irreverent images and texts that probably make no sense.

So here we are, back to basics and sticking to what's true of what we first set out to do.

We do not know what it will be yet. But we may have an idea.

Here's wishing everyone a great New Year ahead and may Paris and Britney continue to be friends forever.

Janson

PS As a personal side project, here something I've realised.

Life's too short

2006-12-13T02:31:00.000-08:00

I desperately want the new Sony W950i phone.

Doesn't help that O2 refuses to give it to me for free.

Worse, my gf got it for free from Carphone Warehouse. She simply phoned up and blagged it.

So I went to ebay to browse and see if I can get a good deal.

And this auction I came across had me in stitches.

When I put up something up on ebay, I try to be as precise as possible. Sometimes it took me about 15mintues to research then write the description.

But this guy wrote about three lines and said, "Life is'nt long enough to list all the details and functions..."

How true.

I should make better use of my time.

Watch them waste away.

2006-12-08T04:52:00.000-08:00

Since the summer everyone out east and maybe west have been wearing these 5 bucks shoes. I've gone through around 3 pairs so far and have finally upgraded to a proper pair of leather converse. But cuddy our in house graphic designer is still going dispite the bad weather. So i thought i would document the downfall of these shoes. This is the first shot ohhh dont they look nice.

There's light...

2006-12-05T02:18:00.000-08:00

Coach journeys are horrible.

And I just feel that train companies are underselling their 'product' a bit.

Or it's probably complacency.

Train journeys are like flying.

Except it's far less restrictive, more comfortable and actually city-to-city, if you know what I mean.

If there are numerous award winning ads for airlines, I don't know why train companies can't achieve the same.

Especially in this country.

Maybe it's an aspirational issue.

Flying is, afterall, sexier than any other mode of transport.

But train beats coach anytime, anyday.

When the going gets tough...

2006-11-17T02:02:00.000-08:00

We are almost certain they are put up in corresponding order...

Bless her.

Just say no.

2006-11-14T02:26:00.000-08:00

Since we moved to Cunning we have been using our friendly local convenience store TESCOs on a daily basis. What struck me was the amount of paper being collected due to people getting receipts for buying an apple.
Its funny, anytime i've ever wanted wanted a receipt i have had to ask for one yet Tecso gives them away with everything. People take it and then throw it straight in the bin. So i'm jumping on the green band wagon by urging you to say NO.
I've started doing it with Carrier bags when i have ample room in my man bag and now i'm turning my attention to receipts.
I'm gonna head down today see if there is any method in their madness or is its that they can't shut the bloody machine off.

See you after lunch
Ollie

What's that coming over the bridge?

2006-11-13T13:13:00.000-08:00

Saw this over Farringdon Bridge, near Clerkenwell.

It's still there.

Nice use of the media and something otherwise plain and boring.

Simply visually pleasing.

Flickr Free

2006-10-28T06:36:00.000-07:00

Flickr is probably the best thing to happen on the internet, next to Youtube.

Especially in this business.

It is no longer just a place to display photos. It is increasingly becoming a community for like minded people to share their interests.

And it puts google images to shame with their search options, the sheer numbers of quality photos and of course the non-stock images.

And then there's people like us who use it as an online portfolio showcase/critique.

I've been doing quite a bit of searches on Flickr and is surprised at the number of artistes doing the exact same thing (I'm not saying we're the first to do this).

From doodles, sketches, paintings to amazing adobe processed files.

There is such a massive collection of work, artistes/illustrators and communities that it feels a bit like walking into college on open day.

Maybe Flickr could do this. Charge, say, £1 for every picture downloaded and 80p will go to the author of those pictures. In that way everyone will want to constantly update and put up more pictures online so they can get paid for it.

Even better there should be a 'live brief' section where say if I want "A life-like but in colour pencils drawing of a smiling cat standing on top of a statue, waving at the camera, portrait, the cat preferbly with light brown stripes, the statue must be in marble...".

I will have to pay a premium price of say £25 for it. Anyone can respond to the brief and the author of the selected work will get paid a premium sum as well.