The Pisa Tower of Leaners

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

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

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

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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.

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.

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

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

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?

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

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

Day 9: The World is Our Playground

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

And we've named it the Singapore Flyer.

Day 7: Picture Postcard

Day 6: Today's Menu

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

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