Project Colour

On the 16th July 2013 children from Ashburnham Community School on the World’s End Estate were able to draw straight onto a 15m2 digital billboard overlooking their school via our Project Colour App, installed on iPads set up in their playground. A collage of all their drawings is going to be exhibited on billboards across London over the coming weeks. Photographs of their work in situ will then be used to create posters for the school noticeboards and hallways with each child also receiving a poster of their individual artwork to take home.

Got To Love A Good Slide

If you’re anything like me (or any other planner I've ever met) you’ll get all hot under the collar over a good slide. Sometimes it’s because it’s a really useful or interesting piece of information. Sometimes it’s a masterclass in how to present something and other times it’s just because it’s pretty. Anyway I thought I’d share my favorite slides with you.

1. Lest we forget how much TV people are actually watching and are tempted to buy into the ‘TV advertising is dead it’s all about social’ hype…

2. This slide has probably affected the way I work more directly and immediately than anything else I've read.

This might be a crazy idea…

We love making brave, exciting, innovative ads. Why?

Because it works. We know it in our hearts, we know it from our own experience and extensive research has proven that creatively awarded campaigns are much, much more effective than non awarded campaigns.¹ They can even shape and become a part of popular culture.

We also know what will make a creatively awarded campaign. The work has got to be evocative. Emotional advertising is far more effective and profitable than rational advertising.²

So why is it that we make so much derivative and rational advertising? Why does everyone from Martin Weigel to David Droga think that the vast majority of what we make is shit?

Because making great advertising means taking risks. ‘Safe’ and rational (or crap) advertising is unfortunately often capable of meeting the short term sales and business objectives that pay our client’s wages and bonuses³. So most clients don’t often take that risk. Why would they? Would you?

And if we are being brutal, they don’t trust us enough to take that risk. Otherwise they would.

So how can we persuade them trust us, to take that risk and go from derivative and rational to brave and emotional?

I think it’s us that need to change.

Talent Imitates, Genius Steals?

The rise of 'circle of life' advertising in reverse chronological order;

Vine, Brands and Advertising.

Vine

I’ve been a big fan of Vine ever since I first discovered it a few weeks ago and although it is clearly still in it’s infancy I’m going to call it now – Vine is going to be big and it’s here to stay. I’m willing to bet it becomes a part of mainstream culture. It is the natural progression of social video. I believe this for several reasons but the three most compelling to me are:

Great Minds Don't Think Alike

Utterly Brilliant. That is all.

Game Changers from the IPA Modern Briefing: 2

Last night’s IPA Modern Briefing (2: The Clients Talk Back) conference was an exceptionally insightful follow up to this summer’s game changing talk on the agency briefing process. There were about 500 things you could've learnt last night but five of them stood out for me in particular.

They stood out for me because they can and (hopefully) will immediately affect how I try to work with my clients.