Ad-Buzz: Big thoughts in Advertising & Design

The writing's on the wall

noreply@blogger.com (ad-buzz) — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 14:22:00 +0000

Adidas is a great brand. I love it when great brands try something different and capitalize on trends. Graffitti is nothing new. So when I saw the new Adidas campaign that encourages the public to deface their ads, I thought cool. Then I looked at the big picture... why create ads that don't get attention but instead blend into the surroundings? I like grafitti and seeing the twisted turns a spray can is capable of making. Building walls and overpasses are somewhat of an art gallery. There are other people who think this... could we be Adidas's target market? Grafitti represents only a fraction of culture. Culture is hard to define. I think Adidas capitalized on the wrong trend. You have to look for the ad. The passerby will almost never notice that Adidas is the brand at work. This posting represents mostly my opinions so I encourage you to read more about this. http://www.beinghunted.com/features/2006/04_adicolor_berlin/01/01.html

Those creative-recycling Arnikans!

noreply@blogger.com (ad-buzz) — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 13:47:00 +0000

I came across this interesting ad in CMYK a few issues ago. It was done by a VCU Adcenter student, Diana Tung for Home Depot. After graduating from VCU she was hired on as an art director at Arnika. Arnika is known for its good work though a lot of it is unrealistic. Then I had deju-vu. It was the same ad, except this time, the logo changed. I didn't attend the Adcenter but I know there are certain techniques (almost golden rules) that must be followed to create exceptional, ground-breaking work. One of those rules – create ads that can only be used for that brand/company. From Home Depot to Robbie's Do It Best Hardware. The strategy, you may ask? Tung's graduation. Not to be mean or anything... but why did you do that? I'm wondering if Claire Tiffey (the copywriting student at the Adcenter) even got any credit for the writing. Creatives need to realize that there are so many dynamics that go into creating advertising. We are building brands. We must get it right. Then pitch the idea and defend it. Good advertising doesn't happen by changing the logo.

Donny Deutsch: "Often Wrong, Never in Doubt" – Worth Reading!

noreply@blogger.com (ad-buzz) — Wed, 04 Jan 2006 14:46:00 +0000

I wasn't sure about Donny Deutsch before reading the book. He seemed like an arrogant ass but at the same time I was somewhat attracted to him. He's a great-looking guy and the brains behind some pretty good campaigns. So I gave it a chance and ordered it from Amazon. I finally got to it on Christmas vacation and couldn't put it down. I came back to work energized and with a little ego in my step. Donny is now one of my idols. And for the record - I have a deeper crush for him now. Thank God he's not my boss... yet!

"Dogs Rule" according to Pedigree campaign

noreply@blogger.com (ad-buzz) — Wed, 14 Dec 2005 13:46:00 +0000

I love this campaign. It's simple, cute, smart. The writing is the winner. As a dog owner, I feel the ads resonate very well. Though I can't say it makes me want to go out and buy Pedigree. I usually purchase whatever is on sale (but never generic, low-end brand). If the ads were placed in the dog food aisle (floor cling, hanging graphic) I would be reminded that Pedigree is the company that thinks my dog rules!

Starbucks and Viral Advertising

noreply@blogger.com (ad-buzz) — Fri, 09 Dec 2005 18:24:00 +0000

Found this from another blog. Here's his story:

Today as I was crossing the Embarcadero I noticed that this gentleman had left his coffee on the roof of his car. Midway through the cross walk I turned and pointed at him and he just waved at me. I ran back to the other side of the crosswalk and approached his window as he wasn't getting what I was pointing at.

When I got close enough to speak to him I told him that his coffee was on his roof. He looked at me and said, "I know, Happy Holiday's from Starbucks!" At first I didn't get it, it didn't sink in, so I told him again, your coffee it's on your roof and again he looked me square in they eye and said, "yes, yes, I know, Happy Holidays from Starbucks." It was at this point that I realized that the coffee cup was permanently affixed to his roof and that he was an advertisment in disguise. Even though I'm not sure how I feel about cars clogging traffic and poluting the City with exhaust to make a marketing point, I still had a chuckle when I realized that I'd been had.

Sally Hogshead "The Naked Career"

noreply@blogger.com (ad-buzz) — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 18:27:00 +0000

Sometimes American Copywriter gets old. Tug and John are funny guys but they are a little too personal and I don't really care what they ate last night. Sally Hogshead's podcast hits the spot (see www.talentzoo.com). She personable as well as informative. I like the balance. Sally Hogshead is another person who has influenced my life. I never had the pleasure of meeting her but if I did, I probably would hug her. Her book "Radical Careering" is something that I read when I feel powerless, useless, or emotionally-drained. I have used "cherry bombs" to revive my career. I've been happier, more creative, more productive, my work is improving. For example, my favorite is... Radical Truth #62: Ongoing Panic Kills Innovation. This book is great, especially in my case where the corporation's HR department is more or less a defense mechanism for management. Someone has to take down the SCUD missiles.

Jean Govoni & Innovation

noreply@blogger.com (ad-buzz) — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 19:17:00 +0000

Jean is a good friend of mine and I was one of her students at VCU. Below is an article about her that appeared on Richmond.com and in WORKMAGAZINE.

Innovators
WORKMAGAZINE presents Innovators
Innovator Jean Govoni.

WORKMAGAZINE Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Jean Govoni spent many years as an art director, graphic designer and producer with advertising agencies in New York and London. "A lot of my work involved production of 30-second commercials for companies such as Wendy's, Yoplait yogurt, Northwest Airlines and AT&T," she says. Filming took her to some neat locales, including Paris and Rio.

She moved back to Virginia in 2000 to be closer to her family and devoted the next several years to teaching at Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Mass Communications and at the VCU Adcenter. Subsequently, she bought a farm (dubbed Jean Acres by her friends) in Goochland. "But," as she says, "I missed doing it - being on shoots and in the recording studio." So she plunged back into work as a creative director and consultant for Richmond ad agencies and for other clients, including some from her days in New York.

In the course of networking in a new market, she contacted David N. Martin of the branding firm IdentityMark. "I showed him my sample reel of commercials and other stuff. The firm was working with the Library of Virginia at the time, with Susan Martin Mitchell as account executive/marketing consultant. That's how I got the gig."

By "gig" she means the creation and direction of a 15-minute orientation film for the library that could be used to educate visitors, for fundraising and possibly to be broadcast on PBS.

The stretch from her experience with 30-second commercials to a 15-minute video was quite a leap. More daunting was, "How do you tell a story that began in 1607 and track it through time to today - in just 15 minutes? The Library has 97 million documents, books, photos, maps, works of art and newspapers housed in 55 miles of shelving plus an off-site Records Center."

Govoni developed an outline for the production. Martin and Mary Beth McIntire and others on the staff of the library then wrote the narrative. Govoni directed the production. The principal source was "The Common Wealth: The Treasures of the Library of Virginia" edited by Sandra Gioia Treadway and Edward D.C. Campbell Jr.

"The tricky part was using still images from the book in ways that would keep things moving and sustain interest for 15 minutes," Govoni says. The solution involved hours of work in After Effects with Brian Harrell and other production people at the Park Group. Author David Baldacci did the voice-over narration. "It looks like a film and it sounds like a film, but it's all digital," she says.

"Virginia's Collective Experience: The Story of The Library of Virginia" took a year to complete. "For me, someone who has lived away from Virginia for most of my adult life, it makes me proud to be a Virginian," Govoni says.

How to Write a Newspaper Ad

noreply@blogger.com (ad-buzz) — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 18:57:00 +0000

Four people that I admire - Lee Clow, Mike Hughes, Luke Sullivan, and Neil French. All four different personalities, some controversial but one thing is for sure, they are talented copywriters. We have much to learn from them. You can see these larger at www.naa.org/adcampaign/htw_ads.cfm.

Give me a piece of CP+B!

noreply@blogger.com (ad-buzz) — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 02:59:00 +0000

Crispin Porter + Bogusky is so hot that they can garner a $400 mil account WITHOUT EVEN PRESENTING! Volkswagen resigned its 10-year relationship with Arnold and headed for Miami. Makes you wonder how secure a job in this industry is... Arnold is expecting layoffs. Everyone wants a piece of CP+B. Creatives want to work there. In ad school, I remember as a student referring to CP+B as some sort of paradise. We loved their Mini campaigns (even though it started to get a little annoying when the Communication Arts Ad Annuals became the Mini Ad Annuals). I'm not crazy about their work for Burger King or even IKEA for that matter. I guess IKEA agreed (it resigned from CP+B recently). CP+B is like a hot guy/gal that you desperately want to lay, but he's/she's been around so much that it gets a little whore-ish. Oh, and by the way, CP+B dropped its BMW Mini account to take on VW. See the metaphor? Yeah? Maybe?

Book Review: PICK ME - Breaking into Advertising and Staying There

noreply@blogger.com (ad-buzz) — Mon, 29 Aug 2005 03:28:00 +0000

Thank you, Nancy Vonk and Janet Kestin. The book I needed to read 3 years ago finally is out. Students emerging into the industry have this tool to their benefit. I sure could of used this advice. Actually, I'm still using it. I am applying for entry-level jobs as we speak and feel that this book emphasizes the basic essentials of any newbie art director, copywriter, or designer. This book provides a real down-to-earth view of what it takes to get into this industry. It's not easy. Actually, it's near fucking impossible to get the job you want and know you deserve. You have to obsessive-compulsive. Think for yourself 24-7. Live life with no fear. Go places that you never would have dreamed of going. And not be a jack-ass. Too many wannabe art directors and copywriters are total jack-asses. I know one in particular that has a decent internship, but nobody likes him. He was fired from a student work-study job while in college. He is doomed for failure all because of his attitude and dishonesty. Even I sometimes have to stop and tell myself not to be too confident because if my work sucks, I'll hear about it and be responsible for it. I need to hear about it and be responsible, it's my job. Back to the book! Vonk and Kestin put together a great resource for the newbie. The book is written in a question and answer format... a little hard to follow at times as the answers seem to come down to the work, the work, the work. Who cares where you come from. All that matters is your book. Read this book and toss the others that tell you how to get into advertising. Vonk and Kestin's book shows you how to acquire and flaunt the skills needed to get the job in advertising.

"Outshining the Past"

noreply@blogger.com (ad-buzz) — Wed, 17 Aug 2005 19:05:00 +0000

>>It's like a cycle, it starts all over again, again and again proving yourself and your talent. Keeping fresh. Everlasting. The retirement?

Outshining the Past
August 15, 2005
By Christine Champagne / Adweek

You're a creative genius. So now what?

You roared out of Cannes with a gold Lion. Your campaign dominated The One Show and the Clio Awards (owned by Adweek parent company VNU) and captured a D&AD pencil. Congratulations, you're a creative genius. So now what? Sure, your boss at the agency and your client are thrilled that the campaign that you poured your blood, sweat and tears into won all of those shiny trophies. But that was yesterday. A creative can't rest on his laurels for even a nanosecond before it's time to go back to the drawing board. In fact, the maxim, "You're only as good as your last ad," isn't quite accurate these days, says Leo Burnett executive creative director and copywriter G. Andrew Meyer. "You're only as good as your next ad," he says. With that daunting reality hanging over them, several creative teams are attempting to follow up on, and potentially top, the success of previous award-winning work. Adweek spoke with these creatives to get a sense of the pressures they face and the creative approaches they take in the shadow of a big win.

Wieden + Kennedy: Michael Russoff, Ben Walker and Matt Gooden

Honda

Michael Russoff, a copywriter at London's Wieden + Kennedy, was part of the creative team behind Honda Diesel's fantastical "Grrr" animated spot, which has driven off with, well, just about every major advertising award of late, including the Grand Clio and the Grand Prix at the 52nd International Advertising Festival in Cannes, France. As of last March, Russoff, Wieden copywriter Matt Gooden and art director Ben Walker-creative all-stars in their own right for the Honda Accord spot "Cog," which swept the international awards circuit in 2003-2004-began the task of formulating a winning, if not outright spectacular, TV campaign for the new Honda Civic.

"The pressure isn't to beat what you've just done. I think that's a bit of a shallow approach to your creative life. You'll never, ever be happy with that attitude," Russoff maintains. "You'll raise your bar higher and higher and end up achieving something soulless."

Russell Davies, former head of planning for Wieden, says that after "Cog," the agency shook up its thinking on Honda by tackling a musical challenge. "With ["Cog"] being so successful, one of the things we were concerned might happen was that we would start to institutionalize that success, and that it would be very easy to do Cog-like ads again and again and again," says Davies, now global consumer planning director at Nike. "We asked, 'How are ways we can make sure we don't repeat ourselves, and do something new? What if we made it mandatory that we had to have Garrison Keillor sing?' ''

The query proved successful. And now Russoff, Gooden and Walker are knee-deep in the creative process again. They've already completed their research, which involved finding out as much as possible about the new Civic through Honda, and then determining the essence of the product. Now, they are in the writing phase, Walker reports.

The last Civic ad Wieden put out highlighted the practicality of the car, asking, "Why is it that the better something does its job, the more we take it for granted?" and depicting all the wonderful things we take for granted during our day. While the voice cues Wieden has built up for the brand will be retained in the new Civic campaign, "the last ad has no bearing on the new one," Walker says.

Wieden account director Francesca Sellers confirms that the overall advertising strategy for Honda is tied to the theme of "The power of dreams," Honda's tagline in the UK since 2000.

Walker teases, "The new Civic is as much about the heart as the head. We want people to feel the car-really feel it. And you can't do that by just showing it going 'round a winding country road."

Word is that the new Civic is a huge undertaking for Honda, marking a radical change in the design of the car; therefore, the brand requires an idea that will show it. "If we pull it off, it'll be amazing," Russoff muses. "If we don't, we'll have had an amazing journey and learned loads. And to be honest, you can't ask for more than that in your working life."

Leo Burnett: Noel Haan and G. Andrew Meyer

Altoids

Leo Burnett svps and executive creative directors G. Andrew Meyer and Noel Haan had just returned from the recent Cannes Festival, where their TV campaign for Altoids, featuring a glimpse at a primitive land called Altoidia, won a gold Lion, when they heard from the client. Chris Peddy, associate general manager of New Confectionery Brands at Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., told them, "I want to go back [next year]. And I want to go back with work that is eligible for winning the gold or any kind of Lion," Meyer relates.

It was with Peddy's high expectations, as well as their own, hovering above them that Meyer, also a copywriter, and Haan, also an art director, dove right back into the creative process for Altoids after the Cannes win, although Meyer notes that it is ongoing. "There's always some idea percolating in your head whether you want it to or not," he says.

Of course, Haan and Meyer aren't the only ones at Leo Burnett coming up with concepts. To keep the campaign fresh, Haan and Meyer, who have been working on the Altoids business for 10 and five years, respectively, have taken a stream of pitches from other talents eager to work on the account. "Five or six teams are currently in the queue," Meyer says. "You need fresh minds to bring something new to a 10-year-old campaign."

The brand has a rich creative history. The Altoids brand has won a Grand Kelly Award, multiple One Show Pencils and many Andys, Addys and Clios, among other honors. In addition to its Cannes win, the agency's work for Altoids gum was on the shortlist in the areas of Integrated Campaign, Print and TV at the 2005 Clio Awards.

Meyer and Haan's directive to these teams? "We'll look at anything as long as it's curiously strong," Meyer answers, referring to the Altoids tagline.

"We try to keep [the pitching process] pretty informal. With a campaign like Altoids, people generally put enough pressure on themselves," Meyer reasons, adding, "It's sort of a luxury to be able to just dangle it out there and see what you get."

He and Haan are also mining the past, dusting off concepts that the client previously took a pass on. "There are always some ideas in the back of our heads that we'd like to bring back," Haan says.

If these ideas were so good, why did the client veto them? In some cases, the client was simply "board-weary," Meyer explains. In other instances, Haan points out, the client simply wasn't ready for a concept that may have seemed too far out at the time.

"If you're doing things right, you're pushing the comfort level-not just for the client, but for yourself as well," Meyer adds. "Sometimes it takes a while for all of us, together, to pull the trigger."

At this point, various concepts, new and old, have made it to storyboard stage and will ultimately be presented to the client. Neither the creatives nor Peddy know precisely when that'll be. That's because Wrigley's acquisition of Life Savers, Creme Savers and Altoids from Kraft Brands was just completed in late June, and "everything is being re-jiggered-budgets and schedules are being worked out," Meyer reports. "But we are definitely going to have a lot of new work out there."

Springer & Jacoby: Aris Theophilakis, Murray White, Sharon Cleary and Chris Pugmire

Olympus

A campaign of Olympus TV spots that ran in Europe depicting all that can go wrong in the realm of digital photography—think blurry boys, distorted dogs and red-eyed babies-won the creative team at Springer & Jacoby Amsterdam a gold Lion at Cannes this year. S&J creative director Murray White was thrilled to see the work honored, of course. But White said they aren't planning to follow up the TV campaign immediately, working in other mediums instead. "We aren't setting out to make the next great TV campaign," White says. "That's definitely a difference between Europe and America. There isn't the demand for TV all the time in every market."

The TV spots, which broke via the Internet before migrating to television last year, introduced the tagline, "What you choose to remember." White reports that the creatives devoted to Olympus, senior copywriter Sharon Cleary and senior art director Chris Pugmire, are continuing to deliver that tagline and message via other media, from print ads to the Web to point-of-sales initiatives.

Pugmire says they don't necessarily feel pressure to top the award-winning work. If anything, he says, it helped to reinforce their belief that the "What you choose to remember" campaign is a viable one. The creative process itself hasn't changed in the aftermath of their big win, Pugmire maintains. Like before, Pugmire and Cleary continue to have regular access to their direct boss, White, thanks to the small size of the creative department in Amsterdam (there are only a half-dozen creatives), and are able to pitch ideas as they arise. "Everyone here feels like they can say what they want to and like they are part of the process," Pugmire says.

At press time, Pugmire and Cleary were putting the finishing touches on some print ads as well as a direct-marketing campaign. Meanwhile, S&J worldwide creative director Aris Theophilakis says the creatives are being charged with the task of not only employing various mediums but also various tonalities as the campaign, aimed at 34 European markets, grows. "This is the beauty of the concept," Theophilakis says. "It can come at you from so many different angles. It can have the [darker] tonality of the television [spots] you saw, or it can be much more humorous or much more serious." We will ultimately see more TV spots, by the way. But when? At this point, according to Theophilakis, S&J is actively monitoring the public response to the commercials. When they are no longer deemed fresh, the agency will embark on the process of creating another round. "If people start to have expectations of what an Olympus commercial is, then I think we've got to say, 'Alright, let's find another angle,'" Theophilakis says.

Taxi: Zak Mroueh, Lance Martin, Ron Smrczek and Irfan Khan

Viagra

Toronto's Taxi struck gold, literally, with TV spots that found Viagra users sharing graphic details of their sexcapades-mouths muffled by blue Viagra tablets- with co-workers and pals who are clearly taken aback and in awe. The TV campaign, which aired in Canada and won a gold Lion at the Cannes Festival, was honored at the first show it was entered in, notes Zak Mroueh, Taxi executive creative director and partner. The campaign has been submitted to other shows, and the agency is awaiting results.

Mroueh said the big win at Cannes was a boost not only for the creative team behind the spots (associate creative director Lance Martin, art director Ron Smrczek and copywriter Irfan Khan) but also other creative teams at Taxi.

"It inspires healthy competition," Mroueh says. "One team does a really great campaign, and then the other teams say, 'OK, how do we beat that and do something better?'"

So what will Taxi do next for Viagra? The agency has yet to start creative development on the next round of work but plans to embark on the process in the coming months. New work is slated to break sometime next year.

The agency will continue to target a wide demographic of men ranging from their early 40s to their 70s and beyond, and the creative team's focus most likely will be on TV spots. Humor has long been a staple in the shop's work for Viagra. In addition to the most recent work, previous Viagra spots were set to music, including Queen's anthem "We Are the Champions," to convey the sense of the joy users get due to the results of taking the medication.

"[Erectile dysfunction] is such an emotional topic that some of the other media just fall short in telling the story," Martin explains. "And because we're limited legally in what we're allowed to say, TV has proven to be the best medium to bring the brand alive." It is those legal limits, by the way, that will also result in some new creative blood being assigned to work on the account, which Taxi has had for four years. "Whenever new creative for Viagra is developed, it must then be approved by [Canadian drug authorities]," which can be a lengthy and demoralizing process for a copywriter or art director, Martin says. "So we want to make sure fresh people are on the account."

All over 4-year-old iBooks

noreply@blogger.com (ad-buzz) — Wed, 17 Aug 2005 16:21:00 +0000

I must admit, I really wanted one. Henrico public schools were selling their 4-year-old iBooks for $50. 1,000 were up for grabs at one per person - anyone. This was a good deal. I was excited. Then Henrico residents whined that they should be first to receive them. I live in Richmond City, however I was a resident of Henrico at the time of purchase. Henrico residents got their way. Even worse, the event was a freaking disaster. The news said that people were not allowed to camp outside the complex where the iBooks were being sold. They did anyways. One woman pissed herself because she didn't want to leave her place in line. It was total chaos. More like an embarrassment. The people poured in from the ghetto to get an iBook, trampling people, damaging a stroller, and injuring several people, making coverage on CNN. Henrico County residents should be embarrassed of their behavior and the County should be embarrassed with the lack of planning. Are Americans really that obsessed with Macs? I don't see how waiting in line, that wasn't legal to begin with, since 1:30 am is appropriate. Don't these people have jobs? And for a 4-year-old laptop that could be damaged? I'm sure glad that I didn't take off work... then again, I live in Richmond City. These pictures tell it all. The T-shirt is from an eBay auction from one disgruntled person who drove all the way from Erie PA. I don't think he'll be coming to Richmond again any time soon.

American Copywriter Podcast

noreply@blogger.com (ad-buzz) — Thu, 04 Aug 2005 03:51:00 +0000

This makes my day at work go faster! These guys are crazy. The Fenske interviews are a must-hear... http://www.wehatesheep.com/americancopywriter

5 Rules from Wieden + Kennedy

noreply@blogger.com (ad-buzz) — Thu, 04 Aug 2005 03:35:00 +0000

5 Rules from Wieden + Kennedy

In 1982, Dan Wieden borrowed a typewriter from Phil Knight, founder of Nike, and David Kennedy brought a folding card table and some chairs from home and thus the new ad agency, Wieden + Kennedy was born. Known for the Air Jordan and Miller High Life ads, the agency's creative director Jelly Helm was recently featured in "Men's Health" magazine offering five rules of creativity.

Here are their rules:

• Act Stupid. "Our philosophy is to come in ignorant every day. The idea of retaining ignorance is sort of counterintuitive, but it subverts a lot of [problems] that come from absolute mastery. if you think you know the answer better than somebody else does, you become closed to being fresh." states Jelly Helm, creative director.

• Shut up. "The first thing we do when we meet with clients is listen. We try to figure out what their problems are. Then we come back with questions, not solutions. We write these out and put them on the wall. And then we circle the ones that we think are interesting. More often than not, the questions hold the answer."

• Always say yes. "What I've learned from improvisation is to let go of outcome and just say yes to what4ever the situation is. If you say an idea is bad, you're creating conflict--you're breaking an improv rule. You want an energy flow that moves you forward, as opposed to a creative stasis."

• Chase Talent. "Find people who make you better. It's best to be the least talented person in the room. It's reciprocal. It challenges you to keep up."

• Be Fearless. "Do anything, say anything. In the worlds of our president, Dan Wieden, 'You're not useful to me until you've made three momentous mistakes.' He knows that if you try not to make mistakes, you miss out on the value of learning from them."

More info at:

Wieden + Kennedy http://www.wk.com
Men's Health magazine http://www.menshealth.com

Wow, a blog!

noreply@blogger.com (ad-buzz) — Thu, 04 Aug 2005 03:24:00 +0000

I didn't know what a blog really until this year. Seems like this thing is catching on quickly. This blog is devoted to those seeking an antenna when in comes to creativity in advertising, marketing and design. Please let me know if you come across something that's worthy of noting.... humphreysjd@msn.com. A little about myself... I freelance as well work as a designer for a major consumer electronics company. I work with several brands - Sony, JVC, Kyocera, Vonage, etc. - to create in-store signage and advertising. My job enables me to work closely with the companies and its people.