brand dna

Autumn at Aesop

2013-05-21T03:30:00.000+10:00

It's autumn in Melbourne and the streets are awash with fallen leaves.

And there's nothing I love more than scuffing my feet through the as I walk.

To celebrate autumn at Aesop skincare in Fitzroy they brought the outside in yesterday.

Shopping has never been so much fun!

Variations of American Apparel

2013-05-20T05:00:00.000+10:00

Maybe it's just me. But I'm pretty sure there's something not quite right about the way American Apparel market the same product to different genders.

Case in point this blue flannel shirt. And below it yet another flannel shirt.

Stock footage romance

2013-05-17T03:30:00.000+10:00

Stock shots are the bane of the modern creative person's life.

Clients think they're cheaper and easier than doing photography.

They're not. Well most of the time anyway.

What many people don't realise is that stock libraries also have stock video.

Yes video.

This gorgeous little spot for Getty Video was created by AlmapBBDO.

It's made from 105 different Getty clips.

And it took four months to review over 4,000 videos to find thos 105 clips.

I have no idea who on earth has the patience for that!

Velvety chocolate floating

2013-05-16T03:30:00.000+10:00

When I was in New Zealand back in January I noticed a lot of long copy as headline type ads.

I have to admit I kinda like them.

Especially when they're done well.

Beverage brand Mac do some particularly good ones.

Their beers are pretty damn good too.

A gay ad

2013-05-15T04:00:00.000+10:00

For some reason gay marriage is still a topic of hot debate in Australia.

And as is so often the case our neighbours in New Zealand have shown that they're a far more progressive nation than we are.

So hats of to the kids from Grey Melbourne who created and ran this topical ad to tie in with the announcement that New Zealand had legalised gay marriage.

I've always loved a good topical ad. And this a good one.

The team who made it were part of the Come Home Droga promo from last year.

They've obviously got some serious creative skills.

Take and give

2013-05-14T04:00:00.000+10:00

That Seth Godin quote is from a Creative Mornings talk he gave last week.

It is the first time I've heard but believe me when I say it is spot on.

You see it on the football field where young players are encouraged to step up.

And you see it in agencies where the person who grabs a brief and takes charge is the one who goes on to do great things.

if you're one of those sit quietly in the corner types I suggest you take notice of what Seth has to say.

A far from bright idea

2013-05-13T03:30:00.000+10:00

I've spoken many times about my disappointment that rather than killing advertising the internet has actually been responsible for more of.

And most of it bad.

Case in point is the flashlight app on my iPhone.

That's a screenshot of the interface above.

Clean. Simple. And very easy to operate.

Last week they issued an update so I downloaded it. Of course.

Imagine my surprise when I opened it and saw that godawful little banner ad at the bottom of my screen.

Advertiser funded. Advertiser supported. Brand engagement opportunity.

Call it what you will but I cannot for the life of me understand why any brand would advertise on a banner in a flashlight app.

If you've ever used a torch (and I know you have) you'll know that you don't look at the torch you look at the beam of light it shines on the ground.

And never ever at a banner ad.

Farewell Mrs Marsh

2013-05-10T23:30:00.001+10:00

Colgate's Mrs Marsh is one of the great Australian advertising creations. The lady who played her Barbara Callcott died today. Unbelievably she was still helping promote oral hygiene for kids right up to her death.

Half the story

2013-05-10T04:00:00.000+10:00

Visually stunning campaign for the BBC. Sadly my blog template doesn't allow me to have the pics up any bigger. However I do believe if you click on the pics you will get a much bigger version.

Sometimes nobody cares

2013-05-09T04:00:00.000+10:00

Love this quote from legendary designer Saul Bass.

Words to live by I think.

Warmth and charm

2013-05-08T03:00:00.000+10:00

I've been working on a campaign for the last few days that is slowly but surely having every ounce of wit and charm sucked out of it.

I can't tell you how frustrating it is.

But then I've always said that having an idea is the easy part. It's making it happen that requires real creativity.

Anyway I don't want to moan. Well actually I do. But I won't.

I just wish people were able to put aside their 'two cents worth' and just embrace a piece of work for the goodness it contains.

Just imagine if the florist's message in the pic above had to be run past a committee.

I'm pretty sure he'd be left with nothing more than a sign that said 'Flowers'.

And even that message would probably be accompanied by an asterisk.

Look up kids

2013-05-07T03:00:00.000+10:00

I've been trying to get a lenticular concept up for years. Seriously envious of the team at Grey in Spain who made this stunning piece of work.

Rock on retro style

2013-05-06T04:00:00.000+10:00

A light hearted retro styled musical interlude to start the week.

Love the use of illustration in the ads.

Far more evocative than your stereo (pardon the pun) typical band photography.

Shame the ads all look like they're for the same brand though!

The power (and importance) of Twitter

2013-05-02T13:58:00.002+10:00

Regular visitors to BrandDNA are sure to understand the importance of Twitter.

If you have colleagues who don't get it, or you're friends with the boss of Myer, perhaps send them a link to this 5 minute talk by David Hepworth.

It does ends quite suddenly though. Which is a bit of a shame.

It's called cheating

2013-05-01T03:30:00.000+10:00

These two screenshots are from two different folios. The similarity is uncanny. The commentary below is from my friend Matt who's a CD in London who looked at both these folios today.

"It's always interesting when you are interviewing creative teams for a role, and you find two different teams who have the exact same ad in their portfolio.

Reminds me of the time a colleague was doing a creative course and told me how a fellow student showed a page torn from a magazine with an ad she said she had done. But he knew it was mine. And he told her. In front of the whole class. Sweet."

Wisdom of Chandler

2013-04-30T04:00:00.000+10:00

Years ago Ted Horton told me that being a copywriter was easy.

All you had to do was take the proposition and find a more interesting way of saying it.

I've shared that wisdom with hundreds of young creatives since them.

Next time I have to do it I think I'll print off a copy of this poster of Chandler from Friends to give them too.

The man is a genius.

And like me he came to copywriting late in life.

Watch and learn

2013-04-29T16:42:00.003+10:00

You're not yourself

2013-04-29T04:30:00.000+10:00

I reckon I mistype about 80% of my search queries. So this campaign was obviously created with me in mind. Funny thing is I've never seen it. Still a great idea though.

Fetch!

2013-04-26T00:30:00.000+10:00

I've watched this a couple of times now and I still have no idea what it's about or what it's supposed to be actually selling.

But it's got dogs. Lots of dogs. Catching tennis balls. In super slow-mo.

Seriously. What's not to love!?

What's your thing?

2013-04-25T08:46:00.001+10:00

YouTube via Twitter

2013-04-24T00:04:00.002+10:00

I was reading an article about YouTube usage yesterday.

Some of the stats are quite mind boggling.

But what really tweaked my interest was the amount of YouTube video links shared via Twitter.

700 a minute.

Now that may not seem all that exciting really when compared to most YouTube usage stats but take that figure of 700 and multiply it across a 24 hour period and it gets a lot more impressive.

1,008,000 YouTube links shared via Twitter everyday. Wow!

Like like like

2013-04-23T21:33:00.000+10:00

I've been wanting to do something like this for ages but haven't had a client to buy into the idea.

So you can imagine how jealous I was when this ad landed in my inbox this morning.

Kudos to Unicef for being brave enough to run it. And congrats to whoever it was that created it.

Click the pic if you want to read the copy.

Moms demand action

2013-04-22T13:06:00.002+10:00

I think any sane person would agree with me when I say that America has a gun problem. And I think this is a strong ad.

Kinder Surprises banned?

Now that's the sort of thing that makes me wanna shout 'Only in America' at the top of my voice.

Cars that park themselves

2013-04-19T01:00:00.000+10:00

Seems like every new car coming out these days has the ability to park itself.

Not sure this iPad ad is the best way to advertise it though.

It's all a bit meh don't you think?

When I worked on the launch of the Ford Focus with 'park assist' a couple of years ago we embedded a fun little parking game in an expanding banner ad.

Much more fun.

It's housed on the Ford website at the moment. Click here to go play it.

Tim talks D&AD

2013-04-18T11:25:00.001+10:00

Great chat with Tim Lindsay the CEO of D&AD. Don't know about you but I always enjoy hearing people in the creative industries talking about their work.