The Arab Aquarius

Christmas Greetings 2009

2009-12-20T16:47:00.000+08:00

George Michael - December Song (I Dreamed of Christmas)

2009-12-04T03:11:00.001+08:00

George Michael - December Song (I Dreamed of Christmas)

Romain Laurent's Overheating in Amusement

2009-12-02T17:31:00.004+08:00

French photographer Romain Laurent has a smashing editorial in issue no.6 of Amusement magazine. The editorial is called 'Overheating' and it features special effects by Eric Faivre and styling by Dominique Descantes.

Lovestoned Portraits

2009-11-30T15:26:00.001+08:00

Lovestoned portraits by Laurent Champoussin. You can get your own portrait here.

Cruel Intentions by Simian Mobile Disco ft. Beth Ditto

2009-11-28T06:41:00.001+08:00

The new music video for the song 'Cruel Intentions' by Simian Mobile Disco featuring Beth Ditto from The Gossip. Pretty weird video, and a fantastic song!

Heaven Can Wait For Charlotte Gainsbourg & Beck

2009-11-28T06:16:00.001+08:00

New music video for the song 'Heaven Can Wait' by Charlotte Gainsbourg & Beck. The video is directed by Keith Schofield.

Smashes & Trashes by Skunk Anansie

2009-11-13T22:00:00.001+08:00

Amazon has the new Skunk Anansie Greatest Hits album Smashes & Trashes in MP3 for $6.99. And it includes their new single 'Beacuse of You'. Grab it!!

The Spider & The Butterfly Glasses

2009-11-13T17:28:00.004+08:00

What a creative and fun design by Propaganda from Thailand (note, for some reason the site is being identified by some browsers as malware, but it is a normal design company site as far as I can see, so browse it at your own risk). The butterfly, spider, and spider web glasses look good on their own, but much more fun when stacked together.

McDonald’s Fries WiFi Ad

2009-11-05T02:08:00.002+08:00

Even though the WiFi rarely works in the McDonald’s restaurant close to my house, I can’t deny that this is a Very witty and fun ad. Wireless network signals made of French fries :) The ad was created by DDB, Sydney.

+ more McDonald's | ads

Fantastic Music :: Fever Ray

2009-11-04T03:20:00.004+08:00

Fever Ray is the solo project of Karin from Swedish band The Knife. Amazing songs and music videos.

MUSIC :: Kiss Of Life by Friendly Fires

2009-10-05T07:38:00.005+08:00

I just came upon the music video for 'Kiss of Life', the latest single from British band Friendly Fires. I love this! Also, check out their music videos for previous songs 'Skeleton Boy' and 'Paris'.

Maison Martin Margiela: I Got Devil

2009-08-20T19:08:00.002+08:00

Fashion Designer: Maison Martin Margiela
Director: Alex Antitch
Stylist: Annett Monheim
MakeUp: Noda
Hair: Marco Santini
Models: Mey Bun, Cheng Cheng, Jessica Cook, Tara de Long, Hawa Diawara, Casey Farnum, Kim Ann Foxman, Hartje, Laura Selfridge, Chenta Yu.

The song is Some say (I Got Devil).

‘Tonight is The Knight’ For OntFront

2009-08-04T09:20:00.003+08:00

I received today a very nice surprise in my mailbox from designer Liza Koifman of OntFront. A load of images of her 2010 spring/summer collection “Tonight is the Knight” which was presented on the last day of Amsterdam International Fashion Week. The Medieval-inspired collection is the most exciting and original collection I saw this season.

According to the press release, “’Tonight is the Knight’ is designed to catapult the bold sophistication of the valiant medieval knight into comfortable gallantry for the modern-day street cavalier. Like the black and white chess knights adorning the collection, “Tonight is the Knight” will harness you with the graceful attire to lay siege to any imposing bulwark in your life.”

Congrats to Liza Koifman and OntFront creative director Tomas Overtoom on a captivating collection.

Exploiting Chaos by Jeremy Gutsche

2009-08-01T21:20:00.000+08:00

I am very proud to be participating in the launch of Exploiting Chaos, an innovative new book by Jeremy Gutsche, the founder of Trend Hunter. I’ve been writing in Trend Hunter, the web’s largest and coolest trend hunting site, for one and a half years, and let me tell you this book is a must read in these times of uncertainty. If anyone knows about innovation, it is Jeremy Gutche, who’s been dubbed by MTV as being “on the forefront of cool” and by The Guardian as having "an eagle eye."

Trend Hunter and The Arab Aquarius are offering a FREE 45 page preview of the book Exploiting Chaos: 150 Ways to Spark Innovation During Times of Change, which will be out on September 1.

+ Download the FREE 45 page preview

+ Pre-Order the book on Amazon and save 32%

WTF :: Omax Lens Ads – Playful or Controversial?

2009-07-29T23:27:00.002+08:00

These new ads for Omax Lens must be targeting the perverts as they show that (thanks to the Omax wide lenses) you can stalk and perve on people in public places without giving yourself away. I must admit its pretty witty and cheeky, but a bit worrying at the same time. Imagine if a knife was sold like this: ‘this knife is really good if you want to murder someone..’ The ads were done by Publicis, India.

UNICEF & The Killers :: Goodnight, Travel Well

2009-07-15T23:23:00.004+08:00

One of my favorite bands, The Killers, have collaborated with UNICEF, MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) and the US Agency for International Development, on a new music video that raises awareness about sex trafficking. The video is for the song ‘Goodnight, Travel Well’ from The Killer’s latest album Day & Age and is directed by David Slade.

"We are deeply shocked and appalled that women and children are forced into such exploitative situations,” explained a spokesperson for The Killers. “We hope that through MTV's efforts, and this powerful video, millions of people across the world learn about this tragic form of modern-day slavery."

+ more Awareness | Music | The Killers features

Harvey Nichols Summer 2009 Sales Ads

2009-07-08T20:12:00.003+08:00

The guys at Harvey Nichols always come up with creative and unusual ads (see their previous campaigns here). The latest creative ads come from DDB London for the Harvey Nichols summer sales with a theme of Mortal Kombat/ Street Fighter. A fight over shoes and bags! The photography is by Rick Guest, creative direction by Jeremy Craigen, art direction by Graeme Hall, copy by Hunter Somerville, and illustration by Mathieu Raynault.

+ more Harvey Nichols ads

Lifebuoy: You Eat What You Touch

2009-07-07T23:46:00.003+08:00

Awww… How cute is this loaf/dog ad for hand wash product Lifebuoy? the idea is pretty straight forward: you eat what you touch. And this ad was a winner at the recent Cannes Lions 2009.

Ad credits:

Ad Agency: Lowe Indonesia Jakarta, Indonesia
Executive Creative Director: Din Sumedi, Creative Director: Firman Halim, Copywriter: Anton Jaya, Art Director: Andruya Andrus, Photography: Jeremy Wong, Nemesis Picture, Illustration: Evan, Magic Cube

Just Jack - ‘Doctor Doctor’ Music Video

2009-07-02T02:34:00.006+08:00

Just Jack is back!!! His first album ‘Overtones’ has been one of my absolute favorites over the past two years. I am happy to find that Just Jack is just as good still with his new single ‘Doctor Doctor’ off the new album 'All Night Cinema'

‘I just want this bitch to notice me’

The first single off the new album was 'Embers.'

Here are my two favorite songs from the first album, ‘Writer’s Block’ and ‘Mourning Morning.’

‘I wash two cups and then I remember that you left already…’

Patrick Wolf’s Hard Times Music Video by Ace Norton

2009-06-17T07:26:00.002+08:00

Say hello to the bestest music video of 2009 so far (according to Arab Aquarius :). The violins of the song ‘Hard Times’ by Patrick Wolf have been stuck in my head for weeks, and the music video by director Ace Norton only made things better. No room for mediocrity, this is the shit!

‘Raindrops’ Music Video by Basement Jaxx

2009-06-15T21:05:00.002+08:00

Basement Jaxx released the music video for their new single ‘Raindrops'. It is directed by Jess Holzworth and features psychedelic photography, body paint and tribe dancing. A feast for the eyes! enjoy it below.

+ more Music

‘First Wives Club’ by Mario Testino in British Vogue, July ‘09

2009-06-13T15:29:00.003+08:00

The new July 2009 issue of British Vogue features a portrait of 13 of the world leader’s first wives, shot by Mario Testino during the recent G20 summit. Dubbed, ‘First Wives Club,’ the portrait features from left to right: Ban Soon-taek (United Nations), Laureen Harper (Canada), Chikako Aso (Japan), Gursharan Kaur (India), Kim Yoon-ok (South Korea), Michelle Obama (US), Sarah Brown (UK), Margarite Zavala (Mexico), Svetlana Medvedeva (Russia), Emine Erdogan (Turkey), Theresa Rein (Australia), Margarida Barroso (European Commission), and Pimpen Vejjajiva (Thailand).

+ more Mario Testino | Photography

Amazing Yalook ‘Fashion Faces’ by Bela Borsord

2009-06-12T14:16:00.003+08:00

Brilliant photographer Bela Borsordi did these "Fashion Faces" for online shop Yalook. Who needs models when you can create faces from the shirts, jackets, and pants you are trying to sell??? Check out the engaging videos to see them in action!

Nejat Talas Photography

2009-06-08T03:36:00.004+08:00

Hailing from Athens, Greece and working in Istanbul, Turkey, Nejat Talas has a cheeky photography vibe that I really like. See this set for example, it shows two scenarios: what’s going on, and what’s going to happen in a while.

+ more Photography features

Interactive Cheeky Ad For Axe Instinct

2009-06-07T19:57:00.004+08:00

This interactive 'hands on' ad promotes Instinct, a new macho fragrance from Axe that features a leather-like smell. So the idea of the interactive magazine ad is that the leather smell will get you into the woman’s pants. I find the positioning of the bottle between the two breasts pretty sexual, what do you think?

The ad was done by Lowe/SSP3, Bogotá, Colombia, with photography by Esteban Sostnisky and art direction by Margarita Olivar.

+ see another interactive magazine cover ad | more ads