Monday 29 December 2008

T E D



TED.com is a website full of video lectures of people talking about everything. Theories on the price of happiness, ideas on sync, the importance of playing, why school doesn't work, creativity and play, future city scapes, toys from the future. 

Like absolutely anything is on there, all really interesting and gets you thinking. Each one is about 15-20mins long. Seriously recommend you go have a look! Everyone can find something they're interested in.

Tuesday 9 December 2008

The Cat & Toast


You drop toast and it always lands butter side down on the floor. Now it's said that cats always land on their feet. So if i were to strap a slice of toast butter side up on the cats back and threw it off a roof, what would happen? Would it hover?


See example (below) for reference.

Answers on the back of a 12 year old Whitby fish quay postcard please.

Wednesday 19 November 2008

Pecha Kutcha



Go to;

Itunes - Itunes store - Search - D&AD Presidents Lectures

Great podcasts of the President Lectures. You can watch them on itunes player or download them to your ipod.

Tony Davidson (W+K) and the Pecha Kutcha video's are particularly good. 

I love the show and tell format. Interesting and inspiring, really recommend you go and watch a few. 

Been reading 'It's not how good you are, it's how good you want to be.' again. Totally re-energizes you to do something fresh.

Monday 3 November 2008

Evil vs No Evil


I remember seeing these ages ago but forgot how great they are! 
Simple and engaging. Advertising at it's best!

Saturday 1 November 2008

Watch this


Best film i've seen in months, go and see it if you get the chance.








Wednesday 22 October 2008

Club Class Bullshit


What is the secret ingredient for a mediocre bank advert?

A man in a hat? A nice shiny credit card?

No, nothing is more comforting in times of financial trouble than.. a cake and an airbed.


A lovely homemade cupcake (because you can't afford food anymore so you'll have to use the contents of the cupboard to supplement it) A water air bed (reminding you you'll never be going on holiday again, ever) a steering wheel from a car (that looks like a toy, since you had to sell your real car) and a lovely HSBC credit card that made all this misery possible.

I've lost count of the amount of times i've seen Cupcakes on bank adverts. Surely this doesn't sell bank cards, and if it does it shouldn't!


Wednesday 15 October 2008

What do YOU think?

After reading mountains of comments over the last few days, i want to get people who read this blog to tell me what they think of this ad. From reading comments you get alot of varying opinions and from that you get alot of insights that you wouldn't usually come across.

This ad was just chosen at random, but if you read this, leave a comment on what you think about the ad.

Sunday 12 October 2008

Feeling Lucky


Last night i played a gig to over 2,000 people. Supporting the Subways in Newcastle. I'm not a big Subways fan but you can't buy those sort of experiances. 

Working on loads of stuff at the moment. Lots of turmoil and lots of plans.

Hopefully if i work hard they will work out for the best. 


Thursday 9 October 2008

Time goes fast

Please call back later, i'm currently quite busy.

.

Sunday 14 September 2008

Cravendale

Scamp's post about Youtube has led me to discover something i didn't know



This is allegadly the inspiration behind the W+K Cravendale ads. They were done by the same guy too. Now maybe it's just me but i didn't know this until now! I like the Cravendale ad's although i'm not sure if that's a universal thing or not. All i know is this is entertaining and engaging and weird! So come on who knew and just didn't tell me?

Friday 12 September 2008

What's going on?

There are alot of exciting things going on. Some good, some bad. 


Just finished recording and mastering an album with my band which has been like pulling teeth but is now sounding really good and is great to have finished. Now just to sort the packaging side of out and it's ready to go. We're putting up some new songs on our myspace page so if anyone would like a listen to what i do outside of trying to get a job in advertising you can listen here.


In other news, i'm keeping all news underwraps for the time being! But expect exciting things to be unveiled soon.

Friday 5 September 2008

I know it's not Advertising but...


Tonight i have one of those feelings that apply to numerous things. 


The feeling you get where you just wonder what is the point? Why do you believe that something good might happen and ask what is the point in still believing?

Yes, yes, yes it's only a game and it's not really that important but it's not really just that. It's one of those situations where you just want an answer. You just want to know why. What is the point. I'm not the number one fan but there just doesn't seem to be anyone that could do that job, he was the only guy who when i heard had been appointed was i genuinely excited about. No one else could have done that and it's just sad that it ends forever like that. You all stopped reading near the top when you realised what this was about, but it's more of a general why? then specifics. whether its a game or the 'real' things. it's still important.

Gutted.  



Thursday 28 August 2008

Today is the first day, of the rest of your life.


Two more days to go up here in Edinburgh! Really enjoyed being up here and learning a ton of stuff. Feel like i've moved on a lot and loads of good things are on the horizon.



Sunday 24 August 2008

Somers Town



Today i saw Somers Town. As most people will be aware it was written by Mother and directed by Shane Meadows. It was really simple and gave the story a very real and genuine feel. It felt untainted and very straight forward which i liked alot. Beautifully shot, i'm not a fan of black and white film but this felt like it should be, colour seemed to give the story to much distraction. One of my favourite things about it was the soundtrack. Lovely folk instrumentals interrupted the dialogue and it just felt like a very honest film of an everyday story. Anyone seen it?

Sunday 17 August 2008

Mammoth Refreshment.
















So i've had a bit of a busy time this last week. Placement has been great, learning so much about working in an agency and how reviews/meetings/clients all work. Obviously it differs in every agency but it's all really really interesting. Had some ridiculously funny moments as well so it's all good fun. Been working on about 3 briefs this week, as well as attending some 5-a-side football after work and a party at a local production company which was great. Meeting loads of new people and it's great being able to get insight like this into the industry, invaluable stuff that you just can't get from a course.

Working on my book on the weekends also, it's really starting to pull together now. Pretty exciting, i feel like it''s so much better than my last stuff already but obviously time will tell. Getting good feelings though and all the hard work seems to be paying off.

I am feeling pretty run down with working all week and then doing my book on a weekend but i'm finding time for other things too and i'm enjoying myself so that's the main thing.

I'm seeing things alot clearer now and really trying to look at Brands and how they are successful and the ways people are using advertising to re-enforce their brand messages. I used to watch some ad's and go 'that's shit' or 'thats not funny' etc but i've kind of stopped myself recently and thought does it work? Does it serve the purpose for the target market? Am i part of it? and trying to look at the thought processes behind it all.

Maybe i'm driving myself mad but i think i've been enlightened in the last 2 weeks about alot of things.

Another 2 weeks of placement to go, it feels like i've just started really but i'm going to make sure i take everything i can from it whilst i'm there.

If you made it down this far then well done!

Sharp Darts, Double Dutch















A perfect example of creativity and selling.


But don't fret - it's in fact the plot of the promo video for his new track 'Everything Is Borrowed', which is the title track of The Streets' fourth album. The truth behind the eviction rumours was reinforced by a nice message from the guy who played the locksmith in the video. He thanked Skinner for a good day out and for posing for photos. Fiction can be stranger than truth, it seems. - XFM News.

The power of blogs.

Wednesday 13 August 2008

Window, Frame, Refrigerator

Please note -

ALL PROSECUTORS WILL BE SHOPLIFTED.


.

Sunday 10 August 2008

Campaign of the Week.










Absurdly funny.

Saturday 9 August 2008

Work, Work, Eat, Store, Work, Fork, Knife, Clap?

Monday - Work

Tuesday - Work
Wednesday - Work
Thursday - Work
Friday - Work
Saturday - Work
Sunday - Work

But it's totally worth it.

Thursday 7 August 2008

Slacking off.















Well this blogging every day isn't going great since i missed the last two days but i'll round up now.

Had a review for some work on wednesday and been in a pre production meeting this afternoon in preparation for the shoot tomorrow. So i'm going along for that which will be great experience. Working on a couple of other briefs and settling in. Really cool place to work, been reading some books today whilst wandering, one of which being 'Norwegian Fairy Tales' which was very interesting and looking through annuals that i haven't seen. It's great being in an agency and just taking notice of what goes on and how it all works from the idea to the production of it. Very interesting. Also had a chat with a guy in a London agency about what i should be doing and asking about his experiences so all very relevant. 

Maybe some exciting news tomorrow, but will have to wait and see!

Tuesday 5 August 2008

The 49th Wonder of the world

Who would have guessed it.

Remove dents in carpeting

If you've recently rearranged the furniture in your living room, you know that heavy pieces can leave ugly indents in your carpet. Use ice cubes to remove them. Put an ice cube, for example, on the spot where the chair leg stood. Let it melt, then brush up the dent. Rug rehab completed.

Monday 4 August 2008

Day One

Well i'm sitting in a bar in Edinburgh after a good 3/4 hours trying to arrange something so that i'm not sleeping on a street corner! Numerous plan's have fallen through but i've got a bed tonight and hopefully i'll have everything sorted for a month by tomorrow lunch time! With it being Edinburgh fringe festival it's a bit mental but should be a good month as there will always be something good going on!

On topic; My first day was good! Two hour drive up to Edinburgh, arriving early for a nice change! A few short introductions and on with my first brief, i haven't asked if i can talk about what i'm doing yet but i'll just leave it that it's one of the major accounts. Agency has a really nice feel about it and had time to sit out in the garden and take in some sun on my lunch. Not much else to report until i know what i can and can't say.
I'll stick some pictures tomorrow!

Until then i'm going to enjoy my well deserved pint!

Sunday 3 August 2008

The First Placement

So, off to Edinburgh and NewHaven tomorrow. Really looking forward to getting my first agency experience. I'm going to try and update the blog with what i'm doing each day and maybe even post some pictures/videos if i get a chance.


Been working on the book the last few weeks and got 2 campaigns pretty much sorted and started on a third.  So the new book is well on it the way. I feel like the work is much more focused and clear, something that some of my last books work wasn't. I think i've improved my thinking over the last few months and hopefully that will show in the work. 

Currently;

Reading- The Stuff of Thought by Steve Pinker

Listening- Interpol (all albums on shuffle)

Wednesday 30 July 2008

Showreel

Just been watching this Showreel from CST, really makes you think about what advertising is about and stuff that can often get lost in the 'creative' part of the job, like selling and getting your brand or product noticed by joe average, arguably the most important person in the whole equation.


Showreel;


Download Showreel;
http://cstadvertising.com/includes/flv/showreel.flv



Opportunity

Since my London visit in June, i've been really busy with things both to do with Advertising and things out of it. Latitude Festival, Touring with my friend Jack Summer for 2 weeks, Recording an album with my band. A lot has happened and now things are just gathering speed.


I'd hoped to being going back to London in early August with a brand new book, but with my NewHaven placement i've put it back until i am ready again. I was trying to rush my book along a few weeks ago and get it together in time to take down but i've decided to take time and make sure i'm taking all the advice i've been given, part of that is giving the new campaigns space to breath and then looking at them fresh and picking holes myself. Hopefully that will be productive when it comes to going back down in the coming Months.

I have a few project's on the go at the moment. Currently putting together something for Stu @ Mother to follow on from his advice in June. And also i'm putting together a film of sorts and other bits of bobs for various people.

Some exciting times coming up i hope. Loads to do, Loads to do. 
Think Think Think!

Wednesday 23 July 2008

Strategies

Just got back from Latitude yesterday, had an amazing time and saw some great bands. Sigur Ros blew me away and Interpol were particularly good.

Decided to stick up some old strategies from my last book. Still have to photograph the executions but might as well put up the strats.

Big Yellow Self Storage Company - Hoarders paradise
Elastoplast - The Human puncture repair kit
Greenflag - Starting Cars. Not Conversations
Bacofoil - Do lunch for breakfast
HP Brown sauce - Mayonnaise for blokes
Heinz - You wouldn't run off with a stranger
Bic - Official sponsors of the kleptomaniac society

A selection of strategies from my previous book.

Currently working on a new book. First product being 'Worthington's Creamflow Bitter'

Any comments on the strategies above appreciated! Some went down well other's not so much so be interested in what you all think.


Wednesday 16 July 2008

South to Lattitude

I'm off on my travels again today.


Lattitude festival in Sunny (I hope) Suffolk.

Taking in everything from Music, and Film to Comedy and Poetry.

I think the idea is something for everyone.

Looking forward to Sigur Ros, Death Cab, Mars Volta and Interpol as well as several others.


Checking back in on Monday!


Thursday 10 July 2008

Late night snack

I've been trailing blogs and websites trying to find interesting stuff about advertising, I've been reading loads of blog but then i end up reading everything and can't find anything else that i can get into. This is something i have known about but yet to read until last night;



http://www.ihaveanidea.org/creatives/index.php?/archives/130-Robert-Saville-and-Mark-Waites.html

Great interview with CD's of MotherLondon and there are loads of others that i've been reading through. You lot reading this probably know about this already but worth a read if you don't. 

Anyone got an good suggestions for reading material? Book, Blogs, Sites etc

Sunday 6 July 2008

Edinburgh shortbread

Aswell as putting a new book together i will also be going up to Edinburgh in August for a placement at NewHaven.

Had this in the pipe line for quite a while but should finally get up there in August i hope! 
If you don't know about them have a look on their site;




They do some great work for Tennents lager, Power League etc

Lovely people and great work so i'm really looking forward to spending some time in the agency!


also you can probably tell by now i'm finding it a strain to relate all my Post titles to biscuits, valiant effort though!

Back in the barrel

Well i'm finally back from nearly a month of neglecting the blog! 


During the last 3 weeks i've been on tour with my friend Jack, travelling around the UK. Great for some inspiration and seeing new places, meeting new people. Had a great time but glad to be back home!

Also been busy with my band. Finishing off the recording process and sorting out our tour in September. 


But anyway, Advertising.

I worked on some product thoughts whilst on the road and have generally been taking in what i've learned from my London Crits and how i can use that experience and knowledge that i got out of it to make my book much better.

Starting formal work again as of tomorrow so i'm excited to get a pen back in my hand and start scribbling. I feel ready to make this next book now and take it down to London in August if all goes well! 

Tuesday 10 June 2008

Album & Ideas.

This week my attention has been directed to a different project. I'm busy recording a debut album with my band Fall Short! Conform!



Which should take up the next couple of weeks. It's really exciting and i can't wait to have some new stuff recorded. It's been a while since we last recorded and it went well on the first day tracking drums. I'm fully aware this doesn't really concern 'advertising' directly, but it's part of my creative output so i thought it was worth sharing! 

Having some new ideas for my book and some thoughts on how to make it something memorable and different. Still in the early stages of this but thinking time is needed! Plan to stick some stuff out of my most recent book up at some point but short on time at the moment so bare with me :)

Also; Scamp blog is hosting a live chat with Dave Trott to discuss his book 'How to get your first job in Advertising' today (Tuesday 10th June, 9am.) Should be good and just hope i can catch it at some point! 

Another thing too; Added some new interesting blog's on the links section so check them out, all worth a read! 


Saturday 7 June 2008

The London Visit.

Back after 3 days of Crits, meetings and very useful advice. Overall i had a great time and met some really important people which was brilliant.


Day one: 

RKCR/Y&R - Very helpful advice from Jo and Stephen. They said a few of my campaigns were a little confused and that i need to step back from my work and look at it in a different light, this was quite a common pattern that i found throughout the appointments but as i was also told numerous times, a partner would be able to help me with that. 

On a positive note, they liked some of my strategies and told me to work through those with a more concise execution. Also said to go back next time


DDB - Quick meeting with Dave Henderson to show him my book and the work i did for a VW brief i managed to get my hands on. Really liked my work for the VW brief, especially the line i used. Again my book was a little confused and needs to be more focused. Also managed to see Chris and Andy who have just joined from AMV, they said it was great i was down in my first year trying to get opinions and pointers on my work. Both said to go back anytime and stay in touch which was really positive.

Lowe - Great meeting with Peter Reid, loved some of my strategies and just thought i was a little confused and again thought a partner could really help me develop. 

M & C Saatchi - This was the big one, end of the day, meeting with Graham Fink. More than a little worried i have to admit after some of the things i was told. In reality it went incredibly well and it was one of the most inspiring conversations i've had in a long while. Despite telling me i need to start again with my book, he actually liked one of my strategies. That was enough really, after i thought he was going to kill me. No mention of needing a partner, just advice to put myself into my work and that no one can be like me so my work should show that. Great advice from him and he even said to go back and see him any time. With or without work, but just for a chat. That in itself was a great end to the day. 


Day two:

JWT - First appointment on day two was with Mike Mckenna. He told me to get myself a partner as it will be incredibly hard to get anywhere near a placement without one. Again my thoughts were a little confused and i need to make my point clearer. But good advice from him and again he said to go back and see him next time i'm down.

Saatchi & Saatchi - Here i saw Levi and Dave. Both thought my work was mad and very funny which was quite a pleasant surprise. Loved my strategies and making an appointment to see them again next time i'm down. Also commented on me going down during my first year and that is was great that i was being so pro-active. 

Red Brick Road - Next it was Dan and Andy. Told me to work on some of the strategies i'd done and said i was brave to be down so early into my course and to email them some work down whenever i like which was really kind of them. 

TBWA/ - This appointment got cancelled/ never happened unfortunately. Mix up with who i was seeing so i'll have to try and go next time i'm down.


Day Three:

Wieden + Kennedy - Early start in Shorditch with Fabian and Ida. Said my work should be clearer and have bigger idea's. Also said they don't consider anyone for placement who is still on a course but some good advice and great to get in to see them.

BBH - Mad dash across London to get here in time, lovely building and a great meeting with Rosie Arnold. Had a look through my work and chatted about how difficult it can be to find the right partner. Loved some of my strategies and said to work on them and keep in touch for when i'm next in London. Suggested some good stuff to read and was generally lovely and talked to me about BBH and her experiences which was great to hear.

CST - I'd seen Dave Trott before when i went to one of his talks on an evening and was great to see him again one to one. Had some great advice for me and told me that i need to make myself really stand out. I'm selling myself as much as the work in my book. Gave me a copy of 'How to get your first job in Advertising' and answered some questions i had about the business. Interesting insights on partners and made me really think about what i'm doing and things i need to change, in a positive way though! Just great to get to see him and listen to his advice first hand.

Mother -  Last appointment of the 12 and i felt that i had already learnt loads and my book didn't really represent me particularly well anymore. Despite this i had a fantastic meeting with Stuart. He flicked through my book and looked through my strategies too. Thought there were some good thoughts there and they just needed more clarity. Had a great chat with him about other things i do outside of Advertising and he said to stay in touch and make arrangements to go down for a placement. At this point i was really shocked! Totally unexpected, but brilliant and i'm already taking steps to push myself and my work further.

Overall i had a great time and looking back can't believe some of the people i have had the opportunity to see! Really positive feedback on my ideas and basically just need to make my thoughts more concise and clear, aswell as a bit more visual. Great experiance and i've got more out of it than i thought i would of! Everyone was so positive and for everyone to say to go back and see them was fantastic. Thanks to everyone who saw me, it will defintly improve my work and helped me see that i'm selling myself and everything i do, whether it be music i write, videos i make or anything creative i'm involved in.

Work for the next book begins now!







Thursday 29 May 2008

Finally! I'm back & Ad of the Week.

Well my blog has finally been taken off the black list for no reason!


My ad of the week is a close run thing; Honda or Ray Ban, since i haven't actually seen Honda yet i'll go for Ray Ban.





Great Viral campaign and very funny! 

Anyway, the works going well, just drawing up all my work before the big day on Monday! 

Getting a pre-London Crit of it all my work tomorrow so hopefully that will give me a bit of confidence before London.

Exciting!



Tuesday 20 May 2008

Ad of the Week.

Each week I intend to pick an Ad I think is particularly good and worth sharing. Going to try and keep this up every week, as long as there continues to be a stream of ad's worth showing!


Ad of the Week no.1

Eupron.

 

Enjoy!

Monday 19 May 2008

Bourbons are best.

Today i started reading a new book


The Timewaster Letters by Robin Cooper.

I think it's the funniest book i've ever read (so far anyway) I'm usually pretty skeptical when people tell me about a book they think is good because i'm quite particular on what i read but i would recomend it to everyone. It's basically a load of letters this guy has sent to Garden Centres, Book Publishers etc and sends them his ideas for a book or a garden product or just straight out ridiculous stuff! It's daft but hilarious.

Anyway the point of this blog is about me and Advertising. The story goes, i'm putting together a book with which i will take down to London at the beginning of June, i've got a lot of products done already and loads more to do, aswell as having done some live briefs for a couple of agencies. All in all.

3 Days in London
12 Agency appoinments

Looking for pointers, placement or a job. In reality i'm thinking one and two are most likely.

So like i say, feel free to tag along and i'll update with how my book's going, what i'm up to and how it goes when i go down.




First out of the packet.

Discipline: Copywriter

Destination: London

Ad land is what i seek, but only the good part of town. Free from the gags and cliche. And this is a log of how i'm going about doing exactly that.

Feel free to tag along!