Creating Value from Nothing: Diamond Shreddies

Here’s a nice example of the use of marketing to create value out of nothing:

A brilliant way to create reconsideration for a 68-year-old brand.  Apparently the ‘fake news’ idea of turning squares into diamonds was originally a response by an intern to a client brief to redesign the back of the cereal box. The agency and Kraft realised [...]

Mad Avenue Blues

An entertaining and well-crafted commentary on the evolving face of the advertising/media industry.

Cannes Lions 2009 - My Personal Top 5 Titanium & Integrated Picks

1. Obama/Biden 2008: Obama for America

This year’s Titanium Grand Prix winner was exemplary in its use of integrated and participatory multimedia to create a cultural movement for change - setting a new best practice benchmark for political campaigning.
2. Jewish Council for Education and Research: The Great Schlep - Droga5, New York, USA.

In an example of shrewd targeting, this campaign [...]

Cannes Lions 2009 - My Personal Top 5 Outdoor Picks

1. The Zimbabwean Newspaper: Fight the Regime- TBWA/Hunt/Lascaris, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Extremely hard-hitting and intelligent commentary on Zimbabwe’s political and economic crisis, from exiled newspaper, the Zimbabwean. These billboards were produced using trillions of real Zimbabwean dollars, which were in fact a cheaper alternative to paper, and the perfect medium to raise awareness of the newspaper and [...]

Cannes Lions 2009 - My Personal Top 10 Press Picks

1. Latin Stock: Boxing/Napalm/Tank - DDB, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Simply a nice, thought-provoking observation - well demonstrated with suitably iconic imagery.
2. Alka Seltzer: Bear/Paparazzi/Magician/Mafia/Prison - CLM BBDO, Boulogne-Billancourt, France.

Big fan of the left-field analogy of Alka Seltzer being able to handle anything you throw into your stomach - thereby ‘dissolving your problems’. Appropriately refreshing in tone [...]

Cannes Lions 2009 - My Personal Top 10 Cyber Picks

1. Warner Bros/The Dark Knight Film: Why So Serious? - 42 Entertainment, Pasadena, USA.

Epic! I’ve discussed this Grand Prix viral already in an earlier post.
2. Fiat: eco:Drive - AKQA, London, UK

Given the complexity of Fiat’s eco:Drive system, I think the main success of this digital tool is its simplicity. I also think that the strategy of positioning eco:Drive as a ‘no brainer’ in [...]

Cannes Lions 2009 - My Personal Top 10 Film Picks

So now that the judges have packed up their clipboards for another year, the dust has settled and the hangovers have subsided, here’s my personal selection of top 10 films from Cannes 2009…
1. Philips: Carousel - Tribal DDB Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Hard to dispute the Grand Prix winner which I discussed in one of my earlier posts.

2. James Boag [...]

Why So Serious? Case study microsite

Here’s a handy case-study microsite of my favourite integrated campaign from 2008 by 42 Entertainment to promote the Dark Knight.

Intriguing and immersive websites, email and snail-mail campaigns, scavenger hunts involving mobile phones hidden in cakes, exclusive film teasers, page take-overs, virtual elections, real world fan conventions, flash-mobs and events, competitions, posters and unique collectables; all combined to make [...]

Inspiring Books: Confessions of an Advertising Man, David Ogilvy

I first read Confessions when I was applying for Ogilvy’s grad scheme in 2004. I can remember at the time being struck by the volume of invaluable best practice principles it outlined, which seemed to be just as useful to a current wannabe ad man, as they would have been to someone first reading it in 1963.  Confessions is less a book about how to write a successful [...]