A Link A Day # 74: Little Blue Pill

Agency: Z. Producer: Catatonia. Verdict: Not so fresh. But still works.

A Link A Day # 73: Born to be cheap

So many brands have low cost/economy/affordable as their plank. But I've rarely come across anyone who've handled this theme with as much class as Tele 2. I loved these commercials (Job Interview, My Childhood & Headhunters). I think this is a great campaign. Good show Avion Films.

A Link A Day # 72: Sony Bravia Zoetrope

After all that hype, isn't this a bit underwhelming?



Agency: Fallon.

A Link A Day # 71: James Boags Pure Waters

Nice spot and nice voice, ain't it? Agency: Publicis Mojo, Sydney.

smartart.in - A great place for poster prints

This website is godsend for people looking for affordable poster prints. You can browse through categories ranging from abstract to pop art, fashion to figurative art, music to movies, photography, still life and many more. Since it is an Indian website, there's no international shipping costs or import duty. And they promise to ship your favourite prints within 12 days. I was particularly impressed by their movie posters and photography collection. Keep the good work going guys. Check out the site here.

Posted by Murali.

Oscar Winners: 8 for Slumdog

BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR

Winner: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Christian Colson

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Winner: Sean Penn for Milk (2008/I)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Winner: Kate Winslet for The Reader (2008)

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING

Winner: Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR

Winner: Okuribito (2008)(Japan)

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES, ORIGINAL SONG

Winner: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - A.R. Rahman, Sampooran Singh Gulzar("Jai Ho")

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES, ORIGINAL SCORE

Winner: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - A.R. Rahman

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING

Winner: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Chris Dickens

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND

Winner: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Resul Pookutty

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING

Winner: The Dark Knight (2008) - Richard King

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS

Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) - Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton, Craig Barron

BEST DOCUMENTARY, SHORT SUBJECTS

Winner: Smile Pinki (2008) - Megan Mylan

BEST DOCUMENTARY, FEATURES

Winner: Man on Wire (2008) - James Marsh, Simon Chinn

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Winner: Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight (2008)

BEST SHORT FILM, LIVE ACTION

Winner: Spielzeugland (2007) - Jochen Alexander Freydank

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY

Winner: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Anthony Dod Mantle

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP

Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) - Greg Cannom

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN

Winner: The Duchess (2008) - Michael O'Connor

BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION

Winner: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) - Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo

BEST SHORT FILM, ANIMATED

Winner: Maison en petits cubes, La (2008) - Kunio Katô

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR

Winner: WALL·E (2008) - Andrew Stanton

BEST WRITING, SCREENPLAY BASED ON MATERIAL PREVIOUSLY PRODUCED OR PUBLISHED

Winner: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) - Simon Beaufoy

BEST WRITING, SCREENPLAY WRITTEN DIRECTLY FOR THE SCREEN

Winner: Milk (2008/I) - Dustin Lance Black

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Winner: Penélope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

A Link A Day # 70: OlderVersion.com

I've always felt, Windows Vista sucks. I was very happy with Windows 95. But the moneyminded Microsofters have this dirty habit of killing their own children by making them obsolete. That's the reason why I like Olderversion. It's a site that teleports you to the past. You get to download antique versions of Naptser, Eudora, Winamp, Audacity and 185 other programs, here. Sadly, it doesn't have Windows 95. I blame MS Lawyers for that.

A Link A Day # 69: Quick Photoshop Tricks

Vunkysearch is a photoshop tricks browser that helps you learn lightning effects, sexing up typography, alpha channel colouring, psycheldic art churning and so much more, all by the click of a button. It's got 143 well-catalogued tricks. I am sure the dbase is growing by the day. Worth a visit.

Laid-off copywriter helps you get a job

Senior writer Erik Proulx, was laid-off from Arnold Worldwide. Now, that hasn't deterred his spirit though. What he has smartly done is turn his blog into a recruitment site for kindred creatives like him who have been laid-off due to recession. I like the name of his blog. It's called Please Feed The Animals. To take a peek at his blog, go here.

Posted by Murali.

A Link A Day # 68: Johnnie Walker Crossroads

Agency: BBH, London. Production: Academy, London. Director: Walter Stern.

Posted by Anantha.

An art director's film: Beat Uhse Child Lock

Agency: Kempertrautmann, Hamburg.

Posted by Anantha.

A Link A Day # 67: No Criminals in Politics

My sis introduced me to this site. In my opinion, it's a fabulous initiative to ensure no tainted candidate ever gets elected to the new Lok Sabha. Nocriminals.org lets you identify candidates with a criminal record and track the financial asset growth of MPs over last election. I guess the way it will work is once a candidate is identified as having criminal baggage, we must use the power of the net to ensure that the candidate is withdrawn by the party in question. If you're intrigued, join the cleansing campaign.

Posted by Anantha.

A Link A Day # 66: Fresh Proposition

Spotted this commercial. Liked it because of the rather fresh proposition for plugging a government transport authority.



Posted by Anantha.

A Link A Day # 65: 50 Dollar Logo Experiment

Murali featured CrowdSpring a few weeks ago. Some of my friends were pretty excited to know that they can actually bid for logos and earn 800 dollars. On a trial basis, they bid for one project. Designed one good logo for a client with a funny name. There were some 4 or 5 good logos in the fray. So we gave him a 20% chance. When the results were out, we were shocked to see the winner. The winning entry looked like a 50-dollar logo. We told ourselves, we'll never bid again. Recently Forbes showcased CrowdSpring and ran down designers who charge 'rip-off' rates for logos. This evoked a severe reaction from the design community. Jim Walls then took the pains to blow the lid off the types that churn 50-dollar logos. Go read about the experiment. It's an eye opener.

Posted by Anantha.

When Dylan lent his song for an ad

Bob Dylan recently allowed McCann Erickson London to use his 'Blowin in the wind' for a commercial to promote The Community. That's a first. So. Go. Watch.

Posted by Anantha.

A Link A Day # 64: Two Guys

Posted by Anantha.

Spot of the Week: Loewe Sound

Agency: Scholz & Friends, Berlin.

Posted by Anantha

Pitch Lingo

It’s pitching season. So on the lighter note, a few coinages to add to your lingo.

Pitch-ai (original tamil meaning: alms): What clients dole out as retainer after calling for a multi-agency, multi-city pitch.

Pitchu-mani (tamil name): refers to the stalwart of all pitches. Usually the studio guy who pastes all the layouts

Pitchandi (beggar-mendicant): what agencies are reduced to after spending on every pitch in the city

Pitchu-pudungal (nuisance) – the nagging that happens pre and post pitch

Pitchaikaaran (beggar) – the man turned on by pitches, the idea of pitching, the idea of taking 10 concepts to a meeting. English equivalent – son of a pitch!

Pitchitay (tearing something) – super pitch, the client declared you the winner in the meeting itself.

Pitch report – frantic calling of all ex-colleagues; acquaintances and media guys to find out who else is pitching, when and whether or not Piyush is flying down!

Pitchuko (tear your hair out) – what client and account planning expects of creative, once the brief is handed over

More contributions awaited!

Posted by Niru.

The Reader Reads Beautifully

If you can get past the sexuality and nudity of the first 25 minutes, the Reader reveals its gloriously lyrical side. Like a poem, this film flits between past and present, action and consequences, love and hatred, only to have all the threads coming together in the last half. Kate Winslet (nominated for ‘Best Actress) is outstanding throughout. Her transition from brisk, businesslike woman to vulnerable elderly prison inmate is simply brilliant. Ralph Fiennes is fast becoming the man of all seasons, he moves through the movie effortlessly. Elegant camerawork and excellent craftsmanship in all departments, just enhance your experience of a story that takes you to the most unexpected places (no spoilers here). Take two hours off to spend with the Reader. But if you belong to the “Van Damme Thank You Mam” school of film goers, sorry boys.

Posted by Niru.

When to quit.

When you start reporting to your paycheck.
When the only thing you watch at work is the clock.
When your pride asks you for a golden handshake.
When you begin sleeping with the mistresses of doubt.
When you enjoy going for a swim in a pool named self-pity.
When your fellow earthlings make you feel like an Extra Terrestrial.
When the dismal present clouds the brilliance of your glorious past.
When you want to look taller than the man in the mirror.
When your tired soul craves for a new body.
When you have one last thing to prove.

Posted by Anantha.

A Link A Day # 63: VW Cross Polo Log

Agency: DDB Berlin. Made by Hot Dog. Directed by Nicholas Barker.

Posted by Anantha.

A Link A Day # 62: Achmed the Dead Terrorist

That's Jeff Dunham the ventriloquist. Read up on Jeff here.

Posted by Anantha

A Link A Day # 61: Vintage Ad Illustrations

The fifties was the wonder years. You had illustrations talking the talk. Pity, step brother photography then seized the limelight. Plan 59 has prepared a neat slideshow of the pop-artish illustrations that dominated the post-world war times. To check out the entire collection all you have to do is to keep clicking on the image. Go. Clickety. Click.

Posted by Anantha.

The Ancient Mariners steal the thunder at Palace Grounds

"Day after day, day after day,
we stuck nor breath nor motion
as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean
Water, water everywhere and
all the boards did shrink
Water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink."

- The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The Metal Gods, Iron Maiden, truly resembled the Albatross from Coleridge’s ballad. As Bruce Dickinson clenched his fist and sang the first few lines of the epic ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’, we knew we were witnessing history, not oft repeated. Because it’s not often does one get to see them performing the 13-minute classic.

‘Scream for me Bangalore’ yelled Dickinson. And the crowd not only yelled, but sang along all their biggest hits. At 7.50 pm, once the dust had settled from the other acts that performed, impatience reared its curious head. Within seconds, from the dark recesses of the stage, the initial chords of ‘Aces High’ burst forth. In came the band in manic fury unleashing one hit after the other.

Though it took at least 3 songs to get the sound mix right, the audience were witnessing theater of the highest order. Especially when Steve Harris plucked the thumping bass lines of ‘The Trooper’. With the Union Jack held high, Dickinson was at his mercurial best. Supported by the wizardry of Adrian Smith, Dave Murray, Janick Gers and Nicko McBrain. Not to mention the incredibly talented Bass behemoth and writer Steve Harris himself.

Back-to-back performances of ‘Fear of the Dark’ and ‘Hallowed be thy name’ got the crowd into a frenzy. And they wanted more of it. Maiden gave it to them with incredible passion. ‘Run to the Hills’, ‘Two minutes to Midnight’, and ‘Powerslave’ followed.

Suddenly, at 9.35 pm, they said goodbye and went in. The lights followed suit and got turned off. The crowd though, got turned on. As the chant ‘Maiden, Maiden’ hit a crescendo. Within minutes they were back for the encore. Belting out the all-time favourite ‘Number of the Beast’ which was followed by a slightly longer version of ‘The evil that men do’.

At 9.55 pm they bade the crowd goodbye. Some lucky ones in the front got hold of Nicko’s drum skins and sticks which he threw. Few others got the plectrums of the guitarist.

But what all of us certainly got was a shot of adrenalin, mesmerism and magic from the masters of metal. Thank you guys!

Posted by Murali.

Garma Garam Gossip Edition # 5

* The Dancing Hand agency is going to quietly slash its staff by 30%.
* The DVD player who shares a name with Kipling's newspaper is gonna stop making Flat TVs.
* No payhikes and bonuses in the LB agency.
* A timeshare major in Chennai held its pitch on Friday. JWT, Lowe & Ogilvy participated.

Posted by Loose Tongue.

While you were sleeping, Europe went to the shrink.

Did you know that UK's GDP shrank by 2.8% in the last quarter? Germany followed suit with 2.1%. Here's the degrowth percentages for the other European countries: France -1.2%, Ireland - 2.9%, Spain - 1%, Greece - 2%, Italy - 1.8%, Netherlands - 0.8%, Belgium - 1.3%, Switzerland - 1.8% and Iceland by a whopping 10%. NY Times says that this is the worst recession since 1929. The question is: how badly will India be hit? My gutfeel says w will know an answer to this question, only after the elections.

Posted by Anantha.

Campaign of the Week: Volkswagen's Traders Anonymous

For more in the series, check out YES, Oath & Exorcist. Creatives by Agency-V.

A Link A Day # 60: Arnet 1 Million

Agency: Santos Buenos Aires.

A Link A Day # 59: Good Ambient Idea

Y&R Bangkok has a nice idea to promote Colgate tooth brushes. Refreshing stuff. It's here.

A Link A Day # 58: Good Slogans & Bad Slogans

Clayton Hove at AdtotheBone has a wonderful post on good slogans and bad slogans. If you want to read a good critique of brand and bland taglines, this is where you should go.

Posted by Anantha.

Mutalik...Beware of Harti :-)

It's small wonder why women call him Hottie. Today Harti was blushing like the red rose he holds, when he received lots of roses from some pretty women in office.

Thanks to Harti, Valentine's Day has already started at Orchard. And sorry to disappoint you Mr. Mutalik.

Posted by Murali.

Traffic King

I feel like a day in Bombay is shorter than a day in say, Bahrain. Bahrain is rich, I’m sure they have beautifully controlled traffic and well thought out roads. And for all you know, people in Bahrain may not even need to travel…the oil simply lets them slide over to their destination of choice.

Digression aside. Bombay has shorter days simply because a major portion of the day is spent commuting. And when you are commuting, you are effectively doing nothing. Unless you count wondering if the cabbie gets hungry when he’s stuck like this everyday, wondering what is for dinner, wondering how that beggar managed to grow a boil that big. And other such fantastic deep things.

And lately I’ve heard Bangalore is no different. Not only are auto kaarans famously snobbish. They’re also immune to such beautifully directed insults as “ass****!!! Take me HOME!!!!!!”

Which is why Chennai, is so much nicer. (At least when wrapped in gauzy nostalgia.) Auto fares are negotiable; the smell of Murugan Idli Kadai drifts through the balmy summer air and at the end of the ride, a ten-rupee ticket movie in Satyam awaits you. Your countenance is even more cheerful when you think about the freedom from wardens and other monsters. But gauzy nostalgia usually means you're sitting on a memory bang out of college, and when realization dawns, the gauze gets all poky and uncomfortable.

And you suddenly remember that it was in Chennai that a serial killer once posed as an auto driver.

And since all these writings must have a purpose, mine was to ask all and sundry, which is your favourite big city to commute to work?

Posted by Meera.

A Link A Day # 56: Pepsi Max Interview

Agency: CLM BBDO Paris. Link Source: The Inspiration Room.

A Link A Day # 55: Air France's New Logo

Air France has cleaned up its logo. But has curiously eliminated the spacing between Air & France. It seems like a fairly commonplace logo to me. From the land of aesthetics, one expected more. Go check it out.

Seeing Stars…

Rich boy meets girl, grows up with girl. Goes abroad, returns and then plans to marry his child hood sweetheart (girl in question). But somehow boy loses girl and his mind as a result. Becoming a total loser in the bargain and pathetically pining after her while drowning himself in drink. Then boy finds rebound mujre-wali and loses her too. Then (while you wish that you had a stiff drink in hand to handle all this rona-dhona) as the music swells dramatically, boy dies. Everyone’s sad. Tragedy hi tragedy. And there you have it, Devdas in a nutshell.

Devdas is normally filled with the Hindi equivalent of Shakespearian language and dialogues that people reiterate when they’ve become too senti, after having one too many pegs. You know, one of those artsy-fartsy kinda films where people comment on how beautiful the set was, how exquisite the costumes were, how many millions went into the movie, or how they liked the Dilip Kumar ka Devdas better. In short something you watch, because your parents dragged you to the cinema hall.

This is how the recent remake of this story ought to be, right? Wrong! Looks like this time’s a charm, (what ever time it is) cause I think we have a winner. Completely rewritten to suit today’s times and adaa. This Devdas breaks away from the beaten, drunken path. And this refreshing change is one that will stand and the shake the foundations of Hindi cinema. First off, this is DEV.D we’re talking about not DEVDAS. He’s like a cocktail, a fine blend of charming and brash, outspoken and sullen, flawed and self-righteous, depressed and funny. One that goes down smoothly, character-wise and very interesting to watch.

This story isn’t embellished with the prim and proper Hindi that would make your grandfather smugly sit back and state one of those ‘humare zamane ke filmon mein aisi hi shudh, sundar Hindi boli jati thi…’ type of comments. But rather, is of a type that I can only term as ‘bindass’. Hindi that’s actually spoken between friends, when their parents aren't around, of course. Do cover your parent’s sensitive ears from time to time in the due course of the movie, if you decide to take them along.

The Dev in this movie dosen't hail from Bengal but is a Delhi boy, and the two heroines of the story have a dilli-connection as well. Peppered with Punjabi tones from time to time, this flick has been shot in the grungy fashion that’s unique to Kashyap. The two heroines of the story are admittedly, fine finds and are fascinating characters to watch. They - much like the women of today - are independent, outspoken, and refreshingly open about their sexuality.

The movie is magnificently bold, a thrill to watch and makes you laugh, cry, fall in love and hate, as well. A rollercoaster ride that I’d like to get back in line for. The story has a good flow and seems to slip by rather quickly. And the music (as I have said before) positively rocks! Hat’s off to this maverick film-maker, may his species multiply and give us films that are a cut above the regular song and dance. Be warned thought, that this movie isn’t for the uber-sensitive types and must be watched with an open mind.

After all that talk of having an opinion in my last post, just thought that I'd regale / torment you with one of my own. I have one last thing to say, namely - watch it.

Posted by Shane

A Link A Day # 54: It couldn't be done

When I saw Yusuf Pathan walk in to the match, I had this feeling he might just pull it off. But then the cynic in me took over. Nah. Not possible is what I thought. Then I saw Yusuf take control of the game. I wondered what must have driven him. 7 wickets down and nothing to fight for except sibling pride. Could it be this inspirational poem by Edgar Albert Guest? Dunno. All we know is he dug India out of a deep hole when everyone had given up.

Posted by Anantha.

The Disputable Dev.D

Love it or hate it. You can’t ignore it. Steeped in controversy, there's no escaping it.

The thing I like about DEV.D the most, is that it has dethroned the critics from their pristine marble thrones, who much like ancient roman emperors decide the fate of movies by giving them the 'thumbs up' and letting them live, or giving them the 'thumbs down' and condemning them to the place where all showreels go to die. I however, to a certain extent despise critics, mostly because they influence your mind and feed you with opinions much before you've experienced the bit of reel life in question, yourself. I have a mind of my own and don’t need anyone to tell me what I should think or feel about a movie. I'd rather watch a movie first and then read the review.

But more than the critics, the ones who I truly loathe are the hordes of countless, mindless minions, who surrender themselves wholeheartedly to these critics. Like lions in the zoo that have slipped into impotency, who have now accustomed themselves to quenching their cinematic appetite and satisfying themselves with the allotted bit of opinion-meat, that's freely flung into their confining cages. Conveniently forgetting that they are fu#$@ng hunters, on top of the food chain.

I sometimes wonder if the minions miss the thrill of the hunt. Of grabbing hold of a cinematic experience in their jaws and digesting it for themselves. I believe they are amply content with being fed the chewed up worms that 'mother critic' meticulously and religiously spits into their mouths. Which they spit back in return, garnished with some exquisite thesaurausy words, and a smirk that says 'I’m the greatest thing since sliced bread', when asked for their take on the movie matter.

It's true. Dev.D has dethroned the pagan critic gods from their pretentious pedestals. And in forcing them to forfeit their thrones, has cornered them into raising up their white flags and telling people that 'Ok, this is what I feel about the movie, personally, as an individual, i.e. - I love it or hate it. There's no middle ground with a movie like this, and you should buy a ticket and decide for yourself, all right?'

Plunging them into a 'Critical quandary', Kashyap has created something that, i daresay, people would have to go out and form their own opinions about. There's no unanimous crital opinion. Everyone has their own rating system, and this is true not only for the critics, but also for the public. And for you, as an individual. Recognize it. With the naked emotion, unapologetic abandon, unabashed openness and stark individuality of the characters that's superbly captured on film, this movie definitely deserves a dekko. But don't just take my word for it. Check it out for yourself and tell me what you think.

Posted by Shane.

A Link A Day # 53: Creative Chairs

That's the Relegs Chair by Jennifer Heier. For more such creatuve furniture, check out Toxel.

Posted by Anantha.

A Link A Day # 52: Wustenrot's Floating Spot

Agency: Jung Von Matt. Producer: Tony Petersen Film. Director: Emil Moller.

Posted by Anantha.

A Link A Day # 51: Meet Ansel Adams

And after that go here here & here.

Posted by Anantha

A Link A Day # 50: Stop Motion Music Video

Song: Her Morning Elegance. Artist: Oren Lavie. Directors: Oren Lavie + Yuval Nathan + Meral Nathan. Shot with one camera. Video put together with 3250 still photographs. For more about the video and song, visit The Inspiration Room.

Posted by Anantha.

A Link A Day # 49: Great Classical Music Composers

If you can't tell G-string from G-minor, then head to Keonepaxe's 7-part youtube compilation. It has snatches of popular compositions from the best, bestest and the bestestest in Western Classical Music. In my opinion, it's the finest discovery, I've made in the recent times.

Posted by Anantha

Now Slumdog teaches you marketing

While Indians (at least a few of them for sure) debate whether Slumdog Millionaire deserves all these accolades, it seems the West can't get enought of the movie. And they never will for a long time to come. This one took me by surprise. An article in Wired magazine now preaches marketing gyan based on the characters from the movie.

Curious? Here you go.

Posted by Murali.

A Link A Day # 48: Do Schools Kill Creativity?

A brilliant talk by Sir Kevin Robinson on creativity, education and how schools kill creativity. Coming from such a school, I wholeheartedly recommend this to anyone and everyone. Watch this video talk. It's 19 minutes. But it'll make your day.

Posted by Anantha.

Viral Watch: 13-foot Ice Cream

Posted by Anantha.

Jazz aficionados and Metal heads..it's time to cheer!

Bangalore will witness two consecutive acts on Feb 14th and 15th, that music lovers wouldn't want to miss. Dave Weckl and his band of jazz musicians which includes the fabulously gifted Chuck Loeb will be performing at UB City on the 14th. (Mumbai can get to see them on the 11th at St.Andrews Auditorium.)

On the 15th, it's metal mayhem at Palace Grounds, when Iron Maiden returns once again. For another scintillating performance, this time as part of their 'Somewhere back in time' world tour. So, all you folks who don't want to give these 2 superb acts a miss, head to Bangalore for a super cool musical weekend.

Posted by Murali.

A Link A Day # 47: Interview with Woody Allen

DGA has done two interviews with Woody. I liked the second one better. That gives us a glimpse of director Woody. If you wanna pick a trick or two from Mr. Neuroticus Newyorkicus, go read.

Posted by Anantha.

Superbowl: My Top 10 Picks

1. Careerbuilder "Tips"
2. Coke "Heist"
3. Cars.com "David Abernathy"
4. Coke Zero "Mean Troy"
5. Hulu "Alec in Hulowood"
6. Pedigree "Crazy Pets"
7. Pepsi Max "I'm Good"
8. Taco Bell "Speed Date"
9. Budlight "Meeting"
10. Monster "Double Take"

What's yours?

Posted by Anantha.

It's curtains for Premier Bookstore

Bad news people. The tiny little bookstore run by Mr. T.S. Shanbag for the last 37 years is about to be shut down. One could peacefully saunter inside this 600 sq.ft. store, find some real gems at 10% discount, chat casually with Mr. Shanbag and walk out happily. Far from being a place just for books, Premier Bookstore, is today a cultural hotspot. Travellers to Bangalore pay a visit to the place without fail. And it saddens me immensely that the lease this time is not going to be renewed. In fact, if you remember, Mr. Shanbag was faced with a similar situation back in 2006 and he renewed the lease then. So, if you want to hit the place one last time do it now.

Posted by Murali.

Hot Spots: Superbowl 2009

Ad Age is the fastest off the block. They're ready with all the 2009 Superbowl spots way before any blog. Watch it all here. After watching the superbowl spots don't forget to see the Bob Garfield review. 

Posted by Anantha

A Link A Day # 46: Ten Years of Superbowl

Superbowl 43 is now underway. The fight is between Pittsburgh Steelers & Arizona Cardinals. Pittsburgh is leading. For us ad folks, what's more important is the Superbowl commercials. Dabitch's Commercial-archive has been blogging on the spots for the last few days. Till we get a complete compilation, you'll have to settle for watching reruns of old commercials. My suggestion is, if you have freetime, go watch Ten Years of Superbowl commercials. It's fultoo paisa vasool.

Posted by Anantha.

A Link A Day # 45: Isaac Newton Quotes

If Newton had been a copywriter, he would have defied gravity. I say this because he was phenomenally precise in describing exactly what he wanted to say. Sample these if you disagree:

We build too many walls and not enough bridges.

I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies but not the madness of people.

Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy.

It is the weight, not numbers of experiments that is to be regarded.

For more such pearls, go here.