Friday, July 31, 2009

A Link A Day # 224: Truth Lecture Hall



Agency: Arnold Worldwide. Posted by Anantha.

Spot of the Week: Cadbury You're Right

Product has been ingeniously woven in and a lovely payoff in the end. Women would bite into this commercial, wholeheartedly. I think this one will win big time in the coming year.



For the second ad in the series, go here. Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi Argentina.

Posted by Anantha.

Beware of the customer!

3.8 million hits, that’s what a disgruntled customer of United Airlines got, after posting an online music video about his experience. The embarrassed company had nowhere to look and guess what, the man in question is planning a sequel! Talk about a PR fiasco.

Posted by Niru.

Ups and Downs

Mention 360 degree campaigns and we run around like headless chickens, trying to find new places and new media to hang our creative on. And the escalator is no exception. But how well do we use it? Here’s some great stuff done on the escalator. Upsy daisy!

Posted by Niru.

Not plane jane!

Cute talking animals. Now where would advertising be without them? Don’t know how old these are, but lovely spots for frontier airlines. Check out the whole series...



Posted by Niru.

Viral Watch: Startalie.com

What happens when tap water takes on bottled water? Check this website out! Started by Tappening, this superb viral campaign encourages customers to spread as many lies as they can about bottled water. Their claim “if they can lie, so can we.” Truly hilarious.

Posted by Niru.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

A Link A Day # 222: One for the anti-socials



The Unromantics can go here while the Unprofessionals can also watch their version here.

Creative by Fallon. Posted by Anantha.

Yasmin Ahmad (1958-2009) – She loved India.

My heart feels so heavy I can hardly express myself. Yasmin loved India. Ironically, it was Yasmin who got me to watch Satyajit Ray's work. She said Ray's picturisation (in Aparajito) of how Apu discovers his mother has passed away is a master-touch in the history of filmmaking. She knew the lyrics of Hindi songs better than most of us. She thought Rani Mukherjee is the most beautiful person on earth. In 2002, when she got to speak to the cream of the advertising industry at Cannes she did not waste the opportunity (like most other speakers did) by making an insipid presentation on what great advertising is. Instead, she shocked the audience by stating that the West has always treated the East with scorn and she demanded that they change their view. She stood up for Malaysia and the for rest of us on this side of the globe. Which is why she got a standing ovation from all.
To say that her work influenced me is a gross understatement. I copied her style unashamedly.
God bless you always Yasmin.

Posted by Thomas.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Where would you like to stick it?

Now that’s the question that Mattesons sausages is asking its customers in the UK. Of course, the radio spots raised a storm of controversy, but the answers are actually, boringly innocent. Listen here.

Posted by Niru.

Album Art # 3


The Dark Side of the Moon was, is and will be the seminal Pink Floyd album. Released in 1973, the cover art for the album was as stunning as the music itself. Designed by Hipgnosis, a British Art & Design Group, it got the thumbs up from all the band members against 10 other designs that were shown to them. Storm Thorgeson and Aubrey Powell were credited to have come up with the idea of the refracting prism and George Hardie did the artwork. According to Hipgnosis, the cover art represented 3 things: the band's stage lighting, album lyrics and Richard Wright's request for a simple and bold design.

Courtesy: Wikipedia.

Posted by Murali.

Monday, July 27, 2009

A Link A Day # 221: No Matter What



Posted by Anantha.

A Link A Day # 220: Ten amazing typewriter sculptures



For the rest, visit oddee.

Posted by Anantha.

Couldn't help but put this one


Not a fan of forwards. But this one is so true, isn't it?

Posted by Murali.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Album Art # 2


The iconic 1967 debut album by Velvet Underground and Nico was designed by the master of Pop Art Andy Warhol. The image of the banana on the cover became so popular that people started referring to this as the Banana Album or The Warhol LP.

Posted by Murali.

The impending collapse of the newspaper industry?

Ever since Ad Age put out a story on the staying power of the New York Times, I've been scanning the web for similar stories. First the biggest worrisome fact: NYT's advertising revenue has fallen by 30 odd percent fromm Y2K to now. I am guessing there are two reasons for this - a) The Internet and b) The shaky economy of America. The second can be sorted out but the first one spells trouble for most newspapers. Which is probably why Ann Arbour News (a 174-year old daily) shut down its print edition yesterday and switched to a digital version. Before you accuse me of reading too much into this stray event, go visit this site. The site has been meticulously keeping a timeline of newspaper edition shutdowns. Compare 2009 with 2008. You'll see a significant spike in the shutdowns. Well, what does that bode for India? I'd say, at the moment, there's no cause for alarm. On the face of it, more and more editions are springing up. Just the other day, Mint was launched in Chennai. But we shouldn't be misled by these events. If you dig deeper into the Presstalk blog, you'd notice debates on how newsapapers should be priced in India. Me feels, the churn has started. Newspapers are bleeding. Sooner or later we'll get to hear stories of the collapse of some dailies in India too. There will be one difference though. The Government of India might just bail out these guys by calling them 'Institutions'. Let's wait and see how this pans out.

Posted by Anantha.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

A Link A Day # 218: Don't trust the Indian Media!

If you loved Fake IPL Player, you'll love K. He's been the Fake Media Player for many years now. He's been giving us priceless insights on Undie TV and their cronies. Whenever I want the inside dope on Times, HT, ET or the channels, I tune into his blog. May be you should too.

Posted by Anantha.

Album Art # 1


The Album Art series will showcase killer cover art done by bands and their art studios for their albums. The one featured above is the cover of the album called The 5000 Spirits by The Incredible String Band done in 1967. Sources say the folks behind this creation was an art studio called 'The Fool'.

Posted by Murali.

Viral Watch: Bungee Jumping Elephants

"When Samsung wanted to pull off a buzz-worthy publicity stunt to promote the Samsung Jet phone and its super fast camera, they enlisted bungee jumping elephants and a flying spaceship."



Posted by Anantha.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

A Link A Day # 217: The Pen Story

One of the finest stop motion videos I've ever seen. Yes, 3-minutes felt a little long. But that's where the song helps. If you ask me, I'd say it's a must watch.



Song and lyrics by Johan Stankowski. You can download the song here.

Posted by Anantha.

Reality bites, ouch!

It’s official. Movie makers don’t live in real life. If they did, they would never have okayed some of these publicity stunts. Check it out and watch out for the vulture.

Posted by Niru.

Green Graffiti

While hoardings are being removed in cities, a Dutch company has come up with an environment friendly, low cost, outdoor option. Graffiti. Before you say “oh come on” check out their site. And the first to use it in the US, was Dominos Pizza. Time for us Indians to go greener?

Posted by Niru.

Ad shakes Apple

We all associate creativity with Apple. But guess what, Microsoft can display some of those qualities too. Here’s a hard hitting, competitive spot, that caught Apple on the backfoot...



Posted by Niru.

A Link A Day # 216: Home swap with creative people across the world.

Creativecaravan is an interesting concept. Started by a photographer and creative agent wifey, the site on the premise that it's expensive to stay in hotels when you travel. What if you swapped homes with creative souls, instead? Here's their explanation for why a swap with creatives only: The great thing about Caravan is that you're not subletting from just any weirdo, you're subletting from people who have a similar lifestyle, circle of friends and interests to yours, so your chances of the property being a complete dud are greatly lessened.

Link alert by Jordan Stratford of Adlist.

Posted by Anantha.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

A Link A Day # 215: The Kiss



Agency: Kitchen Oslo. Producer: Velocity Films. Director: Keith Rose.

Posted by Anantha.

Mass Media to get screwed

Pardon my language. But nothing captures the future state of mass media than the statement I've made above. According to Forrester Research, it's going to be walloped by Digital Media. Here's the gloomy projection: From around 12% of overall ad spend, Digital is expected to attract 21% in the next 5 years. And the best part is experts don't expect any growth in advertising spend in the specified time. Sad, na? For more Digital rah rah, this is where you should go.

Posted by Anantha.

Blast for the past # 16


You hardly see comic book style illustration in advertising layouts these days. But that was 'in' back in the '80s. I can clearly remember many more brands who adopted this approach then. Looks cool and refreshing, right?

Posted by Murali.

How to get the best out of YouTube

Interesting pointers from Fallon's planning blog. Check it out here.

Posted by Murali.

A Link A Day # 214: Stealourideas.com



Adam and Jon run a website that encourages Creative Directors to mail them briefs and steal their ideas when they are ready. It's a nice way to showcase their talent and grab attention. Check their work out.

Link alert by Adlist.

Posted by Anantha.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Sunday, July 19, 2009

A Link A Day # 212: How product design cannot just be product design.

Industrial Design site Core 77 carried a nice article sometime back, by Peter Merholz, where he argued that product design needs to go beyond plain product design. It needs to move to the higher orbit of experience because that's the only thing users care about. Here's an extract from the article to get you interested...An experience strategy can take many forms. At heart it is a vision, an expression of the experience you hope customers will have. The ur-experience strategy is George Eastman's slogan for Kodak, "You press the button, we do the rest." As a description of the desired experience, it's not particularly soulful or nuanced—nothing poetic about capturing memories. But it oriented Eastman's delivery for an entire photographic system that supported this simple experiential goal. To read on, go to Core77.

Posted by Anantha.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Spot of the Week: Kohara Office



Agency: Build Creativehaus. Director: Daisuke Izumi.

Posted by Anantha.

A Link A Day # 211: Mentos Beat it



The thought reminds me of an idea Thomas had proposed for Lotte Spout.

Posted by Anantha

Blast from the past # 15



Courtesy: Hubpages blog.

Posted by Murali.

A Link A Day # 210: Glide BBQ



Created by Bates Norway. Made by Flodell Film Stockholm.

Posted by Anantha.

A Link A Day # 209: Mensa Workout

Prashant Ramamurthy introduced me to the Mensa Workout. You get to take 30 questions in 30 minutes. It's a mix of questions that measures your mathematical, verbal and visual intelligence. Try it, you'll realise you're smarter than you think. And if you like it, here's where you can take a daily workout (shameless self plug!).

Posted by Anantha.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

A Link A Day # 208: Jonathan Glazer's new music video



Dunno Jonathan Glazer? Sample a commercial of his, here.

Posted by Anantha.

Unbelievable

Most of us remember the Fevicol ad with the overloaded bus. Don’t be surprised if your average aircraft starts resembling it, in the very near future. Read this bizarre but true proposition put forth by Chinese airlines.

Posted by Niru.

Cannes Gold is just Yellow Metal

Digital agency Boondgoggle (interesting name - slang for a scheme that wastes your money) picked up 5 gold lions this year. They just wanted to find out what it's really worth...



Posted by Anantha.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

A Link A Day 207: Big Nothing



Created by Leo Burnett London. Made by Academy Films.

Posted by Anantha.

Way to go New Zealand Airlines!

We’ve heard the rap version of the airline safety video, here’s the paint version. Done by New Zealand Airlines, let’s just say it’s really eye catching!

Posted by Niru.

The Hangover - A short review

After ages comes a movie that's funny, outrageous at times and thoroughly entertaining from the first to the last minute. In a sentence, the plot can be summed up as a debauched Las Vegas bachelor party gone wrong where the three groomsmen try and find the groom and get him back in time for his wedding.

That's easier said than done, because the way director Todd Phillips has crafted each scene is immaculate, to say the least. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and Heather Graham star along with Justin Bartha, the groom, in this laugh-riot that can make you laugh till your stomach aches.

You'll be surprised to catch Mike Tyson in his cameo role. Full marks to the tight and rivetting screenplay. And a pat on the back to Todd Phillips for making this movie more rowdier and fast-paced than his previous film, Old School.

Posted by Murali

Monday, July 13, 2009

Inglorious Basterds Trailer



Posted by Anantha.

A Link A Day # 206: The Ashes Promo



Posted by Anantha.

Fine Whining

Super commercial for McDonalds. Created by DDB Stockholm. A lovely take on the usual “are we there yet?”



Posted by Niru

Sunday, July 12, 2009

A Link A Day # 205: Robinson's Birdhouse



Direction by Andy McLeod. Production by Rattling Stick. Read up about how they did it without using much of CG, here.

Posted by Anantha.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Campaign of the Week: Post Shredded Wheat

Post Shredded Wheat has a cracker of a campaign to sell its cereals. No, it's not a spoof on Kellog's. It's even better. Check out the 'We put the No in Innovation' ad first and then watch this awesome webisode...



After this, watch The Interview, Eddie is a Failure, Employee Reviews featuring the fictional Frank Druffel. Brilliant casting. And very well written. This will be my nominee for Grand Prix Cannes Lions 2010.

Posted by Anantha.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

With 200mn users Facebook will be the 5th most populous country in the world

Yeah, I know Facebook can't be equated to a nation. But the sheer number of inhabitants and way they behave makes me thinks so. When was the last time a local law or a government diktat affected you so much that you took to the streets to protest / support it? I can safely assume not in the recent past.

But when Facebook redesigned it's site there were protests world over. The picture below has been shot in France when the youth opposed the new look.



Now, Facebook may not be a country of its own. But the folks who are part of this mass are more passionate about the place they live (coz' most of them are online most of the time) than their own motherland. And the number is increasing every single day. Stunning, isn't it?

Posted by Murali.

A Link A Day # 204: The Regulars



Do I smell a pint of 'real men of genius' here? Whatever the inspiration, good stuff. Produced by the Glue Society. Created by Droga5.

Posted by Anantha.

My first day at work

Walking out of college and into a workplace is a massive step! When I entered Orchard at 9.15 on Monday morning (early as usual for my first day!) I wasn’t sure what to look forward to. There were a whole lot of expectations about advertising, things I had heard plenty from cousins and uncles in the same field, and had thus chosen advertising as a career path- but still, walking into an office for the first time was a rather intimidating experience!

But the Orchard environment in itself is a lovely friendly place. I spent my first hour waiting for Thomas Xavier to arrive. During this time Lauren, who must have been aware of my awkwardness, took me around the office, starting at the bottom- introducing me to everyone-except everyone wasn’t there! Monday morning meeting I wondered, as I went back to the Thomas’ office where I immersed myself in his library of advertising books of all shapes and sizes. Once Thomas arrived, every ounce of discomfiture slipped away. He made me feel at ease, and talking to him reminded me of my first interview at Orchard, and why I had wanted, so desperately, to join the advertising business only at Orchard. He took me through a presentation that he had made the previous week in P to a batch of clueless MBA students, about a career in advertising- what it entailed, and what was required of them to be successful in the field, (a fantastic idea to do it at the beginning of the semester rather than the end as they normally do!) This presentation was directed to people with my mindset and wavelength exactly!! It talked about what went into a good ad, and Thomas is a great orator, so even though the audience he was addressing consisted of only one person (me!) he still kept the tone light but information heavy, and I'm fairly certain I learnt more in that one hour talk than in a whole year in college!

After he was through, Thomas sent me off with Ankur - the head of Client Servicing. Ankur from first glance was very chilled out and relaxed, with this jeans and bright blue T-Shirt and funky black all stars, he could easily have been a student at Joseph's or Christ who had bunked college and showed up at Orchard by mistake. Spending a couple of hours with him I discovered that first impressions are usually right - Ankur was fun, and relaxed, and had a way of speaking that immediately made his listener relax and drop their defenses. By afternoon I was talking to him easily, most of my apprehensions of my first day of work having dropped down already. Ankur first took me on the grand tour of Orchard - showing me the different floors, introducing me to people, and very importantly – where the restrooms were! Following this he took me up to his office and started on a presentation of Orchard credentials- taking me through the fascinating journey of Orchard's growth from a tiny offshoot of Leo Burnett into a nationwide agency of tremendous credibility.

He first explained the Orchard story to me, it's founding and growth, and then walked me thru each of Orchard's main ad campaigns, explaining the conception and development of every advertisement in great detail. What made me feel comfortable was that I was actually familiar with most of the advertisements! Especially the Manhattan credit card advert had been so popular amongst my classmates that constantly squeaking “Dinku” in that adorable baby voice had become a thing of regularity when I was in the 12th standard, just to annoy our teachers! And the Himalaya throat lozenge commercial had been a point of reference when a friend of mine tattooed his girlfriends name onto his forearm!

After watching all these ads, I realized with pride that Orchard was indeed an ad agency with a difference- and that I was very very lucky to have started my career in such an awesome agency.

After lunch, Ankur asked me to check my mail and stuff because he had some other work, but I found myself scrolling straight to the Orchard website to look at their other ads, which hadn’t made it to their credential presentation! I saw a vein of similarity- not in their concepts or ideas- but in the satire, wit, and tongue in cheek humor used in all their advertisements.

When ankur called me back, he finished the presentation completely, after which he gave me the option to knock off early, because it was my first day, or to use this opportunity to walk around and talk to people and introduce myself properly. I had no intention of leaving early-not on my first day ( what sort of impression would that create?? ) also- I really didn’t want to leave yet! So I regained a little of my awkwardness and walked up to all the busy, busy people and attempted to introduce myself. Most of the people on my floor had gone out for a meeting, so I spoke to Rekha, who I was supposed to shadow starting the next day. She was nice, and explained to me that shadowing her would be difficult and that I was better off just starting with some work- and just learn as I went along. I spoke to Jessy, who explained her role to me, as a link between client servicing and the studio. I went downstairs where I found Manju, an intern from Brown University, who was my age, with lots to say about everything. I relaxed a lot more meeting someone of my own age. I then met with the other copywriters and creatives and spent awhile talking to Shane, who by cracking jokes at my expense, made me feel much more relaxed and at home.

Thus ended my first day at Orchard . A landmark day I’ll remember for many years to come!

Posted by Aliya.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Thoughts on Buyology

In Buyology, Martin Lindstrom presents and discusses (and lauds, and practically sings with pride) over the results of his recent neuromarketing studies. The author posits that the contents of the book are invaluable to consumers and producers alike. I wouldn’t say they’re invaluable… interesting, yes, but at times, vague and slippery. The case studies are the most reliable portions of the book, I find, and while the neurological studies themselves are fodder for thought and consideration, I wouldn’t apply them left and right. In fact, the studies themselves don’t carry the bulk of this book and its conclusions, partially due to the soft language used to describe techniques and results that require technical language; some precision and detail is lost in the indistinct language. Furthermore, Lindstrom conducted a large-scale study, but attempts to apply his results on an even larger scale. This produces generalizations and sweeping predictions that badly want to sum up advertising into a science, but simply can’t. That said, the investigation of advertising methods that actually work and those that really don’t is interesting, intriguing even, and probably worth a read for producers… but, again, it should be taken with a grain of salt. 

As for consumers, well, awareness can never hurt… although, if producers actually began employing ‘subliminal messaging’ - advertising by association would probably be more apt terminology - to the extent that Lindstrom predicts, consumers’ knowledge of the tricks would hardly help them fend off the urge to go and buy a 6-pack of Coke, stat. Familiarity with a product is half the battle, and if the advertising is out there, consumers will take it in (consciously or no); this familiarity will inevitably play a role in their choices at the grocery store or clothing boutique. I’m not convinced that this book arms the consumer like it seems to promise… it’s more like Lindstrom’s prophecy, written for people to just read and accept.

Lindstrom dips into both neurological and psychological explanations for some purchasing and advertising trends. However, certain parts of the book could have benefited from a rebalancing of the scales. The portion about cigarettes and subliminal messaging through racecar sponsorship, for instance, drifts slightly too far from the nitty-gritty, scientific end of the scale. Lindstrom says they discovered a “direct emotional relationship” between the sponsors and the qualities associated with NASCAR and Formula 1, and that consumers “subconsciously linked those associations to the brand”. This language seems kind of vague for such significant (and, frankly, frightening) results… how are the emotional relationship and subconscious links built? Dual encoding during memory formation? Simple misattribution? Call me a neuro-nerd, but I would have appreciated more detail – the stakes are too high to rest on the conclusions without detailing the premises.

A particularly important section of the book, in my opinion, discusses the use of SST (steady state typography, which measures and locates brain activity) to predict the success of already-developed products. Yes, this is an innovative and potentially useful method, but it does leave something to be desired. This method answers a yes or no question… will people like my product? It doesn’t answer the bigger questions… why they do or do not like it, and what they do or do not like. Clearly, having some scientific reassurance is better than blindly putting a product into a market and crossing your fingers, and I wouldn’t be surprised if companies began investigating these neuromarketing methods. But Lindstrom’s optimistic vision of a land where producers supply ideal, desired products and consumers buy them happily and willingly won’t surface until someone can put their finger on the ‘why’s and ‘what’s of product reception. Lindstrom would have done well to acknowledge the limits of neuromarketing, beyond just its advantages.

Generally, as far as the content is concerned, I’m a little let down. There are many questions he left unanswered and some areas that could do with more in-depth analysis… and the questions he did answer look to be case-specific, although this book tries stretching them thin to cover as many bases as possible. The actual experiments deserve more air-time than they receive, and the conclusions drawn deserve more of a critical analysis than demonstrated. Still, portions of the book are quite appealing – the role mirror neurons, the influence of anti-smoking images on smoking rates, and the detrimental effects of logos, for instance, are all interesting contributors to this art/science. I almost wish he had chosen one of these contributors and delved fully into it, rather than dabbling across the field. “Jack of all trades…”

Stepping away from the content, I must say that Lindstrom’s style was engaging throughout the book. The easy language makes this book accessible to the masses, despite the watered-down versions of the neurological happenings when we view advertisements. I was, however, slightly put off by what seemed like self-satisfaction. Yes, this is the largest study of its kind, but that fact doesn’t bear repeating umpteen times (I read the back of the book). Indeed, many of these results are surprising, but the reader can figure that out for themselves, without the multiple references to the shocking nature of these revolutionary discoveries. At times, I felt like Lindstrom was advertising neuromarketing at points… the content should have been left to speak for itself.

Another nuance that nagged me a bit was the occasional subtle brand endorsement. Apple is probably thrilled with this book, as well as Volkswagen and Coca-Cola. Microsoft? Not so much. With the apparent impending ubiquity of advertising and brand images, I would prefer not to feel like I’m strolling through these pages with a credit card and shopping cart in hand. Don’t get me wrong – many of the product discussions were necessary to flesh out examples and point out good advertising. The implied opinions were less necessary.

Overall, in spite of the nagging nuances and lingering questions, I think this book is worth a read. There’s some food for thought here, especially in the case studies, and while the content isn’t explored to its fullest potential, it still sparks a reaction and some contemplation on the reader’s part. People won’t walk away from Buyology with Lindstrom’s intended souvenirs, or with a clear picture of the future of advertising… but they may walk away with something.

Posted by Manjula Raman - Intern, Orchard Bangalore

Orchard Bangalore goes to Honey Valley, Coorg for the weekend.












Blast from the past # 14



The Doordarshan National Signature. This tune used to wake people up in the mornings as the early birds switched on their TV sets in India in the '80s. Also, check out the Vande Mataram that follows the signature tune. Sheer classic. Courtesy: Prasad, a youtube junkie.

Posted by Murali.

Viral Watch: Evian Rollerbabies



Me thinks, the inspiration for this could have been the Dancing Baby viral that became a rage in the late 1990s.

Posted by Anantha.

A Link A Day # 203: Levi's Go Forth



An ironic visualisation of Walt Whitman's poem in Walt Whitman's voice to inject optimism into America. Very unjean. Good piece. Filmed by Cary Fukunaga of Anonymous content and Conceived by Weiden + Kennedy, Portland. Here's a poster from the campaign...



Via Inspiration Room. Posted by Anantha.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Spot of the Week: Barclays Fake



Agency: Venables Bell & Partners. Production : MJZ. Director: Nikolai Fuglsig.

Posted by Anantha.

A great placement trick


The Haitong Securities building in Shanghai is known for it's wavy architectural design. What better place than a building opposite to put an ad for a fan. No wonder, this piece won a media bronze lion. Source: Copyranter.

Posted by Murali.

Monday, July 6, 2009

A Link A Day # 202: Postive Thinking



The 'cheerful sheep heading to the slaughterhouse' sequence must have got the goat of animal lovers. But a fairly bold client okayed the shot. Anyways what this commercial has done is to bring back the Morecambe & Wise song back into public consciousness.

Posted by Anantha

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Short Film Watch: Terri Timely's Synesthesia



If you didn't get the film, watch this video on the condition called Synesthesia.

Posted by Anantha.

A Link A Day # 201: Tanqueray Simplicate



Posted by Anantha.

Friday, July 3, 2009

Modernista auctions TVCs. Gets peanuts.

An agency, not known for stupidity, has, for some stupid reason, auctioned on ebay, twelve 30-seconder scripts, created for a beer brand. The auctioning stunt earned them just 45 dollars and a lot of potentially bad publicity. So my question is, is this kinda viral worth it?

Posted by Anantha.

The Bicycle Film Festival Trailer



Posted by Anantha.

After flash fiction, it's time for 5-second movies

It's something people with attention span deficit would surely love. Or, perhaps the younger generation who get bored, way too quick. Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the 5-second movie. Go here, for more details.

Posted by Murali.

A Link A Day # 200: World of Words



Posted by Anantha.

15 Creepiest Vintage Ads



For more such ads, try going here.

Link discovered by Avinash Subramaniam. Posted by Anantha.

A Link A Day # 199: Oscar Wilde



Old technique. But works beautifully with this campaign. For more ads in the series, check out Scaryideas.

Posted by Anantha.

A Link A Day # 198: Search Overload Syndrome. Cure brought tou by Bing.



Commercial by JWT New York.

Posted by Anantha.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Do Creative Directors need to be good presenters as well?

From the time I started in advertising, this question has been playing on my mind. There were many instances when average creative which was presented well made it to the next level, because the CD presented it beautifully. And a lot many times good creatives got shot down because another CD didn't have the right presentation skill to push it forward. Funny, isn't it?

Here's what Mark Wnek has to say about this issue.

Posted by Murali.

Facebook has 3.2 million users in India

Just read this update from Medianama. The gist is, Facebook has leapfrogged to 3.2 million while Orkut has stagnated at 13 million users in India.

Posted by Anantha

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Photographer Watch: Work of Bela Borsodi



Portfolio here.

Posted by Anantha.

Ad Manic's pictorial critique of Cannes



Image via admanic. Posted by Anantha.

NY Fests: India bags 6 metals. Leo Burnett Mumbai snags 5.

Leo Burnett for Bajaj Exhaust Fans in Outdoor - BRONZE
Beehive Communications for Tourism Malaysia in Outdoor - BRONZE
Leo Burnett for Tide Detergents in Photography - BRONZE
Leo Burnett for CID TV Show in Collaterals - SILVER
Leo Burnett for Luxor Stationery in Design - SILVER
Leo Burnett for Tide Lipstick in Film - BRONZE

Posted by Anantha.