Design to Improve Life

The international design festival INDEX:.was held in Copenhagen a couple of weeks ago. The theme was design and innovation that can improve life. The winner team consisted of the Dane Torben Vestergaard Frandsen, Rob Fleuren from Holland and Moshe Frommer from Israel. The winning object was the revolutionary LifeStrawTM. The straw is aimed at the population in the 3rd world, and they will benefit by having the possibility of clean water with a pipe filter. The worlds greatest killer is diarrhoeal diseases from bacteria like typhoid, cholera, e. coli, salmonella etc. With a LifeStrawTM one person’s annual needs of clean water can be fulfilled and nobody needs to die from these diseases.

This kind of design and innovation that is so strongly based on human observation and use of both anthropology and ethnography is really inspiring. 

Great concerts

I have recently seen two concerts that instantly went to my all time top ten. One was with the Danish band Mew, who if there is any justice in the world of music charts will soon have their big breakthrough – there music is like nothing else out there – the concert was staggering filled with songs from the new album “Mew and the Glass Handed Kites”. On top of that I’ve known the guitarist Bo since I was kid – really exiting to follow them. The other one was with the behemoth of rock’n’roll these days and soon to be “soundtrack of Coca Cola” White Stripes. Jack and Meg where flying high that evening with an energy that get’s your whole system going whether you love or hate them. I’m personally sold to their mix of classic rock, blues and punk in it’s stripped but intense and explosive manner. Furthermore their new video from the überdirector Michel Gondry is once again aesthetically and technical innovative.

The Sony Balls

Guess you have already seen the new spectacular spot from Sony made by Fallon with the 250.000 bouncing balls in the streets of San Francisco.

In my opinion it’s the perfect case for what a modern marketing campaign should contain for several reasons (sorry for the almost fan-like argumentation):

First and foremost it’s allegedly a great product (this review gives it 5 out of 5 stars and call’s it “a rich and powerful image”).

The client/agency/production company relation seems to have been profoundly collaborative build on trust and playfulness according to interviews with the director Nicolai Fuglsig and the Fallon creative Juan Cabral (I can’t find the link to the article)

There is clever pre-launch strategy with this “behind the scenes” web-site and a massive viral distribution of the content

It is sticky and highly infectious communication and works in both traditional and non-traditional media. First it hit the big blogs in the ad community, and more importantly is has created consumer buzz and transcended into popular culture as here with pictures on Flickr.

There is even a bit of the so-called open source creativity or co-creativity here (where the Sony has wisely been inviting everybody to take photos and film from the shoot in modern junction with the rules of “creative commons”)

And then the campaign messaging itself (obviously we have only seen the Online and TV stuff yet – I hope it is also going to include other intelligent media solutions – maybe a version of the film for video podcasting) it has a tonality of honesty and authenticity and (it is even done without tricks or computer graphics).

It’s build equally on strong insights on the product and into the consumers and their quest for imagination and almost infantile playfulness when it comes to technology.

It’s not building a formulaic brand concept but is rather embracing the magical complexity of colours. It has nuance and depth and leaves something behind for one’s own imaginary perception. It’s simply great communication that works as Velcro.

See the different versions of the film here.

Think small

This is not an ode to the classic DDB VW ad.

It’s just a thought on the rise of the portable video/content devises. Weather the winner in this game is going to be the new iPod, the PSP, The 3G mobile phones, PDA’s, Sony MP3’s, iRiver or whoever is not that important.

The thing is video content is going to be in your pocket from now on.

Video content is going to be sold relatively cheap (Disney already sells through iTunes and MTV has just bought iFilm). But I’m just wondering whether content should be the same in every medium. It seems that what is created for the TV/Internet sphere is just scaled down when is goes down to the small screens. Maybe future music videos, ads, sitcoms and even movies should be done in different versions – one that’s works in the “old” media and one for this new genre. The introduction of the iPod is a good example where they have cleverly used a concert close-up of Bono instead of some traditional video where you could hardly see anything. 

King of the Slacker generation

Back in the early nineties Stephen Malkmus was the guy behind Pavement on of the most notable bands in the Slacker Generation (or the Generation X if you want). Together with Beck and a couple of others (off course Douglas Copeland in the literary field) he had a new lo-fi aesthetic that a lot of young people could connect with.

Now he has gone solo and is playing much smaller venues, which is great if you happen to catch one of his shows. I did last week, and his songs from the so far three solo albums are great. He has lots of great little quirky pop songs. His accompanying band mates “The Jicks” is a great back-up for his imaginary guitar sound.

Challenging Dough

For the third year in row Diesel in Scandinavia is having their much acclaimed Diesel New Art (DNA) which is a platform for innovative art and design. Thousands of young and relatively unknown artists are trying to get in to the exhibitions in Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm and hopefully establishing them amongst art buyers and others. I saw it the other week and one of the pieces especially caught my attention. A pretty weird picture of a round table of people covered in dough. It was by an artist called Søren Dahlgaard with the title “Elliptic Touchdown 4” and was described as the challenge on dough- whatever that is. But that’s the thing about art and graphics you don’t always have to understand everything to be drawn into it.

Architecture for the masses

It is hard to find a properly designed individual standard house (a least if you want it mastered by a top architect). At the agency we have a client that wanted to change this with his company M2. Together with a couple of the best architects in Denmark (PLOT, CEBRA, SHL, 3xN) he has made what you can call democratic architecture in the best of Scandinavian tradition. The whole project was launched last week and it’s quite exiting to se the massive reactions they have seen from both the press and more important potential buyers. 

Just google it

A new article from Xtreme Information poses the question whether the almighty Google are merely the public servants on the information highway or the result of innovative marketing spin. I think they are both – but most of all I think they are the masters of product innovation.

Their word-of mouth and consumer led approach to marketing is without a doubt the most impressive marketing (and business) case in years. I’m looking for more functionality like this:

http://kh.google.com/download/earth/index.html
http://scholar.google.com/
http://www.google.com/webhp?complete=1&hl=en

What woman wants?

The recent female targeted campaigns from Dove and Nike have - with their quest for expanding the beauty ideal - proven successful in both media coverage and supposedly in ROI.

Now there is a whole book out by Martha Barletta Martha with key female marketing strategies (there is seven of them where the first one is equivalent to the Dove/Nike one)…thanks to The Hidden Persuader.

Better real than ideal:
"Female gender culture is all about finding something in common with others to build bonds, not aspiring to an ideal to set oneself apart."

Beware of talking about women's unique needs:
"The problem with this approach is that women don't want to feel different. They want to feel taken seriously. The risk with the women's unique needs approach is that, unless it is subtle and respectful, women feel stalked, not wooed."

User focus trumps product focus:
"For example, with cars, computers and consumer electronics (all categories where women make the majority of the purchases, incidentally), while a man may be mesmerized by the specs of high-tech widgets and gadgets, a woman is captivated by the person using the product."

Others matter:
"Not only that, but helping someone else, which isn't mission-critical for most men, is second nature for women."

Make the world a better place:
"She thinks you should be helping others as well. Numerous studies show women are more motivated than men by the goal of giving back"

Immersion instead of Topline:
"Whereas men 'see' more clearly when key information is extracted and ?extraneous details? discarded, women better absorb information when it's presented in context."

Show some emotion:
"Emotion-based advertising has a powerful pull for women -- people are always involved."

PersonalMBA

Seth Godin and couple of other marketing and business high-flyers have compiled what they call the PersonalMBA . The concept is simple – you don’t need to take out the time, effort and money the conventional MBA requires. Instead with a well selected list of books and publications you’ll find the knowledge you need. In communication strategy and strategic planning an equivalent would sure have to contain a few classics but also a lot of blogs should be on the selected list.

Work environment

The ever ongoing discussion whether there is a correlation between inspiring environments and the level of creative thinking is right now rallying at Ernie Schencks blog .

I personally don’t think an interesting agency décor can make up for lack of talent. On the other hand I think the mixture of untraditional offices and gifted people can sometimes get the thinking to places you wouldn’t have been elsewhere.

The other day we had a couple of ducks outside the agency door and we are only 5 minutes away from the centre of Copenhagen. That actually gave a little bit of unexpected inspiration to something we where trying to solve in a whole other ball game. Maybe we should set more briefing sessions in the zoo.

L. Ron Hubbard goes creative

The Father of Scientology's book on Dianetics is here shown in the most creative way on a city wall in Copenhagen. I think the “spokesperson version” with Tom Cruise or John Travolta would have been better.

Human insight cliché alarm

Clichés can be useful when you use them properly. Clichés can travel across borders. Clichés can be funny if they are cleverly turned upside down. But I find that the most clever insights and ideas are found out of the boundaries of clichés. There was an article today on BBC online where the writer John Camm has written down some of the clichés he hates in advertising. Funny reading but also a bit depressing since so much communication are actually based around these themes. See for yourself.

1. Men are obsessed with sex but will forego sex in order to watch football or drink beer.
2. Women are locked in a constant battle with their weight/body shape/hairstyle.
3. Career success is entirely based on your ability to impress your boss.
4. Mums are often harassed but NEVER depressed/unable to cope.
5. Any act of male stupidity (e.g. walking across a clean floor in muddy boots, putting the dog in the dishwasher, etc.) will be met with a wry smile, not genuine annoyance/anger.
6. Married men will flirt with other, younger women but NEVER act upon it.
7. Anyone with a scientific career will have a bad haircut and dreadful clothes.
8. If you work for the emergency services, you are a better person than the general population.
9. Elderly relatives NEVER suffer from senile dementia.
10. Scandinavians are, without exception, blonde and beautiful.
11. Women have jobs they never do in real life, e.g. dockworker (who looks like a model).
12. Children will not eat fruit or vegetables. Ever.
13. Both men and women find driving deeply pleasurable, never boring or stressful.
14. Men are inherently lazy/slobbish; women are the reverse.
15. Chocolate, however, will cause women to immediately fall into the languor of the opium eater.
16. High Street bank staff are (A) friends of the customers, and (B) of slightly above-average attractiveness (only if female).
17. Modern men own a cat.
18. Hot beverages have miraculous rejuvenating effects.
19. Professional people have strangely trivial preoccupations, e.g. a female barrister who is morbidly obsessed with finding a healthy snack bar.
20. All women (except stay-at-home housewives) have interesting and enjoyable careers.
21. Any over-the-counter medical product will work instantly and 100% effectively.
22. Children know more than adults.
23. Women never merely hop in and out of the shower, instead preferring to act out some sort of soapy Dance of the Seven Veils.
24. School is a happy experience for all children.
25. Tortilla chips are the most exciting experience any group of young people can experience.
26. Playing bingo is THE number one pastime among 18-25 year old British women.

Best Heinz ad this year

In the brave new world of marketing where everybody’s looking for the next untraditional approach to advertise their product, sometimes the answer comes from unexpected places. In the newest Jamiroquai video “Seven days in June” there is a splendid piece of branded entertainment. The story is simply a slice of life in the best of locations – summer party in the country. It’s all fun fun fun until the crowd identifies a problem at the grill. Where is the ketchup? Problem is solved when a chopper comes along with a net containing “the slow ketchup” and to the crowds big applause jumps it of. Heinz should pay Jay Kay for that stunt, maybe they are.

See the video

Post a secret

This is a great site http://postsecret.blogspot.com

It’s filled with people’s anonymous posted secrets displayed nicely on postcards. Here you have various insights to the most defining characteristics of people. Some hilarious, some quite horrifying, and some even rather sad.

lessons from first aid

Last week we held an agency lecture in first aid including instructions on cpr, wounds, burns, broken bones and last but not least stopping fire.

It makes me wonder how smart we are when it comes to guidelines and instructions to something that really matters. It’s not like the guidelines in other aspects of life. Like your 20 different remote controls, software that doesn’t support each other, incomprehensible manuals etc.

The world would be a much easier place to live in if everybody thought of their guidelines and instruction as if it was a matter of life and death.

Great CRM

Saw this at a restaurant this weekend. The food was good I’ll be back.

Summer reading 2

Being a big Kubrick fan and also and an admirer of many of the Taschen books. The Stanley Kubrick Archives is a scoop.


The book is mixture of background articles/interviews/essays with the auteur himself and then great still pictures from the films. (great review from Newsweek)

The book starts of with the ultimate Kubrick aficionado item- an original 70 mm film strip from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Going through the whole book it’s hard not see Kubrick as the best director of all times. Being a conventional coffee-table book at first glance it’s amazing how the book is actually an intelligent and exhaustive, film-by-film analysis.

I especially enjoy the part with A Clockwork Orange. I’ve seen the film more then 20 times over the years dating back to writing my main thesis in high school on the film.

Even seen from an advertising point of view it’s a must read/view on breakthrough art direction and graphic design and from a mere anthropologic view a brain picker into a masters dissection of the human mind in all its many forms.

Summer reading 1

It’s summertime. Time to catch up on some of the books I have only merely glanced through earlier this year. On the strategy and planning front I finally got through Malcolm Gladwells “Blink” and Bruce Mau’s “Massive Change”. Great reads both of them because their both packed with possible analogies for how the modern world of communication works and how we can work differently as communicators and agency people. There’s a great little review of Blink seen from an advertising point of view over at Russell Davies site

Global brands seeking global agencies

Global campaigns no longer need agency offices in every capital of the world. Global campaigns based on solid and sometimes universal consumer insights leading to big ideas can deliver gravitas across borders.

Obvious truth some might say. Nevertheless there seem to be a growing number of global assignments that believes in this thinking. The last few days the Brand Republic newsletter has been filled with these stories. We’ve seen Strawberry Frog adding another cross border campaign to its recent string of wins. Both Wieden + Kennedy and Fallon have won a place on the Procter& Gamble roster with the Eukanuba pet food brand and the Gillette brand respectively. Lots of other shops with the same characteristics seem to strive these days – it’s mostly shops that have 4-6 regional offices that cover the world. Shops like BBH, Mother, M&C Saatchi and Red Cell.

And not so strange the most recent start-up’s has been born with the same global ambition. That goes for Anomaly, BMB (The new agency from the notorious Trevor Beattie). Marcel (the new shop by the creative superstars Fred & Farid backed by Publicis) and the newly merged NitroSoul. The future belongs to anti-bureaucratic, multinational oriented, medianeutral fresh thinking agencies – sweet.