The Break Up
A one way film to bring a message about dialogue. Mmmmm... Funny format. Though I wonder what happens if this story is brought in a more dynamic, interactive way.
A one way film to bring a message about dialogue. Mmmmm... Funny format. Though I wonder what happens if this story is brought in a more dynamic, interactive way.
If you wanted to recruit supporters for your charity,
you would try and make the good cause urgent and personally relevant to your audience. The latter still holds true. However, if your audience are young people, there is a fair chance that beating the drum of urgency and drama will scare them away. It’s a bit like Richard Huntingdon’s better advice to young planners: be interesting first and right second. It works in two steps. Offer a strong piece of magnetic content first (charitainment), then try and engage them in whatever it is that you do (charivolvement). You will only succeed if the bait is well intertwined
with food for thought and calls for activism. As a charity you need to be cool as a license to connect. Dance4Life understood that quite well and I’ve spotted a prominent follower: Amnesty International. Yoko Ono gave them the rights to John Lennon Music (activism beyond the grave…) And 180 smartly simple turned that into a contemporary concept by inviting cool bands to cover Lennon songs and offer them for download on a microsite.
Saw a presentation yesterday. Chuck Porter (Crispin Porter + Bogusky) put on a show. We were all impressed. Big time. He showed lots of good work. And talked about it in an engaging way. Look at this commercial (I think it was spread viral as well as broadcast). And take a look at the website afterwards. Configure a Jetta and see what happens...
Find the website here. FIRST: Select a Jetta model, THEN: click on "watch safe to happen".
Go... experience (!) for yourself.
I think Dove perfectly understood how to build an icon brand. They recognized that Northern European women deep down don't agree with the beauty myth they've been brought up with. Dove started a revolution. By telling the story of true, and thus imperfect, beauty. One that will be happily picked up by modern women and girls to cement their identities as strong and independent personalities.
Are you tired of fighting for parkings, the right clothes and fitting cabins at overcrowded and messy clothing shops? Then build your own virtual self at H&M and fit as many combinations as you like without even taking your shoes off. Warning: filling out your personal body specs in order to create your virtual model may come as a bit of a confrontation ;-O.
No, it's not the Axe effect by far. Though nicely tried. Try your own editing qualities at
Robert B. Cialdini: Influence: Science and Practice (4th Edition)
A quite practical guide to persuasion based on scientific insight. (***)
Bob Gill: LogoMania
I quite liked this booklet. In a witty, direct style it provides some insight into the art of design concepts. Interesting to anyone with a broad interest in communication arts. Gill demonstrates some fresh thinking. (***)
Malcolm Gladwell: Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
After the Tipping Point, this book is quite disappointing. The idea of Blink moments is interesting. But Gladwell doesn't make as strong a point as with the Tipping Point. His examples demonstrate both the accuracy as well as great failure of people to judge correctly in a blink. (**)
Seth Godin: Purple Cow
Triggered by All Marketers are liars, I expected a lot from this book. I found it a bit disappointing. After classics such as Eating the Big Fish, Blue Ocean Strategy and Disruption, Godin fails to add something significant. All American brand examples don't make it better for a European reader. (*)
Martin Lindstrom: Brand Sense
Maybe I expected too much of this book. I think there's more to sensory branding. Yet it contains a couple of comprehensive tools and pointers. (**)
Cooper: How to Plan Advertising
Although this book was written in the late eighties, most of its contents still hold true. A valuable source book for those who take strategic planning seriously. (****)
Robert Greene: Concise Art of Seduction
Recent brain research leads us back to the belief that seduction is stronger than argument. This booklet offers an inspiring overview of types of seducers and ways of secuction to get your thinking started. (**)
Crispin Porter + Bogusky: Hoopla
An entertaining book about an entertaining agency that turned branded entertainment into an art. I much admire these guys for their contribution to the (r)evolution in advertising. (***)
Sandy Thompson: One in a Billion: Xploring the New World of China
The true story of the unexpected pride and drive of the Chinese people, disclosed through a form of participating research called Xploring. (***)
Jon Steel: Perfect Pitch: The Art of Selling Ideas and Winning New Business
Must read for all those who sell ideas. And for agency planners - Perfect Pitch is a fantastic book on strategic planning in disguise. Best consumed in combination with 'Truth, Lies & Advertising'. (*****)
Tom Himpe: Advertising is dead, long live advertising
A very helpful inventory and analysis of an art that in full organic development: alternative advertising. Must read for any planner and creative. Full of inspiring examples. The only standard work on the subject I've spotted so far. (****)
Russell Ash: Top ten of everything
The ultimate book of lists. I got the 2007 version. Full of conversation pieces. (****)
Paco Underhill: Why We Buy: The Science Of Shopping
As with many true things, it all seems so simple and intuitive. Nevertheless this book is an eye opener. I will never see shops and shoppers the same anymore. (***)
Malcolm Gladwell: The tipping point
Cram full of interesting and fascinating stories. Gladwell doesn't provide instant solutions but very useful food for thought when you try to stimulate or stop things of epidemic proportion. (*****)
All marketers are liars: Seth Godin
The power of telling authentic stories in a low-trust world. And that is the best summary there is. Seth rewrote the very basic book about consumer psychology in a way that your grandma will understand. Precisely the kind of books I like. This is a must read for marketers and communications professionals. (*****)
D. B. Holt: How Brands Become Icons: The Principles of Cultural Branding
Douglas B. Holt uncovers the world that's hidden behind the casual jargon "expressive value". He reveals the secret of brands that connect with people in the true sense of the word. This your guide to placing brands at the heart of peoples lives. (****)
Andrew Ballantyne: Architecture: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
Keeps the promise of the book title and succeeds in kick starting a different look upon buildings around you. (****)
Louise van Swaaij & Jean Klare: The Atlas of Experience
An amazing attempt to capture or inner world of experience in topographic maps. Inspiration from cover to cover. See: www.worldofexperience.com (****)