A funny ad for Carlton Draught, Australian beer from the Fosters stable. One of seven variants as part of the long running 'Made from Beer' campaign the ads have been deemed too risky for TV, principally for the multiple inferences to the man-bits (goolies, weenis etc), and were pulled by the client themselves shortly before they were due to air.
Following months of wrangling between agency, Melbourne's Clemenger BBDO, and client, Fosters have agreed to release the ads on the web.
Quote from Fosters:
'The internet is a sharper instrument than television, which hits a broad range of consumers...I believe our target market will go looking for Carlton Draught material online'
The Fosters spokesperson has described what many believe is the very near future of how advertising of this nature seen and distributed.
Consumers actively seeking out and spreading branded content, because they want to.
Although Carlton is one of Australias most popular beers, most likely drunk by many people who will now never see this content.
Fans who do seek out the ads are encouraged to rate the ad - and presumably persuade Fosters and agency to relent and place them on TV - via the website anyexcuse.com.au/
Fair play to Russian teenager Andrey Ternovskiy who apparently invented tool de jourChatRoulette after digging round the web looking for something that allowed random video chatting with strangers. When he couldn't find one he decided to make it himself.
He also has a nice stock of self-depreciating one-liners, as demonstrated in an interview in the NYTimes last week.
NYT: What do you think about all the press? AT: Actually I haven’t read a single article. I don’t want to read them. I see a wall of text and I just look at the picture and click next...
NYT: So you have been meeting with investors? AT: Well, for now, they are more interested in me, than I am in them.
Something tells me this kid is a teeny bit more switched on than he would have us believe, however.
People and tools, who knows where they will take it... Like this piano man freestyling and improvising with whoever turns up.
Amusing and relevant pres by this guy Sean Boyle, Global planning director from JWT outlining his ten stop/start commandments to reboot the advertising industry.
A couple of key nuggets right from the off:
'The people who 'get it' who have vision, talent and intelligence are belittled, bullied and compromised by people who have no vision, no talent and who don't get it'.
and
' The ad business today takes 8 months to do one thing, we need to do 8 things in one month'.
All ten commandments are:
Start Telling The Truth Stop The Politics Start Having Fun Again Stop Overthinking Things Start Doing Something Stop The Incessant Research Start Doing Good Stop Banging On About Digital Start Ups Again Please Stop Using Animals In Commercials
I don't usually pimp work in this space but this project we've developed for Direct line car insurance is something worth posting.
No one really talks about the claims process in the insurance industry and building trust in the sector is key.
The building blocks to achieving this are involving customers, better recognition of what they value and being more transparent.
Instead of burying the process in text based FAQ's at the back of the website where no-one will ever see them we created 4 videos which take the customer through the journey of a claims process, from what happens when they first call to register their claim, right through to the approved repair centre assessing the damage and getting them back on the road.
This is just the first step in an ongoing program we are working with the client on in order to: 1 - Improve claims experience by defining expectations 2 - Humanise a “faceless” process: build empathy, reassurance
A small step in our mission to try and create value in the new, non-linear customer buying journey.
All videos were shot in the Manchester call centre and repair centre and are presented by real staff.
Jaffe neatly sums up where we were coming from in this nugget from The Customer Service Manifesto.
Customer service is a front office strategic imperative that belongs at the same table as strategic planning, marketing communications, branding and advertising.
According to lore, the architect Sir Christopher Wren was visiting the site of St Pauls Cathedral to review work in progress and stopped to chat with three building workers performing the same task.
'What are you doing?' Sir Chris asks the workers.
First guy says 'I'm laying bricks'.
The second builder replies ' I'm just earning my wages'.
The third fella comes back with ' I'm helping to build a great cathedral'.
Three guys doing the same job, but only one of them is changing the world.
CowParade is a public art event that has been held in over 50 cities around the world including Paris, Tokyo, London and New York, and this year I was lucky enough to see many of the pieces in Margaret River WA.
Life size cow sculptures are painted and decorated by artists and set on display in various spaces, sponsored by businesses.
Margaret River is of course famous as centre of the wine producing region in South West Australia and many of the cows appear in the grounds of the winerys and other businesses in the area.
Public art considerations often include site specificity, community involvement and collaboration and somehow it's more inclusive and accessable in it's nature than it's gallery based cousin.
I bought a few bottles of wine too, funnily enough.
It was a public holiday here in Western Australia last Monday, Labour Day.
Labour Day is an annual holiday - celebrated in most countries of the world - that emerged out of the trade union movement, celebrating the economic and social achievements of workers.
One economic achievement being the ability of cafes and bars all across the WA region to add up to 15% public holiday tax onto the bill, and get away with it.
A fella I know who has started his own online business was telling me how exciting it was to get that first sale from that first customer.
He was also excited to tell me how his automated email response system sent out a pre-generated email thanking customer x for their purchase.
And would then send them a follow up mail in 30 days time with further product information.
I thought this was a seriously missed opportunity.
In 99% of cases, if you only have one customer surely this is a big chance to find out whether you can get permission to establish a bit of a relationship with them.
Who knows, they might even help you make a better product.
Even if you only have one customer, the customer doesn't know he's your only one.
Yes, I get that in some cases an impersonal automated response can signal big when small but it's very rare for that to be more benefitial. Even if you are big.
Thinking about this led me back to the seven rules to foster collaboration with customers, by Guy Kawasaki in 'Rules for Revolutionaries' and paraphrased here by me.
1. WAR IS OVER
Captive audiences, target customers, attacking markets etc.
We are NOT at war with our buyers, please.
And while we are at it, they are multi layered, multi faceted human beings not mindless 'consumers'.
2. GET IT FIXED
The product needs to be of a high enough quality (or at least have the potential) if your customers are going want to get involved with you.
3. FOCUS ON INDIVIDUALS
In a direct to customer situation the largest segment you are going to deal with is one person. This time it's personal.
4. TRANSACTION ACTION
You may have millions of transactions to think about but each customer only remembers their own.
5. KEEP ON KEEPIN' ON
Changes to a product or service should be made to make it better or easier for THE CUSTOMER to use, not the other way round.
6. GOOD MOANING
If customers are complaining it means they still give a shit.
Listen and act.
7. COLLABORATE
Create ways for customers to collaborate with you.
Customers will give a greater share of their wallet towards products or services they feel some ownership of.
Here on the main streets of Perth the banners declare 'It's OK to be Alright'.
FREE busses ferrying city workers and tourists alike to and from any destination in the city centre is more than alright, rewarding positive behaviour rather than punishing failure to comply this helps to keep down congestion.
Something for Boris to think about back in London.
Along Perth's many beaches you will also find FREE barbeque stations. Gassed up and ready for anyone who wants to use them.
Instead of the costly effort of clearing up after disposable beach barbeques the local council simply provides the utility. And the community maintains them.
I'm claiming civic utility as a catch all phrase for these type of initiatives. More to follow, no doubt.
By the way London. Did I mention it's 37 degrees out here today?
Gerald Laing is one of the legends, albeit somewhat unsung, of the British pop art movement of the 1960's and is still producing provocative works to this day, at the ripe old age of 74.
This morning I was fortunate enough to get a private gander at the print retrospective that just opened at the Morton Metropolis gallery, next door to G towers.
I was also taken through the back to a secret room where a few original paintings are hanging, including 'Belshazzar's Feast' (above), and 'Domestic Perspective' (the one with the hoover).
In a strange coincidence the shadowy figure pictured under Amy's armpit is in fact gallery co-owner Raye Cosbert.
Also on display is one of the last prints in circulation of the perhaps one of Laing's best known works 'Brigitte Bardot'. This one will set you back £12,000, but some of the other prints start at a more affordable £500.
To be fair, I'm not sure if this talk by Charles Fleischer is straight up comedy or if the science is for real, but as a lesson in how to deliver a presentation on a pretty dry topic - mathematics, numerology and string theory - in an way that makes you feel you are being hustled in Times square, it's a winner.
In the advertising business, for anyone who's wrestled with how to engage with an 'audience' around something like insurance products this will resonate.
Intrigue, stories, metaphor, pictures and humour, these are some of the things that connect with human beings and spread. Facts come second.
The story of when TV host Johnny Carson interviewed the Girl Scout who sold the most cookies door to door one year, is recalled by Neuromaketing blog During the interview Johnny asked: “What’s the secret to your success?”
The girl replied, “I just went to everyone’s house and said, ‘Can I have a $30,000 donation for the Girl Scouts?”
When they said ‘No,’ I said, ‘Would you at least buy a box of Girl Scout cookies?’
Reminds me of the down-and-out fella who stopped me in the street round near Liverpool St (at banker bonus time) and said
‘Can you spare £200 for a hooker and some cocaine, guv.’
I gave him £1 for a cup of coffee.
This is what neuromarketing calls a 'framing' strategy. By floating the £200 number, a pound seems like nothing in relation.
A classic tv interview with Tony James of Sigue Sigue Sputnik from 1988.
Notice how no questions phase Tony, he know's exactly what Sputnik is about:
'If Elvis formed a band in 1990 (ie the future), this is that band'
With one eye on a transmedia future he also states that he wanted to create a band, from the outset, that worked on TV and film as well as in a rock'n'roll context.
'If the people look great, learning to play is easy, but you can't do it the other way round'
Tony understands the power of a great story (or myth).
'[An article] in the Herald Tribune about this Russian street gang...SIGUE SIGUE SPUTNIK..TJ calls everyone excited..brings home the piece torn out....somehow it captures the essence of the band..the idea of this fagin like group of money launderers in Moscow is soo right..the name makes a great story every time its printed.. like all great names.. so different.. even the Sputnik connection is great.. mans first object in space ..like some kind of man made god....' 'We sit around for weeks playing the demos in the shop at ear splitting volume, looking like stars and wearing our own T SHIRTS... it was our art, everyone special, individual.....it was my fanaticism, everything had to be special, exactly so... like making the band stay up till 3 in the morning the night before the first gig just to paint the flight cases red with the sss logo in Japanese along the side so we would look like a futuristic army arriving...!'
Then they built the music product to match the story.
Brand essence, brand personality, brand building, brand positioning, brand equity, are stuff we talk about every day, but in the end what connects is the brand story.
I doesn't even have to be true, as long as it's something that we want to believe.
Once you figure out what a brand 'stands for' it's much easier to figure out what to do with their advertising and marketing.
Sounds pretty straightforward but I'm always surprised at how often it's either ignored or not deemed to be that important.
Particularly when looking for a role to play within the social media and using the social technologies that connect people.
Without a clear purpose then it's just papering over the cracks or sprinkling hundreds and thousands on the top.
This purpose is often described as 'brand essence' and lives at the centre of some kind of onion type analogy.
I would argue that it's simpler than an an onion, and is more akin to the diagram above.
And anyway, often this 'brand essence' may mean something to the people creating the chart but means bugger-all to a punter.
Once a clear purpose is established it becomes a life state that feeds into the outward facing physical manifestation of the brand (the things it says and does) and also into the spritual aspect (how we feel about it).
Built on shoddy or questionable 'essential' qualities will manifest itself as a reflection of those qualities in the physical and 'spiritual' truth of the brand.
The good news is, fixing the inside first, the essential, will alter the other two by default.
It can start right now and the effects begin immediately.
Herein lies the potential for innovation (and the ROI)...
Superfly is a crowd-sourced collaborative public art concept showcasing contributing artists and designers on posters in outdoor spaces nomally used for advertising. The first 'exhibition' took place in November last year on the streets of Dundee, in Scotland.
This weekend you can see a more conventional 'indoor' exhibition of that 'exhibition' as part of the Dundee Pop-up - a day of art events curated by creative social network Central Station.
It all gets a bit meta now as this weekends event is, in effect, being 'advertised' by means of posters containing similary crowd-sourced art in the same said outdoor 'advertising' spaces.
Yes, I'm still trying to figure it out too, but whatever it means, it's very interesting.
You know the old story...boy meets girl, girl gets caught on cctv holding up bank with a shotgun and becomes overnight celebrity, boy loses girl.
That was the premise of this track recorded around 1988 by my band at the time, Godzilla '56. We were a punk inspired mash up of Ramones, Sigue Sigue Sputnik and the Ultra Magnetic MC's - under the influence of MDMA - and recorded this with my future bellboy records collaborator Chris Cowie at his studio in Aberdeen.
This track only turned up after Chris pinged me to say he had found a box of dat tapes at the back of his shed the other week.
I particularly like the 'channeling' of Scotty Moore for the guitar solo and the absurdly inept wah wah drop out before the 'arch' key shift at about 2:39. Not to mention the awesome Godzillabass riff throughout.
There have been better players, who've scored more goals, done more charity work and been better role models but when the late great George Best is said to have admitted he would he would have given up drinking to play alongside Eric Cantona, you know you are dealing with a true star.
Thirteen years since he last professionally kicked a ball (or a hooligan) and we are still talking about him.
It's our sworn duty as disrupters, heretics and downright cheeky monkeys to get The Kaiser on the BBC's 'So you think YOU can dance?' utter dross-fest.
The producers have issued a challenge: 'Get creative and show us your moves by uploading a video response here. Some of your videos may even feature in the final show!'
Marcus has responded to that challenge [see clip below] so now I encourage anyone who finds themselves here to click through to The Kaiser's Groove on You Tube, rate the clip with 5 stars and do our bit to get him in that final show.
"In a world where advertisements are read only by people who choose to read them, the quality sharply improves. Freed from the meretricious need to appeal to passing strangers, advertisers ascend to a higher cultural level. The hokiness and smarm we associate with Madison Avenue dissipates and the advertiser makes an honest effort to convey as much information as possible in as compelling as possible a style. Advertising becomes an art of truth rather than an art of deceit." George Gilder's "Telecosm" 2000
'I think records were just a little bubble through time and those who made a living from them for a while were lucky. There is no reason why anyone should have made so much money from selling records except that everything was right for this period of time. I always knew it would run out sooner or later. It couldn't last, and now it's running out. I don't particularly care that it is and like the way things are going. The record age was just a blip. It was a bit like if you had a source of whale blubber in the 1840s and it could be used as fuel. Before gas came along, if you traded in whale blubber, you were the richest man on Earth. Then gas came along and you'd be stuck with your whale blubber. Sorry mate - history's moving along. Recorded music equals whale blubber. Eventually, something else will replace it.' Brian Eno - HT and finders fee to Lefsetz
Only Eno could make the connection between whale blubber and the floundering music business and make it sound scientific. The same analogy works for the advertising business too.
The question isn't whether we like what's happening or not, it's how are we going to deal with it and work with it.
Shit happens - roll with it.
Be ready for change - it never stops.
The more you want to hold on to the past the harder it will be when it inevitably changes.
The quicker you let go the better
If you're not ready and able to change, you'll become extinct.
Trust your gut, you'll know when a change is coming, keep your eyes peeled too, you'll see it.
BE the change - that way you are ahead of the rest
Watching TV last night and a trailer/ad for the new Chris Evans Radio 2 breakfast show comes on. The clip features Evans larking about in the Radio 2 studio interspersed with cuts to members of the public, as they all sing along with a tune while going about their daily business.
However, something very wrong is happening.
The tune they sing along to is Candyman, I think its the Sammy Davis Jr version but can't be sure, so stunned was I at the brazen audacity of what can only be described as an outrageous brand hijack.. Everyone knows DannyBaker is Candyman!
And has been for a long long time.
'Morning Candyman' being the customary greeting callers give on the DB Radio London Show and the late lamented All Day Breakfast Show podcast.
If we must have an Evans homage to Sammy Davis Jr, surely Sweet Gingerbread Man is more appropriate?
Evans and Baker are supposed to be mates anyway, DB having been writer on Toothbrush and TFI Friday etc.
Sometimes, nay often, the best commentary on advertising comes, not from within the industry or associated media, but from other sources.
Gillette have launched a new TV campaign and microsite titled 'Gillette Champions' with Tiger Woods, Thierry Henry and Roger Federer.
'They were chosen for both their outstanding sporting performances and also their performances off the field, in their charitable actions, support of social causes and for their reputations as icons of true sporting values,' said Nathan Homer, Gillette brand manager.
This comment on the letters page of the current issue of Viz neatly encapsulates a thought that had crossed my mind also..
'With regard to those razor ads, Thierry Henry is now a football cheat and Tiger woods is shagging six birds behind his wife's back.
What's Roger Federer going to pull out of the bag to top the other two?
Perhaps he'll get photographed smoking crack in a Nazi uniform whilst bumming a tramp?'
I think even his royal purple-ness would approve of this comic book interpretation slash mashup of an iconic album cover by illustrator of repute Cliff Chiang.
You would imagine I'd be on board with this 'social media is just like punk rock' piece.
I am, kinda, however, as a purist (!), the use of stereotype 'punk' images and cliches - and seeming dismissal of the stuff that came along in the same wave as punk (Costello, Blondie, Cheap Trick etc) - is a slight cause for concern.
Like those 80's retrospective TV shows that would have you believe it was all shoulderpads, Duran Duran and Boy George rather than overcoats, the Smiths then smiley t-shirts and converse.
Attention to detail..AND the big picture, please.
Nice try but another one to file under 'close...but no cigar'.
Further impetus for me to write the definitive article, I suppose.
Trendspotting and the like can be helpful in this business but we must also be prepared for those cultural curveballs that come out of nowhere.
Like the fella once said..'The best way to predict the future is to invent it'.
Adam Ant was adamant about this in 'Goody Two Shoes' 'We don't follow fashion That would be a joke You know we're gonna set them, set them So ev'ryone can take note, take note'
Someone once said something about the test of a truly great brand coming from the answer to one question:
'Would you tattoo yourself with the logo?' With Harley-Davidson, for many the answer is a 'yes'.
Connecting with those type of fans, the few, the diehards who have the tattoo, is important, if you want an idea to spread.
Harley-Davidson say they don't sell motorbikes. They sell an idea. What they sell is the idea that 43 year old accountants (or advertising douchebags) can dress in leather, ride through small towns and have people be afraid of them.
Fans will get you more fans, better than any advertising.
Harley cooked up a participation idea to connect with the fans (and connect them with each other) - The H-D Mosaic.
Fans submit photos of themselves on their bikes, over 10,000 images submitted created a giant mosaic of their logo. Each image has an individual code so you can find it within the composite iand share it with others via twitter and facebook etc
The final mosaic is also used for the cover of their 2010 printed catalogue.
Using fans to help create something not only gives them a way to participate and feel an ownership of the brand, but it also gives them a reason to spread the idea.
Is this the near future of mobile communications? Japanese mobile voice, data and multimedia services NTT DOCOMO have produced this vid, The Road to Hokusai's Waterfall, taking a peek into the technology of the next ten years or so. Some things, like e-paper and quasi-AR, are already here or here-abouts.
'a future in which people of all ages can enjoy richer, safer, and more convenient communications lifestyles than ever before...people-friendly technology that will help to bring us all closer together'
While the possibility of creating my own Zombie Army is a notion I've kicked around for some time, imagine my disappointment to learn that the retro ads in the above picture are, unfortunately, not real.
Texas Stadium (home of the Dallas Cowboys American Football team) is to be demolished in March this year as they move to a new hi-tech state of the art stadium sponsored by SonyHD.
However, Kraft Foods is to be the official sponsor of said demolition of the old stadium. The demolition will be called the 'Cheddar Explosion' to promote Kraft's Macaroni Cheese.
Yes, you heard.
'Kraft Macaroni & Cheese is excited about the possibility of working with the city of Irving, Texas, to be involved in the explosion of Texas Stadium,' said Joanne Freed, a vice president with Hunter PR (spokespersons for Kraft).
This could be a trend worth importing into the UK. My beloved Aberdeen FC are moving to a new stadium shortly. Aitkens Bakery would be my choice of demolition sponsor for the old one. With the demolition ball made up like an extra fired rowie.
I see Forrester are also on board with the thinking on the role of 'paid for' media (advertising, sponsorship etc)in relation to owned media and earned attention.
Round these parts we have been saying for some considerable time that advertising was not dead, as such, but it's role was massively changing and was no longer automatically the lead component of any campaign.
That lead role has been taken in the earned space, principally the VALUE that a brand can create within a situation where it is relevant. This value manifests itself in myriad forms, but the upshot is...
Creating value gives you something to advertise.
Not the product benefits - people go elsewhere for those - but the 'intangibles', the value and meaning that the brand creates.
Three steps to heaven...
1. Connect with fans via their passions 2. Create value in those situations where you are relevant. Advertise that. 3. Fans will actively seek out your advertising and spread it.
Some things are just plain wrong. Certain brand extensions for instance. Scrappy-Doo was one Bat-mite another. The Igster and mini-Iggy is the latest, I have no idea what this is about.
One of the key reasons why the mobile phone has become so important in marketing and advertising is the simple fact that mobile technology essentially enables ALL other media to become interactive. This is important from a product development perspective too.
With that in mind consider this from Japanese developers Mobile Art Lab: The PhoneBook.
It does what it says on the tin – a phone combined with a book. A picture book which contains a 'playing window' cut into it; the reader can then read the pages while interacting with the content on the iphone which is inserted into the book.
‘Group’ loyalty is almost always associated with disparagement with other groups (football being case in point – most religion another, of course).
I mentioned this earlier today in a comment on Simon's blog in relation to his points on the online 'echo chamber'
He noted: 'I’m more interested in is an unwillingness to engage with alternative viewpoints. Through our emails, RSS feeds, Twitter streams and selections of articles to click through, we are self-selecting the news and views we read. We lack balance and nuance in our understanding of issues. This can in turn lead to close mindedness.'
One thing leads to another and I stumbled upon the above clip from Fox News on the Tiger Woods kerfuffle.
'Buddhism is inferior to Christianity when it comes to forgiveness of sins'
So says Fox News pundit Brit Hume.
His 'advice' for Tiger Woods is that he should turn his back on Buddhism and become a Christian to be forgiven for cheating on his wife.
Interestingly enough the Sanskrit (classic language of Indian Buddhist texts) word for tiger is in fact Vyaghra, ie Viagra. '...the tiger is believed to have multiple powers that range from producing rain to fighting dragons, healing the sick and banishing children’s nightmares.'
The cynic in me wonders if this is exploitative bullshit, but on the other hand the continued imprisonment of elected Burmese President Aung San Suu Kyi is an issue that needs any exposure as it can get, virtually ignored as it is by western governments, so we will give Chrysler the benefit of the doubt for the meantime.
I'm loving everything about the Scottish independent brewery BrewDog. The style, the brand, the philosophy, the disruption, the attitude. There is nothing mediocre about these guys.
They say: Our beers are in no way commercial or mainstream. We do not merely aspire to the proclaimed heady heights of conformity through neutrality and blandness. We are unique and individual.
With beers named 77 Lager, Trashy Blonde, Punk IPA and Hardcore IPA what's not to love?
Weighing in at an ABV of 32%, BrewDog’s ‘Tactical Nuclear Penguin’ beats the previous record of 31% held by German beer brand Schorschbraer.
And with their offshoot label punkdog they can offer personalised labelled beers.
Also through the Equity for Punks share scheme, they are looking for 10,000 fans to become part of the journey.
The web-ness was created by Aberdeen agency Hampton Associates, good work chaps. I shall be cracking open a couple of Punk IPA's in your honour over the festives.
Poor X Factor winner Joe McElderry, robbed of his moment in the Christmas spotlight by a bunch of grungers from more than a decade past.
Gentle pretty thing Who only had one spring You bravely faced the world Ready for anything
One cannot argue with the numbers: X Factor with around 4 months of prime time telly pulling in 19million for the final show and uncalculable mainstream media coverage via daytime tv, newspapers etc rustled up 450,000 sales of Bambi’s ditty.
Versus
The Rage Against The Machine's 'fan' driven ‘campaign’ built up initially on Facebook with around 750,000 sign-ups where around 500,000 followed through with their 79p. In any marketing-speak; as a conversion rate it looks good.
What’s also interesting is that the X Factor itself had a sizeable social media backchannel through the duration, particularly real-time commentary on Twitter.
The idea to subvert the Christmas chart spread like wildfire because it adhered to some of the basic principles of ‘viral-ness’.
1 - It was easy to understand – buy the track within a certain time frame, if enough people do it, it will achieve it’s goal.
2 - It polarised opinion – You are eitheir ‘for’ or ‘against’ the idea.
3 - It was easy to participate – there was only a couple of things to do, pass on the idea and buy the song.
4 - It’s all about me – The participants have to WANT it to spread, participation makes a social statement about ME (I’m about proper music vs manufactured pop).
Meanwhile every Tom, Dick, Harry and Social Media Expert jumps on the Rage ‘victory’ as being vindication and proof of the corresponding ‘victory’ of social media over broadcast media ‘marketing’.
While it’s another case study in the continuing shift in control from broadcaster/brand to the users - and both wee Joe and RATM playing the role of social objects in a groundswell - from a music perspective it’s a bit depressing.
I made my peace with the X Factor some months ago once I realised it had nothing whatsoever to do with music.
As in life, in that for there to be good there must be corresponding evil, so also for there to be music there must be anti-music.
When I was a nipper we had a saying about Top of the Pops – ‘every Thursday until you die’. Tip of the Poops died out first, but the likes of X Factor are it’s natural replacement.
The Top 40 was the last bastion of the TOTP era, this latest subversion is surely one of the final nails in it’s coffin.
But If I were a Rage fan I’d be a bit miffed at ‘my band’ being reduced to mere spectacle, The biggest selling song of the year, yet any meaning reduced to it’s ‘symbolic’ interplay as a social device in a cod-situationist spoof.
The irony, of course, being that a 5th consecutive Christmas number one from the Cowell stable is not much of a story. This weeks events made sure that X Factor was still newsworthy.
So what happens next?
Bambi will surely be number one next week as – in another irony – the social media ‘campaign’ fireworks burst and go dark.
And we look forward to another 51 weeks of corporate hip hop, sanitised r’n'b, careerist pop and wishy-washy do-gooder rock at the top of the charts.
Which no proper music fan pays attention to anyway.
In 1977 when the Sex Pistols released their single ‘God Save the Queen’ it entered the UK chart at number one . That week the top 40 was the the Top 39 as the chart publishers refused to even list the song that had polarised a nation in the Queen’s Silver Jubilee week.
But then, you knew I was going to dig that one out...
Unbelievably it's 30 years ago this week since the Clash released their 'difficult' 3rd album London Calling. Still the greatest of all time IMHO.
I can still remember legging it down to The Other Record Shop in Aberdeen after school - fiver in hand - to buy it.
The Clash were famously in debt to CBS for many years due to the fan friendly price point. A fiver for a double LP in 1979 was commercial suicide for a band relying on major label funding for recording, production, manufacturing and distribution.
The Clash were, of course, masters of branding. Not marketing tricks (they often failed at that) - but having a single, ownable brand idea and sticking with it, building the story (or myth)at every touchpoint, but having an inclusive story that the audience could feel ownership of.
I'm reminded of Tom Peters' top 5 brand questions.
1 - WHO are YOU? 2 - WHY are YOU here? 3 - How are YOU UNIQUE? 4 - How can YOU make a DRAMATIC DIFFERENCE? 5 - WHO CARES about you?
This Jon Savage nugget easily answered all of those questions.
'The first thing that needs to be said is that the Clash’s leg end is deserved. After the middle of 1977, when the Sex Pistols became remote, stalled in outrage, the Clash be came the leading UK punk rock group: it fell to them to articulate, advise (for that was in their nature) and gal vanise the energies of a new and rapidly growing rock community. Like the Sex Pistols, their ambitions went be yond music: they aimed to dramatise a city – London – and a country in crisis. As their name baldly stated, they were programmed for confrontation, contradiction and conflict – and they got all three in spades.'
Below is a Mick's 'hilarious' take on what constitutes a 'sell-out'.
'Users simply tell SendSocial the Twitter ID or email address of the person they'd like to send a letter or package.
SendSocial then sends a request to the intended recipient to get their approval.
Only if that person agrees to accept the delivery does SendSocial get their address details; it does not, however, share that information with the person on the sending end.
The sender, meanwhile, is then informed that the mailing can proceed.'
Again demonstrating web behaviour transference into the physical world, and the trend towards consumers taking control and protecting of their own data.
What could be more engaging at Christmas - after dinner and the Queens speech, of course - than having all the family gather round with a glass of sherry and play a game of Guess Poo. The classic 'flip and find the faces' game, is now the classic 'flip and find the faeces' game.
I confidently predict that this will be the number two christmas game this year.
I thought everyone was up to speed with the 'digital comb-over' thing coined the other week by Jeremiah Owyang?
He says: 'Many companies are entering the social/green/community space, with hopes of impressing customers, yet despite their best intentions, they could come across as inauthentic, and be damaging their own brand.'
The new marketing and social-everything is a committment to changing the way stuff is done. (Im)permanently. Not a badge to stick on when it suits or a few buzzwords to ping around.
You have to mean it, man. Or else you're just a part timer.
'They play their records very loud - They pogo in the bedroom - In front of the mirror - But only when their mum's gone out' 'Here they come - La la la la laaa la - La la la la laaa la - The part time punks'
I wanted to illustrate this with a vid of said tune by The Television Personalities but there's not one on You Tube.
I did, however, find this version by a cool multi-instrumentalist 8 year old kid called Dennis.
Game developers 36peas alerted some key gamer types to the launch of their Christmas 'Pheasant plucker' iphone game with this cute bit of intrigue in the mail.
Golf legend and (it has to be pointed out) style icon, Gary Player famously said, in response to a call from the crowd speculating that his near perfect drive was a lucky shot, 'yeah, and the more i practice the luckier I get'.
The interesting thing about that quote is how - in the pressure situation of a masters golf tournament - GP felt relaxed enough to respond in a cool way with some style and wit. No-one got a 4 wood wrapped round their neck.
Why is it some people seem to be more lucky than others? Perhaps it's skill rather than pure chance.
Richard Wiseman in this old article from the Telegraph certainly subscribes to that view. 'My research revealed that lucky people generate good fortune via four basic principles. They are skilled at creating and noticing chance opportunities, make lucky decisions by listening to their intuition, create self-fulfilling prophesies via positive expectations, and adopt a resilient attitude that transforms bad luck into good.'
In a nutshell the key to good fortune is about relaxation, being open to the unexpected, trusting your gut and being alert to opportunities as they arise.
As a youngster I let many opportunities pass by, principally due to being erm, let's say 'distracted'. As i've got older and more mindful I'm finding that my 'luck' has tended to improve.
Here's Wisemans 3 techniques to develop which will maximise good fortune:
1 - Unlucky people often fail to follow their intuition when making a choice, whereas lucky people tend to respect hunches. Lucky people are interested in how they both think and feel about the various options, rather than simply looking at the rational side of the situation. I think this helps them because gut feelings act as an alarm bell - a reason to consider a decision carefully.
2 - Unlucky people tend to be creatures of routine. They tend to take the same route to and from work and talk to the same types of people at parties. In contrast, many lucky people try to introduce variety into their lives. For example, one person described how he thought of a colour before arriving at a party and then introduced himself to people wearing that colour. This kind of behaviour boosts the likelihood of chance opportunities by introducing variety.
3 - Lucky people tend to see the positive side of their ill fortune. They imagine how things could have been worse. In one interview, a lucky volunteer arrived with his leg in a plaster cast and described how he had fallen down a flight of stairs. I asked him whether he still felt lucky and he cheerfully explained that he felt luckier than before. As he pointed out, he could have broken his neck.
He's Jesus of Cool, Nick the Knife and the Abominable Showman amongst other things.
A bit of Wednesday love to the (relatively) unsung godfather of punk, Nick Lowe. Producer of The Feelgoods, The Damned, Elvis Costello and many more, plus one of the finest songwriters this country has seen.
He earned the nickname 'Basher' from his production style: 'bash it out now, tart it up later'
A methodology I continue to apply to much of my work, to this day.
If, like me, you've been glamoured by the HBO series 'True Blood' (I'm mid-way through season2) you'll be pleased to know that the blood substitute drink, Tru Blood, 'enjoyed' by the more 'mainstreaming' vampires is also available as a logical brand extension for humans.
I love the drinkaware-esque cautionary line 'HBO reminds Vampires to drink responsibly'.
Sadly, not available in the UK yet :(
'Bill, you were just licking blood out of my head. I don't think it gets much more personal than that.'
If this post seems to flow effortlessly with serenity and peace it's because I'm writing using Ommwriter, a text processing application created by creative agency Herraiz Soto & Co.
You will never go back to Word after using this...
What they say: 'Ommwriter is a humble attempt to recapture what technology has snatched away from us: our capacity to concentrate.
Ommwriter is a simple text processor that firmly believes in making writing a pleasure once again, reinvindicating the close relationship between writer and paper. The more intimate the relation, the smoother the flow of inspiration.'
As one of the world centres for video game design and development, Dundee is home to Realtimeworlds, of Grand Theft Auto, Lemmings and more recently, the double-BAFTA winning, multi-million seller Crackdown (and soon to be released APB, subject of much excited babble at NEoN).
Also Denki, creators of much of the game content on Sky interactive and DirecTV in the US and the much anticipated Quarrel for Xbox which will debut in 2010.
Among the many other speakers i caught the session with legendary Pixar animator Bud Luckey (who was in the same hotel as me). While Bud is best known for his work on the likes of Toy Story, Finding Nemo, the Incredibles etc he cut his teeth in the ad business with the likes of Tony the Tiger and also early Sesame street (his viruoso banjo skizzles in full effect).
I also heard Mark Daniels of New Media Scotland give some exposure to the many interactive arts projects thriving in Scotland, including the BAFTA winning Cybraphon (from Edinburgh-based artist collective FOUND) an interactive mechanical 'band in a box'. The Cybraphon’s performance is affected by online sentiment as it trawls the web for reviews and comments about itself.
Previous memories of Dundee principally involved being ambushed en route to the railway station by the Hilltoon huns from Dens Park and Tannadice following 'New firm' clashes in the late 80's, but Dundee is an altogether more cultured city these days.
Where else could have a statue of Desperate Dan on the main street? Looking forward to my next visit.
Consumers 'don't trust' social network sites: 'According to exclusive research for Marketing magazine by Lightspeed Research, only 33% of consumers trust social networking sites to provide the detailed independent information they need to make purchasing decisions, with 23% not trusting them. That compares to 68% who trust other online sources of information such as search, product review and price comparison sites (with only 5% not trusting).'
It must have been a slow week for news over at Marketing magazine for this to be the headline story. Have you read a more vacuous, ignorant and just plain stupid statement this year? Who goes to a social networking site looking for 'detailed independent product information'? That's not what they are for. And what are 'other online sources'? Who writes product reviews? Usually other people. Do you trust search? Or what you find?
This is minor bullshit but it's the kind of thing that a few clients/sceptics/curmudgeons/sheepwalkers read that then sets us back months as they scurry back to the familiar and mediocre, digital comb-overs still just about intact.
A wise man once said 'You cannot skin-up on an mp3'. This is very true, for that purpose you need a 12" cardboard record sleeve. Some these sleeves also come as rather tasty bits of graphic design.
Every year artvinyl.com select 50 of the outstanding examples of sleeve design and ask us to pick a winner. 2009 voting is open now at the artvinyl site.
Of the 50 excellent pieces, my money is on the sleeve for Jarvis Cocker's Rough Trade album 'Further complications', designed by Jarvis himself with long-time Pulp collaborator, and Designers Republic founder Ian Anderson.
Turns out there is a scientific reason why fizzy pop tastes better out of a glass bottle. This, and many more secrets of the soda trade revealed by John Nese of Galcos Soda Pop Stop in LA - the ultimate soda-lovers destination with over 500 niche soda pop brands on the shelves.
This guy knows what he is doing and why he is doing it.
You'll, no doubt, be pleased - as indeed I was - to know that National Car Parks have got Christmas 'all wrapped up'. Yes,'tis the season for inane drivel.
Brands with nothing to say, suddenly feel the need to add to the noise with pointless non-communications, usually incorporating some kind of 'amusing' festive language.
'Yule' be sure to see plenty more 'tree-mendous' 'crackers' like this in the coming weeks...[take one of your tablets, now - Ed]
In this advertising/marketing business we tend to not spend enough time thinking about the stuff that really matters, the human being stuff, creating value and meaning, but a lot of time thinking about the abstract stuff: strategy, data, ROI etc. Focussing on outcomes and getting stuff done rather than processes and asking 'why?'.
That's what I get out of Hugh's cartoon. It's kinda about 'mindfulness'. Being present. Not being distracted. Mindfulness itself isn't difficult. What's difficult is remembering to be mindful.
No reason for posting this other than it's ridiculously happy. The mighty Shonen Knife do the Carpenters. Not sure why there are English subtitles though...
There's a great piece of advice I heard around how to climb Mount Everest.
Start at the bottom and keep climbing until you reach the top.
The theory is easy, the practice is somewhat more difficult.
How should brands meaningfully participate in social networks and social media? Look for situations where you can create value, and be relevant then start doing something.
The theory is easy, the practice is somewhat more difficult.
There's a series of TED from last year featuring talks about urgent need for a new focus on compassion. That series was the forerunner to the launch of the Charter For Compassion which launches later this month.
He asks 'How do we, as a world, start to demonstrate real compassion, practically, politically, socially and economically'.
The answer is simple. How do you learn to swim? By swimming. How do you learn to ride a bike? By riding.
But his killer nugget comes right at the end.
You have to fake it to make it.
To be compassionate you have to start acting compassionate. Even if it feels forced at the beginning. It then becomes a natural behaviour over time. This is sometimes known as a positive feedback loop.
So back to brands in social networks and social media? Look for situations where you can create value, and be relevant then start doing something.
Fake it to make it. Start doing it, act as though you want to create value, act as though you are being authentic and relevant. Act as though customer is a priority and over time the interdependent benefits are apparent and it becomes real.
The theory is easy, the practice is somewhat more difficult.
