Having held a deep burning resentment for anyone enjoying the Christmas spirit these past few weeks, I have now finally met my deadlines for Uni work, competitions and applications, so I can be merry with Christmas joy at last!
Walking through Hamley's toy store in London also helped...
It's been a struggle to blog (and sleep) recently, with a life crushing work load from uni, applications and competitions, but I felt it necessary to share my joy at today pulling off the dream presentation ending.
That's right, the novelty T-shirt revealed from behind a jacket finish!
Anyway, back to work...
I managed to get to the first round of interviews for a Graduate Placement I applied for. It will be my first one ever, so I'm looking forward to the challenge and I'm sure it'll be a great learning experience, even if nothing else comes from it.
A few more years of this and I may actually begin to know my way around London.
I know pay as you go is the phone payment choice of children and I should grow up, get a contract and shut up, but I didn't know just how much for kids it was until I heard the new voice of Vodafone.
Now, I'm all for making company phone lines seem more human, and I have had some good experiences with Virgin Media who have done that recently.
However, when I want to check my top-up balance, a lengthy chat with homecoming queen 'Vicky' is not really what I want. Her 'OKs' and 'oh, by the ways' make a process, which took too long in the first place, even longer.
Not only that, but they seem to have retained the same old robotic voice for the personal details, which makes it an even more jarring switch from the standard stuff than before.
A friendly tone of voice is fine, but not when all you want to hear is some numbers!
Today was one of the most confusing days of my life. It started off with me being excited about having a free ticket to see We are Scientists, a band I'm particularly fond of.
I did wonder why it was free, and naturally assumed it had been scheduled for noon because it was an intimate acoustic set. (I love that term).
As we sat down, it soon became clear there were no instruments being set up, just a Powerpoint projected on a screen with the words 'Brain Thrust Mastery'.
I genuinely began to think the band had been brainwashed and were traveling round Universities trying to get others to join their (probably evil) cult.
Then the Powerpoint started, and I was relieved (but still confused) to see that it was the band taking the piss out of cults and self help schemes. Which they continued to do, for the rest of their hour long set.
Having been prepared to boo them off at the lack of music, it turned out to be quite an enjoyable comedy show, but it was still not at all what I expected when I got tickets to see a rock band.
Their music videos have always used comedy, and judging by their show, it is something they really enjoy. It was kind of heart warming to see them reveling in the chance to do something they love to a small crowd in Stoke on Trent, when they can, and do, sell out much bigger and more glamorous sets with their music.
I know the Ad industry is a hard one to crack, but I hope, even if I never make it to the top, that I continue to enjoy it every time I see a new brief, as much as those guys enjoyed performing comedy.
Whilst working on those projects this week, I came across a promotion I couldn't refuse. A free computer game from one of my favourite series of all time, Sam 'n' Max.
Not only that, but it must surely have contributed to my ability to find creative solutions to problems. If getting a giant freelance detective dog to put a fish shaped magnet on a severed hand, then the severed hand on a golf ball retriever to get a ring out of the worlds largest ball o' twine didn't help me think outside the box, then I don't know what did!
After going to the cinema last night, I was hit by the usual previews for horror films that appear at this time of year. However, it seems that as the Halloweens have past, all the good horror names have been taken (then remade about 5 times each).
So, in the next few weeks I'll be looking forward to seeing the terrifying 'Pathology' and the gruesome 'Shrooms'. They don't kill 'em like they used to.
A recent post by NP on confidence when presenting work made me think about my own approach to it. Last Friday, my team and I had to do a group presentation to win the chance to win the chance to win the chance to present at Cannes. We had some good plans for making the EU more appealing in the UK and this got us past the first round, but then something strange happened...
I realised I actually enjoy doing presentations. It may not seem like a big deal, but compared to when I first arrived at Uni and felt like I was talking to a group of (vaguely interested) lions, it's quite a change.
Exactly what has caused this change I don't know. It may just be the sheer volume of presentations I've done has made me lose the sense of pressure involved. On the other hand, it may be that I'm just proud of the work I do now.
I feel like my ideas and insights are actually worthwhile and relevant these days, so rather than needing to do a presentation to pass the course, I now want to do them to show something I have found, or come up with, that I think people will find interesting.
Plus I like using pretty pictures....
Having recently been thinking of song titles/lyrics for a project I was working on, I was reminded of how important it is to think about everything to do with that song/band/scene etc. before using it.
One of the funniest examples I can remember of this going wrong is with Smile.co.uk. the Internet bank.
Now while I love the song 'Smile' by the Supernaturals, it does mean that I continue to sing it in my head after the advert finishes and unfortunately for them, I remember that the next line after the cut is:
'You'd better smile... because that's all you've got left.'
Probably not the best tag-line for a bank...
A quick question for any business types out there. Would you still keep a business card if it was slightly thicker (about 2x) then a regular one? And keep in mind, it would be a visual delight! All opinions appreciated, even if they're just a personal, curse filled attack on my character... Thanks!
I recently came across 'Doy Bags' (www.doybags.com). A company run by a women's co-operative in the Philippines, that uses old recycled juice packs to create some pretty cool looking bags.
To me, the company seems exactly how a business of this kind should be run. The items are really good, but not overly priced, it is environmental in a way that is innovative and can be easily seen, but most of all, the website makes the whole business seem very transparent, even using pictures of the workers and the recycling/making process.
There are so many energy drinks out these days, that the only way I can decide which one to buy is by mentally playing out a fight between the animals they're named after. Which is why the poor Red Rooster will never pass my lips... I just can't picture it beating a bull or a bear, let alone a shark!
Luckily Coca-Cola have made a new energy drink ridiculous enough to beat them all. Sure, it would be pleasant to have the energy of a bull, but why bother when I could be a 'RELENTLESS INFERNO'.
My week of work experience at Public has come to an end. And a very useful experience it was indeed.
I shall soon post the results of my exploits. Look away now if you like smoking...
I turned on to the Community Shield yesterday, as you do, when I realised the score was no where to be seen.
It took a few seconds (5 according to the Sky box) for it to appear from behind the channel select bar. It all stank of a pointless change to the design, merely for the sake of changing something. No one had seemed to have taken the time to intergrate what was on the screen with what Sky's own products put over the screen.
I thought about all the times I've had to watch football on crappy projectors in pubs and not even been able to see the bottom of the screen. Then it hit me, maybe it's all a cunning plan on Sky's part to catch pubs that pay for a normal Sky subscription.
Often the reason I notice that I cant see the bottom of the screen is because I can't tell if the little pint glass is in the bottom right, showing that it's allowed to be shown to a big audience. So, now pubs will have to show us all if they've been forced to pay up or not.
Pointless or cunning then? Maybe just lucky...
"I was driving past a bus stop full of children". Oh no, I thought, it's another one of those graphic adverts which shows children getting hit by cars to warn people off speeding/drink driving.
No wait, it's a National Accident Helpline advert. About a car hitting another car. The children were fine and completely irrelivant, but boy did it get my attention.
I think this could be the start of a whole new style of advertising:
"I was walking down the street the other day when I saw a child being held at gunpoint. Later that day I ate some Pringles. Once you pop, you can't stop!"
The other day, to my suprise, I recieved a certificate and cheque in the post for being voted one of the Art, Media and Design department's top Level 2 students.
In fact my work is so well known in the department that they even spelt my name wrong!
Still it was quite an honour, though I was disappointed at the lack of a ceremony. Sometimes I wonder why I ever bought those formal shorts...
Thanks to Rob Campbell and all the judges who liked my idea for the APSOTW competition.
It says about my idea here: http://robcampbell.wordpress.com/2007/07/13/report-card-apsotw-synopsis/
Plus the comments go on to a much more serious issue as well, so you should read it anyway!
I've started up a new online portfolio site,
http://www.mortfolio.co.uk/
It's still hugely unfinished, but feedback is welcome!
It shouldn't work, but despite a quite disappointing external make-over and the fact they're alligning themselves with a store famed for its over pricing and food poisoning, I still want to go to a Kwik-E-Mart 7-Eleven and buy a Squishy.
Strange that even after years of falling standards the show is still such an important part of our culture. More importantly it paves the way for my dream of opening a pirate themed pub.
On guard, touche! Oh that is so cliche.
This brief was quite a difficult one for me, as although in other briefs I have often looked to adjusting things in-store to fit a brand, this was the first time it had been the only objective.
My task, individually this time, was to reinvent Virgin Mobile stores, to make them as fresh, technologically advanced and exciting as the likes of Apple and Urban Outfitters.
Having already done a brief for Virgin Bingo, I had a good idea of what the virgin brand as a whole stood for, but further research into Virgin Mobile on it's own lead me to the brand values that my new store would focus on.
#Transparency
#100% Human
#Flexibility
These suggested that Virgin Mobile wanted their customers to be able to see how every part of the business was honest and trustworthy, because you could see it was all run by people like them, trying to do their best.
But, what better way to show the customers the store is run by people like them, than to let them design it. This also fitted in with research I had done on phone features, which suggested photos and music were the most used of the latest additions to mobiles.
And so, 'Your Virgin Mobile Store' was born. Customers will create the artwork for everything from in store posters to top-up cards, depending on the resolution of their phone cameras. The only rule was that the picture has to have a phone on it somewhere. Photo's can then be transferred to the in-store phones for appraisal.
Research into the stores Virgin mobile wanted to be like led to further improvemtns to my idea. The strong use of music in Urban Outfitters could be adjusted to suite Virgin Mobile, by allowing users to send their favourite songs to the in store phones, ready to be played in the shop once they've been approved.
Apple is famous for it's in-store tutorials, and this ethic has been further expanded on by Virgin Mobile. As well as having people able to show customers how to use phone functions and even photoshop to help with their pictures, the store will also encourage experimentation with the latest features of phones.
My research found that many of the latest features are just to complicated for many consumers to grasp. Therefore, to encourage this experimentaion without them having to spent money, the in store phones will be used to solve mystery puzzles. Hidden away in the test phones emails, videos, favourite WAP sites etc. are clues to a secret celebrity, who will come to a virgin Mobile store that month.
People who solve the mysteries will then get the chance to meet the celebrity and photograph them for use in Virgin's promotions. This follows on from the extensive use of celebrities in Virgin Mobiles recent campaigns and provides a real encouragement for experimentaion with phones.
To help all these features really draw in the technology hungry customers Virgin Mobile are aiming for, the limited window space available to the stores will showcase the customer photos and music in a very original way.
State of the art touch screen and speaker technology will mean that the window display will come alive, as passers by are able to change how the store front looks by touching the window and changing the photos being shown. Not only that, but they can also change the music being played, which will burst out the window as the glass is transformed into a giant speaker.
Together, I hope these features would not only attract these technology hungry young people, but also keep them coming back to see what's changed and keep them experimenting with the phones and interacting with the brand. (Without the use of YouTube :D)
In the second semester, I entered a competition brief, set by D&AD.
This brief was done in a group of four with myself, David Talbot, Oliver Moxham and Christiaan Huynen.
Together we had to use a range of ambient media to generate awareness, excitement and support for the Puma brand during the 2008 Olympic Games, with a campaign based around the concept of 'Perfomance Couture'.
Here is the research log that went along with the Virgin Bingo project.
http://www.pixelink.org/comicbook3.pdf
It's presented as a branded comic book, to match the concept. We wanted to create something that would stand out in a portfolio and really make people want to read something which is basically just research. This example was the most off the wall of the research logs we made, but I think providing a narrative helped to keep people reading.
If anyone out there spends a lot of time looking at potential employee's portfolios, it would really help me to get some feedback on whether this sort of thing would be more appealing than a straight presentation of work.
Thank you for browsing.
Right then, to start things off I thought I would share details of the briefs I have been doing at university recently, in preperation for entering the big ol' world of advertising.
The most enjoyable brief I was set this semester was given to us by Lean Mean Fighting Machine. It involved teams of two using new media to make Virgin Bingo appear to be the most exciting and fun bingo to be found on the internet.
We were basically meant to aim for their current market and the people already likely to play online bingo. So, my partner for that brief, David Talbot and I did the usual research on the company, competition and new media in general.
Our research led us to believe that interaction between players, using Wee Mees would be a great way of recreating the fun of a bingo hall online. Wee Mees had already become popular in sites such as Friends Reunited, often used by the young to middle aged women we were aiming for.
I am currently snooping around the website, pressing buttons to see what they do.
Something wonderful will no doubt follow...
