Duh... why did it take us so long?

Imagine the brilliance? no paper role.
These kind of obvious zingers remind me that the voice between my discovery of the next post-it note, or the zipper is becoming deeper and deeper apart.

However, in the eco-fail department... SunChips pulled its overly crinkly, bags in the US... but not in Canada (yeah us).

Influencers Film

Of course its a film... Influencers do not make movies. Jeeessh!!

I totally poached this from one of my fave influencers, Kerri.
Check her amazingness out on tumber here.

INFLUENCERS TRAILER from R+I creative on Vimeo.

looks like something we should all see.

LeBron - what?

Nicole, thank you for always sending me great little tid-bits to comment on.
They always make me stop and think.

Today's gift from Nicole is LeBron's new NIKE commercial.


Yes, LeBron we get it... you think we (or is it Cleveland?) demonizes you for wanting to play your best basketball ever. All I have to say is 'Just do it.'
You earned it, you worked hard. Go out and win big. Just don't forget to give back.


As for Wieden Kennedy, who I think did this ad, I love your work (one link per word). Almost always. But I agree with my dear friend Nicole, perhaps a tad 'Tiger-inspired.. non?'. I think the concept is interesting - trying to humanize a god (okay... we all know that's a stretch). But is this the strongest idea? (you already know how I feel about the execution)...No, I don't think it is. Too soon. I would've liked something less selfish, less LeBron. Less King James. I would've preferred something about the good that comes from change and challenge. Challenges are everywhere, but its what you make out of them that separates the players from the ballers (or something like that).

Anyhoo... LeBron, I wish you well. I am super fan. If I didn't already admire (read love, but that sounds creepy) Steve Nash so much, maybe you would be my #1(3).

Say hi to Bosh...where is his ad? Toronto is still feeling burned.

Truth

Idle hands do the devils work.

I always loved the honestly of this line (althought admitedly I have not been exposed to the Smiths a whole lot)....and I like the clever imagery that accompanies it in this piece... courtesy of Cup of Jo.

Kanye's Opus

I watched the whole thing.
Did you?
Click here to watch Kanye's Runaway.

Personally, for me the highlight was seeing Vanessa Beecroft's art direction in action.

Superior Positioning

Over the past few weeks I have been working on a brand positionig exercise for a client. The brand is one that sees itself as 'superior' to the competitive space in which it occupies. And while perusing Facebook in a moment of procrastination I came across this on a previous colleague's wall.

This photo was reportedly a billboard seen at Yonge & Sheppard, across the office from the Canadian HQ of Procter & Gamble... makers of Old Spice. (Thank you to David Pullara for bringing this to my attention).

My question to you is this. Is this an example of superior positioning, or jealousy? Is this a rentention tactic or an aquisition strategy? I have my thoughts, but before I get to that let's take a journey back through 2010... and them to the early 90s (if we can dare make it that far).

Old Spice struck gold in 2010. A dusty old brand that has been reinvigorated. Hilarious commercials, layered with an extensive social media campaign has resulted in significant market share for this brand. I have heard upwards of 6-8% growth. Those are not light numbers people. That's impressive.

I have been watching the Old Spice evolutino for a while (check out this previous post from 2008)The advertising is cheeky, seductive humour attracts the primary household purchasers... women...And if women buy the product, love it, and ideally sleep with their men more often because they now 'smell like a man', men too will learn to love the new Old Spice.

The hallmark Old Spice ad of this most current campaign is this one:



The last line "I am on a horse" has become part of everyday lingo this year. I love when brand language makes it manstream. (Remember Wazzzzup?). Sure a nice Cannes Lion always helps, but a forever nod to authenticity on the streets is bankable.

For the record, while I find Axe's billboard f'n hilarious. It is feeling sorry for itelf. I might not have direct ROI, but what it does say is 'watch it P&G, we don't like what you did to our share... game on suits!'. More than anything I would love to see what Axe comes up with next, but I have no appetite for them to do it on the backs of Old Spice's horse. Fight back for your share, but make it clean fun (pun intended).

Now, way back in the days before Nirvana and Soundgarden, perhaps even in the U2 loving 80s there was another kind of turf war. The Japanese motorcycles were establishing themselves in the US market. Honda had come out with their 'Follow the Leader' campaign. It was essentially billboard with a bike and this headline along long stretches of desert highway. As the story goes, someone from Yamaha's ad agency was a press-check for another client when they say the Honda billboards coming off the presses. Within days the Yamaha team had identified where all the Honda billboards where posted and then paid premium for the board right after the Honda board that read 'Follow no one'.

For some reason the Honda/Yamaha story for me is competitive and superiority claiming poetry. For some reason the Axe/Old Spice one for me feels like petty childhood antics. Are they the same and I am blind to it, or is there in fact a strength of strategy in one that that other lacks?

The difference a month makes

September kicked my ass.
I worked every weekend, including labour day. I became both a night owl and an early bird... honestly, there should only be the option to be one. I was part of a team that won a significant piece of business for the agency... despite being asked if I have ever taken a marketing class (it f'n sucks when wit trails behind me by about 10 minutes....ooh the responses I have crafted ever since) And I started school.

I am a proud student of OCAD University's Masters of Design program in Strategic Foresight and Innovation. And I LOOOOOOOVE IT!

My Dad has asked me to describe the program in 50 words or less, as he is tired of trying to explain to people what I am doing, and that no, in fact I will not be designing kitchens when I am done.

Well Dad, here is the ABSTRACT:
At the heart of the program is problem solving. Its not the traditional analog problem solving like there are two villages separated by a big river, now build a bridge. It is human-centric problem solving for more complex (wicked) problems. Global warming, aging and public transport, access to water in rural communities. It looks at problem solving by spending time where it counts by framing the problem, identifying stakeholders, before jumping into protyping and specific solutions.

Here are my 50 words:
I am studying how to deconstruct human/user/community centered issues with a focus on providing solutions to these complex societal problems. At the end, I will have some seriously amazing tools in my tool box to handle, identify, and ultimately find solutions for complex problems by using design principles.

And in the meantime, I get to hang around with a bunch of smarty pants, experiment and watch great videos like this that celebrate creativity and innovation.

Making Future Magic: iPad light painting from Dentsu London on Vimeo.