Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, China, Creativity, Culture, Planners, Planning, Wieden+Kennedy
I left Wieden+Kennedy Shanghai 2 years ago this month.
I have very special memories of my time there and these two people – Leon and Carina [both circled in the photo above, which was a gift from my planning team when I left W+K, even though they forgot to put Debi in there] – played a big part in that.
Sure they were pains in the ass and opinionated as all fuck [though Carina did it in a much nicer way than Leon ever could] but it was – and still is – an honour to be able to say they were on “our team”.
Now – by pure coincidence – they’re both moving onto their next adventure and that will mean there will be no more of my mob infecting the place [though I did find Chris, even if he got away with never having to work with me] so I just want to say thank you to them for all they did for me, the team and – most importantly – the work.
Their loss is a big one for everyone but no one could be anything but excited and happy for the bigger and better things they’re about to do.
So to Leon and Carina, go have a shitload of fun … but please make sure you hide stickers throughout the office before you leave.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, Agency Culture, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Chaos, Creative Development, Creativity, Culture, Emotion, Empathy, Imagination, Insight, Martin Weigel, Resonance
I have talked about my love of Martin Parr before, which is why you can imagine my excitement when I thought I was going to pull off the ultimate collaboration between him and my side project with the masters of metal.
For absolutely fair reason, it sadly didn’t come off, but I did get a nice gift as a way of thanks … which ironically, makes me only wish it had worked out even more.
When I pitched the idea, I was asked why I thought it was a good idea.
I said I didn’t, I just thought it was interesting and sometimes, that’s all we have to go on.
The best thing with working with people who only think creatively is they totally get that … that sometimes, the intrigue of an idea is more important than the actual outcome – even if it ends up not being what you quite hoped.
I get why we all look for certainty in what we do. There’s a lot riding on it … money, employment, business … but the problem with certainty is that it is built on compromise and convenience, where the outcome is safe rather than alive.
It’s why Martin’s Weigel’s wonderful case for chaos is such an important read.
I have long been an advocate of this approach.
While it can scare people, the reality is chaos can create what order can’t and when we are all looking for ways to infect, infiltrate and shape culture, the best way to do it is to offer them something they find interesting and resonant, rather than boring and right.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Advertising, America, Attitude & Aptitude, Authenticity, Comment, Creativity, Culture, Fashion, Luxury, Marketing, Resonance, Women
I’ve written how mental Gucci have been in the past few years in both their fashion and their marketing – though on this last point, it’s been quite refreshing from the up-itself-image-bollocks the fashion industry tends to perpetuate.
However I recently saw an ad for their lipstick that is making me think they’re doing more than just trying to superficially differentiate from the competition.
Yes brands like Dove have celebrated ‘real beauty’ before – though they also sold skin whitening products so you know that their intentions for female empowerment are not entirely true – but it’s rare for a high end fashion brand to do such a thing, especially in such dramatic fashion.
You see even though Dove celebrated women of all shapes and sizes, they tended to all be classically beautiful … however here is Gucci, doubling own on celebrating the beauty of the imperfect by showing what my American friends would say is a ‘British smile’.
We will have to see if they are truly going to push this agenda but in an industry so superficial they can make a puddle look like an ocean, this is a step in the right direction in helping women celebrate their own beauty, not someone else’s definition of it.
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Content, Context, Culture, Honesty, London, Long Copy
When I was a kid, I would love to look at the post office notice board.
Every week it would be filled with different items for sale – from bikes to beds – with maybe the odd babysitter or gardener ad thrown in-between.
Decades later – literally – I pass the local post office in Fulham and now have Roxy and her massage centre stage.
I’m not judging, I just find it interesting … though I have to admit, I don’t find it nearly as interesting as the massage ad that appears bottom left.
Therapeutic or not … a ‘pay as much as you want’, female only massage, feels dodgier than a night out with Billy in the Bronx … and that’s VERY dodgy.
Believe it or not, the image above comes from a kids park.
A kids park in England.
No ‘lost in translation’.
No ‘adult entertainment’ overtones.
3 words of which two relate to subjects parents tend to not want to encourage their kids to engage in public … shooting and pooing … even less doing them together.
How times have changed …
In other news, my weekend looks like it’s going to be messy.
And potentially smelly.
Especially as it’s a long weekend.
Have a good one.
See you Tuesday.