ThoughtSpurs

One of the production companies our company, BrandWorld use for television production has this painting in their edit suit. It has been made on the bonnet of an old car. Further evidence, as if it was required, that what separates the ordinary from the exceptional is often a matter of interestingness - and sometimes it is nothing more than a slight twist that is required.

Aside from the rather silly name I like the new search engine Cuil.com - created by some former Google people. With a dark background it is like an opposite version of the omniscient, omnipresent Google (isn't it funny we think nothing of the word 'google' now when it was strange to begin with?). Cuil claims to be the biggest search engine on the web - I did a quick search (my own name - how is that for egocentrism?) but it returned no results. I searched ThoughtSpurs (the next layer of the ego orbit ;-) and got loads of links. Bizarrely it posted random images next to text extracts. I'm not sure it is good enough to change my behaviour - what do you think? Is Cuil cool?

I just heard the news that Randy Pausch, the professor from Carnegie Mellon, famous for his inspirational 'Last Lecture' has passed away from the illness that propelled him to international fame. Obviously not unexpected, but sad all the same. His Last Lecture was intended as a legacy for his kids but I'm glad he shared it with the rest of us.

Just a footnote to my earlier post about the Vodafone (New Zealand/Australia) commercial. Thought you might like to compare and contrast the mood of the orginal with the glossed up message of the ad.

Unilever were behind the Dove campaign for real beauty ads which generated a lot of discussion on the blogosphere; some positive - but not all. The most recent twist in the tale were accusations that the 'natural' women who stripped down to their skivvies had been heavily retouched in the photos. The campaign has been a resounding success for the brand, nonetheless. Consumers are used to being duped. It is part of the transaction between us and marketers. The loss of innocence happened a long time ago. In fact, I would go as far as to say that we expect to be fooled by advertising. We want to live the lie. If I were to buy a pair of Emporio Armani I am fantasizing that there is some association between me and David Beckham. The B roll in my mind's eye shows me as irresistible to women - lean and muscular. Sadly has nothing to do with the more mundane truth that nothing could be further from any kind of hard, objective reality. It isn't even an aspirational truth - that...

Celebrity is a funny thing - funny peculiar, that is. For some reason you think someone nice looking, with a talent of some kind or other (playing games like soccer, singing, showing up at parties where free drinks flow like wine - that sort of thing). Media need nice looking people to fill pages and screens. Consumers aren't so willing to fill them with ordinary folk. Life goes easier when we see what we'd like to be like, rather than who we are. After all Hello magazine isn't a celebration of normality (that would be obscene and too uncomfortable to look at). So it is the natural and logical progression that marketers would enlist the celebrity of nice looking individuals and leverage their ubiquity in the media time and space that they, under normal circumstances, would have to pay richly for. Why not enlist Britney, George, Becks, or whoever is topping the Google search charts? Well, there are some reasons: According to Datamonitor an aging population means that audien...

To follow the dryest wit on the web. Example: How social media works. A person tells one person, who tells two people, who tells three people, one of whom is Scoble. He tells everyone. Bad Banana. Bad. In that good way.

I have to confess that I am fond of this commercial for Vodafone New Zealand. The idea is OK, if literal and a little obvious, but I really like the music which propels the OK to the very nice. Too bad it's for Vodafone, whom I am coming to the conclusion are really no better than Telecom when it comes to rorting consumers (ref iPhone contracts). The music is: 1922 Blues by US-folk/blues singer/guitarist/banjo player Charlie Parr. I just bought it from the iTunes store. Yes, it is the best bit of the commercial. Will I think of Vodafone every time I play it? They should hope not. Vodafone are bilking kiwis same as Telecom did/do. Duopoly is just as bad as monopoly. In the words of Charlie Parr, "Ain't that the way it is?" - The Man has you in his pocket. The commercial was made by the talented Mr Worthington's team at Clemmenger BBDO Auckland, the CGI came from Animal Logic in Sydney.

- but no-one does anything about it* There is a major storm bearing down on Auckland. I have to say I am irritated by it. I have a visitor flying in tomorrow but if the conditions might be dangerous then I am sure civil aviation rules mean the plane won't leave, let alone arrive. It's very disappointing. I was looking forward to the visit. (though the storm might veer away - who can tell). *Mark Twain

I sometimes think the adoption of the expression 'viral marketing' is one of the most ridiculus missteps in nomenclature since Chevrolet decided on releasing the Nova ('doesn't go' in Spanish) in the predominantly Spanish speaking Central and South American markets. Think about it, when was being infected with a virus ever a good thing. "Excuse me, …I'm feeling a little under the weather, I have spot of necrotizing fasciitis…" Ad agencies and interactive companies that promise their ideas will 'go viral' are deluded and probably disreputable. Recent examples of fraud being perpetrated to create an artificial 'buzz' include the phony (no pun intended) guy who camped outside the Vodafone store on Auckland's main street, ostensibly waiting to be the first person in the world to get their hands on the G3 iPhone - a stunt organised to promote the Yellow Pages (I know, hard to see the connection). The media were duped - and therefore thei...

Every now and then I pick up a home magazine. I have a feeling they are the de facto porn for the property obsessed bourgeoisie. This afternoon I was leafing through HOME New Zealand from ACP. Weird though it is, I have a new favourite New Zealand magazine, well for its design anyway. Here's what I like. The magazine is nicely paced, it doesn't seem to bother with florid and pointless narratives about the dwellings featured. Even the format and the stock are nicely chosen - satin matt, rather than glossy. I like my magazine pages to have texture and find gloss paper vulgar. The choice of homes and products is tasteful and contemporary without being remote or too luxe. The layout is stylish and mature. No self conscious artifacts or flourishes. It is obvious the design has been considered but the designers have stepped out of the way and let the story live without ham-fisted flourishes - I like restraint. All in all, quite classic but distinctive. I'm a fan. One niggle thoug...

What if a big corporation redesigned the STOP sign. Oh, the humanity!… Right up there with Mad Men for observation of awkward truth.

The Dark Knight Batman movie opens in Auckland today (I know, we're the first place in the world to see each new day, but for some reason TDK bootlegs have made it here before the film even screened). I'm looking forward to seeing the show. My son informs me that it has the highest ranking of any film on the Internet Movie Database , knocking The Godfather off its long held perch. I think another barometer of importance is how quickly something is parodied. The web is awash with Star Wars mash-ups and homage to The Godfather. In no time at all The Dark Knight has joined the pantheon. I rather like the one above - TDK meets Napoleon Dynamite. The speed and certainty with which the hype about the new Superhero movie has spread has been astonishing. In part my guess is that the whole sh'bang was altered by the death of Heath Ledger - maybe even how the movie was finally cut and certainly how the buzz has been framed. The Joker is the central focus of almost everything and even...

An interesting interview with Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google. The session comes from the Ad Age Madison + Vine Conference on July 16, 2008. I like that Schmidt is forthright about not becoming a media company "Because we're no good at it." Google will focus on things that are measured. He says that advertising is heuristic and subjective - which is, of course, true. I like the concept of adjacency of the web to be a companion to core business - it is something I am interested in exploring further. The Atlantic Monthly article Schmidt refers to is interesting and worth reading. While you on the Atlantic site I also recommend reading the story about Frank Lloyd Wright's tallest building - Price Tower - which once headquartered an engineering firm that serviced the oil industry. The writing is prosaic, in that measured, very American style. If design and architecture is your thing also check out the companion slide show to view some of the building's details. Price to...

I am still receiving an email newsletter from The Wizard of Ads , even though my preference these days is to follow things I'm interested in through the Sage RSS feed reader that I have installed as a plug-in for Firefox. It can be relied on for the occasional insight. And it is always engagingly personal and personable. I have grown to feel quite familiar with Roy Williams, its author. This morning he recounts a story about his mother's generosity at Thanksgiving, inviting strangers in need to her family table - in spite of the fact that her own circumstances were modest; and how she would treat a friend to a trip away, simply out of generosity. His mother would say "We should give our roses to the living and not save them for the dead." “When a person dies, everyone who loved them will cancel their other obligations, send a big bouquet of flowers, jump on an airplane and fly across the country to look at their dead friend in a box.” Mom waited a moment for this to s...

I have been involved with a couple of web projects of late where I have been shocked by the lack of awareness of how the web works. I felt transported back to 1997 when people would routinely inform me that the web was a fad and that older people and women would never take to the darned thing. Businessweek ran a story: The 10 Commandments of the Web. Quite timely. 1. Thou shalt not abuse Flash. … the technology can easily be abused—excessive, extemporaneous animations confuse usability and bog down users' Web browsers. 2. Thou shalt not hide content. Advertisements may be necessary…but usability researchers say pop-ups and full-page ads that obscure content hurt functionality—and test a reader's willingness to revisit. Elective banners—that expand or play audio when a user clicks on them—are much less intrusive. 3. Thou shalt not clutter. The Web may be the greatest archive of all time, but sites that lack a coherent structure make it impossible to wade through information. Ama...

My Online Marketing Presentation About Radiohead from iaintait on Vimeo . Here's something interesting. Iain Tait is a co-founder of the British ad agency Poke . He says he is Creative Director cum Strategic Planner. I've snipped his presentation about how savvy Radiohead have been in their use of new media/social media to connect with their audience. The preso is pretty self explanatory ( read Iain's post here ). I like the simplicity of it and the added richness of including video. A nice counterpoint/compliment to the ideas Garr Reynolds talks about in Presentation Zen . Also ironic that he talks about liking the idea of Radiohead without necessarily liking Radiohead. It's a similar thought to my own about how you don't have to like an idea to get some benefit from it. Agreeing isn't thinking. On that note I was disappointed that I couldn't make it to the Idealog function where Kevin Roberts was talking. Like loads of people in advertising I am amb...

I am in the process of reading Made to Stick. Checking out the companion blog I came across this idea - that investing in girls in the developing world will deliver a far greater effect than investing in boys. Putting aside qualms I have about the inherent sexism of the idea - the way that the Girl Effect organisation has communicated their premise is superb - lots of comples information distilled into a persuasive 2 minute presentation. According to the Made to Stick blog: "At this point, they’ve got a credibility problem. You now understand what they mean by investing in girls, but why would you believe that the “girl effect” can make a dent in big global problems? The approach they use is “micro –> macro”. First, they paint a picture of a single girl. They show how the investment has cascading effects in her family and in her community. Then, they shift to the macro. “Multiply that by 600 million girls in the developing world…” [The zooming-out effect with the dots is a n...

I've decided to revive the blog I started about blogging - The New Yak Times. Check it out. It will be an experiment about blogging about a specific topic, versus the panoramic scope of ThoughtSpurs.

I received this comment to a post a few days ago from Alec Quig, a student in the United States: This reminds me of something I’ve been thinking about for the past two weeks: millennial cynicism. The second a huge brand logo gets slapped on something in a commercial, the ad has immediately lost my 22 year old interest (and trust). If a commercial is cheesy, or at all in bad taste (aesthetically, or if it’s corny or generally/plainly stupid), it does more harm than good to the brand in my mind--the very opposite effect than what was originally intended. This, unfortunately, is what most ads (in the US, at least) are like. Many people in “my demographic” flock to brands like American Apparel because they don't put a little tiger or alligator on their shirts. Though my age group is the increasingly-profitable millennial, my feeling is that personally I represent a segment of the market that’s not worth the trouble: I’m thrifty, buy used, am vigilant about scouring the net for deals, a...

Every time I visit the local shopping mall there is a small group of fit young women who avoid me. It's OK, I'm kind of used to it - an affliction I have lived with since I was a teenager. The women are promoting a local women's gym - I think it is called Configure Express. At first blush that might seem perfectly logical. The women have a job to do - to entice other women to sign up for the gym. I've noticed that they studiously avoided not just me but other male shoppers too. But here's the thing. I know lots of women. And in my own way feel I can be at least a little influential. I may not qualify as the kind of uber-connector that Malcolm Gladwell describes in The Tipping Point (like Paul Revere on his ride to Concord, warning the Minute Men of the British advance) but I have a certain charm. Instead of embarrassed avoidance I think it would make sense to smile and say 'Hello - do you know someone who is keen to lose some weight or tone up for summer - mayb...

I received a bunch of books today from Amazon and Fishpond (the New Zealand online bookseller). Interestingly I ordered both lots on the same day - actually while I was in Garr Reynolds presentation at Webstock - they were recommendations from him. Brain Rules - by John Medina The Back of a Napkin - by Dan Roam Made to Stick - by Chip & Dan Heath What surprised me is that it took far less time (per kilometer) for orders to arrive from the US as it did from the local supplier. The reason I ordered the Made to Stick book from Fishpond was for speed. I figured I'd have it read by the time the Amazon delivery arrived. That's why I forgave the considerably greater price of buying locally. Given that most books are freighted in anyway I won't ever feel bad about air miles again - I get the feeling Fishpond are drop-shipping anyway. I am studying how information is presented and absorbed. Unconvinced that we're getting it right in advertising. In fact, convinced we're...

Loving this cover for a biography of legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright . If you've ever visited the Guggenheim museum in Manhatten you will immediately get the reference - though the building is so well known that you probably have the meme embedded whether you are familiar with the building or not. I like the design because it has dollops of wit embedded and uses a limited palette to convey a striking visual idea. The typeface used is EagleFeather, designed by FL Wright himself. It all reminds me of the excellent documentary about Wright's life that I watched some time ago. I think I may have to indulge in a films about architecture season - three excellent ones come to mind: Frank Lloyd Wright - Directed by Ken Burns My Architect - A Son's Journey (Louis Kahn) Sketches of Frank Gehry by by Sydney Pollack Could even throw in The Fountainhead for light relief.

As ever Banksy seems to have nailed the mood of the moment.

House Industries is a very cool type foundry. Of course in the digital era foundry is an antiquated term but House Industries have made these very cool cast metal bookends or doorstops - sculptures… Can't take the weight of a solid piece of iron typography? Think the ferrous version will tear out the bottom of your messenger bag or absorb so much magnetic energy that it'll erase the hard disk on your laptop? Try this beautiful cast aluminum specimen! With more than a 60% weight savings, you can conserve fuel when transporting it home after charging it to your boss's corporate American Express card. Each sculpture is individually sand cast, hand selected by a qualified House Industries staff member and assigned a unique number. Remember that each of these have eclectic nuances and will differ from the photograph. I can only imagine what the freight bill would be. But a man can dream, can't he?

As a footnote to my previous post about the performance of the Haka by a beauty queen it is worthwhile considering culture within the framework of being a brand. Like brands culture changes over time. Like brands culture is defined by its users as well as its traditions. In western cultures women were once considered inferior to men. In many cases they were considered chattels belonging to their husbands, like livestock. That is no longer the case, the culture has adapted itself to meet the demands of its users. Maori culture is widely promoted as representative of New Zealand. Much of it has been adopted by non-maori. We accept the haka as something that 'belongs' to New Zealanders. When the national rugby team , the All Blacks, play they perform a haka before the match. When the team led by Tana Umanga changed the haka from the traditional Kamate Kamate version to a new one there was a hue and cry from the wider population. The new version included a movement that represente...

Now I'm not a big fan of beauty parades, let me get that out of the way for the get-go. So this post must be read carefully before you judge my point of view. Background: New Zealand Miss Universe contestant Samantha Powell performed a haka as part of her performance to win the title. At the end she stuck out her tongue. Not the done thing, apparently. In Maori tradition women don't stick out their tongues. It's a guy thing. Tongue sticking out. …guys. Really important - like women being required to sit at the back of the room (even though in Maori there weren't any rooms). Some Maori people have taken arms against Samantha Powell, criticising her for her lack of intimate knowledge of Maori protocol. I have to say, most Maori have little intimacy with their own culture. My own daughter is Te Aupouri, her great, great … grandfather signed the Treaty of Waitangi (our founding document). She pronounces Maori words well, but other than that… There is an arrogant separatism...

Language is important. Nicole Kidman just had a baby and, in the tradition of the Geldorf and Zappa families*, has given her daughter a nutcase name. Sunday Rose. Listening to the news on TV (is t really news?) it sounded like Sunday Roast. Can't help but wonder if the consultant who worked with Nickers on the name thought beyond a provocative but acceptable name (brand) to how it sounds in a low bandwidth situation? Mind you, what's wrong with Sunday Roast? Smells good. Wasn't there a performer called Wavy Gravy? * Moon Unit Tiger Lilly etc…

The best way to be competitive is not to compete. Returning the original mantra of this blog - be the One and Only - "Don't be the best at what you do - be the only one who does it." A quote from Gerry Garcia of the Grateful Death via Tom Peters (ages ago). On that not here is another reference from Tom that I rather like: "Obsessing about your competitors, trying to match or best their offerings, spending time each day wanting to know what they are doing, and/or measuring your company against them—these activities have no great or winning outcome. Instead you are simply prohibiting your company from finding its own way to be truly meaningful to its clients, staff and prospects. You block your company from finding its own identity and engaging with the people who pay the bills. ... Your competitors have never paid your bills and they never will."—Howard Mann. I always imagine a sprinter on in the blocks for the 100 meters at the Olympic Games. If they turn their...

Thinking more about the Presentation Zen workshop a week ago I have some concerns about the interchangeability of the word presentation. Maybe interchangeability is the the wrong word - perhaps the word I am looking for is ambiguity? Garr Reynolds touched on this in his material. Conference hosts often ask their talent to forward their presentation in advance. Of course this isn't possible because the presentation is going to happen at some stage in the future. Of course the organiser wants the Powerpoint slides. I think the problem I have been having with the concept of Presentation Zen is that it emphasises design - which, of course reinforces the idea that the slides are the presentation. Tom Peters produces the pug-ugliest slides in the world. You can download them from his website. I've seen Mr Peters present ( one of my earliest posts covered his talk at Better by Design's inaugural conference in Auckland.). Present is the operative word. Peters is a pro. He tells...

Maybe one of the biggest challenges in design is how to use small spaces. What could be more challenging than designing for postage stamps. These Polish stamps are genius, designed in 1962 to celebrate the Soviet Union's technical achievements in orbit - they gazumped the United States in the space race, which promoted Kennedy to initiate the programme to land a man on the moon. Like Kennedy's remark "…We choose to go not because it is easy but because it is hard." Designing with limited resources - such as space, or simple printing processes can produce surprising outcomes. The stamps are enduring works of art. They communicate a powerful story and they do so with an economy of expression that is refreshing even 45 years later. I think every designer should be thinking carefully about lessness to make moreness. Heads up from I Love Typography blog

I have been think over some of the material that I learned in the Presentation Zen workshop with Garr Reynolds at WebStock the other day. One thought, probably quite random keeps bobbing up to the surface which is a realisation of a problem that I have been contemplating for years. "Be very expensive, or free. But never cheap." A number of times I have allowed myself to be whittled down on price because I kind of felt sorry for a client, or because there were a friend or colleague whom I wanted to help out. The 'mates rate' never turns out to be a good idea. Things take time whether they are expensive, cheap or free. But by allowing the project to err into the cheap zone you go with it into a bad psychological place that can lead to problems. The cheap client has a moral position over you. Having agreed to buy your services at a reduced rate the price is irrelevant - your obligation is the same. A small amount of money might be perceived by the client as a great deal ...

I like the graphic visualisation of language. Worldle converts words entered into a panel into a graphical cloud. It is great fun. This image is from the url of this blog. Have fun. Via the ever interesting Brand DNA

Starbucks seem to be in free-fall - closing over 600 stores in the US. I wonder why? In New Zealand I don't think we have a representative picture of Starbucks. In the US the stores are quite different (apparently) and they have headed into complex diversions from core business - music has been a distraction. Tail wags dog, The truth for me is that I want to like Starbucks. I want to love it as I do Apple. But their core product doesn't cut it. The coffee sucks. Here in Auckland we have the most sophisticated coffee culture in the world - big claim - come down and test it. Take it from me Starbucks products are rightly shunned. If only our funky coffee houses could 'get' the idea of the third place . Any hospitality space should have free wireless. One of the best things about webstock in Wellington (and the airport) was free access to the web. Even if I smuggle good coffee in to Starbucks, at least I get a comfortable place to check my mail.

The 80's New Wave band Devo is suing McDonald's over a Happy Meal Toy. The toy, New Wave Nigel, is part of McDonald's American Idol-related line of give-aways based on various genres of music. Devo's Jerry Casale says "This New Wave Nigel doll that they've created is just a complete Devo rip-off and the red hat is exactly the red hat that I designed, and it's copyrighted and trademarked. "They didn't ask us anything. Plus, we don't like McDonald's, and we don't like American Idol, so we're doubly offended." Sounds like Q.E.D. to me and something of a surprise that an organisation like McDonalds could be so naive - did they even know who Devo were (or are - do they still perform?). I'd be especially careful about appropriated things from the cultural landscape in advertising - especially if on the grounds that 'it was part of my childhood'. You may not own your memories. I wonder if Lemon & Paeroa got permission ...

Every single time I visit the public art gallery I think I overhear another visitor asking the perennial question of the modern age - 'Call that art?' The Tate Gallery has a new installation in place - though 'in place' might be understating the case. Every day, for four months an athlete will sprint 86 metres through Tate Britain’s central Duveens Galleries. Then a 30 second pause. Then another runner will burst from the blocks. The work is by Martin Creed . He is notorious for winning the prestigious Turner Prize in 2001 with a light bulb which was switched on and of like a …well, a light bulb I suppose. The current piece is enigmatically titled Work No. 850. An enigmatic title is half the game. Creed talks about 'An art gallery is a theatre for looking at things,'. Hmm… profound title, curiously inarticulate rationale. But let's not let reason get in the way of expression. More importantly I hope the visitors don't get in the way of the runners - it...

Here's a little ditty produced by 'Microsofties'. Garr Reynolds showed it in his workshop today. It goes on a bit long but it makes a good point about the power of simplicity and why Apple has it and other tech companies don't. Simplicity = Maximum effect with minimum means.

I am in Wellington for the WebStock conference – attending the Garr Reynolds workshop (http://www.presentationzen.com), which I am covering for Idealog magazine . I must tell you about the flight down from Auckland. A significant chuck of my fellow passengers were a large group of Pacific Island women, all dressed in lime green mumus. There must have been thirty of ‘em. I have to confess I was nervous about being squeezed between a couple – I had been allocated a centre seat. It wasn’t to be. I had a row to myself. As the aircraft taxied to its position for takeoff the group began harmonising what sounded like a prayer. It was both beautiful and unsettling. Did they know something I didn’t? As we began the descent into Wellington, caught by the traditional gust of crosswind, which caused the tail to yaw slightly, the choir struck up again; this time a slightly more strident hymn. I was uplifting and kind of surreal. The other passengers applauded when we landed. Pretty sure it was for...