ThoughtSpurs

I am lost for words.

This paperback cover is a classic expression of the value of wit in communications. There is a time when everything should be literally spelled out and then there is something to be said for engaging the viewer in such a way as to make them a part of of the communication process. The greater the level of engagement, the higher the liklihood that the person reading the message will adopt it as their own. After all, they had to work to decode it. The risk is that some folks won't be able to crack the code, but you can't please everybody - and the same risk is true for even the most blank, expressionless communications.

There is a line in the Wild One when Marlon Brando's character is asked "What are you rebelling against Johnny?" With a dismissive curl of his lip Brando/Johnny sneers: "Waddya got?" That's the famous line. The one I prefer is when one of the rebel biker gang asks a local in the bar: "What do you hicks do around here for kicks?" "Oh,…The roses grow. People get married. Crazy as anyplace else." Crazy as anyplace else. Now there's the rub. Often I meet with clients who agree with everything I say about being authentic; being The One & Only™. They nod and agree. "Yup, that's what we're all about. We're The One & Only™ alright. That's us…yessiree Bob" Then they tell me what they are doing to promote themselves to make the most of their distinctive qualities. "Well, we kind of match our competition because that's how things are done in this category." Lockstep. It is then I realise that our p...

I advocate interestingness in advertising - that people don't want advertising, they want things that are interesting and, sometimes, that is an ad. The commercial about tests the theory to breaking point. In it hundreds of topless Aryan women take to the Air - to the sounds of The Ride of the Valkyrie. While it is not the first commercial ever to use the idea of formation sky-diving or the Wagnerian sound track, or female nudity - I will wager it is the first to combine all of the above. The result is comically bad. Admittedly I am not familiar with the product being promoted - and I don't speak Danish but I wonder is their is a sly insider joke that I am not privy to. So, is it interesting? I am inclined to say it is more curious than interesting. But it serves to underscore the point that advertising can be as interesting as all get out, but if it is irrelevant then it will likely enough pass unnoticed and change no behaviour. Likewise I am baffled by this commercial by BBH ...

A dear friend shared a poem with me. Try I as I might, I didn't get it. And I did try. I wrote a poem in reply. Not intended to insult (though it did). I'm sorry for that. But am grateful for the revelation that poetry offers. I recommend opening up your intellectual channels, rationalism and realism by connecting your thoughts outside the constructs of prose. Here is my reply to my friend. If you can figure it out let me know. Blimey. Bucolic Beowulfian Epic endymion Hippolytic Haiku Iambic I said Pentametric parabolas 'neath perfect parasoles Pirouetting piously Promulgating petrification Sensationalising stupefaction Serenely cerebral Suddenly sodden Nakedly nude Smirking prude The silent ryhming mime says make mine a double and make it snappy for I can but shed crocodile tears Boatshed dreams of tarninshed beams lampen lumpen lampoons of chronic Harpoons Call me Ishamael But call me Light and day egging on in the porcelein pavlovas of all our Tomorrows

Interesting analogy. Meme Huffer again.

Once again, if it didn't ring so true, this clip would be frightening, or maybe it is scary because it is true. Via Meme Huffer

Ok, admission. I owned a Porsche 944 Turbo. I loved it. In fact I have never owned any car longer. To me it was the ultimate vehicle for anyone who likes to drive and has a young family. 50/50 weight distribution (thanks to the front engine/rear gearbox layout), fantastic grip from vast tyre footprint, 2+2 seating with a rear hatch you could grow tomatoes in. Perfect. Capable of 150+ mph, but docile in town. It was brilliant. At this point I'll skip over the incident that required the engine to be rebuilt - well it had high miles - at a phenomenal cost. After the rebuild I couldn't justify selling the car. So I kept it - then I moved in with my girlfriend and her kids - together we had five - so the Porsche had to go (I replaced it with a 735i BMW - the Graf Spee - to transport them all (another story for another time - though I can tell you a Mac Powerbook will not survive being run over by one of these babies). The Top Gear roadshow is here in New Zealand. While I'm impre...

"Someday, someone will make a movie of your life. Make sure it doesn't go straight to video." I agree with the sentiment, but in the future I wonder whether the long-tail will mean there is no silver screen at all? Via Crack Unit

Generation Y is getting a bad rap (possibly deservedly so), I was interested in this clip which is clever and thought provoking (Via planner Paul Isakson's blog - follow him on Twitter ) Another interesting link from the same source is Honda's movie - Failure the secret of success . I guess I relate to the concept - I consider myself a successful failure. Follow me on Twitter

Find more videos like this on AdGabber Saatchi & Saatchi Wellington have produced a video for Wellington Zoo that looks to me as if it has been made solely for use on the web. It features images of Zoo animals disturbed by the sound of a woman, apparently reaching sexual climax to a syrupy tune that sounds like Barry White. The problem with the ad isn't that it is cheap and cheesy, but that, having watched it I have no idea what the Wellington Zoo are promising me. Is there to be an orgy at the Zoo on 'Adults only' Valentines Day? Heaven forbid there is any hint of bestiality. This kind of 'ad' actually demonstrates the value that bodies like the Advertising Standards Authority and Commercials Approvals have in governing what is distributed. When snot-nosed creatives can bypass the system and make stuff on the cheap it kind of ends up like the sort of graffiti you might see in the boys toilets at a high school - except animated. Verdict, cheap and nasty. Not e...

I've posted before about argument let's reprise The Art of Reasoning: With Symbolic Logic by David Kelley. It amazes me how often some, or all, of these quirks is deployed in everyday life: Ad Hominem: Using a negative trait of a speaker as evidence that his statement is false, or his argument weak. Appeal to Majority: Using the fact that large numbers of people believe a proposition to be true, as evidence of its truth. Post Hoc: Using the fact that one event preceded another, as sufficient evidence for the conclusion that the first caused the second. Appeal to Force: Trying to get someone to accept a proposition on the basis of a threat. Appeal to Authority: Using testimonial evidence for a proposition when the conditions for credibility are not satisfied, or the use of such evidence is inappropriate. Appeal to Emotion: Trying to get someone to accept a proposition on the basis of an emotion one induces. Begging the Question: Trying to support a proposition with an argument...

Russell Brown is one of the most read bloggers in New Zealand; intelligent, informed and always interesting he added the following note to a blog post about voter turnout in Iraq. "The other evening I felt the need for a cool glass of wine. I was passing the Pt Chev Liquor Centre -- our local tag-strewn hole in the wall -- so I stopped and bought a bottle. Yes, it was a bin-end special ($14.99), and it was a 2006 sav blanc -- you're certainly risking the zip having faded there. But it was worse than that. The wine was gone: an overpowering boiled-asparagus reek overpowered anything on the palate. It was undrinkable. So I put the cap back on the bottle, retrieved the receipt and the original bag, and took it back the next day. I think I was being reasonable: I wasn't demanding cash back, although I didn't want to risk another bottle of the same wine. I'd top up the credit and get something I knew would be fit for purpose. They wouldn't consider it: on the basis ...

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