Scary scary websites

Two scary websites, but in a cool way, not in the 2 girls 1 cup way!



Firstly, http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com

This is so accurate it's scary! Sometimes I'll read a post and laugh, then I'll laugh a little nervously, then I'll wonder if somebody has been following me. The Mad Men article was pretty creepy and I was definitely thinking about getting a moleskine. All my white friends already have them!

The second website is only slightly more educational



www.ted.com

and more specifically for myself

http://www.ted.com/index.php/themes/design_like_you_give_a_damn.html

Just like it says on the tin, some of the greatest talks from some of the worlds smartest and most interesting people and its FREE! Totally free! Not even little adverts before hand! And you can download them FOR FREE! And you can download them as Podcasts FOR FREE!

I'm too excited to do any real research into the company just yet but all I know is that I can get the bus to Uni and by the time I've arrived I could have watched a whole talk from Phillipe Starke, and even started a second video from Stefan Sagmeister! It's a helluva resource and seemingly the content is massive so you can be entertained and educated for days on end! You get the kind of information addiction you got when you first discovered Wikipedia

In conclusion, Bloody Brilliant

Peace out

Tom

x

Gone Are The Days When The WWF Meant Fat Man In Spandex!

Just a quick update from myself, on the verge of a huge Pravda write up when I have a spare 10 minutes or so. I saw this ad on a print blog that I read occasionally.

The imagery is incredibly powerful, yet subtle at the same time. One could think it's an anti-smoking ad, but it's obviously not upon further reading. The tagline, 'Before it's too late' does give a nod to anti smoking camoaigns, as if someone were to quit then their lungs would slowly recover.

I'm assuming that because trees create oxygen they are the worlds 'lungs'. A nice little thought, and hasn't really been touched on before. It's hard to write exactly why I like the ad so much, but it's definately one of my favourite of the past few years or so.


Ciaran x

The first rule of Pravda is.....You do not talk about Pravda.

A massive thank you to everyone at Pravda advertising for our placement. We managed a 2 week placement, 4 briefs, 0 casualties and 2 nights at the pub. It was a helluva eye opener. Long hours, very little praise, lots of scamps, lots of self doubt, lots of tea drinking and some good table football matches.

It's been a great insight into the industry and I'm hopefully a lot wiser for the experience. I'm also hoping that we are invited back for another stint as soon as is humanly possible.

We worked on a radio script, a print ad, a health information campaign and a pitch for a new company in need of branding. I can name none of their products because we signed confidentiality agreements for the whole bloody lot. All we can say is that we worked our little beards of and sadly none of our work got picked up or put into production.

We're definitely going to be a lot wiser for the experience even if it was short and sweet, although I must say I learned more from people in the pub than I did in the office but I guess that goes with the terrority.

We will probably post again in more detail about it but for now I just want to say a massive thank you to Simon and Tim for giving us the opportunity and thanks to all the guys and girls in creative and accounts who made our stay thoroughly enjoyable. We will definitely be in contact begging for another chance. As our journey continues we have finally started our "networking" part of the journey.

Peace out

Tom

x

Sorry, usually I'm seriously easy going.

Apologies for the negativity of the previous post. I thought I'd lighten the mood with one of the funniest ads made in my opinion. Ciaran and I started laughing about this series of ads while on placement, and I think we're still giggling. Amazing ads, suited the brand perfectly and haven't aged one iota.

Sit back and enjoy!



Peace out

Tom

x

Renault - Is that your crap?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy2gcxf-Cps

This was the original ad that introduced the world to Va Va Voom. Its a ridiculous concept but like all good ads, its a phrase that forced its way into the language and people still use it today even though Renault have a dropped the concept altogether. I did find it funny however when I spoke to French colleague of mine who said that they'd never seen the ad in France and had never heard of Va Va Voom. Its a great ad for that reason, it also manages to be funny and even features Thierry Henry (who is very difficult to hate).



Renault left Titi and moved onto the Ben vs Sophie/Britain vs France/Twice the Va Va Voom ads. They are slightly cheesey but I think they're funny, the keep in the spirit of the Clio and I think we can all agree that the French representative played by the gorgeous Annelise Hesme is a babe. It embodies everything that the car and the brand has come to represent in this country and it remains to this day and funny and memorable ad.


(excuse the endline, it is the only copy of the video I could find)

So why, Oh dear God why?! have Publicis ditched these funny and memorable ads for a product that I wouldn't be wrong in saying that the public quite like? Not only have they ditched these ads and the Va Va Voom campaign, they have replaced them with utter crap. They are so poor that people who have no real interest in advertising have brought it up in conversation!
The 2 campaigns "Is that your car?" and "Remember when you said you wouldn't buy a Renault?" are pretty awful offerings, especially with how competitive the small hatchback market is already. VW Golf, VW Polo, Vauxhall Corsa, Mini and even the Smart Car are all enjoying far more success with their advertising which is exactly what it should be - fun and memorable!

Rant over!

Tom

x

PS. I do actually drive a Renault Clio - from the era when they advertised VA VA VOOM, I hope mine is intact!