mindblob

Brands and Artist Ambassadors

As you might already know I am a fan of Michel Gondry's work. When I found out about the last ad he directed for the Motorola Razr2, I really liked the Experience site they set to tell about the film and its making of. Quite interesting to listen to Michel Gondry's interview on the briefing and his creative process to make it happen.

What I like about it is :  the idea of giving a free ride to an artist to express his/her vision of a brand through his/her art.

 

It reminds me the surprising buzz of the late 90ies lead by the BMW Film series "The Hire". Remember? BMW gave an opportunity -and budget- to 8 famous directors (John Frankenheimer, Ang Lee, Won Kar-Way, etc) to create a short film -average of 8 minutes- to highlight the performance aspects of various BMW automobiles (you can find here : season one and season two). My favorite being Star (try it here if you don't have the DIVX plugin) directed by Guy Ritchie, with Madonna, a BMW M5 and fascinating driver Clive Owen -BTW wouldn't he make a fantastic James Bond?-. Don't forget to turn the volume of your computer up while watching this film... the scene over the bridge is simply... exquisite!.

Branded content indeed... but, when compared to traditional advertising, this project had (at the time) an innovative approach regarding format, story, and media.

I believe that there is a LOT more to do outside the traditional ad formats. Also there are obviously many ideas to develop by giving willing artists (and I mean young talents as well, naturally!), new ways to share their visions of brands through their art.

Thoughts or comments?

 

The graduate call

   

Here is a fun and very well edited video shot in the JWT London offices.  No wonder why it is the post of the day on Craig Davis' blog, The Good Stuff. Once again, apparently -like on the previous OMB mentioned on mindblob-, no money or big production, just a bunch of motivated grads led by Musa Tariq. His description of the video on Vimeo says it all :

"We (the graduates who joined last year straight out of uni) had an idea one day after work... and thought why not!"

Also, check this other film from Musa Tariq on his Vimeo page, entitled: "A Day In The Life Of Me". Here is what he says about it :

"I was asked recently what the highs and lows of my job were at JWT... Well one of the highs was the fact that if you ever had an opinion or a suggestion, people would ask you to go do it! The following video was part of an idea we had, it was to show a client how someone my age interacts with technology on a day to day basis! ..."

Basically, I like to see positive energy leading a simple idea into reality. It spreads that same positive energy outside the office walls and is insightful for whoever is "listening". Well, of course, the goal here is obviously to recruit new grads. The last first dot to connect to is JWT London's website frontpage (*) where  the intention appears loud and clear.

Maybe our good friend Sacrum should try to apply there.
; )

   

PS :  (*) this link will probably not be relevant to this post after november 7th - end of the call for grads.

The Cone of Silence

(if you access this post via RSS reader the link is here.)

   

Just found this old trailer for the NBC television series "Get Smart" back in 1965. It made me smile while thinking about the distance between paranoid communication of the older days and the new definition of conversation.

So remember : Don't use the "Cone of Silence"
It's maybe time to engage conversation!  ; )

 

100 reasons to blog

Originally uploaded by jackhynes

Let's face it... I'm a slow blogger, but a happy blogger. It's been a bit more than a year I started to blog and I just reach now my 100th post. Thinking back to the very first post... Now, there are indeed so many reasons to be convinced that this adventure was a good idea. You don't have a blog and hesitate to open one? Here is the secret : just do it, you won't regret it. Why?

Well, let's keep it simple :

 

1 - Listen to other people, read their blogs, learn...
0 - Share ideas, opinions, links, connect...
0 - Meet people, make friends and discover the "MAGIC".

 

If you still hesitate to open a blog... just do it and I promise you magic. Just be who(ever) you are and open yourself to share with others. Then, one day you'll be posting your 100th post, happy to be "there" and with the simple (nevertheless intense) will to say THANK YOU to all your readers, contributors and friends who are "there" with you.

   

The sky is... NOT the limit !

   

For those of you who really thought I was kidnapped by Aliens when I was out of blogging for  while, here is the story. As a matter of fact, I was the one trying to make contact with them. And guess what... I found them. This is quite a long story. So I made a little pdf file to summarize and share this extra-ordinary encounter with you. All I can tell you is that although they may seem scary, Aliens are very nice beings. Hopefully they were open minded, and so really appreciated the Age of Conversation. Actually, with their help now, we may even reach Gavin Heaton's secret dream... and make the incredible come true (right Drew?).

 

Well, I'm afraid the sky is NOT the limit anymore... so if you have not bought a copy yet, here is another reason for you to do it : it'll help you engage conversation with Aliens (how about that?) and help a good cause. Talking about Aliens, did you know that they eat tangerine (I mean, just like "us"), dream about Big Macs (they do, they do), and use Twitter  (yeah, without any device, actually) to communicate? But please... know that they are not waiting for planes anymore... they use flying saucers, I mean... tractors (woops! Call me "lunatic").

 

PS : This picture  is not a Photoshop job... my Alien friend holds a printed copy of the AoC, because at that time I had not yet received a hardback book.  : )

PPS : Huge thanks to Gareth the Alien, without his passion and trust telling you this story would have never been possible. If you ever are looking for an Alien... I do recommend calling him -and unfortunately I can't show you the film we made out of this as it is not "on air" yet-

 

Fight for Kisses

   

It is time for men to use a new secret weapon. But beware... it is also time for babies to revenge. Are you ready to "Fight for Kisses"? Who do you think is gonna win? Wilkinson, maybe.

 

Fantastic work of JWT Paris, winner of a Silver Lion for their "Dare" Wilkinson outdoor campaign (*), at the Cannes Advertising Festival in 2006. Too bad their site is "under construction" right now, though.

   

Now, how do you see the development of a microsite? One company does it all or on the contrary, collaborative synergy between the best specialists?  Check the credits of the microsite and you'll get a hint on their recipe. I bet Ally McBeal is gonna love it!

   

(*) Mini case study on the "Dare" campaign provided on the Mediaedge:cia site, here.

The sky... is the limit

Originally uploaded by powerbooktrance

 

A little update to let you know that the Age of Conversation sales are about to reach the first target of $10,000. About 60 days after the launch....1,274 books have been sold and $9,997.60 were raised. Fantastic news for Variety the Children’s Charity. Check Drew's post here and the latest updates here.

And of course... this target was never set as a limit. There is no limit, naturally. Maybe even not the sky. So, if you don't have your copy yet, I encourage you to buy one right now!

 

Kidnapped by Aliens?

Originally uploaded by powerbooktrance

Was I kidnapped by Aliens? Not really... but I know you might have been wondering about it. I apologize for letting you, dear readers without news. How to say this... I've just been extremely busy with work and life issues to deal with. Positive, but definitely time consuming.  Life is a quest, right. But hey, I'm back and maybe... with a nice Alien story to come (hint! hint!).
; )