Things i’ve seen….

My fave part of the Dalston mural

No cock sax this....

New cafe

toof

 

Fenton/Benton vs Cowell for Christmas no. 1?

The Fenton/Benton clip of a dog chasing deer across Richmond Park chased by his desperate owner went viral in no time. Marketeers are always chasing the holy grail of creating a piece of video content that people pass around because it has that real watch-ability.  Fenton/Benton clearly was not a planned branded piece but one of the many new versions popping up online could see Simon Cowell kept off of the top spot this Christmas, and all proceeds will go to Battersea Dogs & Cats home. I am not sure if they are officially behind the campaign but there is a Facebook page set up already to drive support to get it to the top spot.

Whilst the track is no classic in the form of this beaut, but it is kinda catchy, mildy amusing and for a good cause if you are an animal person

So what does it take to become a viral success? A few of these elements, be funny, have a world famous superstar in it, show lots of flesh, reveal previously unknown information, expose some form of scandal, display unbelievable skill or just beat Simon Cowell to world domination.

 

Air Nails

Boys don’t often have manicures, I don’t know why they are great, especially with a hand massage.

Went to a PR thing this evening which meant free canapes and drinks plus a free manicure, it was at this brilliant shop off Chancery Lane, the inside was decked out like an airplane. Bloody great!

Decor taken from a Russian jumbo jet

Ok the website looks like it was done by a 12 year old but the interior is class and the manager Rochelle was lovely. They are opening East soon too. Check it out… MW Nails

Christmas party season is all about the walk of shame….

Woman or man, young or old, gay or straight, drug addled or hung over, every self-respecting (ahem) person has done the walk of shame before. There is no way of hiding it from those ‘normal’ folk who have had their 8 hours sleep and are dressed in day attire rather than the remnants of last night’s fabulous outfit. Sunglasses and a Capri Sun are a dead give-away in December…

I did not post this sooner as I had my work Christmas do last week and was enjoying my long walk of shame. I am just getting back in the swing of things, so props to Harvey Nicks who have created this witty and playful video depicting the walk of shame travelled by glamorous women in their party frocks. It is perfect for a viral video for knowing urbanites to send around to their friends but would not work as a campaign on TV or in a glossy mag, it amuses while avoids alienating.

White Coke – would you touch it?

Surely the whiter the better, makes you think it is more pure, somehow a better quality and something to give you that buzz you seek from Coke. Not so, it confuses the user, all coke fans like to know exactly what they are getting and to be honest if it changes I am unsure of the quality.

Not thew powder silly

I am of course talking about Coca-Cola and their white cans which they created to help raise awareness of the plight of arctic polar bears, the iconic red can dissapeared and led to the sales dropping enough to result in coke recalling the cans and switching back. Coke often change the design of bottles and that works because of iconic shape never changes, the consumer is still clear on what they are getting. Change a can colour and you are left with just another can, could be anything, could be non-alcoholic beer FFS!

Courtesy of PSFK

Lexington Jumble Sale

Sunday was tres successful this weekend, I cleaned up flat, washed my clothes, made a lovely fruit smoothy, went for a swim and then went to the lovely Lexington Pub on Pentonville Road where they had a vintage clothing jumble sale.

£6 the lot

Got a v old Timex watch (doesn’t work) for £1, a leather wallet (which I managed to break already) for £3 and a lovely cigarette case for just £2. This was followed up by a pint of Brooklyn Brewery beer… That reminds me I must buy a flight to NYC for April, the best time to visit in my opinion

Lovely tipple

Crowd Sourcing Social Enterprise

Crowd sourcing is usually seen for brands trying to gain exposure for various stunts they have in mind such as the T-Mobile ads in London over the last year.

If you want a job done.....

I found Spacehive today and I really like this initiative where people can suggest projects in their area and get the local residents to help the funding of it. It could be a play area for kids, a flower garden, clearing up the canal or even just putting benches or bins in an area to make it look nicer for everyone who lives there.

You simply check out the projects going on and then donate or you can create your very own one, the great thing is the site helps with the planning permission side of things so can make things an easier way of getting your local area looking more spic and span.

After the London Riots we saw pockets of community spirit in the shape of the DIY clean up programmes, people genuinely care about their neighbours and the space they live in. With projects like this we might be able to get jobs done that local councils are either too strapped for cash to do or too bone idle to see the social benefits.

Mickey Big Hands Love Peace Fuck Wild Faggot

Mickey Big Hands

Love Peace Fuck

Wild Faggot

 

Enemies of Creativity

Working in Marketing for x years means a part of job has always been about coming up with ideas, swapping thoughts with others and trying to create something which will excite, motivate or mobilise consumers. This is the part which has always interested me, the part that motivates me to do well, sometimes the bit that stops me from jacking it in and going on a 20 year traveling jaunt to create a supremely leather tanned body suit with no white bits.

What really surprises me and disappoints in equal measures is that some people go into a brainstorm or approach a brief with all the negatives and constraints rather than thinking about what is possible.

My latest role is at a very well respected, very well run agency with some good clients. I’ve been tasked with bringing some fresh thinking and a different approach to creativity and idea generation. I have been involved in a few brainstorms already and have witnessed just how easy it is to kick off on the wrong foot just by the negativity of a few people, this usually results in others losing confidence to say things and the final ideas are uninspiring and lacking any wow factor.

As the new creative lead, I present my initial recommendations on changes which include some simple changes like bringing visual stimulus to the room, inviting external people, thinking of the problem through the eyes of other people, plus a few tried and tested brainstorming techniques, but in honesty maybe the simplest solution of all is to ban those who are going to bring negative can’t do attitudes…. Can I start banning people already?

I’ll let you know how I go….

 

Xenz in East London

Mystic

Xenz launched his first solo show last week at the Leonard St gallery, it wis titled Cloud Cuckoo Land, which in itself is a great name and where i feel like I am currently residing after a weekend of misadventure in Manchester and Dalston. The collection is a two year project and feels very labrinth-esq.