sparking curious mind

Finally, 41 year-old Romário netted the landmark goal four minutes into the second half of the Brazilian first division match that pitted his Vasco da Gama against returning northerners Sport.



“This is a very special moment in my life and Id like to dedicate this last goal to my children and thank my parents and everybody else who is present here tonight”, thanked a visibly moved Romário, crying openly.




To celebrate his achievment, here is a compilation of his best goals and moves.

The Samsung Summer Collection of mobile phones showcases the latest in mobile communication devices

Mai sint cateva ore pina la inchiderea urnelor. Nu sta deoparte! Rupe-ti jumatate de ora si voteaza. NU conteaza cum. Doar mergi si voteaza.

Log out, shut down, GO VOTE!

"Adopt an NGO" is an initiative of the Civil Society Gala the only Romanian event that pays homage to all civic initiatives, large or small, that are making our society better and healthier.

So I've been invited, along with other bloggers, to adopt an NGO, thus showing my support to it's activities and efforts. I decided to adopt "Save the Children". One of my best friends works for this organization so I'm quiet familiar with their programs. Basically, "Save the Children" fights for children's rights. They deliver immediate and lasting improvements to children's lives, not only in Romania, but worldwide.

Save the Children Romania is guided by the fundamental values expressed in the UN Declaration on Human Rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and is founded on the conviction that:

• All children and adults are of equal value
• Children have special rights
• All children have a right to life and development
• • No child should be discriminated against
  • All children have a right to be heard
  • The Child’s best interests should be a guide

The project aims at creating and implementing an alternative system of services, which should ensure the intervention and protection of the child victim of violence. The multidisciplinary team of the Center, made up of doctors, psychologists, social assistants and psychiatrists offers the following services:

• protection for the child and the protecting parent (housing and food for maximum 30 days);
• therapy, treatment, rehabilitation and specialized ambulatory or residential assistance;
• legal counseling;
• training the specialists for working with children victims of violence and their families;
• offering information and informative materials to the persons working with the children, to parents and children;
• prevention program in high schools, schools and kindergartens.

The results of the third annual planner survey are in. The research, conducted by Heather LeFevre of the Martin Agency, shows that the most desirable place to work as a planner is W+K. Closely followed by Crispin, BBH, Chiat, Goodby and others.

Those who think that the quality of planning has increased (42% of the respondents) credit blogging (talking about blogging killing planning :)), generosity of thinking, better defined roles, the challenges of the world pulling us up and better people.

466 planners completed the survey (compared to 192 last year). 36% are likely to change their job this year. Regardless of the current position. Those set on or considering leaving planning specify that they don’t know exactly what they will do or they plan to start their own business, freelance, go back to school, go to the client side, switch to consulting, research, innovation, creative, production or media.

There are a lot more details about salaries and other stuff. You can download the results here

“We stand behind our skin care products, so much so that we are prepared to go naked to prove it.” states The Elave web site. Instead of wandering around a science lab in a white gown, the presenter speaks completely naked, along with the rest of the room.

The video, featuring nude women and men, is online at www.nothing-to-hide.co.uk. Is it gratuitous nudity, an unnecessary attempt to get the attention or is an example of courage and nerve from Ovelle Pharmaceuticals? You'll be the judge.



Ovelle has seen a 500 per cent rise in sales, both online and in the High Street, since the campaign was launched on May 5.

AdofDaMonth.com is a forum to promote good creative. The featured work is judged by a jury of trained ad-monkeys who vote for the best ad every month.

These ads are a spoof on the trend on pro bono advertising for entering in showcase
websites, awards.

Advertising Agency: Ogilvy & Mather Budapest, Hungary
Title: Barber Shop and Restaurant
Creative Director: Dalbir Singh
Art Director: Zsolt Molnar, Pablo Compos
Copywriter: Dalbir Singh
Photographer: Zsolt Molnar

We define culture as a network of discrete, specific knowledge structures shared
by individuals within some definable population. Icons of a culture are like “magnets of meaning”; they connect many diverse elements of cultural knowledge.
Thus, cultural icons, when activated, will spread activation to other constructs in the cultural knowledge network.

Like other symbols, a consumer brand can also be a cultural icon or a vehicle for
cultural meaning. Iconic brands are consumer brands that become “consensus expressions of particular values held dear by some members of a society”. These brands are loaded with cultural meanings; they are strongly associated with the culture’s values, needs, and aspirations
and increase their cognitive accessibility.

Consumer brands vary in their degree of cultural iconicity. We conceptualize brand iconicity as the degree to which a particular brand is associated with multiple constructs in a network of cultural knowledge. Consumers’ knowledge about products/brands forms integrated structures in memory. Iconic brands can transfer their iconic status to the product category they belong.

Accordingly, we conceptualize an iconic category as a product category with highly accessible iconic brands. Through the strong connections with their iconic brands, iconic categories also possess rich cultural significance; they are strongly associated with the values, needs, and aspirations in their culture of origin. Brands with rich cultural meanings can create stronger and much deeper connections with the consumers.

Directed by Dante Ariola through MJZ
Voice by Edward Norton
Music by A-Bomb

João Ribeiro and Sérgio Veiga, students at the University of Aveiro, started this experiment of mapping each and every internet user in the Whole Wide World!

MapMyName is the name of the project and the guys want to do this in only one month. So better hurry up and join. I'm already there.

Media and entertainment executives see the growing ability and eagerness of individuals to create their own content as one of the biggest threats to their business, according to results of a survey released by Accenture.

More than half (57 percent) of the respondents identified the rapid growth of user-generated content — which includes amateur digital videos, podcasts, mobile phone photography, wikis and social-media blogs — as one of the top three challenges they face today.

The new landscape offers opportunities as well as challenges, according to the study, as two-thirds (68 percent) of the respondents said they believe that within three years their businesses will be making money on user-generated content. However, a quarter (24 percent) of respondents said they do not yet know how their businesses will profit from user-generated content.

Asked to identify which type of content offers the highest growth potential for their industry over the next five years, the greatest number of respondents — 53 percent — cited short-form video, followed by videogames (13 percent), full-length film (11 percent) music, (11 percent), consumer publishing (9 percent) and business publishing (4 percent).

According to a recent survey orchestrated by GfK Custom Research, a staggering 87% of Americans have been put off the sport of running for a variety of reasons including the fear that they need to be competitive in order to participate*. In opposition to this philosophy, Reebok asks consumers, "What are you just doing?" in its innovative global movement "Run Easy."

Reebok's "Run Easy" movement kicked off with an aggressive media campaign featuring advertising created by New York agency, Mcgarry Bowen.




The first phase of the "Run Easy" movement will feature several attention grabbing OOH executions including edgy messages such as "Run + Puke + Run = Crazy".


Reebok's Run Easy television spot celebrates the joy of social running "at the speed of chat." In opposition to Nike latest TVC's which depict the pain and suffering which athletes go through.

In Latin America Nike it has sent a new campaign Nike Rockstar Workout
The commercial titled Sweats the Fat is produced by the Argentine composer Gustavo Santaolalla, and is performed by the Costa Rican singer Debi Nova.
In it, Nike invites women to exercise through music and choreographies designed by Jamie King, leaving the choice of aesthetic surgery as a second alternative. The campaign is developed by the Argentine agency Madre of Buenos Aires.

Nokia has launched a blog/vlog for their N series mobile phone users called Nsights. Because the future is today and tomorrow can’t wait (what a cliche!).
Nokia is trying to open the conversation and want you to participate in the discussions.

For now they’ve opened up two sections - Internet and Music - that are ready to have revolutionary and visionary insights from you.

The internet has turned old ideas on knowledge, entertainment, commerce, community and information on their head. All that remains is to free it from your desk...

Away for a much deserved vacation. Going to the mountains during the Easter Break.

Scandal for the publicity of the Crazy Horse

We are living in exponential times. There are about 540,000 words in the English language.About 5 times as many as during Shakespeare’s time.More than 3,000 new books are published . . .Daily. More amazing facts about the shift that our world is going through right now, here.

And of course, watch this amazing presentation



via innocent drinks via here be monsters

• There are considerable ethnic and gender differences in the association between socio-economic status, perceived barrier of food price, perceived benefit of diet quality and dietary intake.

• Income constraints on individuals and families can lead to a poorer quality diet. When buying food, African-Americans with lower incomes saw food price as more important than Whites with the same income level did.

• Caucasians of lower socio-economic status ate more fat and saturated fat. African-Americans showed no association between income level and fat intake.

• Among all study participants, and independent of income, the perceived barrier of food price appears to increase sodium intake while reducing fiber intake.

• Perceived benefit of diet quality was directly related to better nutritional behavior, including consuming foods less in saturated fat and eating more fiber, fruits and vegetables. Compared to men, women were more concerned about meeting food guidelines in order to improve their health.

• Women had lower energy, energy density, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium intake than men. Yet, men had higher intake of fruits and vegetables, fiber, calcium and dairy products, particularly because they consumed more food.

Reyka Vodka is an Icelandic brand. The word reyka derives from the ancient Icelandinc word for steam. Watch and enjoy these cute, hilarious commercials. So simple and touchy. Gorgeous!

Check out their website. Cool graphics










via notcot

I love no 7: Notice patterns, Make connections

from here

John G won the debate against John L. Blogging isn't killing planning!

No: 56%
Yes: 27%
Don't Know: 17%

Read the notes from the debate here

One year ago I've starting this blog not knowing where it will take or if I will last for so long. So far, it was a very enriching experience. Although, at some point I lost half my posts, thanks to the encouragement of my friends, I've managed to find the energy to keep blogging.

Along the way I've met wonderful people, both online and off line. They inspired me, I've learned valuable things and shared great ideas. One of the things that is very important to blogging is content. Content is a record. What differentiates content from other forms of information is that it is formal and recorded. It isn't a conversation in a café. It isn't a chat at a bar. Blogging may well be conversational but a key difference is that it leaves a record that others can peruse.
I'm humbled to know that there are people out there interested in what I write. That rises the bar for me to write about interesting things.

Blogging is a long-term investment of time, energy and creativity. A wonderful form of communication, that's why I thank you all reading and participating. Whomever you are.
So let's keep the conversation going :)

Agrimold din Vaslui imbuteliaza si produce apa minerala carbogazoasa de izvor, sucuri si ulei pentru gatit. Ceea ce mi-a starnit interesul sunt numele sub care compania comercializeza aceste produse. De mare inspiratie!

Dupa cum vedeti din fotografie apa minerala, "Izvorul Moldovencei" se numeste "Adio Sete". La fel si sucurile. Uleiul poarta numele de "Pofta Buna".
Trageti voi concluziile ca pe mine m-a pufnit rasul si nu ma mai pot concentra :D

Din categoria: Creativitate fara limite

I've just discovered two great sites dealing with green living.

The Alternative Consumer it's about eco lifestyle. They "present cutting-edge design, progressive initiatives and wise alternatives that stimulate a positive impact on the environment - one purchase at a time - alternativeconsumer.com is essential reading for busy folks looking to cultivate a greener lifestyle."
It's an excellent place where you can find cool things that help on preserving our world.

Greenthinkers is a web site that was created as a place to discuss and present ideas on how to live a more green life. They throw some green ideas out there in hopes of getting ourselves and others to make lifestyle changes that benefit the environment, or at least don't harm it as much.

Go check them out! I'm sure that there's something you can do to help saving the Earth!

Branding was on everyone's lips in the first day at Mad Days (ro). Marius surprised me with a creative presentation. He made a t-shirt with the title of each slide, wear 'em and as the presentation went along he took one t-shirt off to unveil the next slide. Brilliant!

The audience was participating, asking questions, challenging Marius. Great atmosphere! Surprisingly, there were lots of people in the audience. Somehow I knew that here in Iasi the interest for branding was high, but I didn't imagine that the turn out would be so great.

Later on, there was the opening of a very interesting photography exhibition. The author, Otilia Andrei, showcased photos of Asian "street talk". Photos taken on the streets of some Asian cities, illustrating commercial signage. Very refreshing.

Congrats to the organizers! Advero and Twin Arts. Good start, looking forward to the next workshops.

Good ideas can be drowned out by a flood of bad ones, says Laurent Florès. His New York-based company, called crmmetrix, developed a worthy new solution called Delphi. The Delphi system combines customer creativity with marketing department knowledge, and tests both with instant feedback from the Internet.

The system uses an Internet-based panel of consumers, provided by the client or crmmetrix, of whom the first 100 are asked for their best idea for a slogan to sell a particular product. Those consumer ideas are mixed in with the marketing department ideas and put to a vote by the next level of panelists.

"The beauty of this system is that consumers both generate ideas and sort through them," says Olivier Toubia, assistant professor of marketing at Columbia Business School in New York, who is co-authoring an article with Florès on the methodology of the Delphi system for the peer-reviewed Marketing Science magazine.

The clients range from consumer products companies like P&G, Unilever to Accor Hotels and the tire company Michelin. No doubt something is worth it about this method giving the names of the companies which use the system.

via stefan via IHT

This advert for Volkswagen was withdrawn from broadcast by the car maker following complaints from a number of mental health charities, including the Suicide Prevention Action Network, the American Psychiatric Association and Mental Health America. According to the complaints, the advert was guilty of mocking and exploiting the serious subject of suicide.

Title:"Jumper"
Brand: Volkswagen
Agebcy:Crispin, Porter + Bogusky, Miami

I like the "I'm feeling lucky" button ;)
Of course, this is just a joke :)

Dear planners, the 3rd annual planner survey is online. Heather LeFevre conducts an informal survey that is designed to let us all see what planners at different agencies think about their jobs, understand what drives salaries, and hopefully learn more about how our discipline is changing.

The survey is designed for planners only, from agency or freelance. Those outside US are welcome to participate. The answers will be anonymous and this link will capture your email if you want to receive the results.

Spread the word!

found at fallon

Alin created a love letter to Renault 12, Romanians' favorite car. The book is a "a compendium of architectures, designs, fashions and lifestyles."
You can download it here

To start of your week, here are some really sexy prints for Lavazza Coffee. From now one my morning coffee will be a much more intense experience :)





The photograph is Eryk Fitkau, an Australian who thinks that ""A photograph does not speak, it does not smell, it makes no sound, it does not move, it is just a two dimensional piece of paper, but a good photograph can do at least one if not all of the above!" At the end of the day that is exactly what Eryk's images are all about.

via cup of java

This is a great tools! Free online file conversion. Just the kind of thing lots of us was looking for. Zamzar supports conversion between a wide variety of different file formats: text, image, music, video. You can even convert YouTube videos. This is the epitome of web 2.0.

Some friends of mine put together a interesting event. Mad Days is a mix of advertising, music and film. It will take place in Iasi between 22 and 24 March.
I look forward to the workshops held by Marius (on branding) Costin and Elena (planning) and the guys from Violet. Also there will be a fine selection of Romanian short movies and a concert with Al Jawala, a German band with an eclectic sound, mixing Balkan rhythms, drum'n'bass, jazz and funk.

Looks like fun. Come join the fun!

via iasi nights (ro)

I love this visual. It reminds me on the times I learned to ride a bicycle and the liberating sensation of my first meters on two wheels.

In an Adage interview, Bob Iger, CEO, Walt Disney Co. commented:

According to Mr. Kent Oldham, associate director and GBS consumer view solutions manager at P&G, “now more than ever, consumers are owning our brands, and we not only have to understand that they are owning our brands. But we also have to embrace that idea and understand the implications of it.”

Finally P&G admits it. The change in consumer's attitudes towards brands is irreversible. Consumers have the need to be in control, people are becoming more self-expressive on a scale not possible before -- with family, friends and even strangers on the Internet, thanks to new technology. “They have ways of networking with each other that they have never been able to before,” Mr. Oldham said.

Marketers don’t control all touch points, and those touch points, as a result, have a great impact on the way consumers view brands. The implication of not learning from every touch point a consumer has with your company or product or service can be costly. “No matter how much great brand-building work you do, and how much equity your brands have, all it takes is one negative consumer experience to destroy all of it."

After a long wait, I've got my blog back. Unfortunately, everything posted on the new blogger platform is lost :(
Now, I don't know what to do. Should I try to rebuild the blog as it was, or should I continue posting from here on? What do you think? Any suggestions?

Copy: "Because your brain is faster than DSL"

The tagline says "Discover the importance of reading"
Don't know the agency. Anyone?

In his new book, Grant McCracken deploys "complex adaptive theory" to track the movement of trends and new groupings of consumers. It applies complexity theory to the turbulence of contemporary cultures and markets.

He says, "Complexity has a theory. Commotion has a pattern. Dynamism has a system. We can continue to live by damage control, or we can change the way we play the game." To survive our own world of collision and speed, marketers need to see the world as "flocks and flows."

Brand: Happydent
Product: Chewing Gum
Client: Equinox (Ram Madhwani)
Agency: McCann Erickson

Great ad! Creativity personified!

A study by Winterberry Group examines how market and industry trends are driving systemic
change across the agency landscape, further transforming the agency/client dynamic.

Compiled in more than 70 interviews with senior-level executives, the study demonstrates that the traditional agency model is dying.

• - The complex demands of the multichannel selling environment require that agencies provide clients with a unified offering spanning both "“above-the-line"” and "“below-the-line"” marketing channels
- Compressed margin availability, expanded client scrutiny and the
emergence of alternative service providers are raising the competitive
pressure for agencies of all sizes
- Integrated service providers are seeking to command a greater
presence in the agency environment, but struggle to sell their strategic
and creative offerings to marketers who associate their brand with
other services
- Clients are increasingly leaning on internal strategy and creative
capabilities-—as well as procurement departments-—to support
marketing initiatives and generate leverage in negotiations with
external agencies
- The prevalent "“agency holding company"” model is poorly equipped to
provide the organizational agility and cross-channel service offering
that today'’s marketers demand.

The study sparked a lot of discussions around the blogosphere. The change is irreversible and those unable to switch will parish.

As Noelle Weaver says, the way forward is getting past the medium and get to know the consumer. Intimately.
Also, Blue Flavor'’s Director of Strategy, Brian Fling, in his post The Agency Model is Dead, says there are five reasons why the old model doesn't work anymore:

1. Segmentation (Too many choices, pervasive media weakened)
2. Big Ideas: They don'’t always reap big rewards
3. The Cost of Trial and Error
4. The Growth of In-House Resources
5. The Talent Pool

The study concludes that "Forward-thinking shops-—those that embrace media-agnostic planning and employ integrated "“across-the-line"” methods-—represent a model to which
many others are likely to convert in the years ahead. Merger and acquisition
activity may well drive this hybridization. Already prime acquisition targets, for
example, interactive agencies will continue to be incorporated into general and
direct agencies as they are likely too "“siloed"” to survive as standalone entities.

Despite the seismic shifts that have occurred on the agency landscape, the
results from this study confirm that agencies are adapting to the new rules of
engagement and even flourishing beneath them. It is impossible to state with
certainty how the terrain will change in the future, but these findings suggest
that agencies with accountable, innovative marketing programs will always be
in demand."

via experience planner

"Temporary means learning to care for things (and people) that are precious, and when it’s time, to freely let them go. As Gary Thorp says in his book Sweeping Changes: "the joy comes not from trying to keep things forever, but from keeping them well."

"Permanency breeds a state of fear. If you own something, there’s always the potential to lose it, while if you own next to nothing, you won’t worry about ending up with nothing."

From an excellent report on a new trend, cleverly named, temporariness.

You can download it here

Collaboration of W+K and Nexus Production with a GTA twist, and you get an unusually cool Coke ad.

via brand new

I've travelled 400 km to see Placebo in concert in Bucharest. I didn't like it. They are not very good playing live, and what was even worse, they delivered the playlist at a very fast pace, without any interaction/connection with the crowd.
I had high expectations and I left dissapointed. I will stick to the dvd and the cd's. This way I will avoid seeing Mr. Brain Molko's arrogance and platitude. Too much hype for too little.
They didn't played with the heart. It was professional and aseptic. Easily forgetful.

Pretty innovative form of marketing for the upcoming release of Snakes on a Plane that shows how just including a limited amount of user control can drastically affect a product.

The premise of the site Snakes on a Plane: Send a Message from Samuel L. Jackson is that you can enter a little bit of relative data and can then generate a call to anyone you want from Mr. Jackson asking them to see the movie on its Aug. 18 release date.

The site asks both your name and the name of the person you are sending the message to, the numbers of both, and the occupation, hobby, looks, and mode of transportation of the person receiving the message. When you complete the information, the site calls the person in question with a message from Samuel L. Jackson, addressing them by name and telling them to leave their job and hobby behind, pick up the person who made the call and take them to see Snakes on a Plane.

I'm curious if those who receive the call will go see the movie. Or it will just create a buzz, and only a percentage of them will go to the cinema.

I rely too much on technology. Maybe because technology seems more serious and professional than a pencil, so instead of writing or drawing, I, like many other creative professionals, turn to mechanical aids. I've used overhead projectors, stat machines, digital cameras, scanners or Photoshop to put my ideas on paper or screen. The more I come to rely on these tools, the less I trust my abilities to write/draw.
We are feeling incapable of producing images that approach the "perfection" of machines.

Like any physical skill, whether shooting baskets or driving a car, if we stop doing it, we get rusty. So on those rare occasions when we do pick up a pencil, the results are disappointing and we vow not to make that mistake again.

So what price are we paying for this? Why not just rely on stock-photo websites and Photoshop to present our ideas? My cell phone has a camera built into it, so why bother carrying a sketchpad?

That's simple.
Because our jobs, our happiness, our lives depend on it. Because our goal is not to produce slick compositions; it's to lead a creatively fertile life.

Client: Cancer Patients Aid Association
Agency: Euro RSCG, India






Client: History Files
Agengy: Graffiti BBDO, Bucharest

Hilarious account about the modern man. George Carlin is on top of his game!

The young people driving the markets nowadays got a name.

Colin Bates came up with C Generation, which stands for:

Content - creating and distributing their own content
Creativity - finding new ways to interpret brands
Community - sharing their ideas with friends

I think that is a good description of what this generation is about. More and more brands took notice and started to collaborate with their audience. Inviting customers to participate in the development of TV commercials, involving them in product development or promotions, allowing shoppers to customize the products, are some of the ways brands effectively build relationships with their customers.

So, brand owners should ask themselves:
Am I doing enough to collaborate with my marketplace to build my brand?

InBev Germany introduced two new brands in the segment of beer mix beverages.
Beck’s Level 7 is a beer and energy drink, a mix of guarana, coffee and beer.
Beck's Chilled Orange is mix of beer and Kumquat orange with fruit-fresh flavour.

Both products have an alcohol content of 2,5 per cent and are offered in transparent, white glass bottles. Both novelties are offered in the following bundles: Single bottle, Sixpack and 24er box of 0.33 litres (single bottles and/or four Sixpacks).

more info: www.becks-level7.de
www.becks-chilled-orange.de

After being awarded the prestigious BMW advertising account, fledgling creative hotshop Ireland/Davenport launched its first TV commercial for the brand.

Shot in the Netherlands using the moving sculptures of world-renowned artist Theo Jansen, the commercial, entitled "Kinetic Sculptures", forms part of a broader campaign which serves to highlight BMW's market leadership in the fields of technology and innovation.

Emphasising the strategic background behind the creative execution, newly appointed strategic director at Ireland/Davenport, Priniven Pillay, adds, "BMW is so passionate about innovation, from their design elements to their pioneering engineering concepts, and it was this passion that we wanted to capture through our TV commercial."

Truely unique & amazing way of bringing together art and engineering.

via guerrilla innovation