sparking curious mind

Some pictures from UNKLE's show at "The Delta Music FEST" last week. It was great fun! All the bands and dj's were incredibly entertaining. I'm looking forward to the next year edition.

And if you want the hear how it was, thanks to Kee, you can download the UNKLE show.

Part I
Part II

Enjoy it!

For the next three days I'll be in Sf. Gheorghe, in the beautiful Danube Delta, at the Delta Music Fest. I finally get to see UNKLE live! One of my all time favorites. The line up is excellent and the location beautiful.
We'll be a bunch of going down there, so if someone of you guys will be around, come and say hi.

I won't stop here
I won't be still until the sun sets
On us all..

Today's edition of "Ziarul de Iasi". Claudia Craiu wrote a nice piece about our video and it's accomplishments on YouTube. Good start of the week :)

"Through away your best and start again".

So we've made a little video. It's the spoof from the previous post.We've had a lot of fun making it. We've had very little expectation. I mean, we've thought that once our friends will see it, the whole thing will be forgotten.
It turned out exactly the opposite. Right at this moment the video was seen by 33,707 people in two days. It was favorited by 117 people and linked by a whole bunch of blogs, forums and sites. The thing just blew out of proportion! Everybody talks about it, people from all over the country are calling us to congratulate. The media got interested and we going to be in the papers. Even the most viewed TV station in the country found out about it and now they invited us to be part of a program about media and advertising. And let's not forget that we are talking about a Romania spoken video. Even more, a Moldavian dialect!!!!

Now, I am really surprised by all this. And learned a lot from the experience. First of all a viral becomes viral if it's interesting, well written and beautifully executed. Then, like Russell (I think) once said, "build stuff that people want". Apparently, our little idea is something people from Romania want to see. And have fun doing it!

So be creative, have ideas, share, be inspired by your friends while having a beer. You might do some really funny stuff that other people love to see and talk about it.

This is a spoof after the well known "Budweiser - Wassss up" commercial. It was shot yesterday by my former mates from Rofilco. They also did the editing. The actors in the video are friends of ours. I'm also playing in it ;) Can you take a wild guess? ;))

I think that it came pretty good. It is in Romanian, so sorry guys, if you don't understand. I hope you get it.

"Bruneta, 1,78, sani mici, caut designer serios si experimentat pentru clipe de placere in compania unor domni generosi, de la o anumita companie. Posed departament. Nu raspund la fluieraturi."

CV sau Portofoliu tocmai la thegavrilescu@gmail.com

A major trend, and one which will undoubtedly impact on all marketing communications agencies depending on how prepared they already are, is the increase in demand from clients for better customer insights. This tallies with our own experience – the improved new business performance of agencies that embrace this point speaks for itself. Agencies should develop keener customer insights and communicate these energetically to their prospect-base.

According to Rainmaker Consulting’s “Intelligent New Business Survey,” the main factor for choosing one agency over another is "Quality customer insights." Not size, not creative capabilities, not client list, which are ranked down below.

This clearly shows the need for people with planning skills, with a keen eye and able to come up with quality insights.

After the "free and confidential" rectal exam, you would have scored two free tickets to a future Brewers game.

Odd promotional tactic!

At the Society for Parental Mind Control, we believe young people like us deserve the very best of everything. And more than anything else, we deserve wicked-sick computers that kick a whole lotta butt–serious butt.

We’re only here to help you do what you already do…only better. So take heart, friend…the future is yours…and we’re here to help you get the computer…that should also be yours.

Chrysler has a new logo. The Pentastar got a metalizing treatment. It was 1962 when then-Chrysler president Lynn Townsend wanted a new corporate symbol to represent all of the corporation’s brands. It had to be a symbol with a strong, classic look, instantly recognizable and universal. Wherever you were, in whatever country, that symbol had to say “Chrysler.”
Now Chrysler is being Chrysler again.

more here

Production house Sehsucht have created this mesmerizing spot for Konzerthaus Dortmund through the agency Jung von Matt.

The clip has been directed by Niko Tziopanos. Art Direction: Alexander Heyer and Martin Hess.

The title of the soundtrack is Kara Toprak (Black Earth) by Fazil Say

Advertised brand: www.AdOfDaMonth.com
Advert title(s): Playbox, Siat, Samose

Advertising Agency: Ogilvy & Mather Budapest
Creative Director: Dalbir Singh

Short rationale: The ads are testing the knowledge of
the creatives. How much are you in the know? Can you spot the real one?

"Creative departments are the most hidebound and conservative departments in the agency"

- Adrian Ho, from Zeus Jones, at AAAA Account Planning Conference in San Diego

The oldest university in Romania, "Al. I. Cuza." from Iasi, got a new set of "special effects". I really like the way it looks. The light system is giving the old university (inaugurated in 1860) a touch of style and elegance, rightly deserved. Well done to whomever had the idea!

Irish spot that represents of a very original form what happens when filling a glass of Guinness. Aside from the visual effects, it is necessary to emphasize that the stunt men were thrown towards 8 real giant drums build for the occasion of the shoot, and the surprising synchronization between choreography and music. Enjoy it!

"Adobe's desktop brand system is a pragmatic & systematic approach to creating a cohesive functional visual language carried across our hundred products and their thousands of branded icons and screens. With a specific emphasis on clarity and legibility, this system expresses a singular focus of better enabling our customers and their work.
Our approach is pragmatic and utilitarian, literally "less is more". We have created a concise and coherent unified language in a deceivingly simple and highly distinctive visual system – from the branded desktop work through to interface and product design. Top-level point products (authoring environments eg. Photoshop, Illustrator, etc) follow a two-letter mnemonic 'nickname' system as their primary identifier... A product's icons are paired with a specific color, usually based on historical color association (Flash is red, Dreamweaver is green) and familied within a particular vertical. This color association is carried throughout the product's desktop brand in lieu of 'primary imagery', from install screens through app icons and reinforced through details on document and supporting icons." - John Nack on Adobe

Using video and authentic personal ads to promote jeans, Diesel and Wysiwyg employ Web 2.0 tactics. The page transforms into a real personals section. If the user is looking for a date, then he/she can send a photo and profile to the site gallery and, who knows, someone looking for a partner may contact them.

Gareth Kay (Modernista) and Mark Lewis (DDB, San Francisco) came out with this rather interesting list. They will elaborate on the subject at the AAAA Account Planning Conference in San Diego, next week.
I confess, I'm a sinner. Not because I commit the sins described above, but for not being good enough to help my clients understand that they are sinners, too.

via darkgate

I've stumbled upon this great Rudyard Kipling's quote. I think it should be in every planner's mind as a guiding lighthouse.

"I keep six honest serving-men (They taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When And How and Where and Who."- Rudyard Kipling, The Elephant's Child (1902)

Odd dark future in which people still remain human beings and, despite all the technological advances, make normal human errors. Marcel, carefully built a new campaign for Diesel - "Human after all".








Advertising Agency: Marcel, Paris, France
Creative directors: Anne de Maupeou, Frederic Temin
Copywriters: Eric Jannon, Dimitri Guerassimov
Art directors: Nicolas Chauvin, Romin Favre
Photographer : Johan Renck

I haven't posted anything for a while because I'm going through a lot of changes lately. Mom underwent a difficult surgery last week. Everything went well and now she's recovering very good. Hopefully, she will be out of danger and on her feet soon enough. I have to give a special thanks to everyone which showed support and offered comfort. It meant a lot to me and my Mom! You guys, my dear friends, rock! I'm privileged to have you. I love you with my whole heart!

On the other, more positive, hand, I've changed jobs. As of today I'm the newest member of the great team of Grapefruit, one of the finest brand consultancy in Romania. I'm am very excited about this new adventure! Hopefully, we will produce some great work together. I know, for one, that I'll do the best work I can.

So, I'm back on track and with added energy and enthusiasm!

Web 2.0 is founded on seven key Characteristics: Participation, Standards, Decentralization, Openness, Modularity, User Control, and Identity.

Web 2.0 is expressed in two key Domains: the Open web, and the Enterprise.

The heart of Web 2.0 is how it converts Inputs (User Generated Content, Opinions, Applications), through a series of Mechanisms (Technologies, Recombination, Collaborative Filtering, Structures, Syndication) to Emergent Outcomes that are of value to the entire community.

more here

Three new ads from Dalbir, for British Council Budapest.

Love story, Treasure and Wanted.

Advertising Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Budapest, Hungary
Executive Creative Director: Dalbir Singh
Creative Director: Gabor Spielmann
Art Director: Eric Napier, Dalbir Singh
Copywriter: Dalbir Singh
Illustrator: Melinda Szentpetery, Amsterdam

A range of 15 new wines is being rolled out to pubs using Carlsberg's distribution service.

Under the brand name Invenio, the portfolio is exclusive to Carlsberg's on-trade customers, and has been sourced from countries and regions around the world including California, South Africa, and Australia. Packaging features details of the country of origin along with the varietal, plus tasting notes.

Carlsberg UK wine buyer Louise Boddington said: "Invenio offers outstanding, reasonably priced wine. It gives our trade customers the opportunity to retail a range of Old and New World styles for their customers at outstanding value for money under an on-trade exclusive label."

SiebertHead has created the branding identity for Invenio, which is Latin for, "to discover", including the gold font and design for the product's red, white and rose ranges. Artist Ruth Palmer has created eight illustrations featuring landscape designs to denote the country of origin for each wine.

Invenio white wines are produced from three varieties of grape. Invenio Chenin Blanc comes from South Africa, Sauvignon Blanc from Chile and Chardonnay from the United States. Of the red wines, Tempranillo is Spanish, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Italian and Shiraz Australian.

Although the selection is relatively small, it’s a good overall range whose wines represent a versatile assortment of various styles. Of the white wines, Chardonnay has the most oaken taste and is worth trying with pasta and cheese. Shiraz red wine is also good to sample at a pizzeria.

Tuborg, movies, parties, the right formula to chill your summer.

Is the new drink from Fosters worth dipping your hand in a bucket of snakes? Maybe if you're Cold Blooded enough.

According to the “Internet and Multimedia 2007″ report by Edison Media Research and Arbitron, the internet has become increasingly important to US consumers as a medium for information and entertainment, and is approaching the level of television in being “most essential”.

As you can see in the above chart, the internet already leads television among those age 12-17, 18-24, 25-34, and 35-44. Only above age 45 do any age groups still put television in first place.

“It is not a stretch to say that the Internet has become just as important as television as an important source of information and entertainment in the lives of Americans,” said Larry Rosin, president of Edison Media Research.

I bet that in five years time the internet will be the most essential medium for entertainment and info.

Does this says "tender" to you? This is a new brand from Transavia, a chicken meat producer from Romania. The brand name is Fragedo, suggesting tenderness, freshness etc. Well, at least that's what I suppose they meant to convey. To me it sounds more like green. It doesn't make me think of "fresh chicken meat". But that's me.

Brandient is responsible for the design and naming. Transavia expects(ro) a 20% rise in total turnover with the new brand.

What do you think about the new brand, Fragedo?

"Fear. The prevailing corporate climate is one of fear. There is a difference between fear and being afraid. It makes sense to be afraid because it can guide you to do the right thing. Maybe if you're lucky it pushes you into action because you are afraid to be mediocre. Fear, on the other hand, creates paralysis. And to be successful you have to have the courage to act." - Alex Bogusky, Chief Creative Officer, CRISPIN PORTER + BOGUSKY

This is a slideshow from a workshop at the Communication Summer School, oraganized by local AIESEC branch for their members and other students from marketing and communication disciplines.
I've been invited to talk about brand communication, ideas and the briefing process. I gave them some work to based on a brief. I've had a lot of fun, in spite of the heat. I like their enthusiasm, even though I expected them to have more courage and initiative.
All in all, a very pleasant experience.