sparking curious mind

This has to be the sexiest music video around! Shot in classic black and white, fashion photographer Victor Del Toro follows around a beautiful model who can't decide whether or not to keep her clothes on. Song is "Say It Ain’t So" by Weezer.
Personally,I would have loved more storyline, but is hot enough as it is.

At the beginning of the new decade I'm going to do any prediction about anything, because the thing is, one can't predict a thing. And that's fine.
I'm not going to make any list of future trends to watch or any gadgets that will make our lives better.
I'm just going to encourage you to live, as you please and enjoy it.



Peace

photo credit

1. Always pretend to know more than everybody around you.

2. Get employees to fill in time sheets.

3. Run daily checks on progress of everyone's work.

4. Ensure that highly qualified people do mundane work for long periods.

5. Put barriers up between departments.

6. Don't speak personally to employees, except when announcing increased targets, shortened deadlines and tightened cost restraints.

7. Ask for a 200-page document to justify every new idea.

8. Call lots of meetings.

9. Place the biggest emphasis on the budget.

10. Buy lots of computers.

That's the reason they built those huge cars, back in the day.

photo by

"Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

By Ji Lee

Brilliant piece of advertising by W+K Tokyo.
Check out the whole case here. It's mindblowing!

Created by Online Education

Twitter on a Fossil Bluetooth Watch!
From Bill Geiser, VP Fossil watch Technology

Bulky, though interesting.

For designer clothes at discounts that you would walk across Oxford Street naked for, check out BrandAlley now.
The online fashion retailer, BrandAlley, held an impromptu fashion show on November 20th on one of the most fashionable streets in the UK. The models wore nothing but a whole bunch of body paint.

Director Matei-Alexandru Mocanu has won genero.tv's competition to make the official music video for the latest UNKLE track, Heavy Drug. Congratulations to Matei! Well deserved.



Creative Review - UNKLE's Heavy Drug video

Posted using ShareThis

6. When making presentations, account planners must dress up as pirates and hop around on one foot. Hilariously serious!

10 Ideas For Transforming Advertising

I found this interesting quote today:

The seamless life of agency can be reflected in the way we organize ourselves into flexible and versatile teams and collaboration across different disciplines is the key. socialhallucinations.com, Social Hallucinations, Nov 2009

You should read the whole article.

Winning industry awards is sometimes the primary concern of the agency’s creative staff, and because of this, clients often accuse agencies of ignoring their needs in favor of creating work that appeals to judges who sit on awards panels, usually fellow practitioners.

Freakish, flighty, yet very interesting video for N900. Great stuff!

If you are interested in book covers and editorial in general, there is nice project called «Daily book graphic» by Julian Montague, an artist and graphic designer living in Buffalo NY.
«Everyday I post some sort of graphic element from a book that I own. My plan is to do this for a year – February 21, 2009 to February 21, 2010.»

Very interesting

Ieri, 20 oct, la invitatia celor de la Trado Motors, am participat la BMW xDrive Tour.
De dimineata, pe o vreme de stat in casa, am ajuns la locatie, unde dupa o cafea si o scurta sedinta de socializare, am intrat in "paine". Vorba lor, bucuria nu are timp sǎ se îngrijoreze de condiţiile meteo şi de drum.

Tre' sa marturisesc ca eu sunt un mare fan BMW, inca de pe vremea lui E21, prin urmare eram nerabdator sa vad noul seria 5 GT si sa experimentez tehnologia xDrive. Ar trebui sa vorbesc si despre premiera in Romania a modelului X1, dar mie nu-mi spune nimic. Este un compromis facut de constructorul german, pe care-l inteleg dpdv al marketingului, dar nu il voi sustine.

Buuun......Dupa o scurta prezentare video a ce inseamna BMW xDrive, am trecut la dezvelirea monstrului! O combinatie intre un SUV, un MPV si o berlina de lux, modelul de baza, 535i GT fiind propulsat de un motor cu sase cilindri in linie de 3.0 litri supraalimentat ce dezvolta 306 cp. Aveam furnicaturi pe degete si tare as fi vrut sa-l incerc. Cu alta ocazie...

Fara sa pierdem timpul, am purces la o demonstratie a sistemului xDrive in conditii de on-road si off-road. Asa ca insotiti de cate un reprezentant BMW, ne-am urcat cate 2 in masini si ....of we went. Traseul ne-a purtat prin imprejurile orasului, iar la intervale regulate opream pentru a experimenta alt model din carvana.

Eu am condus un x3, un 320, al lui Claudiu David ( care mi-a oferit cateva tips-uri de condus extem de utile) si un 750i de 5l, 407 cai, cutie automata. Ce sa zic....Masinile astea parca au fost construite ca o prelungire a mea. Reactioneaza precis la reactiile mele, de parca au in ADN urme din mine. Incredibil cum accelereaza de te infunda in scaun si cum reactioneaza pe o sosea uda, chiar daca nu le-am solicitat la maxim. O incantare!

Odata ajunsi la showroom, am trecut la experimentare sistemului xDrive pe un traseu ingenios, amenajat in curte. Eu am condus un x6 si un x5 si marturisesc ca inca nu-mi vine sa cred ce poate sa faca tehnologia mentionata. Sistemul inteligent xDrive transferă putere către roţi într-un mod hotărât – şi în doar câteva milisecunde, în momentul în care sistemul simte o pierdere excesivă a tracţiunii, inversează subit cuplul, pentru a se adapta condiţiilor schimbătoare; iar astfel oferă tracţiunea maximă disponibilă şi o manevrabilitate superioară, pe toate suprafeţele. Si a fost un traseu plin de denivelari!

Una peste alta a fost o experienta minunata si parca nu as fi plecat. In concluzie trebuie sa admit ca BMW este Joy. O bucurie savurata resposabil, si traita in siguranta. Multumesc gazdelor si ii anunt ca voi raspunde cu drag si altor invitatii.

Rory Sutherland does an excellent job of selling what he calls "intangible value".
By the end of this talk, he will have persuaded you to the notion that intangible value is good, because it prevents people from only wanting more all the time, and instead enables them to appreciate what they already have.

A very valuable and insightful talk - sometimes it is a bit over the top - but we can give that licence to him - he is an advertising man and speaks his business well.

Absolutely brilliant! I love the constantly changing creative interpretation. wow! Music an image. Biology here is a fabulous treat.

Excellent diagram of online relationships. Made by David

A change in the logo, affects buying decisions.

"Currently, most companies use a mass approach when they change their logos. Worse yet, most companies presume that their most precious customers—those having strong brand commitment—will be more accommodating to changes.

"Our results show this is likely a mistaken assumption—one that can alienate the core, the most committed of a brand’s customers. In contrast, weakly committed consumers respond positively to logo redesign. Naturally, a more nuanced approach is needed to ensure that logo redesigns appeal to both groups.

"One strategy may be to manage the reactions and expectations of strongly committed consumers by actively soliciting their input and perhaps pre-notifying them before the changes are revealed to the broader public. Giving the strongly committed such a feeling of being an 'insider' may strengthen their self-brand connection and mitigate the potentially negative effects of logo redesign." - Dr. Vikas Mittal, Rice University

via

Design agencies are like nursery playgroups, except that the chairs are a lot bigger and designers don't go over the lines when they're colouring-in.

Like children in a playgroup, designers are never stuck for things to draw. This is because they have grown-ups who give them things to do. These things are called jobs and the grown-ups are clients.

Hilarious! And a lot close to reality.

from here

Am avut de curand o polemica cu un client in care el sustinea ca exista brand-uri ideale, si doar acele brand-uri pot avea succes.

Eu nu cred ca exista branduri ideale. Ideea face parte dintr-un sistem de gandire pre-digital, unde posibilitatile de constructie a brand-urilor se limitau la un set de instrumente inguste. Potrivit acestui mindset, se poate spune ca unele marci erau mai potrivite decat altele pentru a face cele cateva lucruri pe care marketing-ul ti le permitea. Dar astazi, in era post digitala, acest lucru nu mai este valabil.

Inainte existau un set limitat de oportunitati si toata lumea a trebuit sa forteze brandul lor in aceste mici cutii de instrumente de marketing in scopul de a comunica si a se conecta cu audienta. Acest lucru nu a facut bine pentru multe brand-uri si se poate spune ca existau brand-uri ideale sau mai putin ideale in functie de care se potrivea mai bine la instrumentele disponibile. Azi - exista o oportunitate de marketing geniala pentru toata lumea - atat timp cat market-erii sunt interesati sa o descopere.

Astazi este mai mult vorba despre înţelegerea marketing-ului prin prisma valorii companiilor (ce valori oferă, in ce context si cum?), decat incercarea de a potrivi marketing-ul intr-un set predefinit de unelte.

Prin urmare, un brand ideal este un brand care exploreaza, care gaseste instrumentele cele mai potrivite contextului lor (situatiile in care produsele lor sau brand idea furnizeaza valoare), pentru audienta lor şi pentru organizatie. Si inţelege ca marketing-ul este o parte a experientei de produs sau de utilizare, nu ceva ce ai adauga la sfarsit doar pentru a spune oamenilor ca produsul este disponibil.

Nu exista brand-uri ideale, ci doar strategii geniale.

Tarantino’s talk is not just the fuel of his movies: it’s the engine, the wheels and most of the frame. It’s where the real dramatic and philosophical action takes place. The gunshots, car crashes and torture scenes are punctuation.

Great rant about Tarantino!

"The second assumption is just as dangerous: it is the dangerously linear assumption that the best way to build a brand is to set out to build a brand. I really don’t believe this. I think if you set out to build a great business, you’ll stand a fair chance of building a great brand. I am not equally confident that someone aspiring to build a great brand will build a great business." - Rory Sutherland

BMW a lansat o noua platforma de comunicare la nivel global. Imi placea mult "Pure driving pleasure". Parca era mai aproape de spiritul brand-ului.
Dar, cum spun chiar ei: "Is very important how you make people feel, but is more important what you make".
Si ei fac masini incredibile.


Pentru mine "Joy" de la BMW este clasicul 507. O bucurie de masina. Sper sa reusesc sa conduc una o data.

Exceptional! Dragi ieseni, colegi publicitari, anul acesta dulcele targ a avut reprezentare la Cannes!
Dupa cum vedeti in imaginea de mai sus, este vorba de agentia Christi Leon. Marturisesc ca nu am auzit pina acum de ei.
Va transcriu mai jos minunea de script cu care s-au inscris. Observati ca nici topica limbii romane nu o stapanesc, ca sa nu mai vorbim despre creativitate, care lipseste cu desavarsire.
Enjoy it!

I've been away for a week. A much deserved vacation. This year we've been to Bulgaria, in Albena.
The main criteria was the price and the vicinity to Romania. This way we were able to take our 10 months daughter with us.

I didn't have high expectations beforehand. To my surpreise, the Bulgarians have a decent tourism, with clean beaches, good accomodation, great food, smilling people and beautiful scenery.
It was great!

Unfortunately, although Romania has a great seashore, I don't dig the quality of the service and the prices they have. It's a rip-off!
So, until there will be significant improvements in the quality of services, I'll never go to Romania sea resorts.
And for all of you willing to visit Romania, I'll recommend to go to the mountains or up north to visit the monasteries. You'll have decent accomodation at good prices and beautiful scenery.

Australia’s world cup soccer bid is heating up ahead of the official submissions in 2010. Starting with a very cool video showing people playing soccer across the country in all sorts of beautiful places.
This is one of the elements of the campaign to come. The campaign's website is an clever comms platform where, among other things, one can play and eran points for Australia's bid.
As they say, football dares to dream. And I salute and support aussie's bid.

Pentru lansarea Renault Logan in Columbia, Publicis a dezvoltat campania "Legea Atractiei" cu trei executii diferite.








Agentie: Publicis Colombia/Publicis CB
Productie: Rhayuela

It has indeed been an eternity since I put forth enough time and effort to comment on our fascinating world. For that, I can only offer an apology to the few people who flick back from time to time.
I’ve been wondering, “has anyone even noticed?” I mean, with so much stuff being written every day and seemingly less and less time available to just casually “browse the web,” who would notice, much less even care, if another blog just sort of fell by the wayside?

The reasons for my long hiatus are both personal and professional.
Nine months ago Mara Cezara, my beautiful daughter (picture above) was born and came to make my life a constant source of wonders and happines.
In the same time, I had to take care of my new professional endeavour which is Wunderkid, a small, creative agency with big ambitions. We've been doing well lately and I'm satisfied with the way things go, both internally and externally.

So, I decided today that not only do I have the time to speak softly but I may even find the time to shout about a few things. I would like to take this blog in a somewhat new direction. It will include anything and everything that we can think of. Probably, I'll post more in Romanian.

I look forward to jumping back in…

Stefan a facut o lista de cuvinte dacice si le-a postat in Wordle. In spirit Apolod'or!

Am facut un nou spoof pentru Adfel- Grand Spoof!

De data asta parodiem Coca-Cola Train si Cava D'oro. Totul plasat undeva in anul 106 i.Hr.




Aceeasi echipa care a facut celebrul Budai Beer. Plus Alex asociatul meu de la Wunderkid, care s-a ocupat de productie si filmare.

Ave!

For many years Beck's have been supporting young talent and showcasing the established artists by offering them to use Beck's label as a canvas for their work. Artists whose designs appeared on Beck's bottles include Damien Hurst, Tracey Emin, Jeff Koons, and many others.

2008 saw a beginning of partnership between Beck's and the Royal College of Art, which resulted in four promising RCA graduates having their work put on Becks' Canvas.

photos source

The four successful Beck’s Canvas artists are:

• Riitta Ikonen, 27, who is studying a two year MA in Communication Art and Design at the Royal College of Arts and graduated last month.
  
  
• Tom Price, 26, is an alumni of Sculpture (2006) who received a First Class BA (Hons) Sculpture degree from Chelsea College of Art in 2004 and currently works from his Brixton studio.
  
  
• Simon Cunningham is an alumni of the MA Fine Art, photography course (2007) who lives and works in London.
  
  
• Charlotte Bracegirdle, 34, is an alumni of the Masters degree in painting (2006). Originally from Devon, Charlotte spent seven years applying to art schools across the UK before accepting a place at the RCA.

Consumer-based brand equity goes far beyond just the trigger communication. It comprises the long-term market benefits for the company from customer satisfaction and brand loyalty, caused by positive brand imprinting of customers. The latter is achieved through the net effect of a brand-conscious marketing strategy, product/service usage and word-of-mouth effects. Advertising is but one part of the whole process.

From the consumer perspective, the three fundamental building blocks for building brand equity are a) brand/name awareness, b) perceived product quality image, and c) perceived "extended brand image".

Awareness is necessary as a base for good brand management, because without awareness, the two - holistically perceived - image components can otherwise not be "hooked in". As a cardinal rule, it is important that both the perceived product/service quality image and the perceived extended images are distinctive - and synergistic! A not very distinctive commodity-quality-like product (or service) is difficult to brand. A brilliant luxury-quality product with a weak "extended image" is equally difficult to market.

Fun with Wordle

• Internet use stretches ahead of TV amongst youth audience
• 16-24 year olds now spend 10% more time online than watching TV
• Uplift in online driven by rising use amongst silver surfers and digital women
• Internet users on average spending nearly 12 hours per week online and nearly a third (29%) spending upwards of 16 hours online
• Internet users access the internet 5.5 days per week
• Social networking sites now visited by 42% of internet users
• 8 out of 10 Europeans connect to the internet via a broadband connection
• For the first time ever, 16-24 year olds across Europe are now accessing the
  internet more frequently than they are watching TV
  
• 82% of this younger demographic use the internet between 5 and 7
  days each week while only 77% watch TV as regularly (a decrease of
  5% since last year)

Aflu ca anul acesta Pangea Day va avea loc si la Iasi.
Evenimentul se va desfasura, incepand cu orele 21:00, in sala Azur de la Casa de cultura a studentilor organizat de Alex in parteneriat cu OSSEI si Lecupo.

Pangea Day este un proiect care are ca scop realizarea unei experinte comune care sa uneasca toata populatia globului, pentru o mai buna intelegere a oamenilor si a problemelor lor.

Pe 10 mai, 2008 oameni din intreaga lume se vor uni pentru a trai o experienta comuna: vizionarea gratuita de filme create de intreaga lume pentru lume.

Mini site interactive pentru Foltene. Din aceeasi campanie despre care vorbeam anterior. Amuzanta si in ton cu pozitionarea. Well done!
Fetelor, intrati si vedeti daca stiti care este remediul potrivit impotriva caderii parului. Testul aici

Commercial for the new station wagon by Dacia/Renault. Made for the German market the,
TV Spot starring Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Mao Tse-Tung, Karl Marx, Lenin, Martin Luther King, Rosa Luxemburg, Ho-Chi Minh and Mahatma Gandhi.

"We are all advertising, all of the time. Even the priest, with all his or her fervor, is advertising God." - Paul Arden

The former executive creative director of Saatchi & Saatchi and author of the bestselling title "It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want To Be.", has died aged 67. Good bye, maestro!

originally uploaded by

Research suggests that sticky ideas share six basic traits:

1. Simplicity. Messages are most memorable if they are short and deep. Glib sound bites are short, but they don’t last. Proverbs such as the golden rule are short but also deep enough to guide the behavior of people over generations.
2. Unexpectedness. Something that sounds like common sense won’t stick. Look for the parts of your message that are uncommon sense. Such messages generate interest and curiosity.
3. Concreteness. Abstract language and ideas don’t leave sensory impressions; concrete images do. Compare “get an American on the moon in this decade” with “seize leadership in the space race through targeted technology initiatives and enhanced team-based routines.”
4. Credibility. Will the audience buy the message? Can a case be made for the message or is it a confabulation of spin? Very often, a person trying to convey a message cites outside experts when the most credible source is the person listening to the message. Questions—“Have you experienced this?”—are often more credible than outside experts.
5. Emotions. Case studies that involve people also move them. “We are wired,” Heath writes, “to feel things for people, not abstractions."
6. Stories. We all tell stories every day. Why? “Research shows that mentally rehearsing a situation helps us perform better when we encounter that situation,” Heath writes. “Stories act as a kind of mental flight simulator, preparing us to respond more quickly and effectively.”

boomp3.com

boomp3.com

Fetelor, este un fapt medical atestat ca mai mult sex nu duce la orbire, ci la cresterea mai rapida si mai lucioasa a parului ;)
Mai sus, puteti asculta doua spoturi radio spumoase facute de Headvertising pentru Foltene (tratament anti-caderea parului).
Deci baieti, daca va cade parul, folositi Foltene. Fetelor, daca aveti aceeeasi problema, sexul este remediul. Preferabil cu baietii cu incaput de calvitie. Confidence boost! ;)

Aflu de la amicul Ciprian de desfasurarea primei conferinte dedicata mediului online la Iasi. Nu pot decat sa salut si sa incurajez initiativa. De buna seama ca voi prezent avand in vedere vorbitorii, unii dinte ei buni prieteni.

Deci, ne vedem pe 18 aprilie la IMTO! Începând cu ora 9 , la hotel Astoria din Iaşi.
Doar 170 de locuri disponibile, asa ca eu zic sa rezervati din timp. Chiar merita :)

Brand: Zertifikat
Client: Kober
Agency: CAP
Branding and Strategy: Grapefruit