The Hot Pot

Twestival and the Twitter Sceptic

2009-02-13T14:42:00.001-08:00

So Twestival was yesterday night, probably the most blogged about, tweeted about digital media event in the last year or so. I'm gonna keep this brief and just a few thoughts about the whole debate going on around the topic at the moment.

The event was good fun, seemed well organised and as far as I could see, went down pretty well with the 700 or so punters in London. It was all for a good cause and the people who donated their time and effort to organising it around the world should be applauded.

But, I was dismayed at one thing I saw - people using twitter on their phones while at the event. Surely the whole point of social networks is to find like minded people online with whom you can then get together in the local, at the cinema, on the footie pitch or wherever. So when the BBC manages to film loads of folks busy tapping away on their phones instead of talking to the real person standing right next to them, it gives the wrong impression. As texting is anti-social when your friend is with you, so is tweeting. It was almost as if some people were so proud of the cache of being at a Twestival that conversation was put on the backburner while they tweeted where they were. My phone spent the evening firmly lodged in my pocket while I danced to some of the great tunes that the DJ duo bashed out. Of course, the tweeters did put the phones down and joined the party as well.

It's a shame that the BBC video gives people like the Twitter sceptic (I'm not sure whether they just found the guy on the street) ammunition to dismiss Twitter as a medium for "vacuous, self obsessed people". He misses the point totally. Twitter is a self policing network, if you're not saying something interesting or useful then people won't want to hear it, so if there are self indulgent vacuous people on Twitter, as there are in real life, then they'll shortly have no followers bar their friends. These friends will put up with reading self obsessed tweets just as you put up with a friend moaning about their job, public transport, the weather or their latest haircut.

In fact, what's so refreshing about Twitter is exactly this, you choose who you want to listen to and what marketing messages you receive . If the same went for a lot of broadcast media and advertising then I would be a very happy chappie. I wouldn't have to sit through high amplitude DFS adverts on Channel 4 in between the sections of a programme I've actually chosen to watch. As a way of quickly sharing info and links or if you're a business, quickly communicating with customers, Twitter is unrivalled in my experience. As with anything, you can always have too much of a good thing, but as part of a balanced diet of media, Twitter can be perfectly heatlhy.

Some of you may notice that I've written this on a Friday night when traditional wisdom would suggest that I should be out and about in the real world instead of in front of a computer, but you know what? I'm skint and tired and I'm going to a party tomorrow night, I don't watch 'Enders or Corrie or Big Brother or the property porn that seems to take up most of TV airtime so you can take a running jump if you think my writing this means I haven't got a life!

Small Eats

2008-12-06T01:39:00.000-08:00

Had my first week at my new job this week and it's been pretty full on, a lot to learn but it's already pretty varied and different. So I haven't been able to keep up with much this week, but here's a little round up of a few arty/asian things I've seen.

The new London Elektricity album has been included in the ART VINYL awards. I've thought for a while that Hospital Records put a lot of effort into their album covers. Helped by Trickartt they create some pretty cool images. Of course this wouldn't be a Hot Pot post without some reference to Flickr so here is Trickartt's Flickr. I particularly like his Berocca Obama.

On the Obama theme too, a new exhibition has opened in Miami with loads of artwork covering the new U.S President elect

Following on from the Monkey - Journey to the West Opera, Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn have put together a new short film based on it. It's pretty cool I reckon.
It seems there's a lot of art stuff going on in Miami at the moment as I also found this

For more like this check these folks: Rogerio Degaki, Krampf Gallery and Tokyo Gallery
This is a pretty big post and it probably doesn't make any sense but nevermind. Oh and I learnt a random fact this week, 5000 people work at Harrods, 5000!!!

The MUJI Design Awards

2008-11-30T06:52:00.000-08:00

Awarding simplicity...now there's a thought. MUJI, have just relaunched their website with an outline of their design mantra - simple, timeless, functional design classics. It's refreshing to see a company getting back to basics and I think they've judged the zeitgeist pretty well. In a time where our lives are getting more and more complicated, increasingly revolving around technology, I think companies who offer simple solutions to everyday problems/needs will do well. In the same way that people are switching to organic, locally produced foods, I think people will begin to look for companies like Muji to lead the way in simplifying their lives.

To emphasise their commitment to this philosphy, MUJI have recently concluded their international design competition and the winner, a straw straw clearly demonstrates what they're looking for: simple, functional, back to basics design.

I've also been watching a lot of TED recently and I came across this talk by Barry Schwarz on the Paradox of Choice. His idea is that although conventional wisdom dictates that freedom of choice is one of the fundamental foundations of a modern, free, democratic society, the western world has gone too far down this route, to the point that we are paralysed by the amount of choice we have. So instead of choice enriching our lives, it often does the opposite, making us despair over whether we have made the right choice or not.

The day after I saw this

and I annoyed a number of people behind me by faffing about, trying to pick a drink from the myriad of choices. Then I thought, wouldn't it be great if there was a coffeeshop that made things simple for us, that just served great coffee, plain, great filter coffee, instead of a venti low fat soy decaf chai latte? It might save us all some queuing time and some grey hairs!

Poladroid - More Flickr Genius

2008-11-23T05:59:00.000-08:00

Just found this funky Polaroid converter. It's really easy to use and converts your digital photos into polaroid lookalikes. It's a bit of a craze on Flickr at the mo, check out this group and mine for more. I really like the didgeridoo man one I took, just found him practising in an alleyway in Covent Garden. I thought he was busking so gave him some money and asked if I could take some pictures of him. Turns out he wasn't a busker....bit of a blunder, but he was chilled anyway and let me take some photos.

My two cents on the credit crunch and the role for creative companies

2008-11-21T08:50:00.000-08:00

At this year's Olympics, Usain Bolt blew away the competition and became the fastest man on earth. Michael Phelps became the most successful Olympian of all time. Apart from being the quickest in their disciplines, what do these two athletes have in common? They're different, they're extraordinary, Usain Bolt is 6ft 5ins, dwarfing most stocky powerhouse sprinters. Michael Phelps has size 14 feet, his arm span is disproportionately large. In short, they're completely adapted to what they're doing. That's all well and good, but how does this relate to marketing....?

In the wake of the announcement by Martin Sorrell I read yesterday saying that there are planned redundancies for WPP in the UK and US in 2009. It's often been said that in recessions, the more creative advertising ideas get relegated for more solid proven money drivers. But I've been thinking that this time, it's going to be the agencies that are nimble, reactive and quick on their feet and the ones that can prove that they can lead the field in terms of innovation that will succeed.

When massive Comms groups like WPP announce that there are recruitment freezes, that restricts the extent to which the operating companies can manouevre themselves. When client budget belts are tightening and when they need to grab market share with quick, headline grabbing, innovative campaigns, I reckon small, independent agencies are better placed to do this. These are the companies that don't have to abide by recruitment freezes and can make audacious pitches for client business against larger agencies, in the knowledge that those larger agencies may be struggling for resource. With the staff turnover in some large media and creative agencies so high and their lack of ability to hire new people to replace those leaving, surely it won't be long before large clients start to notice a drop in service levels?

Along with this uncertainty comes the possibility that talent, trained in the big agencies, will go with these clients to smaller agencies, looking for more creative roles and higher salaries.

A company like Ideo, while not being a media or ad agency, by being renowned for it's innovation capabilities is gaining media coverage and paper headlines. In the Guardian recently, Mat Hunter, partner at Ideo is quoted as saying that in sluggish times "you have to respond to rapidly changing consumer sentiment and this should prompt rapid innovation". It's this innovation that will make brands stand out and steal a march on their competition.

Brands like Innocent, have taken this to heart, launching new products when traditional thinking would dictate that high end, premium products like theirs would suffer in a recession. It's their guess that people still think good, healthy food is worth paying that bit extra for. So they've launched Veg Pots, find more here - they look pretty tasty!

It's these companies, the Usains and Michaels of their field, that will break records and post their personal bests over the next few years.

There's a first time for everything - Data makes me happy - Flickr Stats

2008-11-19T07:31:00.000-08:00

Anyone who knows me will probably know that I am obsessed with Flickr. Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, they added Flickr stats. Just in the 5 minutes time that I looked at it earlier, I found loads of little gems that I otherwise wouldn't have known; that people have actually been commenting on my photos for a while and have added some as favourites.

They've also updated the homepage so that you can see all the recent activity on your photos, any comments, favourites or views. It's great to see this as it gives you a real idea of who is looking for photos like yours and who are the best people to get talking to among your contacts.

Plus, they link with Moo, makers of Moo Cards so on the back of the cards I just ordered, I've been able to put my own pictures. Seriously, I love Flickr!

Btw, I'm aware this is an extremely geeky post

Playtime - live a kidulthood

2008-11-17T13:07:00.000-08:00

Just watched a couple of programmes which have made me think about creativity and how we approach it as adults.

The first of these programmes was a 3 Minute Wonder on Channel 4 in which children from a primary school in London were given free reign to give their ideas on the potential future developments and uses for various household appliances and fixtures. Among the ideas they came up with were interactive wallpapers to fit your mood, operated by a microphone implanted in your living room wall, fridges which selected healthy food for you from the shelves and beds which respond to body temperature and make sure that the lucky person sleeping on them is at the most comfortable temperature.

The second programme which got me thinking was a TED talk by Tim Brown, co founder of design and innovation firm Ideo around the idea that by embracing the idea of creative playtime, getting over our adult inhibitions, we can often come up with our most inspiring ideas. The talk formed part of The Art Center Serious Play Design Conference earlier this year.

Tim Brown's argument is that many good ideas never get voiced by their owners as they are scared that they will be immediately dismissed.He points to the layouts and designs of the offices of companies which aspire to provide their clients with creative solutions to their problems, the Google Zurich office complete with slides, fireman poles and T-rex skeletons, being just one example.

It's something which I am a firm believer in, and no it's not because I am a lazy person, I just believe that as the saying goes, "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy". It's in this spirit that I have been mucking around with my camera recently. I'm not saying that I've created anything fantastic, it just felt quite liberating to play around and take photos of nothing much! One of the results is below

If I can find the 3 Minute Wonder video, I will post it here soon.

On a separate note, Under Scan was closed today....due to rain, damn English November weather!

Adam Neate Free Art

2008-11-11T06:16:00.000-08:00

This Friday Nov 14th, Adam Neate, a street artist renowned for giving away his work for free by leaving it on London's streets will distribute 1,000 silkscreen prints around the streets of London. During the night, teams will work from the outskirts of London towards the centre, leaving the prints as they go.

It's estimated that the collective worth of these prints is £1million, so if you walk past one of these prints, looking a little out of place, give it a second thought and pick it up, it might make Christmas all the merrier!

Onedotzero at the BFI

2008-11-11T04:28:00.000-08:00

onedotzero_adventures in motion, london 14-16 nov from onedotzero on Vimeo.

A new series of events at the BFI - Onedotzero - Adventures in Motion - 14th Nov-16th Nov.

The blurb from the BFI site gives us an idea of what to expect:

the festival showcases a tantalising mix of the brightest up-and-coming talents alongside world-leading creative luminaries; an international array of creators who stretch ideas of motion entertainment, where code clashes with hand crafted, street art tussles with technology and new modes of storytelling are unleashed from the small screen to the BFI IMAX. all underpinned by a theme of citystates, a creative inquiry into the idea of how we live in the modern metropolis.

And best of all, it's FREE

Under Scan at Trafalgar Square

2008-11-11T03:32:00.000-08:00

Next week the Trafalgar Square North Terrace will be covered in the world's largest interactive video installation. It's going to cover an area over 2000m squared. Two projectors will cover the area with over 100,000 rays of light so that anyone who walks through the space. As a person enters the area they will be detected by a camera and tracking system and a series of video portraits will be projected onto their shadows. It's going to make for some interesting photos I think, I'll be sure to take some and they will be uploaded here next week. The Under Scan project is designed by electronic artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer

A concept sketch is shown above and below is a photo of the installation in action

The Photographic Adventures of Nick Turpin

2008-11-10T07:18:00.000-08:00

Here's an example of a brand having a good online idea to promote one of it's products only to be let down by a poorly laid out and frustrating website.

Samsung sent renowned street photographer Nick Turpin around Europe with their new 8 megapixel cameraphone. His mission was clear and simple, to take the best photos he could using the Samsung phone. Visitors to the website suggest the themes that Nick must focus on during his travels. These range from "Beer" to "Space" to "Sticker" and "Danger".

The site is well linked, Nick has a Twitter page, a Flickr gallery and you can see where he is on Google via GPS and the associated pages work well. But the microsite itself looks cheap and is annoying to navigate. It's a shame, because the quality of the photos and the quality of the idea is high,but it's let down by the microsite. It could have followed a much better formula, as shown in a website like this - put together by an amateur photographer. Anyway here's some examples of how Samsung have used various platforms to spread the message.

Reverse Graffiti

2008-11-10T07:06:00.000-08:00

Reverse Graffiti

Where graffiti is often viewed as making marks on otherwise "clean" surfaces, reverse graffiti involves cleaning previously dirty wall with high pressure hoses in order to make a picture. This flips our usual ideas about the artform, highlighting how dirty some of our surroundings really are. The examples above come from road tunnels which are covered in layers of grime.

Reminded of the Power of Black and White

2008-11-09T08:38:00.001-08:00

Having a browse through Flickr and thought I would post a few of my recent faves. I could spend hours on that site, the quality of photography from amateur photographers is outstanding. The three I have posted above were taken in Beijing and Shanghai by travelight and sakura love. It would be hard to find better examples of where black and white photography can work than the two above. As England gets colder and darker by the day as we push into winter, I can see myself turning to a spot of the old black and white photography!

Barack Coverage in China

2008-11-06T05:17:00.001-08:00

Couldn't resist a quick China related Obama post. The story was front page new for most national media. I found this picture on a good blog called 56minus1, written by a fellow who takes a look at underground China and youth culture, especially things like Neocha and The Shanghai Beat. His videos have also appeared on Danwei.

(The original image comes from Danwei)

Thai Recycled Bottle Temple

2008-10-31T07:32:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama targeting Chinese voters in Chicago

2008-10-30T05:06:00.001-07:00

It reads:

Please cast a vote for Obama
Strong Reforms
Lower taxes, more benefits
Whole-heartedly save the economy

Shaanxi Trip Video!

2008-10-12T13:34:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the amateur quality of my camerawork. The interesting bits are the marketplace (from about 5 minutes onward) and the tune at 10mins.

Japanese Graffiti

2008-10-12T10:18:00.000-07:00

A forthcoming book on Japanese Graffiti shows artists there have been influenced by American graffers but have given the format their own unique spin, including imagery from anime, japanese traditions and kanji script.

HERE!!!!!!
A number of the more forward thinking Japanese artists can be found here. Their styles and designs are a lot less aggressive than traditional grafitti, briniging life to otherwise dull building fronts. Sasu's blog in particular, shows this.

James Nachtwey's XDR TB Photos

2008-10-06T02:13:00.000-07:00

visit xdrtb.org to do what you can to help.

Back from Shaanxi Province China

2008-10-04T01:48:00.000-07:00

Got back last Sunday evening from a fantastic fundraising trip to Shaanxi Province in China with Macmillan Cancer Support. Here's a few of the photos I took while I was there but more can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/djkhepburn/

Everywhere we went we were welcomed by the locals. We were cycling through parts of China which are rarely visited by foreigners, so our novelty value was pretty high. So much so in fact that we were interviewed by a local tv station.

We finished the ride in the pouring rain a coal mining region, which was quite a shock to everyone involved. Video of this is to follow but the term on most people's lips at the time was, "it looks like the end of the world". It was clearly the flip side of Chinese economic development.

Drawing on the Street and Drawing in an Ad

2008-09-11T09:18:00.000-07:00

Two nice examples of drawing working well on both a street art billboard and an animation for a Nike Women campaign. The billboard is drawn by Hellovon, a London based illustrator.

The Berliner Dom/Disney/Hokusai

2008-09-09T05:54:00.000-07:00

Street artist Jaybo has created a Hokusai influenced projection onto the Berliner Dom, the largest cathedral in Berlin. The image is comprised of cartoon hands that linked together make up the shape of the wave. The result is pretty spectacular!

A Car Photo

2008-09-08T09:06:00.001-07:00

Creating Cut through In Beijing

2008-09-08T09:04:00.000-07:00

Kanye West Teams up with Takashi Murakami

2008-08-29T06:13:00.000-07:00

Kanye West has teamed up with Japanese artist/designer Takashi Murakami. Both the song and the video are pretty cutesy but definitely worth a watch.

Slinkachu at Cosh Gallery Soho London

2008-08-29T04:02:00.000-07:00

A new exhibition to launch in London this week - "Ground Zero: Little People in the City" by Slinkachu under the tagline "Little handpainted people, left in London to fend for themselves". I would try to explain the results of his work, but the blurb from the gallery does a great job:

"Slinkachu has taken street art to a new scale,
painstakingly hand-painting tiny characters that live
in a world that’s too small for us to always notice
beneath our feet. His street installations are
constructed in all sorts of public spaces, the portrayal
of little lives that mirror our own. Working in miniature
opens up the city landscapes in unexpected ways
and this is explored in Ground Zero where he literally
brings you down to a new level.
Ground Zero is both street art installations and
photography. The two go hand in hand with the
subsequent photograph uncovering his hidden
world. The show depicts the little fears and anxieties
of city life and the general feeling of being alone or
insignificant in a large city. While the scenes reflect
the loneliness and melancholy of urban life there is
always an underlying sense of humour and feeling of
empathy"

Playing the Building

2008-08-29T02:45:00.000-07:00

Monkey - Journey to the West - The Album

2008-08-18T04:46:00.000-07:00

Following on from the success of the Monkey: Journey to the West opera in Covent Garden, Damon Albarn has released the score from the opera on CD today. On first listen, it's like nothing I've heard before.

There are touches of Gorillaz style sound effects throughout the score and the occasional mandarin vocalist. Having not seen the opera, I can only imagine how impressive the visuals would have been when coupled with the music. As with Gorillaz albums, the Monkey album also contains some fantastic artwork by Jamie Hewlett, some of which is shown above.

You can also by a limited edition Vinyl Boxset of the album which contains a 68 page illustrated booklet of the production and a large Jamie Hewlett art poster.

Adidas Olympic Gold Ads - For once the Beijing Smog helps

2008-08-12T09:49:00.001-07:00

Adidas produced these gold themed ads prior to the Olympics. Beijing in the background looks like it is being smothered in a spring sandstorm. But it's interesting that one company has tried to use the photographic effect created by the city's smog to create an atmospheric visual advert which proves to be quite striking.

A Little Bit of Beijing

2008-08-12T05:27:00.000-07:00

Images courtesy of Dan Eckstein.

Dan Eckstein has gone on a photographic journey of China, covering 10,000km in eight weeks and creating a document of China as it is from the high rises of Beijing to the Tibetan Plateau and the Yangzi river. In Beijing, Eckstein visited the 798 space art district, aburgeoning arts district in the northwest of Beijing. For a number of years, Beijing based artists and designers have made this area their home and the work being produced there is at the forefront of Chinese contemporary art. The studios and galleries are housed in old munitions and metals factories which in themselves are quite striking spaces.

Dan's Picture China photoblog can be seen here

The digital building Beijing:

The Ogilvy 8

2008-08-07T04:25:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting new blog that has been set up by Ogilvy in China. The premise is that the Beijing Olympics will be the first major worldwide sporting event to take place in the Web 2.0 era. 8 Ogilvy employees will contribute to the blog over the course of the games, four writing in Chinese, four writing in English.

In the first post, Kaiser Kuo points out that the 2008 Olympic Games are taking place "in the age of Internet, video sharing, citizen journalism, social networking, of microblogging". In a country where approximately 110 million people blog and 253 million are online, this could have quite big impact.

The site can be found here

Viral Vinyl - Tallulah Rendall

2008-07-31T08:41:00.000-07:00

Viral Vinyl - Tallulah Rendall

Tallulah Rendall, a British musician, has come up with a very inventive way of combining the immediacy of the digital download with the pleasure people take in owning and collecting vinyl records. She's launching her newest single on both formats. At an event in Bush Hall in West London, everyone to attend will receive a specially wrapped copy of the vinyl.

Each record comes with a unique download number that the recipient can then pass onto friends. The people whose code gets used the most will receive a free album when released.

It's a great idea to get people involved with the promotion of music they love while rewarding them at the same time.

Branislav Kropilak Contemporary Photography

2008-07-31T08:34:00.001-07:00

source: Cool Hunting

Branislav Kropilak's portrayals of modern technology and industry are far too alluring to be considered dystopian. And yet, if one were to seek a lite… more

Diageo Guinness Viral Ad - Fake but Pure Genius

2008-07-31T04:33:00.000-07:00

Diageo Guinness Viral Ad - Fake but Pure Genius

From the Brand Republic - A "fake" and pretty saucy Guinness viral ad has surfaced on YouTube. It's best seen for yourself but Diageo has posted a statement claiming that it is in no way associated with the advert. Diageo's reaction however has prompted YouTube users to spread the video even more. Or maybe it's all an elaborate PR stunt? It's pretty much a win win situation for the company, free viral advertising and the knowledege that their brand is so strong that it's inspiring such high quality fake ads.

Gorillaz and Jamie Hewlett BBC Olympics Ad

2008-07-28T08:53:00.000-07:00

The BBC has teamed up with Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett to produce it's first advert for the Beijing Olympics. The advert is based on the ancient Chinese folk story "Journey to the West" - which the duo have recently put on as a full length version at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Tickets were sold out very quickly!

From the Shanghaiist - Beijing's Nike Advertising Whitewash

2008-07-28T05:46:00.000-07:00

As Nike is not an official sponsor of the Olympics, it's having to deal with it's adverts being whitewashed in Beijing. The photos above show an underpass at Dongdan, right in the middle of the city and next to the ever busy Wanfujing shopping street. As of the 19th July, the government imposed restrictions on advertising by unofficial advertisers in the city. The underpass that was last week plastered with Nike advertisements has now been whitewashed.

Adidas, on the other hand, as an official sponsor, has the right to use trademarked Olympic images and slogans and the permission to set up hospitality areas near the stadiums. While Nike has a strong retail presence in the city, with stores in prestigious locations, come the start of the games on 08.08.08, Adidas will have a more visible presence in the city. It will be interesting to see whether Nike tries to sidestep official advertising policies over the duration of the games and what tactics they might use in doing so.

Hospital Records Designs

2008-07-25T02:18:00.001-07:00

I've often thought that designing album covers would be a great job. These three examples from Hospital Records show a great sense of humour.

Adverts in the Sky?

2008-07-25T02:08:00.000-07:00

Ever had that feeling that you can see shapes in the clouds? Maybe you were looking at one of these. So it looks like there is literally nowhere left we can look without seeing advertising. It's definitely inventive but maybe a bit far I think - there's such a thing as overkill!

TBWA's Amnesty China Adverts

2008-07-16T06:32:00.001-07:00

Omnicom ad agency TBWA has got itself in a bit of hot water pre-Olympics. The agency has been working on two briefs according to the Wall Street Journal. One, for Adidas (see below), shows Chinese sports icons held up by legions of adoring fans. The other, for Amnesty International (see above), shows Chinese athletes being tortured under the strapline "After the Olympic Games, the fight for human rights must go on"

Chinese netizens are all over this story, proposing a boycott of all TBWA ads. The agency has tried to distance itself from the Amnesty ad, claiming that it was the work of a lone creative working on a pro bono account.

TBWA won't be the first foreign company to feel the wrath of the Chinese internet population, an increasingly potent and active community. Earlier this year, Carrefour was boycotted by many Chinese and as the WSJ points out, luxury retailer LVMH dumped Sharon Stone from it's Chinese mainland marketing campaign after she commented that the Sichuan earthquake which killed around 87,000 people and left 5 million homeless might have been karma for China's role in Tibet.

China's Environmentalists and the brands lagging behind

2008-07-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has travelled to China will have seen how thrifty and resourceful the average Chinese can be; nothing goes to waste, anything that can be re-used will be. I feel this is often overlooked by worldwide media coverage.

Environmentalism is becoming more and more popular in China, the middle-class increasingly cares about green issues and protests are becoming commonplace.

China Dialogue is a great site, a forum focused on environmental issues where comments and articles in both English or Mandarin are translated into the other language.

China Dialogue's Paul French points out in his article "Why is China different for western brands?" that a number of worldwide brands which adopt green practices in other markets fail to do so in mainland China:

"• Banking chain HSBC sends its mail in Hong Kong on recyclable paper, in envelopes that note the bank is committed to protecting the environment. None of this is mentioned on envelopes sent to Chinese mainland addresses;

• Luxury retailer LVMH’s new Catherine Deneuve-led advertising campaign features a tag line that supports the Climate Project. It appears everywhere from London to Hong Kong, but not on their ads in the Chinese mainland;"

Advertising - "Buy More" vs The Planet - "Please for God's sake buy less"

2008-07-11T07:22:00.000-07:00

I've been reading a few articles recently that have got me thinking about the role of Marketing in the future and how this potentially clashes with the way the world has to start behaving. If we need to start consuming less and advertising on the whole tells us to consume more, then surely something needs to change with advertising.

Even Martin Sorrell, the Chief Executive of WPP, one of the largest communications groups in the world, has commented recently that "conspicuous consumption is not productive and should be discouraged" (as quoted in Campaign Magazine).

So what does this mean for marketers? If, for example, the stigma related to being a conspicuous consumer grows and grows to the point that it becomes a stereotype to be avoided, in what ways will advertisers and clients for that matter have to change their game in order to appeal to the new generation of thrifty, planet-conscious consumers of the 21st century?

Well, I think the challenges that advertisers will have to face will have to answer the following questions that the new consumers will be asking themselves about the products they are researching, (some of these are extremely obvious)-

Do I really need this?
Do I have "ENOUGH" of this product already?
Will I be able to repair it/maintain it/upgrade it myself?
Will it be obsolete this time next year? If so, why?
Has it been constructed by fairly paid workers and constructed in a way that does not harm the environment?
What does this product tell those around me about my beliefs and environmental credentials?

In the same way that the internet is democratising media coverage around the world, it's also fundamentally changing the way in which people view the world and their role in it. People are now looking online to find communities to be part of and moving away from the idea that materialism is the be all and end all.

Street Art My Arse

2008-07-11T06:50:00.001-07:00

No comments needed really, it speaks for itself!

Li Wei - Dangerous

2008-07-09T08:17:00.000-07:00

No- they're not photoshopped. Li Wei creates these "performance art photos" using props and extremely strong wires. His photos show him in precarious situations where for the viewer, the only possible outcome is disaster. These situations range from the above, to falling from the sky to having already landed, head first into various objects (cars, the ground, lakes).

His work evokes strong reactions from passers by: "The first reaction is astonishment. Some people think they are full of sense of humour. They are curious about how I did this".

It's this sense of humour, albeit slightly dark, that makes these images so striking. It's something that I mentioned in a previous post and I'm glad I've been able to find an example so quickly to illustrate my point.

Find more of Li Wei's photos here

China's Creative Imperative - Kunal Sinha

2008-07-08T06:34:00.000-07:00

"I've learnt from my experience in China to never under-estimate the Chinese. Kunal's insight creates a compelling case that they have what it takes to move beyond the world's factory to become a force in creativity. "
— Colin Giles, President, Nokia China

Burying your head in the sand...
....if you think that China is not going to become a creative force in the future. This follows on from my last post, creativity in China is booming at the moment, especially in the fields of music and illustration/design. It's timely that a Strategy Director at Ogilvy Greater China has just published a book on the subject.

China' s in a unique position to absorb the best of all the creative talent and ideas arriving on it's shores, and to build a strong visual/design community and identity of its own. I think the next ten to twenty years will be a hugely exciting time to be involved with this kind of work in China. As the above image illustrates, the Chinese have a unique sense of humour and it will be this, combined with striking visual imagery which will hopefully provide some very inspiring work.

Nike China Advertising

2008-07-03T02:21:00.000-07:00

Nike China is planning an advertising blitz this summer in the run up to the Olympics. As well as having the most famous Chinese athletes in their stable, hurdler Liu Xiang, basketball player Li Jianlian and the latest Chinese sports sensation Zheng Jie, the tennis player who reached the Wimbledon Ladies semi finals last week.

The adverts shown above, although a couple of years old, show how advertising should be done in China. Everday Chinese people in everyday situations show off unexpected improvised athletic skills using just what comes to hand. For anyone who has spent any time in China or watched any Chinese television, this video will definitely ring true.

Nike 100
A few months ago, Nike took over a space in the 798 district of Beijing. While, relatively unknown outside China, the 798 area is a burgeoning creative neighbourhood in the north east of the city. It's full of old munitions factories and warehouses which are now being used by local artists and gallery owners.

The Nike 100 building showcased the top 100 innovative concepts ever created by Nike and was only open for one month. On entering the building, each guest was given an Ipod Touch preloaded with 100 tracks describing each of the innovations. Also on display were a great deal of rare exclusives. Although I wasn't lucky enough to see the exhibition, it strikes me as a great example of Nike building hype around their brand pre-Olympics.

How long before "Made in China" becomes "Created in China"?
Only a matter of time in my opinion, there's increasing focus around the world on the creative output coming out of China, eg. China Design Now at the V&A in London. From gauging reaction on various blogs, it's clear to me that the label "Made in China" is becoming increasingly resented on the mainland.

It will be interesting to see what kind of role brands like Nike will play in enabling homegrown talent to emerge, and what kind of imagery/advertising will follow. I'm not sure who was involved in the creation of the above Nike Liu Xiang outdoor advert but it's definitely distinctly Chinese in style. I wonder if this is the path Nike will go down in the run up to the Olympics.

The "Shanghai Effect" - the right place, the right time

2008-06-27T03:26:00.000-07:00

"Because of this word, my stock goes up" - can you guess the word?

The Shanghai Diaries is an (almost) daily vlog by Aric S. Queen on Current TV. It's the insider view on what life is like right now for many foreigners based in China, the ups and the downs, the "good China days" and the "bad China days". It's not what you get to see on the BBC or CNN etc. Aric is fairly realistic in his description of the show and more specifically the reason for it's success - he's in the city that everybody is watching at the moment, and unlike the foreign correspondents sent to China by the news networks, he can choose what he wants to cover, whether it be Visa clampdowns on foreign freelancers or the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake.

So I guess, the old adage about being "in the right place at the right time" works here.