Nike: Just Do It - The Origins.

Nike. Just Do It. There are a thousand things you can say about this brand and this slogan. Over the years, through many campaigns and products, Nike has reached the holy grail of branding - becoming popular and cool at the same time. Very few brands reach the peak of each of these.

Just Do It has become an iconic slogan - one of the all time greats. It not only encompasses everything that Nike is - it's everything that life should be. It fits Nike and it's products, but it can be applied to almost any area of life, and that is why it is so great, so powerful and so lasting. It is work like this that made me want to do advertising, to inspire, and actually make a difference.

United Colours Of Benetton: Unemployee Of The Year

The usually controversial United Colors Of Benetton, have gone perhaps a bit more traditional for their latest campaign, Unemployee Of The Year.



In a campaign that seems more reminiscent of Levi's, UCB have targeted an audience that perhaps has never been targeted by an ad campaign before; the unemployeed. But in doing so, I think they've hit the nail on the head, more than any other brand has done in a long time.

This young, motivated, creative and energised target market is constantly battered with ads, namely because they are one of the most influential and desirable groups out there for brands. But in the current climate, despite all of the above, these people are often without jobs. They are fighting to persure their passions and what they believe in, but they are also fighting to stay afloat. And for me, this ad really gets that.

This ad is supported by UCB's Unhate Foundation, a chance for youths to get funding to support their projects. Not perhaps the most unique of ideas but at least they are putting their money where their ads are, and that's more than can be said for most brands.

G.O.O.D. Music “Cruel Summer” Commercial.

For what seems like an age, the G.O.O.D album is almost here. There's a huge amount of anticipation for Cruel Summer to be avaliable but personally I've got mixed reactions on what I've heard. Nevertheless, it will definitely be worth a listen, and I'm liking the look of this 'commercial'.

Why Mono: The Power Of Simplicity.

"Make It Simple, But Significant"
Don Draper.

Why Mono? A discussion with creatives. from Callum Preston on Vimeo.

Yes I did just become the guy who works in advertising who quotes Don Draper. BUT I really like that line, and as a planner, it's something that I always try to remember.

It's definitely something to always remember when producing work in whatever form that may be, ads, photos, stories, whatever. Just because it's simple, doesn't mean it's stupid. Often far from it. In the creative world, the simplicity of black and white has always carried such power. And I think it's something that can sometimes be taken forgranted. It really makes you focus on the subject, you see lines and shadows often hidden by colours. It lets you make up your own mind and work it out for yourself, which I guess is what all great art does.

Levi's Go Forth: 2012

Last year's Levi's Go Forth campaign was one of my favourite campaigns in a while and was a huge wake up call for the brand. It really captured the teenage rebellion spirit, the (dare I say it) carpe diem (ergh) attitude of teenagers/twenty somethings without being cheesey or forced.



They have gone on to release the 2012 campaign for Go Forth. It is more great work from the people at Wiedens, and although I don't think that it's quite as strong as the first campaign, it's definitely grown. Whereas 2011 was much more about rebelling and sticking it to man attitude to it, 2012 is much more entrepreneurial, it's yours for the taking, make the world the way you want it. It's just grown up a bit, and I like that.

Nike: Find Your Greatness.

It's the Olympics, we're all well aware. But for Nike, that's not where all the greatness is this summer.



Nike's 'Olympic' ad, wasn't one of my favourites, but it has really started to grow on me. Although the advert itself doesn't wow you to the extent that other Nike ads have done in the past, it's a really nice sentiment to it and wonderfully written. The entire campaign ties in really nicely with the rest of their activity - for example London underground ads - "Greatness doesn't stand on the right" - especially the jogger ad below. This ad is probably one of the most simple Nike ads I've ever seen, yet it is one of the best written. It is inspiring, it's compelling and like many great Nike ads, it's not about the brand, it's about the person wearing them.

London 2012 Olympics & Paralympic Ads

Incase you hadn't noticed, this summer is all about the London 2012 Olympics. Because of the nature of sport, it has always been a fantastic subject area to advertise around. However that does mean you get almost every brand under the sun trying to be a sports brand.

And as the Olympics are the greatest sporting event in the world every ad under the sun is now an Olympic ad. This has unfortunately led to a lot of dire and dull ads on our TVs, computers and bus stops.

However, as there always is in ad world, a small glimmer of hope. Adidas and Channel 4 have both produced incredible ads for the Olympics and Paralympics, respectively. Both ads capture the what the events are about. They don't sell too hard, they're not cheesey, and although both are very emotional (as is sport) they feel very genuine and relavent to the games.

Adidas - Take The Stage



Channel 4 - Superhumans

Nike: My Time Is Now.

It's been a little while since I've posted an advert on here, but a Nike ad almost always requires some attention. Their latest spectacle, My Time Is Now, arrives just in time for the Euro football tournament this summer. It appears to be the pinnacle for the My Time Is Now campaign, as Nike are taking it upon themselves to bleed the new talent into the world of football. This ad features some of European football's greats, Ribéry, Sneijder, Ronaldo up against the new kids on the block Neymar, M'Vila, Götze, and a few more hundred hopefuls.



This ad was inevitably going to be compared to Write The Future, Nike's last big ad for the 2010 World Cup. Does it stack up? For me, not quite. It is shot in a very similar style, which perhaps lacks a bit of imagination, it's not as funny as WTF and is completely focused on the pitch and the stadium surroundings. WTF featured Rooney (who doesn't feature at all, nor does any England player apart from a split second of Wilshere and supposedly Welbeck) in a caravan, Homer Simpson and Youtube. MTIS only features Lebron James, who feels a little out of place. Plus Neymar - the star of the ad - isn't European, didn't that occur to anyone? This is all not to say I didn't like the ad, I just expected better I think, it just feels like a Write The Future - Lite.

Google ReBrief: The Idea Is Still King

Advertising is an interesting and exciting industry for many reasons. It is an industry that is on the very forefront of technology, yet one that can and still is, learning so many lessons from the past. One of the (few) things I really remember from uni was that a the idea should be able to work across any media, "content is king" in the words of Amil Gargano, creative on Volvo's Drive It Like You Hate It campaign.

Google's ReBrief puts this theory to the test, taking some of the most iconic adverts from 40 years ago and attempting to recreate them in a digital world through Google's display ads. The stuff of advertiser's wet dreams.



It is truly fascinating to watch and listen to those behind Coke, Volvo, Alka-Seltzer and Avis' most famous ads. Some of the most iconic adverts ever. As I started saying, there are still so many lessons to be learnt from the past in advertising, which is why the words and experiences of the greats such as David Ogilvy, Bill Bernbach and John Hegarty are still as valuable today as they've always been. At it's very basic level, advertising has always about connecting to people, and over the last 40 years or so, people haven't really changed that much.



It is also quite humbling to see very intelligent and creative people completely baffled by the simple technology that we take forgranted. But they don't shy away from it, they embrace it and thrive upon the challenge and opportunities. And they really prove that not understanding new technology is not an excuse, it always has been and always will be about the idea. Sure how you execute it is vital, but a great idea is a great idea. End of.

Nike Counts

Whilst referencing just about every film worth referencing, Nike do what they usually do, tell you to just do it.



#makeitcount

2011 by Google

Missing 2011 already? Google relives it wonderfully:

Product As Hero: Go Pro HD 2

The late and great Steve Jobs always said it was important to let the product do the talking in advertising. Sure, it makes it a hell of a lot easier when you're selling beautiful and forward thinking machines such as Macbooks or iPhones. But that's not to take anything away from the statement. Showing that your product lives up to it's own high expections, showing that it works in consumers lives and that it is just generally a damn good product that sells itself. Yeah, sorry I just said 'sells itself'.

I digress. GoPro, the handheld cameras that are actually held by anything, head, chest, pole, helmet, snowboard, surfboard, cars, skiis, airplanes, are everywhere these days, and rightfully so. The latest release the HD Hero 2 looks superb, as does this video for in, unsurprisingly in conjunction with Red Bull.



The advert does what all great advertising does, it makes you feel something. It makes you feel compelled to ditch the day job, it makes you feel like you need to do something more exciting in your life, it makes you want to jump off a cliff. In a good way.

Call Of Duty w/ Jonah Hill X Sam Worthington

I've always been a big fan of advertising of games. With the huge budgets and even 'huger' resource of special effects they have at their disposale, it is not surprisingly. However it was left to Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, probably the biggest game of the year, to do something different (refer back to the huge budgets):



In the deathmatch arena of marketing, Call Of Duty has just used the "celebrity" perk. In an attempt at one-upmanship over its Battlefield rival, the team behind Modern Warfare 3 has ahead of tomorrow's launch unveiled "The Veteran & The N00B", a real-world re-enactment of the game's infamously immersive multiplayer mode starring Avatar's Sam Worthington, Moneyball's Jonah Hill and NBA baller Dwight Howard. The nods to the series are plentiful (isn't that a SCAR-H with red-dot sight that Worthington's wielding?) and we particularly like Hill's hapless "Should I have used a knife?" Still, we can't help but feel that if it were really accurate to the game, the veteran wouldn't be played by a chiselled Hollywood star but rather by an oily-faced 13-year-old screaming "You just got pwned!" GQ.com

Brilliant.

Pastures New.

It's been a bit longer than a while since I last got a moment to sit down at the my worn out Macbook to write some words and sentences on the humble blog. That is mainly down to the fact that it has been longer than a while since I had a chance to sit down and stop at all. Now I won't sit here and bore you with a minute by minute account of the past four weeks but I will (loosely) entertain you with some of the major plot developments, such as I got a pretty decent set of speakers of £5 from Gumtree. I joke.
Some of you will know fully aware that I have, for the past year and a bit, been one of the statistics concerning the numbers of graduates that don't get employed since finishing university. I did a good course, Advertising and Marketing. I went to a good university, Bournemouth. I got a good grade, 2.1 (just). But for me and thousands others, that really isn't enough, and a lack of working experience doesn't help much either. And that darned economic climate helps no man.

So after the best part of a year of applying for every job, somewhat related to the advertising industry, I finally got something. Well I got more than something, I got an incredible opportunity. I'm currently on the HomeGrown intern scheme at BBH. For those not in the know, BBH is one of the original, great, British advertising agencies, and has gone on to fully stamp that reputation on the rest of the world. To name but a few, their client list features Google, Audi, Lynx, ITV, British Airways. Impressive. Though it's just an internship, I'm looking to grab the opportunity and have already starting working on some cool projects. BBH is a brilliant agency, sure they've got a great show-reel and are headed by the great, Sir John Hegarty, but it is their entrepreneurial and tireless approach that I really love. Working in departments such as Labs and Zag, is really incredible as they look to diversify themselves away from the traditional agency approach. They still have the basics of fantastic creativity holding hands with great consumer insights but apply it to pushing themselves and the industry forward. Really inspiring.

So I know find myself situated in London, from the village to the big city, and I'm glad I'm finally here. Things can begin.


On a side note, I thought I would give you a bit of a heads-up on where I'm hoping the blog is heading. Now that I'm in London, I'm assuming that a plethora of interesting activites will be coming my way to write about. But seriously, I'm looking to accompany the usual updates and posts of music, advertising, film, fashion etc, with my life and the things that I get upto. I hope you look forward to this and come along with me.
Thanks for the support.

ASOS: As Seen On The Streets Of London.

Kidz got skillz:

French Connection - I Am The Suit.

This is odd. But I like it. It's a cool selection of visuals, some don't make sense, and some don't need to. The song is a bit odd too. In the words of French Connection themselves: The Suit. The pinnacle of a gentleman's attire. Never in the history of man has one garment had the power to add a glossy sheen of respectability to the humble male at both weddings and criminal trials alike. French Connection admires the suit's candor. Watch our homage to the fabled cut of cloth with music courtesy of Mr. Chris Brown, Mr. Busta Rhymes and Mr. Lil Wayne (aka Mr. Weezy to his homies). Odd is not necessarily bad. It rarely is in fact.

Levi's: Go Forth (Not Right Now Though)

No matter how beautifully written, filmed and composed your advert may be, if you time it wrong or misjudge your audience, it can be an absolute failure.



Unfortunately for Levi's, and more unfortunately for the British nation, we experience some of the worst rioting for decades. It was disgusting, embarrassing and mindless. This view was, rightly, held by the vast majority of the public and for that reason this Levi's ad has been pretty ill received, despite not being shown on TV in the UK. The problem is that the ad is all about the romanticism of the youth uprising and standing up to authorities, an often sought after narrative. However we saw this narrative come to life this week, and it was ugly. The problem was was that the riots were not about standing up to authorities, it was for the sheer enjoyment of looting and striking fear into innocent people.

It's such a shame for Levi's as it's difficult to watch the ad without thinking of the horrible reality, because this is a really beautiful advert. It creates a warm and inspiring feeling, to stand up for what you believe in and to make a difference.

Absolut Blank.

ABSOLUT BLANK : 18 illustrators work airbrush, collage and film techniques for the iconic Swedish vodka brand

ABSOLUT is always good for surprises. Following collaborations with artists such as Andy Warhol, Keith Haring, Damien Hirst and Spike Jonze, the Swedes have now called on popular visual leaders to rework their iconic bottle. ABSOLUTE BLANK was baptised in collaboration with TBWAChiatDay.

We are delighted to find MARIO WAGNER on the list of Absolut designers alongside international celebrity illustrators such as Adhemas Batista, Aestethic Apparatus, Brett Amory, Kinsey, Zac Freeman, Good Wives & Warriors, Morning Breath and many more.

The illustrator from Cologne exhibits his collages in both group and solo exhibitions worldwide. He also illustrated the GoSee header with athletic Olympic icons and suggestive lips. FYI, he is represented by GoSee member 2AGENTEN.

Mark Hamilton, Global Marketing Director of Absolut on the art project: “In ABSOLUT BLANK, ABSOLUT has boldly made its iconic bottle into a blank canvas to inspire artists throughout the world to collaborate and fill it with creativity. We brought together creative collaborators from a variety of disciplines and watched the journey from pure white canvas to exceptional pieces of art. The result depicts how artists and creativity are inspired through ABSOLUT."


Via GoSee

MTV: Balloons.

Just when you thought MTV were sitting around trying to come up with how they get a problem out of Kim Kardashian's left nipple or which dried up celebrity's house they can fill with cameras next, they were actually doing something pretty cool.



We've all sat there and created our own flick book out of the corner of our notebook whilst bored at work or in a lecture, or to simply avoid what really needs doing. But it's the boys and girls of MTV that took this form of procrastination to a whole new level.



Take some balloons, some water transfers, a pretty skilled artists, a whole lot of patience and attention to detail, and you're starting to see the scale and absurdity of this operation. Oh, did I forget the machine on tracks with the giant pin and camera attached to it?

Yeah this is cool MTV, let's see some more like it.

Nature Misses Us? Really?

Now I'm not really sure if I believe the message behind this ad, let's be honest, nature is much better off without humans. Humans that swallow it up with houses, tear up trees, start forest fires, hunt wild animals, as I said, I doubt we're missed. Growing up in a village in the New Forest National Park nature is, naturally, close to my heart. I feel it's important to enjoy the beauty and diversity of nature, but to look after it and treat it with respect at the same time.



Enough about my fondness of the wild green areas of the world, and more about this ad. It's pretty stunning. I love the dark and grubby atmosphere of the city and how it's set against the calm beauty of the deer. Not sure if I like the deer speaking, but as a whole, I think it's a really unique and wonderfully directed piece.