Post Advertising

If you're anything like me (and let's face it, you are, whether you like it or not), you'll enjoy telling a good story with an amusing denouement. That's French for punchline. You'll also be aware of the intense frustration that arises when someone butts in before the end and delivers the puchline for you, wrecking the delicate timing/set-up you'd mentally worked so hard to achieve. My point is that a good story is easy to wreck.

(Cheers to Dr. Snafu for the pic, brilliantly entitled "Why the long face?")

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Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, FriendFeed and the other mega-social media channels have broken 50 years of viewing habits but have not changed the fundamental reason why people "tune-in". Although the computer was designed as a time-saving device, it has become a time-wasting device, just like TV has always been. 

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I was reading the Guardian on Sunday. Yes, the Guardian comes out on a Saturday, not a Sunday. I was being lazy, reading yesterday’s paper over poached eggs on toast before venturing down to my friend’s allotment to plant some carrot, beetroot, bean, leek, shallot, garlic and onion seeds. Wearing Hunter wellies. That’s how middle class I am.

I’m straying. On page 2 of the guardian I saw an ad encouraging me to ‘egg a politician’. It was beautifully placed, just underneath an editorial piece worrying that police language was increasing the possibility of vi...

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Transmedia storytelling is one of those monikers that runs the risk of being added to a Bullshit Bingo card some time very soon. On the other hand it could just be the saviour of brand communications. Google it and you'll get all sorts of definitions that talk about evolving non-linear brand narratives, brand communities and deeply immersive narrative universes.

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Everyone in the design business loves howies. It’s the innocent you’re not obliged to disparage.

The company makes simple, hardwearing clothes, has a website filled with dreamy images of weekend relaxation, and, above all, it’s run by honest, ethical people. (You can tell, because, like innocent, they never capitalise letters.)

Personally, I’ve never believed a word of it.

(Picture by Stéfan) 

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I’ve been intrigued and impressed with the tv ads for “He’s just not that into you”. They have an all star cast with clout, they were humorous and they were, wait for it, different. It wasn’t the same ad over and over, but a series of ads which all boiled down to the same same story platform, which happens to be the same as the title of the movie.  So far, so good.

This weekend we ventured more than a mile away from our babysitter and little daughter and made it to the cinema to watch the movie. I wasn’t expectin...

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 The art world can be a terribly stuffy and closed environment stifling the very essence of colourful self-expression that it seeks to celebrate.

So props must go to the Tate Liverpool for its very bright, simple and engaging 'The One That Spoke To Me' microsite where the public definitely comes first.

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I was reminded today (as if I could forget!) what storytelling was all about. I was visiting one of our clients, Harrods in London, talking to their Director of Design, a guy called Bill Mitchell. One of the old school, Bill has had an incredible life. You can read all about it on his website, but as a taster it encapsulates: painting and decorating, the Royal Navy during the war, travelling the world painting murals on NAAFI canteen walls, flogging insurance, courses at the Southern College of Art and the RCA, and architectural features work for many, many municipal businesses and councils.

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muttered Aristotle under his breath.

Has anyone ever said to you while standing on the edge of a lake looking at snow capped mountains as the sun sets, "wow, that looks like a painting!" and you think 'wait a minute, no the painting looks like nature!' When did art become grander than reality? So as I walked into Rothko at the Tate, I thought what is Mark imitating, a rusted wall with a square painted on it, marking the spot for a wreaking ball to demolition, or the decay caused by oxidation?

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I used to have a girlfriend who had a very annoying habit. It went like this. I'd tell a funny/interesting story (seriously, I've got, like, three), everyone would laugh or express amazement. She'd say "Yeah, but is that true?" Ruined it every time.

The truth in stories is a slippery concept. Particularly if you are relying (as we'd like to, in the modern super-connected and super-social world) on other people to spread your story for you. How can you be sure that they are telling your story in the right way?

Now, one of the most powerful modern myths ever created is Star Wars. You may have heard of it. A story so powerful that it survived Jar Jar Binks. But how well do you know the plot? Here is a brilliant video of someone trying to explain the plot of Star Wars without even having actually watched the trilogy.

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Borrowed interest gets a bad press. It can be seen as a strategy for a company with no real differentiation or nothing interesting to say. However, I’m with Faris on this one. “Borrowed interest is an entirely sound strategy for attracting attention.” More than that, I’d say borrowed interest, if done correctly, is a very effective way to give you an advantage in the marketplace. Let me elaborate using Hannibal Lecter and a meerkat....

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Wander around an island in the Great Barrier Reef for six months, all expenses paid. Work 12 hours a month (blogging, feeding a few fish, keeping the pool clean). The pay? $150,000 Australian dollars. That's £70,000ish or $102,000 US. By the way, that's what they pay you, not what you pay them...and I'm taking no responsibility for currency fluctuations.

Interested? Of course you are. (Update) After the jump, I'll tell you how to apply - I'm not the one offering the job!

(Picture from Google Earth)

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