Cherryflava

The travellers guide to Global fashion trends '08

If, for whatever reason, you are heading to Helsinki pretty soon and feel that it is necessary for you to blend in with the trendy set rather than sticking out like a rancid pair of skants from Mr Price - then a keen understanding of the local fashion trends of the city you are visiting is always a good idea.

For example, did you know that in Montreal Canada:

Thrift stores are a gold mine. The only problem is that you have to sift through tons of crap and get your hands covered with old-people particles before you find the good stuff. Luckily no one from Montreal between the ages of 18 and 28 has a real job, so they have tons of time to waste finding vintage mink coats, veiled hats, granny cardigans, high-waisted pants, and old leather boots.

While in New Zealand:

The look is very much Crusaders rugby jumper mix-up with various items of Chanel and leopard print leggings with sweat bands and Converse trainers. Mmmmm, sexy dot com.

All of this invaluable global fashion insight comes courtesy of Vice magazine and is the perfect armchair travel companion for the style voyeur.

No listing for what's going down in South Africa, but then again banana leaves never went out of fashion, so no need to look twice over here.

See:

Vice Magazine Global Trend Report 2008

Vice Magazine Global Trend Report 2007

[via PSFK]

The (near) future of the car: The new Mercedes Benz S-Class

The new Mercedes Benz S-class has all the future trends soon to be seen in your next car - all packed into a giant hunk of metal that you can buy now. [See Top Gear video]

[via]

The evolution of drinks

Gone are the days when you would buy a 'smart drink' off the back of a bakkie outside The Playground comfortable in the knowledge that you were drinking the country's most innovative form of liquid refreshment.
Competition in the global drinks market is tough and it's survival of the cutting-edge right now.

Activate is a new functional beverage that just launched in Southern California. The drink’s vitamins and herbs are stored as powder in a chamber inside the cap. When you twist the cap clockwise, a small plastic blade cuts the seal in the chamber. Simultaneously, a small armature opens the chamber allowing the ingredients to drop into the water below.

Vitamins and other healthful ingredients deteriorate sitting in water. Storing the ingredients separate inside the cap keeps them fresh until the moment they’re released, for maximum potency. [video demonstration here] [thanks Jamie]

With more and more bars now stocking non-alcoholic beers, it makes sense that there would be an exploding market demand for 'virgin' wine as well.

According to Springwise:

First Blush varietal grape juices of Cabernet, Merlot and Chardonnay are alcohol-free and entirely suitable for kids [and probably people who prefer to say away from alcohol], with no added sugar or preservatives. Like wine, however, they're also full of polyphenol antioxidants. Launched last May, the drinks are available in upscale grocers such as Whole Foods and Wild Oats, along with delis and restaurants in select states nationwide. Retail pricing is about USD 4 [R32] for each 16-ounce bottle.

That brandy and coke mix that they brought out a couple of years back now looks positively old-school.

More:
Activate Drinks
First Blush

Grand Theft Auto IV promises big things

Having just completed our rookie mission through Call of Duty 4 on the XBox, we're nothing more than casual gamers at the best of times. But the lure of crime and fast driving promised by these giant billboards in LA and New York may just inspire us to toss the Wii idea and rather pop a Desert Eagle cap in some innocent bystanders ass.

But then it dawned on us that video games require electricity, so we'll have to settle for red wine and a candle light game of chess instead.

[via]

Vernon Koekemoer Vodacom ad: Marketing blitz or bust

Local Facebook lovechild Vernon Koekemoer stars in the latest Vodacom TV ad. You can catch exactly 2 seconds of the trance party uber-master strutting his stuff in the cellphone shop featured during the commercial. [video link]

As far as TV production goes - we're seriously impressed that the suits at Vodacom had time to spot the marketing opportunity and cast 'The Koek' in their ad in little over a month and a half since the beginning of his reign of viral hype started at the beginning of March.
With animated meerkats and guys in leopard print thongs positioning the brand right from the beginning, this has to be a great scoop for the Vodacom brand, and probably cost them far less than if they had to gotten Riaan Cruywagen in the mix.

[In case you were wondering, much like Cliff Jennings from Idols, Vernon Koekemoer is a manufactured 'experimental' viral character created by Bryan Theunissen and Damian Armstrong.]

For us however, our favourite TV right now has to be the Nokia N82 storytelling masterpiece. The music, the images, the feel of the thing is very 're-playable on a loop'. [video link]

Perhaps we'll change our minds when the full Sony Bravia ad get released in May, but until then...the bar is here.

Google billboard reflects the 'simple lines' of their offices

How would you go about advertising Google's video service?

Well. surprisingly Google themselves settled on billboards...with a twist. Check out the Google Video billboards that were posted in Berlin, Germany. [via]

Now, while you're still marveling at the boundless creativity that seem to be ever present at every turn of a Google corridor...have a look at their new Zurich offices...and wonder about its source no more....

See the rest of the gallery over at Valleywag.

Now go kick the bin over in your neighbours cubicle in frustration and retreat to your designated 'pause area' for a mug of steaming instant coffee and a cigarette on a cold, wind-swept balcony for reflection on where you went wrong.

Sneaker vending machines: Cause you gotta have it right this instant

Look - in South Africa vending machines don't get more exciting than the stock-standard Coke and Simba chip versions, so the idea that you can buy designer takkies from a box in the street, makes us literally want to attempt to do cartwheels in the parking lot.

According to Springwise, Onitsuka Tiger, the Japanese sports brand, launched a sneaker vending machine on Carnaby Street, London last week.
Clearly branded Japanese sneakers are very cheap in in the UK and most Britons have roughly the same shoes size and shape for this kind of shopping to work.

Don't expect one of these to pop up in South Africa any time soon. Before you know it, the box will be relocated to Zimbabwe where the police will mount rocket propelled grenades onto the side of their new white sneakers and call that riot control.

In other related retail news, in Japan for a limited time only you can find the Sneaker Lover Pop-up Shop, featuring ranges from brands like Champion, New Balance, and G-SHOCK.

With retail rates as high as what they are in even the big city centres of South Africa, it's rather surprising that we don't see more of these things popping up all over the place. Maybe it's a matter of watch this space...

More:
Sneaker vending machine - Springwise
Sneaker love pop up shop - Jean Snow

Local winemaker offers their premium white for whatever you'd like to pay for it

Taken from the file which also contains the recent Radiohead example [where the band released their latest album online at whatever price fans were willing to pay for it], local wine producers BLANKbottle have just released their first premium white blend without a price.

Huh - wine with no price...no way. Imagine walking into Wine Concepts and picking up a fine bottle of a wooded blend of Chardonnay, Chenin blanc and Viognier and when you go to pay the cashier stares at you blankly waiting for your offer of a price. Sounds special.....

....but that's not exactly how it works just yet.

Instead of setting its price the winemaker, Pieter Walser, decided to let his loyal clients decide. "Initially, I sent out 20 cases of “Moment of Silence” without payment or price, leaving it up to them to pay me what they thought its worth!", says Pieter Pricing suggestions reached up to R70, and most were prepared to pay around R50/bottle. As BLANKbottle™ was created to over-deliver on quality; I set the final price at R40.

 

As with his previous wines, “Moment of Silence” comes fully labeled and packaged according to BLANKbottle's high standards, but leaves you in the dark about the cultivar and year of vintage. To uncover the lineage of “Moment of Silence” or any of his other wines, you need to go to his website where you will find the full story behind your BLANKbottle.

Alas, it seems that the initial 'pay what you like' offer was for loyal repeat buyers only, but perhaps if you prove yourself to be a die hard fan now, you may get first dibs on the action the next time Mr Walser is looking for price point volunteers.

We personally however, still have to be convinced that any form of wine marketing works better than making your tongue walk a wine route in person. If you love it, and you gotta have it, you'll pay whatever to get it.

Website: BLANKbottle

Sony's new Foam party

Sony's latest Bravia ad installment has launched exclusively online ahead of it's 1 May debut on TV. After 'Balls', 'Paint', 'Bunnies' and 'Pyramids' - it's now 'Foam' which is being use to promote Sony's new line of digital cameras and camcorders. [video here]

Once again the online buzz precedes the mere thought of the ad's flighting here in South Africa, so it has to be big money well spent for Sony.

[thanks Scott]

Objects in the mirror may appear more understandable than at first glance

Mirrors and night clubs do not mix.
So imagine how freaky it must seem to have one make you hallucinate and sending you a secret message even more than the double Red Bull and vodka you just sucked back in one go.

In line with their "Fun Side of Russia" campaign, Lowe Bull, Cape Town created a "propaganda" poster for Russian Bear that was placed on the walls facing bathroom mirrors in pubs and clubs. At first glance, the writing appeared to be in Cyrillic, but when looked at in the mirror, the letters reversed to read in plain English: Real Men Don't Drink and Drive

Credits:

Product    :     Russian Bear Vodka
Agency    :     Lowe Bull, Cape Town
Creatives    :

    * Brian Bainbridge (Illustrator)
    * Cameron Watson (Photographer)
    * Kirk Gainsford (Executive Creative Director)
    * Kirk Gainsford (Creative Director)
    * Alistair Morgan (Creative Director)
    * Brian Bainbridge (Art Director)
    * Simon Lotze (Copywriter)

Other Credits    :     Tariq Bailey

{thanks to Brian for sending in]