Archive for November, 2008
South African Old School ads: Making even more sense 20 years on
Posted on 28. Nov, 2008 by Jonathan Cherry.
As part of the ongoing research we do in our hi-tech Cherryflava marketing laboratory, we sift through thousands of streams of information from around the world categorising and deconstructing all types of marketing tools to understand how and why they work.
Recently we’ve also started traveling back in time…to the 80s, to capture the essence of the marketing hits of those days.
Amongst our observations so far – jingles were hot (almost ever ad was a musical) and 2min to 6min mega cinema advertising productions costing crazy amounts of money were all the rage.
Cigarette brands were the marketing kings. These old Peter Stuyvesant cinema ads from 1985 are simple, but effective in the marketing job they did. Between the yellow Humvees, Concordes and bad hairstyles you can learn a lot from these classics.
It’s not surprising that everybody jacked up a smoke back in the day.
DUIPhone: More booze testing goodness on your cellphone
Posted on 27. Nov, 2008 by Jonathan Cherry.
Here’s a much more elaborate cellphone breathalyser than the one we found the other day. This one actaully has a spout [just like the friendly traffic police ones] into which you blow your boozy breath and then get told whether you’re smashed or not.
The entrepreneur in you will be standing outside The Assembly at 2am charging R5 for the privilege.
How acting like a 5 year old can help your creativity
Posted on 26. Nov, 2008 by Jonathan Cherry.
Tim Brown from uber design company Ideo talks at TED about how kids will put 36 points past you when it comes to raw creative ability and how you can recapture your inner pre-schooler. Good warm up for next year’s Design Indaba.
[Clip 28mins in length]
[via freshcreation]
Adidas have been busy
Posted on 25. Nov, 2008 by Jonathan Cherry.
Since our last rampage due to the perceived lack of creative vooma associated with the upcoming FIFA World Cup, we’ve been extra vigilent about spotting anything remarkable.
Easing the pain slightly, Adidas sent us pictures and words about Kopanya – meaning ‘together’ – the match ball which will be used in next year’s Confederations
Cup. [thanks Gennaro]
Now also from Adidas, but produced by one of their international agencies, a series of videos clearly designed to be shared in ‘a viral type manner’.
Holiday ‘get out of jail free’ iPhone app
Posted on 24. Nov, 2008 by Jonathan Cherry.
Getting behind the wheel after downing a couple of Stroh rum and Coke Zeros may have been all the rage last year, but according to Carte Blanche and a few other of our trusted sources – the cops aren’t going to take to kindly to your festive cheers this holiday season.
What’s needed – maybe some handy technology that can indicate just how over the limit you might be and hopefully prevent you from making use of the official police ‘blow harder’ version.
Last Call is a handy iPhone app which will tell you whether it’s time to hit the java…or another chilled beverage is still permissable.
No blowing necessary – it calculates your weight vs the number of tequila slammers you’ve knocked back in the last hour and gives you an estimated blood/alcohol reading that you can then show the barman when you order another drink.
If you’re drunk – the phone will give you the option of dialing a taxi or a lawyer to argue with [seriously].
Alas – it’s presently only available for the iPhone via their iTunes app store, [which doesn't help too many party loving South Africans] but hopefully somebody with an advertising budget [hint hint SAB or Brandhouse - call us if you need help] destined to add value to the mobile phone owning public will take the gap and offer a free branded version to us all.
Download it here [iTunes]
[via Wired]
Japanese love of vending machines translates into unique giveaway
Posted on 21. Nov, 2008 by Jonathan Cherry.
Instead of throwing the city into chaos by giving away product at traffic intersections, Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo added a bit of drama and a few props to a promotion they held the other day in New York’s Times Square.
Giving away ‘Heat Tech Innerwear’ the crafty Japanese marketing folk made geeky New Yorkers line up in the cold and have their core temperature scanned by ‘androids’ dressed in tin foil catsuits [sexy] before entering their human vending machine. After a few blue lights and an innocent, yet enjoyable ‘patdown’ from the robot people punters left with free high tech Long Johns.
There’s nothing better than pretending to be ‘Die Man van Staal’ when getting sold underwear in a giant silver box with a smile.
More:
Uniqlo vends innerwear in Times Square – Racked
Japan-powered dancing androids invade New York – DVice
World Cup 2010 ‘billboards’ starting to appear
Posted on 20. Nov, 2008 by Jonathan Cherry.
Not wanting to be too judgemental before the ‘real’ good stuff gets going as part of the 2010 World Cup countdown goes, but we find this plastering of a cooling tower in Bloemfontein by FNB rather…, well crap.
Cooling towers are serious equipment meant to be used in the production of much need electricity, but instead they’re being abused as a surface to stick giant posters onto.
If you insist on financing Eskom through advertising media support how about making the thing look like a giant kicking tee…or make huge balls blow out of it. Anything other than boring urban spam that has been around for the past 15 years would be just great.
World Cup Germany was more than two years ago and marketers there had some cracking ideas to get everybody excited about the event.
It’s a fact that there is more creative talent in this country, we’re just hoping that our side doesn’t lack BMT and choke like a bunch of All Blacks when the final whistle blows.
Maybe the good stuff is yet to come, but we’re a little over a year and a half away and other than a half finished stadium in Greenpoint and roadworks wherever you go, you don’t get any sense that anything major is about to happen here at all.
[pic via Marklives.com]
Subaru represents: How to sell a car
Posted on 19. Nov, 2008 by Jonathan Cherry.
Man – now we know why Subaru’s are so popular in Parow.
Louis Gossett Jr is watching you this holiday season
Posted on 19. Nov, 2008 by Jonathan Cherry.
Are we in Vegas?
Fans of Richard Gere may recognise Louis Gossett Jr as the drill sergeant in Office and a Gentleman who made it his mission to try kill poor ol’ Dicky G with a garden hose. Now he appears in the latest TV ad for Windhoek Lager. [video link]
What’s wrong with a guy drinking a Pina Colada? Not cool? [thanks Nadia]
50 Before and After redesigns
Posted on 18. Nov, 2008 by Jonathan Cherry.
Before you head to that mind-numbing 3-hour strategy meeting that you’ve so been looking forward to this morning, go grab a large steaming cuppa caffeine and peruse these 50 Before and After redesigns to get you in the mood to say something profound
Our favourites: No 21 – Barack Obama’s online brand transformation and No 2 – BP.
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