It’s that time of year when brands, who dare, can have a bit more fun and unleash their darker side. Whether you’re a global hit like Oreo or running a small town shop, brands of all shapes and sizes can participate in this ghoulish holiday; and, we love to see those who do it in...Continue Reading

We’ve just read a great article written by Bridget Angear (Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO).  She gleans lessons for planners based on the work ethic and style of Clint Eastwood.  Read full article here. Here’s our translation in a nutshell for brand directors: Be brief – sum up your thinking about the brand so people get...Continue Reading

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen real innovation in aerosol packaging and now we have a game-changer.  Not only has Unilever addressed a consumer preference for spray vs. roll-on and stick formats, but they’ve knocked a whole host of evils on their backside – less gas, less aluminium, less carbon footprint, less space,...Continue Reading

The Sunday Times took some creative liberty with their ‘rich list’ subjects. All the ingredients you need for effective advertising… Mainly, clever insight … the rich guys are fat cats. Simple, high quality execution … no need for ‘words’ here, the image says it all. A spoonful of humour. Perhaps it’s kicked up a fuss...Continue Reading

I’ve just finished reading a book written by a colleague of mine, James Kerr, entitled Legacy.  It draws lessons from sports, politics, business and everyday life to define 15 key principles for anyone who aims to be a real leader. For me, it was an unplanned, but well timed read over this Memorial Day weekend...Continue Reading

Vodafone’s ‘Firsts’ Campaign underpins its ‘Power to You’ position by celebrating individual achievements and showing people doing things for the first time —  whether that’s at a global, local or personal level. Our favourite is ‘First Flight’ which features two grandmothers gearing up for their first ever flight.  What better than a rollercoaster ride or...Continue Reading

On this funny (not so sunny) day, we give a shout out to those brands who are the jokers, the ones who lighten things up and the ones who use their sense of humor to artfully communicate what they are all about. Here are some of our favorite jesters – Snickers because we’re just not...Continue Reading

To promote The Lego Movie, the brand recreated ads by Premier Inn, BT, Confused.com, and British Heart Foundation and ran them during the ad breaks during ITV’s Dancing on Ice. Not only was this a breakthrough idea for advertising in general and the use of ad breaks in particular, but as far we can tell,...Continue Reading

Heinz gets our vote for best Facebook campaign so far. It’s an idea that’s all about the brand and why people use it. As of this last day of wintry January, it’s clocking over 193k likes with over 4k talking about it. That’s souped up marketing.  Continue Reading

Penned in 1978 by Clarissa Baldwin (today’s Chief Executive of Dogs Trust), the famous line ‘A dog is for life, not just for Christmas’, is more than a campaign, it’s an enduring stance. The idea was born from the insight that just as the novelty of new toys wears off shortly after Christmas, many dogs...Continue Reading