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Back on track

2007-02-20T10:30:00.000+01:00

In our last blog we mentioned we were taking a break whilst we settled in. So after filling in a mountain of paper work I think we are almost done.

We are also getting back into creative Wednesdays from 8pm at ‘The Monk’ (see map) which is still open to all those that are interested. It has started to really pick up momentum now with last week peaking at a grand total of FIVE people. Ok not so impressive but it will grow.

We’ve been really busy working on various concepts here and we are very eager to get some of the more ambitious ones made. We seem to be working more now than we ever did on placement, strange we always thought it would be the other way around.

This week will bring us to round three of presenting a concept to a client. This means presenting to the top Marketing Director. It is kind of a make or break meeting, the rest of the marketing team already seem to be on board.

However we really need to brush up on our presentation skills after our first attempt, which was a little stuttered. Fortunately our clearly more experienced planner salvaged the meeting.

We would love to hear any presentation tips or comments from your first time.

Back in Brussels

2007-01-23T22:37:00.000+01:00

We have been back at the agency now for two weeks. Any free time we have seems to be taken up with searching for an apartment and personal admin. However we hope to get back on track with our blog once we get ourselves settled in Brussels.

We came across this cool web site recently last.fm , it allows you to enter the name of bands and artists you like to create your own radio station of similar music. Check it out.

Luau (moon - lit party)

2007-01-03T17:37:00.000+01:00

In my last blog I mentioned about an end of course party for some ESPM students. I managed to get hold of some photos, again the night shots are unfortunately a little blurred though there were some awesome shots of Ipanema at sunrise.

Happy New Year

Rio 40 graus

2006-12-22T03:06:00.000+01:00

Last week I checked out a friend’s final portfolio class here in Rio. It was a one year course they had just completed at ESPM (Escola Superior de Publicidade e Marketing).

Brazil is constantly producing top work; here are some of the great Brazilian agencies.

Africa
Almap/BBDO
F/Nazca S&S
Neogama/BBH
DM9DDB

The work of Brazilian students was of a very different style compared to that of British students, which made it difficult for me to compare standards.

Most of the work I saw was finished to an extremely high standard, for me to mock up half of what they produced would take days. Though there were a lot of great integrated strategies on display, the students themselves agreed they would be able to push things a lot further if they were not required to mock up to an excellent standard.

The truth in Brazil, and I imagine in many countries to be the same, is that if a team wants to get onto to a placement they unfortunately have to demonstrate great Mac skills as few agencies have the budget for extra studio work as one would in Europe or the US.

After the course presentations, they headed out to a local boteco (street bar) and a couple of days later they had a graduation beach party on Copacabana. Now that’s what was missing from the D & AD final workshop.

Sorry about the quality of the photos taken at the boteco.

An interesting way to learn english

2006-12-05T12:01:00.000+01:00

English lessons found via Right-Half Chow

Time for a break

2006-12-04T20:35:00.000+01:00

Over the last month we have been on a trial period for a position as a Jr creative team. Last week we were offered a permanent position.

So six months after graduation we are finally hired. It hasn’t been a bad run in fact we have both had an enjoyable time, once we finished our degree we went straight into the D&AD advertising workshop, following that straight into placements and now working.

We start in January though before that we are both taking a needed holiday James is back in the UK and Joao is heading to Rio.

The blog will be coming from various destinations over the next month, we now also have contributions from Alex Goulart a Belgium based copywriter.

Lets temp

2006-12-04T20:29:00.000+01:00

A friend of ours from uni has recently started a blog about his temp work in a factory. It’s a good read and has some awesome photos so check it out.

www.dansboringjobs.blogspot.com

Creative night

2006-11-26T12:16:00.000+01:00

Here is a photo from last weeks creative wednesday.

Creative Wednesdays

2006-11-16T12:11:00.000+01:00

Yesterday night we met up with a couple of other creatives working in Brussels. In fact this is becoming quite a regular Wednesday night feature. Unfortunately we forgot to take some photos so I will have to post some next week.

So if any one is around Wednesday nights we meet at ‘The Monk’ (42 sint-katelijnestraat / rue Sainte-Cathrine) at 8pm, this is not only an invite to creatives we would love to see accounts, planners etc…

In fact a few planners in the UK have been having coffee mornings for a while, check out Russell Davis blog, be inspired.

Product Combinations

2006-11-15T11:21:00.000+01:00

We have just got back from spending a few days in London catching up with friends, as our office was closed on Monday.

Whilst in a Tesco store we noticed that they had hung columns of Nurofen and Anadin along the wine aisle. Do people really buy alcohol expecting a hangover? Can you suggest any other product combos?

Cheap media

2006-11-15T11:07:00.000+01:00

By now I am sure most of you will have seen or heard about the innovation success story from Unilever who used the capabilities of the web 2.0 to launch a global advertising campaign for their beauty product 'Dove Evolution'.

The advert was developed by Ogilvy & Mather, Toronto and posted on you tube. The video spread rapidly via emails, blogs, TV talk shows etc. We recently learned that the advertisement has hit 1.7 million views in less than a month on YouTube alone.

It is incredible that a brand can create such a buzz without having to spend a SINGLE cent on media.

Tokyo underground

2006-11-09T10:18:00.000+01:00

Earlier this year we included new media idea in our book, which we thought was quite unique. We suggested lining the underground metro tunnels with animation frames, hence creating a stop frame video in the train window.

We recently found out that this media exists. An alternative media company Metro Vista has successfully produced the technology in Japan.

Check out point 10 in article 'Top 10 ad-tricks in Tokyo’s train stations’ from the awesome online magazine PingMag, they even have a link to a demo video of the process.

Inspiration – where do you get it?

2006-11-05T20:07:00.000+01:00

Here is a video where Nike designer Tinker Hatfield talks about how he took inspiration from the Pompidou centre in Paris when creating the ‘Air Max’ series.

New agency

2006-11-05T20:06:00.000+01:00

We have now completed our first week at a new agency.

We thoroughly enjoyed our last two months with Leo Burnett and it was a valuable learning experience for us. We could not have asked for a better welcome into the industry.

We had just got used to an open plan office at our previous agencies, we now have a little office on the top floor of the agency. This has taken a little getting used to. It is weird not seeing what everyone else in the office is up to.

Amsterdam

2006-11-01T23:52:00.000+01:00

Apologies for being so slow with our blog this past week. We promised excitement but failed to provide. We have been really busy this past week. Here comes more blogging.

It was a holiday here today; therefore we went on a day trip to visit some agencies in Amsterdam.

We managed to see a couple of agencies both of which were incredibly receptive and gave us their undivided attention, which we are greatly thankful for. It was refreshing to visit places with such a vibrant creative atmosphere.

We didn’t get to see a lot of Amsterdam, spent a lot of the day walking, going in and out of agencies and sheltering from inconsistent rain.

Amsterdam seems like a great place so we will be back to give it a proper run through.

Here is an awesome city guide we came across online.

Super future

Urban retail

2006-10-22T12:50:00.000+02:00

We came across an interesting article in the FT this weekend by Tyler Brule about the problems facing retail in central London. The author reports on how he would improve the retail experience of the UK capital.

On a book review we once were told (in relation to a car campaign) that it doesn’t matter how appealing your ads are if when you get to the show room you are still confronted with a sterile space, along with some slick dealer.

The crit got us thinking about the importance of a strong point of sale. Should brands not work more along side developers, landowners and retailers in improving the urban retail landscape. Should advertisers not be working along side architects / designers to reinvent the shop floor.

We cant see any reason why today urban shopping should be so tedious, with the amount of talent available why so much grime in major retail areas?

Clip art animation

2006-10-16T10:01:00.000+02:00

This is an interesting use of clipart in animation. Something nice to look at if you have a couple of minutes free. It was created by Oliver Laric.

A month in Brussels

2006-10-15T16:00:00.000+02:00

It has just been over a month since we have been here in Brussels. It is an awesome city, in many aspects it is kind of like a mini London, so many places to discover.

Things we are loving:

Café Belga: An awesome bar/cafe below our agency. Great if you want to appear boho. Actually what I love about this bar is the mix from mums on the school run, university students, old couples reading the paper etc… A great place for people watching

http://www.cafebelga.be/

Trams: much better than travelling under ground.

Food: cheap, good and unpretentious but actually very pretentious with out them realising, If you know what I mean.

Things we are not so fond off.

Irish bars: Yes all 100 of them, identical in every way shape and form. Mostly inhabited by stag parties and hen parties, muppets dressed in school uniforms and the occasional 16 year old on a school trip. Quote from one customer to another; ' hey lets go I have 10 euros left for beers and strippers’. Imagine what that must look like.

Slipping on dog poo: twisted my ankle slipping on poo. A frequent Lunch break phenomenon and the tally is rising, I swear this only happens to us.

Losing ideas in translation: completely our own fault but slowly we are improving our French and Flemish should be a breeze by December.

Portfolio

2006-10-10T20:29:00.000+02:00

We have now posted our updated ad portfolio on Flickr and animation on You Tube. Click on the links to check it out, Thanks Joao & James.

Could we have our ball back?

2006-10-09T16:26:00.000+02:00

Here is an interesting article I came across in the LA weekly about a game of over the fence border volleyball.