John Drake

Great Work

 

Several years ago Sony had this nice spot from Fallon/London which almost won the Cannes Grand Prix. They've just brought back this updated version from Crayon to promote 3D at this year's Wimbledon.

 

Our behaviors online are quite odd when taken into the offline world. This video promotes an opera about the dangers of living our lives online.

 

For the first time ever, TIME has authorized the use of its iconic red-bordered cover and nameplate to a marketer. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the sponsor who used the image to create posters to promote the latest version of the game.

 

Here's a terrific idea from Budweiser: a mobile app that presents a temperature index so the hotter it is outside the less you pay for beer.

 

 

TOMS began with shoes. They're a One for One company. The newest extension are glasses.

 

Some terrific packaging for B Honey from Pereira & O'Dell.

 

Enjoy One in 8 Million. Here are 54 individuals of New York that The New York Times chose to feature. This idea isn't new this month, but it's very nice.

 

A challenge with online video can be repeat viewing, so this is a nice solution to that. The more this video from Perrier is shared and viewed the more is revealed at this wild night club party. I enjoyed a similar thing with The Black Mamba earlier this year, too.

 

This is funny. Casey Neistat has created a film about the blocking of bike lanes in NYC. Uploaded on June 7th and up to 3.2 million views. 1:25 cracks me up.

 

 

DARK SIDE OF THE LENS from Astray Films on Vimeo.

I was moved by this post from David Hieatt about Love + Purpose. On that post was this film about loving what you do.

 

Have you read, "Here Comes Everybody," the book about the social web from Clay Shirky? This week The Guardian listed it as one of the top 100 Non Fiction books of all time. Also in the Top 100: "Walden," "The Art of War," "The Prince" and Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species." So Clay's book is pretty good. Buy it here. 

 

Realizing When You Already Have A Great Solution

Had a flat tire the other day. Apparently there was a small, headless nail that I ran over on some road that was lodged in the tire that kept deflating it. But I couldn't see the nail or the hole. So I took the car into Les Schwab. They removed the tire in question and they couldn't see the hole either. So they did something highly scientific... they submerged the tire in water and looked for the bubbles. In 5 seconds they had it and fixed the tire. (For free. Which is one of the many reasons to love Schwab.) 

It's hard to imagine that there will ever be a better, more efficient, more cost-effective technology for finding a hole in a tire than a tank of water. It's un-glamourous and definitely lo-fi but it's a great solution.

Sometimes we have the right solution already. Despite all the fancy screens and the seduction of digital, there are times when the wisest thing to do is to simply realize, "yep, that works great," and move on to something that's truly broken or highly inefficient.

Slightly Irrational Ideas

This week my friend Eric Springer was named to The Creativity 50 for the VW "Vader" Super Bowl ad. I liked what he said about the decision process as to whether or not release the now famous spot on the web before showing it on the Super Bowl...

"There was some initial fear and doubt. Would the ad still resonate if people already knew the punchline? It was a little scary, but being a little scary makes me say, 'We have something.' If everyone is in violent agreement it's too rational. A great idea needs to be a little irrational." 

Congratulations Springer.

When Pop Culture Shifts

1991...

"Suddenly hair bands singing about nonsense with lipstick and mascara on seemed pretty stupid. You felt that there was a revolution going on, and that song ("Smells Like Teen Spirit") was its anthem, it's call to arms."

Sam Bayer, director of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video.

[ Above, Nirvana playing Oslo in '92. Find more photos on the 20th Anniversary of Nevermind here. ]

 

The Science of Optimism

 

Are people more pessimistic or optimistic? As we watch the nightly news and follow political commentary one might immediately say we're a pessimistic bunch. But science says differently. Human brains are built to tilt toward the positive according to a stellar report by Tali Sharot called The Optimism Bias.

We imagine what could be. Apparently inside our brains our prefrontal cortex and the amygdala work together to keep us looking forward. It's a proactive survival mechanism. Because we are a species that is consciously aware of our pending mortality it is optimism that keeps us balanced. It's what motivated us to move out of caves in the first place. 

From the article:

"Optimism starts with what may be the most extraordinary of human talents: mental time travel, the ability to move back and forth through time and space in one's mind. Our capacity to envision a different time and place is in fact critical to our survival."

Collectively we can be pessimistic, but when it comes to ourselves, we are mostly optimistic. For example, a recent survey found that while 70% of respondents thought families in general were less successful than in their parents' day, 76% of respondents were optimistic about the future of their own family. 

We are hard-wired to think about what could be. In marketing let's not over think stuff: put the optimistic emotion of the product out there. People want that.

The next thing about optimism is that it's largely constructed out of experiences. The more experiences we have in our lives the more we learn. And the more we learn, interestingly, the more optimistic science says we tend to become. This is because prior experience allows us to find the silver lining in the clouds since we've been there before.

Different experiences also allow us to put things in the proper perspective. For instance, right before I read the Optimism Bias I was scanning an article about Oscar winning actress, Marion Cotillard, who was asked if she prefers the small films or big Hollywood productions...

MC: "Oh, I love both. I have the possibility to travel into so many universes, and that is what really makes the job marvelous for me. I wouldn't say I prefer one or the other. It's the richness (of both) that makes me think I will always have sparkles in my eyes and in my heart."

The value is in the balance and being well-rounded. 

And if we're going to be well-rounded from experiences then that's extra good for organizations. In Change By Design, IDEO's Tim Brown talks about the importance of T-Shaped people in an organization. T-Shaped people are those who vertically specialize in something (the vertical part of the "T") but because they push themselves outside their core competency they also have the ability to collaborate across disciplines (the horizontal part of the "T").

So it's important to seek experiences in ourselves and others... it makes for more optimistic and collaborative groups.

The science of optimism is fascinating. Read the full article here.

Great Work

Enjoy.

There are lots of screen ideas. Many have been shared on Campaign Planning. But for some reason this one in particular for McDonald's makes me ponder the future more so than most; interact with something new and interesting, just because you're there, with no downloads. Just doing. DDB Stockholm does good work.

 

If you have a body, you are an athlete--skate, bike, surf and beyond. This is apparently the first time Nike has tied "Just Do It" to action sports.

 

Beautifully executed for Orange by the directing team of "Cog". (Found over at Adverblog, who recently redesigned their blog. You should check it out.)

 

The David Lynch Music Company has a very cool site. I think it's new but I'm not sure. I am sure that clicking "Explore" brings forth an excellent experimental music interface.

 

This is a great insight from Renault. So good, in fact, it happened twice. Eerily similar car spots--even the music.

 

I don't think I've ever seen a PacSun ad before. 72andSunny does good work.

 

A Great Work post wouldn't be complete this round without W+K Amsterdam's most recent ad for Heineken. This, of course, is the sequel of sorts to The Entrance. There's an increased playfulness to this one though. Love that music...

 

Tim Burton has been so successful at creating original worlds that LACMA has created an exhibit just for his characters. LA friends, be sure to check it out. The exhibit runs through Oct 31st. Which is a most appropriate day to have the grand finale on.

 

Smarter analytics from IBM helped decrease NYC crime by 35%. Terrific art direction from Ogilvy/Paris.

 

Intel's Museum of Me already has over 323k fans on Facebook. The online environment creates a visual archive of one's social life.

 

This is terrific. And it's from Pampers. There's a bit of edge to it mixed with beautifulness. Celebrating every baby is a wonderful area. I found myself not wanting a VO at the end... But that's just me. Great work from Saatchi & Saatchi/NY.

 

And here's a classic from the past. Dick, what's the deal with the deal, are we dealing?