IPA done and done (I hope)

After months of toil and study (i.e. online learning done in my pants on a Sunday) my IPA Advanced Certification exams were yesterday.

The 2nd 3 hour exam on the principals and application of all media to a variety of problems.

It's been 12 years since I last sat an exam (eek) but thought I needed to continue my CPD and keep the learning ball rolling.

I feel good for doing it... but won't rush back to exam conditions though...

B@stards!

Some b@stard has stolen the front wheel from my bike. My bike cost me £99 in 1994. I've never replaced the wheels and its in a generally shabby state.

It has old style nut and bolt fixings (not quick release) so someone has clocked it and decided to come back with his tool kit!

What has the world come to!?

Very disappointed :-(

Vision Express Boob

I've just watched a 30 second TV ad for Vision Express. They have a campaign about putting your eyes through their paces, using 2 guys in a gym in a quirky, off-the-wall style.

Sadly until the end frame i though I was watching a 118 118 ad.

Oops!

The adman's revenge

Sick of clients telling you what's best for THEIR brand? Criticising YOUR creative? Then you need this.

Creativity just because

Love have developed this site which I find intriguing. Its an environmental message using Santa's melting runway as the story.

I'm interested to see how this grows. They are partnering with a video company and sharing the investment - i'm really interested to see what it becomes.

If nothing else this is a great idea, well executed, nice use of e-mail (so far) and intriguing. What all creative agencies should be doung frankly.

More power to you boys.

Elf Yourself properly this time

It's back! Last year this was the viral marketing phenomenon - everyone was elfed. The trick that the originators missed last year however was brand recall. Ask 10 people and 9 would have no idea who was behind the project.

This year OfficeMax have branded the living daylights out of it. For months leading up to December they had a holding position with a countdown clock on the URL, adding intrigue and reinforcing the brand.

Goes to show that using technology/marketing in a new/interesting/ground-breaking way acheives lasting stand-out - even when there is no lasting brand association. There is no reason why this campaign can't live on and on with the odd brush-up - OfficeMax struck gold.

(yule) log

I saw this login prompt today. Made me chuckle (well, not really), but it instantly gave me a good feeling for the site - its personality and how I wanted to interact with it.

Now this approach isnt for all sites (and some may call it corny) but it's the page with the hightest drop-off rates of most sites and anything that can be done to minimise this can only be a good thing.

I say bring on the log! :-)

Note:
Brightkite is a location-based social network. In real time you can see where your friends are and what they're up to. Depending on your privacy settings you can also meet others nearby.