Shepard Fairey Saks Fifth Avenue

I know this isn't new, but I wanted to post Shepard Fairy's Saks Fifth Avenue redesign. It's not the Obama poster or anything like his more well known pieces. But what draws me to it is his use communist use of boldness, it's really eye catching.

Guerrilla marketing only works when it's client specific

See, no product!

Lynch helping Moby or Moby helping Lynch or is it just plain crap?

Shot In The Back Of The Head from Moby on Vimeo.

What Happened To Outdoor?

Outdoor is such a misunderstood medium. Look at the awesome creative below, look what can be done! So let me ask you this, did you see great outdoor like this today? I sure as hell didn't.


I don't think I'm the only one that wonders what happened to this medium and why it's so disregarded. Maybe it's a subconscious thing where we get a bad taste in our mouths when we see a decrepit billboard structure? Or, maybe we're honestly waiting for them to be modernized into LED's like Blade Runner? Or perhaps those that own them don't know what they are doing and are asking the same questions? Who knows! I'm sure you have a few idea's of your own.

I've come to terms with the typical crap I see on the way to work. But what really annoys me is seeing great agency creative next to a piece of crap with a big red arrow! What the hell, why are we still doing this, shouldn't we have moved on by now. Why didn't the train leave the station?

I worked in outdoor for three years and this is what I concluded.

1. Outdoor is always present, but bad creative can turn people off and put the blinders on.
   
2. Clients are scared they won't get their ROI.
3. Outdoor is supplemental and should be used with multiple mediums.
4. Outdoor is old, inflexible and has 70s technology, so it's best treated with simple concepts.
5. The companies that own the structures are to blame for the current state of affairs.
   

It's sad because those that believe in outdoor don't understand why everyone doesn't want to use it. While everyone else is scratching there heads wondering when it will change?



I'm not holding my breath. Adams Outdoor here in Charlotte is trying to modernize itself and lead the pack. It's a good start but a little too late. I say that because the online medium is growing at such an exponential rate. New technology is constantly opening up new avenues and companies are having a hard time catching up. That's why we see large companies rising and falling every week. It's the web doing this, not outdoor.

So in about 20 years when all outdoor is where it should be, all the advertising dollars will be fully dedicated to online and outdoor will be scratching it's head saying, "where everyone go?"

Those that think they are leading outdoor into the right direction, should really rethink their business model, because it aint working! Will it go away, never, but they will always be treated as signs. Eventually we'll see the billboard structures decline because cities and towns will get tired of the same old ugly structure and poor creative. Until then we'll see the outdoor companies continue to lobby and promise a change, but it's not really going to happen.

It's a very sad story because so much could be possible. I've done some amazing things with this medium and I might still. But at some point you have to say whyt's the point? Why should I when I could do more in something else?

We're all in this together

The After Effects of Sex on the Beach

Check out this new ad campaign done by TBWA Paris for Hansplast Condoms.

US condom ads always focus on humor to sell the product. Which is typically what European countries also do, but they take it a step further. This campaign takes on a different strategy, highlight a product benefit. It takes the "long lasting" benefit and displays it in a very smart way. It's one of those Ads that you enjoy coming back too because it has an inside joke that's not too tricky to figure out. Between that and the way it shot with saturated colors and beuatiful models, this is one of those campaigns that will be sticking around for quite some time.

Introducing Bruno, aka Borat, Ali-G, Sasha Boran Cohen I think?

Who is this guy, what is this guy? Can you believe this guy is the same guy that played Borat? Did he use Extreme Makeover?

Sasha is at it again with his latest character "Bruno", probably his most controversial of all the personalities he plays. Bruno isn't a new character, if you've seen the Ali-G show you'll remember him going to US Football games and being booed by the crowd. Or hanging out with teen age boys on the beach and getting them to flex their muscles and say they love gays. The Bruno character has always had a way of making southern conservatives extremely uncomfortable and it looks like he's done it again. If you're over 18 (I think) you can watch the Red Band trailer below.



Funny yes, bizarre yes, controversial, we'll wait and see. Sasha's Borat character was created to see the US through the looking glass and unnerve conservative morals, ideals and beliefs. It worked with various results and I always felt that he forced the issues rather than let them play out. By looking at the trailer it looks like he's doing it again. He's on the Jerry Springer show, going to a swingers party and sitting around a camp fire with a bunch of hunters talking about Sex and the City. In all of these cases he's clearly trying to make the people he meets feel very uncomfortable, so why is he doing it? Is this another take on how southern americans are so adverse to sexuality? Or is this just another ha ha poke at the christian extremists, perhaps both. Either way it looks good and I'm sure it will get teens to talk about the movie visa vee, sexuality.