Getcha Head in the game...

I pass this pretty frequently at Stoke Rail station on the Northern platform. Itd an advert for Gatorade involving a contest encouraging consumer participation.

What impressed me the most was the hashtag copy used. Its short, sharp and simple but does a job.

Oh sit down....

Is this a piece of advertising by MemoryFoam about students needing a good nights sleep, or simply a student after one too many drinks in Gobble....

Ill let you judge....

Coffee....

Brilliantly put together, yet so simplistic. I'm yet to find why this was made, or even the purpose of it. But I've been a fan of this kind of art since the early days of Art Attack. My favourite segment was the large scale art pieces he'd make towards the end of the show.

The Cure.... Friday Im in love...

It iss 7 in the morning and Im currently "bombing it" back to Stoke after 4 days of football. Nothing bettet than a football day out to blow the cobwebs

#PrayforJack

Ive just noticed this advert (see below) on the train and felt it deserved a mention in my prestigous blog.

I doubt if i were doing geography or economics I doubt Id have photographed the hills out the window or the price of tea on the shop menu (Ludicrous if you ask me... probably isnt even ludicrously tasty either...)

Its an advert for the fairly newish (or atleast updated) Train Ticket App.

Admittably the copy isnt anything witty or clever, but i dont think it needs to be given that the image works pretty well.

However it doesnt quite entice me to download it and that therefore means its a poor advert. I live on trains to get yo football/home thus an app may be useful but Ill stick to using National rail app and website...

Bring back British Rail... but thats a whole blog on its own

Just beat it....

Another poster I saw whilst on the the tube

Great piece of copy which hooks a reader in...

#ShortandSweet

The text below the main copy is about how the paper becomes rubbish as soon as its left on a tram. Clever play on words or just an advert made by somebody who is rubbish at art....

Emotions...

I think that adverts (especially with sporting connections) should try and connect with the raw emotions that go hand and hand with sporting events

I spotted this on the London Underground (whilst running round the capital as if i was an Apprentice candidate trying to avoid the boardroom)

It will strike a chord with any sports fans who will ultimately recognise these emotions and therefore evoke a reaction

Backstreets back alright!

Everybody loves a good repeat performance. Now back in February the North London derby finished 5-2 leading to some interesting wordplay appearing on twitter....

The same result appeared today and that funny word play remerged on twitter....

DAVE... Worm of witty banter....

Meet Dave

Saw the "Sponsor a worm like Dave" campaign on Facebook earlier. Normally I dismiss any sponsored advert on the right panel of Facebook. But this amused me. I think due to the fact its a parody of the WWF adverts where people can sponsor a tiger or something else. Parkinson's disease isn't something people know a lot about, and its often over shadowed by cancer or MND charities.

Like Narnia....

Fantasy Football is just a made up idea... but some it is more than that.. These Adverts show why each player should be picked. It makes the coach feel more like a real coach

The john Lewis adverts are usually massive hits around christmas, however this years effort (in my opinion) is AWFUL. But there is one advert for christmas which I really do like. Bizarrely it's Morrisons, whose adverts are normally so over the top its cringeworthy.

Unlike previous years, which are crammed with celebrities, it shows a normal family. Now thats no different to any other christmas advert, but this shows the toil and struggle that goes on.

Accompanying this advert is a Facebook campaign called Crime Against Christmas, which invites users to share images embarrassing images .... I might enter, the Annual Cluedo in the Jolly-Cunliffe gathering

Nelly the elephant....

This is quite possibly one of the greatest viral market videos I have ever witnessed.... An elephant playing with a phone! Its everything a great viral should be - humerous, bizarre and something you want to show as many people as you can as soon as you can.

Made by the Viral Factory....

BK Giveaway

Quite an old campaign (May 2009) but quite an interesting take on using Social Media in order to encourage people to participate in their brand. Burger King offered people a chance to de-friend 10 people publicly in exchange for a burger.... Simple concept really...

I'd never do this.... Well maybe for a KFC...

Blue Suede Shoes

This was a bizarre campaign for an Israeli campaign, in which it combined a giveaway and Instagram. The company basically, put a bell in the middle of a busy location and people were rewarded by following the basic instructions. I really like this concept because many people would walk straight past, but those who took a chance to engage in the campaign would have been rewarded....

and who does love free shoes.....

New Shoes Advert.....

Punderful

This sign caught my eye on my way to Worcester at the weekend. I love adverts that have a sly dig at their industry rivals. Nor like betting adverts that use facts to discredit their competitions..

Mainline Railways have a history of poking fun at Virgin, in an effort to drum up custom.

 I like to imagine somebody said this as a joke at the end of a brainstorm, or somebody's idea was so bizarre (perhaps a giant purple monkey) and somebody replied with "Now thats verging on the ridiculous" and they went from there.... It was only ever going to get two responses from the client... a) GENIUS or  b) I PAY YOU HOW MUCH?!?!

We built this city....

After re-reading that last post, it made me think of how many other annoying football cliches get churned out so I'm going to focus this on cliches. For those who don't know me, I have done quite a bit of commentating for my local side (great fun...) and during this I stumbled upon an article ( a few years old now) about Setanta Sports pledging to cut out cliches during one televised game ( Setanta to "kick out" cliches ). When I was commentating I loved using cliches but hating listening to them on Sky Sports.

With the FA cup, it seems acceptable for every broadcaster to wheel out these cliches, even the adverts for ITV and ESPN are littered with them. So here is a list of  a few FA Cup Cliches

When describing a lower league team against a better opponent, "it's their Cup Final" - It really isn't, most likely that honour will be bestowed to the Cheshire Senior Cup final (well in Altrincham's case... or Nantwhich)

Potential banana skin. - Although in all my years I have yet to see a person slip on one..... except for on Mario Kart

Any game that is entertaining will be referred to by the commentator as a "proper cup tie as if the others are as pointless as a Fifa Career-mode pre-season came
 

"The best cup competition in the world!" - Because people who say this have watched every single other cup competition in the world, presumably, as believe it is vastly superior to that of the Copa Peru

In every part time team the commentator to point out that one of them is an electrician/plumber etc. - This even happened during the England v San Marino build up - which was a perfectly example of cliches being over used   Form books being hurled out of windows.... I have never seen a form book, or indeed any other book, hurled out of a window.

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404 Page Not Found.....

The most annoying site when on the internet. Well due to some clever people, that space is being put to good use. Companies can download a webpage to fill it which will show the faces of missing
people....

A creative solution to an anoying problem.....

Twenty Seven Million

 

 

This song is actually performed by two christian musicians (LZ7 and Matt Redman) as part of a campaign to help the 27 million or more people affected by slavery. It was released as a single and actually made it into the UK Top40 - a very rare feat for a christian band.

 

I think it works well because whilst getting the message across and sticking to their Christian ideals, it doesn't sound like what you'd expect from a religious band. Lz7 are an usual band in that their music fits in with a current pop style, yet encourages Gods message.

 

The campaign is something I heavily believe (not just because of my religious beliefs). The whole campaign worked well in the states, and did reasonably well here, especially at events such as SOUL Survivor.

 

 

 

 

 

Buffalo Soldier...

......was the first song I ever learnt to play on the keyboard. From that moment on I realised I wasnt going to be a muscian.

This piece is about the Metropole Orchestra who are under threat. The idea is that using a virtual keyboard, you play a piece, and it then gets tweeted along with their hashtag. Then the orchestra will play some piece the next night during their performance.

Very clever idea encouraging people to get involved with saving something not that many people would care about.

Can you do the Fandango?

This is advert for chewing gum. Chewing gum is an interesting product, because to be perfectly honest, all brands are the same... Its very rare I go in to a shop and pick a brand, I normally buy the cheapest. If somebody offers out chocolate or a packet of crips, people will have a preference to a particular brand, thus this will decide whether they accept the generous offer. However with chewing gum, nobody asks what brand it is.

So chewing gum advers usually goes for a humerous approach in the slight hope their brand is remember in the corner shop. of the times the key to grab consumers’ attention and get them to chew more and chew better.

The advert features a fish tank (should have used a baby hippo...) in a pet shop singing. An idea which probably seemed ridiculous at the time of intial conception but has worked very well as for 60 seconds it held my attention (something which is extremely hard to do) and amused me (something which isnt that hard...)

This is thriller...

So its Halloween time, which means most companys just chuck the words frighteningly good deals or spookily low prices on a poster and jobs done. This campaign is a bit more unique...

Dunkin’ Donuts is currently running a campaign using one of the newest social medias on the block -Instagram.

The idea is simplistic, and involves dressing up the cup for Halloween. People submit their pictures for the chance to win a gift card.

This does two things, it potentially will trend the brand, increasing awareness, get more people into the shops and shows a funner side on the brand.

Here is just a few of the designs....

ABM style...

Love a good video parody, and since seeing it a few weeks back Ive played Eton Style numerous times (maybe a bit more than numerous.....) This video has had 2 million views on the youtube clip, and probably a few million other on various other sites. Viral videos are a great way to get a message out cheapily and effective, and a parody is a very effective way to get a message accross to a certain demographic.

It is, like most other viral videos, INCREDIBLY cringe-worthy, but in a clever manner. Its managed to stay within the bounds of them not looking like they care like there a joke and being very well put together. The lyrics are interesting and keep in with the whole image of them mocking the fact they are seen to be better than the rest of the country.

Heres the video.... Anybody up for filming one in Gobble?

Flying with out wings....

Not that Im against print, or television advertising, but I much prefer product give away or publicity stunts. This wasnt an actual campaign that went life, just a university breif, created by three Korean students.
The Hallym University students created a portable iphone charger in the shape of a RedBull can . Apple iPhone are known to have a poor battery life, and there is a big market for the usb chargers, combined with the idea that RedBull gives you that extra boost and power.

They said "We created Redbull-shaped portable charger. This Redbull-shaped charger will show its own recharging screen when they fit into the gadget. (an orange charging bar as oppose to red or green_ And the mobile webpage of Redbull will be on the screen when it is unlocked."

Imannoyedsoillrant.com

Time for another rant. Currently writing this from my sick bay... #GiveMeSympathy. But this advert made me feel even worse. First is the disgusting track playing over the top. Its by an artist called Lenka and the track is called Everything @ once. Personally I think it smacks of them struggling to concieve an idea and searching the lyrics website for "everything at once".

If you contrast this with a major competitor such as Google Chromes web browser, which shows the unique and wide range of uses for its product, its not a hard decision to pick which to use.

TINPOT TASTITC

his weekend sees the begining of the FA cup (well in the media eyes anyway...) as the Football League clubs join the plucky Non Leagues sides. For me, the FA cup always has and will be the greatest club competition in the world. It gives the non league sides a miniscule chance of pitting their wits against some of the best footballers on the planet...

For the Fans, it gives them hope of that one tie which would make up for all the 4-1 defeats on a freezing tuesday night 200 miles from home, the last minute defeats to arch rivals and pub teams. And one amazing piss-up.

But one thing is for certain, there will be plenty of FA tinfoil floating around grounds this weekend. To me, this symbol opitimises everything about the competition. Usually shodily made the night before, crudly wrapped and often flung to the floor post-match.
The homemade aspect represents the non league essence, as well as the hope and expectancy of the minnows, whilst it being thrown to the floor in disappointment as they go 3-0 down represents the dejection and hurt every fan feels when they go crashing out the cup.
But you can bet that come August/September/October they'll be a fresh roll of tinfoil being cut and wrapped around the cardboard in expectation....