Really?? Hublot new ad

Hublot have just released their new ad. The image states:
"See what people will do for a Hubolt"...
With the image of millionairre Bernie Ecclestone's face, beaten and bruised from a real life mugging for his Hulbot.

Are they sure that showing someone famous, looking like this will really encourage people to buy one? Highlighting the fact they are going to get mugged if they wear their watch is perhaps not how to go about showing the lengths people will go to get the product. And really I don't think muggers care what kind of watch it is anyway!

For the full article on this advert go to Campaign Magazine: http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/1045767/Hublot-uses-battered-millionaires-face-watch-ad/

Skoda -

We haven't really blogged about ads - more how to get into advertising, but I thought I would just throw one in now. I recently went and saw Harry Potter (had to be done) and my favourite part of the cinema is always the good ads. I noticed that the ads were jam packed with different car adverts!! Obviously making it hard for the bad ones to stand out (poor media planning??). However, this is currently my favourite one of the bunch, that stuck out miles compared to the others. I seem to love all the Skoda adverts and was happy to see that the latest wasn't a let down.

The link between the previous ad (Skoda Cake) and this one really works well. In particular, I think the music makes this ad what it is. Perhaps that's just me? Any thoughts on it?

Check it out if you haven't seen it...


http://www.youtube.com/user/OfficialFabiavRS?v=NmZNvGHtMbo&feature=pyv&ad=10636006639&kw=skoda%20advert

What is creativity? 5 things to think about

So i'm sure you might be wondering what is creativity? well obviously its not an easy definition. here's 5 questions/statements to get your juices flowing and get you to think about what you think this elusive devil is?

1. According to William Plomer “creativity is the power to connect the seemingly unconnected”.

2. Oscar Wilde observed that “The imagination merely imitates.  It is the critical spirit that creates.”

3. If creativity is the ability to ‘think outside the box’ what constitutes ‘the box’?

4. The postmodern affinity with nostalgia (e.g. the revival of the Fiat 500, the resurrections of the Honey Monster, Tetley Tea Folk and the Milky Bar Kid and the retro rebranding of Virgin Airways) has meant that creativity has been increasingly superseded by reference to the past.  Evaluate the diminishing role of creativity in the context of postmodern nostalgia.

5. “Notwithstanding all the rhetoric and attention in corporate corridors and boardrooms all over the world, lack of innovation remains a key problem in business today.  One reason for this is the continued failure to systematically manage for creativity.”   (C.D. Shepherd, 2010)
How and why do organisations fail to structure for creativity.

This stuff is adapted from questions for final year university essays. Think about it, there's some interesting stuff in there.

Creative Must Haves...

OK, I have put together a brief list of my top creative books that are helpful and interesting...

Easily the the best book on copywriting. Simple. To the point. Used by copywriters all over the world.

Step by step guide to developing the strategy behind creative campaigns. One of the most important reads for would be creatives.



The best book on life within the industry. Luke Sullivan is a comic genius. Entertaining whilst still being extremely informative.
Let me know of any others that you have read that would be good to put up on the list, or just comment on some of the ones I have mentioned if you have anything to say about them!

The Creative Brief

What is the Creative Brief?

As previously mentioned, the creative brief is part of the Account Planners process in aiding the Creatives. 


The creative brief is there to give direction to the Creative team as they search for a creative concept (Wells, 2006). It is there to give clarity to all involved in the campaign. Typically it would include; the problem to be solved, the aims and objectives, the target audience, the positioning strategy, the type of creative strategy, tone of voice and execution considerations. Different agencies tend to have a different format that they follow. Some may be outlined by a number of questions such as 'What is the key benefit?' and other formats may include any additional points that will help the creative, such as the role of the communications as a whole.


Last year at Uni, we were given a live brief by Fallon and Radio One to produce an Account Planning document. The final stage of the document was to produce a Creative Brief. I found the whole process exciting and it highlighted the importance of insights in developing a campaign. The insight must be a reflection of the consumer and it can either be emotionally driven or for a functional benefit. For anyone wanting to get into advertising, have a look at Account Planning books and practise developing a creative brief. Even if you do not want to go into this area, Account Planners will often communicate with account management, creatives, the client etc. So knowledge of what they do will be useful.


I will soon upload key Account Planning books, so keep an eye out!!

Putting together a Portfolio

Check out the new post on the Creative page for tips on putting together a portfolio for the advertising industry.

Can you measure creativity

The arts institute over in Canadaland think you can

http://www.wherecreativitygoestoschool.com/vancouver/left_right/rb_test.htm

take the test to see which side of your brain is dominant and what type of thinker you are. It's pretty long winded but the results are quite interested. I'm not too sure about the wording of the responses though :)

Food for thought....

Really interesting talk by Ken Robinson on creativity within today's education system. Clearly something needs to change. What are your thoughts on this??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY

The Post-Graduate 'Root'

Post-Graduate Courses  (MA)

Most budding Art Directors and Copy Writers then tend to then go on and take a year-long Masters Postgraduate course in ‘Creative Advertising’ or ‘Copywriting and Art Direction’ at Universities or Colleges. Some of the best are listed below:

Falmouth

http://www.falmouth.ac.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=75&Itemid=303

West Herts

http://www.tonycullingham.com/

SCA

http://schoolcommunicationarts.com/

Napier

http://www.courses.napier.ac.uk/W54705.htm

It is here that students work on briefs for real products to build up their portfolio with the aim of securing a Creative Placement on graduation. It is often here where creative partnerships are formed. (although there are organizations such as ‘The Book Club’ (see http://www.nabs.org.uk/career_management.htm or ‘D&AD Talent Pool’ who help ‘matchmake’ creative teams if you fail to meet a suitable partner at university or college) (Source:IPA.com)

Becoming a Creative God-The Undergrad edition...

How to become an Art Director

Traditionally most Art Directors have studied an Art-based BA degree such as ‘Graphics’ or ‘Design’. Typically these sorts of degrees often have Advertising based units within them.

To achieve entry onto a degree course such as this students will most likely have studied Art at A Level  or a Art BTEC, and then gone on to take a one year ‘Art Foundation’ course. It is here where students produce a portfolio on which their BA course entry will be judged. For a list of Foundation courses please see http://www.ucas.ac.uk/students/beforeyouapply/artanddesign/foundationcourses/

A BA degree typically lasts 3 years with some including a  4th year in working in industry. These years can be a useful time to get Advertising based experience, contacts and refine their portfolio for a possible MA admittance or employment straight after graduation.

How to become a Copy Writer

Most copy writers tend to have studied English at A Level and a 3 year BA such as English or Creative writing before going on to do a ‘Creative Advertising’ or ‘Art Direction and ‘Copywriting’ MA. However an English degree is not essential; many copywriters come from degrees as diverse as Law and Biochemistry. But to gain entry on to a Postgraduate course you must display relevant academic and professional experience.(Source:IPA.com)

What in gods name is a creative?

What does a Creative do?

 “Creates ideas, ideas, ideas!”

The creative department of an agency is where the campaign comes together. It’s where that great idea or stunning visual is dreamt up. They take the client brief and work with it to invent ideas to address the brand’s business problems. From here, they work with media planners/buyers and the production department in order to make those ideas, that have been approved by the client, into a reality.

How does a Creative Team work?

Traditionally a ‘Creative Team’ is made up of an Art Director and Copy Writer. This essentially means one ‘visual’ and one ‘words’ person.  However most creative partnerships are far more fluid and collaborative than this: in other words while Creatives may perhaps be stronger in say copy writing than art direction they may both act as Art and Copy Director within the team. Creatives often find partnerships of this kind work very well as they can inspire and refine each other’s ideas. Creatives work to client briefs set by the agency.

This said not all Creatives come in pairs and individuals may be called upon to work in conjunction with another team or on their own projects. As long as you have a strong portfolio (‘Book’) demonstrating strong art and copy direction there is nothing to say you have to part of a creative duo to get a job. (Source:IPA.com)