Inspiration is everywhere

I can now finally show you the video from a DM pack I did last year for Honda. Thanks to Hattie Newman and her team of lovelies for the amazing paper world illustrations

Paper World from Crayon London on Vimeo.

Vaio Videos

Our videos have gone live now. See link here to view.

A little bit of self indulgence.

Been an awfully long time since the last blog post. Mainly because since winning a Sony Pitch 6 months ago, it has been a little non-stop since.

So here's the work that came out of the long slog..
The campaign was entitled "welcome back emotion", the idea comes from the basic insight that we increasingly want more and more from entertainment, we want to experience heightened emotion more that ever. We want to be scared more, cry more and laugh more and now with all the laptop's gadgets and gizmo's watching films, listening to music and playing games has never been so god damn good. In fact your more involved, more entertained and consequently you experience more emotion.

With this concept in mind, we knew that we wanted to make our campaign stand out amongst the competitors. Firstly we wanted colour. So many laptop adverts are full of techy language, mainly black and dull. So within our campaign, we chose 5 emotions to match the top 5 features on the laptop and to make each unique we chose a colour with portrayed the emotion best.

We commissioned Mitch Jenkins, an absolutely fantastic photographer, with a lovely team who was great to work with, completely knew what we wanted and achieved stunning photos and films. We wanted to keep the adverts quite basic and make the portraits and emotions be the focal point.





so here's part of the final result... The films are currently playing on underground digital escalators and will be available to view online soon as rich media and website formats.

The Prose and cons of it all

The poem.

Poetry was possibly one of the more interesting parts of my English class but equally one of the hardest to crack. With the recent spate of verse and rhyme hitting our TV screens it’s also becoming something of a creative’s favorite. So why's it become so popular?

The poem does make a nice change to heavily music-laden ads; verse gives an ad substance, rhythm and a reason to believe. A poem, particularly the way they are used, helps a brand to become more approachable as they directly speak to the consumer. Enabling the audience to relate to the brands home truths.

This down to earth approach suits the brands that have used this style and the messages they’re trying to communicate. But, like most advertising trends (which seem to occur as some kind of collective creative subconscious that we all tap into at the same time)becomes harder to distinguish between brands that use the same treatments, styles and tone of voice.

Personally, I like this style of narration; it communicates in a kind of honest yet fun tone. However as it has become so popular it means it’s becoming a little bit like literacy pretty but beige wallpaper.

Here's a collection of some adverts that use poems...






Original:


And if you can't join them, mock them:

Honda DM pack update

Our latest pack has won DM Campaign on the week: Woooooola

The ideal formula

This is a very long overdue post, of which I have had in my blog drafts for a while. Never the less it's still a very debatable subject. Creating the perfect portfolio always seems to be some sort of magical formula where only a magical circle of creatives can tell you that your book is great. The fact is there really is no right answer of what you should include. Back in May, I read a post on Hey Whipple's blog. Where he talked about what makes an ideal creative candidate and how digital knowledge and work are becoming increasingly important yet this alone will not make you hirable. It's the strength of creativity that makes you worth a paycheck and yes a Creative and not a digital programmer or coder.

I agreed with this post, for example the other week I went to crit some graduate books and I was gob-smacked at how they all looked like Wired magazine. Cut 'n' pasted and slapped into plastic wallets. Did a portfolio full of different new medias impress me? Well er... NO. I know the range of media platforms available to me and so do, it seems, most of the media savvy students. So, out of all the books the one that impressed me the most was actually pretty much straight forward press ads, with a couple of inventions thrown in. This got my attention as it showed they can think, solve problems and persuade people without the crutch of a gimmick or new media.

So back to basics I say, just show people you can think and that it's not the medium that carries your idea. In actual fact the media could be anything and it would still be great. I would like to see brave young creatives go back to basics. By all means show that they feel confident about how to use different media and digital platforms, but an Idea should be able to be written in a few sentences and work without any execution or technique.

Look what we did...

Been a long time since I last posted but work has got its very large claws stuck in me at the moment cos it's been blumin busy around here!

So Here's a little glimpse of a project we did for Honda. We were briefed to come up with a new creative DM pack to display the whole Honda car range and brand. The Idea- "Inspiration is everywhere". Inspiration for making the cars often came from looking at the world around you rather than just staring at a blank piece of paper. We commissioned Hattie Newman to come up with these gorgeous paper sets to which would home the cars. Each set would fit with the characteristics and personality of the car and each set also tells a small story about other Honda products and antics.

There will be a making of video to follow showing the final shots.

Wanted Ads brief and viral

Our work can now be seen here.

The peoples choice is also up. Pick us if you like it. Thanks

A change of name

From Last week, Cate and I now work at "Crayon" as HS&P got re-branded to help encompass the group under one roof. Crayon will offer a full digital and direct service for clients such as Sony, Honda, Axa, BT, British Gas and Diagio.

Mussels in Brussels

Last week saw Cate and I scooting off to Brussels for a few days to take part in the European BestYET competition. 18 teams took part to battle out for title of "BestYet team of the year"

We ended up staying in Luven, where Stella Artois is made. So you've guessed it, our brief was to advertise Stella Artois. The proposition, as it were, was to show Stella in a premium light showcasing it's "authentic quality." We had about a day and half on the brief including a trip to the factory itself and a lesson in pouring the perfect pint. Check out the photos below of the trip. Unfortunately we didn't win, but the trophy still came home to the UK with Julia and Gav picking up first place. We had a really enjoyable trip thanks to the precise planning from Lucy and our delegate Rob at the Newspaper society and the lovely company of Julia and Gav. So thank you!

What did we learn from this trip:

Keep things simple. As is always the case with great adverts, but especially true when communicating to Europe.

Keep smiling. The work that got the most praise made the audience chuckle.

Keep drinking, beer tastes better in Belgium. And that's strong stuff coming from a Cider drinker.

Keep perfecting quickly, 24 hours seems shorter abroad.

Keep chatting, amazing what you learn from your foreign counterparts that are merely just across the English Channel.


More work and info can be found here.

The People's choice

The Chip Shop people have decided to let the public get their smitty paws on the entries this year. So in pure competitive spirit here's the link.

All you have to do is press the star rating on our entry (Alka Seltzer app) and that's it. The formula below makes it seem tricky but very intelligent. I think it just means rate/votes= average. Thanks



***The final results will be assessed using an algorithm designed to weight ratings to include factors like how many people actually voted for a piece of work.***

The formula we will use is: (WR) = (v ÷ (v+m)) x R + (m ÷ (v+m)) x C

* R = average for the piece of work(mean) = (Rating)
* v = number of votes for piece of work = (votes)
* m = minimum votes required to be listed in finalist table
* C = the mean vote across the whole judging process

it's called...The...You...Tube

Here is our video from the Wanted Ads on the Newspaper Society Reel. *cringe*. You can see all the other 18 teams by pressing this link. I think the work will also be uploaded soon as well so you can then put a better picture to our ramblings.



We are off the brussels this Thursday for the next stage to represent the UK at Best Yet . eeeps!

Campaign clipping

Here's some more info about the Wanted ad comps from todays Campaign. Hopefully the website with our work on will be running soon.

chip shop Nominations 2010

We didn't get our entry into this years nominations. But big congrats to HS&P'S other entries from Jules, Chris and Nick for there nominations in "most shocking copy" and "best politically incorrect" and "best consumer campaign"

But take a look at our entry below for the Mobile App Category. The App was for Alka seltzer called 'Memory Aid' which acts as a lost and found app for the day after a heavy night out.

Wanted Ads- Young Team of Year 2010

Last Friday we entered the wanted ads Young team year contest.

We rolled up at 9.30 for a long day of pressured thinking and manic scamping.
The brief was set by Al young, Creative Director of St Lukes which was to advertise Strongbow within a local media context. Immediately I was happy as it was a brief for cider and so I felt on very familiar grounds.

So after a long day trying to get to grips with the brief we quickly scamped our campaign and then presented it dragon den style to 5 judges. Not sure how it went we then sat down with the other 20 teams for the results... a few words from the judges and by-eck we won! surprised? We were too!

So next stage is Brussels in May to represent the UK in the Best Yet Competition.
We are very excited and we will be joined by runners up Julia and Gav.

Overall fantastic day and we met so many lovely and talented creative teams. Be great to see everyone again soon for another drink. I will post up links of work once they have been published online.

Reel them in

I'm a sucker for a show reel and if it makes my heart skip a beat i'll post it. This one has to be my reel of the month. Nando Costa.

Nando Costa Reel 2010 from Nando Costa on Vimeo.

Spontaneous Combustion. The Birth and Death of an Idea.

I stumbled across an article in the Metro last week that struck a chord with me. The article suggested that brainstorming restricts creativity. It caught my attention as I had spent two days locked in a room brainstorming with a few people on a tough brief that didn't want to crack easily and so I was in a collaboration mindset.

The article read:

Brainstorming 'makes you less creative', researchers say
It will come as no surprise to those of us who have groaned at the thought of another session of ‘blue-sky thinking’ – brainstorming does not work.

Far from generating a raft of brilliant new ideas, thrashing out random thoughts in the boardroom on a Monday morning is counter-productive.US researchers have concluded we get the best ideas when sitting quietly on our own.
‘Fixation to other people’s ideas can occur unconsciously and lead to you suggesting ideas that mimic your brainstorming partners,’ said psychologist Nicholas Kohn.
‘You potentially become less creative.’
He and his colleagues at Texas A&M University carried out three experiments using groups of two, three and four subjects and found working together caused a gradual decline in the number of fresh thoughts they came up with.
Brainstorming can lead people to becoming fixated by just one possibility, blocking out alternatives and eventually leading to conformity.
‘Exchanging ideas in a group reduced the number of domains of ideas that were explored by participants. Additionally, ideas given by brainstormers conformed to ideas suggested by other participants,’ said Mr Kohn.
The study concluded that group creativity may be an overestimated method to generate ideas and individual exercises may be more effective.


So, what do I think? Working with a copywriter everyday often means we collaborate on briefs and so discussing concepts is a natural daily event. I however can understand where the research rings true. Often break-through moments for me come when i'm alone, completely absorbed and train of thought is clear from conflicting conversations and distractions. This is usually when i'm maniacally scribbling with a good Spotify list blasting through my headphones to keep me ticking along, or on the tube where no one actually cares if your unsocial and lack of eye contact is encouraged. For me I feel I have to have a moment alone to absorb the brief and think it through myself. However I see these first thoughts as just germs of ideas, I think the ideas come alive when people collaborate and expand on them. Often steering ideas into a clearer and stronger direction.

Here's a little more research (found here) that also suggests mainly negative outcomes of brainstorming.

In a [1987 study, researchers] concluded that brainstorming groups have never outperformed virtual groups. Of the 25 reported experiments by psychologists all over the world, real groups have never once been shown to be more productive than virtual groups. In fact, real groups that engage in brainstorming consistently generate about half the number of ideas they would have produced if the group’s individuals had [worked] alone.

In addition, in the studies where the quality of ideas was measured, researchers found that the total number of good ideas was much higher in virtual groups than in real groups.

So the evidence is there. Poor little Brainstorming (or "Thought Showers", if i'm to be politically correct) is getting some right jipp. However I find it hard to believe that the greatest adverts of all time came from one person's vision alone. Often anyone that's at the top of their game has a fantastic team supporting them. Also, if the method of brainstorming didn't work so well then perhaps the "creative team" structure wouldn't have passed the test of time as being a winning formula to produce award winning ideas in agencies that we still see today.

Jimmy the Jester

A little bit coincidental, but after posting Brooker's attempts at pulling apart adverts, I noticed Jimmy Carr had a go On Creative Review Blog. Carr's attempt is a little more involved but I think Brooker wins hands down for comedy value. Jimmy just doen't seem to hit my funny bone and often I did that slightly amused snot of a laugh that never progresses to a full chortel. Sorry Carr, I'm with Brooker on this one and thats not just because I like a good swear word or two.

what a cock up!

and just incase you thought women escaped.

Screw you Darling

Maybe it's just me being from the country and all that but I really like this new tv ad below from Magners and the strapline, "There's method in the Magners" Well done Cider people you make me proud.