Ugly Doggy - Creativity Bites Back!

Ghostly Graffiti

2008-07-06T20:38:00.005-04:00

From the "Crate Man" in Melbourne to a walking Dante in Rome, from Buenos Aires to Sweden, street art is becoming more and more popular.

But so far the one that has impressed me the most are the paintings in the streets of Pripyat, the abandon city next to the Chernobyl plant. Not a place that you can access without a special permit, Pripyat, once was a city with a population of 50 thousand.

Established in 1970 out of the need to house workers from the nuclear power plant along with their families, the city was alive for 16 years. Separated from the the nuclear power plant by few miles, it was the closest town to the accident and suffered the most tragic effects.

Today Pripyat is a ghost city, with a weird mix of "abandoned in a hurry" city and jungle, and the only human life around it are the guards that check the permits to enter the zone.

According to Mary Mycio author of "Wormwood Forest, a natural history of Chernobyl", a group of twentysomething Belarusians and Germans took a trip to Pripyat, supposedly to take photographs but the group was accompanied by an inexperienced zone worker. They managed to trick her to leave them alone for some hours... and then they left their mark on the city walls.

Some people, like Mary, find their paintings irreverent. Some others (me included) find them fantastic and very symbolic. Here, some of them:

Kid playing with bubbles

Sadness in the street
The style of the graffiti made it clear it wasn't just one artist but several. Some have colour, some don't, and while some fused the abandoned geography with their paintings (like the previous one) some others just (re)created a human presence that is not there anymore, like my favorite, the one below.

This ghost of a girl, in some way reminds me of the Hiroshima shadows, but the shape is clearly a bit more "cartoonish" what makes it less shocking:

Girl at the elevators
Another striking graffiti was left in what is still there from the amusement park. According to some other visitors, the place is today one of the most dangerous areas of the city as "...the bumper cars effectively protect themselves from closer inspection by making our Geiger counter’s read out rise to unsafe levels." Still, the park now seems to be looking at us....

They are looking...

Last but not least, here is a Russian video with some other graffiti and how the zone looked in 2006:

There is much, much more online about Pripyat and Chernobyl. With or without the ghostly figures, just the pictures of the city may give you the chills. Like this kindergarten playground, where toys and a gas mask lie still, as a reminder of the abrupt horror that struck the city.

Via Wormwood, Flickr, and Pripyat

Impressive Online Campaign

2008-07-05T22:43:00.005-04:00

From Norway, one of the best online campaigns I have ever seen... or heard, better say. Simple, yet very effective.

It is a "hearing test" from their national Red Cross, but I don't want to spoil the surprise so just take the test yourself. It is very short, and obviously you need to have sound to go through it.

Only one warning: at the end of the test, if you want to send it to a friend, do not use their email feature. The email is sent in Norwegian, not in English. So either sent them the direct link to the page or email them this posting.

Now, press the "Start" button, take the test, and be surprised!

A Sabbatical - Some Musings

2008-07-05T11:53:00.003-04:00

Last Monday was my last day at work and I am starting what hopefully will be a couple of sabbatical months.

Now, does sabbatical means no work at all? Not for me. I have already a long list of things I would like to do during this time, from visiting friends and family in Argentina to write a manifesto (or a couple of manifestos, if possible) for "Change this!".

But I must confess I am a bit worried. Would I be able to do if not everything, at least most of what's in my list? I have a lot of time now, and that is what worries me the most. One of the best teachers I ever had at school, once told us that the idea that most of us have of "having all the time, with no interruptions, to get some things done" is just a fantasy.

In his words, the idea of "If I could take some months off, go to a cabin in the middle of the woods with no phone and a good fireplace, I may be able to write the book I have been planning for so long", is, most of the time, the wrong one. Some people do work like that, and those are already working like that. "But if you are one of those persons that can get your job accomplished with 20 interruptions per hour, if you ever go to that cabin, you will probably get asleep in front of the fireplace". Those of us that get things done in a multitasking environment, we profit more of the lack of time than of the surplus of it".

Those words will always resonate in me. I am a multitasker by nature and the lack of time has always been (in some twisted way) helpful for my productivity. Will I be able to get things done now that I do have so much time in my hands? I'll keep you posted....

Meanwhile, I leave you with a comic that made me smile.
I am not the type that goes into cruises (at all) but this is more or less what happens to me if I am doing nothing for more than a couple of days....

(click to enlarge) (Cartoon from Kopozky.net)
Ever felt this way?

I'ts Friday, 4th of July... Trivia Time!

2008-07-04T15:29:00.010-04:00

Fourth of July is one of the biggest celebrations in the USA, as it is "Independence Day" here.

But some other things happened also on this day and insterestingly enough some of those "other things" also are related to the formation and history of this country. Here is a short list of some of them:

In 1054, a supernova is observed by the Chinese, the Arabs and possibly Amerindians near the star ζ Tauri. For several months it remains bright enough to be seen during the day. Its remnants form the Crab Nebula.

In 1187, during the Crusades Saladin defeats Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem at the Battle of Hattin

In 1636, City of Providence, Rhode Island forms.

In 1754, Lt-Col. George Washington surrenders Fort Necessity to French Capt. Louis Coulon de Villiers.

In 1776 the United States Declared its Independence by the Second Continental Congress declaring itself free of British rule.

In 1802, The U.S. Military Academy opened at West Point, N.Y.

In 1803, the Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people.

1810 - The French occupy Amsterdam.

Also in 1810, Colombia's process of indepence starts with the "Shout of Pamplona".

In 1827, slavery is abolished in New York State.

In 1832, in what is now Argentina, Salta adheres to the Federal Pact.

1837 - Grand Junction Railway, the world's first long-distance railway, opens between Birmingham and Liverpool.

1838 - The Iowa Territory is organized.

1855 - In Brooklyn, New York, the first edition of Walt Whitman's book of poems, titled Leaves of Grass, is published.

In 1863 during the American Civil War Vicksburg, Mississippi surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant after 47 days of siege.

In 1865, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is published.

In 1886, the people of France offer the Statue of Liberty to the people of the United States.

In 1892, Western Samoa changes the International Date Line, so that year there were 367 days in this country, with two occurrences of Monday, July 4.

In 1894, The short-lived Republic of Hawaii is proclaimed by Sanford B. Dole.

In 1910 - African-American boxer Jack Johnson knocks out white boxer Jim Jeffries in a heavyweight boxing match sparking race riots across the United States.

1918 - Bolsheviks kill Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family (Julian calendar date).

1934 - Leo Szilard patents the chain-reaction design for the atomic bomb.

1941 - Nazi Germans massacre Polish scientists and writers in the captured Polish city of Lwów.

1946 - After 381 years of near-continuous colonial rule, the Philippines is granted full independence by the United States.

In 1947, the "Indian Independence Bill" is presented before British House of Commons, suggesting bifurcation of British India into two sovereign countries - India and Pakistan.

1950 - The first broadcast by Radio Free Europe.

In 1954, in Britain, housewives celebrate the end of fourteen years of food rationing, when restrictions on the sale and purchase of meat and bacon were lifted.

1959 - With the admission of Alaska as the 49th U.S. state earlier in the year, the 49-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1960 - Due to the post-Independence Day admission of Hawaii as the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959, the 50-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania almost ten and a half months later (see Flag Act).

1966 - President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act into United States law. The act goes into effect the next year.

1966 - The Beatles, in the Phillipines to give two concerts, are accused of 'standing up' Imelda Marcos. Their entourage is beaten up at the airport.

1976 - Israeli commandos raid Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing all but four of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by Palestinian terrorists.

1987 - In France, former Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie (aka the "Butcher of Lyon") is convicted of crimes against humanity and is sentenced to life imprisonment.

1991 - Colombia has a new Constitution.

1992 - USS George Washington (CVN-73), a Nimitz Class aircraft carrier of the United States Navy is commissioned at Norfolk, Virginia.

1997 - NASA's Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars.

2005 - The Deep Impact collider hits the comet Tempel 1.

2006 - Space Shuttle program: STS-121 Mission - Space Shuttle Discovery launches.

In 2007 Wikipedia in Spanish reached 250,000 articles.

Also, oddly enough, it was on July 4 that three of the five first Presidents of the USA died: in 1826, death claimed the second and third presidents of the United States; John Adams died at age 90 in Braintree, Mass., while Thomas Jefferson died at 83 at Monticello, his home near Charlottesville, Va. Five years later, in 1831, James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States, died at age 73 in New York City.

Via WikiEnglish, WikiSpanish, BBC and NYT

Cars & Gas, Think Smart!

2008-07-02T16:07:00.010-04:00

Lately, gas prices are making te news everyday. Hybrids sales are going up, prices for SUV's are going down. Here in the US even the Smart car for two seems to be gaining some popularity.

But the interesting news are that Think! is also entering the US market and they area already working in a 5 seats all electric car that can perfectly become the taxi of the future. Called Think Ox, and still in the concept development stage, the idea is to bring to life an MPV version and a coupé version. The MPV version is the one suggested as a taxi with a larger luggage space, as it is designed for easy entry and exit, and a spacious and easy access luggage trunk. The coupé and sports versions have a larger battery capacity for higher performance. You can watch a movie about Think Ox here, and browse their site to see their model in production, the Think City.

Now, when it comes to think in a complete different direction, nothing like the recently unveiled GINA Visionary Model from BMW: A shape-shifting car covered with fabric that will never see production (it is going straight to the BMW museum), but it actually runs and drive.

The access to the engine is through a slit in the hood and according to BMW engineers, the shape of the body can be changed without slackening or damaging the opaque but translucent fabric that allows the taillights to shine through while small motors pull the fabric back to reveal the headlights that can wink at you!

The interior is equally innovative. The steering wheel and gauges swing into place and the headrest rises from the seat once the driver is seated, making it easier to get in and out of the car. Check it out:

Now, if you are seriously interested in electric cars and you have the money (almost 100k) nothing like the all-electric Tesla Roadster !

Via

Every Step Counts - Another Cannes Winner

2008-07-01T19:35:00.004-04:00

The "Burst" campaign for Schweppes in Australia was another winner in Cannes 2008. The branding concept is have your own "Schweppervescence moment" and the agency behind it is George Patterson Y&R based in Melbourne.

As you can see, with a charming mix between image and music the ad is somewhat artistic and very pleasant to watch once and again:

Now, from my point of view this ad is a gem, considering that advertising campaigns make pretty obvious something that almost any idea (no matter the industry) need to go through and that is what I call the "three blessed steps ":

- First, you have to have a good idea. (sometimes is extremely easy, sometimes not)

- Second, you have to be able to communicate that idea to the client in a way that they can see the potential or the benefits of the idea. That second part sometimes means get them to visualize something that you have in your head or in a draft but that is not the final product.

- Last but not least, you have to produce the idea with the quality you have in mind and the budget you have at hand.

As you can see, the whole process is not easy at all -each step having its own challenges-, and if any of these steps go wrong the final product -if you ever get there-, will probably go wrong too.

With those steps in mind I know I see ads in a different way. Sometimes I can't believe the client bought that idea, sometimes I am more amazed than the average in front of an awesome spot because, again, I am impressed for the quality of the final product considering those previous steps. The idea is good, they obviously were able to sell it to the client and the final product was carefully crafted using slow motion cameras at 10,000 frames per second to capture the final moments in the trajectories of water balloons.

Now, next time you see a commercial that you don't like at all, think about these three steps and try guessing... was the original idea really bad? Or maybe the original concept wasn't so bad and it was during the process of "selling" it that it became what it is? Or was it completely ruined by the execution?

For the Love of Z - A Short Interview

2008-06-29T11:24:00.002-04:00

I love the "Z". Is one of my favorites letters and I can give one thousand 'intellectual' explanations of why I like it: because it means "the end" at least in the alphabet; because it represents sleeping soundly when repeated; or because of it's perfect symmetry and shape.

But who I am kidding? Truth is, I am pretty sure that the REAL reason I love that specific letter is because in my childhood I was completely infatuated with "El Zorro" (that original one, you know, Walt Disney, Guy Williams, El Zorro). Even today, if I catch the series on TV, I will stop right there and watch it with a smile in my face.

Anyway... this introduction is to present someone else, someone that has a bigger relationship with the "Z" than I have, to the point that her website is called "I am Z". She contacted me because of my previous postings about business cards, as her site has also an interesting project with her own business cards, cards that by mistake were printed without any title. So she was able to get multiple personalities, and she has now an online collection of some (im)possible titles, as the one you can see below:

I was intrigued by the fact that even her emails were signed "Z" when her name has no z on it. At the time, the business card project wasn't so clear so I sent her some questions, and here is the very short interview:

Why Z?
- Z is my nickname, I am a twin and when we were babies, my sister couldn’t say “lindsey (and hearing lin-z)” she called me “zz” which became “z”

Was your website conceived with so many sections or it grew to what is now, and if that is the case, how it started?

- The website was conceived with many of the sections, z was a way to incorporate anything I was working on in the past, working on currently and can add to in the future when needed and relate to me.

Your business card sections says one thing (that is a project of "cards with typos") but inside there is another thing, your cards with slogans and drawings showing "different personalities". So, what about the original project, is it still the idea? And how come you ended up with your own cards?

- Sorry there is a confusion about what the cards project is, started with and became. Let me see if this makes sense: my first set of business cards came in blank, titleless (this is the “typo”) under my name “lindsey d. sherline” should have been “art director” like most business cards. Well, instead of throwing them away I took it as a creative sign, titles are limited and I am much more than an art director, everyone is much more than their “title” so thought it was an opportunity to connect with people creatively I was working with, give them a blank card to give me a title in their own creative way and also break down any creative barriers that so often block working relationships from the start in the business, that I make fun of myself...does this make sense?

I haven't been in contact with her for a while now, all I know is that she was setting up her own company (that includes a z, of course).

But if you want to see how many titles someone can have, or better said, in how many different ways someone can be perceived, you can visit her business 'cardz' section at her personal site. By clicking on the z's at the bottom, you can see her actual collection and -if you want- you can send her other alternative titles. Here some other examples of what you can find there, but there is much more to see!

It's Friday, Time to Pray or Sin

2008-06-27T08:32:00.006-04:00

As every Friday, just something to lift the spirits. This time, a sign at the entrance of a private garage, that reads....

"Parochial parking.
It's a sin to park here."

Thanks Bi for sending the picture!

The Shocking Value

2008-06-27T08:12:00.003-04:00

This recently launched campaign from Argentina, called "Without Skin" may look gruesome but it just deals with reality. The title reads "Here is the rest of your fur coat" and as you can guess is against the use of fur for fashion purpouses.

The organization behind the ad is AnimaNaturalis -based in Spain- and the campaign was launched with a street performance, where 50 people in underwear and covered with blood representing the killed animals (see below). As I said before, I tend to prefer subtlety to convey a message, but in cases like this I guess that a direct message works better, getting the attention of everyone.

The street perfomance run for almost an hour and got the attention of journalists and passersby.

While I personally do not agree with the whole vegan movement and I have very logical reasons for that (almost all mammals on the earth kill others to survive, and we are...? oh, yeah, mammals!), I am all for any message that tries to stop the killing or the suffering of animals for reasons like fashion or entertainment. We can and should do better.

If you are interested in the work of AnimaNaturalis, here is their site, but is just in Spanish and as I warned you, they seem a bit fundamentalists in their defense of the animals.

Thinking Out of the Box: A Lesson from the BBC

2008-06-25T22:58:00.002-04:00

These outdoor campaigns from BBC Americas are pretty good examples of two different approaches when it comes to creativity.

While the first campaign -"Corners"- shows clearly that there are always ways to give a creative twist to the "same old, same old" billboard that consists of an image, a copy and a logo, the second campaign ("Interactive") illustrates how much can still be done by creatively mixing new technologies with traditional media.

One is a simple idea that just plays with the location factor, the other is a truly interactive billboard that allows the public to "vote" via texting, and express their views on current political and social affairs.

First, the plain ingenous ones: (click to enlarge)

The interactive ones, on the other hand, won several very well deserved prizes from the London International Awards (among others). Located in Times Square and with a big "news worthy" image on the center that is flanked by two very different opinions, it entices viewers to decide with which opinion they agree with, using their cell phone to express that opinion.

As the votes come in, two counters tallied up each side’s votes allowing passersby to immediately see the voting opinions what some are calling a 'cell phone democracy.' Here some examples:

China: Friend or Foe?

Iraq: Wanted or Hated?

The agency is BBDO NY and the creative lesson is pretty clear: if you think hard you can always do something new with old formats...or you can create your own format by combining old and new in a different way!

Via & via

Cookies, Cookies, Cookies

2008-06-25T09:00:00.002-04:00

And following up with my previous postings about words and how their meaning may change based on the context and the recipient, here a funny example:

From (originally in German)

Cursing in His Honor

2008-06-25T08:50:00.007-04:00

George Carlin once said “So my name is a footnote in American history, which I’m perversely kind of proud of”.

He was obviously talking about FCC v. Pacifica, the 1978 case in which the Court decided that FCC sanctions could be invoked against a radio broadcast of words dealing with sex and execration, even if those words aren’t obscene.

For those who are not from the the US, the case arose out of a Carlin monologue, played at 2:00 p.m. on a weekday afternoon by Pacifica’s FM licensee in New York, that discussed at length the words shit and fuck. When upholding the constitutionality of the sanctions, the court expressed that : “Patently offensive, indecent material presented over the airwaves confronts the citizen, not only in public, but also in the privacy of the home, where the individual’s right to be left alone plainly outweighs the First Amendment rights of an intruder.” Since then, some words are restricted to a specific time slot and he had a whole special about the 7 words that you can't say in radio or TV.

Now that he passed away, I hope that we can remember him by his lessons, rather than by his legal issues. From my point of view, he tried to teach us something that goes beyond "bad" words, being that lesson "do not be afraid of words".

Me, I am a natural curser. Ninety nine percent of the time I use those words against myself, when I forget about something important, when I make a mistake or something really frustrates me. I rarely use them against someone, mainly because if I want to really offend someone "bad words" are meaningless for me. If I want to offend you or hurt you, I will call you an ignorant, an idiot or a liar, probably because those are the words that would really offend me. So I find cursing a healthy habit: I vent, I get rid of my frustration, I move on.

Words are what you made of them. By themselves they mean very little, maybe what is in the dicationary, but their real meaning is given by the context, the intention and your interpretation.

The right words can enrich any description and a poor use of words can dim any good idea. Your ability with words also says a lot about you (think Bush!) but the truth is that there are no "good" or "bad" words. There are good and bad intentions and good or bad interpretations. Great comedians and good copywriters know about that more than anyone and Carlin was a master in his usage of words. No matter what words he was using, good or bad ones, his main intention was always a good one: he was compelling us to think by ourselves, to analyze things from a different point of view.

And in his honor, I have to say that when I learnt about his death, my first thought was "Shit, why him and not O´Reilly instead?". It really pissed me off because it is so fucking unfair! (sigh) He was a good and bright man. I will surely miss the motherfucker...

You may not like my words but I know he would appreciate my sincerity.

PS: The image at the top is from the "four letter film" a documentary around the f-word in case you are interested.

1984 Redux - Sign of the times

2008-06-22T10:16:00.003-04:00

It's impossible not to wonder what George Orwell would have to say about this picture!

It was taken in Barcelona, Spain, at the George Orwell Square and as you can probably deduct by yourself the sign reads: "Under surveillance zone in a 500 meters radius".

I love it when the random mix between the old and the new create these "signs of the times"; do you remember the one about evolution?

Via

Doritos TV Campaign - Nostalgia Part II

2008-06-21T11:27:00.009-04:00

Nostalgia is a double edge sword when it comes to communication. When it is not well used can make your product or your message look old, outdated or simply grumpy.

But old times is a good place to look for ideas. What have we lost just because times have changed but may still be useful or has its followers? That is exactly the formula behind this hilarious campaign for Doritos from BBDO Argentina:

(Due to the captions these videos don't play well in Firefox, please use IE to watch them, sorry!)

Maybe this campaing would not be well received in the US (how many parents would get all riled up just by the suggestion that teenagers are looking forward to have sex?) but let's face it, is a pretty funny one.

Their whole communication is around the 'benefits' of slow dancing, to the point that they even set up a a special made up website petitioning to get slow dancing back! Here, another spot from the same campaign, this time around the shy guys (or the "slow" ones)...

The "old times" are a good resource for ideas, again, when they are cleverly used. Because they can appeal to a "common past" that unites us all, for good or bad. A message playing with things that we can easily recognize and relate to, -even if we don't want them back- will get our attention most of the time and will probably make us smile, laugh or cry, depending how well that nostalgic touch is being used.

If you have more examples of good ads using the "good old times" as a key component of their message, let me know!

Street Art - They Did It Again!

2008-06-20T09:03:00.005-04:00

CutUp Collective is a group in England that actually remove billboards to cut them up into small pieces ("pixels") and create new images with them, images that they put back on the streets.

For example, the bus stop poster that you can see here was made from a Spiderman poster -according to Scott Burnham, the Creative Director of the 2009 Montreal Biennale-, who has also spent some time with the group talking about their methods.

But they also take over bigger jobs, like billboards. Last night, they installed their latest work in London, and some of those billboards seem to require an impressive amount of work and careful planning!

I specially like this one, that in some way replicates the urban scene that surrounds it:

This other one, that seems unfinished, is impressive too:

Street art always had its special aura but it is interesting to see how lately it has become more and more complex -like in this case or the Blu animated wall paintings-, and has also become more of a collective work than it was before (think Improv Anywhere).

You can see more pictures of their last work at Flickr or visit their site for images of their previous work.

Via

It's Friday, Learn French!

2008-06-20T08:45:00.006-04:00

I know, you may not be able to learn French in just one day but I found this ad is so funny, that I thought it may be a good way to brighten your Friday.

Interestingly enough, the ad is from a school in the Czech Republic where they teach just Czech and French.

What can I say? I personally love the fact that the french are proud of their language.

The other ads for the same school are pretty funny too, but I must confess it took me a while to realize that the one with typos is probably mocking the french accent...

BTW, I know for personal experience that people in France do speak other languages they just really appreciate it more when you try your rusty French before using any other language..., specially English!

Via

Need Fonts?

2008-06-19T09:55:00.003-04:00

When it comes to design and fonts, sometimes you know exactly what you want but you can't find it. Sometimes you don't know what you want and you need some inspiration. Whatever your case may be, let me give you some (hopefully) useful information.

Today I came accross "Better Fonts" a very user friendly website offering near to ten thousand fonts for free, some others for $ 4,99 and in what seems to be their sister site Fonts 500, they offer an option to download the top 500 more popular fonts -all of them- for just $ 4,99.

Now, their small print reads: "The fonts presented on this page are their authors' property, and are, to the best of our knowledge, either freeware, shareware, demo versions or public domain. If anyone knows otherwise please notify us. All fonts have been collected from around the web, and are maintained with all files intact" what means you may have a surprise here or there, but still looks like a good place to search for inspiration.

Last but not least, a nice detail: you can change the famous "Lorem Ipsum" for a text of your own to check out how each font applies to your needs.

"Creationism" Revisited

2008-06-19T09:10:00.005-04:00

I have said this before but I just love the premise... "what if?" because is the perfect trigger for unusual stories. The hilarious commercial below -from Netherlands- is an excellent example of a story of that type..., and the acting is so good that I couldn't help but to watch it twice just to see Eva's face.

I know this idea may horrify some but please spare me of any religious indignation; no matter where you stand on the issue you have to admit that the ad is pretty funny!

While I can't be sure that the commercial aired on TV (a couple of things make me think it may be a spoof ad), this insurance company has a long history of commercials with very imaginative stories, being the one with Clinton one of the most known ones...

...but just in case you haven't seen it, here it is:

The advertiser, Centraal Beheer, is an insurance company usually referred to as "Apeldoorn" because that's the name of the city where they are based. Their agency is DDB Netherlands, and they have so many "weird accidents" in their commercials' history that is impossible for me to include all of them here, but if you search in You Tube for "Apeldoorn reclame" you will find a good share of them!

PS: If you know if the first commercial aired on TV or not, would you let us know?
Via

Using Nostalgia - Part I

2008-06-18T01:57:00.008-04:00

This ad was going to be part of a much longer and in depth posting about using "nostalgia" as a resource for ideas. Sadly, because something is wrong with Blogger, each time I tried to post that one I got an error. So I will make this one short and hopefully I will be able to show you some other examples later...

As you will see, this Argentinean commercial for Easy is a clever use of those "old times" that are common to half the western hemisphere. I am sure that if you were watching TV, this mash up of images from a not so distant past will draw your attention to the ad during the commercial break.

The closing reads: "Any great story starts with a house."
And on the truck, "Easy. Your home, your world."

The agency behind the idea is Del Campo Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi. And I bet money that at some point you smiled watching it, just remembering those "old days"... didn't you?

No More Videos for Today

2008-06-17T20:54:00.006-04:00

Sigh. I posted the previous article with the TEDtalk and I had another one ready to be published about the use of nostalgia as a creativity trigger... but sadly, when I clicked on 'publish now' all hell broke loose!

Hell being equal to Blogger and "broke loose" equals to -once and again- error message. Cleared files, cache, restarted, nothing. Error, error, error.... Of course I reported the problem already but from my previous experience with support at Blogger it may take more than just one day until someone even acknowledges that there is a problem.

So I hope this could be fixed by tomorrow and that I will be able to make you laugh and think with some Argentinian ads but, who knows? It is all in the hands of the devil..., I mean the techies at Google!

Creativity Strangled by the Law

2008-06-17T09:17:00.005-04:00

With TED was love at first sight. We met online and just one video got me totally into him... well, it. TED is not a guy but a website, where you can find pretty good "talks" about multiple issues. Not ALL their speakers are great, but most of them are.

Today I want to share the view of a lawyer on the issue of copyrights and how when the law is written or applied without common sense it may end up trying to stop the unstoppable, criminalizing or driving underground things that shouldn't be penalized, like creativity.

Sadly, lately we have seen more and more how corporations try to manipulate the law in -what they believe- is their own benefit.

Just yesterday I blogged about Deutsche Telekom threatening other companies for using the color magenta in their logos. Today, I found out that Tastespotting, one of my favorites sites related to food is closed "due to legal complications", and even I was threatened with legal actions (without any legal base in my case) just for reporting something I saw in another website.

Now, why do I say "in what they believe is their own benefit?". Because in a good number of cases, the only thing those groups or companies are doing is just damaging their brand. In these days news run pretty quickly and a wider backlash from what I call "consumers with common sense" can be set up really fast.

Still, is it pretty clear that we need more lawmakers like Larry Lessig -with real knowledge about new technologies and less "embedded" with the big corporations-, to get better policies when it comes to copyrights.

The same way I believe that politically correctness can hinder creativity, outdated and one sided laws will always impact creativity in a negative way.

As a lawyer's daughter, I do understand that the law should be there to protect basic rights but laws without common sense can be more dangerous than any weapons of mass destruction!

What Time is it Now in....?

2008-06-17T08:07:00.003-04:00

Finally, someone made a "Time Zones" clock that is easy to use. You can search using the cities/countries in the list or directly by placing your cursor over the map... it will start rotating and you just have to click over the time zone you are interested in. Easy, isn't it?

I got it from Poodwaddle.com and they offer many many other clocks, from clocks for meditation to a "world clock" that allows you to know how may people are being born by the second, the minute, the week, the month or the year, among other interesting things.

They also provide calculators, stats counters, countdown clocks, feedback forms and many, many more tools for free.
Worth a look.

Magenta is Dead, Long Live to Magenta!

2008-06-16T08:52:00.001-04:00

This is a very strange story even for the branding world.

Deutsche Telekom AG has claimed trademarked rights over the color magenta, -apparently for the T-Mobile brand- and was trying in fact to force other companies to change their corporate logo "due to color infringement".

Most of those companies are based in the Netherlands, but the threat made their way to the US, as they also sent a letter to Engadget mobile for their use of the color.

I really don't know where to start with this one. It is so, so, so unbelievable that it seems like a joke, but it isn't one (here you can see the letter they sent to Engadget).

Of course they pick the wrong fight and half Netherlands first and half the world later, got behind a social movement called "Free Magenta". Designers from all parts of the world sent their illustrations or their thoughts about such a bold move. And while I do understand that companies need to try as much as possible to protect their brand identities, as someone said, "If the colour is so important to a brand, is a weak brand".

Let's face it. It makes all the sense in the world to try to fight SIMILAR logos in the SAME industry with the SAME color. But to fight the use of a color in brands that have nothing in similar except the color, like Compello or SlamFM is absurd. Now, more absurd seems to be the fact that they allowed a company to trademark a color.

As always I don't understand how no one at Deutsche Telekom could foresee that just their threatening would be more damaging to the brand they are supposedly trying to protect, than any use of the color by any other brand!

I must confess I HATE magenta, but that doesn't mean I want it banned or used by just one company. And I simply love some of the creative work that designers have sent to Free Magenta as the one below, sent by Creative Bastards....

I would entitled this pantone, "Imagine".... What if every big brand would trademark their color?
If you are not allergic to such a bright color, take a look at the Free Magenta site, you will find some other good ideas exploring a world without magenta! And if you are interested in the legal aspects of this fight, you may want to read more at ServiceMarks, a blog about trademarks laws in Germany.

As far as I know, Deutsche Telekom already lost a lawsuit they filed against rival European wireless carrier Telia over the use of magenta on its logo but until March of this year, Compella was still trying to avoid a lawsuit: changing their color to a "Red Rubin" that was not good enough change for the Deutche telecom lawyers, according to the last report about the issue by Bloomberg.

Learning Through Games

2008-06-15T09:49:00.004-04:00

Almost anything can be learned using some kind of game or challenge and sometimes that is the best way to go.

I still remember -and I am always recommending it to any parent whose kids don't do well in math-, how my love for math grew more by reading "The Man Who Counted: A Collection of Mathematical Adventures"than by anything else. It got me into math by reading (one of my favorites activities) and by challenging me, with its mix between the 1001 Arabian Nights style and the very concrete math problems that are presented there (warning: the English version is not as good as the Spanish and Portuguese one, apparently some chapters were left out).

Now the game I will talk about here is not just for kids. Is part of Engage'08 and basically it allows you to manage the nation budget with pretty good information and then, based on your goals and what you have achieve you get your results and you can even compare them with how others did.

This is how it works: first you have to choose three goals. In my case I chose "efficient government"; "energy independence" and "competitive advantage". Then you can go to each piece of the budget (military, education, etc) and choose the cards you want to play. The cards include things like "cut down 50% of..." or "Increase 50 % of" and sometimes even "Terminate this or that program". Thanks to that, someone like me, "new to the US" was able to learn about some programs in place and work with them towards the results I want.

Once you have played all the cards you want, your results will be calculated and you can see how you have done compared to people with similar goals. As you can see below, my results in my very first try wasn't so bad... I got the deficit extremely reduced, kicking the year for the "Budget Bust" until at least 2070 and I was able to complete two of my goals (and just a little bit of the third).

Funny enough, as you can see, I am a "Downsizer" what I guess puts me slightly in the Republican column but let's get the record straight I am not one. If I could vote I would be an independent. Downsize a government like this is not a matter of right or left but a matter of common sense. You can spend less in some things to spend more in others (like I did) and still get good results.

I think that ANYBODY that votes should play this game to at least understand how complex the budget can be and on how many things you should look for straight answers from the candidates when it comes to policies.

Now, my critique. To make this game more "real" they should include at least a couple of elements that the SimCity game has being those a "popularity" measurement as well as a "catastrophe" element. Those elements means riots when an unpopular measure is taken as well as a random catastrophe that tests how good or bad you are prepared for the unexpected.

In their defense, though, I understand that this game was conceived to be played in minutes while a SimCity type can take days or weeks!

I included the game here (see below) for anyone that wants to play it and leave me their comments. Depending on your browser you may see it or not (is an iframe). If you can't you have right there the link to Engage'08 to play it in the original site.

Again, if you are planning to vote, you should play it at least once!

Your Web browser software doesn't support frames, but you can visit The Budget Hero at &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://budgethero.publicradio.org/widget/widget.php?refid=apm"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; http://budgethero.publicradio.org/widget/widget.php?refid=apm&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;.
Link to the game