Hasta La Creative!

Advertising Agency: Leo Burnett, Cairo, Egypt
Art directors: Ahmed Hussein, Ahmed Hefnawy
Illustrator: Ahmed Hefnawy

Advertising Agency: Leo Burnett, Cairo, Egypt
Art directors: Ahmed Hussein, Ahmed Hefnawy
Illustrator: Ahmed Hefnawy

Advertising Agency: Leo Burnett, Cairo, Egypt
Art directors: Ahmed Hussein, Ahmed Hefnawy
Illustrator: Ahmed Hefnawy

(TrendHunter.com) Roberto Cavalli just showed his more affordable line, Just Cavalli, at Milan Fashion Week which was full of retro inspirations and some unexpected hot pink bird motifs.

Staying true to his signature look, the collection was heavy on animals prints, particularly leopard which was seen repeatedly on…

(TrendHunter.com) Weighing only about 2 kgs, this new Russian armor uses nanotechnology to repel bullets.

While traditional ballistic vests made of heavy plates can weigh up to 12 kilos (26.4 lbs) these new vests are filled with a special gel that makes them much lighter and more comfortable to wear. They were inve…

(TrendHunter.com) This Quiet Supersonic Transport (QSST) concept is the A2 hypersonic plane designed by Reaction Engines of the U.K. It will carry 300 passengers and reach speeds of up to 4,000 mph. It will run on liquid hydrogen and could fly between England and Australia in less than 5 hours. A production model won…

AKQA is getting some nice press. Fast Company recently named them 48th most innovative firm in the world. Now, Adweek is putting the Digital Agency of the Year crown on their head.

Let’s look a bit closer at some of what AKQA is doing right.

While AKQA undeniably excels at Web projects, it also has been especially effective in bringing together clients with emerging digital channels. The agency’s global orientation has given it expertise in mobile and interactive TV, platforms especially popular in markets outside the U.S.

Mobile has become an AKQA specialty. It was among the first interactive agencies to set up a dedicated mobile practice in 2006, bringing in Dan Rosen, a 10-year veteran of mobile marketing in the U.K. Since then, its mobile team has grown to 20 and wireless campaigns have been created for Coke, Visa and others.

To wit, Diageo’s Smirnoff made its first stab at mobile with a WAP site built by AKQA. Rather than simply re-creating the Web experience on the phone, AKQA opted for an on-the-go cocktails and nightlife guide. In the U.K., the mobile site reaped about one-third the traffic of the Web site, reports Michelle Klein, Smirnoff’s global digital marketing director, who calls AKQA “at the bleeding edge. They know what’s happening in the technology space and they bring those ideas to us. They have their fingers on the pulse. They came with a big idea and then blew the idea out.”

In other words, while mere ad mortals struggle to understand the social web, trailblazers are already deep into the next big thing.

(TrendHunter.com) Most USB gadgets are for fun and amusement. This USB Aromatherapy drive is here to help you survive your hectic day of web shopping and trendhunter reading. The drive just has to heat up for the pleasant smell of any oil to pervade your space. Use rose to combat depression and as an aphrodisiac. I…

The New York Times looks at the importance of storytelling in the workplace.

Of all the repetitive, mind-numbing jobs in the late 19th century, cigar-rolling was special.

Unlike sewing clothes, mining coal or forging steel, it was blessedly quiet. And thus cigar workers, whether in Chicago or Havana, were the first ones in their time who managed to introduce that vital commodity — distraction — onto the work floor.

Using their own wages, and backed by a powerful union, they paid for a “reader” who sat in an elevated chair and began the morning with the news and political commentary. By the afternoon, he would usually have switched to a popular novel. The 100 or so rollers on the floor were his captive audience, listening as they worked.

Of course, there are countless new forms of storytelling that occupy our day in 2008. Which is what makes is so hard for advertising to break through the clutter. Unless, advertising is also compelling storytelling.

DETROIT (AdAge.com) — During Bob Carter's first year as general manager of Toyota Division, the brand was enjoying hot hybrid sales and making inroads in the full-size-pickup category with the all-new Tundra. But the brand's quality reputation took a hit last fall when Consumer Reports announced it would no longer automatically recommend new Toyotas as "most reliable" without testing them.