Hasta La Creative!

It’s not the first time Lou Reed’s classic “Perfect Day” has been used in advertising. (This version, recorded by the BBC in 1997, remains a classic). But the juxtaposition of the song with violence in Sony’s first spot for Playstation 4 more recalls the track’s use in the movie “Trainspotting” — and it’s effective. Featuring two players taking part in a virtual sword battle, car race and sci-fi style shootout (and looking really happy about it), it’s aimed squarely at those looking for a multiplayer game experience. In other words, spending a perfect day trying to obliterate their friends.

The film by BBH New York, was directed by Matthijs Van Heijningen of MJZ. It launches this week, a month ahead of Playstation 4’s U.S. release Nov. 15 and coincides with the launch of Sony’s interactive website, Greatness Awaits (also the spot’s tagline).

For more exciting ideas in brand creativity, tune in to Creativity-Online.com, follow @creativitymag on Twitter or sign up for the Creativity newsletter.

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Ad holding companies are stepping up their shopping spree in a hot sector of China’s ad industry–independent digital agencies–with WPP’s acquisition today of IM2.0. The deal by Young & Rubicam’s VML to enter China is the Kansas City-based digital agency’s biggest acquisition to date, said Jon Cook, VML’s global CEO and president.

Mr. Cook said the company looked at 10 Chinese agencies over three years. Finding the right match was key, especially given how “complex, or nearly impossible” it is for foreign brands to understand China’s digital environment, he said in a phone call from Beijing.

VML already has an Asia presence in Singapore, Japan, India and Indonesia but took its time exploring possibilities in China, where local digital agencies have the advantage navigating the many homegrown platforms that have flourished as the government blocks Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. There’s also the language barrier, not to mention the importance of local connections, or “guanxi.” Local digital agencies’ expertise has made them prime M&A targets.

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Vox Media may only have three sites to its name — The Verge, SB Nation and Polygon — but that hasn’t stopped the D.C.-based company from stuffing its pockets.

The digital media company has raised $34 million in funding with plans to add an additional $6 million to close the round at $40 million, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Accel Partners led the funding round and was joined by fellow previous investors Comcast Ventures and Khosla Ventures.

Vox Media eventually plans to extend into new content verticals, but CEO Jim Bankoff said he primarily plans to invest in the company’s existing properties and expand its video content. “You will see a whole lot … more video product from us, better video product and more widely distributed,” he said. Vox Media Chief Operating Officer Marty Moe said connected TV apps are “squarely in our future…I wouldn’t put them in the distant future.”

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A banda australiana The Paper Kites lançou um belíssimo videoclipe em stop motion para a música Young. Não se trata de uma super produção caríssima ou de um moderno vídeo interativo como os do Arcade Fire. É apenas uma simples e criativa idéia que foi executada de forma brilhante.

Assista acima (em HD por favor) mais de 350 pessoas cantando a música em mais de 4000 fotos tiradas em 7 dias de estúdio. Deve ter dado um trabalho colossal. O resultado é interessantíssimo.

A direção é de Darcy Prendergast.

Post originalmente publicado no Brainstorm #9
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Le remix de Life Round Here réunissant James Blake et Chance The Rapper est désormais l’objet d’un clip. Réalisée à cette occasion par Nabil Elderkin, cette superbe création en noir & blanc nous invite à suivre les deux artistes dans une étrange ballade en voiture. A découvrir en vidéo dans la suite.

“#sportnbarcelona
Sport is the new black.”

Advertising Agency: Altraforma, Barcelona, Spain
Creative Director: Yoryo Hortolà, Adrià Rosell, Albert Bernal, Álvaro Ortiz
Art Director: Albert Bernal, Álvaro Ortiz
Copywriter: Yoryo Hortolà, Adrià Rosell
Photographer: Ivan Jurado / Bungalow
Production Company: Bungalow
Producer: Lara Saborido
Retoucher: Ruben Panzuela & Bungalow

Ad agency Twitter feeds are, as a rule, about as interesting as a couple at Home Depot debating which paint chip would best match their duvet. One consistent exception has been R/GA, which serves up fun links and clever insights with a biting wit. The man behind the feed is Chapin Clark, evp and copywriting chief based in the agency's New York headquarters. We spoke with Clark about how he keeps @RGA's tweets interesting and whether he offends any peers or potential clients in the process. He also shares some advice for how agencies and brands can turn their Twitter feeds into something worth reading. Check out the Q&A below.

@RGA is probably the most consistently sarcastic and opinionated agency account out there, at least from a major shop. Has this ever raised any hackles among the execs or with clients?
I've only gotten positive feedback from clients. If there has been any hackle-raising, I have not been privy to it. I don't think I'd still be doing this if I were alienating clients. I can just imagine the conversation with [R/GA CEO] Bob [Greenberg]. "So let's see, this Twitter thing. It doesn't affect sales. Our paying clients hate you. But it's amusing three or four times a week! What do you think we should do here? …"

It's not for everyone. I'm pretty sure there are people within R/GA who don't like it, and I'm OK with that. Wanting to be liked by everyone is what's wrong with a lot of Twitter. However, I do prefer affection to contempt. If the majority of your audience loathes you, you're probably doing something wrong. If that were the case, I'd be looking to adjust my approach.

Vice Media worth $1.4 billion, according to the company that paid $580 million for MySpace.

— R/GA (@RGA) August 16, 2013

Why not just dump the daily tweeting on to low-level staffers or agency PR flacks?
That question perfectly captures what's wrong with a lot of corporate and brand accounts! I mean, yes, it's Twitter. We're not mapping the human genome. But it has emerged as a pretty important communications channel, and this is what we do.

If you were in a room speaking to an audience of thousands of people, you'd take that pretty seriously, right? I don't see how Twitter is all that different. If you're going to bother having an account, I think it's worth taking a bit of care to say something truly informative, or differentiated, or funny, or whatever. Whether it's a junior person or a senior person, someone in PR or creative, whoever it is should be someone you trust to do a good job and give it some love.

"Where you go to have lunch has to be on brand with your brand." An actual human apparently said that in the presence of a reporter.

— R/GA (@RGA) September 4, 2013

You're not above calling out other agencies or non-client brand work. How often do you get a response from the other side?
Well, that's something I try to do sparingly. I know how hard it can be to birth a project, and all the things that can happen along the way—things often beyond your control—to alter the final product. I also have praise for other brands' and agencies' work. But sometimes I see something that is so perplexing or appalling that I feel I can't not say something.

Happy #TalkLikeAPirateDay! Let's set sail for Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrby's! http://t.co/PxLBiB8mhi

— Arby's (@Arbys) September 19, 2013

You can set your watch by these Arby's tweets.

— R/GA (@RGA) September 19, 2013

A lot of the critical things I tweet are not aimed at singling anyone out but at ourselves collectively as an industry, including R/GA. Like, can we please be a little more thoughtful, a little more suspicious of received wisdom and groupthink? We're all guilty of it. But I think every time we use the word "innovation" for something that makes ordering a pizza easier, or reflexively refer to the simple doing of something as a "hack," we die a little.

What do you think should be the primary goal of an agency's Twitter feed?
Don't be boring. Don't assume that because of your name and reputation people who are chatting with their friends, sharing photos posted by their favorite celebrities, and watching sneak previews of hotly anticipated movies are then going to be interested in reading your press releases. The first goal is for the account to establish a reason for its existence, other than your existence.

Do you ever have trouble keeping up with Twitter postings while dealing with agency projects? Do you go out of your way to make time for it?
Even on my busiest days, it's not hard to work in a few posts. You know, "keeping up" implies that there is some kind of daily expectation on the part of @RGA's followers, which I don't think is the case. I don't think the world is really feeling the loss on those days when I can't push out more than a couple of things. Often, less is more anyway.

I do believe there is a rhythm to Twitter that you develop a feel for. On the days when I have more time to focus on it, I definitely feel more in sync with that rhythm. The things I write feel sharper and better timed, and they get more of a response. My least effective days are when I'm busy with other things and I tweet stuff just to remind people I still exist. Those things are usually out of step with that rhythm, and they die quiet, lonely deaths.

For connoisseurs of the worst of both FM radio DJs AND tech blogging, check out CNET's live stream of the Apple event now.

— R/GA (@RGA) September 10, 2013

How would you advise brands to be more engaging (or at least interesting) on Twitter?
It's a challenge, for sure. As awful as most "real-time marketing" is, I sympathize with the people charged with making, say, Snyder's pretzels interesting and relevant on Twitter. I guess my first piece of advice would be to pick your moments. I loved it a few weeks ago when the Weather Channel replied to someone who said watching TWC made her "feel like a granny" with "Oops, you misspelled 'baller.' " There's a big difference between that and, crap, it's International Talk Like a Pirate Day so I have to tweet something in a pirate voice.

I think brands could do a better job of finding a space that's connected to what they're about and mining that. Somehow I started following the Little Caesars Bowl. For the potential humor value, I guess. At first I thought, this is going to be good, because what are they going to talk about the other 51 weeks when that event isn't taking place? Well, duh, they talk about college football. It's college football season, and on game days they're really active, and the tweets are OK, and it makes sense for who they are.

And completely aside from brand voice or being entertaining, I don't think you can ever underestimate the value of good customer service, delivered promptly.

I like the Charles Schwab takeover ad on WSJ's homepage today because it makes me feel as if it's 2004 and I am a youthful 35 again.

— R/GA (@RGA) October 9, 2013

—Chapin Clark is evp and managing director of copywriting for R/GA. In addition to @RGA, he posts to Twitter as @chapinc.

The ability to share consumer data, rather than simply collect it, creates much of its value in the marketplace. That’s a main takeaway of a new report commissioned by the Direct Marketing Association, which pegged the data-driven marketing services industry in the U.S. at $156 billion in 2012.

“The Value of Data” report, conducted by professors from Harvard Business School and Columbia University, also found that data-driven marketing services employ 676,000 people. The researchers studied the revenues of more than 650 companies that it considered part of the sprawling marketing data and related services industry.

As concern over privacy and security of consumer data grows, it’s no surprise the DMA is touting the findings. The trade group released its report yesterday in conjunction with its DMA2013 conference in Chicago this week.

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