Hasta La Creative!

GroupM has created a role dedicated to implementing global standards that address brands’ long list of digital ad concerns, such as viewability, ad-blocking and fraud. John Montgomery, a vet of the WPP-owned media agency network, will assume the full-time role and title of exec VP-brand safety.

Mr. Montgomery will work with the network’s shops and divisions, including Mindshare, MEC, MediaCom, Maxus, Essence and Xaxis, among others, to create a “coherent set of global standards that operationalize brand safety for GroupM’s clients in every market in which they advertise,” the company said in a statement.

What that means, explained Mr. Montgomery, is scaling existing standards, and creating new standards that address client concerns around “inventory quality issues.”

Continue reading at AdAge.com

For Beijing resident Nie Miao, spending 5,000 yuan ($749) on a new iPhone 6S from Apple “just isn’t an option.”

That’s because the lion’s share of his 7,000 yuan monthly pay goes toward the mortgage on the downtown apartment he bought last year. And he’s perfectly happy with the 2,000 yuan handset he got from Huawei Technologies.

The 29-year-old embodies the challenges in China for Apple, which has lost ground to local competitors. It’s been almost two years since the company revamped the iPhone for the sixth generation. In the meantime, rivals like Huawei and Xiaomi have developed their own cheaper products with similar specifications, while the relative success of the iPhone 6 has made it harder for Apple to sustain its growth rates.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Kleenex’s “Someone Needs One” campaign is back with an emotional back-to-school video designed to make you need some Kleenex.

Heading back to school is always an emotional time for kids, but the stakes are higher when you’re transitioning to a new school—so Kleenex targeted the switch from elementary to middle, which may well be the worst transition of them all.

read more

For retailers, the back-to-school season is especially lucrative, which makes it all the more important to ensure the message is impactful to young people. ?Nipping this problem in the bud, Target’s back-to-school campaign puts the kids themselves in charge.

The ads don’t just star kids—they were written and directed by kids, who also illustrated the sets. Helping to organize the action was 826LA, dedicated to helping youth develop creative writing skills, and agency Adolescent. 

read more

Category: Beyond Madison Avenue
Summary: Gatorade has partnered with Usain Bolt ahead of the Rio Olympics to create an animated film telling the origin story of the world’s fastest man.

The PepsiCo-owned brand has released a new seven minute film titled “The Boy Who Learned to Fly”, focusing on Bolt’s journey from childhood dreamer to global superstar.

The animated ad traces the Olympic gold medallist’s humble beginnings…

“We are never sure if a campaign will resonate with our audiences, but we have a pretty solid track record,” said Ted Ward, VP-marketing at Berkshire Hathaway-owned Geico. “The use of testimonials is a tried and true technique.”

The new work will coincide with two new spots from the “It’s what you do” campaign, which began in 2014; both are part of the long-time tagline of “15 minutes could save you 15% or more.” Geico will continue running its gecko brand messaging as well. The new campaign may ultimately replace the “It’s what you do” work.

“Multiple storylines allow us to go into different worlds and pull out what we’re trying to push,” said Wade Alger, group creative director at Richmond, Va.-based Martin. “Because of the amount of media in our spend, it’s nice to have multiple storylines out there to avoid burnout on our brand.”

Continue reading at AdAge.com

DesiCreative
DesiCreative – Indian Advertising Creative Blog and Community (beta 1.4)

Shirin Kekre is an illustrator from Mumbai. She found her interest in the arts from the time she was little and went on to develop her skills in that field. She took up an Applied Arts course and graduated with a diploma from Sophia Polytechnic, after which she was approached by BBH India where she started her design career. Her first achievement was when her team won a Kyoorius for work done on Infocus phones in 2016. She now looks forward to doing more such good work for clients and for herself.

Why are you a Graphic Designer?
I was always into the creative field and I loved colors, shapes and executing my ideas. According to me, the best option was being a graphic designer.

Did you attend school for fine art or design?
Design

You have a distinct style of Design. How long did it take you to develop your style?
I took a while to develop my style. And, it’s still in process. With every illustration I do, I try to add a different style or an element of design to it.

Were there any particular role models for you when you grew up?
Not while I was growing up but after I got into the field I started following a lot of great designers like Steve Cutts, Henn Kem, Joan Cornella.

Who was the most influential personality on your career in graphic design?
Since I haven’t had much experience in the work area I’m self-learning from the great work that I see online and around me.

When did you start freelancing?
I have a full time job so haven’t started freelancing yet.

Was there any time when you wanted to quit graphic design?
Every time the client comes back with their ridiculous changes, I’m ready to quit.

Are many advertising agencies hiring graphic designers? Do you work more with agencies or publishers?
Most agencies don’t have in house graphic designers. But for designers working in agencies get the benefit to come up with idea themselves.

Do you have clients who give you steady work or do you advertise for new clients often?
Clients that come to the agency I work for vary.

Any other Indian graphic designers who you admire?
Sameer Kulavoor, Kunel Gaur, Lokesh Karekar and Manish Darji

What advice do you have for aspiring creative professionals? Would you advise them to take on graphic design as a career option?
Definitely! If it really makes you happy, go for it.

Do you think Clients are opening up to keeping aside a decent respectable budget for design work? Do you think clients are understanding that they need to invest in Design as a communication tool and also to cut the clutter, and that good design comes at a price?
They have started but we still have a long way to go. Clients abroad are more open to when it comes to experimenting and using design as their main form of communication. We lose out on a lot of design opportunities because the clients have little no budget at all.

Mac or PC?
Mac

Who would you like to take out for dinner?
Joan Cornella. Would love to know how and what he thinks.

What’s on your iPod?
I don’t have one but my playlist consists of classics like AC/DC, Rod Stewart and Queen.

Whats your Twitter Handle?
Not much of a talker but I talk through pictures. Here’s my Instagram handle

https://www.instagram.com/shirinkekre/
You can also find my work on my website here.

The post Shirin Kekre : Illustrations appeared first on DesiCreative.

Advances in technology have prompted the campaigns to try to bypass major news networks and speak to voters using Facebook Live, Snapchat and other services.