R/GA leads shortlist for Campaign Creative Tech Awards

R/GA leads the Campaign Creative Tech Awards shortlist with a total of five entries.

Tesco is best performing big supermarket in latest sales figures

Tesco is in the healthiest position of the big four supermarkets with quarterly sales up 2.2% year-on-year.

Publicis Media unveils 'transformation' board

The ‘next generation’ board will work with the agency’s global executive on future opportunities.

Anti-Spill Wine Glasses – These Wine Glasses are Designed to Never Spill While Boating (GALLERY)

(TrendHunter.com) These anti-spill wine glasses from Royal Stabilis will prevent your drink from spilling while on the water.

For anyone who has tried to enjoy a celebratory glass of wine while on a boat, you will…

45 Examples of Branded Contests – From Fan-Picked Oatmeal Promotions to Fast Food Vacations (TOPLIST)

(TrendHunter.com) While branded contests are nothing new, these types of company-sponsored competitions have taken a new shape in response to changing consumers habits. Indeed, the simple sweepstakes of the past have…

Kathy Griffin poses with Trump's disembodied head, apologises, but still fired from jobs

Kathy Griffin said on Tuesday that she “went too far” on her latest photo shoot with controversial photographer Tyler Shields, creating an image where she is holding a bloodied mask of President Trump. Visually it reminds you of Jihadi John’s beheading of Alan Henning, and other gruesome ISIS propaganda.

In a video from the shoot, Kathy seems to be well aware of the controversy the image would cause, joking “we’re going to have to go to Mexico… Like today.” with Shields on the set, while viewing the images.

But as soon as the images were published, the backlash was fierce with everyone from former porn stars to Chelsea Clinton weighing in on the photo.

If @kathygriffin wanted to shock people, she should actually be funny.— Jenna Jameson (@jennajameson) May 30, 2017

This is vile and wrong. It is never funny to joke about killing a president. https://t.co/zIiuKoMyFw— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) May 30, 2017

Kathy took to social media to apologise for the image, stating “I made a mistake, and I was wrong,” adding that she’s asked the photographer to remove the images from his social accounts.
I am sorry. I went too far. I was wrong. pic.twitter.com/LBKvqf9xFB— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) May 30, 2017

Adland can confirm that the PR fallout from this is now affecting Kathy’s jobs, brands don’t dare have her as a spokesperson when she’s in the news for this sort of joke. Griffin was scheduled to perform at Route 66 Casino near Albuquerque on July 22, but that show has been cancelled. CNN, where the comedian traditionally hosts the new years eve show called the photo “disgusting and offensive.” They have stated “We are pleased to see she has apologised. We are evaluating New Year’s Eve and have made no decisions at this point.”

Even squatty potty, whose mascot is a pooping unicorn and concept is that we’re all “full of shit”, has distanced themselves from Kathy pulling all ads starring her immediately. CEO of squatty potty Bobby Edwards has issued the following statement:
“We were shocked and disappointed to learn about the image Ms. Griffin shared today, it was deeply inappropriate and runs contrary to the core values our company stands for. In response, Squatty Potty has suspended its ad campaign featuring Ms. Griffin. We have acted swiftly and decisively to demonstrate our commitment to a culture of decency, civility, and tolerance.”

Joking about sitting presidents is a comedian’s bread and butter, but sometimes it really goes to far. It’s one thing to do standup routines like Dana Carvey where he basically does impressions of all the presidents with jokes, it’s another to just rant like Bill Hicks on a bad night at them. Stephen Colbert recently spewed a long rant of vitriol about President Trump ending it by calling him “Vladimir Putin’s cock holster.” Years ago, the rodeo clown who wore an Obama mask caused the entire Missouri fair to get sensitivity training, and the president of the Missouri Rodeo Cowboy Association to resign, because clowning around in a President mask was somehow racist. In 2011 Gilbert Gottfried was fired as the Aflac duck voice for cracking a joke in poor taste on Twitter. By the way, did you know that now first lady Melania Trump was in an Aflac ad?

In a polarised world adding political jokes or points to your act can serve to alienate more than half of your fans, as Kathy just learned. Amy Schumer got booed off-stage for making Trump jokes, and Anheuser-Busch killed the Amy Schumer & Seth Rogen “Party” campaign as sales declined. Sometimes people just want to be entertained, or learn about a new product without cause marketing, political posturing or random lesbians snogging in the lifestyle shots. When your job is to be funny, and a spokesperson, you need to balance carefully on the line of “still relevant/famous” and suitably non-offensive. Beheadings aren’t funny.

Adland: 

How The Economist ramped up subscriptions by bringing gross stories to life

The Economist and marketing agency Sense developed a new positioning for the news brand that changed perceptions and garnered strong results.

David Emin solves your media dilemmas

Media Week’s resident agony uncle is back to deal with your dilemmas, including when to ditch the beard, and advice for a hot-desk newbie.

My Media Week: Jason Miller, LinkedIn

Jason Miller, group manager, global content and social media marketing at LinkedIn Marketing Solutions is in San Francisco for the company offsite, and reveals how Nirvana changed his career path.

Movers and shakers: Partners Andrew Aldridge, Dune, Guardian, Unruly, and more

Welcome to Campaign’s weekly round-up of the hires, departures and promotions across the industry.

Nukkad Printers by Monkey Wrench, Kolkata

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

CLIENT:  Nukkad Printers is Kolkata’s first all-solutions print hub located in the Kalighat area. They wanted to generate awareness about the service of ‘customized’ quality printing as provided by them.

INSIGHTS: Patachitra art had emerged in the post-independence era in Kalighat? in Bengal?. Originally, it was called ‘Kalighat Patachitra.’ This art first started out by depicting illustrations of gods, goddesses and several deities but later chose to customize its creations and instead depict stories from domestic life, tradition, folklore & culture in Bengal in the 19th century.

SOLUTION: ?We decided to ?resurrect? one of the oldest art forms of Bengal, ‘Patachitra’ ?that is slowly diminishing?. Nukkad Printer is not only a printing hub but is also a place that accommodates your requirements according to your needs. The challenge was to depict this quality and create awareness about Nukkad Printer as
a destination for quality customized printing?. Hence,using ?famous? characters (from different segments such as politics, art, entertainment) who are iconic and placing them in an age-old traditional/domestic life situation, we chose to bring to life the art of customization.

Agency: Monkey Wrench Communications
Creative Director: Ashis Mridha
Art Director: Sanjib Mondal, Dorin Burh
Copywriter: Madhura Chakravarty

SHORT BIOGRAPHY OF TEAM

Madhura Chakravarty | Copywriter.
Hence, Madhura is chased by big words like imagination & dinosaurs.After a stint at Ogilvy & Mather, India, she realised she’s cut-out for a graphic design studio – a place that is disciplined to create art and further push the boundaries of copywriting by crafting content using minimal words. Madhura thinks graphic design is more of a story-teller than advertising. After working with brands like Vodafone, Greenply, ITC. Linc Pens & more, she’s currently in her fifth year of creating content that aims to sound interesting even on visiting cards.

Sanjib Mondal | Art Director.
Hence, Sanjib is often chased by something erratic called time. Armed to inspire the world with his art, Sanjib believes that advertising is an intelligent form of developing art that is meaningful. A strong proprietor of ‘honest advertising’, Sanjib is determined to churn art the is aimed to help, develop and inspire the world. After 6 long years in agencies like Law & Kenneth, Saatchi & Saatchi and Inner Circle, Sanjib believes, he is in the right profession after all.

Ashis Mridha | Creative Director.
Contract Advertising, Bates, Grey Worldwide, Capgemini – the list is endless for Ashis Mridha. Apart from cooking brilliant art with his magic, he enjoys cooking up a feast in his kitchen as well. Ashis believes that advertising is something people can only grasp if they step out of their fancy homes and air-conditioned offices and take a bus ride. The power of observation defines his excellence and insight in every piece of work.

Dorin Burh | Art Director.
Perhaps, the most aesthetically-driven person in the team, Dorin has been pre-configured at NID, Ahmedabad. She believes that art is not just created on a software but derived from perspective.
After a stint in various hot shops like Kena Design (Bengaluru), Cognito (Baroda) and Monkey Wrench (Kolkata), Dorin feels that design will always be here to disrupt a trend and create a trend. She’s currently in her 6th year of design and still believes that drawing a straight line is perhaps the most difficult task given to any art director in the world

The post Nukkad Printers by Monkey Wrench, Kolkata appeared first on DesiCreative.

Introducing the New Ad Age Homepage


Advertising Age is undergoing some pretty exciting changes. Today we’re excited to reveal a fresh look for our homepage, one that not only brings us into the modern era but propels us into the future.

The site as you’ve known it — let’s be honest — was not especially pretty. Navigation was clumsy and content was hard to find. Now with our first homepage makeover since 2014, we’re offering readers a more intuitive experience with a sleek, contemporary feel. There will be more stories on our site and yet less clutter. The page itself will be wider. Our offerings will be divided into buckets: latest news, curated editors’ picks and the most popular stories.

But don’t take my word for it.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

Scott Pelley Said to Be Leaving Post as ‘CBS Evening News’ Anchor

Mr. Pelley will devote more time to “60 Minutes,” two people familiar with the move said, hours after the network announced a management shake-up at its entertainment division.

NBC Rolls Back ‘Must See TV’ Revival by Leaving ‘This Is Us’ on Tuesdays

The network had planned to move the breakout hit to Thursdays to join “Will & Grace” and a true crime series, but then backtracked.

Jar-Shaped Pouch Packages – Wunderbar! Creative Agency Introduced a Fresh Design for Pickled Goods (GALLERY)

(TrendHunter.com) Wunderbar! Creative Agency created a charming packaging system that will make most people do a double take—rather than just creating a set of modernly branded glass jars, the agency developed a…

Mobile Shipping Container Boutiques – The Garnet Hill Shop is Housed in an Old Shipping Container

(TrendHunter.com) Last summer, Garnet Hill sought to bring its responsibly sourced home goods to consumers across the country by creating a mobile pop-up shop out of an old shipping container.

The Garnet Hill pop-…

Two-Story Shipping Container Cafes – The Spout Coffee Company is Made Up of Two Shipping Containers (GALLERY)

(TrendHunter.com) Last year, the Spout Coffee Company cafe became the first retail space in all of Pretoria, South Africa, to be made from recycled shipping containers. As a result, the eye-catching new cafe has…

Women To Watch Alumnae: Where Are They Now?


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Continue reading at AdAge.com

Five Things to Expect at Cannes (Not Counting Rose)


The 2017 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity approacheth. With the boondoggle looming in just a few weeks, it’s not too soon to start planning your attack.

Ad Age sat down with Philip Thomas, CEO of Cannes Lions parent Ascential Events since last August and chief executive of Lions Festivals for 10 years before that, to find out what to look for this June.

1. Chinese invasion: Thomas said Chinese tech titans Tencent, which developed the WeChat social media platform (850 million users), and Alibaba, the e-commerce group, are putting on “big activations” and sponsorships this year. Tencent, he said, also built a platform that allows people to buy their festival passes in China through WeChat. “The Chinese have always entered and sent people, but they’ve been under the radar and this is the first time they’re really interested in taking a bigger position,” he said.

Continue reading at AdAge.com

CBS Entertainment President Steps Down, Two Months After Heart Attack

Glenn Geller had been on medical leave since his heart attack in March. Kelly Kahl, the network’s longtime top scheduling executive, will replace him.