Hasta La Creative!

Apple filed a patent last week for a “fully fledged digital liefestyle fitness companion” reports Apple Insider (via Zeus Jones). I must admit being a regular(ish) user of Nike Plus I’ve always thought a heart rate monitor would be great (being an old fart and all). I’m not sure what some of the other monitors […]

(TrendHunter.com) To mark Earth Hour, Google has changed its background to be all black. This is fascinating because it reminds us of Blackle. Last July, a site called ‘Blackle’ launched a black-background search engine noting that if Google went black, the site could save the world 750 Megawatt-hours per year. We…

By now you’re all familiar with the well-hyped event know as ‘Earth Hour’. An event that won the 2007 Cannes Titanium award for Leo Burnett, WWF and its commercial supporters. If you’ve been living under a rock, Earth Hour 2008 takes place Saturday March 29th, at 8pm.

But how much of a legitimate event is this? To many, it’s looking like nothing more than an opportunity for companies to greenwash the public.

Then again, the public would appear to have different thoughts. Here’s a poll taken on Saturday March 29th @ 9am by Sky News Australia.

If you’d seen the Cannes entry, you would probably be thinking Australian’s are an environmental bunch. Not really the case, Well, perhaps unsurprisingly Earth Hour is attracting its fair share of critics and has come under intense scrutiny by the Australian media this week – except that is, if the media outlet is Fairfax. Fairfax is a chief sponsor, who’s major mastheads include The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Melbourne Age.

Influential media commentator Crikey Crikey.com.au took advertising industry rag Campaign Briefand the advertising industry to task this week, highlighting just how farcical the event is.

And rightly so.

Here’s an extract from Crikeyemail this week, along with another article here

Let’s play spot the oxymoron.

Yes thank you dear ad companies for putting cynicism to one side, but forgive us if we can’t. Earth Hour might have noble aspirations, but the execution is a little murkier, with greenwashing as far as the eye can see.

Well said Crikey. And long overdue criticism. Take a look at the entry video and overview board produced by Leo Burnett Sydney for the Cannes Advertising festival.

You’ll see media hype – otherwise known as media impressions, is the order of the day when it comes to measuring the effectiveness of an event. So you can bet that bit of footage from Sky New above doesn’t make it to the Cannes Entry reel this year.

So what’s the WWF make of this commercialisation? Who knows, but if you take a look around Sydney, commercial endorsements are certainly responsible for some serious carbon emissions. Posters, Flyers, T-Shirts, Caps, Billboards. You name it.

Aside from the huge amounts of printed collateral, including a 40 page ‘Light’s Out’ supplement in Fairfax papers, there was this stunt for AGL Electricity which had commentators pointing out the emissions from that balloon alone would probably account for 10,000 light bulbs!

Here’s how the WWF is promoting Earth Hour 2008. Obviously the Cannes entry video wasn’t quite the award winning cut they needed.

Enjoy your evening, wherever you are.

NEW YORK TBWA\Chiat\Day is in contract negotiations with Young & Rubicam Chicago chief creative officer Mark Figliulo about taking the top creative job in its New York office, sources said.

It is believed that the role also involves New York management duties. The agency declined to comment, and Figliulo could not immediately be reached.

If Figliulo accepts the offer from the Omnicom Group shop, he’ll fill a creative vacancy left by the early March exit of executive creative director Gerry Graf, who became chief creative officer at Publicis Groupe’s Saatchi & Saatchi here.

Figliulo has worked at WPP Group’s Y&R since late 1999 on accounts such as Sears and Miller Brewing Co., for which the agency handles Miller Genuine Draft. A Y&R representative had no immediate comment.

TBWA\C\D New York’s top clients include Mars (Snickers, Skittles, Starburst, Combos), Biersdorf (Nivea) and Absolut.

At Saatchi, Graf succeeded Tony Granger, who in November resigned to become worldwide cd at Y&R, though he remains at Saatchi, given the one-year notice period in his contract. Sources, however, now expect Granger to join Y&R here in early May.

(TrendHunter.com) This is a very clever design of a wine bottle by Viktor Pucsek for the PapaMama Design Competition.

The Vinho Verde (literally green wine) concept incorporates eco-friendly practices in the design of a very attractive bottle. The bottle’s labels can be peeled off and folded up into paper cups. How…

(TrendHunter.com) Instant noodles are commonly known as a budget meal and a stable of college and single life, but what if Victoria Beckham wanted some noodles? Since she’s more likely to shop at Harrods than wal-mart, she can get Posh Noodle.

Famous UK department store Harrods has launched a luxury Pot Noodle – the…

(TrendHunter.com) Sotirios Papadopoulos designed this Fullmoon cabinet for Ennezero using ecologically-friendly paint.

The Fullmoon glows in the dark and in that sense, as far as I am concerned, this is a creation that has the dual function of being a storage piece of furniture and a work with artistic value. There…

Bad breath affects those closest to you.

Advertising Agency: JWT Sydney
Via: Kuteev

Advertising Agency: JWT Spain
Creative Directors: Ã’scar Alcaraz, Napi Rivera
Photographer: Pastor Heredia Studio

Advertising Agency: JWT Spain
Creative Directors: Ã’scar Alcaraz, Napi Rivera
Photographer: Pastor Heredia Studio