Hasta La Creative!

You know when I think of troubled third world nations who need our help, I can only think of one celebrity who might be able to adequately convey the pain and suffering of living in a disaster ridden country ruled by a junta.

KIM KARDASHIAN!

Unfortunately, this ill-advised Public Service Announcement does less for the poor people of Burma and more for illiteracy. As. she. remembers. what. was. in. the. script.

I don’t watch their reality show, but I know Mom married Bruce Jenner, former awesome Wheaties spokesman and the man who spawned the “Princes of Malibu” (and “please make famous” Hills “star” Brody Jenner). So it’s like a perfect storm of fame-whoring suck.
. Dad on the other hand, was OJ Simpson’s lawyer. So in other words, everyone has a deal with the Devil

A sack of hammers could beat them all on Jeopardy.

I’m not against celebrity PSA’s per se, just ones where celebrities with no real higher education try to lecture me about stuff (looking at you DiCaprio) and to seem more caring than the common man just because they have more influence.

Here’s a good primer on what good PSA’s involve.

A good PSA, even if you don’t agree with the content.

Simple, straightforward, to the point, and fairly genuine, which I think is the key to a good PSA. Kim Kardashian couldn’t find Burma on a map with 3 guesses and an encyclopedia.

Technorati Tags: PSA’s, Burma, Kim Kardashian, Bad Spokespeople, Tom Hanks

(TrendHunter.com) The 2008 Beijing Olympics have been enveloped in unending political controversy so it’s been tough for some sports fans to get excited. Putting those aspects aside, I really love the five Olympic mascots collectively called the Fuwa.

“The cute Fuwa group consists of five members according to t…

(TrendHunter.com) Manuel Perez Prada designed a unique concept for a camera that could be used in one hand, which he claims is a new archetype for a camera. The design seems to be inspired by ancient telescopes.

While they love the concept, Yanko Design dissects the mechanism and thinks its pre-mature, given the cu…

LONDON – Food manufacturer, Dr Oetker, has launched a UK experiential campaign for its Onken Natural Yogurt to promote the brand’s versatility.

About a week ago, a video appeared on YouTube that advocates the creation of the Cannes Humanitarian Lion, an award honoring the agency which submitted the best idea and action plan to solve one of several pre-determined worldwide humanitarian issues.

(TrendHunter.com) In today’s competitive marketplace, you have to go out there and actively promote yourself if you want to advance in your career. And that is exactly what Mari Pettersson did.

As a fresh newcomer in freelancing, Pettersson wanted to approach some creative directors by delivering them a small poly-…

I’ve always argued that the great majority of agency personnel who add value to America’s biggest brands are grossly underpaid. The thought is that the copywriter, art director or account person who consistently delivers million dollar ideas to the brand(s) in their care, rarely sees that fact alter their own compensation in proportional ways.

Of course, none of that applies to this bunch. They’re getting paid.

[via Ad Age]

LONDON – Creative Lynx, the design and marketing agency, has been bought by its existing management team from one of the original founders for an undisclosed sum.

Let’s face facts: Advertising can be slightly superficial. Image matters. That’s why I think an awesome name can be a great advantage. Considering the penchant to slap the founders’ names on the door of new shops, let’s at least hopes the names are good. Here are four of my favorites:

Johnny Vulkan: The Anomaly partner has a name that speaks to a weird, all-knowing power. If Johnny and his cohorts really want to reinvent the agency compensation model, they’ll need all of his ability to mind-meld with clients.

Jelly Helm: I’m told this is some kind of Southern thing. Whatever it is, the name rocks. Would the Wieden + Kennedy creative director and VCU AdCenter professor have risen so high if he stuck with David Helm?

Benzo: Like a Brazilian soccer player, Benzo needs just a single name. The L.A. director even goes in front of the camera for the “Catch” Ray-Ban viral hit. Someone this cool simply cannot go around letting people call him Ben. That would be an injustice.

Scrappers Morrison: The most famous (in our eyes) graduate of W+K’s 12, Scrappers
burst on the scene in style: shirtless, hirsute and sporting a dead raccoon across his shoulders. This kind of personality can’t be confined to a fuddy-duddy given name like Justin.

Vote for your favorite, or contribute your own, after the jump.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

Brian Morrissey of Adweek is writing about Web 2.0 companies that are built on customer-centric models. He names Zappos, Etsy, Threadless, Craigslist and Yelp as leading examples and gives his piece depth by describing the lengths Zappos goes to engage with customers.

But there’s something else in the article that I’m attracted to.

Google’s home page may have nothing but a search box and links to Google’s services — which means the company is forgoing tens of millions of dollars in advertising — but it’s doing something more important: putting its customers first. Untargeted ads, even simple text links, goes the rationale, would put too steep a cost on its users.

This decision is “revolutionary,” wrote Havas Media Lab director and London economist Umair Haque on Harvard Business Online in February. “By choosing to invest in consumers over advertising, Google is a living example of a deeper truth: The future of communications as advantage lies in talking less and listening more.”

At the heart of these decisions is a simple fact of life with the Internet: Everyone is connected, and hiding behind glossy images won’t work when a Google search can turn up the good, bad and ugly of your company. In the analog world, it was different. Haque believes brands thrived on how difficult it was for people to get information. Logos, spokespersons and slogans combined to give consumers a way to make choices. But now, the Internet has turned that on its head. “The entire economic rationale for brands is gone,” Haque said in an interview. “Interaction is too easy now for brands to have power.”

That last bit is pretty tough talk. And it seems a bit misguided. Brands can’t hide behind their branding is more to the point.