Sunday 20 February 2011

There's nothing quite like the sound of a typewriter


I love this piece of work and I'm so glad that I discovered such a subtle guerrilla gem because it's reminded me that for all the fancy pants 3-D, secret mobile phone codes, tagging and whatnot sometimes the best stuff is really the lovely simple stuff centred around a sincere message.
Of course I accept that we have to move with the times and therefore technology is a very important factor in the world of media and especially brand experiences but I always have that slight niggle in the back of my mind when I see those posters that you have to wave your phone in front of in order to see 'exclusive stuff' that's asking me "do people really buy into this stuff"?
I guess they must do, otherwise why would brands continue to do it?
Anyway I'm probably just being a luddite who will start all my sentences with "when i was young we didn't have... blah blah blah" so I should shut up now.

So yes, back to the subject at hand and I just wanted to post this because for me it's a highly effective, personal and inspiring piece of guerrilla marketing for a brand that we know don't exactly have buckets of cash to spend.
In fact I know that the beautiful shutter artwork pieces that Mother did for Penguin Books not so long ago. was paid for in books instead of cash. Who says advertisers are only in it for the money?
Regarding the typewriter campaign I'm not sure of the coverage they got in terms of hitting physical stores but it's obviously caught the imagination of the online community so either way it's done the job perfectly.
So all together now: long live the book worms!

Wednesday 16 February 2011

If my bank were a living breathing bank...



... I'd like it to look like this one. (I'm with First Direct so thankfully I don't have to deal with the grey 80s-ness of British banks)

Pretty incredible isn't it?
This is first-ever, bank concept store for BNP Paribas in Paris, created by Paris-based architect Fabrice Ausset of Zoevox.
It has everything you may have ever dreamed and I suspect quite a lot more given than all most people want from their bank is less queues, more smiles and perhaps a slightly bigger overdraft.

Wednesday 2 February 2011

The ultimate black swan



As a special treat I took a trip to the theatre last week to see the Scottish Ballet's interpretation of the childhood classic Cinderella.
If you are ever in Scotland and one of the Scottish National Ballet's productions are on do yourself a favour and go along.
Tickets are mega cheap, the costumes and set design are eye-poppingly beautiful, original and cool, the orchestra are incredible and the performances and totally and utterly amazing.
And thankfully no dark twisted murderous endings like a particularly popular film that's out right now.

High hopes


Sometimes it takes a small sticker to make a big wish.

The simple fill-in-the-blank stickers are created by artist/designer Candy Chang to help citizens in New Orleans express and share their thoughts on their community.

Stickers are free and can be found in corner stores, cafes, bookstores, bars, hair salons, and other places around New Orleans.