…epic fail or not.

Here we go.

2009 has, in one way or another, threatened lives AND the things that make our lives worth living. Pero, buhay pa naman tayo, ‘di ba? =)

To each of you, who has made it through this year with me (and in the process, got splattered as my shit hit the fan),

Thank You.

1. Mom, for being amazing, for not asking, for asking, for loving her, and for loving Her.

2. Dad, you let me go when i needed to go, and for spending the evenings with me, sharing my beer because we were too cheap, for not closing your eyes as a fucktabulous wave wiped me out.

3. Gilbert, i love you, and who ever else you choose to date. Thank you for loving WITH me. Your room stinks, clean it, or close the door forever.

4. YOU. Thank You, for allowing me to love You, finally; for being the wonderful Being that You are and will be. Onward, to the rest of our lives.

5. Marie, you will always be Mother, and my blank piece of paper. Year after year, you somehow, make me better–writing, and then some.

6. Dinah, may mga bagay na kailangang pagdaanan. Makatatawid rin. Mahal na mahal kita.

7. Michelle, thank you, for believing.

8. Ogilvy-uh!

• Team of Country! We rock!
• Aaron…you know ayloveyoo, Boifwend!
• China! Ang nakakainis, alam mong sasaluhin kita, gaano pa man ka-stupid.
• Bear! You’re the best first partner, ever.
• James and Tolits…buti na lang, nagkita-kita tayo sa crossroads.
• Sarah, when I grow up… =)
• Jason, for always having my back =)   (Ummm…cookiesssss…)
• Bambi, call me.
• Peachy, again, thank you, for believing. CALL ME! =D

9. Sush, Geia, you guys are made with Care Bear stuffing, i swear.

10. Kanuts, kahit magulo, alam mong mahal kita. Kita tayo ulit, ang dami nang nangyari.

11. Xander. See you in Xanadu. We’ll sit on empty kegs as we empty  more!

12. RJAM! Dawson! I heart you, always. Every scratch, every bruise, I hold dear.

13. PKPH, up and forward…and beyond!

14. Trina Mundo, haller. Parang kahapon lang.

15. Anima, galingan pa natin.

16. CHULAS. + Loi, Por, JR…the best out of Uappy.

17. Ang mga Elises. Wonderful, beautiful people. Thank you, for making me one of yours. *Kuya, belly-bump*

18. Mona and Mike, nandun kayo kahit may sipon yung dramatic tear-fell ko. Mahal ko kayong dalawa =)

19. Miku, ano ba, lumipas na naman ang isang taon, kelan ang “let’s share a wave”?

20. Julius Kun, Tasha Kun, AJ zeester (and JT Kun)…sa pagkakaibigang trans-atlantic, trans-pacific at trans-nebula. KAMPAY.

21. Ray, Aki, Jeff, The Sea: Thank You, for Edumacating me, when I needed it the most.

22. Shirin, kindred. One and only. Nudge.

23. To the GBG, Hum, ROC, ang mga Alenton, sa lahat ng Kanyang mga totoong kaibigan, mga pinagkakatiwalaan, maraming, maraming salamat.

24. KUNS. <3 Live it up, let’s do it again.

25. Sa lahat ng naapakan ko, nasiko, natisod, nahila ang buhok, pinag-hintay, napagtaasan ng boses, napagtaasan ng kilay, nasingitan sa pila, nasingitan sa parking, napagsarhan ng sinapiang elevators sa PhilAm…patawad.

Isang WASAK na Pasko at ASTEEGING Bagong Taon sa inyong tanan.

Ipasa ang Love!

Ogilvy & Mather is India’s top ad agency yet again (The Economic Times)

While I struggle to understand the relevance of American Express in our modern world I absolutely adore their new TV campaign, which I’m calling “Smile.” These spots have been running for several months now and yet I stop everything to watch when one comes on. Don’t you? The imagery is, in a word, lovely. Not in a baroque way but pure, unfettered and almost childlike in it’s simplicity. A series of inanimate objects appear, first depicting sad faces, which then become smiling faces. A soothing voiceover addresses our fears regarding credit card purchases and then assuages them. Throughout we hear the hypnotic Cello Suite No. 1 by Sebastian Bach.

That’s it. No special effects. No celebrities. Nothing but inanimate objects subtly propped to mimic smiley faces. While there are no actual people in the commercials these spots illicit more humanity than just about anything on the air. They are masterpieces.

Appropriately, it was my 11 year-old daughter who first brought the campaign to my attention. She asked me if I’d done it (alas, no), telling me it was her favorite TV commercial. A month later I got the same question from an in-law over Thanksgiving dinner. She, too, adored the campaign.

I believe this is the work of Ogilvy & Mather in New York, though my online searches failed to produce credits. Yet, everyone responsible deserves praise: the writer, the art director and especially the director. (If anyone can provide names please do.)

The last time I was so moved by an ad campaign was when Saturn launched “a different kind of Car Company.”  Then as now the awesome power of TV proved itself without so much as breaking a sweat.

There is sincerity about Amex’s work, which belies the rampant turmoil and cynicism gripping the financial (and advertising) world. Kudos to American Express and their advertising agency for giving us pause to smile. In my novel, The Happy Soul Industry God wants an ad campaign to market Heaven. Something like this would’ve done quite nicely!

The Happy Soul Industry on Amazon

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Another great billboard design, this time by Ogilvy & Mather for Formula Toothcare who have done this other great toothpick holder. I personally have pathetically sensitive teeth and the thought of what this guy is doing is making me shiver! I like the fact that they’ve made the extra effort to incorporate the ripping billboard effect on the reverse of the print. Not sure how whether this is going to create a massive surge in sales but it has certainly entertained me.  Shame about the lights over the billboard ruining the design during the day, maybe light from the bottom next time? Or is that too simple?

Terrorizing neighbours since 1909

Werbeagentur: Tillmanns, Ogilvy & Mather, Düsseldorf
Creative Directors: Volker Kuwertz, Andreas Steinkemper
Art Director: Marc Zinnecker
Fotograf: Michael Stemprock

via Ads of the World

14 out of 16 entires converted to metal…

…spread across Bronze, Silver and Gold.

2 disciplines…

1 agency…

2009 is the year of the RED.

Ogilvy & Mather

BRONZE ARAW:

1. Film, Best in Sound Design:

Healthy Options “Teenager”

2. Radio, Single Entry

Pond’s Clear Solutions “Slip of The Tongue”

3. Digital

Banner: Nike, Basketball “Balloon”

Viral: Motorola Philippines “Motorola Razr Slashfest”

Viral: Nike, Manny Pacquiao “Give Us This Day”

Viral: Nike, Manny Pacquiao “War of Words Promo”

Viral: Nike, Manny Pacquiao “Ang Mamatay ng Dahil Sa’yo”

Website: Nike “Team Pilipinas”

Website: Nike, Nike Women “This is Love”

4. Araw Media

Best Use of Outdoor: Pond’s Clear Solutions “Siren”

5. Outdoor, Ambient and Point of Purchase

Craft, Best Illustration: Clarity “Mary”

SILVER ARAW

1. Outdoor, Ambient and Point of Purchase

Ambient, Special Builds: Nike Hyperdunk “Flywire”

2. Digital

Website: Nike, Manny Pacquiao “Prepare for Battle”

GOLD ARAW

Outdoor, Ambient and Point of Purchase

Pond’s Siren

THE YEAR-END BONUS GOES TO…

MEGAMIIIIIIXXXXXX!!!

Petit retour sur une approche créative qu’il m’a été donné de croiser à plusieurs reprises ces derniers temps, appelons-la le 2 en 1. Une exécution qui semble assez bien se recycler sur divers sujet (Services, ONG, Agency self-promo…). Une approche qui présente l’avantage d’être relativement immédiate à la compréhension et de pouvoir faire passer simplement deux messages qui s’opposent / se complètent dans une seule et même exécution. Petit benchmark ci-dessous.

clic to enlarge

FEDEX Advertising School: Universidade Anhembi Morumbi, Sao Paulo, Brazil

TURN AGENCY
Advertising Agency: Turn, Hong Kong

We think the answer lies within the question. Especially when it comes to marketing communication issues. So, have you any question?

Life without faith is just a lie. Turn believes in truth in creativity. We are turning four this year. Long live faith.

Read between lines’ is probably what we do for our clients everyday. In the world of communications, insight come first.

EVERLAST. “All or nothing”. Advertising Agency: JWT, Dubai 2009

Dans un style pas très éloigné, la très efficace campagne Unicef contre la pédophilie, qui matérialise les liens entre les personnes et dans ce cas précis entre une ado et son futur agresseur. Une autre façon d’illustrer cette même idée des différents chemins que peut prendre un même mot.

UNICEF “Pedophiles hide the truth. Help us find it.”
Advertising Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Santiago, Chile

Advertising guru Rory Sutherland from a little shop we all know as Ogilvy & Mather has a few things to say about perceived value being just as important to audiences as real value. In other words sports fans…advertising at its best. Old school in a digital world? You betcha.

Let’s be honest shall we…all to often in life we try to make things greater then they actually are…and by doing so we all want and yearn for things we do not have instead of being satisfied with what we do have. What Sutherland does with wit and character is remind each of us that today’s new technologies are simply playing on subjective and intangible values…which in turn allow us to appreciate what is unfamiliar. Simply brilliant.

I don’t think there is a working day that goes by where I don’t pinch myself…smile…and say it’s only advertising or marketing…so don’t get your shorts in a bunch. We are in the job of changing perceptions and impressions which actually do change realities….whether right or wrong.

Once again thanks TEDGlobal2009 for sharing.

The most well known ad in the U.S. from the Dove Real Beauty Campaign.

Hello all! I am back and I am ready to share with you the wonderful opportunity I had to listen to Maureen Shirreff, the North American Creative Director for the Dove Real Beauty campaign, and Group Creative Director for Ogilvy & Mather in Chicago at Dr. Carolyn Bronstein’s graduate seminar, Critical Perspectives on Public Relations and Advertising at  DePaul University, on 10/10/09. Shirreff is considered to be one of the top creative directors in the U.S.  I have to admit after listening to her I ended up buying Dove Exfoliating Facial Wash while in Target later that afternoon and I am still not sure if it was because the advertising is just that good or because her persuasive personality made me fall in love with the Dove brand.  Shirreff is incredibly knowledgeable, humble and nothing like your stereotypical advertising executive.

In a clean cut Powerpoint signed with Ogilvy & Mather’s insignia she explained the process she and her team went through to create the Dove Real Beauty campaign.  The process starts out the way advertising 101 explains it: by studying the Dove brand and what it represents and conducting research. Shirreff and her team were very proactive getting 18 Ogilvy & Mather’s offices involved. They surveyed 3,200 woman from ten different countries. They discovered that only 2% of the women surveyed described themselves as beautiful.*^ The research pretty much put women’s low self-esteem into numbers and percentages and became the basis of the advertising campaign that would change the definition and begin a discussion of what is real beauty.

What I found most interesting is that the most provocative advertising wasn’t done in the U.S. because of how our culture reacts to shock media. The most provocative ads were in Europe.  Their most effective form of advertising is the website they created and the video “Evolution.”

The most well known advertising is the “True Colors” commercial that ran during the 2006 Super Bowl. Shirreff, to my own surprise, explained that the ad touched many fathers who were unaware of the pressures and low self-esteem their daughters may be suffering.

I know it may seem like I am blabbing, but I feel that this campaign truly is effective and it helps society. While most beauty advertisements make me never want to eat again or convince me I need to change everything about myself to be pretty, the Dove Real Beauty campaign actually makes me respect myself. The campaign gives women what they have been looking for their whole life: assurance. Assurance that it is okay to be different, it’s okay to be you.

How do you feel beauty advertisements portray women? Should they be held responsible for the negative effect they have on society, especially teenage girls?

*The definition of beauty according to Merriam-Webster: “the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit: loveliness.”

^That 2% of women were from Latin America, which is the second to the U.S. in plastic surgery.

Duracell et son fameux lapin rose reviennent sur nos écrans avec une nouvelle campagne publicitaire !

Toujours aussi attachant, il nous apparaît cette fois en 3D !

Après 36 ans de loyaux services, le lapin rose de Duracell dure toujours aussi longtemps et ce n’est pas prêt de s’arrêter!

Bunny Fusion est une campagne française signée par Ogilvy & Mather.

Bonne découverte !

Pentru ca se apropie Animest-ul, trebuie sa va amintesc faptul ca Ogilvy & Mather a obtinut argintul pe TV cu spotul cu oaia pentru Animest la Golden Hammer, anul acesta.  Intre timp a aparult si varianta 2. Le aveti pe amandoua mai jos.

Aur au luat finlandezii de la HASAN & PARTNERS pentru spotul  ”Ilta-Sanomat: The Way It Was Meant To Be”.

In ordinea premiilor:

si Oaia reloaded )

via

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IBM recently launched a campaign called “A Smarter Planet,” centering on the idea that the systems that run the way we live are increasingly becoming interconnected and “intelligent.” For the creative team at Ogilvy & Mather, the agency of record, the challenge in executing the campaign was coming up with imagery that would vividly illustrate abstract concepts.

As is often the case, the challenge was also part of what the made campaign so much fun to do. “It’s a very exciting and very creative time to work on the IBM account at Ogilvy,” says O&M creative director Michael Paterson. His team had the chance to establish a new visual language for IBM—a language created both by illustrators and graphic designers (such as Carl DeTorres, Tomato, Non-Format, I Love Dust, Lamosca, and The Office) and by photographer Craig Cutler.

Craig shot two series of ads focusing on the role of midsize businesses, generating imagery to bring to life headlines like “The server that made an entire university smarter,” for which he stood some books up and arranged them in a circle, so that their spines all face in and their pages are fanned out a bit. Shot from above, they look like colorful pipe cleaners or fiber-optic cables. The image registers visually as a high-tech icon, though it’s really just a bunch of books. “Creating something about of nothing—that’s the trick,” says Craig. (At the end of this post are examples of Craig’s sketches, alongside the final ads.)

Here, Michael explains the origins of the campaign and talks about how he and Craig collaborated to bring it to life.

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Can you give me a little background on the genesis of the “Smarter Planet” concept and how it fits in with IBM?
The “smart planet” thought came out of a speech by the CEO of IBM, which is always a good place to start! At the agency we began noodling around with ideas based on this, and one day one of our junior art directors came up with this beautiful graphic icon of a planet with little “think rays” popping out of the top. It looked like the planet just got smart.

Not only was it a great idea, but it also opened up a completely new visual language for IBM—one based on graphic design. As the campaign developed, we started collaborating with some amazing new contemporary graphic artists, like IBM used to
do with people like Paul Rand, Eliot Noyes, and Charles and Ray Eames.

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Where are these ads being distributed and by what means (magazines, newspapers, etc.)?
They are running globally in newspapers, magazines, and outdoor, and we animated them for the Web. Yesterday I showed Craig pictures of buses in Shanghai. They were covered with our ads! It’s amazing when you see your work all over the world. You get a real kick out of it. That’s one of the great things working on IBM at Ogilvy.
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How did you determine that photography was the way to illustrate the campaign, and how did you come to choose Craig for the job?
We had moved away from photography with the Smart Planet campaign in the quest for a new visual DNA for the brand. We got a brief to do a campaign about smaller businesses. We felt that it was time to bring photography back but treat it like design.

Craig is trained as a graphic designer, and his work is incredibly graphic, as well as feeling very natural and beautiful at the same time. I think his work pushes the boundaries of commercial photography into the art world, distinctions that are becoming blurred today anyway. He was the natural choice.

…
Craig tells me that he first submitted interpretations of individual items, such as a soccer ball, but that you were looking for something different. Can you elaborate on this?
Yes. We asked him to shoot some tests for us. They were cool, but it got us thinking about how we could turn this into something totally new conceptually. We asked ourselves some questions: What does it mean to make a soccer ball or a pill or a bottle of wine look smart? How can we make the ordinary look extraordinary? How can we elevate these things so you see them in a new way, almost like intelligence has been applied to them? So Craig and I worked on this, and that’s how these images were born.

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Craig also noted that this project was highly collaborative. Can you give me an example of how you and he worked together—the kind of problem-solving and brainstorming?
Craig is involved in the process from the start. And when I say the start, I mean the brief, before there’s even an ad. Let’s say there’s a company in Europe that makes green energy, and IBM has helped them develop their business. Craig and I will bounce ideas off each other. Then Craig will sketch. And let me say his sketches are wonderful, hugely evocative. There’s a personal gesture that’s so rare today. You can feel Craig’s passion for he project in his sketches. I mean, he can draw!

Me and my partner, Greg Gerstner, will develop the ad itself in parallel—I know that sounds weird. And then we propose visual ideas based on Craig’s sketches. It’s a very exciting and different way of working with a photographer. It’s hugely satisfying.

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A few of Craig’s sketches, plus the final ads:

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Raus aus dem “lockeren” Studentenleben und zurück in die Arbeitswelt! Für fünf Monate werde ich nun bei Ogilvy & Mather als Praktikant tätig sein. Zum ersten Mal seit dem Studienbeginn habe ich (endlich?!) mal wieder einen geregelten Tagesablauf inklusive anschließenden Feierabend. Der Start verlief zwar erstmal rechnerlos aber auf jeden Fall gut. Mein Team ist mir auf Anhieb sehr sympathisch und der Kaffee ist trinkbar – was braucht man mehr?

Esta es la nueva campaña de Ogilvy & Mather Singaput para los carritos Matchbox de Mattel, que simplemente parece la continuación de la galardonada campaña que hizo su oficina hermana, Ogilvy & Mather Frankfurt para el mimos cliente, pero con carritos:

Todas las tome prestado con permiso de The Inspiration Room Daily

Honda has launched the much awaited “Jazz”, a mid size hatchback car, in India (they announced it a year ago!). An ad that is airing in prime time with the concept of “breaking other car owners’ bubble” with a tagline of “why so serious?” by Ogilvy and Mather. It is retailing at a price of 6-7 Lakhs INR in India.

The price makes it the highest priced mid size hatchback in the market, higher than the highest selling swift (~5-6 Lakhs) and the most popular economy car Santro (~4 Lakhs). And, what is more, the ad is not helping either, the car looks less spacious than the Santro and is not necessarily a breath taker…and the only bubble the ad is breaking is its own! What  is more, the tagline, probably tries to position it as a fun car, I mean, seriously, the costliest car in town, with not-so-great looks – has to be fun”ny” right?

You can see an image if you have not seen it on the roads and shrugged at it, yet and here is the ad if you have not seen it yet. What say?

If dying for your faith makes you a martyr, then what does it make those whom you killed for your faith?

On the eve of the terrorist attack in Indonesia, we are reminded of what the so-called “martyrs” don’t think about when they kill others in the so-called name of “faith”. A violent, bloody “faith” that no religion ever advocates.

The print ad above, as well as few posted here are all part of a peace initiative campaign developed at Ogilvy & Mather, Bangalore to raise global awareness of the terrorist activities in Chhattisgarh (a state in central India).

The campaign challenges the connection between terrorism and religious faith in evocative photographs that are sure to freeze you in place. The bloody messages, written in red paint, are left on what appears to be the scene of terrorist activity.

Inspired by exactly this sort of evocative awareness campaigns, I hope to execute my own soon to raise awareness of a new kind of terror in Lebanon. If you know someone (it could be you!) who would be interested in helping and has the guts, tell them to contact me.

Article & Image Credits:
The Inspiration Room
For full article, go to: http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2009/chhattisgarh-peace-initiative/

Credits:
The Peace Initiative campaign was developed at Ogilvy & Mather, Bangalore, by creative directors Malvika Mehra, Amit Akali and Deepak Joshi, art directors Ravikumar and Sreejith, copywriter Manoj Jacob, typographers PJ Shan Jose and Vipin Das, photographer Asha Thadani.

THE international advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather is in advanced negotiations to take 200,000 sq ft of office space at Argent’s Kings Cross Central scheme.

The agency is looking to move from Canary Wharf where it currently occupies 100,000 sq ft at 10 Cabot Square, Canary Wharf which it took in 1992. The company could take more space because a number of linked companies could accompany it in a move to Kings Cross.

Work on the offices is expected to complete by 2012. DTZ and Savills are acting for Argent.

L’agenzia Ogilvy & Mather, per pubblicizzare la birra ZhuJiang,  ha applicato degli adesivi sui finestrini posteriori di alcuni taxi di Guangzhou.

Con questo espediente si cattura l’attenzione e si crea l’interazione con l’utente.

Fonte: Scaryideas

For those of you who consider the water-cooler to be a feature in your office, look away now. For the lucky guys and gals who work at Ogilvy & Mather, in Guangzhou, China, this extravagant indoor theme park is where they do a hard days work. Designed by M Moser Associates, the office features merry-go-round horses and life-sized nutcrackers…drool.

Ogilvy & Mather de Guangzhou a réalisé une opération d’ambient marketing sur les taxis chinois.

Afin de faire connaître la bière ZhuJiang, l’agence a exploité les vitres pour vous faire désaltérer.

Dans la série des annonces typo apparemment très en vogue en ce moment, cette dernière en date a particulièrement retenu mon attention : il s’agit de la campagne print pour la marque Ben&Jerry’s. Cette campagne ludique, assez déglingue mais plutôt bien réalisée, est une véritable invitation à la paresse et au laisser-aller (qui fait sens par rapport au produit) . Une approche qui renoue assez bien avec les valeurs communautaires hippies des fondateurs Ben Cohen et Jerry Greenfield. Signé “PEACE, LOVE & ICE CREAM”, la campagne nous vient de chez Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific Singapore. A la rédaction Mike Sutcliffe, Craig Love et Eugene Cheong, à la direction artistique Adrian Chan, Maurice Lim & Stuart Mills, et enfin à la photo : Edward Loh, October Skies.

Excellente opération d’ambient marketing réalisée par l’agence Ogilvy & Mather Mumbai pour le compte de Cadbury Beverages. Cette marque a été mise sur le marché indien dès 1948.

Comme nous le savons tous, le petit-déjeuner est l’un des éléments essentiels de la journée, mais également le synonyme d’une excellente croissance pour les enfants…

La preuve en est par ce superbe concept!