Twitter and Mad Men

Paul Isakson has revealed himself to be the brains behind the Don Draper profile on Twitter (for those unaware, Don is the central character in the AMC drama Mad Men – set at an advertising agency on Madison Avenue in 1960). Its popularity inspired others, and before long virtually the entire roster of characters (if [...]

Links – 11th August 2008

Yes, still tardy
Blog-related links
Rejuvenating dead brands (NY Times) -  I found the bit about repeated fake-ad exposure leading to higher false-memory rates fascinating yet unsurprising (from a research perspective)
Excellent analysis on the faults with Microsoft’s Vista campaign (Wilshipley) – anyone that paints current/potential customers as stupid is asking for trouble
Jeremiah Owyang on the many challenges [...]

Links – 13th June 2008

Due to the two ATP festivals last month, I made a conscious effort to take a short break from my link updates. Once the habit was broken, it inevitably became difficult to get back into the groove. Grand Theft Auto and Euro 2008 have not helped matters.
I did toy with the idea of dispensing with [...]

Ubiquity is not a strategy

Ubiquity is not a strategy.
A great quote from a talk I saw earlier by Martin Thomas from Snapper Communications at an MRG/IPA event, the originator of whom I missed.
Brands like Crazy Frog, PC World and Cillit Bang may bludgeon us into submission with a massive, ongoing campaign, but something has got to give. Once the [...]

Why a second set of eyes should be mandatory

With their redesigned logo, the Office of Government Commerce’s branding agency has illustrated the importance of having a second set of eyes to check over work.
That second person should be someone that has nothing to do with the project, and preferably nothing to do with the skill or profession in question.
Proficiency and expertise breed blind [...]

Cadbury – Trucks

The “difficult second advert”. And well, I don’t like it. The gorilla worked because it was so random, so unexpected. And that makes it a nightmare to follow up. Plus of course, it could be easily mimicked, repeat and spoofed. I’m not someone that thinks advertising needs clear branding messages, but [...]

Image conscious

Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/tibult/
I’ve had the same haircut for about 8 years. Some of my clothes are nearly as old. While I don’t stand out like a sore thumb, one could say that I am quite distinctive. Hence I was not surprised when I was spotted from distance in a club last week by someone I [...]