Radio 4 - Today

If I was asked to recommend a primer for young wannabe account handlers entering our industry I'd say listen to Today on Radio 4. Forget breakfast TV and Chris Moyles. A quick blast of Today on your way to work or while you're having your breakfast. For those who have it at home before they get to work that is - now that's a whole new blog in it's own right. But to digress a moment when did people stop having breakfast at home and start eating cereal and toast in their offices? At Woodreed we've a whole Sainsbury's fixture of breakfast cereals, bread, muffins, jams, spreads.... When did this trend begin and why? Why do people prefer to eat at work than in the comfort of their own home? My preference is for Chris Evans and cereal at home, John Humphreys and Today in the car on the way to work or client meetings. Perfect.

Back to topic... a quick blast of Today a few times a week will give you the opinions, the general knowledge, the wider awareness of current and past affairs and enough of an insight into such a breadth of topics that you'll be able to hold your own in any client meeting or social situation. You'll absorb it all without even trying and it will give you a whole stack of useful stuff which you can draw on in any number of situations.

One of my favourites a couple of weeks ago was an interview with designer Karl Lagerfeld, creative director for Chanel, talking about how designers usually took more risks during challenging periods.

"Very often in difficult times fashion is more interesting than in times when everything is too cool, too safe, in a bad moment change is the best thing that can happen."

It was a fascinating piece but the bit I really noted was when he said he had no plans to retire, saying he was continuing to come up with new ideas and made this lovely point...

"The brain is a muscle and you have to work out," he said. "The French say you get hungry when you are eating, and you get ideas when you are thinking."

Inspirational.

DULCE ET DECORUM EST

I studied war poetry at school and this poem affected me. Maybe it will have the same impact on you.

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, 


Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, 


Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs 


And towards our distant rest began to trudge. 


Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots but limped on, blood-shod.

All went lame; all blind; drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots 


Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.


Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling, 


Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time; 


But someone still was yelling out and stumbling, 


And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime. . . 


Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light, 


As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. 


In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, 


He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. 


If in some smothering dreams you too could pace 


Behind the wagon that we flung him in, 


And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, 


His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin; 


If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud 


Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues, 


My friend, you would not tell with such high zest

To children ardent for some desperate glory, 


The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est Pro patria mori.

Wilfred Owen
8 October 1917 – March, 1918

Tough. Beautiful. Polo.

I think that this new Polo advert is inspiring. It doesn't feature a car, driving or even a road, but merely two people dancing beautifully and the single line at the end: Tough. Beautiful. Polo. How clever, simple and incredibly captivating....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8enXlJeJ2LI

A lost art

This is going to make me feel and sound a lot older than I am. But, I think the majority of people have forgotten, or if you are younger, never been taught how to write a letter. Correctly. Where to pop your name, your address, the recipients name and address - and heavens above, how to sign it off! Now it's all Best Regards and the likes....what happened to faithfully and sincerely?
The reason I bring this up now is that I received a letter today from a chap who was keen to get into 'advertising' Nothing too odd there, but it was the style and content of this letter that left me feeling rather let down. When I was trying to get my first job, and on direction was asked to write in I made sure it was eye-catching, relevant and left them wanting to at least invite me in.
I think nowadays, people have become lazier (symptomatic of the advances in technology) and because everything is available (and expected) instantly less time and thought goes into some very important communications.
I'm glad I don't have to worry about ruler widths and blotting paper, but no matter what you write, it has got to have had some thought go into it - otherwise, it'll invariably disappear into my waste bin, as quickly as it arrived.

What's the first brand you can ever remember?

I remember walking to the village post office holding my mums hand, when I couldn't have been more than 5 years old. It was freezing and getting dark, the post office was called Wilkinsons and it was owned by a mutant with buck teeth called Frank.

Why I remember this journey so distinctly is that right beside this shop was a garage flanked by a giant advertisement hoarding/poster site, and there, almost spotlighted by the garage lights against the twilight sky was the biggest bar of chocolate I had ever seen in my young life (on a giant full colour poster)!. I remember saying to my mum (and I swear this true), "Can I have that (that being the size) chocolate bar to eat?". The name of the chocolate bar was Cadburys "Extra". I have never forgotten that moment.

Another time was seeing a picture of myself in a lovely bright

yellow short sleeved shirt, which had step and repeated worldwide airline logos all over it. (that would be really trendy now. it couldn't have been trendy then because my father who bought it donned a leather trilby hat 24 hours a day), but all I remember was picking my favourite logo (motif in those days) on the shirt which was "Sabena".

There you have it then, the first 2 brands that made me notice. Cadburys and Sabena.

Does anyone else remember their earliest brand experience?

Eight arms are better than two (apparently)

Now, many blogs ago our esteemed creative director argued that sometimes ideas are ok without insight and planning. I argued vehemently for the opposing view. I believe that all ideas must be based on research, understanding and insight - the key that opens the door to the opportunity for your brand to connect with your audience.

You only need to take a look at last weeks Apprentice to see how right I am. Last week was my favourite episode of the series – the one where they make the rubbish ads. The task – to design a new brand of cleaning product and create an ad for TV and radio to launch it.

Bring forth exhibit A – “Octi-clean”, because apparently women genuinely wish they had 8 arms (perhaps only to punch each member of team Synergy in the face with for creating an ad that was so desperately partronising it made Michael Winner look like a campaigner for women’s rights in comparison) . Plus call me a crazy rational fool (indeed an oxymoron – perhaps a better name for their product), but surely if you call a product Octi-clean then it needs to erm, like clean 8 ways or clean 8 different surfaces or something vaguely ‘oct’

Now for Exhibit B – the insane ‘Germinator’; the entire strategy cooked up (with added gravy) based on a strapline and the vague notion of wanting to do something “different” in the cleaning product market. Backwards, mad and wrong wrong wrong Plus note to ‘tomorrow’s captains of industry’ (yeah right) the product promised to get rid of germs, the ad was about getting rid of stubborn stains, the bottle looked like B&Q’s own brand of sink unblocker and to top it all the ad contravened all the rules of the ASA by using a child in the ad. Bloody marvellous shout-at-the-telly telly though and you’ve got to love it.

Anyway back to my initial viewpoint - I rest my case: The best ideas in advertising can only come through insight.

Music and adverts

I don't know about everyone else but I just love it when, in my opinion, a really good song is used - it just makes the advert. My music tastes are really quite broad now as I've got older but I'm just loving some of the adverts that are being shown at the moment.

Just some of my favourites currently are : -

M&S - Don't put a foot wrong this Christmas - The Bee Gees - You should be dancing

Virgin Atlantic - Got it - Muse's cover version of Nina Simone's - Feeling Good (A previous blog of mine)

Confused.com -Cara sings - Cover version of Queen's - Somebody to love

Ikea -Kitchen Party - Jona Lewis - You'll always find me in the kitchen at parties

John Lewis -Christmas 2010 - Ellie Goulding's cover of Elton John's - My Song

Not only are the songs good to listen to, but the adverts are also worth a watch......

http://www.tvadmusic.co.uk/

P.S. Jodie - I know how much you love the Yeo Advert that's being shown during the X-Factor breaks - people are campaigning to get it to No 1 for Xmas!!!

Things are not always what they seem

These are all examples of Rex Whistler's trompe l'oeil. I was inspired by his trompe l'oeil tent when I visited Port Lymne over half-term. It was just like being inside a wonderful striped canvas tent but the room was actually just a plain rectangle. Quite amazing how the eye can be so perfectly fooled by this incredibly skillful artist.

None of these rooms are really vaulted or corniced like this - it is all just a trick of the eye created by paintwork.

For examples of trompe l'oeil nearer home visit the Hotel du Vin restaurant and especially the snooker room which is just like being inside a Cuban cigar box - complete with fake bullet holes.

Bonfire Night

A dazzling spectacle of both madness and fun is what awaited me on November 5th.

Lewes town have seven societies who come together to celebrate the ancient tradition of Bonfire.

Dressed in colourful costumes and holding flaming torches the societies parade through the streets to beating drums and screams from the spectators. Through the smoke filled air you can see children hanging out of windows and the ear-splitting bangers that go off at your feet would usually summon a health and safety visit. But for some reason no one can stop this town from its chaotic celebration – some have tried! United for one night the societies draw in thousands to give us a performance like no other. A great example of teamwork.

This inspirational and entertaining evening must be seen. If you decide to go don’t forget your ear defenders!

Please hold the line...

Call me boring but one thing which really bugs me with the amazing technological developments we have today is the amazing creation that is... the call centre.

As helpful as they (apparently) are, I dread phoning any 0845 number or similar, for fear of the frustrating kind of conversation which may lie ahead.

We are deeply immersed in the cyborg era; where human and machine are combined as one. Those who eventually answer these phone calls (after patiently waiting on hold for half an hour) have been literally programmed to answer any query we have with a badly predicted script which - more often than not - does not actually answer the original question at all. We as customers, get nowhere in finding the answer to our query 55 minutes down the line. It is time-consuming, frustrating and impersonal.

By using a script I understand that companies may think they are promoting continuity of their brand, but do these companies not want to hear feedback outside of this restricted format rather than limiting the calls and reading the same scripted line for the 5th time before routing the caller for the 14th time to another person who is 'far more specialised in your query, madam... please hold the line'. I spoke to 7 different people in the space of 25 minutes the other day and got nowhere. Can these employees not be trained to care about the customer and be given the confidence and trust to be able to help customers using their own freedom of speech?

O2 and Natwest have got it right. No matter when I call them or from where I call (for example, on holiday this year when I had my purse stolen) they were more than happy to help, I had a real conversation with them and they even asked if I was okay. It was effective. Why can it not always be this easy?

Just have a little Patience..

Being a Take That fan has many plus points – catchy tunes to listen to, entertaining videos to watch and of course handsome men to look at. However trying to buy tour tickets is not one of them. Nevertheless it must be endured, with a strong will and grim determination.

4 of my friends and I set ourselves up, internet at the ready and mobiles on hand to text each other when we got our hands on some tickets, surely it would be relatively straightforward. However, things didn’t quite pan out the way we had hoped. By 8.45am (tickets went on sale at 9pm) all of the major ticket sites had crashed, unable to cope with the ‘unprecedented’ amount of demand. Unfortunately this remained the case for the next 5 hours. By this time we had all lost the will to live, at which point I saw via Facebook that another friend of mine had managed to get hold of some. After a quick little message to said friend he told me to get to Ticketmaster Ireland. Within 2 mins I had secured 4 tickets and the battle had been won. Hoorah.

This got me thinking about how new technology, specifically the internet can within the space of one morning make you want to bash your head against the wall and then within an instant can provide the solution to your problem – it really is a remarkable beast which many of us now just take for granted. So next time my emails stop working or I can’t connect to an FTP sever to upload some artwork I shall take a second and remember to be thankful for the fact that at least it eventually got me into Wembley to see TT. Yeah right.

Morning brain!

I've never been one for being too sycophantic about things, but I have to say I'm a great fan and believer of our Monday morning Woodreed Workouts. All sounds a bit twee, but if ever there was a time and place, that's it.
The brain and body are feeling slightly sleepy from the weekend, so what better way to kick start the grey-matter than with some stimulating thought and suggestions.
The premise is simple - get the whole agency in a room at 9am, get someone to head the session, spend no longer than 15 mins on it, and you're ready to start the day.
A topic for example; Which 4 celebrities would you invite to dinner (living or dead)? Sounds easy, but when you have Hitler and Oscar Wilde sharing lamb shanks, and Shakespeare and a Dalek fighting over the creme brulee you know Monday morning will never be the same again. There is a serious purpose to it as well though, we talk brand, we talk our own values, we talk about how we feel and act to things. We talk. We think. We share. It's not that often that agencies get the chance to do this all together, and I for one am a fan.

Christmas?

Often you hear people complain about Christmas. The most popular statements are that we have forgotten the original meaning of Christmas or the cost of Christmas overpowers the enjoyment of the occasion. I always find this really depressing, why should we celebrate something when no-one really wants too? In today’s world people vary in what makes them happy. We live side by side with the highest variation of beliefs then ever before. Celebrating Jesus’s birth may not suit everyone’s point of view either but one thing we all have in common at the end of December is the pleasure of seeing a hard year almost finish. Many people have had a difficult year in their own way and some more then others. We have had a year or three of hard work so why not take a moment to reflect and say goodbye. Lets forget the pressure of Christmas and give ourselves the pleasure of the spirit that December brings. Have a coffee in town and watch the people come running in with red noses and thick coats relieved to find the heat. Watch the shop assistants gathering decorations, stalls that only come around at this time of year. You have to smile when you see a new couple discretely pointing out things they would like. Let this Christmas be your Christmas., do what you want to do, we only have the perfect excuse to get together and have a laugh once a year.

When cars were cars, not brands.

When I was in Brighton yesterday, a sound editing chap couldn't wait to show me his newly acquired Mazda RX 8 sports car. He was giggling with excitement, almost wetting his pants as he glibly pointed to it. To say I was underwhelmed is an understatement. As my eyes scrolled over the predictable Japanese curves and bumps, my mind was taken back to small local vintage car show that I visited last year. In amongst a pageant of beauties, there was a car that I still consider one of the most beautiful and sexy British cars ever produced - the E type Jaguar. When my eyes settled on this masterful and unique design, I nearly wept.

These days, all cars are starting to look like each other, BMWs look like Lexuxs, Audis look like Vauxhalls! What happened to brave designs like the E type that I love and adore?

Mad Men Blog

Brilliant blog on Mad Men for anyone who's interested. No plotline spoilers in this one.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2010/nov/03/mad-men-season-four-episode-nine

Having a little bit of it all

I read in Campaign this week about how hard it continues to be for women to combine a career in our industry and have kids. I felt cross and let down by our industry for not doing enough about it (I wonder how far we've come since Mad Men).. It then made me grateful for how lucky I am to be able to combine a career I love with raising my children I adore.

This is mostly down to 2 things, well not things, ladies actually - a brilliant mother who’s there to pick up the slack when needed and a brilliant boss whose belief in working mothers (she’s one herself) means she goes out of her way to make the work/life balance possible for her staff who have kids.

I think that being able to enjoy a career without the guilt that I shortchange my kids (I don’t – I work part time around them) is wonderful and makes me come over all Spice Girl (I am not going to suggest which one) with a big girl power salute at how us ladies (my friends and my fellow mama colleagues) find creative ways of combining work and mothering. That being said I have had some funny moments when work and mothering are just a tad too cozy: house at full noisy pelt, supper overdoing in the oven, 4 year old son in major protest mode clinging to my foot like an angry blond fluffy haired slipper, fielding questions from my 6 year old girl about the history of the British monarchy (watches too much ‘Horrible Histories’ on CBBC if you ask me) while sending emails of great strategic importance to clients. Would I change it? No way and here's why.

It's about...

• Still having my own bank account ( I was shocked to learn some of my married stay at home friends only have joint accounts)
• Relating to point one, being able to spend a ridiculous amount on a pair of shoes without needing to justify it to anyone, (ie husband who thinks shoes should be bought on a needs not wants basis, oh so very wrong)
• When we’re at a dinner party or other such social event, being able to talk about what I do for work.
• Work banter – couldn't be without it. (still chuckling at the account handling team's elegant simile to describe the new layout of mine and Jo's office)
• Men! The world of the stay at home mama is a frightfully lady-based land. Don’t get me wrong, I love my girlfriends, but I also like hanging with the chaps too.
• The fact that having to think for a living just about keeps my brain this side of mush.
• Getting dressed up. Only the really super yummy mummies look hot 24/7. Coming to work gives me the perfect excuse to put on the heels, makeup and a dress 2 days a week
• Because it proves that women can go a little way to having it all (although of course this will never really be totally possible)
• Setting a positive role model for my daughter that woman can have careers just as much as men. My daughter’s current career aspirations are as follows: Scientists / pop star during the week, Magician on Saturday, Sunday off. You go girl!

Countdown to Christmas

I'm sure this is not going to be a popular one but oh well!

I am one of the few people who do like an extended run up to Christmas. December 1st just doesn't leave enough time! For me, clocks going back and the start of early evenings marks the start of an acceptable run up period.

To celebrate, I had my first "Christmas special" sandwich of the season and will be keeping my eye out for the all important Coca-Cola Christmas TV ad which always marks the real start of Christmas for me. I'm sure I'll have seen it before the week is out.

Everything seems just more Christmassy now and I love it! So sorry all of you "it just gets earlier and earlier" lot, as far as I'm concerned the countdown starts now!

The best ever Customer Service excuse I've ever heard....

As many of you know I choose to use public transport as my main way of getting work.

My first blog was about getting the bus (which I don't catch very often) and how for some reason people are more approachable when they catch the bus than when we catch the dreaded train....

You will be pleased to know that I have found a fellow traveller who I can chat to about all sorts of things and brighten up the journey home. I met my fellow traveller when all trains had been delayed or just cancelled one evening - no announcements had been made before I had entered the platform but once I was there on the platform all details of any train times had vanished from the television screens and I think all staff had hidden away in their office as nobody could be seen anywhere!!!!! After finally tracking someone down we knew we were in for a bit of a wait...time passed quite quickly having a few people to chat to and we were soon on our way. Happy Days :-)

Last week though, was just classic "customer service" .........

Got to the station, met up with my new train companion and the train arrived on time. All good so far.....Sitting on the train ready to leave and thinking about what edible delight I could rustle up quickly when I had got home and then we realised.....the train hadn't left the station and it was now 5 minutes late.....what could be the problem we wondered.....couldn't see any member of staff (nothing new there then) and then there was the announcement we were waiting for..."THIS TRAIN IS NOW CANCELLED!!!" the excuse? "THE GUARD COULDN'T BE BOTHERED TO TURN UP FOR WORK!" and those were the actual words used - they had a driver but no guard as the original one had got of the train and must have clocked off!!!-How lovely for him (the member of staff) and how frustrating for us (the customer).

So we all got off and had a bit of a giggle (at least we'd actually got an announcement this time) and waited for the next train to turn up.....

Unfortunately I can't choose my train provider and I think they were probably just trying to be honest as to why the train couldn't run but I think they were a bit too honest this time. I so can't wait for more delightful excuses - there's bound to be quite a few shortly, as we are entering the season of leaves, rain, ice and snow....watch this space and I'll keep you posted.....