The old man and the sea

To cut a long story short I had a restless weekend and found myself bored by everything around me. I desperately needed stimulating.

I took a stroll into town and went into Waterstones. By accident my eyes fixed on the author, ‘Ernest Hemingway’. I’ve never read his work, but I understand that he is one of the most respected writers. I selected one of his books, ‘The old man and the sea’ and decided that I was going to buy it without reading the synopsis on the back. I didn’t want to be discouraged in anyway from his writing.

I took the book home and spent the next two hours reading it.

The book captured my imagination, which to be honest surprised me because although the book is described rather poetically as, “an epic battle of wills between an old, experienced fisherman and a giant marlin said to be the largest catch of his life”, cut short, by little old me, it’s about fishing.

I have no interest in fishing whatsoever; I’m clueless about the entire subject. However, the book was so descriptive and engaging that I found myself excited and openly deliberating in front of my bewildered boyfriend, whether this old man would triumph over the fish!

Isn’t it incredible the power that words have on us, even when we find the subject a little dull? Words can manipulate your mind, take you into another world and often in my case, reduce you to tears!

It's good to talk...

Another day and another few million emails are exchanged through the Woodies' inboxes. Emails are great: a speedy and effective way to instantly communicate with other people who could even be on the other side of the world. It always baffles me the degree to which we rely on emails and the internet for business nowadays and this reliancy is only ever going to grow with time. I cannot imagine how business in fact worked before the days of the web or even computers. I can only assume that the important messages to clients must have been sent by flocks of carrier pigion to get delivered on time. It really does baffle me.

Emails are becoming so much a part of our lives that they are even affecting our lives outside of work too. Is this a good thing or has it affected us too much; emailing rather than speaking to a friend or relative for a good old catch up. Is this making our attitudes to relationships and friendship lazy? I for one am amongst those to blame for not speaking to my friends as often as hoped and think a little mid-week text will make do for the moment. But the tone of an email or text message can so easily be misread or unappreciated. There are only really so many 'emoticoms' you can use at one time to emphasise levels of emotion. Does it really harm to make the time and pick up the phone and actually have a chat? Why don't we do this more? I know I don't do this often enough but I really think it is important otherwise could speaking be at risk of extintion...?

I love it when a plan comes together...

There can rarely be anything more satisfying than when the whole pitch process works, and works properly. There are always last minute hitches, disagreements, changes of mind - but that's because we want and need to get it right.

There is nothing better than discovering a fantastic solution to the Client puzzle - and a proper live one at that, with people to impress and budgets to plan - and one where all concerned treat it with the respect and value it deserves. I'm glad I don't have to pander to selling ideas that are only developed to adorn portfolios and massage egos.....

I lie, actually there is something better - when you bare the result of your work and not only does the Client listen, they nod with approval, and join in the discussion, actively being enthused with what you've lain in front of them.

It's the satisfaction you get when you've made a cracking meal, and the plates are left clean.....you want to do it all over again!

Madmen – probably the best television show in the world

The 4th series of madmen has started and, as usual I am already hooked.

This blog is a blatant plug for what is, in my opinion, one of the best television series ever made. How lucky am I? Not only is it the best show ever (have I said that enough yet?) but it is also about the industry I love so much.

For the uninitiated (and not to watch it means you are either mad, man, without a TV or have a social life to rival Paris Hilton thus are not in on a Wednesday night.), Madmen follows the lives and loves of the men and women of Madison Avenue ad land in the 1960’s. The characterisation is beyond perfect, the script from heaven and the attention to detail unparalleled. For example, if they are shooting a scene on a particular day, thanksgiving for example, they look back at historical weather data and dress the characters accordingly. They even make sure they have the right sort of ice cubes for the whiskey that is seemingly drunk from morning to night along with the cigarettes that punctuate every waking moment of their lives (aah for the return of guilt free smoking). It deals with all the major issues of its day – politics, racism, homophobia, sexism at work, unwanted pregnancy, all with such aplomb it makes me go quite giddy just reflecting on it now. It's even had the power to reignite the 'size 0' debate.

It has the ability to make you laugh (for fans – remember when the account exec ran over the client’s foot with a John Deer tractor at the office party?) and cry (See Don’s beautiful ‘carousel’ pitch?). I implore you to see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suRDUFpsHus

Despite having moved on somewhat in agency lala land since then (although I have definitely indulged in some all night parting which included passing out in the agency at some point in my sometimes not so distinguished career, although stopping short of severing the limbs’ of clients!), the day to day highs and lows, the tensions between suits and creatives, the clients you adore, and those you don’t, the agency personnel’s love of a drink remain constant.

Finally, I love it because it reminds me of why I love my industry so much and how lucky I was to have stumbled upon it in the first place. I am inspired nearly every day by what we do. How lucky I am to have a job that I actually love to do.

oooh, PS, I have just found joy of joys a Mad Men blog. Check out http://www.lippsisters.com/

Poetry in (e)motion

Just read this most beautiful verse of poetry by William Blake.

To see a world in a Grain of Sand,

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand,

And eternity in an hour.

So powerful yet so simple: I love the contrast between the very large and the very small in both the spatial and temporal sense.

I met up with an old buddy from Bath Academy of Art two weekends ago, who has retired from his post as an English Teacher to pursue a dream he's always wanted - to write a novel.

Anyway, in amongst our subjects of debate, I was showing him examples of great lines in advertising, and how big ideas can come from them. In return he showed me how the best poetry comes from a big idea, almost the reverse effect.

Bearing in mind I've never really "got" poetry, he then read me some poetry of what he considered the best of English which included the poignant verse above.

My word, I was actually overwhelmed by it's beauty. I am now the proud owner of The Oxford Anthology of English Verse, and the whole episode has re-assured me how great copywriting can make the difference in advertising.

My fav ad of the weekend

Just thought I'd share with you my favourite ad from the weekend. It is from Vodaphone (other service providers are available!!) and shows how easy it is to say what you're thinking through picture messages.......

Should you wish to view here is the link

http://www.tvadmusic.co.uk/2010/09/vodafone-network-couples/

Fly the voice

Kulula-air.com is a low-cost carrier based in South Africa. They have a new livery which takes living the brand to a whole new stratosphere.

The entire aeroplane is covered with details about the plane, including arrows pointing to the more interesting parts.

"The big cheese" = the captain's window.

The aircraft's registration number = "Secret agent code."
"Loo (or mile-high initiation chamber)."
The black box, seats, stabilizer and rudder - I could go on.

What a perfect example of consistent application of brand tone of voice. What's your favourite?

A day in the life of an Art Director

Imagine wearing a tight fitting tee shirt with hot pants that just about cover your bottom, a pair or ankle socks and plimsolls. Take this image of yourself to the Science Museum. You’re walking around looking at interesting and engaging exhibitions. You’re so engrossed and inspired you start to take pictures with your phone and record notes. You don’t see the wood and metal chair at knee height that’s fixed to the floor. You walk into the chair with such force you nose dive to the floor, losing your phone and pad on the way down. Before you know it you’re sprawled across the floor face down. You turn over. You’re thinking “what the hell?” and then the pain hits you. You can’t move. People are staring at you. Your legs are throbbing and you can’t get up because the pain is too much. A first aider is called to your assistance. By the time she gets there you have managed to peel yourself up from the floor, but you’re still crippled by the pain. The first aider tells you “I think this cut has gone down to the bone. I better get my colleague up here for a second opinion. It could be an A&E job.” Nausea washes over you. You are either going to be sick or faint. You cannot speak. You are quickly placed back on to the floor. The colleague appears and informs you that you’re going to be all right. You don’t need to go to hospital. You sigh with relief.

That was I on Wednesday 1st September.

Weirdly the accident happened moments after I had my eureka moment.

What did I learn from this? That sometimes communication can be so engaging that it leaves you flat on your back, humiliated and bruised!

That's a rap...

If I said the words 'we buy any car' I predict that the vast majority of innocent television watchers among us would unknowingly reply with, 'dot come'! This is the result and affect of probably one of the most annoying adverts I have ever seen on television. As if I thought it couldn't have got much worse than the radio advert that casually disrupts the airwaves at work, they have now launched a television advert shown on terestrial TV consitiing of a group of attractive girls 'rapping' the jingle to their friend who wants to sell his car. I cannot watch this advert with out cringing with total disgust; it is terrible.

But even more annoying is that this annoying advert has actually proved to be so memorable that it (dare I admit it) can only be classed as a success. The memorable jingle, the attractive girls, the absolutely awful attempt of rapping, the dancing dog (rediculous) and the fact that the concept is actually so easy to understand. There are no gimics or complicated story lines, just a plain and simple idea and an annoyingly catchy jingle, 'we buy any car dot com' which even now is relentlessly going round and round my head.

For those of you lucky enough not to have seen this advert yet click on the link below (if you dare). Is this really the start of more annoying things to come in advertising? If so, I will seriously consider emigrating...

http://www.youtube.com/user/webuyanycar#p/a/u/2/8a6NwwpRHfw

Minding your P’s and Q’s

The thing with our line of work is that you don’t often switch off. The work we do surrounds us all the time; marketing is not a 9-5 job or preoccupation. Or maybe I’m just a marketing geek who needs to get a hobby (there’s a knitting group that gathers in the café we can see from our office window, there’s a spare seat. Perhaps it has my name on it?… perhaps not.)

Anyway this week I am mostly preoccupied with P-ing. It’s got nothing to do with the September rain or the incontinence of the knitting ladies. No, it’s the 4 Ps of the marketing mix, the first thing you ever learn as a shiny new grad (when you are not being shouted at). Product, Price, Place, Promotion. It’s such a gloriously simple concept. Why oh why then do some many of the local retailers of Tunbridge Wells refuse to entertain the 4th ?

A friend of mine had a friend recently who opened a beautiful new shop selling delicious fresh product that was oh so right for the good citizens of the wells. Right prices, perfect place. When my friend congratulated the owner and asked him what marketing he had planned, the chap replied – “marketing? Oh I am not going to do any of that” with a look of utter disdain as if my mate had just told him he’d secured him the best seat next to Beryl at Friday’s knitting group and a knitting pattern for a pair of giant knickers to make the group green with envy. Business lasted less than 6 months. It’s a common theme. They come, they go. (The knitters as well as the retail outlets of RWT judging by their age).

Another example: There’s a really lovely French café that’s opened in Tunbridge wells, a bold move to take on the ubiquitous coffee shop brands. It sells coffee that is better and cheaper than the big brands and the environment is delightful. It’s got Gaelic charm in spades and the smiley staff tolerate my children’s oh so charming habit of trying to snaffle as many of the posh sugar lumps into their pockets as they can with cheerful resignation. But, it’s almost always empty (we Dahl’s know this first hand as we are single handily mounting our own quiet crusade to keep it in business by virtue of our presence) while the big brands have customers busting out of their beany seams.

Wake up and smell the coffee people. Get yourself out there. Do some old fashioned marketing to draw those coffee loving mamas and papa’s and their offspring micro-scootering through your doors.

You are the David to Starbuck’s Goliath. Be brave. Behave like a challenger brand. You don’t need Baz Lurhman, a 6 figure budget and an A - lister to get people’s attention. You just need to decide what your brand is all about, why it matters to your customers and come up with a few good ideas to get on their radars.

Never mind minding your Ps and Qs, if you forget your 4th P you can forget any queues.

Oh and PS – Mad Men started last night. My future postings may become a little preoccupied with it, so apologies in advance.

In 1942, I invented the shoe........(should an idea have a context?)

Take look at the following excerpt.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfAco1Vs_p8

I suddenly realised why I find this fantastically funny. It’s not the sight of Matt Lucas dressed in a threadbare pink romper suit, or the contagious laughing effect it has on the participants of the show and the audience, it was simply that the song and dance routine had no context whatsoever. Nothing about it made any sense whatsoever (if he had invented the shoe in 1942 he would have been probably 98 years old, how can anyone invent the flu etc?).

The surrealness of these massive and life changing inventions being sang about against this fabricated nursery rhyme by a plump bald comedian is so random, it’s hilarious (in my opinion).

Which amazingly made me realise how I adore this kind of random humour as opposed to the great British situation comedies.

Give me a 1-minute Monty Python sketch showing a policeman on some anonymous housing estate instantaneously accepting an offer from a passer by to “go back to his place” as opposed to half an hour of Gavin and Stacey anytime.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_pC2ToILCs

Give me Simon Cowell being strangely impersonated with his breasts protruding through holes in his tee shirt with co(wb)ells in them) as opposed to the famous “Are you being served?” series.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HHVbUa-CjQ

Which takes me neatly on to creative. Does great creative have to have a context? Does it have to come off a strategy? Does it have to be researched? The incredibly successful Cadburys Dairy Milk ad using the gorilla drumming against In The Air Tonight, was it based on any consumer insight?

The Audi TT. The only car to go into production without any research.

Tango introduced a black background on their packaging in 1992 on the MD’s whim and against all research findings. Most of England’s corner shop owners almost became millionaires overnight! How brave was that considering they were not brand leaders at that time?

Why (sometimes) I like going to work on a bus!

On too many occasions I have had to catch the replacement bus to work because South Eastern have decided to cancel my train and this is always at the last minute once you've purchased your ticket for the day. The excuses are varied - points failure, trees on the line, wrong type of ice, leaves whatever suits them for that particular day.

At first, of course, I feel very annoyed and frustrated and either have to wait for one of the replacement coaches which they have only just decieded to ring through for or I can venture onto the local Tonbridge to Tunbridge Wells bus.

What I don't quite understand is this - when you have been catching the train, you see the same people each morning and evening and even after three years my fellow travellers are so wrapped up reading 'The Metro' or their books, listening to their favourite music (mine's Radio 1 so I am usually seen chuckling to myself each morning!!) If you try to smile or even say "Hello" - the looks you get back just say it all. They either think you've just arrived from another planet or you've been let out with a day pass from the local hospital....

Once you get onto the bus or coach it is a totally different story. You're normally greeted with a smile as you try and make your way to a seat. Everyone seems more relaxed and are just chatting away talking about what they had done the eveing before, what they may have planned for the weekend and enjoying their journey however long or short it may be.

Also when you are on the bus (up on the top deck of course, if it's a double decker) you have access to a completley different scenic route, the landscape is beautiful and how can you not help but look into people's front gardens and rooms....

Stopping me in my tracks

It's not often I am quite literally stopped in my tracks by a shop window display but this giant pack of Imodium, better known for its ability to stop other things, had me doing just that the other day.

I was walking at a pace from the railway station to my car (so what's new?), past the pharmacy window.

The promotional flash caught my eye. I retraced my steps. I re-read the message.

I re-read the message again. The penny dropped.

But I couldn't get out of my mind the unintended message I'd initially read. And what was that? I'll leave you to work it out.

The unintended consequences of dodgy typography delivered a subliminal message which in my mind, but luckily not my mouth, will forever be associated with the product in question.

Whodunit?

It was with great trepidation that I attended my first Murder Mystery "party" this bank holiday weekend. The whole idea of it filled me with dread, the dressing up, the dodgy accents, the amusing (or not so) character names... Mine was Flo Wing-Brookes - get it?! Hilarious.

As we listened to the inspector setting the scene (on tape, that's how dated this thing was!) my mind couldn't help but drift to memories (what were left of them anyway) of the previous night which had been spent watching a surprisingly good (and loud) 2-man band in Kentish Town. But, a swift kick in the shin from my husband was my queue to stop feeling sorry for myself and face facts! I was going to have to get on with tonight whether I wanted to or not.

So off we went, introducing our characters and slipping the "information you must disclose" as best we could and evading the "secrets" we wanted to hide. My attitude was still very much on the I don't care end of the spectrum until I began to realise that unless I did disclose all clues I was meant to, I would be hindering others, who were taking it more seriously, in solving the crime.

So I began hamming it up with the best of them (and given that two of our friends there were professional actors that took some doing!) As the rounds went on I could see I was not the only one struggling to keep up the enthusiasm and focus but there seemed to be an unspoken acknowledgement that we were all in this together and to bring things to a speedy, but also successful, conclusion we all needed to pull our weight.

As Charlotte said last week, sometimes we need to push ourselves outside our comfort zones. Now I can't say this was quite as rewarding as mastering two wheels for the first time, but I am sure I had a better night for it.

So, would I do it again - Murder Mystery evening, not for a while at least, but do something that "scares" me - absolutely!