May the 'force' be with you

I am sure that everyone will have seen the VW 'force' ad by now, but it continues to give me a huge grin from ear to ear every time I see it! It reminds me of my son when he was around 6/7 and his role-playing with a black cape I made for him, his favourites were Batman, Skeletor (Masters of the Universe) and of course Darth Vader!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzJB3ScpWbg for a smile

Image courtesy Mediaweek, link courtesy Youtube, ad courtesy Deutsch (LA).

FedEx logo

I was amazed to discover that many of my colleagues couldn't actually see the subliminal arrow in the FedEx logo!

When it was pointed out to them, there were shrieks of disbelief as they suddenly discovered it.

Even more interesting is that once they were aware of it, the bigger it became.

For all of you who are still trying to find it, here's a clue!

Falling Down - and getting up laughing

I love a good music video! Video killed the radio star and all that. Well, MTV certainly helped create a new wave in film making, and there are some videos that make you smile, frown, yawn and sometimes even laugh. I’m not a fan of watching band members just dancing around in a line or just mime singing to camera….surely they can be more creative than that? But when you look outside of the realms of boy and girl bands, to something with some edge, you oft find a gem. And it’s a great skill in its own right – Sabotage by the Beastie Boys anyone?

A brilliant film of the 90’s, Falling Down, has just been given the Foo Fighters treatment. It’s actually a pretty accurate rip-off of Michael Douglas’s character, William Foster suffering a memorable mental breakdown spurred on by the ills of a decaying society – only funny. Attention to detail is key with these parodies, and the horn-rimmed glasses, short sleeved shirt and striped tie all fit perfectly on D.Grohl esq – as does the detail in the opening traffic-jam sequence focussing on bumper stickers and the virtual pressure cooker you feel building up inside the car.

If you’ve seen the film, this video will remind you of it, only perhaps from a funnier perspective.

If you haven’t seen it, try it – but don’t expect a barrel of laughs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PkcfQtibmU

How well do you know the Woodies?

Over an account management team lunch yesterday we learnt some interesting facts about our fellow Woodies.
Can you tell which Woodie each statement belongs too?

Woody 1 was a Prima Ballerina...

Woody 2 can blink as fast as a humming bird (it's not a scientific fact!)...

Woody 3 has an ancestor who was mates with Samuel Pepys...

Woody 4 has worn a £20k Gucci dress but wasn't allowed to keep it...

Woody 5 will never mix Cointreau and cigars again...

The best things in life are simple

Yes I know it's yet another picture of a van, but I just couldn't resist it (and I'm not moving or driving in case you're thinking I'm committing a major driving offence!)

I have always thought the best logos are powered

by an idea.Take the Fed Ex logo for example. Maybe a little subliminal, but just so simple how the contours of the E and the x form an arrow, which of course is relevant to the service itself. Brilliant.

And not on such grand and international scale but just as impressive, take the logo featured on the van. No overworked and complicated typography, drop shadows or colour palettes, just a one colour logo with a big idea that is relevant to the product. And so simple. And simple to print.

Both photographs by D Wilson

Isn't it funny what some teenagers think are 'dire' whilst to others it 'inspires'

My daughters and their friends never cease to make me chuckle.

Take last weekend we were all watching 'Britain's Got Talent' which is more like 'I think we've come to the end of the road talent' and we were chatting about the super cool dancer 'Steven Hall' and would they be embarressed or impressed if their Mum or Dad danced and lip-synced like him. They thought that was highly hilarious as they can't bear to see their good 'old' mum dance but said it would be really cool if their Nan or Grandad could strutt their stuff on the dancefloor like him!!

The following day we went to see the new X-men film and took one of their friends with us as she really wanted to see it as well. I thoroughly enjoyed the film (even better, I managed to stay awake all of the way through it!!). When we got back in the car the friend announced she'd forgotten to see if her Dad's name was listed on the credits! "Sorry" we all chorused "your Dad had something to do with the film?" "oh yes" she replied "he just does the animation/special effects and you know the new Andrex adverts, he helped on that as well, he's done loads of other stuff as well" she added. My daughter's were really impressed but the friend didn't seem too bothered she was more embarressed that he'd helped on a toilet paper advert.............

Now I'm thinking back to when I was a teenager and cringed as I think about how I felt about the things that my Mum and Dad did, be it their work or how they danced. Still I've got my Sister's 40th birthday party this coming weekend I wonder how the girls are going to react when I start dancing next to them...............Should it be "Mum" dancing or should I start practising my "Steven Hall" routine?????

Picture courtesy of itv.com/bgt2011

Cow hoof & ankle soup and Behavioural Economics

This post is a rare combination of something that has inspired me at the same time as being dire. You’ll catch my drift in a moment.

I was reading the magazine in last Saturday’s Times. It was a food special and contained an article from a food journo talking about his worst ever meal.

It turns out that the Armenia is renowned for its shocking cuisine, amongst the most heinous dishes is, wait for it ‘cow ankle, hoof and brain soup’. Hope you’re not eating your lunch as here comes the recipe - Strip the hair off each ankle and pop the ankle/hoof combos into a pot with one lovely fresh cow brain. Simply simmer for 36 hours, scrape off the fatty floating deposit and voila delish. Serve with lashings of vodka with a side order of garlic.

A meal fit for a king – non?

Well yes, absolutely, and now here comes the ‘inspire’ bit. The whole popularity of Khash as it’s called, is due to what BE calls ‘scarcity value’ The whole reason it became so popular in the first place was due to the king of Armenia seeing his servant’s children looking healthy and asked him what they ate. The servant replied it was Khash and so the king, thinking it was this that would do the trick began to eat it himself (and who indeed wouldn’t imagine the health benefits galore to be enjoyed through the consumption of cow hoof?) Once the peasants got wind of it (and I can only image the wind one might get post Khash) it suddenly became super popular. So there you have it, BE applied to Calf hoof and ankle soup.

Image © 2005-10 MrC