The Unsuitable Blog II

@PukkaMatt @cressy_5 offside lads. Rubbish. ;)

2011-08-08T15:30:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from millersjon's posterous

In the Chair.

2011-07-12T09:22:00.000-07:00

Me? Steve Price of Unsuitable & One Black Bear? Chairman of PACE? With my reputation?

Well, age and fatherhood has certainly (slightly) mellowed my social antics of late but it's with the greatest of pride and pleasure that I take the helm of this grand old institution. It's certainly been an ever-present in my career to date. The PACE Christmas Lunches of years gone by being the stuff of legend in the depth and breadth of their debauchery!

But being involved in the organisation for the past few years has made me realise what a good thing PACE is and an initiative that deserves to be preserved as the world around it continues to turn itself inside-out.

I’m allowed to chair PACE for two years and you won’t find me trying to turn it into something it’s not. For me, PACE is about three things:

Networking, Enjoyment and Altruism.

My own network has been significantly broadened - with significant business gained in the process - since I got involved and I’ve certainly had a lot of fun. The charitable side of PACE, however, is something that is often overlooked with many thousands of pounds being raised for worthy local causes each year and not a penny profit made by anyone involved.

The perception of the creative industries is often a cynical one, and those of us plying our trade in advertising still suffer the red braces ‘greed is good’ stigma from the 80s. I, for one, take a great deal of pride in ‘giving something back’. Warren Buffett levels of philanthropy it isn’t, but it’s gratifying to do what you can for good causes and supporting PACE and its charities by attending an event is about as easy as it gets.

*polishes halo*

Now... have I talked to you about membership???

Liars

2011-06-30T07:33:00.001-07:00

Take a look at the copy here http://www.fonesure.com/business/index.html

In particular the passage that reads: "Replacement handsets provided within 48 hours with a 7-10 day turnaround for repairs."

Turns out I'm mis-reading this. It doesn't in fact mean that within 48 hours of me reporting that my phone is broken, I will receive a replacement and if it can be repaired, it will be done so in 7-10 days.

What it actually means is that I phone them up, report the fact that the phone is dead. They then email me a claim form which I have to fill in, print out and post (yes, post in 2011) back to them. This should be with them tomorrow, let's say 24 hours.

They then send the claim form through to the claim assessment department, who will then (if everything is in order) send me a bag in which to send off my phone, so another 24 hours minimum.

On receipt of this bag, I then package it up and send, at my own cost, recorded delivery off to the repair department. Another 24 hours.

They then look at the phone and if it can't be repaired (I guarantee it can't) they will inform me "usually within 48 hours but up to 10 days" - let's give them the benefit of the doubt and hope that they will do this in the 48 hours I was quoted on the phone.

After this, they then say they will have a replacement phone to me within 48 hours.

So, at best - a replacement phone will be with me in 168 hours. At worst, 384.

Posted via email from millersjon's posterous

As always, @ST3VEPR1CE is off to a flying start.

2011-06-18T02:37:00.001-07:00

Posted via email from millersjon's posterous

Steve Price - PACE Chairman

2011-05-17T08:41:00.000-07:00

Big congrats to our very own Steve on becoming Chairman of PACE for the next two years. Read more here.

New NatEx game from One Black Bear

2010-12-08T14:46:00.000-08:00

Our sister digital agency, One Black Bear, has developed a new online game for client, National Express Buses. Launched for Christmas, the task is to drive through the festive traffic collecting presents, puddings and snowmen along the way. Play it here.

Probably the closest we'll ever come to Mad Men

2010-11-15T00:27:00.000-08:00

Here's the positioning of one of our ads for Helps Stop Snoring in today's Telegraph.

Rangemaster ads make it on to The Drum

2010-08-17T03:58:00.000-07:00

Click here to read all about it and see the ads.

As seen on TV...well almost

2010-08-09T12:57:00.001-07:00

In one of the world's weakest claims to fame, we had an image we shot for EIC last year appear on tonight's Gadget Show thanks to Sony World Photographer of the Year and friend of the agency, Martin Brent.

It was used to test the best photo printers. Well done Mart, you're a star in the making.
You can watch it here in all it's full colour glory.

Please vote for B-Hive

2010-08-05T11:34:00.000-07:00

You may or may not remember that we worked on a campaign last year for the brilliant student placement scheme B-Hive. Well, the scheme and website (created by One Black Bear) are up for an Invisible City award, which is promoting the creative talent of Birmingham. So, be a darling will you and add your vote. Just click here and then click a star. It's that simple. Voting closes on August 13th so don't hang about. Thanks.

That's surely in contravention of Health & Safety.

2010-08-05T07:20:00.000-07:00

We're doing a mailer at the moment for Rayburn to support the launch of their website, which was built by our sister digital agency, One Black Bear. We needed reference to the lids, so off we went, camera in hand, to the AGA shop in Mailbox, only to find we needed to get higher for the perfect angle. Cue very nice sales chap who instantly lent us a step ladder. Mailer will be ready to see at the beginning of next month.

A sad divorce in Adland

2010-07-14T11:45:00.000-07:00

I was sad to read today that one of the greatest agency-client partnerships in advertising came to an end this week after 28 years. Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) has resigned one of its founding clients and the basis of its legendary creative reputation, Levi's.
My favourite (although let's face it, if you're of a certain age, you grew up on this advertising and they were all great) was the 1992 ad "Swimmer".

James and Matt are toast

2010-07-12T02:36:00.000-07:00

So, James and Matt have left us to head down to the smoke on a placement there. Obviously they won't like it in that there London and will be back where we'll be waiting behind a big wall with Cilla and open arms like some long lost twin sister (80's TV references are great when referring to people who are just into their twenties).
In the meantime, we'll have this lovely toaster they bought for us as a reminder of their HOT ideas - geddit?...Sorry.
Good luck guys.

Ooh we are flattered.

2010-06-29T02:50:00.001-07:00

Back in the 90's (when everything was brilliant) we did an ad (press and poster) to launch the Subaru Forester Turbo. Simple idea, as this was an offroad vehicle that went very fast we put a speed camera on a forest trail. We won loads of awards with it both here and in the states and it appeared in quite a few books and journals as well as making the cover of a Contact (Automotive photographers) book.
Everybody was happy, especially us, as this lead to quite a nice pay rise and bonus.
Now, ten years on and with the help of a couple of students (Matt & James - very good by the way) here on placement and that thing they call the internet we've found quite a few other people who liked the ad too.
Named and shamed, they are: McKee Wallwork (USA) with their work for Porsche; Ogilvy & Mather (Austria) with an ad for Ford; Gramm Werbeagentur (Germany) for Range Rover and most recently Saatchi & Saatchi (Australia) with an idea for Toyota.
So, pure coincidence or a little plagiarism? Whichever, we're just proud to have had an idea all those years ago that seems to have gone on to win so many awards around the world and worked hard in shifting product for so many different brands.

Original links from here.

Hospital work gets picked up by the Birmingham Post.

2010-06-14T07:27:00.000-07:00

If you click here, you may also see the online ads in action. They're the one's with the plasters on. Click here to see the posters etc.

Hospital work gets coverage on The Drum

2010-06-07T05:34:00.000-07:00

Read about it here. See it in situ here.

Unsuitable win a Heist Award

2010-06-07T04:00:00.000-07:00

We're proud to announce that we've won a Heist award for our BCU work in the 'Best Integrated Campaign' category. Rich and Steve joined the BCU marketing department at the Palace Hotel in Manchester to collect the award and have a few celebratory drinks.

Woo hoo, another bit of new business.

2010-04-14T08:37:00.000-07:00

Read all about it and how excited we are on weareunsuitable.com

Everybody say hello to Helen.

2010-04-11T02:29:00.001-07:00

Read all about her here.

Pixels takeover New York and then the world

2010-04-10T10:41:00.000-07:00

How long before it becomes an ad for Sony?

PIXELS by PATRICK JEAN.
Uploaded by onemoreprod. - Arts and animation videos.

Made it...just.

2010-03-19T03:21:00.000-07:00

By the skin of my teeth - thanks to all who voted (looking at the position, that's all 3 of you). Now just need to sit back and watch the new business fly in the door. Read more here.

Does not breaking the law break the system?

2010-03-09T08:29:00.000-08:00

The other day I was reading Unpaid internships 'breaking minimum wage law' on the BBC website and started to worry.
You see, here at Unsuitable (and our sister agency One Black Bear) we often take design and advertising students on placement, as well as kids from schools who are thinking of taking up a career in the business. We don't actively pursue them and we have no set policy on how they're treated, what they'll do or how long they'll stay.
We don't offer any sort of payment (except in the case of the B-Hive winners or those like our latest recruit, Helen, who impressed us so much in her first unpaid three weeks, we asked her to do another 6 months paid to make sure it wasn't a fluke - it wasn't and she's now on the full time pay roll).
This non-payment policy, it appears, is breaking the minimum wage law. So, what is to become of the humble placement?
Well, according to the article, you can only get away with not paying them if they're an observer and not asked to do any tasks that you'd normally pay someone to do.
When we take on an individual or team, we don't want them to just sit around looking over your shoulder and making the odd cup of tea. We want them to get involved and experience the real world and what they can expect, should they break into this industry.
And that means answering live briefs - if the ad/design was to get through, not only is it a great thrill for the originator at having their work become real but we would also pay them (or buy a gift as a reward) - it hasn't happened as yet though.
Now some of the students who come in are really keen and a pleasure to have around the place, others, well quite frankly I don't even notice them being here or them leaving. The one's who are buzzing around, asking advice and interrogating why things are done the way they are, I'm sure get more out of the experience than those who sit quietly in a corner and try to sneak out of the office at 4.30.
If we are breaking the law, we need to assess how we do this. Do we start to pay? Well, no. Not for two weeks but anything longer, yes we would and rightly so. Do we stop them working on live briefs? Can't see who would benefit from this. It creates more work for us and less reward for the student, so I can't see that happening. Or do we just put a stop to doing placements (internships)? I for one think that would be a sad, sad day for agencies and students alike.

New account win.

2010-02-17T15:45:00.001-08:00

Read about it here.

Johnny Cash Planner

2010-01-15T12:09:00.000-08:00

We here at Unsuitable and One Black Bear have got ourselves involved in setting up and launching a company to help people better manage their money and educate school kids on money matters, so we hopefully don't see the financial meltdown again that we're just going through.
A new website is on the way (johnnycashplanner.com) but in the meantime we're trying to build up a social side to it. So, if you'd like to help us transform the nations finances and the future of financial learning, please become a fan on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and help us spread the word.
If you'd like to get involved as a Beta tester once the site goes live, you can sign up here. Thanks.

The most frustrating part of running an ad agency is that sometimes you are at the mercy of people you wouldn't hire to sweep the lobby.

2010-01-11T05:49:00.000-08:00

Quote c/o The Ad Contrarian.

Why????

2009-12-14T09:45:00.000-08:00

First there was McCanns with that awful "Show me the way to integration" and now this from Publicis. Why do agencies feel the need to do this?

Get that B-Roll

2009-12-12T03:13:00.000-08:00

The 2009 Bully Awards

2009-12-07T00:44:00.000-08:00

Over on the supreme Ad Contrarian's blog, the votes have been counted and the stiff competition whittled down to one amazing piece of marketing bullshit. If you're unaware of the masterful piece of nonsense, that is the 'Pepsi Breathtaking Design Strategy take a look at it here.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

2009-12-02T09:13:00.000-08:00

The Christmas edition of Family Time, the magazine we bi-monthly produce for Colourful Tree went to print today. Last big Christmas themed job of the year (unless someone's got something i'm not yet aware of).

Cream Awards winners

2009-11-26T07:13:00.000-08:00

Last night (25/11/09) saw the 2009 Cream Awards ceremony take place at the Jam House in Birmingham. We had a nomination in the 'best business to business' section and were kindly given a bronze for our ad "Web".
Although we're not going to get carried away with winning a bronze, it was nice to be collecting a Cream again after a few years in the wilderness.
The event took on a new format (well, times are tough at the moment for most agencies) and gone was the massive hall at the ICC, complete with black tie and dry chicken dinner. Now we were in a pub, wearing casual gear with no seats and miniature burgers to mop up the drink.
It was different but was it better?
Well, there were a lot of mixed feelings on the night depending on who you talked to but my two penneth, for what it's worth, is I thought it was a good night. The whole thing felt a lot younger, there was a lot more chance to catch up with colleagues and peers from years back and the room appeared to be almost 100% agency people rather than 40% client guests that needed looking after.
Maybe as I get older, the evening was more about the social catch up rather than the winning bit (I would say that, having not won much) but it was good to spend the majority of the night chatting to old mates rather than spending hours waiting for someone to travel 200 yards across a vast hall and climb the steps to a huge stage (repeat this 40 or so times and it becomes a tad drawn out).
A big congratulations must go to Golley Slater Cardiff for their excellent Army ads that picked up the Grand Prix - absolutely head and shoulders above anything else and deserved winners.

We've won a CIPR award...sort of.

2009-11-23T06:30:00.000-08:00

Well done to the PR team at Sandwell MBC on picking up a silver at this year's CIPR awards. It was for the rogue trader campaign that we produced the Yee-Ha!! work for. You can see it here.

Please vote for us.

2009-11-11T07:13:00.000-08:00

We've just received 'The Drum Power 100 2009', nomination list and Ross Riley & myself (Jon Harrison) are on it.
So, if you've got 30 seconds spare, please pop over to the site and click on our names (the list is first name alphabetical). We're not a big agency, so we don't have the power to instruct hundreds of employees to use their vote. So please, be a love and tick our boxes. Thanks.

New client - new ads

2009-11-09T09:45:00.001-08:00

The Godfather

2009-10-31T00:55:00.000-07:00

If you know anything about the history of advertising, you'll know only one man has had the title of 'Godfather' on his business card. This is his website showing some of the great thinking that earned him that title. As you'd expect, the copy is excellent and the arguments compelling but what surprised me was some of the art direction is quite simply divine. Why I should be surprised by the genius of the man, quite simply, well err, surprises me.
If you're interested in the slightest about how to converse with people in print, take a look.
Thanks to Steve's website for pointing out its existence.

Google, a short history.

2009-10-28T03:53:00.000-07:00

Google has become such an integral part of all our lives but how did it happen?

Happy Birthday to the banner ad

2009-10-26T13:27:00.000-07:00

Today (27th October) marks the 15th birthday of the banner ad. Read all about it here.
Scary to think how far this industry has come and how it has impacted on all our lives in a such a short period of time. I mean, in 1994, i'd just got my first job as a junior art director at an ad agency called Wallis Tomlinson and none of this could have possibly been imagined.
I didn't even get a computer until 1999 and even then, I had to share it with my copywriter (fellow Unsuitable and One Black Bear geezer, Rich Elwell), we got a laptop (blue clamshell mac, with the little handbag handle) so that we could pass it across the desk to each other. We took it in turns to take it home, not sure why as neither of us had a home internet connection until well into the new millennium.
How times change. To think, i've only had a laptop for ten years and I now watch more TV on it than the actual telly itself.

Burn your portfolio

2009-10-24T01:51:00.000-07:00

Jon Harrison: Burn your portfolio from B-Hive Creative on Vimeo.

Here's some advice for wannabe ad creatives and designers. Recorded for the B-Hive site.

TV reel added to YouTube

2009-10-24T01:37:00.000-07:00

Due to popular demand (okay, one potential client wanting to see our reel) we've finally got round to putting our reel on YouTube.
See it here.

Latest ad hits the press

2009-10-07T15:36:00.001-07:00

Read about it here.

the local

2009-10-05T10:18:00.000-07:00

i was having a mooch around more canals than venice when i found this image of our friday boozer, the old crown. the pic is from c.1857 but the pub dates back to 1368.
if you look closely though you'll see the fashions haven't changed much, especially when rich joins us down there.

WWF animation from Bostock & Pollitt

2009-09-24T11:32:00.000-07:00

Our friends down at Covent Garden (who we worked with a couple of years back on the Bristol film we did) have produced this fine piece of animation for the WWF showing what difference people can make as individuals.

Wanna Viral? Try catching swine flu.

2009-09-21T07:37:00.002-07:00

We often (okay once or twice) get asked by a client or potential client to solve all their marketing woes by producing a viral video. The conversation normally goes:
Client: "It's easy to get attention these days for no money isn't it?"
Us: "Well...."
Client: "No, it is. My brother's mates' cousin's auntie did a funny video in her kitchen for her homemade cakes in 1998 and she's selling loads now. I received it from three separate people on email and it's been viewed on YouTube by six times the population of Venezuala."
Us: "Think we just need to..."
Client: "Take that 'Compare the Meerkat' thing for instance, that started viral and got so popular that they could afford to put it on TV - I want one of them. [sings] Compare the Meerkat dot com."
Us: "I don't think it quite worked like that, they did have a sizeable budge...."
Client: "So let's just do something funny but on brand and send it out there, shouldn't cost more than what, a couple of hundred quid? Simples"

According to recent YouTube research, a video has:
a 3.1% chance of getting over 1000 views
0.3 percent chance of getting over 10,000 views.
0.001% of getting over 100,000 views
Average views for a YouTube clip is less than 50, with 65% of videos failing to get more than 50 views.
More than 20 hours of video is uploaded every minute.

Latest stats say that the average person has a one in five chance of catching swine flu. So, after you've been infected, had your course of Tamiflu and stopped coughing over everyone, come in and talk to us about virals, we'll even get the meerkats out and maybe introduce you to the world of Viral Ad Networks etc. But be warned, if you want to do it, take it seriously and throw a bit of dosh at it, not just what you can find down the back of the marketing budget sofa.

Cream Nomination

2009-09-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

We just got a CREAM nomination for this ad. We've won a few over the years (80+) but it's the first time we've entered in a couple of years so we're quite excited all over again. Wish us luck, we're up against Big Communications for their WKD work in the best B2B category.

How do you make 600 black spots interesting?

2009-09-07T23:54:00.000-07:00

Found it today on today and tomorrow

Pantone Swatches

2009-09-07T13:35:00.000-07:00

Just seen these on wemadethis and I think they're brilliant. It's their idea and I hope Swatch put them into production. Only thing is, I don't wear a watch.

Classic games animated

2009-09-03T03:52:00.000-07:00

If you're of a 'certain age', you'll love this. Originally seen on hellokinsella

2% Polar Bear Tears

2009-09-02T12:41:00.000-07:00

Ad found on branddna to promote Tappening, an organisation promoting the use of tap water over bottled water.

if all else fails...blame the economy.

2009-08-25T13:40:00.001-07:00

Got to admit, there's an element of truth to this

2009-08-25T12:51:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Hey Okay for this.

Lego never seemed this much fun when i was a kid.

2009-08-24T15:25:00.000-07:00

thanks to helen (@musictotheeyes) for pointing this out.

It's got HORNS!!!!

2009-08-24T02:31:00.000-07:00

Continuing with the plug/socket theme (this is starting to turn into an unhealthy passion) how cool are these? Sockets with horns so you can hang stuff you're charging on there. Originally seen by me here.

Some days, some people make me feel like this

2009-08-19T02:30:00.000-07:00

but today the sun is shining and I'm feeling happy...for now.
originally seen on ffffound!

Why can't more thought be put into these things?

2009-08-17T14:04:00.000-07:00

originally seen at wemadethis

Reckon we've had to work with worse in our time

2009-08-17T04:21:00.000-07:00

courtesy of yourlogomakesmebarf.com

About bloody time

2009-08-16T01:22:00.000-07:00

Must have been bored in the office that day

2009-08-15T01:06:00.001-07:00

Originally from here.

Best invention i've seen in years

2009-08-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

As someone who carts my super slim mac, along with its annoying power lead complete with bulky plug around everywhere I go, this would be most welcome. A big hats off to Min Kyu Choi the inventor behind it all. Originally seen on We Heart Stuff and you can find out loads more there.

Finish each day

2009-08-12T23:34:00.000-07:00

Found on FFFFOUND!

Keep Walking

2009-08-12T01:38:00.000-07:00

An amazing, amazing ad from BBH - back to their very best with this.
Read an interview with the director here.

Sometimes it's better to just do nothing at all.

2009-08-04T12:50:00.001-07:00

Found on FFFFOUND!

Subvertising

2009-08-04T12:37:00.000-07:00

Don't they realise that what they do draws more attention to what is mostly wallpaper advertising. Most agencies (and I guess clients deep down) would love someone to paint 'LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT ME' all over it.
Originally seen on The Drum website.

Team bonding

2009-07-28T09:10:00.001-07:00

Originally seen here.

I have nothing but the deepest respect and admiration for talent that is capable of this

2009-07-23T12:50:00.000-07:00

courtesy of adchick.

How Ca$h Converters should advertise

2009-07-23T12:38:00.000-07:00

Does your other half want a gun for Valentine's Day?

Genuine picture of a piglet squid

2009-07-20T07:57:00.000-07:00

Originally seen here.

We'd like just the one percent if that's okay.

2009-07-20T07:41:00.000-07:00

Originally nicked from here.

The Central Office of Information (COI) spent £40m on digital marketing in the year up to March 2009, up 84% year on year, according to its annual report and accounts.

The report showed government departments and public sector bodies spent a total of £540m on marketing and communications through COI during 2008/9, an increase of 43% on the previous year.
Over the period of 2008-2009, £211m was spent on advertising, a jump of 35%.
The report, published today, found the COI’s centralised buying position meant it was able to negotiate a 49.9% reducion in media costs, saving £241m.
Mark Lund, COI’s CEO, said, “The need for government to communicate with the public is greater than ever as society faces challenges such as obesity, climate change and the recession.
“Changing behaviour is difficult, but the benefits to the taxpayer and society can repay the investment many times over,” he added.
COI launched campaigns raising issues such as obesity, smoking, road safety and climate change.
Last August, COI created virtual teams to work across projects combining creative and media to help respond better to cross-platform briefs.

The early part of our careers

2009-07-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have had the misfortune to know us for a good few years now, you'll know exactly what we mean. funny.

When your phone goes pop

2009-06-23T22:59:00.000-07:00

Pop Corn téléphone portable micro-ondes
by sassiere

Sonic the Hedgehog is 18 today

2009-06-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a tweet by @cybrum and a blog post by the Guardian, I've found out that the little blue spikemeister is 18 today. Makes you think, what were you doing on June 23rd 1991? I was putting the finishing touches to my BTEC ND in graphic design at Rotherham College of Arts and Technology, I think. The memory ain't quite what it used to be.

A pictoral history of Twitter

2009-06-22T23:20:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of Manolith

Well I never...

2009-06-17T17:00:00.000-07:00

Did You Know? from Amybeth on Vimeo.

What does a typeface subliminally say?

2009-06-17T14:21:00.000-07:00

There's a whole load more here.

Unsuitable gets a bit of bling from bing

2009-06-16T13:16:00.000-07:00

Following my post a couple of weeks back on the launch day of Microsoft's bling 'Don't have a fling with bing' can I quickly reassess my earlier thoughts. Just done a search today and we're now top, numero uno, the daddy when it comes to searching for 'unsuitable'. woohoo, didn't take them long to find us and you can now find us even quicker whether you use bing or auntie google.

Stand by your 'tuter.

2009-06-16T13:03:00.000-07:00

Online advertising will account for over a third (36%) of all adspend by 2013, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers Entertainment & Media Outlook. Group M, which predicts that online adspend (which, in 2008, accounted for 24.8%) will eclipse TV (26%) this year.

World's fattest book

2009-06-15T18:12:00.000-07:00

Originally seen here.

Great pharmaceutical ads from yesteryear

2009-06-12T03:47:00.000-07:00

Visited this site after a twitter from @si.

Scamp has scampered off

2009-06-08T06:52:00.000-07:00

Sad day today as one of my favourite bloggers has decided to hang up his opinions to concentrate on writing a book. Good luck with it Simon.

Knuckleheads And Geniuses

2009-06-04T01:04:00.000-07:00

Just read this from The Ad Contrarian. More or less sums up why I love and hate this job in equal measure. Well, maybe the love bit wins out. One thing, it's never dull.

Google Earth, Flickr and Twitter combine to show the world the smallest park in the UK

2009-06-03T15:52:00.000-07:00

Prince's Park in Burntwood (round the corner from where I live) is tiny - three trees and a bench to be exact. Not very interesting I know. But I posted some pics on flickr and Google Sightseeing picked up on it. Hey presto, one tweet from them and views of the park rocket.

Boone Oakley

2009-06-01T11:51:00.000-07:00

Steve found this and although it's not really in our nature to promote another agency, this is worth us breaking with protocol. Brilliant, just brilliant. Word of warning: if you're a male Marketing Director who looks like an egg, there's some disturbing scenes.

Don't have a fling with BING

2009-06-01T02:00:00.000-07:00

Well, Microsoft have launched their rival to the mighty Google: BING (Because It's Not Google). Well, knowing that we come No.1 in the global search term for our agency name "Unsuitable" I thought I'd try out BING. Well, the results were disappointing to say the least. We didn't feature on the first 100 pages. So, although we should all welcome the millions of dollars that Microsoft are going to throw at this, I, for the time being, am sticking with Google.

Another quality furniture store ad from our friends over the pond.

2009-05-30T02:19:00.000-07:00

Mmmmm, I'm saying nothing.

2009-05-28T09:46:00.000-07:00

Jonathan from Spotify

2009-05-28T04:05:00.000-07:00

Click here

The agony of the post pitch wait.

2009-05-20T03:21:00.000-07:00

Don't know why (after all these years) I still struggle in the days and sometimes weeks after a pitch to settle down properly. Having taken part in what must be 200+ pitches in my career to date it's the bit of the job I hate. I love pitches, absolutely love 'em. The thrill of the chase, the interrogation of everything, the late nights, the arguments and not forgetting the pizza. But the waiting for the phone call (or more likely email in today's rude society) is agony and it's not getting any easier as I get older.
Take today, the day after a pitch that we'd really like to win (like nearly all of them). I'm on edge, tetchy and argumentative (even more than usual). I've got loads of work to do and at least two of the briefs on my desk are for new business, so it's not as if I haven't got anything to take my mind off it.
Does anyone else out there suffer post pitch blues or is it just me?
How do you switch off from what has gone and concentrate on what is to come?

Campaign Unframed

2009-04-30T13:23:00.000-07:00

Andy Whitlock has livened up some of the serious mug shots from Campaign on his flickr page.

Are you watching DFS? THIS is how you do TV ads.

2009-04-22T14:53:00.000-07:00

Yep, now i'm scared

2009-04-16T04:32:00.000-07:00

Best film promo line...ever.

2009-02-12T15:09:00.001-08:00

Cut out and keep Hoff, you know you want one.

2009-01-27T05:05:00.001-08:00

Original available here.

If you love Apple, you'll love this.

2009-01-22T02:51:00.000-08:00

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/01/the-evolution-of-apple-design-between-1977-2008/

History of Apple design 1977 to present day.

Men Working Online

2009-01-15T13:08:00.001-08:00

Men Working Online
Originally uploaded by Documentally

Gotta be a use for this. Ask though as it's not mine. c/o documentally on flickr.

Star Wars, in a nutshell

2009-01-15T07:37:00.001-08:00

Star Wars: Retold (by someone who hasn't seen it) from Joe Nicolosi on Vimeo.

When experiential marketing goes bad

2009-01-14T14:48:00.000-08:00

apparently she's still having nightmares when she sees something wobble.

FIRE!!!!!!

2009-01-09T03:30:00.001-08:00

A more innocent time in football's history.

2008-12-29T07:51:00.000-08:00

Rotherham Town v Thornhill 1902.
Wondering whether to wear a Top Hat to Don Valley on Saturday.

Hangover cure

2008-12-21T12:14:00.000-08:00

Not sure this would work on any of the hangovers i've ever had but am going to try it with my next one.

Massage:How To Massage Away A Hangover

Garethisms #2

2008-12-03T06:14:00.000-08:00

Another gem from Gareth Bear:

"Rather than reviewing this new contract every three months, maybe we should do it quarterly?"

You couldn't make it up.

Legend

2008-11-14T15:50:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Mr Rees for sending this over.

Box to play

2008-11-12T06:29:00.001-08:00

I really want one of these. via Tak!