If This Is A Blog Then What's Christmas?

I have to confess something: if I’ve posted an ad on here that’s longer than a minute, chances are I haven’t watched it all the way through. Life’s just too darn short, and if they haven’t got me interested enough to spend the extra 30-60 seconds with them, well, that’s job not done, innit?

But on that subject, I happily sat through the 155 seconds of the above. It’s a cute idea very nicely written and made.

However, it is a bit of a rip off of One Man And His Dog*.

*Joke

(Thanks, Anon.)

I just read an interview with Jurassic Park and Spider-Man writer David Koepp.

The interviewer asked why everyone thinks they are qualified to change screenwriting:

William Goldman said once that it’s because everybody knows the alphabet, so everybody thinks they can write. And, by extension, everybody thinks they can change a writer because, basically, anybody can write. And it’s the cheapest, easiest part of the production to change. You can even have more than one [writer] going at once, which isn’t the case with a DP or an actor or anybody else. The majority of the other jobs involve a tremendous amount of upheaval because the majority of the other jobs on a movie don’t start until production. But because the writer works in the netherworld of development, where time can expand infinitely, there is much less risk and turmoil in changing writers. And you can always go back to what you had. It’s the hell of too many choices.

Does any of that sound familiar from your own line of work?

UPDATE: here’s another excellent article on the subject (thanks, S).

Terrible taxidermy (thanks, J).

Lovely tilt shift of the Rio Carnival (kicks off at 2:00. Thanks, P):

Seth Rogen hosts the Independent Spirit Awards very amusingly:

Wes Anderson from above and Tarantino from below (thanks, P):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNpVURAgG5g&feature=youtu.be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwO0rkbq_QU&feature=youtu.be

Somewhat insane and NSFW Odd Futures promo (thanks, M):

A fine and beautiful message from the Occupy movement (more here. Thanks, P):

600lb sumo wrestler vs 169 lb MMA fighter:

Kurt Cobain’s incredible vocal on Smells Like Teen Spirit isolated (thanks, E):

And if you still have time to kill, a blog about our inherent bias against creativity (thanks, P).

I like the idea, and it’s difficult to fault the quality of the execution, but something about this leaves me less than engaged.

Maybe it feels a bit overly sensationalised for my perception of the Guardian brand.

All the action movie music and supercool shots of cops and crime scenes made it feel like they were giving an already excellent product the kind of leg up normally found on an episode of CSI: Miami.

For me, that’s not The Guardian.

Here are this year’s ten.

I liked Chipotle a great deal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=aMfSGt6rHos

And while we’re on the subject of TED, here’s Ridley Scott’s TED talk from 2023 (which is directed by Luke Scott and comes from this site):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7YK2uKxil8&feature=player_embedded

(I haven’t watched it yet, but it looks pretty interesting.)

Yesterday I received the following email:

Hi Ben,

Nice one, Emily. If you can help, or you’d like to get Emily to do something very clever for you, click on her link and get in touch with her.

While I’m here I’ll just remind you that the Landmark Forum introduction for media peeps that I mentioned a few weeks back is tonight. I’ll be there, so do pop along, if only to tell me how well my blog passes the crucial moments between the first coffee of the day and the decision to make stool.

The advent of the internet has given us many great things, and yes, some of them have even been ads.

But since BMW films showed us that web-only advertising meant that you could dispense with rules and regulations there have not been enough corporate messages that have really pushed the boundaries.

Well, the K-Swiss Kenny Powers work has really taken things to the next level.

Swearing, violence and plenty of product.

It’s what a sports shoe ad should be.

Let’s face it, most of us don’t really get the full benefit of an Adidas trainer vs one from Nike or Asics. They’re all pretty good, so the purchase decision just comes down to which brand you like best. Before the Kenny Powers campaign I thought of K-Swiss as the lowest of the low: dreadful name, awful design, terrible advertising. But in one fell swoop they have jumped to the front of mind when it comes to trainer choice (I must admit I still haven’t bought a pair, but that’s mainly because they look like shit) and as far as I’m concerned that’s advertising job done.

And this latest spot is just another great addition to a great campaign.

*It’s just coincidence that the last two ads I’ve really loved have featured loads of senseless violence.

Ol’ Dirty Bastard is funny (thanks, J):

Star Trek’s Worf being denied for fifteen minutes (thanks, P):

Nice movie poster tumblr (thanks, M).

Antique Store Home doc (thanks, P):

Brilliant messing around with model cars (thanks, V):

Time measured in fast food (thanks, P):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTu6EsLg_B0&feature=youtu.be

Cats as fonts.

The best title sequence in many years (if you’re lucky/unlucky enough to be an art director, set it to full screen and top volume).

A bunch of pictures that brilliantly sum up the Nineties (thanks, J).

Tom’s Diner/Taxi Driver mashup (thanks, P):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElM9u4AbL7A&feature=youtu.be

Cassette Boy vs The News:

My friend (and TBWA creative) Paul Pateman’s new illustration site. Maybe hire him or something.

hristopher Walken reads ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ (thanks, J):

Do you ever notice how Martin Sorrell’s predictions always get quoted in the press despite being utterly crapulent?

Every few months he comes along and predicts recessions to be certain shapes (‘L’, ‘V’, ‘Bath’, ‘Dog’, ‘Fanny’ etc.), then we watch as at least one of the several possibilities comes true. It’s like aiming at a target with a shotgun: only a complete idiot could fail to hit the bullseye.

But, y’know, he’s Sir Martin Sorrell, and people have to fill media sections of newspapers with something, so they keep on quoting the guy who can see the future about as well as Stevie Wonder can see his socks.

This time he’s telling us how much advertisers and readers will be looking forward to a Sun on Sunday.

I guess he’s right. It will indeed sell quite a few copies to the many people who miss reading that newspaper that listened in on the voicemails of a murdered teenager and printed the diary of a bereaved mother without her permission just to make some more money for a billionaire. But then I could have predicted that. In fact that’s what I just did a couple of sentences ago, because it’s completely fucking obvious.

And yes: advertisers will also be looking forward to placing their messages somewhere that lots of people will read them. The SoS will be an extension of The Sun, so if compamies don’t have a problem advertising there on Thursday then they’re unlikely to have a problem advertising there on Sunday.

Unlike Dickhead (see the comments section of the ‘Brand of the Free’ post below), I don’t have a problem with him ‘abusing his knighthood’. I find knighthoods quite funny because they have little or no actual value: a bunch of people think you did something good or owed you a favour and decided to give you some letters to go before or after your name. Nothing else changes. You get no more power. Many, many, questionable people have been given them and some people use the award as an excuse to behave like giant bells. So where’s the merit in that?

Anyway, back to Sir Martin of Sorrell: of course the diminutive tycoon wants to promote the Sun on Sunday. It means that WPP’s clients will be spending more media and production cash through his agencies, lining his pockets still further AND giving him the opportunity to slurp Murdoch’s bunghole again.

What could possibly be wrong with that?