Rejuvenation or Obsolescence. The choice is yours

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about new beginnings, rejuvenation and their counterpoint obsolescence. Coupla reasons. Firstly, I’m leaving sunny England after 4 and a half years and returning to Canada. Tonnes of good in that, a few regrets. I’m also taking on a new role at a great agency. Tonnes of excitement, some trepidation. Like any “closing doors and opening windows” moment, it forces some reflection.

This reflection all came into sharp focus this week though when I was fortunate enough to attend a Master Class run by Hyper Island. Hyper Island is widely considered to be “The Harvard of Digital Creativity” and the course was fantastic. What was unique was the course location – Middlesbrough in Northern (and I mean waaayyy North) England.

Why Your Idea Sucks

I hear it all the time. In fact, I’ve even done it myself and just recently a good friend of mine said it to me over a beer: “man, I had this great idea the other day but I didn’t write it down.” Sounds like a pretty shitty idea to me…

Paul the Octopus is full of mussel shit and other advertising lessons as observed from the World Cup

I watched pretty much every game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, waking up at 7AM to get in as many of the matches as I could. Even when the ihaveanidea team was in Cannes, I made sure to not book important meetings around Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Holland matches. I cried, I screamed, I laughed. I vuvuzelaed. And today when The Netherlands went down to Spain in the Finals, after an entire month of dedicating my life to this ‘peaceful world war’ I realized that like the kids from South Park, I also had learned something today. And everything I learned I could relate to everyday life in advertising. Let the game begin…

HAVE YOU READ?

Ad Celebrity Book List: Jay Giesen

The environmentalists won. Now please go tell the environmentalists

AGENCY PROFILES

TAXI NY
Whenever you read stories and articles about TAXI, one the world’s most successful creative shops and easily Canada’s most globally recognized ad agency, you hear about how the name “TAXI” came about.

BBH New York
One of the first things I notice when stepping off the elevator and onto the 19th floor at BBH is how open and bright the agency felt. I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was until it was pointed out to me. BBH has no ‘corner offices’ or any other rooms that make use of the building’s exterior windows.

StrawberryFrog NY
Once upon a time dinosaurs ruled the earth. These dinosaurs were called global advertising networks. They included specimens like the Bureaucratosaurus, the infamous Egosaurus, and even the legendary Networkosaurus.

INDUSTRY

AD THEORY

EVENT REVIEW

AD CELEBRITY BOOK LIST

EDITOR'S PICK

How to Train Ideas to Come When They’re Called: Notes and Advice for Young People in Advertising PART ONE
In this article, I’m hoping to impart some useful information about advertising ideas and how one arrives at them. I’m hoping this information will bring comfort and peace and a touch more confidence.

How to Train Ideas to Come When They’re Called: Notes and Advice for Young People in Advertising PART TWO
Let’s talk about another process for idea generation. This process isn’t specific to advertising, but it can work very well for what we do. It’s called SCAMPER, and it is attributed to a writer named Bob Eberle.

How to Train Ideas to Come When They’re Called: Notes and Advice for Young People in Advertising PART THREE
What happens if you do something unexpected with your product or your medium or an everyday object? Many years ago, Volkswagen found a way to make the shape of their car say something about thrift in tough economic times.