Creché: the new advertising term of 2008
Posted on
2008-Nov-12
at
08:27
You know when you see an ad, either as a creative or a consumer, and the concept at first seems interesting or fresh, but you know you've seen it enough times that it's gotten old.
I've created a term that I think coins that idea or feeling: Creché. It's a combination of the words creative and cliché.
Let me give you an example. Have you ever seen a headline on an advertisdement where the copy states an idea or concept, but then one of the words is crossed out to change it into the opposite or a different meaning. For example, a print ad has the line "I can not find the time", but the word "not" is crossed out or something is now obstructing it, making the copy now say, "I can find the time". That is a creché!
Another example maybe using a Rorschach test (ink blot test) as the visual for your ad, and the product or the shape of the product is the is the focus of the ink blot. I know it's a different and somewhat of a creative idea, but has been used enough that I would now consider it creché.
I don't know if there is already a word out there that represents this idea, but I know that I haven't heard it yet. So I am taking this opportunity, as of 8:38 pm EST on 11/12/2008, to announce the birth of Creché.
Use it as you wish and at your discretion, but if asked where you heard it, remember this blog as it was copywritten by a copywriter on this very blog. Thank you, goodnight, and may your life be Crechéless!!
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Huh, with some Wow!, and alittle Oops!
Posted on
2008-Oct-27
at
12:29
Does anyone follow these blogs? Do you "subscribe" to these or just check them every day/week/month to see updates?
The reason I ask is that my first instinct when writing this new blog was to "apologize" for waiting so long to make a new entry, but then I thought to myself, "Aron, do you think you have some kind of following or something?". Like I have fans or blog subscribers that are logging on saying "Damn, why hasnt Aron posted anything yet? That son of a b****!" That was my "Huh" of the day.
My "Wow!" of the day happened when I got some time to sit down and catch up on the show Heroes on NBC. Love this show (but I find it hard to keep track with what happened to everyone that got the show to where it's at, does that bother anyone else?). But anyways, this season we're introduced to a new character named Daphne. HOLY COW! She is hot. Her real name is Brea Grant, awesome first name btw!. I went to her website breagrant.com and watched a few of her video blog. She is awesome. What I wouldnt give to meet someone like her, she beautiful, outgoing, smart, etc, etc. (the second etc is the best part). So she's my Wow! moment of the day.
Finally, if anyone is still with me at this point, my Oops! moment of the day. Have you ever gotten off an elevator, either at a hotel or you apartment building, thinking it was your floor then went to the door that should be your door if it were your floor, then stuck your key in the lock and tried to a minute or two to get the lock to open, only to realize then that this isnt your floor and your probably scaring the living hell out of someone at this moment. I've been in their position before, hearing someone jiggle your door and lock, thinking someone is about to barge right into your apartment while your sitting on your couch.....naked (shutup, we've all had those days where you find yourself on the couch with the awesome "let 'em hang where they will" moments). So there's my Oops moments of the day!
Hope you, someone, anyone, found this entertaining. More to come later......this to my fans and ardent followers of course.
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Comedy Script
Posted on
2008-Aug-26
at
10:34
Recently, we had to tell a story based on a random visual in our Brainstorming class. My visual was that of a female boxer. Not one to do an assignment within the normal guidelines, I decided to write a short excerpt of a sitcom script instead of a narrative. I have posted the scenes I wrote in hopes that someone might comment back and give me a small bit of confirmation that I have the ability to write humorous material that not I alone believes is funny. Enjoy!
[Interior] A New York City apartment
{Open} Mark enters the apartment and goes to sit on the couch next to Lisa, his fiancée.
Mark: Hey, honey.
Lisa: Hey! (looks at him oddly) Is that what you wore to work today? That tie and shirt don't go together.
Mark: (sighs) Are you going to wanna start dressing me again?
Lisa: Well I didn't think I'd need to anymore. (pause) Not since the suspenders and belt fiasco of 2007
Mark: Well Sara thought I looked nice today
Lisa: (eyes widen, looks surprised) Sara?
Mark: Yea, you've met her. She works in my department. She's below me
Lisa: (blank stare, looks mad)
Mark: (sees he's confused, he doesnt know why, then realizes why) BELOW ME!
Lisa: Oh, phew!
Mark: Yea, but things are getting a little weird. I think she has a thing for me. She flirts an awful lot.
Lisa: (looks confused) She the beautiful blonde, right?
Mark: Yea
Lisa: (looks smug and laughs) And she’s flirting with you?
Mark: What? You don’t think another woman could be attracted to me? You apparently feel for my charm.
Lisa: And by charm you mean getting wasted on our first date and making me clean up your vomit?
Mark: Some guys bring flowers, I pass out on bathroom floors. It’s a different move, but it works.
Lisa: (laughs) You have your weekly happy hour party tomorrow, right?
Mark: Yea.
Lisa: Well I think I'll drop by; I have to see this (making quotation fingers) “flirting” for myself.
Mark: Ok, but I warned you, so you cant get mad when Sara is all over me.
Lisa: Unless the bar is a giant bathroom floor, I don’t think I’ll have anything to worry about.
[End Scene)
[Begin Scene]
[Interior] A local pub filled with young professionals relaxing after work
{Open} Lisa walks into the pub, sees Mark and goes over to him; where he is standing with
Sara, the beautiful co-worker. They are both laughing hysterically, and Lisa sees that Sara has her hand on Mark’s arm. She looks surprised and quickly walks over to them.
Lisa: Mark, hey honey (pulls Mark away from Sara and hugs him; turns to Sara) Hi! Cindy, right?
Sara: Uh, Sara.
Lisa: Oh, right, Sara! I’m Lisa, Mark’s fiancée (shoves her engagement ring in Sara’s face). So what were you guys talking about?
Mark: Well Sara was telling me about how she modeled before she came to work here.
Lisa: (with an angry expression on her face) Modeled, really?
Sara: Yea. I was totally telling Mark that he is way cuter than any guy model I’ve worked with (She rubs Mark’s arm for a few seconds while giggling)
(Mark looks at Lisa and smiles)
Lisa: (Interrupts) Now, modeling, that’s where they do all that airbrushing on your flaws to make you look prettier right?
Sara: Well sometimes, but that’s only used on models that are like, waaaay older, like….. 25 or 26!
(Mark chuckles, Lisa’s expression gets angrier)
Sara: Actually, the directors always said I had one of the hardest stomachs they’ve ever seen. See! (She takes Mark’s hand and puts it on her stomach)
(Mark gives Lisa the “I told you so” look)
Lisa: (Lisa has had enough and pulls Mark’s hand away) ALRIGHT MISSY! That’s enough. In case you didn’t hear me, I said Mark was my fiancée, which is French for “keep our anorexic hands off him”
Sara: Well I don’t see a ring on your finger?
Lisa: (looks at Sara with an extremely confused look. Brings her ring up, looks at it, looks at Sara, looks back at the ring, looks at Sara again). I…I just……you know what? Nevermind, I’m just going to kick your ass.
(Both girls start slapping at each other. Mark jumps in to separate them)
Mark: Girls, Girls! Stop it! This is ridiculous. This isn’t how adults act, especially in a bar. (long pause; the girls look at each other sort of apologetically) We have to get tub of jello and white t-shirts!
Lisa: You know what? I saw a boxing gymnasium across the street, why don’t we go in there and settle things.
Sara: Fine with me!
Mark: Awesome! Let’s go! (to Lisa) How are we going to get that tub of jell-o up into the ring?
[End Scene]
[Begin Scene]
[Interior] A boxing gymnasium. There are boxers working out and practicing all around the gym, with the boxing ring in the middle of the room. Many of the bar patrons are gathered around the ring.
{Open} Mark and Lisa are in one corner, and Sara is in the other. Lisa and Sara are both outfitted in sparing gear. Mark is rubbing Lisa shoulders as she stands in the corner getting ready.
Mark: Sweetheart, are you sure you want to do this?
Lisa: What? You don’t think I can take her? She can’t weight more than 90 pounds
Mark: No, of course I think you can take her, you’re like twice her size (Lisa glares at him) No, no, no. I don’t mean twice her size like you weight twice as much, I’m just saying your bigger than her in general (Lisa continues to glare) N-Not that your big, I’m just …..saying, you know, it’s just that……..Is that a new hairdo, I LOVE IT!!
Lisa: Just give me my mouthpiece
Mark: (hands her the mouthpiece, grabs it hard from his hand) Love you…
(The referee enters the ring, and heads right over to Sara. They both embrace each other in a long hug and start talking and laughing. Lisa sees this and looks confused)
Lisa: Mark! Mark! What is that all about?
Mark: (seeing this) Hmmm, I don’t know!
(the referee comes over to Lisa’s corner)
Lisa: Um, excuse me. Do you know her?
Referee: Who Sara? Yea, she’s a regular here.
Lisa: WHAT?
Referee: Yea, this is where she trains and works out to get in shape for her Photo shoots. She’s in amazing shape,
have you seen her stomach?
Mark: (smiles) Yea, I felt it! (Lisa hits him) And it was gross! (Mark and the referee both roll their eyes)
Referee: (to Lisa) Alright, when the bell rings, you come out fighting.
(the referee goes to the center of the ring. Lisa has a horrified look on her face like she just made a huge mistake. Sara yells from across the ring)
Sara: Hey Lisa, don’t worry, while you’re in the hospital, I’ll make sure to take good care of Mark
(music begins. In slow motion, Lisa’s face turns from horror to straight anger. She starts to grind her teeth and she makes some growling noises while hitting her boxing gloves together. The bell rings. Lisa runs out of the screen to start fighting leaving Mark in the picture. He starts to wince and react to what is going on in the ring. His facial expressions are ones of terror)
[End Scene]
[Begin Scene]
[Interior] The same pub where they had the happy hour party
{Open} Mark and Lisa are sitting at a table. Lisa’s face is dirty and bruised, and she is holding a bag of ice to her eye.
Mark: That was incredible. There was so much sweating and screaming!
Lisa: And I would have fought her better if you wouldn’t have been doing that!
Mark: Yea, sorry!
Lisa: I feel bad for Sara though. I wonder how long she’ll have to be out of work?
Mark: I don’t know. They’ll probably need to find out if bite marks are covered under the company’s insurance
Plan
Lisa SHE BIT ME FIRST!!
Mark: (puts is arm around Lisa) I know.
[END]
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Olympics - More than just games!
Posted on
2008-Aug-10
at
11:13
Over the last day or so, and probably over the next couple weeks, anytime I've turned on my TV, I've turned it to the Olympics. There's alot of stories I really want to follow in this year's games, mostly Micheal Phelps and USA Basketball. However, there's one story I've found way more fascinating so far, China.
I wasnt sure what to expect from China. Here in the US, its seems all I hear when regards to China is about how it's a communist country, they have a horrible human rights record, conflicts with Taiwan and Tibet, etc. But then watching the games and reading more about it's people, I start to get the feeling that it's kind of painted in a bad light. True the bad things I just listed are facts, but I get the feeling, when looking at a country, you have to separate the country's government from it's people. The people of China are a great people. They are very respectful, harmonious, and peaceful people. I mean, these are a people who live their everyday lives based around the idea of Chi, which is about bringing peace to yourself. Even their religion is focused on harmony, balance, and peace (and they actually follow those ideals too)
From the start of the Olympics, everyone I've listened to and read, have nothing but praise for Bejing and the people. With exception to the horrible tragedy to the family of the men's volleyball coach, it's said that Beijing is one of the safest, most comfortable cities in the world. Just in watching all the games so far this week, not once have I heard the crowd boo or heckle any athlete or team, regardless of which country they come from. Would you expect that from an American crowd? No way, we'd boo alot of the teams like France, Iraq, etc. In fact, they cheer for everyone, of course the cheers are louder when the Chinese team is involved. Look at basketball, when the Chinese people are asked who their favorite player is, Yao Ming ranks 6th....SIXTH! He's a national hero, but they favorites are guys like Kobe, Lebron, and D-Wade. I actually watching the US vs China basketball game right now, and there are as many cheers for the US team as there are for the China team.
I think the American people can, and should relate very well to the Chinese people. We are another country who is struggling with it's worldly image, and I think the same thing can be said for us. You have to separate the image of the country's government and it's actions, from it's people.
This isn't the Cold War Era Soviet Union type of place we're talking about here. Yes, China is a Communist country. Wait, let me rephrase that...their government is a Communist government. Their people are not. The government is wrong in many of the things they do, but we shouldn't paste those atrocities onto it's people.
Again, I compare it to the US. We live in a Democracy (term used very loosely) in that we can elect our leaders, but once they are in office, we're kind of powerless. If we disagree with the goverment's actions, what can we do. As a people....nothing. You might say, "Yes we can impeach", but that's not something we can do as a people. We have to rely on our other elected leaders to actually do that. So again, as a people, we are limited in our power. We only have power every couple years. For example, if our leaders decide to declare war or invade another country and the people dont agree with it, what can we really do about it. Nothing, until the next election comes around and we just replace those leaders with other ones. My point is, when is comes to the social image of it's people, its government is not a good measuring stick (although ideally, it should be)
On a much lighter note, I was extremely impressed with the Opening Ceremony the other night. It was such an amazing productions. Some of the effects and they way those participants worked together in sync with each other was beyond belief. I think China had done an amazing job so far with the Olympics and I can't wait to see what they do next.
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Getting our feet wet
Posted on
2008-Jul-18
at
10:23
We are about 2 weeks into the first quarter here at MAS, and the assignments are starting to build up. Don't get me wrong, it isn't anything mind-blowningly overwhelming (yet), but enough to keep me busy.
There's two classes I'm taking right now that I really enjoy more than the others because they have more to do with thinking, creating, writing, etc. One is our Brainstorming class. At the beginning of each class, we do an in-class exercise to warm up our brains. So far, the exercises have ranged from writing for thirty minutes about anything, to creating all the ideas we can on starting a new theme park. I really like throwing out ideas in a big group format, because it allows us to build on each others' ideas, and that way we come up with some really cool stuff.
The other class is my Copy Techniques class. This class is the one so far that we've actually been assigned to come up with actual ad campaigns. Our first assignment was to come up with 3 different ad campaigns with three print ads for each campaign concept. The product was Diet Coke, but we weren't allowed to use a diet concept (i.e. nothing about diets, calories, fat free, etc). We had to advertise Diet Coke based on taste, refreshing feeling, etc. We presented our campaign ideas in class, and I seemed to get pretty good feedback. I was real happy with what I was able to come up with, and think they are something that I can actually produce and try to put in my book and into award shows (eventually, when we actually start doing production work on ads)
This week in Copy Techniques, we got an assignment to do the same thing we did this last week but with a gym company called Fitness Together. We get to work in groups this time and in our first brainstorming session for ideas, I think we can up with some pretty strong concepts.
I honestly cannot wait until we get to the point, hopefully, in this quarter, but maybe next quarter in which we start actually producing our work with the art directors here using Photoshop and Illustrator.
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Ad School! Why?
Posted on
2008-Jul-10
at
12:36
Why did I choose to go back to school after being out for couple years? And why Ad School? Honestly, there didnt seem to be any other option. It was either continue to work and find a job in which I could learn to be happy with and eventually fit my personality into, or step outside the conventional lines of employment, do what will make me happy by using my best qualities, and get into a career that defines my personality.
Even when I started in college, Advertising was right there in the bag choices of what to do, which is why I got into Marketing as a major. Unfortunately, what I didnt know was that Marketing and Advertising, although commonly thought to be the same thing, are actually extremely different. Marketing was more about market research, numbers, promotions, sales, etc. It wasnt the creative field that I wanted it to be. Basically, I want to create the ideas and concepts in Advertising, and allow the Marketing people to use those ideas and concepts in whatever way is needed.
I know when I was researching Ad Schools, once I decided this was the path I needed to take, I scoured the internet for any kinds of information about the different programs available. I looked for reviews, awards, publications/articles, and most specifically....blogs. I wanted to see what the people who were in the position I was looking to get into were saying and what information I could get from reading their blogs. I did get some useful opinions and thoughts, which is why I wanted to make this entry. I don't think there is any way there could have been TOO many blogs available, so I just wanted to add another one for any of you other future Ad Schoolers who want all the info and options they can find.
The reason I chose Miami Ad School (further referenced as MAS) was for a couple different reasons. First, it seemed that most of the top student awards, specifically the more prestigious ones, were won by MAS students. The work I saw seemed to have more of a trendy and international feel to it, which I think is important and where the industry is leaning toward right now, and will be more heavily emphasized in the future. The second reason I chose MAS was because of the Quarter Away opportunities. This is a program MAS has set up to allow their students to study and work in other places in the country as well as many other international sites in the student's second year. The experiences I would get working in different cultures with different people would be invaluable, not to mention the chance to see more of the world.
These are just a couple reasons why I made my decision. If I posted all of them, I'd be typing for couple more hours. I am more than happy to answer any questions that anyone has regarding choosing an ad school or about ad school in general. I will do my best to answer with whatever info I have, remembering I am only in my first quarter so I wont have too much info to offer.
Cheers!
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First Blog Entry!
Posted on
2008-Jul-8
at
07:28
So this is blogging, huh! I'm just supposed to write about stuff? Easy enough! Sorry for the lame rhyme, that'll be the last time. Ohhh ; ) I'm a poet and I DO know it.
Ok anyways, I started this blog as a way to let my friends and family keep up with what I'm doing, as well as a way for me to keep up with myself. From what i've been told many times, these next couple years will go by so fast, that I thought I should try to keep a record of it in case I let myself pass it by.
This is my first week of Ad School and today was my second day. I haven't actually had a class yet. Yesterday was the first day and we had an orientation in the morning, where we toured the school, got our IDs, meet the other students in my class, and had a video conferencing session/Q&A with the directors of the school. They seem like really great people, and can't wait to meet and talk to them in person. Later that evening we had guest speaker, two creatives from Crispin Porter here in Miami, that work on teh Burger King account and are responsible for all their most recent ads including the King commercials and the Jr. Whopper/Spicy Chicken kids commercials. Pretty cool!
Today we had a technical workshop in order to learn some tricks about how to use some of the software and functions of our laptops.
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