Virtual Reality, other innovations and what it might mean for brands

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dIvGaJZ8Cc This is worth a watch -especially from about half way through (Declaration of interest- Lars leads the team in which i work at Google -known as The Zoo). Lars explains what the Zoo is,what work it does and (most interestingly) introduces some of the cool stuff that we are going to see in Gaming andContinue reading “Virtual Reality, other innovations and what it might mean for brands”

So have brands really changed that much ?

One of the little joys of the Goodwood revival is a re-created Tesco store from the early sixties- complete with packaging from the era. It is almost worth the price of the ticket. Most striking thing for me was how little packs had changed: some like Marmite and Heinz have just been refreshed slowly overContinue reading “So have brands really changed that much ?”

The death of demographics and its consequences

Age and social class are no longer a reliable way to predict to beliefs and buying habits. Identities and tastes are fluid. In truth they may always have been but now the anonymity/freedom of city life means now we feel more liberated to express who really are.People from conservative cultures like China and India hankerContinue reading “The death of demographics and its consequences”

Nine predictions:what the digital revolution will bring

Pundits say that anyone who claims to know what the digital revolution will bring is engaged in a confidence trick. My experience of publishing books and articles about digital futures suggests four things -We can’t predict a decade ahead with any confidence -A technology trend that is against the grain of human nature will most likelyContinue reading “Nine predictions:what the digital revolution will bring”

Some things were better in Don Draper’s day

Fans of Madmen may remember an episode when Don makes a client sign a creative brief – the idea being that the brief is a form of contract that a client makes with the agency.It made me nostalgic. This was common practice when i worked for Lintas and Ogilvy in the 80s – but nowContinue reading “Some things were better in Don Draper’s day”

Why brands decided to save the world

Last year The Cannes Awards saw many examples of brands trying to “do good business by doing good”. I expect this year there will again be many awards entries that aim to engender brand loyalty by being good corporate citizens. Aurora commissioned me to write a piece about this undoubtedly  big trend. I have takenContinue reading “Why brands decided to save the world”

Spotted at DA&D judging week

I was wandering around looking at the work at D&AD judging week when this one caught my eye. Even Stella Artois – known in certain circles as “wife beater” for bringing “rocket fuel” lager to the general public in the 90s- is getting in on public good branding.     At first sight you thinkContinue reading “Spotted at DA&D judging week”

The old offers are the still best

I used to work on the Amex account at Ogilvy and during the 1980s Ogilvy and Amex invented many of the new rules of database and promotional marketing. One of the perennial  winning offers was called Member Get Member– if you introduced five new members you got a case of wine. Wine was always theContinue reading “The old offers are the still best”

Lust, Violence, Drunkeness, Power, Fear

Got your attention ? I think that too explains why Rubens was so fabulously rich and successful in his lifetime. He pandered to most of the basic human drives in his lifetime. His paintings are the old master equivalent of watching one of Paul Greengrass’s Bourne identity films. All action. all of the time. Leaves youContinue reading “Lust, Violence, Drunkeness, Power, Fear”