Dedication to the MACHINE

Too funny... A dedication to Lindsey THE MACHINE Kendall who is ultimate Ninja. No drink is safe when she's around!

Future Regret?

Testing the water.. So I've arranged to get a finger tattoo with my friend at Easter. I'm thinking of getting this ^^ and my friend is getting a finger mustache (I think). Will i regret it in 10 years... probably.

HOWEVER..
This is my other tattoo and no regrets yet so bring on the finger tattoo..

The set up!

Obviously very technical.. not! I was just praying Alex didn't splash the camera. Thankfully it didn't rain so I don't need to book a studio. Result

Snap Happy!

Took a stroll round Ormskirk to get a few snaps of settings for my sketchbook..




I wanted to take some photos of the skate park but there were kids on there... I'm not feeling the possibility of being called a perve! I'll have to go back when the brats are at school..

SFX

My friend Alex said she'd help out with the splash project so I gave her the title "Special FX Coordinator" - she clearly loved it!




Health and Safety?

RESULT

So i mentioned I was doing my experiment to try and get a paint splash for my project... here are the results... well i've sorted through the 300+ photos I took anyway and picked some of the best.

MISS

Practice with water

Awesome

With just a potato... who'd have thought...

Maybe the one I'll use

I didn't expect it to turn out so well.. now it's time to put my photoshop skills to work!

Nashers is back!!

Kate Nash is finally back with new single "Do Wah Doo" and it's Awesome!

Experiment

I need to photograph a paint splash for my practical project at university because the vector images I have found aren't realistic enough. It's a bit ambitious I know.. doesn't help that I'm rubbish at science but oh well I'm going to give it a go (as soon as it stops raining).

After playing around with water for a couple of days I think I've got the technique mastered... however it could be a completely different story when white emulsion is added to the equation.

Disaster waiting to happen?

EPad

Genius!! Great new advert by E4. Saw it last night during the adverts for Skins, made me chuckle.

Manthem

Dove's new Manthem advert by Oglivy. There seems to be a Masculine theme running through adverts at the moment.. maybe 2010 will be the year of the man's man and we'll say goodbye to the metrosexual?

Porn-Chic

One of my favorite American Apparel ads from 2008..gotta love the tights!

Interactive Horror Film

I think this is a really good idea, makes it a lot more realistic for the audience. Plus imagine if you were the one the killer said he was going to kill next.. Nightmares..

Be Natural

I saw this on TV the other day, quite happy it's been brought back. Pretty cool advert if you ask me.

The Mint With The Hole

Polo's new campaign for the Middle East. Simples.

Gravity

Spotted something interesting last night.. I was watching Pixie Lott's new video for Gravity and noticed she was wearing Lacoste plimsolls (which has now been blurred on all the music channels.. can't have product placement can we)! The close up shot of the shoes shows her floating in the air, which reminds me of the Lacoste print campaign where they all float or are jumping in the air. Coincidence or clever marketing? If it's the latter it's under wraps.

Wishful Thinking?

According to the BBC and Metro Jay Z is trying to persuade Lily Allen to collab with him on stage at Wired festival. Fingers Crossed!

David Cameron = TIT

Can't say I'm a fan of the Conservative Party.. I'd actually go as far to say that they're all morons. David Cameron has now planned "Retribution on sales firms exploiting children" if he gets into power.

According to the Yorkshire Post
"New powers would also be introduced to outlaw "peer-to-peer" marketing techniques aimed at children, such as viral film clips carrying advertising messages which are shared on mobile phones and the internet and the recruitment of children as "brand ambassadors" to promote products on social networking sites"

PIPE DOWN CAMERON

Mansmell

Old Spice has 71 years of experience helping guys improve their mansmells with deodorant, antiperspirant and fragrances. Gotta love these adverts, they're so funny and portray the idea of the real masculine man.

Bits of the Brits!

Last night the Brit awards celebrated its 30th year in style. Lily opened the show with the Fear and looked and sounded amazing. Other performances included Dizzee Rascal and Florence and the Machine, Ellie Goulding, Lady Gaga, JLS, Cheryl Cole and Robbie Williams. Lady Gaga paid tribute to the late Alexander McQueen in a touching performance of Telephone and Dance in the Dark. A downside to the night was definatly Peter Kay as host, don't get me wrong he's a funny comedian but someone young and relevant would have gone down a treat. The MTV awards have the right idea with Katy Perry and Russel Brand.

The Winners on the night were:

British Female:
Lily Allen
British Male:
Dizzee Rascal
British Break Through:
JLS
British Group:
Kasabian
British Album:
Florence & The Machine
British Single:
JLS - Beat Again
Critics Choice:
Ellie Goulding
Brits Album of 30 Years:
Oasis - (What's The Story) Morning Glory
The Brits Hits 30:
Spice Girls - Wannabe/Who Do You Think You Are?
International Female:
Lady Gaga
International Male:
Jay Z
International Album:
Lady Gaga - The Fame
International Breakthrough Act:
Lady Gaga
Outstanding Contribution Award:
Robbie Williams

Helps You Say It Better

Little taster of a print ad from a brief I'm working on..

Bless Mike for posing for me :]

GOOD NEWS

Along with the rest of my University friends I have been nervously waiting for my dissertation results. We were called in one by one.. some people were ecstatic.. some were holding back tears.. I went in shaking and came out with a huge smile on my face! I was given a 2:1, I can't even explain how happy I am. Celebration drinks tomorrow night are a must!

"How do fashion companies create desire through their advertising? Focusing on the street style of 16-25 year olds and analyzing the case studies American Apparel and Adidas Originals."

T-shirt war

Cool stop motion animation viral! Two guys, lots of t-shirts ... what a mix. Executed extremely well.

Thanks Wired!

Mannish Aurora

Can't say I'm a big fan of this Swatch collection, the designs could have been better. BUT I love the heavy graphic style of the advertising, the colors are beautiful. Swatch also included free pull out posters in their print ads... thanks!

New Ideas

I spent all morning thinking of concepts for a brief... and after many big, expensive ideas I came up with an idea using:




Sometimes the most simple ideas are the best!

End of journalism as we know it?

In the last decade we have seen the rapid advancement of technology and with that the decline in newspaper sales. There is a clear correlation between the two. Newspapers can no longer be regarded as a mass medium and that has resulted in the migration of advertising towards television and the Internet.

People do not have the same consumption habits as they used to, they prefer to get news for free and at the touch of a button... or screen with today's technology!

The decline in newspaper sales means a threat to professional journalism as a whole. Audiences want control over their media, people do not want to be told what the news is, they want to find what the news is themselves. GET BLOGGING.

Goodbye to a brilliant designer

Forty year old British fashion designer Alexander McQueen was sadly found dead this morning. Named British designer of the year four times, he truly was an inspiration to those in the industry and followers of fashion.

Some of my favorite McQueen designs...

Burst of Beaden

BBC Olympics 2010 animation:

Comisioned by BBC / Red Bee Media
Agency: RKCR/Y&R
Director Marc craste
Co-Designer Jon Klassen
Produced by STUDIO AKA

Pretty awesome if you ask me. Jon Klassen is a very talented man and illustrator. His illustrations are always beautiful and natural looking. Kudos to whoever thought of this collaboration.

Xbox Advert

Lily joins forces with Xbox for their "sing it with lips" karaoke game campaign. The advert shows Lily and 2000 of her UK fans singing along to her number 1 single "The Fear".

According to The Creative Review "The campaign was the brainchild of director Coggins who was approached by Global Radio to create an idea for a new multi-platform campaign by Global's client, Xbox 360. His idea was to bring together thousands of everyday folk singing the song into a world where they appear to be singing along with Lily herself, incorporating all of the performances into a moving mosaic image - made possible thanks to the digital know-how of The Rumpus Room."

Well done Coggins for a slick advert

Lily does cadburys

This is rather funny if I do say so myself...



To say I'm a bit of a Lily Allen fan would be a bit of an understatement but regardless of that, this clip shows how advertising is a massive part of mainstream culture. Celebrities mocking adverts actually promotes them even more. We all love a good advert. Well done Cadburys.

Adidas & Star Wars Collaboration

Sneaker Freaker Look Book

To Be Honest!

I'm a bit of a sneaker freak and let's face it, the Star Wars/Adidas collab is bloody brilliant! Okay, so some people might think the whole Star Wars thing is a little geeky.. I won't disagree BUT and here's a big BUT who actually cares? It's pure nostalgia meets geeky-chic. My friend just bought a pair of these, I don't think I'd be able to pull them off but I feel a little bit cooler just knowing she bought the 1st pair! Go On Girl!

Drop Spots website

DROP SPOTS

Discovered this website a couple of days ago. It's a pretty fresh idea, people pick a spot in a city, put something cool on disk (nothing dirty I hope) and hide it there. They then add it to the map on the website for someone else to find. If this actually gets an ample following it could prove to be popular and very interesting. Postsecrets has proved we all love to share, this takes it to the next level. Of course it runs the risk of idiots discovering the website but on the whole I think it could prove to be big. I'll be keeping my eye on it...

This is how i roll...

University sometimes takes its toll...
and what better way to relax than to jump in a car boot.
On a serious note.. this is the parking methods my friends are reduced to at Edge Hill University. Makes for a lot of fun though.

Alright Moross

GET IN!!

Okay, so I first discovered a talented girl, with an exceptional voice and eclectic sense of style last May when I saw Lily Allen live in Manchester. I'm clearly talking ab0ut the talent that is La Roux. I then discovered none other than Kate Moross had designed her portrait tee which, let's be honest, I was dying to get my hands on. Much to my dismay I wasn't quite quick enough and they all sold out (not that I have ever bumped into anybody wearing one).

There is a happy ending! After my routine nosy at a few of my favorite designers websites I stumbled on the fact that these little beauties are back on sale! At only £15 what an absolute steal. Put me down for 10.

Acrylick

ACRYLICK

For my final year practical project I have to create the concepts for an advertising campaign for a company which either needs brand awareness or is struggling. I chose to do it on the clothing brand Acrylick as I love street wear and after some research discovered it was not very known in this country. I love the philosophy behind the brand, every design has a meaning behind it. I have started to develop my ideas and decided I will do an event launch (store opening), print, ambient and a competition. Disappointingly, I emailed a couple of people from the company just to ask if they would be interested in hearing my ideas and to get more info on them and I failed to get a response. SORT IT OUT. I distinctly recall them saying to get in contact for any reason (even to leave negative comments) .... You're missing out guys.

Ipad? No Thanks

So the Apple Ipad has finally been launched in the US and soon to be in the UK. I hate to be so negative (obviously) but the verdict is mixed. Okay, IT IS a cool gadget for the well off to splash their cash on... but let's face it if you already own a MacBook and an Ipod after a few plays it will surely be left in a draw somewhere. Or possibly banged on Ebay for a fraction of the obscene amount of money originally payed for it. The Ipad's inability to multitask was the main negative point for me, making it less like a Notebook and more like an over sized Ipod.

Not to be too negative.. I wouldn't mind a play on one and I'm sure they provide a good few hours of entertainment with the Internet, videos, games and music. We'll have to wait and see what the consensus is by Christmas 2010, maybe with some clever advertising even I will be won over. I won't hold my breath.

Crapberry

Is it just me or are Blackberry's new adverts a tad disappointing. With the tag line "Love what You Do" there are endless concept possibilities. The only advert that actually shows how the Blackberry has helped them achieve their goal is the one with the man and woman who have a lovers tiff. He then proceeds to text her and they make up. AMAZING CONCEPT GUYS. They are clearly trying to relate to their new younger audience through love, break dancing, fashion design and bands, however with the emphasis on these things the plot seems to have been lost along the way.

Future project: storyboard my own ideas :]

New Start

So finally decided to set up my own blog. It's only taken several years for me to actually pull my finger out and do it, which is odd as I'm a bit of a techno geek.

Advertising, music, illustrations and general interests all to come.
Ciao.