Thursday, July 29, 2010

Sliding

This has actualy been sitting in my 'Drafts' tray for a few weeks...apologies



It doesn't look subversive.

It's a slide from Sam Davy, former Global Creative Director for Apple, at last week's State Of Design. It represents Apple's attitude towards marketing and advertsing.

'Help your customers get the most our of their product.'

It cedes control of the brand entirely to the people who use it.

It passes ownership, to them.

It says 'You know what to do. You decide what to do with our products, and we'll help you do that. Whatever that is.'

It's about ownership, not sales.

It assumes that people are to be around for longer than the ringing of the till.

Actually, it is pretty subversive.

Seen in Dan Murphy's, Frankston

Seen in The Age

I just love this, I do.

And I don't even like duck.

Cooking Dinner Vol. I from William Hereford on Vimeo.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

The 100% Project launches



The 100% Project was offically launched last week by Federal Minister for the Status Of Women, Tanya Plibersek.

The Project, headed by Frances Feenstra (pictured below), seeks maximise 100% of Australia's leadership talent, female and male, equally contributing to Australia's social and economic future.



Able & Baker have been very proud to help out with brand strategy and identity.



You can find out more, here.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Fishing for birds.



I saw this poster at the train station near the Able & Baker office.
We're in a rather fashionable part of town. Lots of pubs, clubs and music venues.
The walls around the station are plastered with fantastic posters for festivals, DJs and semi-obscure touring bands. In some places, posters are placed over posters over posters. A dozen deep.
In amongst all this uber-hippery, in the last place you'd expect, there's this quaint, traditional and rather daggy poster for a wedding photographer.
In a wedding magazine, it'd be lost.
But amongst all the cutting edge graphics around it, it absolutely stands out.
In the 1800s, the American writer Washington Irving stayed at the splendid Alhambra Palace in Spain. Perched high on a hill, overlooking the town of Grenada, the Alhambra was circled by birds that had learned to drift above the range of hunters' guns on the plains below.
Irving observed boys from the town standing on the walls of the palace, throwing fishing nets and capturing the birds below from the unexpected angle.
In advertising, there is usually a 'right' way to do things.
A right way to photograph a car, make a burger look enticing, show a family moment.
Because it's the right way, everyone does it that way. And it instantly becomes invisible.
The wedding photographer is fishing for birds. It's not a bad theory, is it?

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

New Blu

Proof once again that imagination and sweat beat money and FX. Every time.

BIG BAG BIG BOOM - the new wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.