Image credit: Roman Coppola, Nokia Lumia 920 Ad
A bride and groom stand at the altar, eyes gleaming, before we are introduced to the wedding party separated by aisle and choice of phone – Apple or Samsung. Arguments turn to aggression, giving way to a full on fight, in which every prized feature of iPhones and Samsung smartphones are mocked. I challenge even the greatest fanatics not to bear a grin, regardless of what they own.
Image Credit: fuseproject.com
… or is it a bore?” That’s what the head of creative services at Braun once said to me when I presented some stripped back Dieter Rams inspired pack design concepts for a men’s shaving range to her. Did she have a point, in our pursuit of a clean minimal aesthetic had we gone to far, had we lost some emotional engagement?
Last week I went to see the sold out production of ‘The Audience’ starring Helen Mirren as the Queen in London’s West End. A ticket I had bought months in advance, and on a day that just happened to be the eve of Margaret Thatchers funeral.
A sad week for the design community last week with the news that Storm Thorgerson, one of the most influential album cover designers of all time, has passed away aged 69. The designer behind Pink Floyd’s iconic album covers, he pioneered the design of the LP sleeve into an art form, so much so that he was known as the sixth member of the band because of his close friendship and collaboration with them through the late sixties onwards.
UK supermarket giant Tesco has just announced a £1.2 billion hit from its venture into the North American market which has crashed and burned and sees them closing close to 200 Fresh & Easy stores on the West Coast. Just like Robbie Williams and Marks & Spencer before them success in the UK and other international markets is no guarantee that you’ll make it big in the States.
My name’s Rory McIlroy. Did you know that I earned about $15 million last year and got an MBE. I’m only 23 – amazing. I know a few things about buying a house – my manager sorted me out with a couple that I paid for in cash, so if you’re hard up and want any financial advice, I’m the man. Can you tell I’m looking at the autocue?
It appears that Mamas & Papas has had a face-lift, but post-op I’m not sure whether I see a fresh face or something over-worked?
Finally, a savvy bit of sports sponsorship. Unilever’s decision to partner with Lotus F1 for the next three years has paid instant dividends, with victory in the very first race of the season giving their Sure for Men antiperspirant prominent exposure.
Image: TheMetaPicture.com
A recent academic paper written by researchers Cambridge University claims to be able to predict personality based on Facebook Likes.Data was collected from over 58,000 volunteers in the US. The Likes were then fed into an algorithm, which aggregated various categories such as music, and TV shows, and matched with the personality trait information provided.
The predictive power of ‘likes’ is startlingly accurate and capable of providing highly sensitive personal information,
If you happened to be in South Africa in the last month you’d have the treat of flipping through three equally horrific news stories: ‘Oscar Pistorius - Paraplegic Mega Sports Star Kills Beautiful Girlfriend’; ‘Police Officers Lynch Taxi Driver’ and ‘Government of Free State Spends R48 Million (roughly 3,515,000 Pounds) on WordPress Website’. Wherever you are in the world you’ve probably heard at least one of these stories. Or you’ve been very busy.
This should be a huge concern for Brand South Africa. So what have the South African press done about it?
