D&AD Blog

Behind the Idea: Recode Decode

St Luke’s Creative Partner Al Young has spotted an innovative approach to promoting a major digital art exhibition.

The V&A launched Decode: Digital Design Sensations in collaboration with contemporary arts organisation onedotzero in December – the first time the museum has staged a digital art exhibition. The challenge was to create a campaign that would appeal not only to regular museumgoers, but also to a highly digitally literate audience. 

‘Karl Marx wanted the means of production to fall into the hands of the proletariat so that revolution could occur,’ says Young.  He believes the V&A matched these principles with its interactive approach to Decode, and it’s advertising campaign has followed similar ‘revolutionary’ principles.

Recode Decode was an open source campaign created by digital agency Saint/Y&R.  Recode not only promoted the exhibition but extended participation to the web.  Digital artist Karsten Schmidt was commissioned to create a piece of work that could sit at the centre of the campaign.

‘Schmidt designed the beautiful animated identity for the show and gave open-source access to the coding.  It allowed the masses to re-form and submit their own new design,’ says Young. 

Work was submitted to an online gallery and the best Recodes were then used to promote the exhibition on and offline. The V&A exhibited the best of them on CBS’ new digital screens on the Underground.

Saint/Y&R Creative Director David Gamble noticed that Recode submissions kept improving as the campaign ran on.  His team even noticed digital artists from the Decode exhibition submitting pieces of their own. ‘The work got better and more ambitious as people got to grips with the application and the code,’ says Gamble. ‘Just look at the piece by Matt Swoboda, it’s fantastic, and has raised the bar even higher.’

Young is impressed that the V&A has taken on this kind of exhibition. ‘This is the sort of collective affair you’d expect at the Hayward Gallery, ICA or Tate Modern – not the V&A,’ says Young.  ‘Karl, it seems you’re alive and well in the 2010 avant-garde digital arts advertising space. And so, Victoria and Albert, are you.’

Decode: Recode from directtovideo on Vimeo.

Ideas Playground

We've partnered with YouTube to create a space for the latest, most inspiring, groundbreaking and otherwise remarkable videos in commercial creativity.  The Inspiration Channel officially launches today as the central repository of ideas online.

The rules?  

Anyone can upload videos created through work or play.  Content uploaded and tagged will appear free for anyone to browse and view.  Regular and varied guest editors will be invited to select their favourites, starting with our CEO Tim. 

Disclaimer time:

Work featured on the Inspiration Channel has not been subjected to D&AD’s judging standards or process, however it will be quality controlled to ensure the content stays relevant.  Anyone can contribute to the Channel, making it an ever growing, always changing online resource.

Behind the Idea: The ad your ad could look like

Stuart Outhwaite is a creative at London agency Mother. Outhwaite’s pick is a TV commercial that hasn’t even aired in the UK, but turned into an international Internet sensation, racking up almost 6 million views since it launched in the US last month.

The ad is fronted by actor Isaiah Mustafa, who looks directly into the camera and tells women that although their men may never look like him, they can at least smell like him by using Old Spice. ‘I hate the people who made this ad for many reasons’, says Outhwaite.  ‘They've managed to revive a tired old brand from the seventies that even my dad would be ashamed to use and created a genuinely hilarious piece of thirty second joy.’ ‘They've also succeeded in making me feel pathetically inferior and “lady scented”,’ he adds.

Old Spice historically produced advertising that spoke specifically to men, but they changed the brief, asking agency Wieden+Kennedy to appeal to men and women at the same time.

Craig Allen and Eric Kallman were the team who had to meet the challenge.  ‘The idea came about by sitting quietly in a room and staring at each other for days,’ says Allen. ‘It was hard to do something that spoke to women, but also didn’t turn off men.’

The team knew they liked the idea of a suave, sophisticated tone of voice.  ‘It started with “hello, ladies” and kind of spiraled from there,’ says Kallman.

The commercial was shot in a single take.  Special effects were only used to allow diamonds to pour out of Mustafa’s hand and for the bottle to then rise up through it.  It took 3 days and over 50 takes before everything came together. ‘It was stressful,’ says Kallman.  ‘A take might be acted perfectly, but the shirt wouldn’t fall around Isaiah’s neck or he’d miss the horse.’

A set was built on a beach that created a boat with a bathroom on top.  A giant crane lifts the bathroom away at the crucial moment to reveal the boat.  ‘In theory this should work smoothly,’ says Allen, but on day 2 one of the safeties on the crane failed and sent the 1900 lb (860kg) bathroom set plummeting.  Luckily no one was hurt, but part of the set had to be rebuilt. ‘That was horrible,’ says Allen. ‘Not our idea of a good time, but I guess it makes a good story.’

All wrapped up

In early March, D&AD and Metro challenged UK creatives to design a coverwrap to inspire and motivate readers on their morning commute. Last week our jury worked their way through the entries.  They’ve selected an eclectic mix of work for the shortlist that they think will inspire Metro readers and brighten up your morning. Thank you to everyone who entered. 

Big thanks also to our judges, who gave up their time to pick the best work:

Kenny Campbell, Editor, Metro

Paul Brazier, D&AD President & ECD, AMV.BBDO

Ringan Ledwidge, Director, Rattling Stick

Alex Bec, Director and Editor, It's Nice That

The winner will be posted on our site on Wednesday evening.

And sorry for the strange font sizes - system problems.

Nominations

Outside

Inside

Sam Hall, Sam Griffiths, Sean Rees & Dave Wood, The Partners

Outside

Inside

Matt Statham & Chris McDonald, McCann Erikson London

 

Outside

Inside

Laura Keogh, Handstand Creative 

 

Outside

Inside

Jack Renwick, Alex Woolley, Samuel Hall & Sam Griffiths, The Partners

Outside

Inside

David Rose & Michael Shepherd, Five by Five Digital

Outside

Inside

Clare Théophane, Miranda Bolter, Freya Defoe & Steve Hickory, The Partners 

Outside

Inside

James Théophane

 

Outside

Inside

Jack Renwick, Samuel Hall & Alex Woolley, The Partners

Outside

Inside

Jay Phillips & Neil Clarke, McCann Erikson London

Outside

 
Inside

Clare Théophane, Miranda Bolter, Freya Defoe & Steve Hickory, The Partners

Go Digital Or Die?

As D&AD and Hyper Island announce our partnership bringing the Hyper Island Master Class to the UK, we investigate the skills gaps that the digital revolution has precipitated.

Most people feel a bit behind when it comes to that thing termed ‘digital’. Even hardened professionals admit that keeping up with the pace of change can be impossible. So how can agencies ensure they leverage the opportunities that digital media offer them?

There is a widely acknowledged dearth of graduates with the right skill sets and competition to recruit is fierce. A fact demonstrated by the high placement success rate of educational institutions like Hyper Island, who specialise in this area. So training existing staff is key as well.

Harry Fowler at Cogs Agency recruits talent with a strong digital bias to creative agencies. He thinks that training is essential if the industry is to avoid the same small number of skilled people being headhunted around the industry. The talent pipeline needs to be kept active and one way to do that is to retrain existing staff. ‘A crossover of skills is needed between traditional and digital agencies’, says Harry, ‘Digital agencies need the strong brand understanding and conceptual approach of traditional creatives. Traditional agencies need people who understand the process-led production of digital work.’

One agency that has taken the bull by the horns is Wieden & Kennedy London. The whole agency participated in the Hyper Island Master Class. ‘Whether we like it or not, we are all ‘digital’ now’, says Sam Brookes, Managing Director of Platform, W&K’s innovation unit. ‘We all live in that world, and we all need to be able to navigate it to a certain degree’. A sentiment echoed by Harry who points out that ‘The rules have changed and so have consumers, those that fail to skill themselves up will be redundant.’

Sounds scary, but many see it as an opportunity. Sam Brookes says, ‘One of the important things about the Master Class was that it didn’t make us feel inadequate. In fact the training affirmed that we were already fantastic storytellers and it simply gave us opportunities to do more of that, more of what we do best.’ The pay-off has been visible across the whole organisation. ‘We now have a much better idea how to act as an agency in this new landscape’ says Sam.

Here at D&AD we were keen to work with Hyper Island given their track record; they have placed graduates in almost every large agency in London and delivered their Master Classes to professionals around the world. Their learning philosophy has great resonance with our own approach to training, using experience-based learning as a foundation. ‘It is fantastic that D&AD are working with Hyper Island to bring this training to the UK’ says Harry, ‘Everyone should want and need this’. If you are interested in the Hyper Island Master Classes read further or email workout@dandad.co.uk.

Behind the Idea: Love it or hate it

Geoff Gower is digital creative director at archibald ingall stretton…  

A self-proclaimed lover of the classic and distinctive spread, Gower is impressed by a new campaign to launch the Marmite Cereal Bar. It takes a brave brand to acknowledge that some people may hate its product.  It takes an even braver one to run a national advertising campaign around the idea.  The campaign acknowledges that the cereal bar may be a product extension too far and plays on ‘love us or hate us’ advertising that Gower thinks has done wonders for the brand.

 ‘Spoof ads that play on advertising clichés will always be popular,’ says Gower.  ‘Using them to then bring consumers round to the view that a savoury cereal bar is reasonable is brave indeed.’

Created by ad agency DDB, the initial inspiration for the campaign came from wondering what would truly be a product too far, explains copywriter Will Lowe. ‘The art direction of the ads intentionally played on the advertising clichés that you see again and again; the child on the towels, the man in the shower, and the thin perfume model,’ says Lowe.

 
 
 

Marmite Perfume and Fabric Softener appeared online in early March. The hoax products initially bewildered members of the public who came across them.  ‘A number of the Facebook Love Marmite group members actually thought the products were real and have been trying to buy them,’ adds Lowe.

Meanwhile, two sets of posters launched nationally.  One set reveals the hoax with it’s strapline ‘This may be too far, but how about this?’  A second set is running without the strapline, leading the public to think that Marmite Fabric Softener might well be the real thing. 

The packaging for all three products was designed specially for the shoot and n sits in DDB’s reception in London. The perfume bottle is based on the original Marmite jar from the 1960s, which was translucent rather than opaque to show the product inside. 

‘This is a fun and engaging idea,’ says Gower.  ‘These days it's difficult to earn more than a few milliseconds of customers’ time but these ads really achieve this. Brands have to have enormous confidence to pull off ‘tongue-in-cheek’ so successfully.‘

Members' offer: The Future of Advertising…In One Afternoon

The APA, IPA and Contagious have organised The Future of Advertising…In One Afternoon and if you're a D&AD member you can get in for the special rate of £95 + VAT.

The afternoon is an update on the most exciting new advertising ideas.  In one afternoon away from the coalface, you can hear all the best new thinking and explore its potential for your business planning.

Date: Weds, 10 March, 12.45-6.30pm at BAFTA, London.

For more information and to book, contact 020 7434 2651 or email georges at a-p-a.net

D&AD09 launches next month

D&AD09: Creative excellence in design and advertising will launch next month.  This book is the result of D&AD and TASCHEN's partnership to make The Annual available to anyone.  Designed by Jeremy Leslie, it will be available in two versions; English, German, and French as well English, Italian, and Portuguese.

The D&AD awards panel judges over 20,000 pieces of work from design studios, advertising agencies, branding consultancies, film production and photographic agencies, digital media pioneers, and other creative firms from all over the globe. Winners receive the D&AD Yellow Pencil – or in the case of exceptional and outstanding work, the rare Black Pencil Award.

The TASCHEN D&AD Annual is an absolute must-have reference work for anyone interested in creativity, communication, design, or advertising.  It will be available to purchase from March.

For further information and to pre-order copies, visit: http://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/design/all/06756/facts.dad_annual.htm

D&AD and Doritos King of Ads

We have partnered up with Doritos in order to help promote the latest King of Ads competition. It’s their latest crowd-sourcing initiative, which looks at crowning an innovative, original and entertaining commercial as, you guessed it right, the King of Ads. Or as they put it ‘We’re all about getting it started. Sharing. Good times. Having a laugh. Irreverence. Think big, bold, flavours that are packed with crunch.’ So all of that needs to be packed into a 29 second long TV commercial which will be so different and cool that you’d want to watch it over and over again.

 

We are promoting the competition amongst you, our very talented and idea-driven friends. Everyone who is aged over 18 and lives in the UK and the Republic of Ireland is eligible to enter – and what would a competition be without a few incentives? The prize fund is a (very!) respectable £200,000.

What’s more, D&AD is offering students a second bite of the cherry as they can ALSO enter their work as part of the D&AD Student Awards 2010. For those of you living outside of the UK and Ireland and still in study the brief is open to you as are all the other ones. 

In order to help you get started we have 50 USB sticks which contain more information about the competition, the background and some tips and tricks. Email studentawards@dandad.co.uk with your name and address and subject 'Doritos King of Ads' – first come, first serve! And good luck to all of you!

The more things change, the more things stay the same

This week we are very pleased that Billy Mawhinney, Executive Creative Director at BJL and D&AD exec member is sharing his thoughts on how things have changed in the industry....or how they haven't!

"I’ve just seen a great Poster" is not something you hear very often now, but I did. Last week.

 

It’s a black and white photograph of a young boy in a wheelchair.

The hand written headline above him reads,  "He’d love to walk away from this poster too." It raises awareness and money for muscular dystrophy in a very challenging, interactive, bold and wonderfully simple way.

 

It’s also about thirty years old. It was done by a really great art Director, at J Walter Thompson, called John Knight.

 

We all knew him as J F K because as an East End London boy, John would regularly break up words and sentences with an expletive.

 

It was just after I’d joined JWT as a trainee art director that I met John. His girlfriend was Lorraine Chase and she was always coming in to meet her “Johnny” in our Berkeley Square office. She too was very cockney and as beautiful as John was handsome. (No really. If you walked into a bar with John, every woman in the place looked at him.)

Terry Howard was a writer in the next door office and after hearing Rainey’s distinct voice coming from someone so gorgeous he wrote the famous Campari Ad: “Were you truly wafted here from paradise?” she was asked. “Nah, Luton airport” came the reply.

 

Terry was also writing sitcoms at the time with Mitch Walker. They were doing Hollywood movie trailers that were being researched to see which way the scripts should go.

 

Berkeley Square was like a big old club full of rich and varied creatives. Even Dylan Thomas’s grandson was working as a copywriter alongside David Jones, later Bowie, in The Post Room.

 

We had a home economics group that would create products for our clients.

 

Mr Kipling was born, bred and baked at number 40.

 

After Eight mints were a slim invention for Rowntree Macintosh as was its chunky counterpart, the Yorkie bar.

 

Our shop at the back, which was just like a corner shop selling everything you seemed to need, was the first shop in the UK to go decimal.

When JWT were pitching for the business of telling the country about decimalisation, they did the pitch in the shop where they had converted every price from pounds shillings and pence. Or, knowing JWT, from guineas.

 

We even had a reference library where Jeanette McDonald spent every Monday morning going through the weekend’s magazines to cut out photographic and any other reference for a quite unrivalled support system for art directors. At that time it was our Google which no art director could do without now.

 

But there we were at an old fashioned advertising agency doing social marketing, creating TV programming, working with Hollywood, creating new products, using McGoggle and, when I started, all during a recession that was so bad most people were on a four day week.

 

So I’m glad John Knight’s poster is as good today as it’s always been and that thankfully what we do hasn’t changed much.

 

As Bill Bernbach said when asked in the early 60s what advertising would be like in 20 years time, he replied, "It’ll be the same in 20 years as it was 20 years ago. People with the power to touch people will be successful and people without that power won’t."

 

Or as Eric Cantona might say to the seagulls "Plus ca change plus la meme chose."