Christmas Noise

I saw this insert in USA Today earlier this month. Thanks to the reading program on campus, the residence halls receive free copies of the New York Times, USA Today and three local newspapers. The ad isn't entirely relevant anymore, because December 25th has come and gone, but this is a crazy idea.

In the ad, Sony is advertising noise-canceling headphones. They suggest you peel off the stickers and place them on a remote and luggage to show loved ones what you really want for Christmas. How will they know it's from you? There's no clarification on that. Maybe they're supposed to get everyone the same gift.

I would personally be pretty bothered if someone stuck something to my remote. When I want to take a sticker off -- and I'm going to want to -- I have to peel and pry at the thing for minutes. Then there's the paper that tore off and is super hard to get at. Lastly, the sticky grime that's left afterwards. That's going to make me want to get a gift for my friend alright.

The product isn't bad at all, but Sony is taking the wrong approach. I get why they are placing your ad for noise canceling headphones. Are they targeting the wrong person though? If Sony is advising you to put stickers where they would use the headphones, wouldn't that make them want the product more than to give it to you? Maybe it's a full-circle thing. You get one for me, I get one for you. I think it's a little bogus.

The art direction is nice. I like how they incorporate Sony's HDNA graphics into the print and into the stickers. They kind of look like snowflakes too. It makes some sense to put the graphics in, because it follows the design of Sony's other recent ads, but these headphones aren't HD. I'm not entirely sure about the copy, specifically, "From our studios to your ears, only Sony is true to music." Everything else must be a lie.

Everyone's Invited to Swim

Only the great will make it to the other side.

The annual D&AD Student Awards competition is in full-swing. The British Design and Art Design Award is one of the most coveted and challenging student awards across the pond and around the world.

There's no limit of entries, but they had better be incredible. The best of the best will be grading them. Each entry needs to be signed by your tutor/professor, or you can't enter. Can a 30 year-old grad student enter? You betcha. (Coincidentally, that's the same age as this award.)

Winners receive an oversize pencil whose tree's growth must have been stunted due to the greenhouse effect. But this little stump can be used as a pedestal to reach the next level, or a doorstop to save yourself from having a crushed foot.

The categories are: Advertising, Animation, Furniture Design, Graphic Design, Illustration, Integrated Communication, Music Videos, Open Briefs, Photography, Product Design, Social Design, and What Else Do You Do? Description for the last onereads, "Having already entered one of more of the briefs this year, you are now entitled to now submit an additional piece of work that has nothing to do with this or any other competition..."

Because this blog is about advertising, I will only list the endless possibilities for the Advertising category.

Postcard
Breastfeeding, Sponsored by Best Beginnings
Press Advertising
Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Sponsored by Breakthrough Breast Cancer
Outdoor
HSBC, Sponsored by ClearChannel
Viral
Nando's, Sponsored by Nando's
Ambient
London Fashion Week, Sponsored by Grazia
Writing
If Only I'd Listened More Carefully, Sponsored by Ogilvy
Direct and Online
The Army, Sponsored by TEQUILA\
Poster
The Royal Opera House, Sponsored by This Is Real Art
TV
Belu, Sponsored by Weilands

You can't literally drown if you don't win; you only fill your metaphorical lungs up with water and have to be resuscitated by determination. Or you could change majors (quitter). Before you enter, read this. Did you read it? Okay, the briefs are here.

D&AD will accept entries from students from Jan. 14 – March 20, 2008. The grading takes place in May, and the awards ceremony is in June. All of the 'A' work is accessible in June.

Good luck!

Nonsense

Exactly twenty days ago from today, the public chose a Web page concept for Nonsense, a creative agency in London. I cast my ballot in September. After voting, I entered my contact information and chose the "Just tell me when you have finished the entire project, as if I was one of your relatives" option. I am still waiting for them to contact me. It makes me wonder who else is waiting, or worse, who has forgotten about the whole thing.

The idea for their Web site is really smart. Free PR. Get the ad industry involved by having them post about the participatory election in blogs and online news sources. I'm sure there were other people who voted that aren't in the industry or even interested in advertising. A critical role agencies play is communication, and for me, Nonsense failed to communicate. It doesn't matter if the target audience was the ad industry or prospective clientele. Nonsense may have kept up with people who have their e-mail address ending in @ny.ddb.com, @bbdo.com, @ogilvy.com, etc., and not with the regular public. I don't know; maybe I was the only college student who voted. If the agency cannot create a dialogue with their product or brand, they aren't doing their job.

By the way, the winning vote was for 'The Rocking Chair Test'. The difference of 0.3% separated Media: Mixed from winning. On the Board was the big loser, with a 4.4% difference. This information is from their development blog, which Nonsense has created to update us on their progress. Hopefully they'll stay true to their word.

College Kids and Brand Influence

Fifty years ago, I doubt that you would see event flyers posted on walls in residence halls or on bulletin boards around campus. Today, you can't escape them. Recently I've been paying attention to the influence brands have on my friends here at Kansas State University.


Almost all of us are on Facebook and believe it should be added to the dictionary as a noun and an adverb. Unlike Tom on MySpace, Mark Zuckerberg won't allow you to be his friend. If Facebook didn't exist, I wouldn't have been able to make a connection with the moderate similarity of new colors on our hallway with the social networking site.















We visit YouTube at least once a week to find hilarious videos, whether it's for ten seconds or ten minutes -- it needs to captivate some part of us. When something great is found, it will be shared via e-mail, Facebook, or by a friend coming into your room and making you watch the video.

One video on YouTube, in particular, has made a big impact on our floor, which has been deemed "Gregg's Place". Old Gregg is a twisted hermaphroditic merman, featured on the fifth episode in the second season of a British show called The Mighty Boosh. The episode is appropriately named "The Legend of Old Gregg". Old Gregg's character is played by Noel Fielding. Old Gregg quotes, like "It's attached to your rod, mothalicka", and "Do you like me? ... Make an assessment" are fervently repeated up and down the hallway. Shouting "I'm old Gregg!" has been the favorite.

Not only do I live in "Gregg's Place", but our study room is called "The Man Cave", possibly named after Alltel's concept, or possibly because we're all men. If it's the former, that would be pretty cool. Is Alltel getting more reach from the idea?


The residence hall I live in had a Floor Wars last week. Our floor won every event, and after the informal award ceremony, we ran upstairs with balloons and the large flyers that advertised each night's event. Displayed on one of the cabinets is the set of clothing we made for Project Runway. The event wouldn't have happened if it weren't for the TV show.












Pepsi-Cola is the offical carbonated beverage of K-State. Pepsi products are in the dining halls and in the convenience stores on campus; you will not find Coca-Cola products anywhere, until you go off-campus. If requested within a sufficient amount of time, free Pepsi products can be given to distribute out to students for a hall function.









Nike is the official sponsor for our athletic department, covering all varsity sports. Players wear Nike shoes and apparel. This isn't grade school though. We know their shoes don't make them jump higher or run faster, and we know it won't do any good for us either. But we have a relationship with the team. We come to the games alert and aware of what's going on.

Do these brands (and others) involuntarily affect how we think, leading us to purchase a product or recommend them to a friend?