Cool Use of A STRETCH OF ROAD by Wieden + Kennedy for Nike

It's 12:48AM on a Monday morning.
Two weekends we've been prepping a brand plan for our client.
The signs are good, fingers crossed.
You hope, pray and above all you believe.
You believe that your campaign can achieve some sort of awesomeness

The point is
There's got to be a point to all this madness
If you think it's a job
Then you really shouldn't be here
Otherwise you'll probably hate a huge part of your life
Given the amount of time you spend.

Sometimes.

A great campaign comes along
and it lifts your spirits
it pushes you on
it calls out to you...

The Nike Chalkbot campaign is something like that.

In short
It's a consumer-generated-campaign using social media like twitter to send messages of hope directly to an automated chalkbot
it will write all your messages along the road
where Lance Armstrong and his band of volunteers will ride for cancer
urged on by your messages.

Click on this link to see what it's about

It's about doing great work
It's about staying late nights
It's about believing in yourself
and
It's about believing that one day you'll do something as awesome as the Nike Chalkbot.

Cool Use of A NEWSPAPER CLIENT by JWT Mumbai for Times of India

I guess we've really got to thank Droga5 for making it all possible with the Tap Project

Not to mention Leo Burnett Sydney for Earth Hour

Well they certainly were our inspiration when we set about our epic CSR campaign for Canon last year.

Epic because it was a first step. But definitely the destination is something as OMFG massive as Tap Proj. and Earth Hour.

And then comes JWT Mumbai happily strolling along with this piece of beauty

Times of India

It's an Ogilvy account

And Ogilvy India's been milking this cow at the awards to no end

Well guess what

JWT Mumbai comes along and presents something so deceptively simple, efficient and charming that it just had to be done.

Why?

1. Your product is a newspaper - it reaches millions of people every day. Politicians live and die by the ink on your press. Why not put it to better use?

2. You have one of the highest illiteracy rate in the world, yet you have as well, some of the best brains on earth. Why not put it to better use?

3. Creativity is about bringing two things together. Absolutely powerful creativity brings two people together.

And there you have it... TEACH INDIA is as simple an idea as Tap Proj and Earth Hour. It doesn't hide behind 'clever' visuals. Neither does it wow anybody with 'humourous' commercials. It tells the story in two words. Hell screw that. It moves an entire nation with just these two words.

More importantly. It's a slap in the face to the incumbent agency. It's a serious lesson in relevance and the importance of adaptability.

Let's hear it for TEACH INDIA and the good people of JWT Mumbai!

Day 50: Schizo Schedule Confuses Mind & Body

Soul's always in tune with creativity and capoeira, so no worries there
it's the mind and body that's in a little bit of a conflict
Rushed to training and jumped straight into it
It was strength circuit, basic kicks coupled by full body strength conditioning
i guess i've always been a cardio/jogo kinda guy
will have to work on conditioning in my next training

was hurting for the whole week
followed by another week of late night work-related commercial shooting
had a chance to swing by the academy, but ran back home to granny like the little boy i was
and hid under the blanket for 2 hours
bliss.

should be very well rested and back into the work/capoeira grind again after the raya break!

Rant & Roll 7: You drink too much 'Hatorade' Kancil Hater!

Kancil hater: defined as a creative that despises the local award show for its obvious big-agency bigotry. unfortunately has not won anything yet. rightfully or wrongfully, award-winning creatives scoff at their opinions as those of, 'sour grapes'

we'll call him sourgrapes.

Kancil hater II: defined as a creative that despises the local award show for its obvious inclusion of individuals deemed 'not worthy' to grace the judging panel at the Kancils. rightfully or wrongfully, creatives who're devoted to being professionals scoff at their opinions as those of, 'scammers'

we'll call him err...

scammer.

Please remember the above two characters, as i'll be conducting a seance to conjure their despicable spirits to write this blog post...

nomnomnom

.

.

.

*conjured!*

sourgrapes:

'It all started when someone thought it would be a great idea to reward creatives who're creative

everybody gets inspired by the winning work

we go home and feel sorry for ourselves

and the next day we give them the finger and drown ourselves in work

vowing to go up on stage, and be the victor instead!

And then someone thought

fuck it, rules are rules, let's find a way to beat them

and every creative person said, 'hey... they can do it... so can we!'

and so everyone started doing it'

scammer:

'Honestly.

It's fine.

Rules are meant to be broken.

Initiatives are just that - an agency 'initiative' to help put our money where our mouth is.

If we believe in the idea so much, let's see how effective it is and run it anyway mister client!'

sourgrapes cuts in...

'And then someone thought

fuck it, rules are rules, let's find a way to beat them

this time, let's just run ads for award shows.

let's not even bother if it's good for the clients, it's good for us!

hell let's leave the business to the suits, we're creatives, we should be winning awards

what? is this a promo ad? fuck it, get it over with and give me 50 award-winning print ads instead

not enough entries?! wtf people you call yourselves creatives?! tell you what, let's close the office for 3 months, and win some motherfucking awards.'

scammer interjects:

'if you're a fashion designer.

the clothes that you make for the runway are just that - for the fashion show

it's meant to awe, inspire and let everyone see how 'creative' you are

and that is how awards should be viewed as

a place to showcase your creativity.

the runway clothes never get made on the production line.

people go there to buy their insanely overpriced jeans and tshirts because of the brand

because it's creative!'

scammer sourgrapes speak at the same time:

'so you know what?

the scam VS non-scam thing isn't an issue

it's a matter of priorities.

when it's fashion runway time, showoff your haute

when it's the fashion sale time, make sure you have great clothes that sell!

fashion designers rarely compete in award shows

yet they're world famous marques

known for their creativity

it's a highly competitive industry

but hugo boss stands proudly next to gucci next to hilfiger next to versace

they all make ridiculous clothes that nobody would wear at fashion runways

a little like 'initiatives' that only judges appreciate

but they make really nice tailored, functional and stylish daily wear for their customers as well

that's what keeps the business moving'

sourgrapes distracts scammer with a buncha shiny pencils, and grabs hold of the keyboard:

'things get awry when lose their priorities

the awards get to their heads

winning is great

but acting like a real winner takes a lot more than trophies

oooo

yes i envy saatchi & saatchi

a company that actually fired their founders

or rather, maybe maurice and charles left because the agency no longer stood for anything but their surnames on the door?'

COMMERCIAL BREAK

read this article, if you haven't already:

http://bit.ly/1XJwMJ

scammer:

'remember kancil hater! it's just a difference in opinion of two very respectable agencies. It's a free country. We can choose to, or not to enter! We just feel like we owe it to the people to explain why.'
And now, read this one posted a few days later

http://bit.ly/QaZJp

scammer:

'screw the kancils. i don't want my work defiled by a bunch of unranked unknowns. If they haven't won any awards, how dare they judge my work to be inferior to theirs. If they like real work so much, go back and do their promo ads la!'

sourgrapes:

'you think that's bad! hah! i knew this day would come! it's karma i tell you! Even the One Show is on to you!'

sourgrapes:

'The One Show gave us a merit for our efforts this year.

But it's a merit i shall gold-plate just because of their sheer effort and intention to crack down on scams. It's a little bit like handing Chelsea that 2-transfer-ban for poaching someone. But enough about that, read all about it here http://bit.ly/E9BOa

scammer wasn't convinced, so sourgrapes pulled out the above poster.

it's not worthy of a bigger photo

so see the ad here http://bit.ly/6GRk3

sourgrapes:

' you all die lorrr.... scam la scam some more'

scammer:

'whatever man.. you're a scammer yourself'

read all about their exchanges, they go by various acronyms on the Verbal Assailant forum

but they're actually the same people.

Check out the very entertaining verbal assailant forum here:

http://bit.ly/zHQ8t

and

http://bit.ly/ZqW3D

to Kancil Hater I and II

it's funny that you're actually both sides of the same coin

a coin that the client will either keep in his pocket

or throw away at the beggar down the street

i have more parting words

but i'll let my good friend below speak about some 'hater' problem he encounters

http://bit.ly/ivtXP

scammer:

'hey, i'm gonna do a viral just like this one!'

Day 49 - Retorno pra roda

happy faces post roda

rafa looking a little distracted

attack of the clones!

photos courtesy of priscilla alycia @ facebook

Day 49

A good day, or night rather

It was nice to get back in the roda

we were all shaking off heaps of rust

it showed

hell i think i even forgot some songs along the way

quek's been too busy with flu and building superficial muscles

i had a nice game with rafa

got bencao'd in the mouth though

marissa said she heard my teeth

but i think it was my pride

made it up a little in the subsequent games

malandro'd durim and nacho

marissa pulled one back with a low-blow heel to the penile area

this time, pride kept my game and gameface going

throwed in a nice lil trip

game's looking rusty in the sense that still have not pulled in many floreios that i've wanted to while in practice

honestly wasn't physically feeling the snap muscles

was just playing a more malandro/cardio movement game

the last regional game with quek was a close-roda fast kick game

i think i did alright

legs felt a lil fatigued and kicked quek a little

but didn't think he minded much.

Overall energy was really good

everyone's definitely feeling the pre-batizado buzz

Axè - 8.5

Jogo - 7

Day 46, 47, 48 - Flu Fighters!

The week before has been a little fluish

as i type i'm feeling a little fluish

the entire office is a little fluish

cueca's been down the past two weeks, cause he was fluish

one wonders if exercising actually kept me going

or is perpetuating my flu

nevertheless

i have managed to clock in 3 days of exercise this week

not counting the impending roda tomorrow

the thought of a roda makes me happy

like waiting for a birthday party to happen

when you are 12 years old.

Day 46 - Futsal Flu

Despite wearing glasses

and being fluish

i was MVP scoring, passing and practically running rampant at will

i'm trying to be humble so i shall stop here

Day 47 - trainin'

Had a heavy meal with mejuli before class

definitely slugged me down during the circuits

rafa was merciful and didn't throw down any back flexibility stuff

so it was pretty good for me

nice takedown combo to train

meilua

opponent- compasso

you counter with a rasteida frente, low

and if that doesn't get him

you drop-step across as he gingas into a tesoura frente

shall train that with cueca when he's feeling better

Day 48 - gym blitz with fellow flu fighter

met up with quek for a 40 min gym circuit at his apartment

i feel better than the last time i was there

definitely finding the weights a little easier

my biceps and chest are still womanly though

what can i say

i've never been one to develop gym-wrought 'show' muscles any way

function over form anyday

hence

shaved my head for good effect.

Rant & Roll 6 : Ideas Exist Outside

Up.
Don't need no links. Just go google it. Better yet catch the movie.
Signs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uy0HNWto0UY

The House of Small Cubes
http://vodpod.com/watch/1418143-the-house-of-small-cubes-la-maison-en-petits-cubes

I've been having a very existentialist week
Probably attribute it to the hectic work schedule
combined with the hallucinatory state of being in and out of fever
and losing at scrabble (resoundingly) to my senior writer
and his art director
and watching a great campaign being built before your eyes
(petty i know, but i'm jealously competitive that way)
and having to juggle my 2nd week on the job as a new husband
and enduring middle-management flak (i know, it's lonely at the semi-top)
and acclimatizing to my newly renovated office and workdesk
and having my annual introversions which coincides with the kancils
(are we better off than last year creative standards-wise?)
and feeling like clients use us as dildos for creative masturbations

Funny how i always use work as a salve for my wounds
If you're down, drown yourself in what you love to do
If work's down, drown yourself in some other end of the advertising pool

But you know what?
Sometimes you've just got to get out of the proverbial pool, and take a dip into the ocean

Because Ideas Exist on the Outside.
They exist beyond finding 'that one insight that's so valuable'
They exist beyond 'what do consumers want and need?'
They exist beyond 'that one tagline that rules them all'

UP - is the most refreshing piece of storytelling i've experienced this year. It put a smile and re-wet my contact lenses in the cinema.

SIGNS - a simple piece of storytelling. no verbal dialogue. and yet so much is said. the most amazing thing? it's from an ad agency. Publicis Mojo. I love them.

HOUSE OF SMALL CUBES - poignant piano piece plays the protagonist poetically through the most precious memories of his life.

I'm sure there are more examples out there in the world. But right now, the above three reminds me of one of the most important aspects of addressing the greatest fear of the creative person.

The fear? Not having any more ideas.
The address? Definitely not your advertising agency's.

Days 40-45: Of gym rats, squirrels, grunt training, fresh fish and sun-baked walking.

Wow the above title sounds just like a haiku
A very badly written one but oh well this ain't a haiku blog
This week's been quite good exercise-wise
Did my first solo dentsu park training, and i must say it's good. Shall continue to do so.

Day 40:
Quek dropped me a quick message
and we went off for a true fitness rendezvous
some strength training
did better than the last few rounds
but the finale was the leg squat-lunge
couldn't complete the 5 sets cause of sunday's gym trainin.

Day 41:
FUTSAL!
Didn't do many runs.
By my hamster-wheel standards anyway
Legs felt a little lead-like
but still managed to do 2 volley goals outside the box
overall, good cardio with plenty of breaks in between

Day 42:
What a surprise
A weekday at 5pm without rain!
called quek but he was busy
so i decided to take things into my own hands instead
Practiced the moves from celebrity fitness training with quek
Feels good to know the ground movements are smooth
I think it's an important regime of my training that i've been neglecting
training movements on my own
a lot of the moves in my jogo in the roda
right from role movements are developed from self-training
Alex was there to provide some spotting, discussions and even some contributions on street fighting and grappling techniques
i still prefer running away and stabbing them from the back

Day 43
Filed an application for official training with Her Majesty (that's my wife)
went for dinner,
she meekly gave her demure 'please don't go' tactic
but seeing the determination in my face, relented
i went there late, just as well cause i really didn't want to go through warmups
it's been 4 out of 5 days of training in a row!
Some basic drills that i'll revise at the park
Rasteida frente, my favourite
but this time there was a nifty leg shuffle to surprise the opponent with a tesoura bachu
i still prefer tesoura frente and think there might be a chance of pulling it off with the same move
definitely need to practice this with quek to sort it out a little
otherwise, revisions at park will be bencao-chapa, chapa-escourao, duploesque, flying armada thingy... yeah.
Also had a nice samba training, getting ready for lynn's sisters wedding.
We were a bit rusty. My ears were a bit dainty.
but otherwise, twas a good session. Very liberating for my spirits.

Day 44
Lynn's sister's wedding.
I had this sequencia solo that i was mucking about at the park
i think i shall utilise this as my base solo for these few months
also something i shall work on at the park during practice.
Au into qaeda-de-rins, into headstand then handstand back down into qaeda then role into flippetyflop armada compasso au semao... phew that was a mouthful.

Day 45
Charity Roda at rumah Nur Salam
Nice benguela paced games with the crew
god i miss a good roda
energy was good
movements were very basic, but i kept a very simple, sturdy benguela game
movement around the roda was good
vision and anticipation was sharp
i shall try to focus more on gaining tactical advantage and capitalising on it
at the next non-performance roda.
Stanley's developing some malandragem. i shall up our games a lil.
marissa's always been my weight-to-weight roda and training partner, will see if i can try and use more movement around them
Perereka and Malcolm are the regional specialists, will force them into a smaller game and restrict their movements to see if i can take advantage of the situation better.

While taking a shower i thought of this quote
to be considered in my 'one-day-i'll-actually-do-it' tattoo
Roda de Vida, Jogo de bomba
i gotta check with rafael
but i think it should roughly translate into
Play well in the roda of life.
Because that's what capoeira is you know... life.

Rant & Roll 5: creatives! it's not just at work you need suit-like friends!

You pray that your friends are as efficient in time management as the good suits in the office. Certainly they're better than i am!

And yes. The unbridled joy of finally qualifying for marriage.

The culmination of months of hard work

Photos courtesy of Norman Tang of Sunday Photography Studio

It had to happen.
It was going too smooth.
Even my bride wasn't surprised at my apparent absent-mindedness.
I've spent months choosing the ring.
Weeks preparing logistics and stuff for the registration.
And the days leading up to it fretting over the guest list.
But i could've potentially ended up with jack. Not juli.
All because I didn't bring my identification card.

What can be learnt from this experience though?
Since this blog's posting is about ranting and rolling?

Well.
How bout this.
Lesson 1:
ORGANISATION!
Imagine that you spent a week working on some crazy-assed it's da shit award-winning creatives
Clients have approved it
On the day of launch
Someone forgot something as simple as, well... the thumbdrive that contains all the final artwork
And then unsightly things hit the fan, because clients have trusted you, brought their friends and colleagues along to show off, your entire team's counting on you,
AND YOU FORGOT YOUR THUMBDRIVE?

Creativity is important. But just like the gym. You gotta work your left side as well as your right.
(It's a metaphor for the left and right brain ok!)

Focus. Make a list. Check it twice and thrice. Rehearse it in your head. Keep a notebook. Preferably not a smartphone. Cause you'll end up playing Bejeweled 2.

Lesson 2
YOU'RE ONLY AS GOOD AS YOUR TEAM.
Yes. When unsavoury things hit the fan, one can't possibly clean it up himself.
You need a bunch of people who accepts your mistake
and focus on the problem at hand as a team
rather than pointing at the fan and saying, 'you did it!'
I am rather fortunate to possess such individuals in my circle both at work and in life
(they're mostly the same people. lines blur when you do what you love as a job)
So if you've a great team around you, which i do, it shows!
and how would you know if you do have a great team?
All i can say is, remember the fan?

Lesson 3
THE SHOW MUST GO ON
Often. People freeze. Or they hide under the table. Or they point finger. Or they take emergency leaves.
If the fan's stuck because of regurgitated undigested substances
It's your reaction to it that matters the most at that moment.
Smile. Own up. Follow through.
Do what you can. It doesn't have to be a domino effect.
Be resourceful. If it's mission critical, stall, buy time, distract, entertain, divert.
Laugh in the face of potential danger and imminent singledom.

Lesson 4
BUILD GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CLIENTS
Just because you're creative don't mean you can hide in your little room to brainstorm and win trophies.
Meet the clients.
John Hegarty did. David Ogilvy did. Akira Kagami did. Everyone in the Copy Book did.
And that's cause the best ads came from insights into the client's business
and nobody knows it better than they do
and even if they didn't, and you knew better than them
that's when you know they'll trust you with their business.
In this case, it was my wife-to-be
she didn't freak. she laughed it off. and that really helped calm some nerves.

All in all.
It was a memorable way to kick-off matrimony
And in the end
The drama and suspense worked to our advantage
All because of the above lessons
which hopefully i will take the next time metaphorically faecal matter hits the fan professionally.

Day 39: Return to celebrity fitness

It's been a while since i've been with the boys at celebrity
Nice to steal a little dude time with them
Did a fairly straightforward training regime
feeling a little fluish from the week's festivities
nothing like some sweat out to get the system up and running
wanted to do some weights after
but was in dude mode so decided to hit the sauna and some coffee
i can't remember when was the last time i was there
but i'm such a noob at this gym thing
definitely more of a running rampant and games kinda person
gimme the capoeira academy or a futsal field any day!

started with some simple tempo drills
followed by some tempo switch to tesoura frentes
nice little benguela move that i'll work on
the tesoura frente definitely suits my physical shape and size better than the other tesoura
cause i'm small sized and it's hard to wrap my legs around the opponent to get enough leverage

this was followed by meialua to negativa dentru then switch to tesoura frente
also useful cause the opponent might be used to getting a vengativa from there
but if you're able to squeeze and slither the other way, you'll surprise him

speaking of slithering
this was the more advanced switch to the tesoura frente
compasso troca into entrada
you do half a compasso, do a quick switch up by lifting both legs - basically to avoid the negativa
but you use your momentum to follow up with a tesoura frente
it's very technical
and if you've got a good basic on your esdobrado it helps with the move
i found that if i slide my leg to catch the base it helped me with the move
just gotta find a way to practice that in the roda
or maybe the park with cueca
which is a little rare these days with the rain and our conflicting schedules
sucks being an adult sometimes.

floreia was the same as above
compasso meia troca entrada but this time into a ponche
i'll work on my twist-over version instead
still a little wobbly
try to get my footing right...

the above drills definitely complement my jogo style
so i'll work on them a little more.

Rant & Roll 4: 95percent... c'mon rawkstars where's that 5%?

http://95percent.com.my/main/95-the-advertising-academy/idea-rawkstarrs/

I love doing community service at 95percent
If there's one thing i learnt
I owe it to the people who've given their all to make me a better adperson
to make a difference in someone else's life too

Janet Lee's a great mentor to the young uns
Peter Gan's the war vet that's seen it all - and yet still comes across patient and paternal
If you're looking for a grooming school before getting into the meat-grinder that's the ad industry... there's no better place to start

so before i continue pimping them too much, let's get to the low-down.

(honestly, i only get paid a notebook every time i show up
but the notebooks are priceless for me thoughts and scribbles
certainly cheaper than one of my writer's moleskin)

Subject: 9 students
Topic: develop a strat deck

I had the privilege of sharing the panel with Joseph Icannotrememberhissurname,
Strat Head at DraftFCB.
So being a creative person, of course i'll let the pro do most of the talking
and honestly
the questions he threw at them
would've daunted the most seasoned strat/creative/suit if they were unprepared

which brings me to my next point
preparation!

I still don't understand why strat presentations have to be so dry
probably because there isn't any creative input into it
so as i'm writing this in vain hopes that more people will read my blog postings
i'm also talking to myself, noting the lessons i've picked up

might as well do it in pointform:

1. strat. in any agency marketing tool speak is essentially salad dressing for these two words: 'common sense'. If it isn't. Then it's your job to make it so. You have to convince the clients with your strat that it's plain 'common sense' that this is the strategic direction, and that i would be an idiot to think otherwise!

2. strat. in any agency marketing tool speak can actually be simplified to 5Ws and a H. Who, Where, Why, When, What and How. In no particular order. The only reason agency networks complicate the above is to make themselves sound like the only people ever to invent it. And therefore convince the clients that they can't live without them. A bit like choosing one beef burger over the other. The essential ingredients are the same.

3. strat. should always lead to selling the big idea. everything else that you put in your strat deck that doesn't do so, should be taken out.

4. strat. is the idea. the idea is the strat. just do it was a strat. impossible is nothing is a strat. ultimate driving machine's a strat. and they're all big ideas too. so stop thinking of strat as the foreign alien domain of 'the planners'.

5. strat. is what every ad person should inherently possess. suits will write better briefs. creatives will be better creatively. and strat people, well they won't have jobs. which should be the case anyway because it's because of the lack of strat inherent in suits and creatives that's giving them this fat paycheck called common sense. don't feel bad for them. they can always be clients. which means we could be selling better ads as a whole, cause we're not hoarding all the best people in the ad industry.

so in conclusion. Idea Rawkstarrs. you've got all the ingredients to make a beef burger.

some of you have toasted the buns. some have made the dressing. some have even grilled the beef. but nobody's giving the panel a nice tasty fresh off the grill beef burger with maya, egg and double cheese patty, extra mustard, no cabbages please.

better start cooking.

Day 36, 37 & 38: Free-flowin futsal, Birthday Roda with Rafa + Raped by Cueca at the gym

Day 36

'Tis a good day

My suspicions are founded - i need contact lenses to play futsal

these high-index glasses mess with your peripheral vision

i had a great run, stamina was top notch, got some great assists and goals

Day 37

Made it to the birthday roda of my main man Rafael

Rafa made short work of all the juniors

i think they didn't put up much of a fight

perereka was unceremoniously dumped out in 15 seconds

i had a nice angola game with rafa

it was a 'conversation between brothers in the roda'

two children playing, smiling, teasing, both throwing hidden movements nobody else saw or understood

well rafa did put an elbow up my nose... but it was all good.

cueca had a nice game too

durim survived.

god talking about it makes me miss capoeira already

Day 38

hit the gym

cueca promises to get me in shape in time for my wedding dinner next year

for some reason i've put on 2kgs

i don't feel it

my kicks are strong, my jump is good, stamina's rockin

but when i look in the mirror... gah!

i just gotta keep the faith.

Cool Use of ELECTRICITY by Saatchi & Saatchi South African for Osram Light Bulbs

When no one's at the bus stop

When someone's at the bus stop.

Photos from adland.tv

It's tough going at the outdoor categories at cannes

most of the ads are game changers.

i find the media category all the more refreshing

i wonder if the media people in other countries are scary creative

did they think up all those stuff?

or did the creatives force their hand and made their job even more challenging to change the game?

6 categories into the outdoor shortlists

the only notable was a very well art directed perrier billboard from ogilvy paris

and a dopey billboard campaign featuring americans climbing the mexican border to break into mexico for some sol beer

not exactly what i was looking for

a lot of the shortlists were also not google-able

i really wish cannes would just show the shortlisted work as well

anyway

i don't think this Osram bus stop won anything

it might've been too deceptively simple as an idea

but i thought it was a fantastic way to communicate Osram's committment to the environment

and a simple community message, 'use electricity when you need it'

nice and simple

once again, another saatchi's office puts a smile on my face

i just might be a closet fan after all.

day 33, 34 & 35: back to training, rinse and repeat, hamster futsal

Day 33

It's always good to get back to the academy

my home, my temple

it's even better when you're there early to do some stretches

serena helped/tortured me a lil bit on that

then it was leading the troupe for some warmup

followed by some killer conditional training

well at least they weren't ponches

here were the highlights of training

pushup start position, hold 90 seconds

that was NUTS

i could feel my flabs wobbling

pushup elbows at 90-degrees- basically midway.

this i feel weak.

left leg up/right hand out, switch sides

again... horrible... but i guess that's what i'm in classes for

Movement drills

Armada / compasso

Meialua tempo qeshada

note: this is a tricky move because you qeshada the other way right after you meialua

what this drill actually does is get you into the entrada/negativa position quick after a meialua

good for baiting the vengativa for a tesoura after

armada du chau

a variant of the armada dupla where your second kicking leg is in meialua position instead

i can't remember the actual name of this move, shall check up on it.

negativa frente to chapa de costas

a nice move that takes someone offguard

negativa frente to chapa de costas, passado ala rasteida frente

a nice movement

you can follow-through from someone's chapa de costas with a neat little benguela-esque passado that starts with the rasteida de frente leg movement

very stylo.

also practices your rasteida for that perfect day!

Day 34

cueca visited me at the dentsu park

he had a quick bite

but by the looks of his eyebags

he wasn't gonna be too cooperative as a training partner

so he assumed the coach role

i basically repeated the drills from the other day's class

followed by some intense stretching assisted by cueca

one would suspect that he was a world war ii Axis interrogation specialist

judging by the way he tore me from limb to limb

thanks

felt good.

Day 35

arrived at futsal with high hopes

i shall not elaborate the outcome of the day

let's leave it as:

my kilometres per goal ratio was atrocious

the only consolation is that it can only get better

Cool Use of YOUR NECK AT THE CINEMA by TBWA Germany for Nissan Micra

Photo from theinspirationroom.com

Alright

Interactive cinema ad

And one that only requires the audiences full attention

Nissan Micra, now with a sun roof

What better way than to have a captive audience in a dark room already tuning their eyes towards some commercials before the movies

Here's a smart inexpensive way to show that you don't need an epic 2 minute commercial to wow cinema audiences

Why compete with the movie itself, when you can simply switch their attention upwards?

Very smart use of media

For full writeup, check out the posting at http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2009/nissan-convertible-experience-on-cinema-ceiling/

I like the inspiration room

at least it doesn't take your ideas without your permission

and make people subscribe to view it, like coloribus.

how the hell did they SEO their way to the top of every ad search damnit!

Back to the ad.

Yes a truly convertible experience.

Day 32: Futsal crosstraining

Ouch.

Sprained ankle.

A little stamina-less

Sprinting was alright

Legs felt tired and couldn't concentrate to finish off easy goals

Scored 3

coulda had a lot more

which isn't too bad considering.

Dentsu's got a surprisingly good team

if we keep this up we just might have a decent outing at next year's corbis cup

The next day felt horrible.

4 hour sleep and pitch plus a full day of hectic firefighting

and the consecutive late nights have contributed to insomnia

there's only one way to fight insomnia

and that's with... insomnia!

Cool Use of LIVE ORGANISMS AS AN ADVERTISING TECHNIQUE by Y&R Aukland for MICROSOFT

Visual ripped from bestadsontv.com

read the case study here: http://www.bestadsontv.com/outdoor_details.php?id=15239

It's a shortlist at Cannes.

But it doesn't matter because it's Gold at the sales generation category

at the 2008 RSVP Awards (i think it's the NZ version of Malaysia's DMAM)

that means results.

But going beyond results

is the innovation of the idea

they used live virii (plural of virus i think) that 'cultivated' in the course of a few days to create a message out of it.

personally i think they used bacteria instead, but oh well... they're all microscopic and all anyway

hang on... maybe some judge mentioned that only bacteria could be cultivated at judging...

killjoy.

Anyway,

How freakin awesome is that.

and talk about targeted.

IT managers. Well they stay holed up in their server rooms all day.

What else are they gonna do but germinate, or watch a DM pack do likewise anyway?

Nice.

I think it was a student entry for something.

and they got hired to do this up for real.

The full synopsis is on the cannes shortlist (again, a pity) link:

http://work.canneslions.com/direct/entry.cfm?entryid=322#

Good job y&r aukland

NZ and OZ are really representin' this year.

Day 30 & 31: taking it easy

Slowly easing back into my schedule after Jakarta

It's quite a sudden change from Jakarta straight back to work the next day

this is where my marine-like sleep deprivation training goes into play

the rest of the days were just busy on a pitch

had some downtime on thursday so had lunch with cueca and he coached me a quick 45min circuit

no biggie, but i ain't a gym regular so any form of machinery work is welcome.

THU, day 30

10 sets x 3 reps of shoulder, chest, bicep (it's weak) and triceps

before taking a nap at cueca's apartment

now i know how he builds muscles.

SAT, day 31

Officially i have done a month's worth of capoeira in 6.

Very bad. Such is the price of a working capoeirista

it's got to be quality over quantity

this blog's also helpful to keep track and try to up the 'days' of training gradually every year.

Went for class at subang with a hangover

the class was great. had a good sweat to wash out the liquor

and Terry's group of students are very enthusiastic

they even complimented me on my ginga

later i found out they trained with Harry, our cross-town rival,

and i heard that their ginga style's a little more mechanical

bantus maladro ok!

and in typical bantus fashion

i left a stack of CDs behind

they weren't very helpful when i called to check on the CDs later. Malaysian customer service.

2 hours later i was back at celebrity, this time at one utama

was horribly late

The great malaysia sale was blocking all my options

found a unofficial parking spot

ran through a labyrynth of tunnels before making my way to class

Wong, Shirly and Vanessa were already coaching 2 newbies and warming up

very impressed

gave a quick gingo sequencia training with tempo entrada and tempo laterals to help make their jogo a little more dynamic

then gave them some partner drills to throw into the roda

45 minutes went by surprisingly quick

we had a nice coffee catchup later

more catchup with the family

and then after at leong and winnie's for some bboy battle videos and drinks session

their moves give me some ideas for variations... hmmm

Cool Use of CLIENT AND AGENCY PARTNERSHIP by Juniper Park for SunChips

www.juniperpark.com

First off. Let me start with the agency.

I absolutely love the name and logo. And what they stand for.

It's a sub-agency for BBDO

They were set up to be involved in their client, Frito-Lay's product portfolio

in short. The creative team gets to get involved from product development stage

The product - SunChips

Proposition - It's the Prius of the Frito-lay snackfood range

What the fuck's a Prius? - it's the Standard in eco-hybrid cars

The big idea - Live Brightly

Actually i don't know if this campaign won anything at Cannes cause i'm still browsing the shortlists and chanced upon an entry for their print work

Lion or not. It's an award and wish-i-had-done in my books.

Here's why.

You wanna talk about integration?

Here's integration for you!

1. Product - The packaging is biodegradable. The chips are made in a solar-powered plant for god's sake!

2. Outdoor - Uses the sun to stencil out the brand (ok so it only works during lunchtimes)

3. Press - I don't know how. But they actually used invisible-ink like technology for the press ad. You need to hold it to the sun to be able to read it. Maybe it's just printed on the back in reverse. But according to designtaxi.com it's a 'first-of-its-kind-interactive-technology'

4. SunChips.com - In line with the idea of 'Living Brightly', Sunchips.com is a place where people can learn about the benefits of Solar energy and simple steps to harnessing the sun and making the world a better place.

5. Web TV commercial - fairly straightforward. but well executed.

Clearly a good start. Probably got dwarfed amidst the Earth Hour / Million Project / The Big Shlep hype at Cannes.

In humble Canada, however. A dragon lies sleeping. If they continue the good work, they could be the next Droga5. Good effort. Looking forward to more great stuff from Juniper Park.

For entire case study, click http://www.juniperpark.com/our_work/sunchips.html

day 27, 28 & 29. The Jakarta Chronicles

I've this issue with ampersands - &

i'm still not sure if i've abused it above, but i think it's legit

Capoeirista's Log, Day 0 - Thursday night, 09/07/09

Followed Rafa to Jakarta to give some workshops there on thu night.

As usual Air Asia was late

We had a burger before our bus to our flight

And rafa had a plate of rice before our flight

he's an eating animal, which makes what ensued for the next four days quite unbelieavable.

Also. He was fluish.

Even though my face masks cost RM3 per piece, i had to give him one

To give him the illusion that at least he was looking like he was trying to 'avoid getting sick' instead.

Important when trying to avoid any H1N1-related mob justice.

Arrived at midnight, and when we got to sleep after catching up with Andrew

it was about 2am.

I didn't sleep till about 5 or 6 though.

Was too busy donating blood to the mosquito foundation in jakarta.

Apparently there's a shortage.

Capoeirista's Log, Day 1 - Friday, 10/07/09

Woke up to the perfect breakfast

our favourite Mee Bakso stall down the road

it's been 2 years since i last visited

great to see mister Bakso has progressed and from a humble street shack

he now has a not-so-humble-semi-permanent-house-like street shack

The rest of the day was spent sleeping in the car and travelling between malls

Rafa was looking for helmets, jackets and shoes in no particular order

found a killer biker jacket for only rm80. Value

The evening workshop was held at the national sports centre

at the wrestling room

a bunch of overweight nicotine absorbing 'wrestlers' were using it before us

wooo scary

the students slowly trickled in

traffic as usual

saw a lot of new faces

well the last time i was down it was 2 years ago

The energy level was high

lots of them have come because of Rafael, well actually all of them.

they were wide-eyed and very eager to be abused with a more physical training routine

it is the wrestling room after all.

i lead the warmup

and were given 3 very talented kids to coach

while rafa put them through some technique drills followed by floreios

it's nothing new from what we do in class

but for the students of Bantus Jakarta, it was a refreshing eye-opener

makes you think sometimes of how lucky we are that we have our own Graduado coaching us every day

kinda reminds me too how we sometimes take capoeira classes for granted.

The both of us were kinda weak

but i was determined to have some kinda relevant jakartan cuisine

and i love their street food

so off we went to jakarta central for some Nasi gila

and satay

and avocado shakes

and satay

and tofu

and sup ekor

burp.

Sleep was good.

Flooded the room with mosquito repellent

and we bought mat burners for extra effect

Capoeirista's log, Day 2 Saturday 11/07/09

Woke up

More traffic

Went to FX Mall which was a very designer-ish, lifestyle kinda place

bought myself an indie-electro-style T

hit a 7-floor slide

was fun, but rather short for 35 ringgit. Thank you Andrew!

We did class at another mall.

Margos City Square

They have a semi-dilapidated theme-park sports centre

played some futsal

rode a mini bike

taught the kids more classes

i think they were bored but just entertaining me

since their attention span was quite short

so i put in some games to make it more interesting

The main crew did another set of drills and movements

We went into the mall for a demo roda

it was good to see everyone with Axé

had a quick game, was lethargic and couldn't pull off many moves, will try a more technical game for tomorrow's roda

RODA RATING: 8/10 - good energy, singing and music.

Personal Jogo Rating: 6/10 - had a game and a half and didn't make the most of it

We went for Rawan, a traditional indonesian meat dish

it was like bak kut teh, but beef

and they had this grilled beef ribs that was as good as Tony Roma's

no wonder the place is called RAWAN SETAN (Satan's...errr... Rawan)

Went clubbing with the gang

They had to do a show at the Vertigo club

we were there for our very first road trip to jakarta

crowd comes in late cause clubs close at 6am

It was quite a simple, straightforward show with Rafa

bringing some brasilian jogo into the groove

We had a free bottle of Dark Horse whisky which tasted kinda dodgy

and we were entertained by 2 groups of breakers doing battle

they were kinda dopey

like the gangs you see in movies doing choreographed dance sequences

rather entertaining i must say

i like one of them crazy leg breakers

wish i could do that

the night went well into the morning

and we hit the sack at 5am

Capoeirista's log, Day 3 Sunday 12/07/09

whoa. Semi-hangover.

Drowned myself in water to detox.

Got ready.

Had 4 slices of white bread.

traffic.

then it's back to the National Sports Centre

this time at the acrobatics gym

Damn they have a fantastic venue for acro

the full works

Rafa split the group to mortals and non-mortals

i was coaching the non-mortals on how to jump and tuck

Rafa was just giving a few tips to the mortals to improve their technique

That girl 'Cinderalla' from another Capo group has a wicked assed mortal

damn

My right shoulder blade's been burning all day because i've been lugging students into the crash mats

but it's great to see them have lotsa fun

i haven't done a mortal in more than a month!

so i was a little hestitant.

joined them for some front mortal practice

i've never jumped off a catapaul spring

did one and a half front flip

sounds impressive?

not when you dive head-first into the crash mats

sprained my neck

i looked like a Michael Keaton Batman the whole day at the office today

Did a few mortals

Good to know i've still got the tuck

Roda was very good energied

I played as many games with as many students this time round

had lots of fun

and practiced more control and played a more tactical game with them

Faked a meialua into a chapa and switched into a rasteida, which was a good feeling to pull off having practiced it with Cueca

Also malandro'd a fake au into a bum bump when the other person was in an au

and a coupla other nice wholesome games

The Axé was fantastic

took over the berimbau and watched big smiles on everyone's faces as they played

i still had some pent up energy

those 4 slices of bread must've been good.

wanted to play more, but also wanted to man the berimbaus.

RODA RATING - 8.5/10 music was a little inconsistent at the start, but otherwise a wicked roda

Personal jogo rating - 7.5/10 had a tactical jogo. wish the roda could go on so i could practice throwing in some floreios but all in all wasn't too shabby.

Rafa paid an emotional tribute to the whole group

i echo his sentiments

they are a very good bunch of people

and i thank them for reminding me why i love capoeira so much

it brings people together

sure i've been through my share of stories and experiences about heartbreak

but that's what makes capoeira so beautiful

it mirrors life

and what you take out of it

is how much you put in.

So while i went to help give workshops

i think i'm the one that re-learnt a valuable lesson indeed

priceless.

We didn't eat much.

i had an indo mee goreng in indonesia.

i kinda like indo mee in KL better.

starved through the trip back

had coffee that was made from beans hand washed from the faeces of coffee-bean-eating-Civet cats. Tasted the same to my peasant tastebuds.

got back home at 2am

ordered myself a nasi goreng kambing and some sleep.

Day 25 & 26. I rejoice as my muscles cry once more

Day 25

I've been rather on-the-edge restless due to lack of physical activity.

got the chance to do a lunch-time gym run

SME-cueca gave me his precious lunchtime off

he already gym'd so he was just coaching me

did three types of workouts

i dont even know how to describe them because i'm inherently anti-gym.

but i did shoulder dips, and was surprised that i could do them, WITH added weights.

tak puas - abused some ab muscles as well.

and insisted we had to train tomorrow.

Day 26

My body's well-trained for 3am-9am sleep cycles

but that's been the past 2 weeks sans training

this morning it was hard to wake up

had a 20-min nap in between at lunchtime

and caught cueca at the park for an hour

did half hour of floreios

compasso semaos

compasso half-semao twist into role

au, bounce back one handstand into qaeda-de-rin, and into a low esdobrado (not bad, shall try that in jakarta)

the other half hour were partner drills

we're more aggressive and confident with each other now in drills

which is good

cueca got a few good hits on me

i blame it on my gym sessions lagging my leg a bit

i need to pay attention to a few things

1. look into his eyes! not his feet. his eyes are the window to a whole world of pain!

2. because i'm a small-framed capoeirista, i need to learn not to be cornered in a roda. you can't play a head-on game. you must be concious of your surroundings and learn to move around and behind him so that you stay in the centre of the roda.

We did 8 sets with 1-2 minute breaks in between, 5 regional games, 2 benguela and 1 angola. i'd say it was pretty good for an hour.

Can't wait for JAKARTA!

Cool Use of EXISTING STREET GRAFFITI by Leo Burnett Lisboa for Pampero Rum

Picture sourced from campaign website: www.museuefemero.com

Another reason i love shortlists.

You get to browse through the gems that are overlooked

Often are, award winners get all the hype, but there are so many talk-worthy campaigns that you lose out so much if you just look through the winners

The above is for the campaign called the Pampero Run

Dubbed 'the world's first ephemeral museum'

Actually this is a big winner at Cannes

of course being creatives, we don't see the big deal cause it's not really an advertising idea per-se

but an idea's an idea

and in fact it's one of the top 10 campaigns across all media at Cannes according to The Big Won (google them)

Here's 10 reasons why:

1. it was cheap

2. it used innovative technology that was readily available to the public (ipod podcast)

3. graffiti in lisbon rocks

4. it captured the rebel spirit of the rum

5. it showed support to street culture, cultivating a following with young adults

6. it showed that alternative art is cool and should be appreciated. Strat-wise it's a brilliant soft sell with Pampero Rum, because it was an 'alternative' to conventional alcoholic choices of the target market

7. it integrates a 'street museum' with a website and ipod - a great display of 360 brand experience

8. it's a great way of using other people's art as part of your campaign, why limit your style to just your art director's

9. the copywriter just had to write the website copy (which probably nobody read) and spent more time on strat and conceptualisation.

10. the news generated, as with all great campaigns, spin-worthy. word on the street amongst the art community and young adults would've further perpetuated the campaign. Free additional PR coverage = awesome.

so there you go. 10 reasons the Pampero Run is the top 10 most awarded across the board at cannes campaign.

View the video here:

http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2009/ephemeral-museum-in-lisbon/

Day 24. I played till my finger bled

Yeah that's right

one finger

not because of lack of passion

boy there was

just thta i was a klutz and i always nick my index finger on the drum screw

wonder if i'll die of tetanus poisoning

it would be quite epic

'how did coelho die?'

'he died doing what he loved most. Capoeira. well not really, but close enough'

because today we played SAMBA

a quick run through rehearsal went well

followed by a simple but terse reminder to the 'christiano ronaldo' and 'wayne rooney' of our performance troupe to remain focused

yeah i understand why there's still a place for 'ryan giggs' and 'paul scholes' now

to those who're reading

you know who you are, punk asses!

First round of samba

rafa muffed some of the intros

half of the troupe couldn't hear the other

but played on we did

you gotta take a bit of pride in the professionalism we displayed

second round of samba

superb

i love the enclosed acoustics

we played very well

and it was a nice impromptu touch that perereka and malcolm broke into a simple jogo

followed by peri and rafa doing solos to ongoing samba

not bad not bad

i'm feeling a bit pudgy

i'm not sure if i look it

i think i do

quek always insists it's 'ok wat...'

but i think he's just being polite

i blame 25% on his schedule, 25% on work, and 25% on domestication and 25% on the weather

it's gotta get better sooner or later!

well at least i dream of capoeira

that counts for training in some form i guess

will try to park it tomorrow, heaven willing.

Cool Use of STUPIDITY/STATIC BANNER by Bridge Worldwide

http://awardshome.com/cannes2009/pringles/can-hands.html
Look at that picture above.

It's stupid.

It begs you to click it.

And then the stupidity continues.

It's so stupid i can't stop finding out how much more stupiderer it can get

It doesn't stop

and it's unapologetically telling me that it's getting lots of clicks from me

I can't help clicking more

Nobody can

Not even the cannes jury

and that is why in this day and age of high brow intellectual art disguised as posters

or over art-directed-made-for-high-brow-judges grand prix radios

can just shove a can of pringles up their tiny tight cannes lion arses

because Bridge Worldwide (apparently best run SME in USA 3 years in a row) rocks

follow them here: http://www.bridgeworldwide.com/digital-agency-culture/twitter

and follow this link in a tribute to all that is fun and stupid about working in advertising:

http://awardshome.com/cannes2009/pringles/can-hands.html

Day 23. A Day at Danga Bay

First off

The headline of this post is copy-masturbation at its most self-glorified best

not only did I manage to alliterate danga to 'day' but also made 'day' rhyme with 'bay'

you might think it simple, but that's some pure back-to-basics serendipity magic right there

Which ties in perfectly with our posting about our latest tour-of-duty

8am dim sum with juli was the perfect way to start the mornin

Durim was late

so he missed dim sum and cost us some time on the road

No biggie

Our driver rapheal (pronounced: Ray-feel), not to be mistaken for our graduado Raphael (Ha-fa-el) made sure we got there on time

a few paranoid moments in the van

i was sitting in front

and i'm the world's most chickenshit front-seat passenger

not the mention the fact that a friend of mine in high school lost a leg that way

cause your legs are the same height as the engine, should the unfortunate event of a head-on happen, ouch.

So i tried to sit cross legged, and get some nap.

I think ray had the same idea

i caught him slipping lanes coupla times

and when i stared right at him, he was oblivious, with his eyes semi-shut!

The Bantus Bandwagon is notorious for diversions

We have never. NEVER had a trip where we got there and back on time.

diversions are always part of the masterplan.

The first was Sunny taking us to a god forsaken part of Taman Aminah in the boondogs of JB for lunch, when there was a superb variety of food at the Danga Bay streetmall.

Ok, nobody knew and we were all hungry.

Other than the street mall

Danga Bay's a god forsaken stretch of seaside with no breeze or crowd whatsoever.

The Astro Soccer Safari was under way

It was scorching! The only people who were present were of course the 3-on-3 football participants

No matter, we're free spirited capoeiristas sword to amuse and entertain even if it was a crowd of one

one small problem, the heat was merciless

And we've all been spoilt by too many stage performances

Mental note: ROAD TRIP = SHOES (It is called a road after all)

The sun was blistering. The cement tiles were blistering. My feet were blistering. Even my slippers were blistering damnit. It got to a point where playing in the roda was a better respite than standing and clapping

Roda I

Ache: 6/10

Jogo: 6/10

Roda II

Was slightly better

we warmed up a bit to the 'nice' weather with some futsal

I scored some nice headers from Rafa's crosses

Granted that the keeper was Terry, but it was a nice feeling imagining myself actually doing that in a real game

I miss futsal.

Anyway, second roda was in the futsal arena

It was just as blistering, but at least it was a bouncy floor

the enclosed surrounding and ready-made crowd was also good for energy level

The Aseana Percussion Group were at hand. We're long-time collaborators and Krshna is also my old schoolmate. Great to have them with us on the bataria.

we had a really nice tight roda, every one was very intuitive and worked flawlessly as a unit

Personally, my Capoeira Blitz training at the park's paying off. Got more kicking up-game into my more ground-movement based jogo. Threw in a semao and flippety-flop here and there. In fact had quite an airtime one. I swore i was looking at the ground for a second before landing. Time to work on something new with all that milliseconds to spare.

We were also treated to some super-cool gumboot dance moves by some students from Botswana.

Ache: 8/10

Jogo: 8/10

Roda III

The day eased into the evening.

The crowd was building up at the main stage.

thanks to the Akademi Fantasia performers

The Aseana Percussion Group and Gumboot dancers were also a nice touch.

So we had to put up a show ourselves

and put up we did

another great performance roda

The grand finale was truly epic

Gumboot dancers, Zimbabwean (i think) bushmen with spears, garb and shield, and dopey chinese capoeiristas, plus Dr. Freestyle! Malaysia's best hope at showing the world we too know how to football, powered by the Aseana Percussion Gang

All in one stage!

It was true fun.

By this time, the ball of my right foot was already ripped to shreds

But the rest of the team had a great time doing some really cool tricks to the crowd

Durim's back flik flak across the stage

Malcolm and Durim's mirror compasso back the other way

Terry's semaos

I did some gumboots with the Botswanans.

Ache: 10/10

Jogo: 7.5/10

Roda IV

By this time, i was deliberating with the toilet lady

i looked so dirty she insisted on charging me rm1 because she didn't believe that i was only going in to use the sink to wash up, (20 sen for toilet, rm1 for shower facilities)

we were given hotel facilities though

bliss

and serendipity came along with us in the form of the Aseana Percussion dudes checking out

so we took over their rooms

which definitely saved us some time

no way 8 of us could've showered and be done in 45 mins

Durim was so happy to see the shower he decided to have a Thai Songkran Water Festival in there

the only thing left barely dry, were my wits and sanity

Anyway back to the show

once again, tough crowd

think Johor's big on family dinners and nothing else

there was hardly a crowd

and we already formulated a very nice sequence for them in hand!

no matter, crowd of one, is still a crowd

and bantus aims to please!

so we did our solo entradas, i wanted to do a flipetty flop by settled for a humble headstand

Durim did a backflip despite eating a packet of rice (showoff)

and we all had some very nice benguela games

makulele was also quite tricked out

with some simple choreography to break the routine

all in all, 10 minutes went by really quickly.

Ache: 9/10

Jogo:7/10

More tomfoolery ensued.

In no chronological order, i shall recap the day's non-capoeira highlights

1. Danga Bay has nice food but miserly bathroom attendants

2. Durim sucks at directions! Don't ever put him next to the driver

3. Malcolm always has a bag of snacks at hand

4. I don't know how Lynn stays so calm

5. Rafa, durim and I can form our own Airhorn acapella group. Lynn has the videos to prove it.

6. Curry chicken and enclosed van afterwards = gas chamber. Main suspect - Durim. Chief culprit - Rafa.

7. Road trip = SHOES!

8. Rafa submitted more than 20 entries into the lucky draw - all brasil of course, but i'm the one who put Clint Dempsey as man of the match! Lynn might walk away with a plasma TV!

9. Keep yerself hydrated and bring TWO towels for roadtrip capoeira

10. Durim sucks at directions.

Cool Use of OL SKOOL MAILER meets NEW SKOOL GOOGLE MAPS by DDB Germany Berlin for Volkswagen

Ah finally, a new batch of shortlists worth shortlisting again.

The first page of the direct mailer category A01 was rather boring,

I was beginning to lose hope

that my sleep was sacrificed for naught.

Until the second last shortlisted entry came up

The Navigation Letter from Volkswagen:

Intriguing title, and a curiously simple submission layout

You probably can't make sense of the visual above

but thanks to some simple web ferretting

(by the way, i found better hits on bing for cannes shortlist visuals and references)

so here's the link go check out the case study

http://www.xipax.com/ad/11468/the-navigationletter/

(i've got to learn how to post videos on my blog damnit!)

What's crazy about it, is its simplicity

Use google earth to find the exact route it takes from the Volkswagen office to the customer's home

Trace the outline of it, and customise it on the envelope

Viola!

A very personalised mailer, criteria number 1 for every DM kit.

Guess what they're selling?

In-car GPS of course

I was beginning to wonder why did thebigWON rank Germany as the most creative country in the world

But after this very neat piece of Direct Mailer

I can imagine the beautiful alchemy of the logic and the lucid in the land of mechanical motoring wonders.

Guess what? They're good in making ads for cars too!

And that is why, the Navigation Letter from Volkswagen rocks my balls (located 176 S, 78SW)

Here's the link once again

http://www.xipax.com/ad/11468/the-navigationletter/