Left Brain Overdose

A lot of negative space, strat planners live in.

They're pretty grumpy because of it.

Sure we don't mind doing decks, that's because setting up the sales pitch is part of the fun.

Also, they don't mind creatives speaking in straight-up, simple language

Recently there's been a huge debate of what the role of a strat planner is

And it's pretty funny when you put 3 strat planners on that subject

it gets more and more confusing.

Let's see...

From Strat Planner 1 -

wtf does it even mean.

well not to worry, we have 3 strat planners right? Let's see if this one can explain it better. Here's the chart she pulled out.

The Butterfly?

Like seriously man.

Sometimes i think agencies just have nothing else better to do

MD 'How do we milk more out of the clients?'

Strat Director 'I know, how about we charge clients for common sense. Let's call it... The Butterfly!'

Meh.

Two down. One to go. Let's see what she replies with.

I'm not holding my breath no more.

The Karmic Customer wheel.

Like phoar.

I don't know man.

Strats should just be a way to explain in common sense, the Big Idea

Since every strat planner and ad agency in the world wants to come up with their own chart

Maybe they should look at the purpose of coming up with the charts in the first place

Strategically, proposing charts on what strat decks are, are off strat to start with.

What we need is a simple, processed workflow of when strat is needed.

Lest we forget, why the heck we're doing strat in the first place.

Everyone's got a chart.

I was too lazy to comment.

So i just did one of my own, nobody has emailed me back since.

I think that's good news.

Smart had one good idea, and that idea was stupid

You've seen 'em all.

All of those 'cool' jeans campaigns

Funny thing is you gotta ask yourself

Despite seeing all them super award-winning jeans ads

Did any of them actually made you go out and buy a pair of jeans?

No?

Stupid ads.

Well maybe they were too... smart?

Well at long last, one of them did.

Diesel. Stupid is smart. Very.

Wrangler's Gold-winning Caveman campaign? Meh.

We are animals? Meh.

Levi's the Odyssey? Meh.

The last jeans ads that actually spoke to me was when i was 15, and it was one of them stupid skateboard print ads in those skateboard mags. (Speaking of which, stupid skateboarding mags are a vault of design and copy references if you're working on above-mentioned demographics. Which at some point or another, we all do. I think I'm gonna stupidly pick up a copy or two come to think of it)

The funny (and stupid) thing is, it really does speak to quite a few of us.

I'm not sure what your stupid story is, but at one point or another, we all yearn to do stupid things and not be judged by it.

Sure, that's a common enough insight into the rebellious teenage mind.

But come on. Don't be stupid.

When was the last time you saw a campaign so stupidly simple.

Heck. When was the last time a client was balls enough to be stupid?

Think, stupid.

Can't think of any?

That's a Unique Selling Proposition right there.

(The 'stupid' positioning. Not the fact that you're thinking, stupid!)

Where I work, we have a couple of stupid phrases for campaigns that we want to do well on.

Most stereotypical award-driven KPI agencies would asked, 'Is it Gold?'

We say, 'Is it retarded? No we haven't gone full-retard yet.'

Most suits and strategists will ask, eventually, 'is it gonna be Effies material?'

(actually come to think of it they don't ask. But anyway...)

We say, 'If we wanna fail, make it epic fail.'

I wish we did these campaigns for our house ads, instead of trying to be oh-so-smart.

It's definitely inspiration for something stupid.

And all the while. You're looking at a typical fashion ad.

The agency managed to sneak in something to be proud of.

Who is this stupid agency?

Take a guess.

CP+B? They try not to do ads when doing ads, so nope not really

W+K? They make smart ads. not stupid ones.

BBDO? They're busy selling 4-wheel-drives to Koreans (In English)

Did I just say something stupid?

Wow these ads are effective indeed.

The agency?

Anomaly.

Go look them up stupid.

And stay tuned for the rest of the diesel campaign.

It's gonna be quite stupid.

(although i think their integrated + digital incarnation's a little uniqlo-ish in execution.)

For the full campaign

Please visit theinspirationroom.

Thanks for the lovely pics by the way.

Some stupid people were saying my posts are too copy heavy.

Also. I'm too stupid to know how to crop the images, so you really do have to visit theinspirationroom to see the campaign.

The video also features a catchy electronic track and what looks like my idea of a strat/creative deck.

How to present like an american consultant

The Americans

They made Arabs part with their land to make Israel

They made their people believe there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq

They made the ipod

They're pretty good at making things up that's for sure.

I had the pleasure of being in the presence of a super-killer-motivator-sell-ice-to-eskimos-person

and I would like to share a few familiar 'killer' phrases that can be 'game-changers' at your presentation.

First of all, here are some rules of usage.

1. Use it often.

2. Put the audience in a spot by using those phrases and asking them while looking at them in the eye

3. Affirm an obvious scenario. Eg - the room is silent, you say, 'see i just changed the mood of the room just by tuning my voice one octave lower, it's the power of (fill in the blank with whatever word/phrase that i have below)

Here are the few consultant-language words that make you sound smarter, or your audience slightly more stupid:

I've also included links to the words so you guys can read-up on how to use them.

1. Idiosyncrasies - 'This campaign touches on the idiosyncrasies that are specific to our target audience, and speaks to them as an individual. Now when was a last time a TV commercial did that?"

2. Ontological - "This isn't an advertising campaign, it's an ontological journey we're about to embark with our target market." Then you look the marketing director in the eye and ask "Isn't that what we should be doing with all our advertising? Great!"

3. Dialectic - You may use this word when clients ask if the campaign works for Bahasa and Mandarin, like so, "Listen, we're not about to launch into a dialectic that dilutes the purity of the big idea. What's important are the emotions that the imagery conjures."

4. Cartesian Cage - Caution. Use this phrase carefully. If you google the words 'Cartesian Cage' nothing coherent comes up. NOBODY KNOWS WHAT IT MEANS. So it's a little like an emergency eject button, use it when the clients are deadlocked in an indecision about your campaign, "Let's not get locked in a Cartesian Cage with our questions. Shall we move on?" And continue selling the rest of the campaign.

5. Soulsmen - This one is power. Instead of saying 'We need our sales team to be advocates for this campaign to work' you can say "We want them to be SOULSMEN, not SALESMEN".

6. Content VS Context - I quite agree with this point. And I actually will try to use it sometime in the future. Use this when a client, in his own delusional megolomaniacal mind wants to start his own 'facebook' or 'twitter' instead of latching onto existing social media platforms. Like so, "It's a case of Content VS Context. We're already being bombarded with too much content. What we need is to utilise the content we have, in the right context. Now check out this TVC"

7. We'll figure it out - use this phrase when the clients have already bought the big idea, but wants to put a bigger logo than the picture and you don't want to argue any more in the same meeting, "Don't worry, we'll figure it out"

And now. Let's see if we can string together the most god-like opening pitch presentation speech known to man (or American man):

Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen. Today we have a unique campaign that really touches the idiosyncrasies of our target market like never before. In fact, I wouldn't even call it advertising, rather, an ontological journey that will do away with all the dialectic confusion you face with your current campaign (a slight gentlemanly jab at their current ad agency). So before we start, we want you guys to really take a deep breath and move out of your cartesian cage. Today we are all soulsmen, not salesmen for the brand. Today, we'll figure it out!

Please drop me a message or hire me if any readers do win a pitch with the above opening sales pitch.

Cool Use of YOUR CAMWHORE PHOTO by FCB for The Swedish Broadcasting Corporation (orsomethinglikethatit'ssoawesomewhocares?)

Hello phantom readers and inner-insomaniacal mind,

It's been a while since the last posts

maybe it's cause i've been busy

maybe it's cause i've been too preoccupied with more quality content in front of a monitor screen like Mass Effect 2 / Dragon Age / Bad Company 2

But every once so often

And i do agree that quality is the best kind of quantity

Something pops up on your hyperlink that really puts the HYPER in the Link

(Ok yeah lame. I need to start practicing or stop pretending to be in my twenties more often)

Anyway. Yes. This totally blew my mind.

I know it's quite a few months old and i've been meaning to twit, sorry blog about it

but life got in the way

UNTIL NOW.

THE POWER OF CONSUMER-GENERATED-CONTENT

We've all been there before

We've all attempted it or tried to (we're actually in the midst of something that we hope can match a fraction of the awesomeness of what i'm about to show you)

We've all been suckered into wasting our time loading faces on certain photos

The most infectious being that 60s college yearbook app website

yearbookyourself! that's pretty good right?

This makes the yearbookyourself experience look like porridge.

Enough of my verbal diarrhea

check out the awesomeness by clicking on the word awesomeness right here!

Ok let me calm the hype and be rationale about what i love about this.

Is it absolutely the future of entertainment? yes.

In a few years, if i dont' get a choice on deciding how a TV commercial ends, then it ain't a TV commercial at all!

Is it absolutely the death of tv commercials and the film industry in general? no.

The web is another media for storytellers to spin their tale. The colour tv killed the black & white tv, but it's an evolution, not a darwinian case of media extinction them naysayers (who incidentally make millions of predicting bullshit they call trends) make it to be.

Is it immersive, interactive and thoroughly infectious in nature? Fuck yeah.

The last time i got this excited, was when i was 14 and found a usable name and password for all-platinum access to a porn site.

Functionally you can twit and facebook about it, if you wish.

But really, i think this campaign can't be measured (well just like advertising in general, nothing has changed after all) because of the word-of-mouth/chat it generates.

Everyone's a closet megalomaniac

and that is why everyone will try this website once

because it's just awesome

and it makes you awesome

so you'll want to tell people how awesome you are

nuff said.

And to cap it off.

A little self gratification of self-awesomeness.

My own million dollar TV campaign

right here

Cool Use of THE CREATIVE TEAM by DDB New Zealand for the New Zealand Coast Guard

This campaign is awesome in so many levels.

You always hear talk about how much creatives love their jobs. About how we throw everything we’ve got into our campaigns. What if you could throw yourself into an ocean for the cause?

The above is speculations, of course. It could be hardy, healthy talents in the campaign. God knows how long a writer/art director/producer/suit will last in the open ocean.

The point I’m trying to make though, is that this campaign, is a perfectly integrated example of a 2.0, reality-series driven, consumer generated content world meets old school media plan of TV, radio blabla so called ‘traditional agency’ model.

It’s an example how of creative agencies can take back ownership of an idea. That we can shove a finger up sexy digital agencies, with their oh-so-smart technical know-how and say, ‘Hey. You’ve got the means. We’ve still got the ideas.’

It’s the only way to survive in the cold, merciless ocean of change.

You don’t need to be wishfully thinking ‘oh… how I wish I could do that in my oh-so-traditional agency’. You should be wistfully dreaming ‘oh… I’m gonna do this great idea. What do we need to make it happen. Is it gonna fail? No… is it gonna EPIC FAIL? Am I gonna have to do it myself? Like, am I gonna be sharkbait to make it happen?’

Yes oh.. yes. I’m looking forward to asking myself that question every day.

Oh and before you go, please visit the link to see for yourself, the awesomeness.

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.