Ads, stats and high heeled shoes...

Oscar Wilde: Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.

2011-03-17T13:37:00.015Z

However, there do live among us those that push boundaries; who dream bigger and see further than most mortals. Some of them work in advertising. What do these people give us? Ideas. They give us great ideas.

Sharp'ner What is a great idea?

  And you are creative people, people with ideas. But how do you know when you've got a good one? And what is it that elevates a good idea into the realms of great, the realms of brilliant, the realms of the yellow pencil?   

Andy Cameron, Interactive Creative Director at Wieden + Kennedy, will have to answer this question again and again in April as juror on the Digital Advertising Jury. Joining him on the panel are some esteemed creative minds, some who are judging, some who we just think are great - Poke's strategist Chris Whitlock, Paul Davis from Big Orange, Lambie Nairn's Adrian Burton and, from Euro RSCG, Fernanda Romano.

Listen and watch the ways that they judge an idea. Ponder. Question them if you like. Make a few judgments yourself. Let's cast some light on what we really mean by a 'great idea'.

D and AD*, that holy of holies, put on panel discussions (at Vibe Bar in Brick Lane) for their members’ delectation. Like their brand, it’s a mixture of accessibility, personality, gravitas, and moments of breath-taking brilliance.

As you might expect, the calibre of speakers goes beyond interesting, and settles more in the neighbourhood of creative juggernauts.

Demonstrated by their opening blurb above, last night's was about what makes a great idea. I won’t go into detail about every speaker but I will offer up a few choice nuggets (and possibly post up links to the video content once I find out where they’ve put them).

It's not that these panels divulge anything massively life-changing – you will not suddenly burst out of your cocoon and become the world’s best Creative or Strategy Director. And most people would recognise the majority of the campaigns referenced, but what makes these panel discussions so brilliant for the ad passionista, and what these chaps are so amazing at, is their clarity of thought, and being able to articulate how and why. They provide a cultural, and sometimes technical, frame that suddenly breaks a campaign wide open.

You suddenly realise that there are campaigns that you unconsciously knew were amazing (because we all know enough to make those ‘instinctive’ judgements) but now you really know why, and can qualify it too.

And who knows? You might one day be able to take that qualification and smooth an edge off one of your own ideas, making it even better. And even if you do know it all, it’s always enjoyable to listen to people who are at the top of their game and nod your head.

Adrian Burton, Creative Director, Lambie Nairn http://www.lambie-nairn.com/

Adrian is a great speaker and gave an unpretentious, although passionate, insight into his agency and his clients.

He gave the following formula for taking on any design brief:

Insight
Originality
Impact
Empathy
(Objectivity)

I’m sure I don’t need to explain each segment (as always though, if for some unearthly reason you’d like to discuss, my contact details are around here somewhere). A good start to any design project to remind yourself where the innovation needs to live. I’ve used a similar basic structure many times for brand and website scoping. Foundations like this do not stifle the inventive process, on the contrary – in my experience it never fails to free innovation.

Adrian went on to say that an original (read innovative) idea belongs to everyone. It is currency for the brand and the consumers. Also, art aside, never forget we are in the business to grow business.

He finished with voicing one of my favourite quotes (which references the now widely bought into belief that you need emotional buy-in in order to get loyalty and good will for your brand):

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”

That quote always makes me feel tingly. It’s one of life’s truisms.

Andy Whitlock, Strategy Director, Poke London http://www.pokelondon.com/

Andy’s talk was entertaining and he made some valid points about how we can integrate existing behaviours and tools for really successful campaigns. Ikea’s Facebook campaign where the person who tagged a picture of an item first, won the item demonstrates this. Use what people are already familiar with but in a new way – novel uses for familiar tools.

His take on the abstract form of an idea, when asked if a great idea is always original, is that an idea often made up of a whole mish-mash of (cultural/behavioural) references, amalgamated in a way that hasn’t quite been seen before.

“It shouldn’t be so ‘original’ that we can’t use it at all and have no concept of how to relate to it!”

Andy’s theme of hiding technology and putting a human face on it went down well with the crowd. This was the foundation of the solution for a bakers in East London who were having problems selling their products because people wouldn’t always happen come in when said products were fresh out of the oven. They developed a system where as soon as the timer on one of their ovens went off, a Tweet would be sent out notifying everyone of their freshly baked goods. It was a resounding success – they’d used technology to promote very human behaviour to the benefit of their business and their consumers. I guess the point to take away is use what super technology is available, but don't forget to think like a human.

Paul Davies draws. You can find his work at http://www.copyrightdavis.com/index1.html

He also contributes to http://www.thedrawbridge.org.uk/issue_19/

Paul is very amusing and whilst dry would be a good start – arid, acrid and utterly sardonic might serve to better describe his wit. He’s certainly incisive though; you might be able to criticise his harsh delivery, but never the content. Paul is clearly a creative that, if I might be so bold, has had so many ideas raped and pillaged, misconstrued and generally done wrong by, that when the subject arises, he’s a teeny bit touchy.

Paul’s first screen was a black and white illustration with the words:

Are you ready for a low paid, lengthy, pointless and soul-destroying job that’ll make no difference to anyone, or anything, anywhere?

So we knew what we were in for.

He then launched into a series of quotable one-liners:

On panel discussion etiquette: “Keep your phones on, if anyone calls, ask them what makes a good idea. I asked my mum and she said ‘I dunno’.”

On pretending to be in Sweden to avoid meetings: “I can’t stand meetings. I don’t know what happens at meetings.”

Paul is eminently suited to his chosen medium. His speech is very much like his illustrative style; rapier quick and concise to the point of if you blinked (aurally), you’d miss it. There’s no explanation, and no dumbing down. You either get it or you don’t and if he’s demonstrated a ‘good idea’, his target market does. A good idea to Paul is one that is stripped back, to the point, and that captures the target market in that fraction of a second as their eyes wander over the illustration. As he says:

“If you get people in that split second, then the job’s done. Don’t dilute it (the idea), distill it.”

Paul exhibits his fake adverts (We're experts in expertise, Democracy shampoo and conditioner, Uphold the freedom of fucking expression) and is, call it female intuition, on a bit of a mission to stand up against bad advertising. To the extent he has copyrighted the phrase 'Common sense approach' to stop anyone else from using it. He clearly figures that this prevents one less cringe in his life.

I can’t tell you how much I want to go for a drink with him and Modern Toss. Now that would be an amusing afternoon.

In summation, if you haven’t signed up for D and AD’s Sharp’ners*, do so. They are a treat.

http://www.dandad.org/

*Embarrassingly, I can't use the ampersand symbol on this blog, so sorry.

Oscar Wilde: Every great man has his disciples, and it is always Judas who writes the biography.

2009-02-14T22:00:00.011Z

The title of this post merely serves to remind everyone, myself included, that it's very easy to be a smartarse and criticise other people's works and efforts. It requires almost no effort to mock carefully crafted arguments with a well-timed cry of "Bollocks". Particularly when said work or conversations are taken out of context and without the original environment from whence they sprung. I try not to do this. Just as I try not to read and thus encourage yellow journalism. Lord knows I'm only human and so should you read something hereafter that has a slight buttercup hue, I only ask that you please forgive me.

I haven't written for a while for which I can offer up my sincerest apologies (God - I suddenly felt twelve again, when I used to keep a diary and felt guilty if I didn't write - as if my diary were some sort of authority figure). We live in strange times and much of my day-to-day instances have been occupied with slightly more altruistic - humanistic - spiritual questions than usability research that I can feed into web design.

(This and the fact that Google insist on attempting to make me open an account in order to access my blog and that, Sir, I find intrusive, oh yes I do. I've given in, rolled over and showed my belly. This is what being a grown-up means? Well Google, you may have won this battle but the war is not over yet.)

That's not to say that I haven't been thinking about usability but, with the world pausing on it's axis, all questions seem to take me meandering down routes (and I imagine this might be the case for most people) that are far too raw and that I think are best privately aired!

Because writing is and always has been such a personal and private pleasure, I find it hard to write outside of how I feel and how I'm applying myself in general. Thus my posts may have been, if published, even more self indulgent than usual. Articulate at speed, repent at leisure?

Of course, I am not for a moment suggesting that when I am writing a website proposal at work it is filled with philosophical questions, begging answers from our behaviour as individuals, communities and global all-consuming societies. Have we finally realised that growth at the pace of an out of control juggernaut, sans brakes and hurtling down Mount Snowden, is neither sustainable nor desirable. Progress? My eye. My favourite quote on this subject is from a book that is very dear to me. When outlawing slavery in a far-off province of the kingdom, the King concerned is berated for hurting the economy by stopping this inhumane practice.

"Have you no idea of progress and development?"

"Yes, I have seen them both in an egg. We call it 'going bad' in Narnia."

(The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C.S. Lewis, fifth installment of the Chronicles of Narnia).

Wonderfully put.

One thing that I can always talk about is shoes. Specifically heels. Specifically works of art that should be as beautiful as the perfectly designed feet that they encompass.

This week has been about Pedro Garcia (stunning designs and incredibly comfortable to wear) and a pair of knee high stiletto boots. The latter pair have heels that are tipped in metal which strike up brimstone-scented sparks of blue fire from the pavement. When I wear these boots, I feel I should have the same wallet as Samual L Jackson in Pulp Fiction.

Back to advertising, otherwise Drew will kill me (untrue but he's not here to defend himself - hah! Emma 1, Drew 0). Who, by the way, gave me a lovely introduction in his blog that I found really touching (http://tinyurl.com/c5v5j3). Check out his blog anyway, the boy's got chat - www.andrewspencer.biz/blog

Q's Cruise:

The following points are questions (some of them via my Twitter postings in their original and abbreviated forms), statements and comments. I have left in original article references so as not to seem cleverer than I actually am.

Is there anything that Twitter can't do? Except make money, that is.

I simply cannot wait for their business model. Twitter enables me to keep up with industry and creative news – and have cool stuff brought to my attention in lovely bite-sized chunks. Quicker than almost any other news channel. And I’m the one who personalises it! Lovely. It is not for letting people know what I'm having for lunch or that I'm sleepy or hungover. Or vice versa.

Doesn't writing content specifically for Kindle (http://tinyurl.com/dflvpy) create a new medium rather than just making books electronic? (Kindle creating new medium Kindle 2 usability review, thanks www.useit.com\! http://tinyurl.com/8fnqkm

Are books the new tapes? OK, not quite but you can see where I’m going with this – CDs and then software like iTunes has completely changed the way we listen to music. How often do you now know the artwork of an album, or even always listen to them in their original order of play, or even in their entirety?

The most successful brands attitude to social media* is to go with the flow. Coke did exactly the right thing regarding their initially unauthorised Facebook page. They are 2nd only to Obama (article includes top ten FB pages) http://tinyurl.com/d78tyg

*Aside - should this movement be renamed social mafia? I'm sure some brands think so - although Domino’s conducted themselves quite admirably. I’ll come back to you on this one.

Art - Advised further 'reading' to a friend re upper echelons of the street art movement.. Antony Micallef.. Can’t get over this guy’s work. http://tinyurl.com/d3zjc9

Today's petty annoyance: Facebook asking me what's on my mind in an effort to glean a status out of me... Sooooo subversive..

Leading neatly on to the following:

RT @michelletripp Proof Facebook is Censoring You. As tested by @ariwriter. http://bit.ly/VSOKW (evj *gasp* Bad FB!)

Let's be honest, Facebook is not owned by Mark Zuckerberg, it's owned by the CIA and they are watching us.

The only good drop down menu is a.... MEGA drop down menu! User testing results hot off the press... http://tinyurl.com/cgbup8

It wouldn’t be too harsh to say that I have a hatred of drop down menus. They pop up when they are not wanted and are as slippery as algae covered eels. The mega drop down menu is a joy because it makes the navigation… usable! Ta da!

Still loving articles discussing Facebook Vs Twitter... Is this the web heavyweight bout of the year? http://tinyurl.com/d5afed

Nothing like a good ruck! Hang on, is this the grown-up equivalent of inciting a riot in the playground by shouting ‘Fight! Fight! Fight!’?

I love www.tinyurl.com BUT using this tool does mean you don't advertise the actual site name upon the first instance of your audience's attention. Not so cool for the site, right?

Subsequently, I quite often 'thank' the website or post the article's original online appearance when I post on Twitter. Seems fair this way. Often, when citing an article buried in a website, the URL is so long that, aesthetically, it's offensive. Is there not a way that individual websites can create their own shortened URLs but so they retain their site address?

Finally:

With all my obsession on why usability testing is not only justifiable (CX Partners write this up so much more eloquently (http://tinyurl.com/c4mleg) but imperative, I'd like you to consider the following line of thought: that you can't always listen to your users - innovate and lead from the front http://tinyurl.com/dn7fgc (thanks www.techcrunch.com)

My two cents (AKA the even more self indulgent bit):

At the end of the day, it is leaps of creativity that move us forward and make us ultimately, infallibly, and so enchantingly human. This, my friends, is what separates us from the animals. We are gifted with a level of consciousness that, unlike animals and for better or worse, transcends the grace of our day-to-day existence and all that goes with it, and allows us to create gratuitously. Thus bestowing our lives with more beauty and wonderment than perhaps we have a right to. Try not to take it for granted because whilst the property market may still drop further, more financial service companies may topple and consumerism as we know it (*dare to hope or is this too far? *) may be looking at oblivion, this ability may be 'all' we end up with.

Footnote:

I promise that my blogs will start being more focused and concise. Eventually. And yes, of course I am aware that this post, in parts, somewhat contradicts my last post – what do you think I am? Schizophrenic? Of course I know. I wouldn’t say that the value of creativity versus usability is a battle that rages constantly in my mind; they are two different things that can co-exist and stand utterly independent from each other. It just so happens that some days, on a personal level, I am more in love with, or preoccupied with one, the other or both at the same time. Fucking hell, I find writing exhausting. Do you have any idea how much energy it consumes when, articulately, one is incontinent? I’m off to make tea. Hope that wherever you are, there is hot sweet tea for you too.

Oscar Wilde: We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

2009-02-10T10:35:00.000Z

I've been ordered, by my boss, to start blogging. (I work for an advertising agency as an Interactive Client Partner.) Now I anticipate that most of what I write to be from the gutter. And like most things that are found in the gutter, it's gonna stink. But the deal is that I persevere and hopefully, the stars will eventually emerge.

At the very least, this will provide me with an arena to vomit the endless stream of what passes for my musings, thoughts and ideas into.

Currently I am obsessed with usability. And findability. And ambient findability. Moreover, how usability effects but doesn't smother (in fact it feeds) inspirational web design. I'm afraid I am talking stats - web stats, demographics, user personas; mountains of data that needs to be crunched, organised and basically whipped into shape. I am in love with emotive and art-for-the-sake-of-art design. Design that makes you gasp, that communicates, that transcends barriers and informs one in a way that is beyond articulation. But the more I learn, the more usability, in all its forms, becomes the first question I ask when presented with a web-centric project.

As users become evermore demanding and expect information to be handed to them on a silver platter, with a flourish heralded by a personalised trumpet composition, we need to pay attention to usability. We need to do more than pay attention - we need it to become fundamental and apply it with respect, objectivity and open mindedness. In other words, we need to start designing for the user, and how they want to be communicated with. No more designs based on the CEO's personal preferences and no more design for techies that enjoy figuring things out and dissecting them (unless they are the end user of course!). It's time for users, and consumers, to be catered to and respected. And no, I do not mean that we stop challenging and pushing boundaries, being innovative, brave, daring and revolutionary; merely that we don't do so gratuitously and to the detriment of the user who requires the information we are providing.

I increasingly suspect that the rise of social media might even make advertising (as a movement but not ever as an art form) increasingly honest. Sorry, that last sentence should have come with a *whisper* warning. It's a fact that in the noughties, as never before, we have immediate access to reviews and opinions on any product or company. I wonder if consumers would (as has been implied by many an article) take a stranger's word, via an online forum, on a service or product as an authority far above the company's deliberately portrayed brand ID. (More on this in later blogs - this gets me going on lifestyle brands.) Paradoxically, I am equally sure that the industry will find more ways of combating this - Ultimate Fighting eat your heart out, this'll be a fight to the death.

Social networking is getting more and more pervasive. It seems that honesty, integrity and quality of service might even become the differentiator between certain types of brands.

Is advertising dead? Marketing and product have converged. The consumer doesn't separate the marketing experience from the product experience. Thanks to social networking, brands and their products and campaigns can and are rapidly evaluated, validated or dismissed, ignored or at worst ridiculed, to a real time audience almost as soon as they are launched. We live in a web 3.0 world, where the private individual's opinions and experiences can travel across the globe in milliseconds. Will it transpire that brand perceptions will be fundamentally unable to be manipulated by the brand or their agencies? It's a thrilling thought. But are we prepared to be brave enough for this brave new world?

I don't believe that advertising (in all its truly glorious glory) is dead. But it's face has definitely changed.

On a more prosaic note, my washing machine has just died and the mouse pad on my laptop doesn't work. Ace.

For more concise ramblings, follow me on Twitter:

http://twitter.com/evj

Coming soon:

Usability and why the user can't be trusted (you'll understand when I post!)
Brands that are allowed to make mistakes and how they got there
Social networking
Social media
Cool/funny stuff
More mundane details of my life
Studies, articles and other people's work
How trends, art, fashion and advertising are intrinsically linked, on even the most basic levels

Disclaimer:

The above post are the inane ramblings entirely of my own invention; and consists neither of the opinions or inane ramblings of the industry I love, the company I work for, the friends that I socialise with or even the people I see on the street. I am not an expert, merely an interested observer who doesn't sleep that much and needs an outlet. I don't even suppose for one minute that this blog will be read by anyone other than myself and my boss. And even my boss will probably just lie and say that he has. I would also like to point out that I'm aware my sentences are too long for webcopy (ironically I flag this up on briefs to copywriters all the time!) but I'm trying and hoping some sort of coherence will eventually win through. I do make up words. My prose style could only be described as whimsical - and only then by people that love me. And I ramble. Incessantly.