dan heaver

love this too.

This is all over the tube right now.

Look at it. It's brilliant.

Brilliant writing. Makes the inoffensive John Lewis seem up its own arse with just two words, then BANG - dixon's straight down the line normal kind of guy.

Brilliant design. So simple. No doubt some will mock it for being crude or unsophisticated. BUT THAT'S WHY IT WORKS.

And the tag line. The tag line! How did they get that through? It's the very best kind of play - you kick off with a negative, blink, and end up with the desired message. Reel em in, then reward. Classic.

The client deserves a medal. This kind of idea is normally the Creative's favourite, then the client goes with the third option, probably tagged 'Dixon's. The better place to go'. 

Have a pint of warm ale on me.

starting a different ending

I remember loads of public information films: Green Cross code man, 

one with deep sexual undertones about a car overtaking a bicycle , 

and Charley.

But this was a more honest world before multichannel tv, before sky plus, and when men with puppies were only beginning to be eyed with suspicion.

COI still spits out some great public information films, but I doubt they get the same kind of audience charley and sexy bicyclist did. Why? In simple terms it has to be distribution. No longer is there a medium to play films over and over to gain affection by attrition. You've got to get people engaged. Horrible word, but it's the best there is. That's why creative has got so much better. People are interested in it. Engaged.

Now creativity has been woven into the means of distribution. Simon Ellis has directed a brilliant campaign for the Met (presumably through Central Office of Information?) which uses Youtube annotated notes to give you a choice at critical moments in the story, each choice links through to a different video. The tale unfolds as you click through and, once you reach the end, compels you to start again and reach a different ending. So for most people who watch it, they watch it a minimum of two times. Genius.

It's a nice execution using the massively under-used Point of View conceit to great effect. But it's the method of truly interactive distribution that's brilliant. Whether or not the yoot think so, or whether it reveals itself as ultimately gimmicky can only later become clear. Personally, I think it has a limited life-span and genuinely unusual / inspired creative will remain the enduring option. But right now, this campaign deserves bigging right up.*

Ay.

*Oh yes.

upgrade your leotard.

Regular leotards are so 2008. Check out Wrestler Studio's Creative Leotards.

They'll be talk of the town come September.

i say, well done.

Love this.

What a wicked way to promote your new product which is, essentially the same thing. Tough brief, but carried off with aplomb. And kudos to microsoft for going with the creative.

Everyone knows that microsoft office is updated every so often, but do you know when? This trailer for the fictional film manages to poke fun at itself and the product it's promoting. The result? Personality. People like personality. What I love the most is it tells you virtually nothing about what's new for microsoft 2010, just that it's out. That's right people, i'm not stupid. Don't feed me the fucking information like a drone. Entertain me. Then maybe, I'll make my own mind up. And I'll respect you for allowing me that privilege.

Good day. 

good viral?

Well someone sent it to me. And I enjoyed it. And someone told me it's for the drink he puts on his head.

But what is the drink? 

It's beautifully executed. Message boards are on fire with comments about how real it is. Some claim to have seen it go out live. Obviously that's bollocks. But then maybe it's only meant for an audience that would recognise that drink.

Then it went viral.

bug

Ended up at bug last night on the South Bank. Host is radio's Adam Buxton. Funny man. Shambolic, but funny. The form is a run through of recent music videos (sometimes ads and short films, but not last night) picked for interesting direction. Adam bumbles through the name of the directors and maybe trawls through Youtube comments - which is good, because no sane person would have the time or inclination to read all 659 comments left by middle aged agraphobics with unusually strong right arms, and so no sane person is normally exposed to the comedy gold woven within.

Anyway, here's some of the best stuff from last night

Matt and Kim - Lessons Learned

(dir Taylor Cohen and Otto Arsenault)

really enjoyed this. Looked like one take. A bit of trickery at the end. Like much of the stuff we saw last night, reminded me that shooting at 35fps or something similar gives a really beautiful quality to to otherwise ordinary environments.

North of Ping Pong - What Goes Up 

(dir Adam Smith)

Part of the Q&A with Adam Smith. Smith kicked off doing visuals for the chemical brothers, worked on most of Mike Skinner's vids, was picked up by the Skins lot at C4 and directed Little Dorritt. The interview wasn't very revealing ("I don't really do anything. I just work with great performers. that's it"). Buxton did warn us he was a rubbish interviewer. He actually said he was the worst interviewer in the world. I think that was a bit harsh. Just a bit. They also showed the new Dust video with Jamie Winstone and Alfie Allen. Not a patch on this though - just strapping a camera to jamie winstone (a la Lock Stock when Nick Moran loses his poker game) and letting her out in late night soho.

St Vincent - Actor Out of Work,

In the pantheon of simple but great ideas. Shouldn't keep you going for two and a half mins, but it does. 

We sat next to miranda sawyer. She wasn't as gobby in the flesh, even when I trod on her friends coat. But I could tell she was angry inside.

monty python and the holy gatorade

I'm a massive fan of the Holy Grail. I think it trumps the Life of Brian. So I should hate this parody.

But I don't. i love it. I don't know why Monty Python let them do it. It could have been horrible. But it's great - faithful enough in detail (the structure of sorcerer is perfect), but different enough to make it its own.

Isn't there a St AAaaaaaaargh in Cornwall?

i'm back

I've been away. Not that you'd notice. But I have. And now I'm back. I didn't really go away. I was taken. By the Norovirus. He's a nasty little bastard, but he can't hold on to you for long. And when you come back, you feel like you've been given a second chance.

In some ways, it's a bit like this.

And in others, it's not.

Mornington Crescent's bastard brother

Getty images have just judged their short film competition. The winner is Photograph of Jesus, a really smart visual piece set to an interview with an archivist about stupid requests. 

My favourite is the runner up - Perrington Stud. Visually, it's not as impressive, but it's perfect for this ripping yarn which has some of the best writing I've heard in ages. Gems like: 

"Davey had taught him Perrington Stud's most valuable lesson; rules are for suckers with fingers to spare."

Creative Review has the full list of winners here.

no one cares about you

Will someone please tell every creative director /marketing exec / channel head to watch this film

Smart man.