needs versus wants

Mercedes Promotes Play

2011-05-24T07:53:00.000-07:00

With the prestigious Monaco Gran Prix this weekend, MB posted on Twitter and Facebook, a challenge to Gran Turismo 5 fans to best the real lap-times of team drivers Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg.

Couple things interesting about this:
A small example of doing something that gets people to play along w/your brand.
Further promoting the MB SLS AMG and sponsorship of GT5 among core performance enthusiasts.

No prize offered by MB, other than bragging rights. And maybe a seat on next year's MB F1 team?

What co-partnerships do we have w/our clients' brands that we could create some playful participation among their fan community?

Is entertainment check-in really that social?

2011-05-24T07:44:00.000-07:00

Saw this story that suggests that a new crop of entertainment check-in apps allow for social TV watching. I've been playing around with a couple of these entertainment check-in apps, Get Glue and IntoNow lately, and still find them both less "social" than the types of conversations we would see blow-up on Facebook or Twitter during the TV events like the Superbowl, the VMAs, or even weekly episodes of American Idol.

Love the 1-click simplicity of IntoNow, however it lacks the social aspect of fostering dialog between show fans. The "shazam-like" feature makes it really easy to use. Anyone knows how the recent Pepsi Max/MLB "Free 20oz" promotion performed?

Get Glue is basically a 4sq. version where users are awarded badges for sharing the type of content you're consuming. Users can type in a short comment, or review of the content. I've used this feature to decide if I want to watch a particular episode or movie from Netflix. For the user, there's a bit more work required to type-in the content name, and the app does not recognize or allow users the ability to add web-based content. Missed opportunity here?

For people who are into entertainment check-in apps, what kind of rewards could we excite them with? How could we make them more "social"?

surfing nostalgia

2011-04-18T09:08:00.000-07:00

for the past few years, i've seen a trend in surf shops that appeal to a more nostalgic aesthetic. so instead of the flashiness and bigness of most shops cater to a wider, mainstream audience, shops like Thalia, Mollusk, Shelter and even Saturdays Surf NYC target a more discerning and artisanal buyer. these shops will take their time to nurture a relationship with their customers. whereas the others will try to get you on frequency and will compete for your dollar with the online retailers.

i've always enjoyed the experience at these smaller boutique-y shops that have a knowledgeable staff, most of them also happen to be the owners. these guys are doing it for the love of surf culture and not trying to cash-in on a squid looking to wear the latest Kelly Slater boardshort. people who've been surfing for a long time, or those who really appreciate the craftsmanship, quality and rich history and story of a surfboard, wetsuit or even a tshirt design will enjoy these "retro" surf shops.

everyone all play nice together now

2010-12-20T09:14:00.000-08:00

It's finally here. Just when you started to get bored of Foursquare, they've made a much needed update to the location-based social network platform with the added functionality of photo sharing and comments. We've been playing a lot with Instagram lately, and have seen a drop in Fsq usage. Now, with integration not only with Instagram and even Foodspotting, users can get check-in credits for posting on other LBS platforms. Nice. What are your thoughts on this latest update? Will you see more interaction between your Fsq friends now?

sour's "mirror"

2010-12-09T11:19:00.001-08:00

What if we took your reflection from the internets and mashed it up into a music video? We'd get the Japanese band Sour's latest digital awesome, Mirror. A bit of a social media navel gazing and snappy little music video experience. And, if you haven't seen any of Sour's earlier work, it's a visually delightful piece. It's much better than this version. More here.

authentic sole?

2010-12-02T09:37:00.001-08:00

Mass shoe-teria Foot Locker is jumping on the sneaker-culture scene by creating an online community for sneaker-heads, called "Sneakerpedia". Bold move on their part to add value to a passionate tribe of sneaker-addicts, or, will it reek of big money marketing trying to buy their way into relevance?

When I was a kid, I remember fondly going to the Kinney Shoe store to pick-up my kicks w/my parents. Will the next generation of sneaker-freaks find 'em at Foot Locker or hipster boutiques like UNDFTD? i know, i'm not ready to sink-down $1000 for of Nike 6.0 Deloreans for my kid.

Sneakerpedia Trailer from Sneakerpedia on Vimeo.

[via Contagious]

Nike 6.0 Deloreans

insights from the outside

2010-12-02T08:21:00.000-08:00

it's easy to get caught-up in the race to be the first to tweet, post, link, share out the latest and greatest shit that we find online. i'm guilty of it myself. when i used to have my office inside the client's office, it helped me be "that guy" when they wanted a creative spark of inspiration for a brainstorm. it was a defense mechanism that i had built-up to justify my reason for being. however, more and more now, i believe that as planners we need to be more than just "curators of cool" or finding ways-in for our creative teams. ultimately, we need to find ways to help our clients make money. [pause]. this requires more thinking, but there's some good discussion about it here from Faris' chat at the Boulder Digital Works/NY thing today.

what i really wanted to share was this post over at Rob Campbell's blog about the need to get our heads out of our asses and live in the real world. i've always been a big fan of getting outside of the office as often as we can to really see, observe and take note of what real people are doing. go to a walmart, a target, the local grocery store, or walk around the mall. look at what people are putting into their shopping carts. what items are flying off the shelf at the trader joe's? talk to the sales associates and see what trends they've noticed about their customers. i'll bet you'll find more interesting, insightful and relevant stories here than anything your cool-hunting sites will uncover. and if you do feel the need to tweet-out your found gem, go for it. you'll probably even scoop PSFK.

Jeep Puzzle Twitter Challenge

2010-11-22T08:33:00.000-08:00

Very clever, and perhaps a bit nerdy Twitter game that gives you the chance to name your price on a new Jeep. I like these types of examples that demonstrate an understanding of the user behavior in the space and adds value to the experience.

[via @glueisobar

do stuff FOR people

2010-11-18T14:32:00.000-08:00

Love this idea from ASICS posting words, pictures and video bits of encouragement to the runners of the recent NYC Marathon. Rather than throwing a lot of sponsorship money at a high-profile event to buy eyeballs, why not do something of value for the runners and their friends and family? Does this idea feel to similar to Nike Chalkbot? Probably. Does it try to make it better? Definitely. Bravo, ASICS! Oh, and BTW, here's some more awesome from the ASICS/Tiger Onitsuka.

[via AdFreak.com]

getting it right [sorta]

2010-11-16T10:03:00.000-08:00

What I've seen of Hermès shoppers at the South Coast Plaza store, I can't imagine that any of them would care for this video. Despite the idea being a bit off target, I do give credit to the brand for nailing-it with the execution and choreography of the skateboarding moves.

It's almost as nice as this one from Nissan a few years ago. Lesson here: If you're going to borrow interest from board sports like skateboarding, surfing or snowboarding, do it right. Or end up annoying some people.

[via ThreeBillion.com]

a shiny new toy in the bag-o-tricks

2010-11-15T13:39:00.000-08:00

3D Projection mapping on buildings.

On cars.

On snow.

And now on shoes.

Projection mapping is the new flashlight painting. It wasn't that long ago when we were all in love with the Pika Pika light painting made popular notably by the folks at Sprint. These visual gimmicks seem to come and go with some initial buzz and excitement for the brand that brings it first to market. But what about the others that follow thereafter? Are they doing anything that makes the technique better? Are they adding anything to the brand narrative? Or better yet, are they doing anything that adds tangible value to peoples' lives? Or perhaps, are these new shiny, digital, "techie" things created, just another way to create some interactivity and dialog with our audience? If not, then I'd say they're just poor imitations that has no purpose other than having something shiny to add to someone's reel and not really addressing a challenge in a creative way.

Delightfully Unexpected

2010-04-12T16:48:00.001-07:00

One would assume that being in the ad biz for as long as I have, that nothing can get us excited these days. I have to admit, I'm a sucker for anything clever and unexpected when it comes to brands interacting with people, on and offline. It doesn't have to be a grand gesture or blown-out marketing campaign. It's the little things that count. Do it in a delightful and unexpected way and you'll get people to look forward to "having a conversation" w/your brand. Sorry for this overused, social media cliche, but it's all I got right now. You can punch me in the face later. Brands should should be here to enable interaction, and not just a transaction. Damn, was that another cliche? Okay, I'll stop now. But before I do, check out this Twitter reply I received from the @OCGoodwill today after a Foursquare post mentioning them over the weekend. What I found really cool about this was that they didn't feel it was necessary to follow me just because I mentioned them in a tweet. How often have you experienced brands on twitter quick to auto-follow or spam you with links once you mention them in a tweet? Most of the time, it's taken out of context and the company starts to become really annoying. This small, unexpected, no-strings attached reply was genuine and unassuming. It had me feeling delightfully more positive about the brand than I ever would have, had they not reached out. Now, isn't that what it's all about?

Kaption Kontest Friday #1

2010-04-09T13:18:00.001-07:00

One of the reasons why my wife doesn't like the idea of me getting an iPad.

via

beyond badges

2010-04-02T09:58:00.000-07:00

Really, how many more badges do we really want? It seems that most brands entering the location game think that badges are enough to get players interested? Yes, they are definitely a way-in right now, however, players are going to want more from the interaction. Starbucks is slowly testing out the waters with Foursquare right now by simply offering up badges. Eventually, one would hope that they will roll-out other more tangible rewards for their customers. Free Wi-Fi anyone? Or how about a free breakfast sandwich? I really like this latest example on the Gowalla platform with the New Jersey Nets basketball team. In the "game" spirit of these location-based platforms, Gowalla will create a scavenger hunt encouraging players to find hidden digital tickets at various sporting locations around the NJ area. The digital tickets can be redeemed for an actual ticket to attend the last game of the season. Once there, Gowalla players will also be able to unlock badges that can also be redeemed towards Nets merchandise. I don't follow the basketball, but I would suspect that there's a universe of people on Gowalla in the NJ area would find this compelling and perhaps get them to participate, no? Brilliant. You are giving me something of real, tangible value for my participation and making it fun for me. Thank you. As companies start to explore and experiment with these new location apps, the challenge will be to understand the playful-like behavior of people in this space and then providing them something of tangible value, beyond just a digital token. Beyond the badge.

Live-Action Videogame Trailers

2010-03-30T17:29:00.000-07:00

Last Fall, right before the videogame launch of Assassin's Creed 2, Ubisoft released a live-action web series that served as the prequel to the Assassin's Creed 2 story. Although it was mostly shot against green screen, it does have the feel of a blockbuster summer action flick. Now, Ubisoft comes back again with another live-action trailer, this one for the upcoming Ghost Recon: Future Soldier game. With game samples surpassing movie ticket receipts in the past few years, is it any wonder that these game titles are putting this much support behind the launches? Will we start to see big-screen movie stars play along as well? When will other game producers get into the mix?

What I also really dig about this and the AC2 example, is that the game narrative lives beyond the gaming console experience. Gamers and fans can now get deeper into the story.

4Square Offers

2010-03-30T10:15:00.000-07:00

For some of us ad nerds who've been playing around on Foursquare this past year, one of the most frequently asked questions I get is the "so what's in it for me"? When asked, I've described Foursquare as a mobile version of the loyalty punch card. This new site answers that question even better, by showing what a tangible, real-world experience can be for players. The site 4SquareOffers.com identifies locations of businesses that offer some type of freebie by simply checking-in or a really special incentive for mayors. Although it does seem that mostly small businesses are using Foursquare at the moment, more and more big brands are playing along and finding new ways to make it interesting, for all of us, and not just ad nerds.

planning with purpose

2009-11-02T15:02:00.000-08:00

Planningness Recap for interTrend Comunications

View more documents from nguyen duong.

a recap of two presentations from the "Planning-ness" conference that has the most relevance to my day-to-day here at our little asian-american ad shop, interTrend Communications. i've borrowed a lot of thinking and slides from people much smarter than me in putting this little recap together. for more in-depth smarts go to these 2 links here and here.

this was the most well organized and productive conferences i've ever been to. kudos to Mark Lewis and Claire Grinton on getting us all excited to make things. Looking forward to the next Planning-ness

the relationship

2009-10-30T08:36:00.000-07:00

[photo]

The relationship of a client to an agency, is like that of a surfer to a shaper. Like most relationships, it is one that is built on communication and trust. But what makes some relationships so rich and prolific that it creates just tons of awesome? When the relationship between the two entities creates a culture, rather than just commercials for it's clients, or how about heaps of world titles and constantly pushing the boundaries of surfing with innovative board designs?

I believe it's an open and honest dialog between surfer/shaper and client/agency that yields the most rewarding ideas. I've had a few custom boards shaped for me over the years. With each consult w/the shaper, the best ones have come out of exchanges when the shaper asks all the questions to understand my surfing style, experience, and the conditions where I most often surf. This is when you [as a surfer or client] check your ego at the door and provide as much honest feedback as possible so that the shaper/agency can craft the appropriate board/idea for your needs. Most of the time, whether you're a pro or weekend-warrior like myself, we all want that "magic" board that does it all for us. however, we really don't know how to articulate the shape/design of what that "magic" board should be. Enter the expertise of the shaper. the best shapers are the ones that can understand the strengths/weaknesses of the surfer, the wave conditions, etc to craft that "magic" board. there has to be a dialog and trust between the two for it to work. And also, the good shapers don't talk over the heads of their clients either. they both have to be on the same "wavelength".

So there has to be a collaboration and mutual respect of each other's talents. How many times has a client tried to cocktail napkin a layout to their agency partner? Or, when an agency exaggerates how in love they are with a client's brand, just so that they can win the business? Respect. Respect what each person brings (e.g. assets/skills) to the table and work on creating a mutually beneficially relationship. The more a shaper gets to understand the surfer, the better the boards he/she can make for them. And in turn, a more prolific relationship where both get what they want. Better boards, better business.

Yes, there's also an exception. Most amazing surfers or clients can do almost anything despite the quality of the board/creative that is made for them. But those are probably few and far between. Hold onto the clients that you have and work on building the trust and confidence to experiment, innovate, and grow. I'd really like to think that we nurture those client/agency--surfer/shaper relationships so that we continue to elevate the work that is being created. Oh, and another thought...I think this analogy can also be made between the role of account planners to their creative partners as well. As planners our briefs that we produce for creatives should also be a collaborative process that includes honest communication and respect for each other. and just like the surfer who has an on-going dialog w/the shaper to create that "magic" board, and so should us planners w/our creative partners in developing the idea. yeah, agree? what say you?

o_O that look

2009-10-09T11:13:00.000-07:00

ever since i've made it a point to connect w/people offline earlier this year, i've been getting those strange looks o_O from my wife every time i mention "i'm meeting a Twitter-friend." The strange look resembles something like the look that you got back in the early 00s when you told your roommate that you were having "coffee" w/someone you just met online. ;)

since then, i think the social web has matured a bit [just a bit]. there's no shortage of social media gurus out there telling you how you're doing it wrong ;) and by our very own experience, and interactions w/others on the web, we've learned where some of the guardrails and pitfalls are. myself, i've have had a couple mis-steps that i still regret, however, i've learned from them. right, moving on now.

the way i use the social web is different from how, let say, how my wife uses the web. both, though coming from a specific need. for me, it's been a journey on connecting w/other people outside of the orange curtain. For me it's the opportunity to learn and discuss ideas outside my immediate surroundings so that i can find applications to my profession. it came from a need. i'm more willing to put myself out there and meet new people.

for my wife, a facebook fanatic, who's constantly denying friend requests of ppl she doesn't know, she uses the social web as an alternative to connect w/her IRL friends as our lives have become time-crunched for [quality] attention w/our group of friends. again, a need.

with people publicly sharing every moment of their lives on the social web, we've come to have developed somewhat of a digital intimacy and perhaps, trust of the people we meet online. this is not new to most people who've been blogging for a long time, who have developed a relationship-->friendship w/their readers, strictly online, and then having the opportunity to meet IRL. with Twitter, tweet-ups, meet-ups, and twestivals, I think it has accelerated that time [of online relationship development]. can you tell a lot about a person from just 140characters? or is it the string of all the daily FB status updates, flickr posts, tweets, blips and blog comments spread throughout the web that we make ourselves transparent-->real to people? Yes, there are chances that these digital personas can be manufactured, buyer beware i guess. these days, it seems that you can pretty much stay "connected" on the daily happenings of the people in your network thru so many different and shared platforms. i'm really excited to see how google wave and perhaps this Threadsy will simplify all these online platforms we're on.

i do find that it really is beneficially to carry those public, online conversations to the offline. I've been delighted by the opportunities to chat on phone or meet for coffee w/people whom I've met via Twitter and from reading their blogs. all of this didn't happen overnight though. these people demonstrated to me that they were stand-up human beings from their interactions across the social web. and myself, i'm learning from them and trying to do the same for myself. hopefully, the next time i say that "i'm mtg so-'n-so from Twitter", I won't get that look.

follow the good stuff

2009-09-24T11:07:00.001-07:00

last week on my way into work, i was listening to an interview w/actor Jason Schwartzman on the Kevin & Bean radio show. If you've heard of Jason, you may know some of his work in films and his band Phantom Planet. Jason is now embarking on a new TV series. the interviewer asked Jason if he saw this new venture as a "step down" in doing the glitzy feature film work? Jason's response was [paraphrase]: "no, I just follow the good stuff." Film, TV, web, music, whatever the project is, if it's good, that's where you should be. This really had me think about some of the people that I've talked to recently who have affected by the recent economic turndown--->read: laid-off. About half felt that they needed to find something quick and just get a paycheck in. Others, saw it as a blessing and have taken the time to re-evaluate what's important to them. Both have their strong arguments, depending on your outlook on things i guess. Myself, I am very grateful for the network of friends that i have for support around me, and have the opportunity to participate in projects that i'm really passionate about [more on that later] and still keep a day job where the people around me teach me something new everyday. that's good, no? we spend too much of our waking day w/people at work, why not make the best of it. look around you, if you're not stoked on what you're doing at the moment, change it, or move on [to where you'll do some good]. And don't look at it as a "step down".

Universal McCann Power to the People

2009-07-27T13:34:00.000-07:00

Wave 4 "power to the people"

View more documents from Julius Trujillo.

"dramatic changes in the way that consumers are using the internet to create and share their thoughts, pictures and videos" [via @pete291]

The Machine is (Changing) Us: YouTube and the Politics of Authenticity

2009-07-21T07:46:00.000-07:00

Just an awesome vid that had me think about internet culture and how we, erm some of us are behaving differently because of it.

Pecha Kucha Night/OC - coming soon

2009-07-10T11:17:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to attending a pecha kucha night recently with my pal Gil Aranowitz If you're not familiar with pecha kucha have a quick look here basically, it's a preso-style where you are limited to 20images x 20seconds to tell your story. i think it's a great way to train yourself to be present with purpose.

Gil and I both wanted to scope out the action, as we are looking to start a pecha kucha night here behind the Orange Curtain.

this particular preso connected with me the most. the presenter, Megan Willis, shares her thoughts on how to get functional use out of "residual spaces" in an urban area, specifically, downtown San Diego. she sees opportunities in these spaces to create more function, practicality and community in an urban setting.

more here from Megan Willis and here observations on residual spaces

the fans make it happen

2009-07-08T13:50:00.001-07:00

no budget, no access to actors and cameras, no problem. this is what happens when you come up with a great idea and get fans to help you realize it. sure, it probably required A LOT of hard work and thinking, but what doesn't if you want something that people will connect with and want to be a part of? more about the creation and collaboration of this video here. A bit of this project reminds me of those audience participation stunts you see during the Superbowl halftime shows, using those flip cards to tell a story. Is it really so much different from the idea that people like Henry Jenkins and Faris suggests: "Bring people together and give them something to do"? a couple more examples of this I talked about here. I love this kind of work. It's honest and just good fun, and best of all, it harnesses the power of the fans via the internet. does your brand have this type of fan devotion? does that mean we should always be challenged with $0 budgets? not necessarily, but it has been a challenge that we've all had to overcome sometime or other in our careers, especially in these financially hard times. Here's to inspiring work and the fans that make it happen.

via BBH Labs

2009-06-25T12:42:00.001-07:00

Changing The Currency

View more presentations from Helge Tennø.

transmedia & advertising

2009-06-15T16:45:00.001-07:00

Transmedia & Advertising

View more Microsoft Word documents from Ivan Askwith.

the matrix, lost, BMW's "the hire" and more. all these have stories have been told and shared thru a variety of media. each one inherently special among the community of people already having conversations there. a solid preso from @ivanovitch at Big Spaceship on the idea of sharing our brand narrative across multiple platforms.

the herd likes to surf

2009-06-10T10:23:00.000-07:00

my shower-time thinking this morning was reflecting on a tweet and post by Faris, stating that the herd likes to rave and also seeing Seth Godin's post on a movement, both of them related to this video showing some dude in his underwear dancing like a crazy man. Faris says that "people like to copy each other." and he continues with "That one person [or thing] can change behavior, if persistent, because it doesn't happen right away, and if the actions, and the copying, are visible to enough people." Watch the video. What is it that the 1st guy experienced or saw that others around him did not? and then as a few more jumped in to participate, did they also see/experience what the 1st guy had going on? perhaps? Seth also adds the observation that it's when the 3rd guy jumps-in to participate, that's what's important, and so starts the trend.

anyone who's been on an early dawn patrol surf session, the 1st guy there is the one who gets the chance to see and observe what the ocean is doing. with enough experience he can probably figure out where to paddle out to catch the most or best waves. as more people start to show up at the beach, you'll see how they'll observe as well. most will wait to see what kind of ride that solo guy out there is having (read: does he look like he's having fun). and as a few more people paddle out to where that one solo dawn patroller is, he's made the decision a lot easier for the rest of us to jump right in. just like after the 3rd guy jumped-in to dance along, more people followed. however, more people in that one dense spot, you're gonna have to fight over those waves. i've never understood why my buddy likes to surf where the crowds are. sure, he may pick off a few waves, but it's a paddle battle most of the time. especially here in dense SoCal surf breaks. myself, i hate surfing around crowds. i'd rather go to where there's smaller, crappier waves, but fewer people around. my idea of fun surf doesn't have to be huge, epic waves. as long as i'm still able to enjoy a few waves, i'm all good. sorry i digress to surfing (have it on my mind since we're going on a surf trip this weekend.)

as ad people, i think it's our job to always seek out and look for those individuals who has the vision and can inspire an idea or a movement. we can either look for that dude that is able to spot out early where the best waves are gonna be and eventually others will be there w/him, or we go to where fewer people are (like myself) and hang with them. ya know, kinda like fish where the fish are and all that. all of this takes a lot of observation, sharing, bookmarking and observing some more. we should bring our client's along in seeing the potential in these "visionary" individuals who can see what others have not. if brought-in early, enough we can be part of a really big thing. even if it's paddle-battle among a bunch of other surfers ;)

no cheesy pitchman harmed in the filming of this infomercial

2009-06-01T17:36:00.000-07:00

update Fri. June 5th: in the 4 days since the release of this video... 1.5MM views, 7100+ ratings, 2400+ comments. Make cool shit that people will want to see and share. How hard is that? ;)

2009-05-24T21:14:00.001-07:00

Brand Engagement thru Participation Slideshare

View more PDF documents from Nguyen Duong.

engagement through participation

2009-05-05T15:24:00.000-07:00

“The key is to produce something that both pulls people together and gives them something to do.” - Henry Jenkins, Dir. of MIT Comparative Media Studies

i came across the above quote over at faris' blog. there's a great discussion going on over there. after reading thru his post and the comments, the little bulb in my head flickered on and i wanted to share these thoughts on two pieces of communications that i believe are powerful ways to get people to interact with your brand.

the first is an interactive sign that does exactly that... it gets people, [in this case, tourists in a high-traffic area] to interact. a simple practice i'm sure most of us who have traveled on vacation, can always relate with, the "kodak moment" when we photograph ourselves at a particular landmark. McDonald's took that cultural observation and created an opportunity to allow vacationers at Piccadilly Circus to be a part of the brand... experience.

the second video already covered by other fine folks here and here, is more recent and is getting a lot of blog coverage. this one is pure and simple joy to me. i've seen it a bunch of times now, and it still makes me feel good inside. [yes, i'm a sappy dork]. unlike most other branded buzz events where companies have hired actors to recreate a flash-mob stunt, this one for T-Mobile's "life's for sharing" campaign, gathered people into Trafalgar Square to take part in a sing-a-long of the Beatle's song, "hey jude." how simply beautiful is that? and it hits dead-on w/the tagline and strategy of T-Mobile about sharing life experiences w/the other people. bravo! i'd love to see more of this from companies. how about you?

thanks for your time.

Twitter101 for InterTrend "Lunch 'n Learn"

2009-04-30T10:59:00.001-07:00

wanted to share my twitter intro preso that my agency, InterTrend asked me to take the staffers through. this is a quick overview of twitter, that led into a hands on demo. this was written for an audience of all 1st and generation 1.5 Asians/Asian-Americans.

Twitter101 for InterTrend "Lunch 'n Learn"

View more presentations from Nguyen Duong.

making the most out of our surroundings

2009-04-29T20:43:00.000-07:00

First off, I want to apologize for the shaky-cam. i don't have a tripod for this FLIP MinoHD yet.

I finally got around to attending a pecha kucha night recently with @buddingculture If you're not familiar with pecha kucha have a quick look here basically, it's a preso-style where you are limited to 20images x 20seconds to tell your story. i think it's a great way to train yourself to be present with purpose.

Gil and I both wanted to scope out the action, as we are looking to start a pecha kucha night here behind the Orange Curtain.

this particular preso connected with me the most. the presenter, Megan Willis, shares her thoughts on how to get functional use out of "residual spaces" in an urban area, specifically, downtown San Diego. she sees opportunities in these spaces to create more function, practicality and community in an urban setting.

more here from Megan Willis and here observations on residual spaces

i think companies and brands have something to learn from Megan's proposed thoughts here. have a look for yourself. do you see potential to make the most out of our neighborhood?

bs our way into a strategy

2009-04-10T10:20:00.001-07:00

and perhaps a job or a dept that perhaps isn't needed?

this is probably a topic that has been debated before, so forgive me if this sounds like a broken record.

what is the role of planning in advertising? (i'm looking to you creative folks). Planners, we can bullshit our way into an answer (either for ourselves or the client). ;)

a few weeks ago, i overhead this convo between an art director and a planner: "you guys (planners) are only telling me what i already know, but just make it more complicated"

then a recent post from the Ad Contrarian: "I'm tired of strategists" had me thinking a bit about the value and purpose for planners. read the comments, good debate.

a fellow planner in sweden posted this analogy of the role of planning

a lot of agencies like to talk a mean game about "turning insights into action" and great creative. before planning came around, where did these insights come from? who did the work to uncover them? who provided the inspiration? was it just some BS to get clients to feel better about the work we were gonna sell them?

or is planning suppose to help create? collaborate w/our creative partners? are we to find truths and opportunities that the creative team may not have realized or observed on their own? or should we just get the hell out of the way? do i find myself struggling with my recent decision to move into planning from account service? no. i've found my home. this is what gets my ass out of bed everyday.

are we necessary to the process? I'd like to think that we are. We are partners to our creative friends. we all in it to help solve our client's business problems. and today, more than ever, our clients are looking to us for more than just that :30second piece of film or page 4/C ad. we all need to be in the business of creative problem solving. in addition, as planners we should challenge not only our account folks but also our clients into solving for the right problems. we need to work closely w/our clients to define the business strategy, ask the right questions, observe, uncover, ask more questions and eventually inspire and create a launching off point for our idea creation folks. this is the role and the value that i see planning provides. it's the real deal insights, ideas, inspiration, or strategy that will help us connect w/relevance and a point of difference. sure there's probably a few exceptions out there w/the types of planners and what they bring to the table, however, like anything else, it all depends on how much the client and agency embrace planning and how much value you deliver, no matter what the title on your business card says. am i full of it? off base? i open the floor to you.

peace.

photo via: The Planning Lab

be interesting

2009-02-02T15:51:00.000-08:00

when i first started out in advertising, i used to think that it was the best job in the world. not in a sense that i was doing something that was making a big difference in people's lives, but more of the feeling that, "hey i'm surrounded by a lot of cool and talented people, doing some fun and interesting things with just words and pix." i used to surround myself with just ad people. all of my good bros (that i also surfed with) just happened to be in advertising. so yeah, i was pretty happy with my career choice and with the close knit group of friends around me. i had found my tribe. i also noticed that i was talking about ads all the time. there was no escape from it. my poor then girlfriend, now wife, had to endure so many get togethers, BBQs, cocktail parties, and company functions with the same type of people...ad people. but that was then, many years ago. today, i think i've matured and become comfortable in the skin that i'm in. not as an ad guy, but as a husband, a father, a son, a bro, a surfer, a cook, a photographer, a snowboarder, a fashion whore, a gadget geek, and probably a few more, but after all, i'm really just a person. the work that i do, does not define me. it is certainly a part of me, but it's just a part of my collective 38 years of experiences that has clumped onto me like different grains of sand, from different beaches, that stick to the wax on my surfboard. with each new beach that i surf and every fresh layer of wax that i rub onto the deck, i'm building more grip and traction to the board and therefore allowing me to surf with surefooted confidence. a lot of different experience = more confidence in who i am. i should be proud of the life and work experiences that i've had so far and carry that confidence into each interview. if i were an employer, i would bring in interesting people into their organizations. people with a variety of skills and interests that can bring that traction AND friction to foster a dynamic work experience. i wasn't planning to head down this path when i started to type this, but it just naturally went this way. so go with it.

what i really wanted to talk about was this tweet by @jasonoke this sunday right before the superbowl. the tweet read: "Why people care about SuperBowl ads: it's the one day a year the brief is "be INTERESTING", not "be on message." Let's do that more often." i couldn't agree more. BRAVO! so many times, we get trapped in the box of coming up with ideas that deliver a very clinical, 1-way message to people. the notion of "being interesting" can easily get lost in a poorly conceived strategy, or an ill-defined business problem to solve for. at the end of the day, it becomes just noise to the rest of us, especially the rest of us that ARE NOT in advertising. people who don't do what we do, don't read into ads as much as we do.

so by now, most of us ad folks have seen and talked about the Cadbury Eyebrows spot. what i loved about this ad, was that it was simply entertaining. it was interesting. and i also have to agree with the post over at Influx about the 9 reasons why cadbury's eyebrows are a hit, and especially if the idea "can spawn derivatives - people can try this themselves and post videos" which is clearly evident here , here , and here. these appear to have been created by fans of the idea, not ad folks who've taken an interest in this darling of spot. i also have my buddy clay who's not an ad guy also post the spot to his facebook profile. when i asked him about how he found this, he told me he saw it on his other friends facebook profile and he wanted to share it. now isn't that what it's all about? let's come up with ideas that are interesting, and not always be about force fitting some brand manager's positioning statement into a target audiences' head. so going back to jason's original tweet, i am inspired to challenge ourselves to come up with interesting ideas, that'll hopefully inspire others to share the work we create vs just being on message.

paddle-in contender

2009-02-01T12:34:00.000-08:00

Axier Muniain Belharra from manet310 on Vimeo.

this should get recognition for the largest paddle-in wave of the year from the billabong xxl crew. location: belharra in the french basque country.

inspire to do good

2009-01-07T08:52:00.000-08:00

if a one-man brand like David Armano can inspire a community to take action and do good, why don't we feel or take action the same way when big brands reach out to us? when was the last time you kicked in some loose change to the "charity jar" at your local fast food joint? or how about when a brand volunteers time at a youth club, do you bother reading the story, does it even change your perception of that brand?

what is it that made so many people, who have never met Daniela's Family and perhaps who probably have never even met David Armano want to reach out and help?

i've been thinking a lot about this idea that i've been working on called "community voice" coupled with the spirit of creating communications that "does GOOD" vs "doing good work." do you see the difference with me?

mr. armano is a brand. a very good brand that has produced solid content where he has built the trust and respect among his fans. i'm sure it doesn't come easy for him, he has to continually work at it, creating content that is relevant, good, and most importantly conversational between him (his brand) and his readers? how many other brands do you know can do the same with such consistency?

so when mr. armano reached out to his community to share something with us that he believed in and wanted his fans to HELP, he spoke to us in his "community voice". his voice was from the heart, it was honest and sincere. it's the voice that most brands would like to have but are constrained by the limits of a :30TVC or single-page ad. and it was with that "community voice" that the David Armano brand was able to rally the "online/social media/digital" community together to do GOOD and NOT just a good piece of creative work. however, please not that this can not merely be imitated or duplicated like a PR stunt. "this isn’t the future (of marketing). It’s just another step on the way there". let's learn and lead by this example and inspire our client's and our own personal brands to do GOOD!

thanks for your time.

Help Daniela's Family

new year, new skin

2009-01-01T13:04:00.000-08:00

Focus on What Matters

2008-12-20T10:35:00.000-08:00

i want to connect

2008-12-11T10:26:00.000-08:00

note: this is a rant that i'm hoping to steer into some helpful insight. Here's my beef: rushing jobs thru and treating the creative brief as a "check-the-box" thing to do vs. having thoughful discussion and understanding around what is it that we're trying to solve for, is NOT how it should done . if you treat the work as if we were machines cranking the shit out, i might as well be working in a factory stamping out cogs.

in my years as an account guy juggling multiple clients and jobs, it seemed like all i was doing was making sure deadlines were met, projects w/n budget, clients happy, herding cats. that was my job and i did it with focus and determination. However, it sometimes bothered me when i sensed that other people on the team, didn't put their heart into the work. we all have our drivers and motivations in our roles, however, ultimately we ALL have a part in the creative process and the finished product. and, for me, i believe it starts with the client briefing. and as the result of that client discussion, we should be able to produce a well-crafted creative brief. we should sweat it out from the beginning to get the brief right, where everyone is in alignment vs. "just write something up for me and we'll send it over to the creatives." it should be a collaborative and living process, and most importantly, the brief writing process should be fun and have passion behind it. it should'nt be a mechanical, fill-in box #4 with this target audience info, and box #7 with this brand tonality. the brief should be a well written story that will lead and inspire.

so if our jobs as planners is to tell that story, what is the physical manifestation of that story? is it a word document where we fill in the boxes? is it a visual brief, one with images and copy? or is it a video brief, moving images that move us? or perhaps, is it taking the creatives out of the agency surroundings, go offsite, have a beer and a chat about ? think about the people who really connect with you whenever they have something to share. are they reading off a document? probably not. they share with you what they know, what they believe in, what they have heart for.

the brief is more than just carefully crafted words on a document, that only a handful of people can understand. it should be written in plain, everyday english, and be shareable, relateable, no matter what function you have in an agency. it should connect.

and if the brief is able to connect, then it'll stick and it can be shared. tracking w/this? if the story sticks, you don't have to be a planner to tell it. the creative team should be able to re-tell that story to the client when they present the ideas. the client should be able to re-tell that story at their national sales mtgs when the shiny new tv spots are shown.

the brief should be a labor of love, not some process where we're just cranking shit out. if it isn't, you might as well be working at Spacely's Sprockets. one more thing. i'm a fan of friction. it worries me when i present a brief for the 1st time to the team and no one has any questions or challenges to it. bend it, flip it, tweak it, it's helps create a better brief that everyone has a part in developing.

peace out.

"hey Nguyen, what's your beef (noodle soup) about?"

etnies pours some PBR holiday cheer for adidas

2008-12-05T22:21:00.001-08:00

this is such a punk idea. i love it. there hasn't been much cool shit that i've been stoked on lately, especially from the surf/skate/snow industry. most of the time, the ideas are pretty weak, with the exception of this. my neighbor works for etnies, will have to find out more from her on what response they've gotten so far from adidas. read more about it here.

leave the talent, take the idea

2008-11-29T07:54:00.000-08:00

this idea is not new to some of us in the promotional world. there have been plenty of meet 'n greet, driver ride-a-long, experience of a lifetime claims before. like most of these promotions, they blow their wad on securing the talent that they don't have any dough left to produce a quality idea. or perhaps they settle on the notion that just having the big name alone will get us to take notice? it's a self-gratifying, ejaculatory ad filled with big logos and contrived studio shots, just for yourself, and no one else. and if you are going to use a big name athlete, do it in a way that stays true to that talent and what they're all about. find synergies between what you're trying to say with how that talent would interpret that message. if there isn't any...next time, leave out the talent, and take the better idea.

the future of the workplace

2008-11-20T17:10:00.000-08:00

I really need to get a proper home office going. Although i'm very fortunate to work only 5 miles from garage to the office car park, it's nice to have the option of working from home once in awhile. i find myself able to collect my shower time thinking and roll right into work mode. i've recently come from a mandatory, almost militant "butts in seats" culture, that it is presumed that you can only be working if you're in the office at a prescribed time. and then you'll have those superstars, "oh look at me in the office 30 minutes early" or "i was the last one to leave." no one cares when or how long you were chained to your desk. We care about the thinking, the contribution, the work that you do. in our line of work, thinking, inspiration, creativity, can take place anytime, anywhere. my best thinking is in the shower at 6am. and even as we set our heads onto the fluffy white pillow, we're probably checking one last look at the handheld. that's a bad habit i have, and my wife is gonna chuck that iphone out the window soon. point is, we're always on. hopefully, not too much though. enjoy life. I'm off to throw back a few with the girls. peace.

via Daily Joey

get over it

2008-11-19T16:51:00.000-08:00

i felt inspired tonight to post a thought after going for a couple rounds discussing the observation over at Deceptive Cadence regarding the lack of originality in the ad biz. we ad folks need to get over ourselves sometimes. it's just advertising. i never talk about advertising when i'm w/my friends and family. well. maybe just only 1 time out of the year, and that' when we're drinking heavily, enjoying chips 'n salsa, and watching some dudes bash each other's heads in over some pigskin.

we can certainly take pride in our creative work, discuss, analyze, critique, praise, hate, whatever. we're talking to ourselves. i've been hearing a lot of discussion around changing up what we do as an industry. rather than creating ads for the sake of increasing transactions, why not create "ads" that create relationships and conversations? and even better, why not create ads, or conversations that DO GOOD. there are a lot of brilliant thinkers and agencies out there, that are on this tip right now. when we do get to that place, maybe my wife would want to have a chat about ads over dinner and drinks w/me instead of talking about the scandalous wedding that we're going to next weekend. yes, i'm using the same image again from a few posts ago, but, hey, i like it and it's still relevant.

yeah, it's kinda like that...

2008-11-18T14:26:00.000-08:00

like giving birth to a baby. slightly amusing spoof on what it's like to "give birth" to an idea and take it thru the developmental process at an agency and with clients. i'm giggling a bit inside. This one had me more in stitches tho. now onto more pressing matters concerning tacos and bubbly sugar water.

via Brand Central Station

Monster

2008-11-17T13:38:00.000-08:00

Screw those "stick and ball" jocks that get paid millions of dollars. Big wave surfers get all the mad props from me. How can you not see something like this and feel dwarfed by the sheer power and mind-blowing enormity of an ocean ready to swallow you up? This is gonna be a contender for the Billabong XXL Big Waves Awards next year for sure. BTW, if Kerby wins, he gets a $1,000 for every foot of wave surfed, doing the quick math on this, remember to carry the one, and he's got about $40K in the pocket between him the photographer. Pennies compared to any rookie baller in the MLB or NBA. But he's not doing it for the money , right?

More pictures and the story behind Kerby Brown's experience here.

KISS

2008-11-06T12:56:00.000-08:00

Keep It Simple Stupid. Nothing worse sitting thru long prezos with eye-charts. I've always found the short, succinct, visually stimulating ones much more compelling. kinda like a great campfire sit-around or sharing a few cold ones with friends at the bar swapping stories. This is a great reminder of that.

thanks Peter for sharing this with me. more examples here if this video isn't working.

Barack Rock'n Beats

2008-11-04T21:23:00.001-08:00

Obama Beats
Originally uploaded by LookingThruTheLens

to humanize a brand

2008-10-29T21:09:00.001-07:00

Cluetrain Review

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: web 2.0 cluetrain)

via Only Dead Fish

thru conversation. a must read for anyone in business, large or small. basic message. if brands want a relationship w/their customers, talk to us like...ummm, we're people, and not like some marketing robot reciting a positioning statement. i'd like to kick this over to some brand managers i know w/their shiny MBAs and CYA briefs.

my first tweet

2008-10-29T18:38:00.000-07:00

Find your first tweet here

theater of the mind

2008-10-28T17:13:00.000-07:00

Working offsite, remotely in la la land, 3000 miles away from my agency counterparts and clients, I find myself having to sit in a lot of conference calls. most of the time these calls occur at a 6am local time. nice huh? anyways, been doing it for over 5 years now and i think i've gotten pretty good at communicating effectively...over the phone.

where i think this skill has to be tight is when ideas are being presented. presenting concepts to clients in person, at a meeting, you've got the ability to read the room, calibrate the presentation and most importantly present in a much more dynamic and sometimes even expressive ways. presenting in person allows for creating that "theater of the mind" before you ever set a concept or layout in front of the client. it's certainly helped me in the past. i'm able to get clients seated, in the theater, lights down and curtain drawn. the show's about to begin.

when you're on the phone you're at a handicap, as a presenter. and then add in the challenge of having to send layouts before the conference call, you're doubly screwed. honestly, will anyone heed the warning "hey, don't look at these concepts until we've taken you thru it on the call." Presenting ideas on conference calls blow. sure, there's tools out there like webinars and videoconferencing, however with the turn/burn and high frequency of client presentations, it's a pain in the ass to set-up for the tech-challenged. yesterday i had a someone ask me how to copy and past a slide in powerpoint. o_O

my tip is this: watch, listen to how other people present their ideas, be it in person or on the phone. watch the good ones, listen to the bad ones. take mental note and create your own style. most importantly when you're presenting the idea, create that theater of the mind, and you've got yourself a captivated audience.

photo cred to

thru the eyes of a newbie

2008-10-16T16:00:00.000-07:00

okay, it's been awhile since i've been on here. been tweeting and commenting more. work has been busy good. i had the opportunity to help out on a couple juicy projects that normally don't fall into my scope of work, which is me being a brief writing machine. the first project was going out on shop-a-longs with bottled tea drinking women to get an understanding of their purchase behavior. this week i moderated a focus group to get feedback on some fantasy football promotion concepts. both these exercises were a rush, but i especially enjoyed the focus group. i've been on the other side of the glass before, but to be in the chair, at the head of the table with a camera to my back, there was a different tingly feeling. i certainly had some butterflies at first, (maybe cuz i don't know a thing about fantasy football?) but after a couple minutes, i started to get into my groove and felt really at ease. i realized that i didn't have to be the expert. the experts were in the room with me. i just need to look thru the lens of a rookie player, and get them to open up and share what FF meant to them...let them do all the talking. yeah, i kinda like that. being a planner is not about being the trendynista, or the iphone carrying smart ass know-it-all. for me, it's about always being curious and looking at everything thru the eyes of a newbie with excitement and inspiration.

one more thing, go check out this flick, FUEL. If you're local theater doesn't have it, ask for it. thanks.

why should i care?

2008-10-01T16:24:00.000-07:00

one of the most basic questions that has to be addressed in any brief, right? i wonder if they got the brief right for this job? if this video was meant to connect with the young people of america, i'm not sure if it's giving them a reason(s) to care? when these actors go into listing out all the issues you (the youth of America) should care about, it just doesn't seem relevant. listen in at 1:40 "...if you care about welfare, minimum wage, social security, gay marriage, the economy...you should vote." most of the kids i've spoken to, can care less.

looking in all the wrong places

2008-09-29T10:46:00.001-07:00

i think sometimes i've been trying to hard to find that data point to bring out an insight...a truth. if i'm working on a job that has the luxury of time, i'll get so caught up in scouring thru decks over decks digging, looking for that gem of an opportunity. lately though, the turn 'n burn 1-day projects that i've been working on doesn't really afford the time to get really smart. so, in my immersion into planning, i've had to think quick on my feet, be observant, be resourceful and be insightful w/o the benefit of research. so far, i've lucked out. is it dumb luck or is it that the clients don't really care or don't understand? or i'm i not looking in the right places? most of the time, i feel that i'm just putting a new shade of lipstick on the same pig. does it have to have a data point or some quantifiable research to tell the most compelling story possible for your brand? or is it more about having a simple and honest understanding of the brand and being able to communicate that in the most relevant and interesting way that no one else has done before you? to me this Levi's spot is honest. did the insight and truth come from research? or did it come from a basic understanding of the brand, the consumer and the culture? i admit, i've been busted once, maybe twice for looking... and observing. is it wrong? or is it part of my job to look in all the right places...to observe (thru all the nooks and crannies), understand and help communicate in the most compelling way possible? i'm so busted.

create for a cause

2008-09-25T08:23:00.000-07:00

growing up here in california, water conservation was part of the day's learning. 30 years later, it's still part of the curriculum. however, we didn't have anything this cool to have us think about water conservation. all we had was the ricky the rambunctious raindrop coloring books and maybe a few stickers. now this is cool. the contest: submit a powerpoint preso, video or photo of what water conservation means to you.

the grand prize: a trip for the winner and their parents to the Tavarua Resort in Fiji for a surf vacation. Other prizes include “hang out” sessions with pro surfers Rob Machado and Rochelle Ballard, and skaters Danny Way, Bob Burnquist and Geoff Rowley.

the kids have so much more tools for creativity these days. if they're fortunate enough to have their own digital camera, a macbook, it's super easy to bang out a quick video and share it w/the world. this type of contest would never have been available to us back in the day. i all had to work with was construction paper, scissors and glue. i would've been stoked to have just built a california mission out of sugar cubes. this creative contest for a cause, sure beats a crummy coloring book.

via shop-eat-surf

killing time

2008-09-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

while waiting for a conference call to start, the on-hold muzak started to get really annoying. so i started to drift off and play around with this little distraction. make your own here

via twitter update by the herdmeister

CanStruction

2008-09-21T16:06:00.001-07:00

CanStruction
Originally uploaded by LookingThruTheLens

Design/Build competition using cans of food, to help the Orange County
Food Bank. This one's called "Paint away the hunger". Not feeling
it? Maybe a $500 pair of Zegna shoes might do it for ya?

@ South Coast Plaza

Nguyen Duong
Sent from my "1st generation but just as fast as the new 3G iPhone"

why i won't miss being an account guy: herding cats

2008-09-17T15:50:00.000-07:00

i don't find myself doing much of this these days. i really am enjoying it. it used to frustrate the hell out of me and i'm sure with the rest of the people in the agency, to have to be the pain in the ass, on your shit 24/7, account guy, following up after every meeting with the call report, emails, phone calls to ensure that "we're all on the same page", and impromptu swing by your office chat again about the next steps.

Valentino Rossi Wins MotoGP Indy

2008-09-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

i'm back from a weekend of motorbikes, racing, booze and lots of meat 'n potatos. gonna have to get on a detox program this week. it was really nice to see a huge turnout for the event. motorcycle racing is alive and well here in the states. hopefully the bike sales are as well.

kelly wins the 2008 boost mobile pro

2008-09-11T17:02:00.000-07:00

took the day off from worky today to go catch a few waves and watch the finals of the boost finals between kelly slater and taj burrow. too bad the waves weren't as good as they were earlier in the week.

fake or real?

2008-09-10T12:02:00.000-07:00

if it was real, just imagine the battles with the legal dept in making sure no one cut themselves on the busted glass.

via three billion from urban prankster

i don't get it?

2008-09-08T16:28:00.001-07:00

is this suppose to make me dig for more? was it trying to make me feel that microsoft has as much of a sense of humor as apple? maybe i don't have the "magnum-jupiter brains" needed to get it?

via perez-fox

opportunity in truth

2008-09-03T10:39:00.000-07:00

truth: fernando alonso and lewis hamilton had a very publicized team feud last year. opportunity: create a fantastic spot that recognized that truth and gives the fans something to smile about. the behind-the-scenes making of part of this vid is interesting as well. i wonder if the two really enjoyed themselves while shooting this? is certainly looks like they do. who knows, maybe they were still "acting" even "off-camera?"

gattica meets trading spaces

2008-09-02T15:53:00.000-07:00

is it me, but the dude in this video looks like joe francis and the girl looks like heidi klum.

via digestion

connect and motivate

2008-08-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

when the new client showed up in town, he used to always send the link to the Paul Pott's video to his marketing team. his hope was to connect with, and motivate his new team to "think outside the bun." tmobile doing the very same thing, except for the "TOTB" part.

via in my atmosphere

ea's got balls

2008-08-27T11:06:00.000-07:00

while other brands would've ignored "the glitch," these guys embraced it and created an entertaining spot that is honest to themselves and to the consumer.

via in my atmosphere

Live Statue

2008-08-24T10:39:00.001-07:00

Live Statue
Originally uploaded by LookingThruTheLens

Chi Chang Cheng, also known as Jarry has been doing live statue
performance art in Taiwan for over 10 years. He's here at the terra
cotta warriors show at the Bowers thru October.

Nguyen Duong
Sent from my "1st generation but just as fast as the new 3G iPhone"

Ego vs Skills

2008-08-22T15:19:00.000-07:00

after reading this post today on the gender inequality in the kitchen restaurants on punk planning and then going for a few rounds on battle mode in brand tags it had me thinking about who wins out in battle between male vs female chefs, when it comes to celebrity chefdome? i just asked my wife to quickly name some celebrity chefs, right off the bat, she busted out w/bobby flay, mario batali, todd english, morimoto, emeril....and so on. all male chefs. not even a mention of julia childs or rachel ray, both of whom have been in the news lately. so, back to the battle of the chefs...let's take a chef like gordon ramsey vs giada de laurentiis, who wins in celebrity and awareness? i would say gordo edges giada out by a wedge of gouda. he's got a shitload of restaurants, and his shows like kitchen nightmares and hell's kitchen seem to be doing pretty well. however, giada probably has to try a lot harder to attract viewers, and it can't be just on her pedigree alone. lucky for her she's got great looks and killer blade skills. yes, this sucks to point out, but it's why food network has her on every afternoon and into the weekend.

then watch any of episode of iron chef america, when a female chef goes up against an iron chef. do any of the women pick cat cora? no, they pick one of the male chefs. two recent episodes that that i watched. one was bobby flay vs gabrielle hamilton and the other michael symon vs april bloomfield. these women pick the guys, cuz they wanna show 'em that they can compete with 'em on the same playing ground, unlike in other professions. anyone recall michelle wie trying to make the cut on the pga tour? anyways, back to food...in both ica challenges, these women prevailed over their "more dominant" male counterparts. both of these accomplished female chefs probably not as popular or "celebrity" as giada or the male iron chefs challenges, but they are very skilled and deserving of their success, nevertheless. maybe they don't have the ego found in their male counterparts? the ego that's need to catapult themselves to the "celebrity chefdome" status? maybe they just let their cooking do all the talking. hopefully, we get to see and taste more greatness from women chefs based on their skills and not on how much big talk they can make? btw, if you're ever in nyc, check out prune and the spotted pig these are headed up by ms. hamilton and bloomfield, respectively. cheers! i'm off to have some food and drink. it's the weekend, baby! btw, this is a video of stud male celebrity chef, tv guy, and author anthony bourdain talking about food and chefs. it's a long video, worth a watch if you're into the AB. towards the end, at about 53:00, he takes a dig a cat cora. "who is cat cora? was she grown in a petri dish?." more male chef ego talking?

cuprock

2008-08-21T09:38:00.000-07:00

reminds me of the lite brite that i played with as a kid. i wonder where he gets all his cups from? maybe the folks from the red plastic party cup company should jump in on this? more here at cuprocking.com

via three billion

the kids over at lucas have been busy, no?

2008-08-20T20:48:00.000-07:00

despite what i've been reading, i'm still planning to go out to see the new clone wars flick.

via okee dorkee

quiksilver dynamite surfing - the whole shebang!

2008-08-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

i had the original dynamite surfing vid sent to me last year from my cuz in sydney. it's still one of my all-time faves. after seeing the skate vid below, dynamite surfing came up again for me. this one blows out all the other cool stuff that supported the idea. so fuck'n cool campaign. i wish the quik usa guys did this kinda cool shit stateside.

not another skate video?

2008-08-19T06:21:00.001-07:00

skate - shot on red - 120 fps from opus magnum prod. on Vimeo.

so refreshing to see skate vids thru a different lens. was getting really, really tired of the constant fisheye treatment on every single vid. and damn, i wish i could boost an ollie like these cats.

via punk planning

go backwards

2008-08-18T20:49:00.000-07:00

My day in brands

2008-08-17T21:13:00.001-07:00

Sony
Originally uploaded by LookingThruTheLens

a photo journal of my day consuming brands

this is part 2 of the original post for my brand timeline

people. machines. socialization.

2008-08-15T07:19:00.000-07:00

a week has gone by, and i'm still thinking about it. a very insightful observation on last friday's opening ceremonies.

kevin kelly says:

The most alien, shocking and awesome portion of the Opening were the mass routines. Part of this is cultural. The Koreans are good at these mass effects, and the Japanese too. It's somewhat an East Asian thing. Historically these mass dances are designed to resemble machines. The wave rippler in the Opening Ceremonies appeared to be a cool mechanical effect until the disguised boys inside them were revealed. The mass fou drummers beat so rapidly and in synchrony that when their lights started blinking it seemed as if we were watching a computer chip, or the innards of a drum machine. See the pic above. We are a machine! Machine are us! That is our first reaction but I think it goes further than that. The 2008 fou drummers represent the We -- the power of the collective. The West and particularly Americans have traditionally emphasized the Me -- the individual. China is a culture more comfortable with the We than the Me, and here they were showing both the power of the We and its modern face -- blinking LED drums. We once thought computers were about individuation, but these days we see they are about socialization as well. More importantly, the social aspects of web 2.0 have shifted the center of gravity from Me to We.

via ct2 thru good experience

lost:firewire

2008-08-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

heard news today that lost surfboards will enter an exclusive partnership with firewire. for those of you who don't follow surfing, this would be something close to scion partnering with the tesla motors to develop a scion-inspired tesla roadster. take the young, progressive cache of lost and inject that attitude into an innovative new surfboard technology and we may have ourselves something really exciting to drive down the line, across a ripable blue face.

via shop eat surf

i'm feeling like i'm in "red" today

2008-08-12T07:31:00.000-07:00

i often felt the pain of creative types having to explain and rationalize their color choices to clients. maybe this new color/word association tool at cymbolism will help designers?

cymbolism says:
Colors are believed to have very specific meanings, but these meanings vary over time, place and culture. For years designers have been using colors to communicate feeling and mood, to trigger memories to make us act a certain way.

Cymbolism is an attempts to quantify the association between colors and words, making it simple for designers to choose the best colors for the desired emotional effect. Cymbolism tracks these associations over time (and in future versions by user demographics) to help designers to better create designs for the desired effects.

via smashing apps

wish i had mad design skills

2008-08-11T14:21:00.000-07:00

damn, this is cool.

via perez fox

pepsi ads that connect to me

2008-08-11T12:37:00.000-07:00

ads that make my eyes smile by looking at things in a different way

ads that excites my curiosity by having me actively engage

via hemmy

us versus japan

2008-08-06T14:09:00.001-07:00

they're happier...

they get right to the point...

they're romantic...

via hemmy

you twitter?

2008-08-06T12:49:00.000-07:00

How Do You Use Twitter? from biz stone on Vimeo.

via adam crowe

get'n crafty at the office

2008-08-06T09:59:00.000-07:00

digg'n these restickable vinyl wall graphics of your favorite games as a kid. i'm bummed that dig dug isn't available. oh well, for $75 the gorilla and the lil' italian plumber is yours at think geek.

via wonderland

habanero

2008-08-06T07:58:00.000-07:00

our little yard out back has been cranking out some serious heat this summer. we grow all sorts of peppers, thai, tabasco, cayenne, and the muy fuego habanero. in years past, we'll blend the peppers into a paste, like a sambal and give them as holiday gifts. this packaging for frieda's habanero gives me a nice idea. good thing we only give a few of these a year. don't think my blade skills are what they used to be.

via the dieline

sad...but true

2008-08-05T20:54:00.000-07:00

more graph humor and song chart memes

well at least for a few people i know.

through the lens of a beginner

2008-08-03T08:31:00.001-07:00

i've been complaining a lot about the conditions this summer. the wind may blow the wrong way, or the conditions may get sloppy, or just having the wrong crowds in the line-up, and my attitude turns to shit and i'll stop having a good time. as a kid, i'd go out in any condition...onshore, side shore, blown out, rain and hail, freezing conditions, whatever it was, i was still out there. that was when i was always learning and most importantly...having a great time. recall reading about a japanese belief that if you approached any activity, with the same curiosity and enthusiasm that a novice would have, then you'll always have a rewarding experience. i think i need to get myself back looking through a beginner's eyes. there's definitely no shortage of 'em in the water this summer. ::blink: ::blink::

so whatcha learn today?

2008-08-02T06:22:00.000-07:00

been really busy the past couple days immersing myself into dubai for a project, so i haven't had the time to post. i think this makes up for it. up until today, he was only taking tiny, 3 to 5 steps at a time. he made us smile, laugh and cry today when he busted out with the moonwalk. damn, i wish i can make this type of progress. btw, i wasn't his stylist today. that was all his auntie's doing. although, he does look like he's knocked back a few.

another scary...youth preso?

2008-07-30T09:31:00.000-07:00

Building Lasting Youth Brands

view presentation (tags: marketing youth digital advertising)

i've become slightly cynical of youth marketing prezos. having attended a few conferences and client mtgs that paid top dollar for trendspotters and youth marketing gurus, it seems like they're always pretty formulaic, nothing really new that one couldn't discover on their own by watching some MTV, going out to the anti-mall, or hitting up an all-ages show?

says, threebillion.com:

Good presentations on youth culture are hard to find. They normally fall into one of the following categories:

1. Repetitions of everything you've heard before ("we've found that teenagers love social networking and mobile phones")

2. Written by research geeks ("and here's another graph which means nothing")

3. Sponsored by a corporate ("kids love us and so should you")

4. Pretty pictures and cool logos ("have you any idea how long this put together!")

i couldn't agree more. i enjoyed this share today. check it out for yourself. does it give you some insight that you couldn't come up on your own from watching another episode of made? cya, i'm off to 7-11 for a slurpee.

via threebillion.com

Kampai!

2008-07-29T18:44:00.001-07:00

Kampai!
Originally uploaded by LookingThruTheLens

If you find this, buy it. It is really good. I keep pics of the sake
labels that i can't read, so it makes it idiot proof for me to find
the same one. Hopefully they'll have this at the Mitsuwa.

Nguyen Duong
Sent from my "not as cool as the new 3G iPhone"

shaking it up

2008-07-29T12:33:00.001-07:00

we just had a pretty good kick-in-ass, jolt about an hour ago. looks like it was a 5.4 magnitude rumbler 20 miles east of my oficina. maybe this'll shake up a few ideas out me today?

market to people that care

2008-07-29T07:55:00.000-07:00

This was something I always struggled with at the Bell. The client always aspired to be relevant to the core, 24yr old male, that was into gaming, action sports, music, etc. However at the the end of the day, client and customer would CRUMBLE and SETTLE for safe, be all things to all people, cast the widest net, general market idea that would try to try to make my 64-year old knitting and gardening mom AND my 18-year old trendinista niece to...CARE.

This video is an oldie but a goodie. Skip pass to the “otaku*” section of the video at time code 9:37 to hear what Seth Godin proposes to us marketing types...

“MARKET TO PEOPLE THAT CARE.”

How? Why? Watch this video to find out.

*otaku refers to a Japanese term used to describe people that have obsessive interests. whether you’ve been obsessive lately about yelp.com, Pita Grill, Tap Tap Revenge, or Facebook, you more likely to be a better brand advocate for these brands than any other “general market” consumer that probably gives two shits about.

"hey you hoser, stop watering it down!"

monday morning inspiration

2008-07-28T07:20:00.000-07:00

this is one of 3 winners in a recent youtube competition for a scholarship to the vancouver film school. candidates were asked to submit a video on the theme of "what matters to you." to see the rest of the winners and entries, click here.

Didn't know El Segundo, CA was NASCAR country?

2008-07-27T16:11:00.001-07:00

Didn't know El Segundo, CA was NASCAR country
Originally uploaded by LookingThruTheLens

Saw this stock car inspired limo today. I would expect to see this
in the deep south, but never in the South Bay.

Nguyen Duong
Sent from my "not as cool as the new 3G iPhone"

putting lipstick on a pig

2008-07-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

the homeless meter program in laguna beach, ca...by the numbers:

# of meters: 5
est. # of homeless: 65
est. revenue from meters: $40/month

via the oc register

the process

2008-07-24T07:13:00.000-07:00

the situation: "we're seeing reports that people don't know what to do at an intersection. some are slowing, others are excelerating, a small percentage are backing up..."

the assignment: "so we're looking for signage that brings people to a stop, before they continue..."

the result: watch the vid and see how you to can produce creative with stopping power

red chair

2008-07-23T10:56:00.001-07:00

red chair
Originally uploaded by LookingThruTheLens

a friend of mine took a photo of a red chair alone in the room. i really liked it's simplicity and calmness. here's my attempt to capture that quiet feeling. not sure my photo is there yet. will have to work on it w/different angles and lighting.

The power of play

2008-07-22T16:01:00.001-07:00

The power of play, originally uploaded by LookingThruTheLens.

We should have signs like this around the office.

@ Target, Foothill Ranch, CA

Nguyen Duong
Sent from my "not as cool as the new 3G iPhone"

So long stale cereal

2008-07-22T15:25:00.000-07:00

Archer Farm's bag-free, reclosable cereal container.

Neat packaging, takes up less space, and keeps my cereal fresh. And
it's made partially from recycled paper...the canister, not the cereal.

idiot-proof my crib

2008-07-22T10:22:00.000-07:00

i've been baby-proofing the house for the past few weeks now. cover the electrical sockets, lock-down the cupboards, putting away sharp objects. however, since downloading the latest iphone 2.0 software i've been a tad bit preoccupied with besting my high scores on tap tap revenge and not paying attention...being an idiot around the house. maybe i need to install some of these?

via engadget

better portraits

2008-07-18T17:09:00.000-07:00

picked up this book yesterday at arcana books in santa monica. it's a photo book featuring portraits taken 14 years ago, of some of the regulars at a popular bar in reykjavik. each barfly was taken in one shot, under the same light, against the same background, with the one hasselblad, fixed in the same position for each shot. i'm putting the 50mm back on my rig.

find out more about the book or buy it here.

Arteries

2008-07-17T21:30:00.001-07:00

The Miramar Family Fig Tree at the Fairmont, originally uploaded by LookingThruTheLens.

The Miramar family fig tree at the Fairmont Hotel in Santa Monica. Magnificent.

found it

2008-07-17T21:23:00.000-07:00

here's the spot that had that beautiful music bed.