looking in all the wrong places

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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!

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?

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