MCCA awards - top night had by all.
woooooah that was good. Dave Gorman is a real star, talented and a good bloke. Not something i have experienced before. Event review have video coverage of the event. DG was just excellent during the awards but the thing that really stood out was he took the time to talk with all the attendees at the aftershow party - which included a ramble by myself on why TV is not funny any more, very little i can now remember other than the glazed look on DG's face as i passionately explained my view point. Other point of note was I got to see a huge bunch of souls i haven't seen for ages including Andrew Marsden, a true calm genius. The evening ended rather shakerly on the roof of Shoreditch House. mmm - yes i'm a bit old for that sort of thing.
Smells like Dave Gorman
As part of the MCCA Best awards. The host Dave Gorman has set all the agencies the chance to pitch to him for the launch of Dave Gorman the perfume. Really great idea, unfortunately due to time pressures we couldn't give it the full force, so had a lateral look instead. Not having NDA'a or a financial stake in the out come its refreshing to be able to share the fruits of our (short) labours HERE. The original brief is HERE.
Most industry award ceremonies feature a big name act doing there standard 40 minute set before handing out the gongs with a few quips thrown in. Last year Dave Gorman wrote a specific set critiquing the often pompous and/or confusing web sites of the agency's present in a hilariously unflattering light. With the result a couple of agency's took down there sites the following day. He really is a top chap.
Ceremony takes place at The Brewery, EC1, March 4th. Updates then.
t7F London
I keep forgetting to put the links in, but there is a bunch of office life/agency observations type post's over at the t7F London blog.mmm rather busy
Just like last weeks tax return and the impending VAT farce. Everything runs to the last possible day, that includes getting round to putting a new post on the blog.
t7F London is very busy pitching like crazy to replace the MAXjet business. Who rather impolitely went bust on Christmas eve. My consultancy work with KB49 and IATA in Geneva just rolls on, albeit with a rather spiffing new design.
MCCA duties are a bit hectic this time of year with the awards coming up March 4. Best bit is Dave Gorman has agreed to present again. Member agencies are being asked to pitch to him for the launch of a new Dave Gorman perfume.
I am also spending a couple of days judging the APMC awards in Dublin at the end of the month.
Very interesting personalised music magazine online concept IDIO built using your behaviour on last.fm or facebook. etc. Contents not all there yet, but its a great idea for a new ME brand.
What is life if not to be full of stuff.
The oldest .com?
At this time of festive quizzes here is a fab question: 'What is the oldest .com?'
1. 15-Mar-1985 SYMBOLICS.COM
2. 24-Apr-1985 BBN.COM
3. 24-May-1985 THINK.COM
4. 11-Jul-1985 MCC.COM
5. 30-Sep-1985 DEC.COM
6. 07-Nov-1985 NORTHROP.COM
7. 09-Jan-1986 XEROX.COM
8. 17-Jan-1986 SRI.COM
9. 03-Mar-1986 HP.COM
10. 05-Mar-1986 BELLCORE.COM
The thing that really sticks out for me is that it took 12 months for the first 10 URL's to be registered. Apple.com was 19 Feb 1987 by the way. Info from the ever useful Stumble via jottings.com
Nabstock
Nabs a charity few outside of Advertising understand (six figure salery's, stonking cars, stacks of drugs - and you want us to raise money for your welfare?!?!!)
Anyway Nabs held its annual fund raising bash last week. Called Nabstock hosted in the club Heaven. Much like the IPA these days it was left to the integrated agencies to fly the flag. RPM won battle of the bands and as this picture shows the main dance floor was awash with the great and the good of Advertising (not) The picture was taken at 11pm -never let anyone say this is an industry of late nights!
ooooh new fonts
I do still get a excited by new typefaces and the possibilities they create. So many fonts pass you by simply by being ambient, that it's really fun to get pulled up by someone's work that you can't really explain why you like it. its just there and you want to use it. Jason Walcott's done a really sweet wiggly thing called 'Giggle' as featured in Veer's top 10 fonts of the year. Makes a change from the ever useful but deeply frustrating Dafont.
Euro 2008 adopt a team
Marketing magazine carries a letter today that highlights the creative challenge Englands shambolic exit from next years footie creates. I do think we should take bets on which beer brand first breaks cover with the 'adopt a team' creative route much seen in Scotland during International competitions!
Not a normal day
8.45 a.m. Late to the MCCA board meeting due to a person under the tube at Tooting -nice. Had to leave the board meeting early to attend an old colleagues funeral,(same age as me-agh!) skipped the wake to head back to the office and plate spin before diving into an hour long rather sticky conference call with clients in Geneva. This then made me late to meet The Fish at the rather grand Goring Hotel in Victoria. -she didn't seem that cross, as she was being plied with GnT's by the rather eager staff. 7 p.m first meeting of the day I made on time. An RSA reception at Buckingham Palace to view the Italian Renaissance collection, not a style I normally seek out but the royal family have amassed a quite spectacular group of large canvas's. The restored works feature vivid colours and alot of large women with no clothes on. This most extraordinary day ended in a blizzard of cocktails at Lost Society in Clapham.
No links in this yet, typing on someone else's machine running Safari which seems to despise this blog with a vengeance
Watching the news as it happens (out the window)
woooah bomb, er no, actually a warehouse fire, still fun waiting for the BBC to catch up with what we were watching out the window. 
Lovely illustrations -but who?
While searching for illustrations styles came across these that I screen grabbed BUT like a pillock forgot to make a note of the persons name or web address - aaagghh. they are really cool but who did them? suddenly you miss old fashion book thumbing.
Update on 2007-11-12 22:59 by Philip
The guy is Teis Albers a freelancer in Holland. Colourful layered work and a full some portfolio of work. A good W.I.L.F'ing blog stacked with links as well, worth checking out if only to get onto the completely barking Hamster site shown below. -Thanks also to Simon who recommended Mathew Thomas who works under the name Couscous Kid, he is the illustrator who collaborates with Neil Duerdan who I mentioned awhile ago.
Top site shame about the colour
Came across this fascinating site for amateur photographers: Woophy. Plonking photos on maps is hardly new but this does it with such style and grace it draws you in. My only gripe being the colour while a logical choice (the world = Green) I find it not a little unsettling, all those years of colour theory coming back to haunt me either that or the Dutch collection behind it have been getting way too mellow.
St Pancras. Almost there, branding included
The new St Pancras looks stunning, although it should be said with only a handful of weeks left before opening there is a lot still to do, as evidenced by a huge number of scurrying blokes in Hi-Vis jackets seen today. The new St Pancras branding I am not so sure about. The building is so stunning, has such history (Spice Girls launch included) The new branding leaves me a little cold. The agency behind it Brand Story have really worked it so maybe its one of those sleepers of a design.
I find large railway stations deeply romantic, something about sudden travel and impulsive actions. I've travelled most of Europe by train and despite our best efforts to get everyone off to the States via MAXjet trans-continental train journeys still have a lot to offer.
We are all specialist's, chicken catching included.
This week have been spending a lot of time explaining our new agency's 'specialist' positioning and why it makes us different. Today central Scotland is grid-locked by 1000's of escaped chickens roaming a motorway following a lorry crash. Best bit? The Police spokesman who said 'specialist chicken catches' were at the scene! -where did they get them from? is there some secret group of chicken catching ninja's hold up waiting for the call. ready to spring into action and clear our roads of marauding fowl. What is the betting the local pubs have all got roast chicken specials this week?
A future found
Well a year banging on about brands, digital and marketing seems to have paid off. I have officially become part of t7F London as a partner and Creative Director. We have spent the last few months sorting out what the compnay stands for and what its point of difference is. A base version of our new creds is HERE. Its is all very exciting and lots happening right now, including trying to sort out a New York offering/office/desk. Robert my new partner seems happy to be swept along with it all -my perfect straight man!
With all the fun and games going on at my old agency Hicklin Slade the traffic on this site has gone through the roof - almost 10,500 unique this month!
-To prove you should never give up t7F London is the third agency I have helped launch.
Please wait, loading.
Can i really be bothered to wait? I want the site open NOW! -A huge conundrum for media rich sites is the rather A.D.D nature of most online audiences, me included. There are a whole host of funny/interesting solutions to the 'PLEASE WAIT LOADING' message, albeit often on the gimmicky side that don't reward a second viewing. So a big 'good work fella' to the gang at Sadowski Interactive for incorporating a game of pong. details make for audience loyalty every time.A spare £2 Million.
Hicklin Slade & Partners the sadness lingers on?
In 2004 I was forced to leave the agency I helped found; Hicklin Slade & Partners. The relationship between myself and my partner Justin Hicklin had broken down to the point of crisis. The driving force to all our woes being money or rather a lack of cash in the business. Today's news of our ex-Financial Director (Sharon Bridgewater )being convicted of a £2 Million fraud against Hicklin Slade & Partners is a bitter coda to the whole affair.
I have always said the future is the answer. The past being stuff that happened. But boy, today is a tough reminder of quite what was left behind in that whole sorry mess of 2004.
What lessons have I learnt from my downfall at Hicklin Slade & Partners? - well apart from the obvious of not appointing convicted fraudsters as your FD (In mitigation she was appointed by our auditors Kingston Smith, who one would of thought need to study there recruitment criteria a bit more)
Slade's Six lessons for any Creative Director going on the board
1. Which Business partners? - You are going to spend more time with them than your partner/wife/children. have some values in common, because when it all hits the fan you will need points of reference to each others private worlds.
2. Why are you getting into business together? Again during total melt down you will find the needs of school fees & divorces clash mighty with agency ideals and creative standards.
3. What does the business mean to you? Call it sad, but at the time the Hicklin Slade brand was the most important thing in my life, ever. We had built it from scratch, together. Why would anyone ever consider breaking it up? Losing it was like a death in the family.
4. Could you step away from success? (see above) In my new role as consultant I often advise companies in crisis to consider a pause or at the very least letting senior directors go on sabbaticals while a fresher team focus on a fight back strategy. But as Seth Godin has so recently pointed out, sometimes you have to quit. Its simply the smarter move.
5. Never stop learning. Everything you do builds on what you could archive tomorrow. Joe Strummers mantra of The Future is unwritten must be used to mend any broken hearts. It took me the best part of two years to get over losing Hicklin Slade. But what drove me on was the excitement of tomorrow and what 'might be'
6. Can you add Perspective? Advertising is just mucking about with peoples buying habits. No one dies. OK Sharon stole £2 million quid from us, but at the time we didn't know we had it. I felt like killing my partners and there misguided advisors when i was forced out. But the relationship was over.
Today? well I still don't talk to Justin Hicklin or Matthew Brown but Hicklin Slade is still going, They are now run by Mark Runacus, a really top chap. Me? A bunch of consultancy clients and a new role as CD of a small agency called t7F London.
Never give up.
Straight to the point
It has been said that on the whole American advertising lacks the subtle touch found in Europe, well i do agree in general its just sometimes you need to get to the point. This billboard on the way out to JFK is one such work of brevity i can't fault.48 Hours in New York
Sat in the apple store NY in the middle of a manic 48 hours in Manhattan. 5 meetings, a bit of shopping and the most random collection of events ever. Best so far, unknown to me lost my blackberry in the back of a cab very late the other night. woke up with calls from England checking i'm ok. A white Knight had found my phone, called the last few numbers in the address book to try and find me. The White Knight? Tall, blond, works for a hedge fund, she was charm personified - New York tales, you just couldn't make it up. 