Brilliant spec work.

I'm not sure what to make of companies with 'in-house' creative departments, seems a bit anti-ad agency to me, and if every client followed suit we'd all be in the shit.

Can't fault this little viral from Spec-Savers though...

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1600158118/bctid2225054001

Good send up guys.

RKCR/Y&R+M&SXMAS=A+++

When i read today's news that the new M&S Christmas ad featuring Take That, Twiggy, Erin O'Connor, Lily Cole, Myleene Klass and Noémie Lenoir was about to be released i'm not afraid to admit i shuddered in horror (except for Ms Lenior of course).

But having watched the ad, i'm happy to say i was shocked for all the wrong reasons. Or is that right reasons? Because i bloody liked it. Really liked it. It's genius. Have a look here:

http://www.brandrepublic.com/Campaign/News/861754/join-festivities-M-S-Christmas-ad/

And why is it genius? No dialogue.

Nice one Pip and Chris at Y&R.

How Stella got her groove back

Love the new ad for Stella 4% from Mother, they're so hot right now...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/video/2008/nov/04/advertising

Any thoughts?

Hotel, Motel...

Isn't it weird how sometimes an ad campaign can have it's awful executions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7kQkGDprzw

And it's brilliant ones:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pjbKV8tQLQ

Well done, and not-so-well done Fallon Minneapolis.

WPPeed all over.

Hope none of you are dithering over a job offer from any WPP owned agency:

http://www.brandrepublic.com/Campaign/News/854855/WPP-orders-hiring-freeze-amid-client-spending-cuts/

Wouldn't it be nice if a top agency came out and said "Fuck the credit crunch: we're doing great and we're hiring".

If anyone knows of any behaviour of this kind, please share it. It's good to talk.

Absolute-ly not sure.

When it comes to ads, I'm an opinionated git (although i think that's healthy for someone trying to get into the industry) so there are always ads running on the telly box that i love (Bud Dedication - "Now throw in an Arbitrary Refrain" - genius) and some that i hate (the Trainline.com - don't even get me started).

But every now and then an ad (or campaign) appears that I'm really not sure about- this time it's the Absolute Radio launch campaign:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/video/2008/oct/10/commercialradio-radio

I really wasn't sure whether i thought it as clever usage of actor Jordan Prentice, or whether it's exploitation of a dwarf to represent a crazy security guard.

And then i read this from Absolute Radio brand director, Chris Lawson:

"The idea was to create something that sums up the brand, we are trying for squirm humour like you might see on My Name Is Earl or Curb Your Enthusiasm."

Hmmm, 'squirm humour' it is then. But what exactly are we squirming at? And where is the humour? Are we supposed to laugh at the notion of a dwarf security guard? Or is that the squirm factor?

Like i say, i'm not sure whether i think it's funny and irreverent, or just in poor taste.

I'd love to know what the vast sums of readers of this blog think...

Are you taking the piss, Mr Pringle?

If you read Scamp (and you do) you'll have seen yesterdays post referring (kind of) to an aptitude test that has been designed to identify 'Diagonal Thinkers', which is being run by the IPA. 'Breaking into advertising' was the cover story of the Guardian Work section on Saturday, and if you missed it here's the gist of what a Diagonal Thinker is:

"(Diagonal Thinking) is the ability to switch effortlessly between linear, logical thought processes to lateral creative ones... and it seems to be one of the defining characteristics of people who do well in our industry".

According to the IPA, only 10% of the population can think diagonally. And if you score more than 90% in the test, you can print off an IPA certificate, which, says IPA director general Hamish Pringle, you can then attach to your CV as proof of your talent, which will become your "passport to adland".

So if you really want a job in advertising, chuck out your portfolio, get on www.diagonalthinking.co.uk and show off your shiny certificate around Soho instead.

PS. If you're wondering how i did, my PC crashed half way through the test, and you only get one chance, so i'm buggered.

Are you really hungry for advertising?

If you're one of the many dole-mongers looking to get on the ad-ladder you may or may not be aware of a new scheme known as the LHA. Sound pretty cool? Well it's not...

The LHA is the Local Housing Allowance, a new scheme which is used to determine how much housing benefit you are entitled to whilst looking for one of those cleverly concealed jobs in adland.

And guess what? They've capped it at something like £84 a week, instead of covering your share of the rent like they used to. So let's say your rent is £110 a week - you're now £26 a week poorer. Take that from your job-seekers, and you're left with a princely sum of around £34 a week to live on.

Minus all your other outgoings (utility bills etc, we're not even talking food here) and yep you're left with pretty much... fuck all.

So now, more than ever, it really is down to who is hungriest for a job in advertising.

I'm off to eat some mud.

You're not wrong there, Wal.

Chances are, if you read this blog you read Creative in London. The latest post from Wal caused more than the usual vitriol from the anonymous commentors out there.

I think Wal has a good point though.

I know a team who have been rocking an agency for months now on placement, getting out more work than most of the creative department combined. But the ECD wont hire them because he doesn't think their book is strong enough.

Go figure.

I always thought your book was to get you on placement, then your performance on placement would determine your chances of getting hired.

I hate knowing nothing.

It's not me, it's you...

If anyone noticed, i've not posted recently, and this is because I've recently become a single creative again. And since divorcing my old AD i've found the whole process of finding a suitable replacement quite time consuming, and a real eye opener as to just who is out there on the singles scene.

And it got me thinking about why in London juniors are expected to arrive at agencies in ready-team format. I know there is an arguement that agencies can afford to be picky who they take on and they don't need the hassle of matching ADs to suitable CWs.

But taking on teams with a combined portfolio surely disguises the fact that one member of the team probably carries the other member to some extent, and therefore you are employing less than what you are paying for.

If an agency employs CWs and ADs seperately, as they do in the states, would you not increase the chances of hooking up a brilliant writer with a brilliant artiste, with the combined effect of producing brilliant advertising?

I guess it's left for the team to be brilliant before they arrive together at an agency and can produce work from day one, having presumably already worked together on briefs for some time.

Still, it seems a false economy to me. If creative budgets are so small, and with all this credit crunch bullshit, why don't agencies seek out the best single juniors and try and match them up within the agency, rather than telling them to 'come back when you've got a partner'.

Just a thought.