portraits cachès

a great set of images from french photographer thomas millet.

male drivers beware (again)

M&S appear to have adopted the same approach for their latest billboard campaign as Wonderbra did so infamously in the mid-90's, with the provocative shot of Eva Herzigova:

Only time will tell if Marks' poster causes as much buzz (as well as car accidents)...

sound mantra

comical voice of authority

the voice of Stephen Merchant has to be one of the most versatile in the business. the bristol accent tends to have certain farmyard connetations, however, Merchant seems to be able to adapt it into both comical and authorititive dialogues. seeing him recently performing a rare stand up gig in islington I witnessed this first hand. a funny man, fucking funny.

advertisers have put this to great use in the Sky movies ad (looked at in an earlier entry) and the latest comical Barclays campaign. people listen to what he has to say.

hepatitis leap

i heard a rather interesting radio ad for a campaign raising awareness of hepatitis C, it is part of a campaign covering also press and tv (the latter two I have yet to see). the rather bizaare set up went as follows:

"Have you ever pranged a mates car? Have you ever pulled a sickie after a night on the lash? ...Have you ever been to a party with some mates... and ended up injecting drugs?"

Strikes me as quite a big leap.

pola-void

a little mock up of an advert for polaroid, done for my university course. polaroid has to be the most raw form of photography, and is one that needs to be saved!

my flickr.

diesel xxx

absolutely amazing viral from Diesel. perfect use of potentially offensive yet eye catching footage.

mr h

more quality from mr hudson. and again in Bread & Roses.

the new coke ad

the description of this advert on radio 1 prior to the campaigns release, was one that made the advert sound shocking and hard-hitting. in my opinion it couldn't be further from this. firstly, David Mitchell narrating - did the casting team not do their research?, as I seem to remember him being somewhat involved in the killing, cooking and eating of a dog in a particular Peep Show episode.

if I used cocaine, then the only thing that would have a chance of getting through to me would be facts relating to the damage it could do to me, and how it could affect me directly. if the fact that it is illegal isn't going to put people off, then I dont think the thought of a little dog being used in the logistics is quite going to cut it.

it's mad that the government feel the need to advertise not to break the law.

advertising no advertising

Back in December 2006, the mayor of the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo banned all outdoor billboard advertising, citing advertisers' unwillingness to comply with the city's rules on what sort of billboards can be placed where. Sky's use of this fact in their advert aired earlier in the year, made for what was one of the most perfect adverts I have seen. Using an images of an 'advertless' town, in an advert, to advertise not advertising. Ingenious.

subliminal

A bit of subliminal advertising by Nike. Not only are three sportsmen in Mach 3 advert are sponsored by Nike, but closer inspection of the golf ball that flies through the open window reveals a rather well-known logo on the ball. It took me a fair few viewings to spot it. I wonder how much Nike paid for this privilege.

(obviously watching this on YouTube quality isn't great so keep an eye out next time its on TV)

both ends of the spectrum

An absolutely genius ad from Guinness. Maybe not as cultured or sophisticated as most of their other epic tv ads. Nevertheless, beautifully subtle and streets ahead of similar 'lads humour' advertisements.

brylcreem "effortless"

The popularity of Honda's 'cogs' advert is evident in a number of recent advertisements. Most notably the new Guinness advert and Brylcreem's very cool 'effortless' advert. The tone of voice of this ad is just perfect for the image of Brylcreem. I saw it for the first time in the cinema. Within seconds of it starting, everyone had stopped their conversations and watched it intently right through to the end. This was followed by almost the entire audience turning to their friends and commenting on how cool it was. This concept of using a chain of events or objects to create something or get something done has an almost mesmirising effect on the viewer. They become transfixed to the screen as they are intrigued as to what it is leading to, or what is going to happen next. I expect to see many more adverts using this concept as having the viewer 'glued' to the screen is invaluble to any advertiser.

greatest advert

Guinness adverts have always been impressive and hugely popular amongst a wide audience. The Guinness surfer ad from 1999 has to be the pick of the bunch. The combination of the stunning visuals, the strong soundtrack, and the perfectly scripted (and cast) voice-over makes for an incredibly powerful and almost motivational scene. For me, it encapsulates everything that the Guinness brand stands for.

A great follow up advert was made for Guinness extra cold. This is featured at the start of the video below.

vanity

photos from a night out. theres always a good number along these lines, people covering their faces. is it down to embarassment, shyness, or just plain vanity?

whatever the reason, when all compiled together they make for an interesting collection of photos.

Mr. Hudson & the Library

Best sound of the moment and great talent...especially if you're sick of all 'bands' jumping on the indie band wagon. Something a bit different.
mr.hudson

Well worth a look: 22nd October, the Cockpit

Liverpool

On a recent visit to Liverpool I decided to take my camera into the town centre, just on the off chance there were any sights worth glogging. The rewards of are obvious. Although these images may not do the city justice, I found all of these buildings fascinating. The face of the city is very smart and quite modern, but just turning up one of the side/back streets brings a new world of incredible buildings. I love the look of these, they have such character. Character that would have been present even in their early days, but the years of vandalism and general weathering has made for some awesome spectacles. There were a large number of buildings that almost stood alone, or rows of housing or shops that just ended abruptly, creating some great sights.

the Tate, Liverpool

The Albert Docks in Liverpool has to be one of my favorite places. The architecture is incredible, it is very dated and yet at the same time has a real 'current' feel about it. Whilst at the Docks I decided to see what Liverpool's Tate had to offer...


The most fascinating aspect of the Tate for me was the views from the upper windows, looking out over the docks. Unfortunately I have not captured the quality of these views in the photo below but it gives some idea.



I will look at some of the exhibitions and works displayed in the Tate in another glog entry as I was really inspired by some of it. But in terms of the gallery itself, it was the cafe that had the biggest impact on me. Frankfurt-based artist Tobias Rehberger was specially commissioned to transform the Café into a multi-coloured three-dimensional work of art. He has created a vibrant installation that combines coloured acrylic glass garlands branching out from the centre of the ceiling with a prominent wall installation, merging text with graphic elements executed also in coloured acrylic glass. The text reads 'Together a New Liverpool', but it is arranged in a manner that suggests a number of poetic variations such as 'To Get Her a New Liver/Pool', a comment on the city's current renaissance. Disappointingly I was not allowed to photograph the inside of the cafe and so had to make do with this image from the internet to show it's value.

Martin Parr

'England, Liverpool'
Having spent a time capturing images of the rundown buildings that I found most fascinating in Liverpool, I was very excited to see some of Martin Parr's work in the Tate. This image stood out for me. The architecture and setting in this photo was just what I had been so impressed by whilst roaming the city. The contrasting mood created by the little girl has such a strong impact and gives the image an incredibly strong emotive quality.

Neville Gabie

'Playing Away UK'


This piece consists of 12 lambda prints mounted on aluminium, each showing make-shift or adapted goalposts dotted around the UK. An ingenious idea for an exhibition, and just as impressive in its execution. The settings for the majority of the goals is again similar to that of those that interested me so much in and around Liverpool. 'Playing away UK' is such a simple yet strong idea, and evokes such a strong emotion for any lad lucky enough to view it.