Snickers : Pool

Mr. T can still get work in this economy?




cred:
AMV BBDO, London
Creative Team: Mike Sutherland, Anthony Nelson
Agency Producer: Carol Powell
Production Company: Sonny London
Director: Guy Manwaring
Producer: Alice Grant
DP: Fede Afonzo

Illustrator: Sarah Singh

Sarah Singh makes the most lovely watercolor illustrations. We need more illustrated ads.

cred:
http://www.sarasingh.com

Design Inspiration: Card Observer

Card Observer is a new site that showcases only the best business card designs. They do this for a couple of reasons: to shine the spotlight on the talented designers who create these beautiful cards, and to inspire you.


get your card pulled here:
cardobserver.com

Heavy Metal Urban Art: Matthew Small

Matthew Small’s work has strong urban roots. By painting directly onto found pieces of metal, he brings physical elements of the city directly into his work. The subjects of his portraits are also found anonymously on the streets of London. Executed with astonishingly textured brushstrokes, Matt's pieces feel both abstract and incredibly real and vital.

These images were recently taken at Matt's show, “Youngstarrs”, at the Black Rat Press Gallery in London. Of the many stunning pieces throughout the exhibit, the most impressive had to be the large painted car hoods that hung from the ceiling.
~eugene


scoped:
mymodernmet.com

Natural Hair Care: Henna Powder

Henna Powder is used in India largely for mehendi designs - a traditional art that uses a woman's hands and feet as its canvas on special occasions, mostly weddings. Henna Powder is also used for hair conditioning and nourishment, making the hair shiny, smooth and beautiful.


cred:
Mudra Advertising, Chennai, India
Client: Natural Hair Care - Henna Powder
Executive Creative Director: Joono Simon
Associate Creative Director: Arvind Ramalingam
Art Director: Krishnamurthy Iyyappan
Illustrator: Murali

Dell: Adamo

Problem: We (people of color, various orientations & women) are too often used or related to as inanimate objects. Various coat hangers, products stands and props. We are evocations that underscore a product's coolness, sexiness or to approximate diversity. I gotta give it to the agency, the ad does say what they intended. The black model gives you sleek, sexy and fashion savvy. My indoctrination (read programming) to all of this does not fail me here. But we are tired of this portrayal and most general market agencies are far to comfortable with it. There-in is the problem. We are rarely implored to facilitate the intelligence a product's brand might impart as a white male would be.

But it's ok, baby-steps for now, we aint mad at ya, yet. The people who made this ad have probably never noticed how often a brother is the first to die in most every movie (that's right we're keeping count). Even in The cult classic "A Christmas Story." What did that kid do with that Red Ryder BB gun?? But that's another blog post, don't even get me started.

Suggestion: How do you make this work and nobody gets hurt? Well, for one thing minorities could toughen up a bit and stop whining about ads and sh*t. Nope, that is not it. Maybe art direction could be abstracted more. Or if they want to keep the minimalist feel the model could give off just an inkling of life. Whatever happens it needs just a pinch, a hint of... I don't know, more conceptual support.


cred:
Enfatico


Stared at blankly over at:
Adfreak

Jay-Be Bloggin'

Check out the new ROC4LIFE scocial networking platform. You can shop gear, let the new blog pull your ear and watch videos until your eyes start to tear.

http://roc4life.com

Artistic Inspiration: Brian "Deka" Paupaw

Hoods to Woods
Brian "Deka" Paupaw is a broadcast designer, creative director of the Se7en Nations clothing brand (still kicking?), a serious snowboarder, and now a filmmaker. He chronicles his journey from Bed-Stuy to South American back country mountains in his recently completed documentary, Hoods to Woods.

Hoods to Woods trailer #2 from Brian Paupaw on Vimeo.

This is amazing thinking. This is how you promote a brand. Taking two totally different worlds and merging them together and completely freaking the form.

African American Agencies should use this kind of innovation in a campaign instead of the family reunion... again.

It was screened in the NYC (March 5th, 2009):
Hoods to Woods Screening
Hosted by Filmmaker Brian "Deka" Paupaw
The Blue Seats
157 Ludlow Street, New York, NY 10002


another hot cop from the blindingly brilliant:
Style Noir

Design Inspiration: Character

The Olympics are the ultimate celebration of sport and culture. For the 2008 USATF Olympic trials, Character collaborated with Nike in creating limited edition athlete posters, event and retail graphics as the athletes compete for a spot on The Hardest Team to Make.



cred:
Character

Artistic Inspiration: Delphine Diallo

This collage-- aptly titled, "Stay Strong"-- by French-Senegalese photographer/art director/painter/designer Delphine Diallo.

Borrowed and never returned from:
Style Noir

Clothes in Closets: Knucle bag

Every touchpoint is an advertisement, right?




cred:
Leo Burnett Lisbon, Portugal
Creative Director: Chacho Puebla
Art Director: Luciana Cani
Copywriter: Pedro Ribeiro

The cARTer Family Reunion Trailer (just some inspiration)

Ill ass artwork for an album cover.



The Carter Family Reunion Coming Soon... from CARTER on Vimeo.


fresh wrest from: FRESHNERD check dude out!

Ebony Covers: August 2008

I know these are here a little late to satiate blogophilia (my word, but you can use it ;-) standards. But, I wasn't blogging here when these came out, blog-gods forgive me. Wether you love Ebony magazine or were forced to look at them on your Big Ma's dollied coffee table. You have to give thanks for their unwavering love and constant uplift of Black people. Kudos to Ebony old school, the new editors, new style and Harriet Coles.

**UPDATE***

I just learned that Ebony/Jet may be on it's/their death bed (like many other popular publications). Some people are suggesting we subscribe en-masse. What do you think?

Thanks H.J.

POP Africana

POP’AFRICANA,the blog-voicing a new paradigm of what it means to be African.

Great cover.



peeped & then creeped from;
www.popafricana.com

Padma's hamburger ad redefines food porn

Well, here it is: the new Padma Lakshmi commercial for Hardee's/Carl's Jr. that we mentioned back in February, when it was being filmed. It certainly doesn't skimp on the sexual imagery, as the Top Chef beauty opens wide (really wide) to take her first bite of the Western-bacon monstrosity. Plopped down on an apartment building's front steps, she hikes up her skimpy dress and licks the burger all over until, in the heat of the moment, it promptly drips its sauce on her lower leg. Outside of the car wash, it doesn't get more food porn-y than this. Paris Hilton, please pack your knives and go.


Perp walked from:
Adfreak

Net#work BBDO: The face of Net#Work BBDO Cape Town

A South African advertising agency shows what diversity can/should look like. This is a composite image of all the employees. In South Africa really?! This is great.


(Side note; If you put them all together they look like Shaun Will of Prostituted Thoughts)


cred:
NET#WORK BBDO
South Africa

NCAA: Ambidextrous

cred:
Young & Rubicam, San Francisco
Executive Creative Directors: Scott Larson & Brad Berg
ACD/Art Director: Hilary Wolfe
Copywriter: Brandon Reif
Executive Producer: Debra Trotz
Director: Grady Hall
Executive Producer: Javier Jimenez
DP: Jeff Cronenweth
Editor: Colin Woods

Minfab Mattress: Hair

I don't know what this is. Can anybody help?


cred:
Saatchi&Saatchi, Shanghai, China
Creative Director: Awoo Lai
Art Director: Chao Xu
Copywriter: Hesky Lu
Illustrator: Teoh Kok Joo
Photographer: Kk Fong

Marketers in Agency Diversity Fight

Letters Sent to 25 Leading National Advertisers

Posted by Ken Wheaton on 03.25.09 @ 08:54 AM
The NAACP has sent a letter to Procter & Gamble Co. Chairman-CEO A.G. Lafley and 24 other marketers previously on Advertising Age's Leading National Advertisers list asking that they "require their advertising agencies to use diverse teams in creative and account-management positions." (read the P&G here.)




Aside from P&G, letters went out to AT&T, Verizon Communications, General Motors Corp., Time Warner, Ford Motor Co., GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Walt Disney Co., Unilever, Sprint Nextel Corp., General Electric Co., Toyota Motor Corp., Chrysler, Sony Corp., L'Oreal, Sears Holdings Corp., Kraft Foods, Bank of America, Nissan Motor Co., Macy's, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Honda Motor Co., Viacom and Berkshire. (Last month, the Association of Black-Owned Advertising Agencies sent a letter to the ANA challenging marketers on diversity.)




The letter, from NAACP Interim General Counsel Angela Ciccolo, was sent in conjunction with the Madison Avenue Project, an effort by the group and civil-rights attorney Cyrus Mehri to bring diversity to advertising agencies through either persuasion or a lawsuit. Designed to open up another front in the battle and put pressure on clients, it requests that each company "identify a senior executive to serve as a point of contact on the issue of racial bias in the advertising industry and to meet promptly with the NAACP."

After a couple of pages of data combed from MAP's previously released report, the P&G letter dispenses with the niceties.

"The behavior [of the agencies] documented in the report is illegal, and we are sure that Procter & Gamble does not wish to be associated in any way with illegal behavior. The behavior documented in the report is not only illegal but also clearly out of step with the moral climate of the times, and again we are sure that Procter & Gamble would not want in any way to be so out of step with the times."

See the Ad Age article here.

Design Inspiration: Stubborn Sideburn

cred:
Stubborn Sideburn

Design Inspiration: Oliver Barrett

cred:
Oliver Barrett

Design Inspiration: Fatoe

cred:
www.fatoe.com