Advance

A DAY OUT IN SWEDEN

30/05 2008 // aaron

Comments (1)

Us lucky bods in the creative department took a daytrip to sunny Malmø yesterday. Once there we pondered important things like why Sweden’s trains were so much more colourful than Denmark’s:

And then took a leisurely stroll to the amazing Turning Torso building:

And wondered why such a fantastic feat of architecture had such a boring sign outside:

Inside, we sped up to the 54th floor where we were greeted with a conference room straight out of James Bond. All that was missing was a furry, white cat:

There was a big telescope which Sune used to look for girls:

The view was pretty amazing:

And the nice people there even provided us with some pretty stationery:

Which we promptly defaced:

But then it was down to the important business of trying to figure out some big issues:

While also making important-looking hand gestures:

And of course, a super-productive day should always finish with a lovely meal:

Posted in: Us | Add comment

DELAYED TWITTER

29/05 2008 // Annette Flinck

Comments (0)

In true Aaron spirit I decided to dig deeper inside understanding the Twitterism going on at the moment. On my way I fell over Dawdlr.

The common thing about Microblogging sites like Twitter, Zyb or Jaiku is, that they all ask ‘What are you doing right now?’ The sites are being updated regularly through web or mobile, giving the users a sense of being instantly updated on other peoples whereabouts, feelings and thoughts. Dawdlr does something else. It asks the question ‘What are you doing – more in generally?’. The answers aren’t transmitted online or via the mobile phone, but with good old-fashioned stamped postcards. The users send them in and they are uploaded twice a year. So Dawdlr is the slow-mo Twitter, so to say. The nice thing about this is that you can send in your own expectations for the six months to come – so what will YOU be doing around the 21st November? Send it to: Dawdlr – 77 Beak Street, London W1F 9DB. 

Posted in: Web stuff | Add comment

HIP HIP…

28/05 2008 // Annette Flinck

Comments (0)

Today is a big day! The man in the know, a respected and talented member of Advance’s Perker Oen, Aaron Bateman is turning 30.  

Congrats Aaron from all of us at Advance!  

Posted in: Us | Add comment

BACK IN THE DAY

27/05 2008 // aaron

Comments (0)

Give it up for our main man Morten Kirckhoff, blinging it back in the day. Or something like that.

If anyone doubted our creative director’s creativity . . .

Posted in: Us | Add comment

REALITY CHECK

26/05 2008 // aaron

Comments (0)

I really enjoy the work of Common Craft. Their no-nonsense approach to demystifying web applications is an essential antidote to the tech-heavy jargon and general geekiness of most so-called ‘early adopters’. In their latest blog post, they issue something of a rallying cry to the Web 2.0 community, reminding us that most people in the wider world are going about their daily business in blissful ignorance of RSS, Twitter, blogging, wikis etc. They ask, in short, if we are at risk of just talking to ourselves?

I kind of feel evangelical about things like Twitter, Flickr, and blogging because they have enriched my own life so much. I’ve made friends, advanced my career, and taught myself so much. I want other people to experience those advantages so I harp on and on, assuming that they will just go out and join Flickr and start following me on Twitter. Occasionally it happens, but for the most part people just carry on doing what they were doing before. I’ve come to the conclusion that if you need these things, you’ll find them and your life will start taking a different course. If not, no harm done and we can all carry on regardless.

If you have a few minutes, take a look at Common Craft’s beautifully simple Twitter explanation below. Hope you’re having a good Monday.

Posted in: Web stuff | Add comment

TODAY’S INSPIRATION . . . BEYOND BLOGS (AND ELEPHANTS)

23/05 2008 // aaron

Comments (0)

BusinessWeek has updated its influential 2005 article ‘Blogs Will Change Your Business’ with an indepth look at social media today. They’ve called it ‘Beyond Blogs’, acknowledging the fact that while blogging is still an important communication medium, most people don’t really give a toss about what we write and mainly use the Internet to watch videos of people falling over.

- – - -

I once gave a tramp my gloves. It was Christmas morning and I was feeling charitable. Years later, I saw the tramp but he was no longer a tramp. He had gotten back on his feet. We passed in the street and I smiled and asked if he still had the gloves. He looked at me like I was a dog with rabies and walked off rather hurriedly. It seems elephants have better memories.

Posted in: Web stuff | Add comment

GET READY TO KILL YOURSELF

21/05 2008 // aaron

Comments (0)

Have a look at Coolspotters. ‘Celebrity stylist’ Rachel Zoe says it’s the Google of people and products. I say it’s confirmation of a society teetering on the brink of complete self-absorbtion. Rise of the idiots, indeed.

Posted in: Web stuff | Add comment

TODAY’S INSPIRATION . . . (ONE FOR THE PLANNERS)

19/05 2008 // aaron

Comments (0)

I don’t fully understand this post from Jeff Jarvis (one of my favourite bloggers) but any post that starts with the words: ‘Mark today in the history of media’ has got to be required reading. Right? Jeff is referencing a NYTimes article which I’m reasonably confident planner types will find pretty interesting dealing with online ad networks and such things.

For the rest of you, here’s something much more interesting.

Posted in: Advertising | Add comment

TODAY’S INSPIRATION . . . WHY TWITTER MATTERS

16/05 2008 // aaron

Comments (3)

Twitter has been sneaking onto the radar of the mainstream media in recent weeks, and by all accounts the service has started to explode in  terms of user numbers.  I’ve been using it for about a year and have experienced first-hand how it’s grown from something a bit geeky and gimmicky into a genuinely useful communication platform.

But when I tried to explain how it works to some colleagues last week they looked at me like an alien who’d just kidnapped their children. Thankfully, this Business Week article by Stephen Baker does a much better job of nailing what Twitter is all about – and why it matters to those of us in the communications industry. Have a read because the chances are some other geek like me is going to be boring you to tears about it before too long.

Posted in: Web stuff | Add comment

OH NO..NOT THE KERMIT!

13/05 2008 // Annette Flinck

Comments (0)

We’re a bit late to the party on this one but hey, there’s no shame in coming last. So my gym teacher told me anyway. It seems an anonymous prankster has been stalking the streets of London in recent months, modifying billboards and posters to make it look like whoever is featured in the ad has had their head chopped of. Talk about the dangers of leaving the brand in the hands of the crowd, eh?!

Messing with Kermit is off limits, though. Be nice!

Check out more of The Decapitor’s work here and see what he did to David Beckham’s Motorola ad in thelondonpaper here:

Posted in: Random | Add comment