There are are some interesting shakeups happening in the marketing world as of late… Apple pulled an odd PR move this week. They spotted a fan created ad by a teenager on YouTube and decided to get their ad agency to collaborate with the creator.

Nick Haley, an 18 year old from England loved the iPod Touch so much that he created his own commercial and put it up on YouTube. The people from Apple saw it and liked it so much that they contacted him and decided to “buy” the rights to it. You can see Nick’s version on top, and the actual produced spot on the bottom.

via AdGoodness

Slightly older news, but interesting none-the-less. Radiohead decided to release their new album “In Rainbows” digitally and allow their buyer to decide how much they think the album is worth—An astonishingly groundbreaking move in an industry that guards its intellectual property like a cure for cancer.икони

Everyone in libraryland and beyond is talking about the power of Web 2.0. And why not, there is a lot to be excited about in the world of interactivity such as open tagging and reader reviews in library catalogs. But librarians having myspace and facebook profiles? I mean eek let the students have their own space. Hey don’t get me wrong, if you happen to be a librarian and you also love these tools and you use them to talk to your friends then by all means bring your library-ness along for the ride. What I object to is trying to fit a round peg into a square hole. I guess what I am saying is don’t force it! I think going onto myspace after a certain age (and I am definitely of that age) is kinda creepy. It reminds me of when I was a young alt-youth trading obscure music all around the country with friends. Everyone was sharing music through the mail and it was intimate and oh-so age specific, I mean back then you didn’t hear of band like the Flaming Lips until someone snuck them into a mix tape and then you were hooked. Then there were always these creepy older guys hanging around who wanted to be in the scene, they wanted to pay to take you to a show or something else enticing (especially when you are broke). It always felt forced and just, well, weird and if I were in my twenties and logging onto myspace every five mintues (which I am sure I would be doing) I would not be looking to talk with my librarian. I think every generation should have there own space, and by the very definition of individuation, it should be theirs alone. But, here is a social networking site I can get behind. Good Reads: check me out What did nerdy people like me do before the internet? Trade books and tapes with friends through the mail, of course. So Goodreads is just a logical extension for all of us now scattered across the country. We look at each other’s stuff –like the other day I saw two friends, one in DC and one in Austin, reading the same book-hmmm! They don’t know each other so you can bet I am interested in this book now… Speaking of Austin, if you are into music you should check out two documentaries that are sad, strange and beautiful:

Your gonna miss me : A film about Roky Erickson

The Devil and Daniel Johnson

Help her! That burger is eating her head!

When great ads support “not so great for you” products Have you seen this new Wendy’s baconater commercial?

This ad is a great example of a really funny use of innovative graphics to do what? sell you a hamburger that is bigger than your head! Now I am not adverse to a good hamburger every now and then, but I usually choose In-N-Out Burger who I believe do not even advertise anywhere, yet they are always packed. But back to the baconater, these ads remind me of David Wojnarowicz, when he took all these pictures around New York City with a iconic mask of Arthur Rimbaud on, Rimbaud is the poet who inspired everyone from Surrealists to Patti Smith. You know this ability to use such compelling graphics to sell stuff that makes us really fat is the reason why I am such an advocate of culture jamming being done by the people over at AdBusters. I am pretty sure that no one ever needs to eat in one sitting: Six strips of hickory smoked bacon piled high atop two 1/4 lb. patties of beef, complete with two slices of American cheese. EEEEEK! As my good friend Gwendolyn always says “you have to use your powers for good, not evil.” Someone who is using his power for good and not evil is Shaquille O’Neal, in his new ABC show called Shaq’s Big Challenge, he takes 6 children through a weight loss program and inadvertently deals with school lunch programs and physical education (or the lack thereof). Shaq is so empathic towards these kids, you can see even this mighty man being demoralized by the forces that weigh these children down (no pun intended) We have a responsibility to create inspiring exciting design for good not evil. Tell us some examples you have of great ads that are created for “not so great” products.

Recently advertising is taking a turn towards the absurd… well I shouldn’t say recently, advertisers have always pushed the envelope as far as unconventional humor goes, but you typically only saw this approach with smaller brands that were more flexible and willing to take risks. I’ve posted one print campaign and three separate tv commercials from major brands to exemplify my point.

Orbit Gum:

There are two benefits immediately apparent in this style of marketing:

1. It is, or can be, dirt cheap.
2. It is very effective with mellinials (god how I loath that word, but it’s very apropos in this instance)

One warning though, it is much easier to execute this style in video rather than in print. I would be curious to know what all of you think of this?

Unfortunately, for legal reasons, I had to take down a series of ads that I posted a few days ago, but I found these substitutes, which I really, really like. They have the same light and warm feeling in their approach, and there is something fresh about these. The photos were taken by Jan von Holleben. Amazing work!

Via Ads of the world

Not only did I enjoy seeing, experiencing and learning about Koolhaas’s Main Library, but I also found a beautiful gem of a library and neighborhood center when I went to visit my friends in Ballard. Ballard is known among my friends to be the place where you can buy fun stuff (Archie McPhee’s) and get a great cupcake (Cupcake Royale) BUT it also home to one of the TOP TEN GREEN buildings of 2006, the Ballard Library and Neighborhood Center. My friend and I were randomly wondering about Ballard waiting for my other friend to get home from her work at SAM (More about the opening of the new SAM sculpture garden in part three.) when we came upon a beautiful and strange building. The first thing that caught my eye was that this building had a green roof (an component of sustainable architecture that I have great interest in) and that it was very shiny. When we got closer we realized it was the Ballard Library and Neighborhood Center.

Not only was it a mixed use facility, a gorgeous example of a green building produced with a limited budget it was packed with people of diverse ages and background. It warmed my little librarian heart to see a print reference section that was centrally located. It was a great example of how stylish and inviting a library and a green building can be… I could go on and on about the native plants on the roof and the designers behind the plan but instead I will let the library and the architect, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, tell you themselves. To read and see more pictures and drawings of the building, please see: http://www.bcj.com/ (look under projects>cultural>Ballard Library and Neighborhood Center) To read more about the branch please see: http://www.spl.org/default.asp?pageID=branch_open_about&branchID=3 In other words the Koolhaas building is fantastic but it not the only amazing new library building in Seattle.

I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to share this… In 1983 the American Library Association pulled together 8 graphic designers and illustrators from around the US to create a collection of camera-ready art for libraries to use in their PR materials – cutting edge stuff at the time, and a great resource for any library. Alas, 23 years is a long time when technology is involved and times have definitely changed. That said, there are some hilariously oblique and strange images. I am impressed that, even in 1983, ALA was aware that libraries need to “sell” themselves in order to compete, but it makes me wonder why, after all these years, most libraries/librarians are still struggling with this idea. I’ve attached two versions of the binder for your consumption – one for screen view that is 4.5 mb, and one for print that is a whopping 44 mb.

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Although somewhat morbid, these ads illustrate impeccable execution and clarity of concept.

Via AdsoftheWorld

These ads are an example of why a horrible idea on paper always equates to a horrible outcome, I would have loved to be a fly on the wall in this pitch meeting. “Let’s figure out a way to exploit the history of Japanese art for a cheap and ridiculous reason, because, you know, we are Japanese so it’s okay.”
For shame Honda, for shame.

Via AdsoftheWorld

Thanks to all of you who came out and supported us, the LAMA Swap & Shop was a huge success. I am posting the redesigns for those of you who couldn’t drop by or didn’t make it to New Orleans. Here is some background on this project. Fearless Future was invited to do the academic brochure redesigns of the Swap & Shop PR Makeovers at ALA this year. In order to provide the selected libraries with the most flexibility in terms of production, we designed a brochure to be professionally printed as well as in-house produceable brochure (Black & White, Xeroxed). Below I have posted the redesigns along with some framing so you can see the inspiration behind each brochure.

One of the brochures we chose to redesign was the Missouri Journalism Library. The Journalism Library is moving to a new building, and while they are waiting for a new building to be constructed, they are in very cramped quarters.

Missouri Journalism Library professionally printed brochure redesign:

Missouri Journalism Library in-house produced trifold brochure redesign:

The other library that we choose was the Robert W. Woodruff Library. The Woodruff Library is the consortial library of four historically black colleges in Atlanta, GA.
Robert W. Woodruff Library professionally printed brochure redesign:

Robert W. Woodruff Library in-house produced brochure redesign: