Can we do it again?

If you are in the media world, please persuade your boss to enroll you on the Media Business Course. Hands down the best course I have participated in my life. I learned more in these 4 days than 6 months on the job. Held at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, and sponsored by the Advertising Association, it combined speakers from all walks of the media world, as well as a brief for the amazing new X-box Kinect!

Highlights from me were hearing the one and only Rory Sutherland speak and being introduced to each media by the most important people in their respected fields - Glen Wilson, Posterscope, Mike Gordan, Global Radio, Adam Freeman - Guardian News (who actually gave away an iPad!)...just to name a few!

When I started job hunting in the industry, my one and only objective was a creative agency, it was that or nothing. But media is so much more, and it really made me appreciate what my industry does and how lucky I am to be involved. Seriously, what other industry has nearly all its speakers swear on stage in a professional environment! Love it

Best of all, our syndicate won the course and an Xbox. But even better are the people I met and learning how to come up with a brilliant pitch in less than 48 hours!

But if you do go, make sure you get plenty of sleep before....

Augmented Reality

OK, I must admit, when augmented reality first game out I thought it was quite gimicky. The term was coined in 1993 by a man named Tom Caudell, but the concept didn't take off till 2003, when GeoVector teamed with Vodafone, HP, Microsoft, Virtual Spectator and Animation Showcase Ltd to produce an AR app for America's Cup Sailing Races in Auckland, New Zealand.
Personally I only came across it this year and with any new gadget, it tends to be quite clunky and uncertain. During the past month AR has seemed to explode and finally people know what to do with this new technology.

The Dutch are a very sneaky bunch when it comes to new technology....they tend to sit back, find the coolest new trends and put them to use. Take this AR application for example:



And here is one for the Londoners- who tend to be obsessed with their phones, how best to use the (shit) TFL system, and show off their city navigation skills:

Girls vs Boys Old Skool

Nike is a strong independent brand, it pushes you to the limit, inspires you to be competitive, and knows who to reach. Thats why, I think the Nike+ idea is brilliant. In 2006 Nike started making trainers with space for a Nike+ data chip. Information of the run is transmitted wirelessly to an ipod, which can then be downloaded to a computer. Nike+ online has set up an online competition of men vs women. If you are sporty, as I am, you'll no doubt be faced with a girls vs boys game, which the girls will probably anihilate the boys....

Men and Women around the world will compete online in three categories: total km, av km per runner, and most km run by an individual in a 24 hour period. I think this will work really well- as long as the right people are targetted. The super athletic, super competitive individuals.

Here is the ad for Men vs Women.

Bye Bye Banksy

This past Saturday in London, just off Oxford Street saw the last moments of a famous Banky. 'One Nation Under CCTV' was stenciled on a Royal Mail building in London's West End. Perhaps one of Banksy's most well known artworks, the Westminister Council just cannot seem to tell the difference between artwork and graffiti. Isn't artwork suppossed to elicit emotions, send a message, and create joy? And don't you sometimes feel these things when looking at well drawn graffiti? So would Banksy be classified as artwork or grafitti?

Luckily I found out Banksy's famous artwork/graffiti was being torn down through the Banksy fanpage on Facebook. My boyfriend was in the area and took some pictures of the 'demolition'. I was lucky enough to stumple upon it last week and witness it with no scaffolding. And I love Banksy's work so much, I was honoured to have just randomly run into it.

Fallon does it again

The newest ad for Cadbury is genius. Seems Fallon are back on track, after the miss of the airport one where trucks come to life. The Glass and a Half Full production definitely entertains with this one. Wonder what crazy planet these kids came from?

Cheat Sheet

I love "Making of" videos, I just can't seem to let an event just happen, I love knowing the details. So if you are like me, check out the making of the T mobile dance in Liverpool Street Station.

Funnies

Round up of some of the funniest ads I've seen in a while:

1. Durex, Get it On viral



2. Heineken, Walk in Closet



3. T-Mobile, Liverpool Station- Life is for sharing