Brain-teaser Monday.

This is a carefully redacted mock-up ad for a business pitch. What is the brand?

1. United Airlines.
2. Amtrak.
3. CSFB Direct.
4. Manchester United.

Answer to last week's brain-teaser: M&C Saatchi; Wieden & Kennedy; The Richards Group

World Cup security threat of the now.

I fear for Paul the Octopus's life. Never underestimate the passion insanity of the soccer fan. But, even worse I overheard a couple of creatives who work on NY Lottery talking about using him in a lotto campaign. Will not this poor octopus be left alone.

Charity goes interactive.

Interactive experiences usually require the user to give at least one thing of themselves. Their time. Yes their engagement, curiosity and imagination may be required to enrich the experience, but it's their time that will ultimately make the experience work.

Here's one that also needs your money. Of all the low down gall. Actually it's a charity drive, but with a clever, interactive twist.

A Girl Story is an interactive website fueled by donations. It centers  around Tarla, a young underprivileged Indian girl who dreams of an education. Her success, however, depends on the user, who must donate in order to help her continue her quest.

What a clever way to involve donors in the story of Tarla and in the process thousands of real girls like her. Figuratively and literally, her story can't progress without their emotional and financial support. It's almost like a philanthropic peep show. You have to pay to see more.

Kudos to Strawberry Frog and non-profit group Nanhi Kali for possibly changing the way we experience donation campaigns.


(Sharing credit to psfk.com)

What the FC Barcelona.

What the hell are F.C. Barcelona doing in this commercial for Turkish Airlines? It's wrong on two levels. First it violates the laudable principled stand against commercializing the Barcelona name. They remain the only major soccer power not to sully their famous shirt with corporate sponsorship.

And secondly it seems to betray a remarkably poor level of taste. This commercial is an absolute stinker, fronted by a particularly lamentable, un-catchy jingle, "We are Turkish Airlines". The vuvuzela has never sounded so good.

Mind you, following the recent revelations about Barcelona's unexpected financial woes, maybe this shouldn't come as a surprise or disappointment after all. Indeed we should brace ourselves for worse to come. Goodbye sponsorless "Blaugrana" shirt.

Guerilla ad of the now.

If you find yourself doing your laundry in a German laundromat, you might discover a single sock with the caption, "Also single?"

Don't be alarmed. You've just been guerillaed by Neu.de, a German dating site. Not a bad way to get some cheap attention. And you get a free sock.

Kudos to Heye & Partner GmbH of Hamburg.

(Sharing credit to psfk.com)

"Dead Ideaville"

Alive and kicking one minute. Dead as a dodo the next. It's tough being an advertising idea. Case in point, this recent pro-active branded-entertainment idea for Christian Dior.

Yes it was pro-active so it's chances of survival were less than North Korea's at the World Cup, but it was presented to people who knew people who knew the people at Christian Dior so......Okay it was dead on arrival.

Eau Noir (Dior) - "Lady Killer"

Christian Dior in 2009 began a major branded-entertainment push for its Lady Dior Brand. They commissioned high profile directors to create short films to showcase Lady Dior. David Lynch has just created the third in the series.

There is no similar initiative for the men’s brand. The idea was to take advantage of the opportunity and create branded films for some of the men’s products? Eau Noir cologne seemed like good place to start. 

The five-minute story (a film noir, obviously) is a literal play on the term, "Lady Killer." It follows the police investigation of a mythical man, dubbed the “Lady Killer” who is responsible for the “falling” of a number of beautiful women.

It should be pointed out right away that there is nothing violent about the fate of these women. Essentially, they have just “dropped dead”. So there will be no injuries or marks on their bodies. No hint of any violence whatsoever.

This will be the “Lady Killer’s” M.O. He leaves these women with happy, satisfied expressions on their beautiful faces and the strong scent of a man’s cologne on them. Who is the Lady Killer? And what is the mysterious scent on these women? All is revealed.

Well not yet, anyway.

Brain-teaser Monday.

Sure it isn't July 4th, but it's still part of the holiday weekend so today's brain-teaser is independence themed. Which of the following agencies are independently owned?

• Fallon
• Bartle Bogle Hegarty
• M&C Saatchi
• Crispin Porter Bogusky
• The Martin Agency
• Razorfish
• Wieden & Kennedy
• Berlin Cameron United
• Mullen
• The Richards Group

The "Make it Happen" Challenge.

Time to play another special World Cup edition of "Make it Happen", the crowd-sourcing challenge to see if my big ideas can come to fruition thanks to the rich community of creatives, writers, artists, designers, inventors, scientists, architects, pharmacologists, techies, provocateurs, ethicists, military contractors, etc.

MIH Brief 012

OBJECTIVE:

Create a television show that will allow the English public to help chose the next England football manager.

Another World Cup has passed by for the hapless "Three Lions". It's now 44 years since they brought home the cup. This campaign, though, may be the most dismal yet. And much of the blame lies with manager Fabio "Don" Capello. Indeed his days look to be numbered as the "gaffer". If he does get the boot, England will be looking for their 14th manager since Sir Alf Ramsey lifted the Jules Rimet trophy back in 1966.

During this barren spell the English Football Association has been responsible for selecting the manager. They've picked native coaches, sophisticated foreign coaches, ex-players, tacticians, introverts, shameless extroverts, tall coaches, short coaches. The result though has always been the same. Failure followed by an angry backlash from a frustrated public, who are completely shut out of the decision making process.

Perhaps a drastic shift in how the manager is selected is needed. Maybe it's time to take the choice from behind the closed doors of the English FA and into the living rooms of the English public. Let them chose the next manager. This way they can personally feel connected to him, as well as make him directly accountable to them.

We do this through a "talent" show called, "So you want to be the manager of England." Talent shows are very popular. They usually arouse more audience interest and induce more participation than a parliamentary election. If the English public can be trusted to pick the next singing superstar or Britain's entry into the Eurovision song contest, why can't they chose the next England manager.

And just maybe, by connecting the public to the team in such a direct and fun way we might be able to change the attitude of the manager and players enough so that they may finally bring glory back home.
  
THOUGHT STARTERS:

  -  What should the format for the show be? Maybe it should follow traditional models like "Pop Idol" and "Strictly Come Dancing". How will the initial screening process work? How many finalists will be selected? Eleven (number of players in a football team) would seem to make sense.
  -  Perhaps the show should be centered around certain challenges that each finalist will have to face. Points are awarded for their performance. For example, they score positive points for successfully dealing with a hostile media, or negative points for failing to control an unruly WAG.
  -  How can the show root out and penalize the "character flaws" of the perspective candidates. For instance certain coaches have an annoying tendency to make ridiculously bold predictions. Yes I'm talking about you Harry Redknapp. Similarly, many coaches reflexively resort to the most pathetic excuses to explain away a poor result. Sir Alex Ferguson once blamed his team's dismal performance on the wrong color of their shirts.
  -  Should style matter? Do we want the next manger to be a snappy dresser or a slob in a tracksuit?
  -  How important is it to have a coach with pleasing facial expressions and positive body language. Surely we don't need another Capello scowl or the stiffness of Steve McClaren. Then again do we really want the tourette's syndrome of Diego Maradona?
  -  Is there a way to integrate a social media component? For instance, perhaps the initial screening process can be executed on Facebook. All perspective candidates have to submit a three-minute video explaining why they should be manager. The video should outline their achievements in football, as well as their complete disdain for 4-4-2. The top eleven are then chosen for the final elimination series on TV. Viewing and voting takes place on Facebook.
  -  Who can apply? Should it be only open to those with football experience or can we go outside the pitch. Military personnel might provide a different kind of leadership. Or perhaps Team England needs to be treated like a failing corporation. A dynamic trouble-shooting CEO might just be the answer. Sir Richard Branson, anyone?
 

MANDATORIES:

  -  Judges must included Sven Goren Erickson, Victoria Beckham and Ozzy Osborne.
  -  Only residents of England can participate. It's pretty clear that Scots will just try to sabotage the process by voting for the weakest candidates.
  -  The show must be called, "So you want to be the manager of England".

Good luck and make it happen, people!

World Cup ad of the now now.

This ad, which laments Brazil's elimination from the World Cup, first appeared in a Brazilian newspaper a few days ago. Back then it seemed awfully premature as the cup favorites were still very much in the competition. Not so as of right this minute. So kudos to the folks behind the ad for their amazing prescience. Perhaps they consulted with Paul the octopus.

Still one of the best ever....

Circa 2006. Kudos to Brooklyn Brothers for a sharply funny campaign for travel site Kayak.com. Sure it's a map ad, but just maybe it's the greatest map ad ever! I do love the country of Not Sure and the islands of Dunno.