insights, ironies and idiosyncrasies in communication and design

from the wide, wide world and the world wide web

Monday 29 June 2009

Free-lancing.


Working freelance or as part of a small creative collective or even boutique agency puts you at the mercy of larger corporations, with their in-demand demeanor, unflinching, hard-faced approach to negotiating, archaic, bureaucratic finance departments and sluggish payment processes.

Bullied exasperatingly so by bigger corporate fish, one is left wondering how ludicrous this vendor-client power play would seem if translated to other sectors – and that's just the thought that motivated this Scofield Editorial film.

And while this does leave you wondering how many of the production crew worked on the job for nothing, it is spot on, nonetheless, and therefore a great use of their free time – really.

Thursday 25 June 2009

Sharp thinking?


O&M Bangkok won Silver at Cannes this year for a campaign for Wusthof knives...


...after not winning at Cannes (but everywhere else) last year with the same ad for Black & Decker.

Saturday 13 June 2009

Pizza rebut.



Lack of authenticity has long been a personal grievance of mine, so often and so vast is the chasm between advertising claim and actuality, but in the case of Pizza Hut (Thailand) it is how the corporate giant pays for the promise that is preposterous.

As obvious and dull as it is as a USP, speed is mindlessly wheeled out again in this category, only of course in the capital, Bangkok, legendary traffic and tropical thunderstorms make delivery an impossible proposition to deliver on – though that doesn't stop Pizza Hut from offering (proudly and aggressively via print, web and call center) this deal: if your delivery's late, you get your total order for free. Which is fine if the company foots the bill, but they don't – they only pay half; the delivery guy or girl pays the rest.

And herein lies the trick. It's a corporate gamble, but the odds are heavily in favour of Pizza Hut, as in most cases their almost unanimously Buddhist, 100% superstitious consumer base will react to the fawning self-pity of the failed delivery guy or girl at the door with either sympathy, compassion or เกรงใจ.

Whatever one's response the late arrival of one's pizza leaves a tremendously nasty taste in the mouth – either in the knowledge that the delivery staff (who earn little more than the national daily Thai minimum wage of between 148 and 203 baht or between 4-6 USD) caught in traffic or rain will be docked up to two day's wages or because you the consumer are left eating cold, paid-for pizza and feeling cheated.

Either way it is a scam – a scam that has been going on since 2003.

And this is from a parent company awarded for personal staff development.

Brands that favour their consumer base at the expense of their underpaid staff or that cheat their consumer base with guilt need to be exposed.

Let this be the beginning of a boycott – until the company can pay for tardiness themselves.

Thursday 11 June 2009

Easily hooked.



It's easy to get hooked by good design.

Designed by Ransmeier & Floyd.

Via Droog.

Monday 1 June 2009

Star Lores.



Under normal circumstances you realise I leave film criticism to the likes of Philip French, Xan Brooks, Jason Solomons, or even Adam and Matty at Filmspotting, but by boldly going where no captain of any Trek narrative has gone before, Abrams has forced me into comment.

By adopting the fairy tale functions of Russian formalist Valdimir Propp, Abrams slickly propels what would have been a trek into a skywalk. Having Roddenberry's science fiction cast reading from Lucas' fantasy script is genius and tantamount to having The Beatles playing The Stones, though it's his adherence to Vulcan logic that's clearly his masterstroke: featuring Nimoy in cameo and therefore dovetailing the film with the 60s series. The love triangle between Spock, Kirk and the now lovely Uhura adds romance where before there was only bromance and leaves the audience begging to know who will be star-dating who in the sequel.