The old maxim “If it ain’t broke, don’t change it” holds true for Absolut vodka. Since 1980, the vodka manufacturer has been running essentially the same print advertising campaign where the ads in the campaign make sly reference to Absolut’s distinctive stubby neck and see-through label bottle with tongue-in-cheek variations to the two word tagline.
John Lewis ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ new TV commercial sets out to prove that what’s really important in life doesn’t change either.
Says the publicity blurb: “The advert is the story of two people falling in love. On the left side of the screen we see the girl’s side of the story. She lives in 1925, the year that John Lewis made its life long commitment to Never Knowingly Undersold. On the right side of the screen we see the boy’s side of the story. He lives in the present day.
By bringing their two worlds together as one, we show that falling in love, and embarking on a relationship, is a universal story which will keep being replayed throughout time. While many aspects of our lives today are very different to almost a century ago, the really important things haven’t changed at all.”
Awww… shucks, that’s so sweeet. But its a clever concept, one that broaches the parameters of time and space and love. Now for some strange reason, I have a sudden craving to see the movie “Back to the Future” again.
The soundtrack is a cover of the INXS song, Never Tear Us Apart, re-recorded by Paloma Faith.
Advertising agency Young & Rubicam, Malaysia is promoting Penguin Books’ range and diversity in this print and poster campaign entitled “More than just the Classics”. Funny, but I absolutely can’t help think of some great ad campaigns involving a particular vodka manufacturer…
After 7 years, Singapore Tourism Board has quietly dropped the much maligned ‘Uniquely Singapore’ slogan.
In its place is ‘YourSingapore’ – a logo some found bland, non-controversial, with no meaning at all; others however delighted in its visual cliché animated version finding it engaging and literally, more dynamic. Looking past the typography, the morphing clump of imagery makes a contour of Singapore’s shape and as seen in the video above, is sublimely cool.
DDB Worldwide, Singapore’s new double-take print ads of Breast Cancer Foundation of Singapore suggest that perhaps women should focus on health and have their breasts checked rather than obsess about their big butts, pimples and bad hair days. As breast cancer can strike at any age (just under 7% of all breast cancer cases occur in women under 40 years old.), women of every age should be aware of their personal risk factors for breast cancer.
Created at Republic Studios, illustrator Andy Yang Soo painted a model’s body with Kryolan body paint and Daler Rowney Expression angled brushes and sponges while photographer Allan Ng took the attention-grabbing photographs.
Commented illustrator Andy Yang: “Interesting project I was involved in recently. Painting on a LIVE MODEL, graphic style! Interesting paint that doesn’t dry but the challenge is to paint on contoured body skin. It’s tricky but once you get the hang of it, it’s ok. Sketch and idea was confirmed on paper with the creative team. 3 day schedule locked down at Republic Studios because each piece took about half day to complete which includes touch ups on the body paint and photography. This job was really smooth sailing because the creative team really knew what they wanted. Special thanks to the team at DDB Singapore, Republic Studios and the model. This is one of those jobs that you need a team to pull off.”
Organization of Illustrators Council – Singapore Illustrators and Illustration
The spot precedes the 6-part series titled “Living Cities – Singapore”, centred around the themes of Liveability, Heritage, Sustainability, Responsibility, Creativity and Vibrancy. The series started airing mid-December 2010.
Stefan Sagmeister TVC for Standard Chartered Bank.
Client: Standard Chartered Bank
Title: Footprint
Agency: TBWA\Singapore
Production Company: Passion Pictures Malaysia
Director: Stefan Sagmeister
Creative at Large: John Merrifield
Creative: KC Chong, Reggie Ocampo, Eddie Azadi, James Holman
Creative agency: TBWA\Singapore
Released in March 2010
Now with Singapore hosting the first ever YOG (Youth Olympic Games) event to be held in the island from 14 August 2010, I thought it fitting to check out the design trends of past and upcoming Olympic logos.
This article features every logo from the summer and winter Olympic games from 1924 to 2012.
Caught this at the National Museum of Singapore, more than just paper, glue and string… this was a virtual trip down memory lane of ‘cheena’ looking letter-press printed paperbags with their red and white twine carrier handles.
But whether paper or plastic, we certainly were no strangers to carrier bags; it was a common form of ‘convenient’ packaging and an alternative to the rattan basket.
The exhibition showcases 60 paper and plastic bags in the National Museum’s collection.
Together with contextual photos, the display highlights different uses of the ubiquitous carrier bag; its role as a mobile advertisement, and also shed light on the paper bag business in Singapore – a much forgotten trade that is still surviving today.
It runs from 19 December 2009 to 18 April 2010.
Museum exhibition panel - darn cool design
Arnell Design Agency, responsible for Pepsi’s new US$1 million brand identity rationalized their controversial ‘smiley’ redesign with a 27-page design brief entitled “Breathtaking”. It’s been said that the presentation reads like a scientific white paper, infused with psycho-marketingspeak (and what some sources define as unprecedented levels of highly creative BS). Comments Matt Casey of Bevnet.com , “Apparently, the gravitational pull of the sun, the Mona Lisa, the exponential growth of the universe, Earth’s magnetic field and Pepsi’s new logos all have something in common – at least if you believe the design agency that created it.”
Aaron Perry-Zucker of Fast Company Magazine (read article below) called it “branding lunacy… perpetrated by somebody calling himself a designer… Every page of this document is more ridiculous than the last ending with a pseudo-scientific explanation of how Pepsi’s new branding identity will manifest it’s own gravitational pull.”
Equally critical was the L.A. Times: “Behold, then, the scattered and burning debris field of one of corporate America’s most misbegotten image makeovers… According to the brief, the new Pepsi logo lies along a trajectory of human consciousness that includes in its arc the Vastu Shastra, a 3,000-year-old Hindu architectural guide; Pythagoras (the Golden Section); the Roman architect Vitruvius; the Fibonacci series; Descartes; and Corbusier.”
So, what do you think?
Apologies if you're not that much into insects! The great "Mezzanine" album cover by Massive Attack from back in 1998. Art direction and design: Tom Hingston Studio, photography: Nick Knight.
If you ask graphic designers how they got into graphics in the first place, a lot of them will tell you about their favourite album covers or something else visually related to music. Enter London-based Tom Hingston: For over ten years, he has been designing quite a lot for music, from flyers for the legendary Blue Note club to Massive Attack’s covers. PingMag asks Tom about visualising sounds.
