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…
i Light Marina Bay, Asia’s first and only sustainable light art festival was first held from 15 October to 7 November in 2010. The second edition of i Light Marina Bay, themed “Light Meets Asia”, is held from 9 March to 1 April 2012 and features more than 30 innovative and environmentally sustainable light art installations, with a strong focus on works from Asia.
The Festival’s curatorial team is helmed by Festival Director Mary-Anne Kyriakou, and includes two co-curators: Charmaine Toh, a Singapore visual arts curator; and the team from Singapore award-winning design studio FARM. In line with the theme “Light Meets Asia”, the curatorial team has selected the sustainable light art installations from over one hundred submissions. The final selection of installations features a strong representation from new, emerging, and well-known artists from countries across Asia, including Singapore. To find out more about the artists and their installations, click here.
Possibly the world's largest and longest digital Chinese scroll painting!
Last week I went to the largest art exhibition Singapore has ever seen. Spanning 10,000 sq m, the exhibition titled A Moving Masterpiece: The Song Dynasty As Living Art, makes it Singapore’s largest ever art show.
It has, as its centerpiece, the 128 m by 6.5m animated reproduction of Qing Ming Shang He Tu, which was the hit of the China Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo last year. The digital painting, which features moving and talking characters, has travelled to Hong Kong, Macau and Taipei, delighting over 10 million people. It makes its debut outside Greater China in Singapore. The exhibition boasts educational and interactive elements, created especially to enhance the visitor’s experience.
Ai Weiwei and his sunflower seeds. credit: guardian.co.uk
All the ceramic sunflower seeds were weighed in before the installation and must be weighed out again once the exhibition is over.
Autumn 2010 saw the Tate Modern unveiling the latest commission in The Unilever Series, Sunflower Seeds, by the renowned Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. Born in 1957 in Beijing, China, where he lives and works, Ai has exhibited internationally, including recent solo shows at Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Haus der Kunst, Munich; and has contributed to many group exhibitions around the world, including at the São Paulo Biennial; Documenta 12, Kassel, Germany and Tate Liverpool, UK. Ai also founded the design company Fake Design and co-founded the China Art Archives and Warehouse in Beijing. His work is held in many major collections, including Tate Collection (Table and Pillar 2002).
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.
