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.
A century after it sank after colliding with an iceberg, claiming more than 1,500 lives, the dramatic story of the Titanic – the world’s largest ship at that time - continues to fascinate people around the world. On April 15, 1912, the great ship sank and all that’s left is the wretched wreckage at the bottom of the Atlantic; a debris field stretching about a mile long with items from the period. But her dramatic story continues to fascinate people of all ages, throughout the years, and have been told in countless ways in books, movies and TV specials.
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.
Titled Dreams and Reality: Masterpieces of Painting, Drawing and Photography from the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, this mega-exhibition from the collection of the world renowned Musée d’Orsay, features over 140 Salon, Realists, Impressionists and Post-Impressionists paintings, photographs and drawings from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century. Slated to run at the National Museum of Singapore from October 26 2011 to February 5 2012, visitors will see works from the likes of the greatest Realist, Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painters: Gustave Courbet, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne and Edgar Degas, to name but a few.
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
Directed by Steve Fuller who commented that this was the animatic that got his design company the HBO job.
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
