This ad for Men In Black 3 reminded me of our Nokia SatNav campaign from a couple of years ago. Of course, the monocycle wasn't our idea. It was dreamed up and built by biker and inventor Kerry McLean.
If you're reading this blog, you're probably one of the 12 million or so people so far to have watched our new Nike Football campaign: My Time is Now. But you may not have explored the hidden tunnels in the interactive version of the film that lead to additional content. These include CR7 WORKOUT- Train with Ronaldo and download his exclusive football workout (above). KITWALL: Explore Nike product and kit in a giant locker room (below) from which you can click through to buy online.
And FOOTBALL BRAIN (above): Test your football IQ and compare it with your mates'.
Last night we hosted our first Inspire Session of 2012. We're always keen to look outside of advertising for inspiration, and these sessions are for us to spend time with people from all kinds of fields, but mostly culture, innovation and technology, to inspire us.
This time Doug Allan was the source of our inspiration. Doug has worked for the BBC Natural History Unit for the last 10 years as cameraman on ground-breaking nature programmes including Blue Planet, Planet Earth and most recently Frozen Planet, and has been called "the toughest in the business" by Sir David Attenborough.
He first went to Antarctica in the 70s and has been there almost every year since, and has spent 8000 hours underwater plus 500 hours under ice. Doug gave great insight into his filming experiences, which turned out to be very educational. We learnt the Arctic covers sea and not land, that penguins don't fear polar bears, how Emperor penguins are really rather big and how Doug has trouble deciding on where to go on holiday. As well as the educational stuff, he also let us into a few stories about his life and what goes on behind the scenes. We're looking forward to our next pub quiz.
We also found out that David Attenborough can’t drive (he’s never had a driving licence) which proved a bit tricky when he was asked to drive the Snowmobiles for Frozen Planet.
We’d really like to thank Doug for coming in. He was a really inspirational speaker and he even stayed to chat to a few of us in the pub after!
There is a new breed of football player emerging. Younger, smarter, and scared of no-one. Driven by the hunger to succeed. Armed with new tools and product innovation. Ready to step out of the shadows if given the opportunity.
Our innovative new Nike 'My Time Is Now' campaign celebrates this next wave of footballers, whether it's the participants in The Chance, Nike's worldwide hunt for football talent (with previous winners featured in the spot), or elite athletes looking to make an impact on the world stage.
But more than simply reflecting the defining qualities of hunger and impatience, this new global campaign provokes and rewards these behaviours in the participating audience too.
To achieve this, the campaign flips the traditional AV model: rather than creating a film for TV and running it online, we created a film for the internet, a version of which runs on TV. Launched online first, with the TV edit following up in Saturday's Champions League Final, the film is driven by a variety of different types of content, interactions and experiences, as well as seamless extensions to the overall narrative flow of the campaign.
Produced in association with Stinkdigital, this interactive film tests and rewards the viewers’ desire to learn, their knowledge of the game, and their hunger to succeed, and those willing to dig deep - the defining qualities of a modern player.
Ed Elworthy, long-time client of W+K London and Global Director of Brand Communications for Nike Football said: “We really wanted to showcase the hunger and impatience of young players breaking into the game - inspirations that are shared not only by our audience but by the Nike brand itself.”
Interacting with the film not only proves challenging and rewarding, it also arms young footballers with information that will help them to go on to be better players, and to seize the chance to shine out on the pitch. And if you explore the tunnels, amongst other things, you can unlock a secret Sonic game...
And even get yourself a footballer's haircut...
Stuart Harkness, our Creative Director on Nike, said: “Nike has always stood for innovation. So we didn’t want to just make a football spot about the next wave of players trying to breakthrough, but instead reward those hungry enough to find what it takes to make it, online, via hidden content in the film itself.”
The film and interactive experience sit at the heart of Nike's 2012 programme to find and elevate unsigned players around the world. This ambition is crystallised in 'The Chance' - Nike's global hunt for the hungriest emerging amateur players around the world, which is run by our friends at AKQA.
As always, this was a collaboration from start to finish. Nike Football, ourselves, AKQA and Mindshare worked on the overaching idea for the campaign. The film and the interactive experience were conceived and created by W+K London and produced by Stink and Stinkdigital, and directed by Adam Berg. The list of all those involved goes on, and deserves (and will get) a post in its own right shortly.
Currently reading "What they teach you at Harvard Business School" by Philip Delves Broughton because it's much easier and quicker than actually doing a Harvard MBA. Interested to learn that if you get in to Harvard it's actually quite hard to fail an MBA. Also quite liked this simple nine point philosophy for personal success, as laid out by visiting speaker/billionaire Meg Whitman, then CEO of eBay. (Now in the same role at HP.)
1. Do something you enjoy, because if you don't enjoy it you're unlikely to be much good at it.
2. Deliver the results whatever you're doing
3. Codify the lessons learned - what worked, what didn't and why.
4. Be patient and stick around good people and good things.
5. Build a team and share credit
6. Be fun to work with.
7. When there's something you don't know or don't understand - ask
8. Don't take yourself too seriously
9. Never, ever compromise your integrity
She had one further point: "Remember this. And this is something I have not been particularly good at. You probably won't look back and wish that you'd worked harder... In the end your family and friends are the most important thing."
The author then wonders if the speaker regretted her choices and whether, given the option, she would give up her fortune in return for getting back the years spent working. "What then? Almost everyone listening to her (at Harvard) was contemplating a future of ninety-hour work weeks, personal sacrifice in return for professional success. Could Whitman have done more to change their minds?"
Anyway, still working hard. Still haven't cracked that first billion.
` We were awarded the prestigious Hall of Fame Award for Honda 'Grrr' at last night’s Clio awards in New York. Well done,team Honda.
W+K NY very kindly picked up our trophy and have promised to ship it over.
Here's that hall of fame ad, one more time. It was inspired by the story that Honda's chief engineer told us. He hated noisy, dirty diesels so, when Honda asked him to build a diesel engine, that hate inspired him to build a better one. 'The power of dreams' in action. Among many other industry awards, this was named 'Best commercial of the decade' by Adweek.
It's new starter-tastic here as we were also joined by Jonny Plackett on Friday.
Jonny is our new Senior Interactive Creative. He's an ad guy who's taught himself code, and does a whole lot of internet tinkering both in and outside of agency life. This includes making stuff like the seriously good - and massive - 'slapometer' site during the last election.
This is Nick Owen who joined us today as the new account director on Three.
Luckily for us, Nick spells his name with a K and not a C, which helps avoid any confusion with the Nic Owen previously of this parish.
Nick comes from DDB where he worked across lots of their business including that 'cool beer when it's hot' promotion thing for Budweiser. He also did a bit of copywriting and design before coming over to the dark side of account management.
This week we have a new exhibition in the L Gallery courtesy of artist Michael Benjamins entitled ‘Metal Men’. Here is what Michael says about the piece:
‘Inspired by the concept of Arvind Gupta who shares simple yet stunning plans for turning trash into seriously entertaining toys for kids, which they can build themselves while learning basic principles of science and design.
Adopting his concept of recycling goods to give them a new purpose or a second life, I used the wire from the corks of champagne bottles to share a message.
Shapes come to life and take form - giving a new message of its own.
Creativity + Imagination = Limitless
Special thanks to all the team at the Viajante restaurant, the Town Hall Hotel and W+K team for making this possible’
As part of the evolving exhibition people from W+K have been invited to add to the piece with the remaining wires left in the display. Lets see what we’re made of!
Last night W+K indulged their darker selves and joined the infamous Jack the Ripper Tour. But we needed Pie first so we asked Mr Tim Wilkes of Timmy’s Pies to come into the office and bake us some fresh handmade pies, mash and gravy. Seventy pies devoured in less than 30 minutes.
This warmed our cockles and put us in good stead to brave the cold and wind and travel 120 years into the past and 120 yards down the road where we came face to face with the world’s first serial killer and brutal slasher, Jack The Ripper……
This isn’t him, this is Anne Marie our tour guide. She wasn’t so scary.
As we walked the streets of Whitechapel and Shoreditch we were taken back in time to a place where many were destitute, women were forced onto the streets, the poorest didn’t even have beds, they would just slump over a rope for the night. At 5am they would be thrown out and would head to Itchy Park next to Shoreditch Christ Church, named Itchy due to the bugs that would crawl over the drunks laying on the grass. Maybe things haven’t changed that much!
After gruesome stories of murder and mystery we finished the tour at the famous Ten Bells Public House, the drinking den of two of his victims and quite a few W+Kers these days.
It really does bring home how rich in history and culture this area has and how lucky we are to work here.
By the way if you like the look of Timmy’s Pies do check out his blog or follow him on twitter @timmys_pies.
On Wednesday and Thursday this week the Cravendale team ventured North West to drizzly Warwickshire. Holed up in medieval Warwick Castle, future brand plans were scrutinised, issues fiercely debated and total dairy aisle domination strategised. It was a gruelling 48 hours punctuated by slabs of red meat, hotel rooms hotter than the sun and even a guest speaker star turn from Sir Kev Chesters of Penzance. After a very productive workshop on the final day we celebrated by brushing up on our knight skills. Armed with swords, bows and arrows we laid siege to hapless targets and each other. Above is Norwegian fighting princess Haugen, ably demonstrating how to take down own label standard fresh milk at distance. A great time was had by all and serious thought was given to whether or not we could legitimately install a trebuchet atop Wieden + Kennedy towers.
Timmy of Timmy's Pies joined us this afternoon to feed pie-based goodness to the folks of W+K in preparation for this evening's Jack the Ripper walk. Pies seasoned with the spicy condiment of murder and doused with the piquant sauce of disembowelment.
Apparently this is the welcome message sent by Apple to all new staff. (No doubt someone will now point out that this is a well-known fake.) Anyway, it's interesting. I don't know whether to feel inspired by its appeal to ambition or to be cynical about the way it sneaks in the expectation that the Apple employee will work weekends. I do like the way it suggests to all employees that they're part of something bigger, which is what job satisfaction is all about.
Sean from Falling Whistles visited us the other day to explain about their work campaigning for peace in Congo. A fascinating story and an inspirational message.
Originally just a journal written about boys sent to the frontlines of war armed with only a whistle, Falling Whistles became a campaign launched with a simple response – make their weapon your voice and be a whistleblower for peace in Congo. They partner with local leaders to advocate and rehabilitate for those affected by war.
Ben Sherman are opening a new shop on Commercial Street round the corner from our office. I was surprised and chuffed to receive a rather excellent pair of chinos from them this morning. Haven't tried them on yet but they look pretty good and I think they're even the right size. Lovely gesture and, I would venture to suggest, one that sets a splendid example for other local businesses. Thanks, Mr Sherman.
Wieden + Kennedy Tokyo just launched a fun web application for Nike Japan called "NIKE FREE FACE".
To illustrate the unrivaled flexibility of the new NIKE FREE footwear, the application allows you to bend, twist and control the NIKE FREE trademark sole using the power of your face through a webcam. The stronger your expression, the harder the shoe works.
The web application is built in Flash, and combines facial recognition technology and expression recognition technology. The application first photographs the user’s normal facial expression. The application then uses the first expression as a base to calculate facial flexibility from the eyebrow to the chin, and uses this to define the diagonal movement of the shoe. The horizontal movement of the shoe is defined using the level of symmetry of the mouth. In addition, the application recognizes the colour of the user’s clothes and the background to automatically coordinate the colour of the NIKE FREE shoe using the NIKEiD customization system.
Anyone can do it: And here's another part of the campaign, showcasing the product benefit of "Super Natural Strength".
No, that headline does not refer to situations vacant for management posts at Wieden + Kennedy, but to a couple of ads in the recruitment section of The Guardian today that caught the eye:
Interesting idea and spot-on media placement. Perhaps printing the reveal in the ad itself lessens the impact and potential debate around the issue. Interesting approach on a small budget, though.
"I don't want to choose between TV and interactive. That's ridiculous. It's like saying, 'Choose between your left hand and your right hand.' I want to use both hands - and various other appendages!"
Love makes people do crazy things. Like run across the country. See how strong running reunites a long distance couple. The film was created by Wieden + Kennedy Portland, directed by renowned commercial director Ringan Ledwidge and shot in three cities and five states over the course of 11 days.
Wieden + Kennedy is excited to announce the launch of the Procter & Gamble "Thank you, Mom" campaign for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
This campaign has been a labour of love for over two years – led by WK Portland, and supported others across the W+K network.
Procter & Gamble may not be in the business of athletic equipment, sport drinks or athletic wear, but they are in the business of helping mum and they are the 'Proud Sponsor of Moms'.
So at the London 2012 Olympic Games, P&G will thank mothers everywhere—not just the mothers of Olympians, but every mum who does whatever it takes to help make her kids' life the best it can be.
The cornerstone piece of this initiative is the global launch of the "Best Job" two-minute film.
The spot celebrates the work all mums do to help their children succeed by following the journey of four mothers raising future Olympians. The ad shows the hard work that mums do to raise their children—a lifetime of chauffeuring their children about, washing their clothes, providing meals on the run and supporting them at practices and competitions—all to see their children succeed. The hardest job in the world, is the best job in the world.
To shoot the ad, we recruited director Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel, Biutiful, 21 Grams), who is known for his ability to tell genuine stories through careful attention to detail. The commercial was shot on four continents and features local actors and athletes from each location—London, Rio de Janeiro, Los Angeles and Beijing.
We’ve also given people a way to thank their mum publicly using the "Thank you, Mom" Maker. This tool will span three platforms and allows users to use video, images, or text to show their mum some appreciation. The stories will be aggregated and shared out in galleries across Facebook, YouTube, and P&G.com as a living conversation centered around thanking mums. You can send a thank you to your mum now using the Facebook version.
Watch the spot. Like the FB page. Create a thankyou. And pick up the phone and call your mum today.
We are pleased to share with you our latest print work for NESTEA Green Tea, featuring our very own Jungle Man as seen on our recent TV ad for the brand.
In this print campaign we portray the adventures of our characters, embracing nature and the refreshing qualities of the drink. All set in the lush and wild jungle of Costa Rica.
In case you missed it, the TV ad can be watched below:
Please welcome Ollie Wolf and David Goss, a creative team who have ventured all the way from the west end and Saatchi & Saatchi to join us here in Hanbury Street.
They've worked on the likes of Visa, San Miguel, Howies and Gaymers in the past and even had the pleasure to have Dave Dye for a boss, though we won't hold that against them.
As you can see from the attached photo they should fit in here perfectly.
It’s taken a while to write this, but then, it’s taken a while to recover. Sunday 1st April saw our annual Founder's Day. Normally this is a day of group activity shenanigans followed by a booze-up. But this year was different. This year was Wieden + Kennedy’s 30th anniversary, and although booze was still involved (natch) the order of the day was something a little bit more inspirational.
As we passed through the doors you couldn’t help but feel that something was amiss. The walk in stupid man was in a silver sweatsuit, the library was a sea of white and bean bags. Everywhere looked…tidy. It could only mean one thing: we had somehow travelled forward 30 years into the future to the W+K Centre 2042.
After a feast that was resolutely planted in the present, the rest of the day was spent looking at where we might be in the next 30 years with the help of super-curator, Beatrice Galilee. Matt Jones from BERG kicked off the day by blasting us into the future (sorry about the un-futuristic projector, Matt).
And what a day. We smelt the moon with We Colonised the Moon, learnt arduino with Technology Will Save Us (Tony D was pretty pleased with his Lumiphone), tasted the future with food artist Caroline Hobkinson and explored new territories with the Unknown Fields Division. Finally, Sam Bompas from Bompas & Parr came in with the Experimental Cocktail Company and blew our brains out by drinking futuristic cocktails and sniffing something lethal from an apron. Don’t ask.
All of which set us up perfectly for walking back out of W+K Centre 2042 and going back to the past, way, way back to 1982 at the CuckooClub, Mayfair. Drinks flowed freely, faces were painted, shapes were thrown. The highlight was Boy George was on the wheels of steel closely followed by a magician. Some thought him better than Paul Daniels. Yes, he was that good.
This little book landed on my desk today. It was put together by W+K Portland, with contributions from the whole network. It's a verbal snapshot of wieden + kennedy's 30th anniversary. It compiles opinions, reminiscences and observations about this place by the people who have made it what it is - the ones who have worked here.
Like it says, 'We have no idea where the next 30 years are going. We want to keep it that way because not knowing what we're doing is what we've been doing for 30 years.'
I've been peeking in my copy. It contains some stuff that's moving, some stuff that's funny and some stuff that's just wrong. Which is about right for this place.
Here are a few anonymous nuggets from the book. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the management, etc.
Why do / did you work at W+K?
- Advertising is mostly pollution. It invades. It's self-important. It's arrogant. It's abusive, instructive, overwhelming, harmful, terrible, invasive, derisive, insulting, poison and Wieden + Kennedy gives you the chance to change all that. - Nowhere else would have me - THE WORK BLOWS MY MIND TO PIECES - Duh. I work at W+K because I enjoy a continual and unrelenting beatdown to the ego. - So I don't have to get a real job.
What makes W+K tick?
- Chaos and balls. - Happiness and danger. - There's a vibration here. A hum. A kind of tremor that bubbles up from under your feet. You don't really know where it's coming from at any given time, you just know when you sense you're above it, when you feel it rattling your pelvic girdle, you try a whole lot fucking harder.
What advice would you give to a new employee?
- If you're wondering whose job it is to sort out That Thing - it must be yours. - Come in, just try real hard and don't be a jerkface - Hold on / fasten belt / attach helmet / hold your pee / speak your mind / be smart / be dumb / focus / wander / simplify / ambellish / trip / run fast / keep changing.
Dan says the work comes first. What does that mean?
- It means that the work is bigger than you, or me, or any of us. That we're here to create great work that solves client problems. And if someone (or something) is harming the work then golden rule number one is being broken. - Talk is cheap. Get with the program. Do epic shit. - He means working on Saturdays in September, without a second thought. He means being on a first name basis with the graveyeard shift security guard. He means that you've witnessed the caliber of work that has come out of this office for the last 30 years. You saw it on TV when you were in high school. You read about it on the Internet when you were at college. And you will take those images - embedded in your psyche - to the grave. And those images - funny or gruesome, flippant or brazen - were all the produce of extremely talented and uncompromising bulldogs who gave up a lot of Saturdays in September. And every other month of the year. - Put some hot sauce on your famous self and see what happens. - It means you don't have to give a shit about the bullshit.
What about W+K infuriates you?
- Crazy bosses that have way too much power - Working Saturdays in September - "None are more helplessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free" - Goethe
How would you explain W+K to an alien?
- You're not an alien round here, mate - I can't even explain it to humans - Beauty through chaos - A lot like Burning Man, but with running water
What is the perhaps the most personal thing you can say about W+K?
- Working at W+K indirectly caused my divorce. Thank God. - It was the one place I worked at that always felt like the patients were running the asylum, but it was a place that you would fake crazy in order to stay at the asylum as long as possible.
Does W+K have a social responsibility?
- 'Social responsibility' is one of those meaningless marketing catchphrases like 'best in breed' or 'buyersphere' or 'digital' and thus has no place at this agency. - Yes. Everyone does. W+K has power, has a voice, is a cultural catalyst. With great power comes great responsibility. - It's hard for an advertising agency to start talking of themselves in these terms. Hard because what they do is intrinsically socially irresponsible. Aside from the odd charity project, what we do is not making the world a better place, no matter how many rainbows you throw around. Sorry. - Of course. Do good. Do good things, do good work. Maximise the number of places they intersect. - Yes. The community that envelops us also helps inspire us. We pick our community and it welcomes us. We should both help each other.
What would you like to forget about W+K?
- Nothing. It's good to remember the shit times as well as the good times. The fuck ups. The 'not in a million years will they go for that' pitches. The 'did we really do that'? It makes you realise that failure is OK and that we don't get it right every time. The trick is to learn from your failures so that you don't repeat the same ones. When Dan first hired me he told me to 'break some eggs'. Th best times are when you are doing somehting you've never done before and are not sure if you're going to pull the damn thing off. - That one party where everyone misbehaved. You know who you are. Secretly, we're proud of you though.
What is the definition of 'fail harder'?
- Go out on that fuckin' limb. Even if it breaks. - Fail Harder is another way of saying, "have some cojones". It means having the courage to try something new and different, even (or especially) if you know others will mock or ridicule you. It's a reminder that creating something special is far more fulfilling than always being 'right' or 'perfect'.
That's all for now. Will maybe post some more when I have time.
Subscribe to
feed
Recent Comments