Dark Noir

A very nice (and interestingly, sponsored by Absolut Vodka) meta creative, short animation by Rafael Grampá

Creatives

Toy Sculptures by Freya Robbins 

A nice selection of some of the alternate universe adventure of Mort Künstler

 

Michael Allen's Alphabeard

Sam Polcer's New York Bike Style

Vintage Ski Posters on Brain Pickings

Real life Emojis created for a digital child safety awareness campaign by Rosapark on Co. Design.

Six Things Every Designer Should Know About Copyright from Design Milk

10 Qualities of Creative Leaders

   
An article on Brain Pickings from The Unpublished David Ogilvy (the original Mad Man) with his 10 Qualities of Creative Leaders.

1. High standards of personal ethics.
2. Big people, without pettiness.
3. Guts under pressure, resilience in defeat.
4. Brilliant brains — not safe plodders.
5. A capacity for hard work and midnight oil.
6. Charisma — charm and persuasiveness.
7. A streak of unorthodoxy — creative innovators.
8. The courage to make tough decisions.
9. Inspiring enthusiasts — with trust and gusto.
10. A sense of humor.

Rejected Star Wars Merchandise

A series of articles by product designer Jason Geyer who was asked (along with his team) to pitch for Star Wars merchandise... This is what they rejected.

Article 1
Article2
Article 3

Human Motorcycles

Advanstar Communications Powersports Group and i.d.e.a.used yoga and body paint to create this campaign for The Progressive International Motorcycle Shows. 

Check out this link on Business Insider for a nice summary of the process and the final images; as well as this link for a behind the scenes video.

Possibly NSFW in more conservative offices.

Fragile Childhood: Monsters

Disturbing if effective Finnish commercial for alcohol abuse through the eyes of children.

A Glossary of Brand

An amusing and insightful Glossary of Brand at Agency: Compass360's website.

Brandiose
A glaringly obvious overestimation of a brand’s importance in the world.
Also referred to as Delusions of Brandeur.

Harley Davidson: The Cage

A clever social campaign for Harley Davidson trying to expand the iconic brand for a wider audience.
If you have time, check out a few of Victor & Spoils other campaigns.

A Mad Man's 10 Tips For Success

10 Tips For Success From George Lois, the original Mad Man on Co. Design

 5. Teamwork might work in building an Amish barn, but it can’t create a Big Idea.
The accepted system for the creation of innovative thinking in a democratic environment is to work cooperatively in a team-like ambience. Don’t believe it. Whatever the creative industry, when you’re confronted with the challenge of coming up with a Big Idea, always work with the most talented, innovative mind available. Hopefully … that’s you. Avoid group grope and analysis paralysis. The greatest innovative thinker of our age remains Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, a modern-day Henry Ford. Jobs was not a consensus builder but a dictator who listened to his own intuitions, blessed with an astonishing aesthetic sense.

Paralympics Marketing

This is how to market the Paralympics...

Getting The Most From A Packaging Redesign

Landor On Getting The Most From A Packaging Redesign on Co.Design

Changing a recognizable packaging is daunting, requiring a big investment that could potentially backfire with consumers. But the potential benefits, argue Landor Associates’ Christine Hall and Dale Doyle, far outweigh the costs.

Fair Go Bro!

In this new 'Fair Go Bro' Virgin campaign, meet Doug Pitt, the second most famous Pitt in his family.

D's Freezies

Pitch character concepts for a 'Slurpee' style product range, for one of the major chains (passionfruit, cola, lime, berry).

Advert: From Love to Bingo

A clever little advert by AlmapBBDO using 873 stock images to advertise... Getty's stock images...

The Lego Gender Gap

A very interesting article on Sociological Images by David Pickett about the historical perspective on the Lego gender gap.
Part 1
Part 2

Canadian Paralympics Advert

Canadian advert for the Paralympics

Kickstarter: Reading with Pictures.

As a long time fan and creator of comics, I'm pretty excited by this kickstarter project: Reading with Pictures. To quote the would be creators:

The Graphic Textbook unites the finest creative talents in the comics industry with the nation's leading experts in visual literacy to create a gamechanging educational tool... The goal is to create an awesomeness-filled book of the highest artistic quality and literary merit that also meets all the criteria necessary to be accepted as classroom curriculum.

Aimed at grades 3-6, The Graphic Textbook features a dozen short stories (both fiction and non-fiction) that address topics in a variety of disciplines (Social Studies, Math, Language Arts, Science) drawn from the list of Common Core Standards used in classrooms countrywide...

Jack and the Marketing Giant

A great article on Co.Design making the analogy between the fable Jack and the Beanstalk and Marketing opportunities.

Happy Birthday David

A perfect new viral video for Prometheus featuring the talented Michael Fassbender- Hopes... rising... must... lower... expectations... GRRR!

David Ogilvy 10 Tips on 'How to Write'

A memo from one of the original Mad Men David Ogilvy to employees: 'How to Write'

The better you write, the higher you go in Ogilvy & Mather. People who think well, write well. 

Woolly minded people write woolly memos, woolly letters and woolly speeches. Good writing is not a natural gift. You have to learn to write well. Here are 10 hints:

1. Read the Roman-Raphaelson book on writing. Read it three times.
2. Write the way you talk. Naturally.
3. Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.
4. Never use jargon words like reconceptualize, demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally. They are hallmarks of a pretentious ass.
5. Never write more than two pages on any subject.
6. Check your quotations.
7. Never send a letter or a memo on the day you write it. Read it aloud the next morning — and then edit it.
8. If it is something important, get a colleague to improve it.
9. Before you send your letter or your memo, make sure it is crystal clear what you want the recipient to do.
10. If you want ACTION, don’t write. Go and tell the guy what you want.

David