Harvardhism | Blog of another art director/designer about advertising/design.

And I'm back.

2012-01-18T21:53:00.003+11:00

2012 is off to a good start with the announcement of Mad Men season 5.

For obvious reason I like the show, despite people always asking me "So it's like Mad Men?" whenever I tell them I work / freelance in advertising.

But about this teaser poster.

Apparently people are relating it to the 9/11 incident.

Further reading lead me to article about an executive creative director of DDB New York jumping off from a building to his death 3 years ago.

As depressing as that sounds, why can't we simply see a poster as a poster?

How about not reading into things too much and be a kill joy to the fans?

Let a teaser poster tease.

That is my new year resolution.

Going, going, gone.

2011-12-12T23:05:00.003+11:00

I've set up a travel blog for the next month here.

Not that I update here that often.

But just in case you're 1 of the 5 readers that's not my facebook friend.

It'll be about my trip Japan and Malaysia and stuff.

Have a lovely xmas and new year.

Or as the Mayans say, yipekaye.

Beef of difference?

2011-12-07T21:55:00.005+11:00

Hungry Jacks make dirty burgers.

Like, greasy, hi-calorie, don't-give-a-shit unhealthy burgers.

Yet this year, they've rebranded themselves with a new agency, and replaced their heritage tagline 'The burgers are better at Hungry Jacks' with 'Hungry Jacks. Makes it better'. (WTF right? But still not as bad as KFC's 'So good' line.)

And this is the launch of their premium beef line.

Now compare that with this:

Did you even notice the 2nd one was a McDonald's ad? I understand the new clean look with the better burgers. But where is the fucking point of difference? Did they even bother hiring a different voice actor?

Is branding really going backwards?

It's English for Momofuku.

2011-11-27T23:06:00.013+11:00

I always try to make my blogposts as single minded(note: short) as possible but it seems impossible for this one.

To talk about Lucky Peach I need to talk about Books for Cooks at Gertrude Street. I stumbled across it after brunch with a lovely future bride/client and it is what the name says: a bookshop full of cookbooks. I'm pretty sure I sound like an old lady but it's pretty awesome.

And that's when I noticed this Sagmeister inspired magazine cover. Even though the thought of another food magazine disgusted me for a while, the ramen theme sealed the deal for me. Issue 2 is also out, but it wasn't about ramen, so pfft.

The bonus, I realized later reading it in an Indian restaurant waiting for my Murtabak takeaway, is that the magazine is a collaboration between the McSweeney people and that chubby Asian chef from Masterchef. (Ok it's David Chang, but I think his exposure is now an overkill. Do we really need another celebrity chef?)

So the McSweeney people finally got to me.

I tried getting into their work. They're well known for their fantastic writing, the awesome insight, it's like The Economist for the hippies. But there's just too much to read, and my attention span is getting shorter by the year. (I read while I takeaway dinner, hint?) So I concluded I simply wasn't the McSweeney audience.

Until today.

They managed to get to me because they wrote about ramen. And they wrote like a mother fucker.

But that's not the only thing, Lucky Peach was also incredibly well designed. (And check this out, no ads!) Each section has different quirks to it. Illustrators were hired and credited. This is some serious shit. The magazine was designed with design in mind. Not sponsors or market reach or call to action bullshit.

Which brings me to question: why can't Australia do the same thing?

Why can't we have a well written/ commissioned/ illustrated/ researched food magazine for $10? Why do we have to settle for a $5 Coles sponsored magazines on another article about organic macarons?

I know Melbourne has good food. In fact, I'm pretty sure Melbourne food is one of the most overpriced in the whole world.

But compare this magazine cover to the one above:

Something is not getting through between our aesthetic standard on food and design, no?

Good job Asics.

2011-11-14T19:13:00.001+11:00

Auckland y ur advertising so good?

2011-11-06T19:17:00.004+11:00

I may have said this before, but I'll say it again.

Auckland has really good advertising.

I took a photo of this billboard to show as proof.

Yes, it's nothing special. Yes, it's only a headline to sell a phone.

But if you've worked in a big agency or specifically, on a telco client, you'd appreciate how difficult it is to get the 'silly price' as part of an approved headline. (Not to mention the Galaxy S1 is a very, very outdated phone.)

Perhaps since the city is a small one, it is easier for agencies to get approval from the CEO him/herself, hence 'selling down' instead of the usual 'selling up'.

Sure I can show you the great rugby world cup ambient or hell pizza's swear word billboard or the interactive menus I've seen.

But to get a 3 word headline with a concept approved for Vodafone, I think that speaks louder on behalf of Auckland's advertising.

Big enough?

2011-10-27T10:17:00.004+11:00

When I came across this book in Kinokuniya Sydney I bought it in a heart beat and completely forgotten about the book I was originally looking for.

I always liked Paula Scher so I managed to finish it on my flight back to Melbourne.

(My advice for people with short attention span: learn to read fast. It works.)

Make It Bigger is an insightful book of a female designer's journey from designing album covers to being a partner at Pentagram.

In a nutshell, Paula has written the book that I would write about regarding working in the creative industry. Her early experience in a corporate design company bears no difference to my very own.

Perhaps it was the pure honesty that made this book not as popular as it should be.

I personally think no design or advertising student should look for a job before finishing this book.

Here're some of my favourites:

" Most publications fall into two basic categories: coping and craving. Coping tells you how to do something: make money, run your business, save your marriage or lose weight. Craving tells you what you should want: what to buy, where to travel, what to look like, and what sort of lifestyle to have. "

" I have profound difficulty with how advertising agencies make money. ... If the client is purchasing lots of print ads and television advertising, the amount of money becomes enormous. Copy and design are thrown in for free. And if they're free, they're worthless."

" Selling down is the simple process of obtaining approval from the most powerful people first. In most corporations or institutions, the designer faces the task of selling up. In the process of selling up, most objections to a design are expressed as "marketing concerns." Marketing concerns are usually design-punishing reactions such as not liking a particular colour or type choice, or thinking an image is "too" something (you fill in the blank). "

image via

Creativity is in a weird place.

2011-10-20T08:33:00.005+11:00

The older generation advertising creatives, or shall I say the older generation creatives on my Facebook circle are showing an interesting behaviour.

They started to open up and share what they think is interesting or funny.

In the very beginning, out of respect, I find the posts very original, insightful, and omg that's so true.

Just like how I would behave if I were still in an agency, and my senior art directors or copywriters cracked some jokes I've never heard of. You know back in the days when they will dig out some $300 books and show you an interesting article, or some notes they took in Cannes from something funny another Titanium winning ECD said during their Legendary lunches.

But recently, I found out most of their interesting posts come from similar sources, which are dominated by 15 - 30 year old teens. Avid gamers, Gen-Yers that created their own language like trolling, memes, me gusta's, and many more.

These are dedicated websites and forums which I'm very sure my advertising seniors are not a part of. The news just travelled full circle. (Some simply disguised themselves as young people lurking around the websites, which is both sad and creepy but hey that's the internet.)

Which is very interesting.

The baby boomers advertising creatives are now getting pwned by the thinking of Gen-Yers.

The old ways of getting information are being pushed to extinction. No one reads big giant books. No one writes personal notes anymore. We broadcast, we tweet, we share everything we think is funny. And that excludes a lot of older creatives.

I am happy to see the days are numbered for CDs who wants to be cool sitting in their office with their big books and giant moose head.

Now the Gen-Yers just need to grow some balls, work smart and keep their heads away from their asses for a few years.

Best tribute so far.

2011-10-10T20:56:00.002+11:00

via johnsonbanks

I wish someone told me too.

2011-09-28T20:54:00.000+10:00

Blank page.

2011-09-17T00:04:00.004+10:00

My copy of the 'Lemonade' DVD arrived this morning.

Upon watching it I can't help but feel a little nostalgic.

To be honest, if you haven't been in the advertising industry, and you haven't been retrenched, most likely this documentary will not strike a chord with you.

It's like watching a movie on cancer survivors while you're on your couch drinking beer.

If you didn't go through the whole emotional circle of trust and betrayal, the creative ego and humility, the pain of feeling incompetent and the relief of not selling anymore credit cards, then you probably won't get it.

This documentary is all about a bunch of people stuck in some job they hate, and finally being forced to a corner and do what they've always wanted to do.

For the optimists, it's so much about 'just do it' that Nike should've funded this project.

For the pessimists, it will sound like a bunch of losers justifying their decisions in life.

I remember the day I got retrenched. It was April Fool's day. And I wrote a post that still get mentioned by my friends from time to time.

So I am somewhat bias to think that being retrenched is a good thing. And I'll always be thankful that it happened sooner rather than later.

It taught me life lessons that I doubt many of my peers would even dare to dream of.

Minoru Furuya of the west.

2011-09-14T18:02:00.003+10:00

Although I'm not an avid graphic novel reader I think I still read more than my Asian peers.

I ate up all the commercialised bullcrap like Frank Miller and Alex Ross etc, but I'm still no expert in the new generation 'graphic novelists' as they call it nowadays.

When I stumbled across Adrian Tomine's book I realised how ordinary and depressing (result of ordinary) the stories are. You kinda forget about the 'graphic' part and focus on the 'novel' part.

I guess my surprise is that there is a niche in the comic industry with an absence of super heroes and action figures. And he does it so well.

Maybe because he's an Asian American, so he pulls the race stereotype card quite often. But who cares, I could relate. If you need some more credible reviews try here and here.

Next station.

2011-09-03T20:51:00.010+10:00

I designed some classroom signs recently.
Since it's for a Japanese language school, I had the idea of naming each classrooms according to the different cities in Japan. I designed them according to the style of the signs you see in train stations.
The teachers did notice them and gave positive feedback in general. (Mostly 'Kawaii~!')
But yesterday one of teachers gave out a cry and said 'Oh, you actually designed them individually and the directions do match the other classrooms!'
Apparently everyone thought I grabbed the signs from the internet and simply printed them out.
I'm not sure if I should feel happy that my ideas and design were so perfect that it went unnoticed, or sad that in general people really don't really pay attention to design.

The only time competing brands come together.

2011-09-01T14:40:00.003+10:00

I mentioned before car safety ads don't always have to be gruesome and scary.

But when it's done right and smart, it can be effective.

The power of good advertising.

2011-08-21T19:35:00.005+10:00

This is a true story.

David Inglis was diagnosed with MND and found out he had 2 years left to live.

Instead of writing and fulfilling a bucket list, he decided to spend his remaining life raising awareness for his disease.

He was a smart man too, as he knew he needed the help of an advertising agency.

So David walked along St Kilda Rd, the Madison Avenue of Melbourne, and like a junior, knocked on the doors of every single advertising agency.

And like a junior, he got rejected by all of them.

Except the creative director of Grey Melbourne.

Nigel took David in as a pro bono client, wrote the copy of the brochure, and went on to win a D&AD pencil.

Advertising can be used for good. You need a client with something important to say, and a creative that's willing to listen.

Lawsuit orgy.

2011-08-17T18:15:00.004+10:00

If there's a picture that would make lawyers ejaculate on the spot, this would be it.

Bottomline: Nokia and Kodak are suing everyone.

Weird, because they used to be the market leader in their respective field.

Coincidence?

image via

Banksy is right(?).

2011-08-10T20:09:00.007+10:00

So what went wrong that caused the riots? The fact that UK police has no guns? Because the young black drug dealer shouldn't be shot? Because of the recession? Repressed youth?

The 7pm project interviewed one of the participants and when asked why he was doing it he replied, 'I fucking hate the police, that's why.'

I think that pretty much sums up the whole thing.

And then I realized, isn't this what Banksy wanted?

All of his work is based on anti-authority, anti-corporation, anti-government.

In a way, all his graffiti came to life for the past week.

Yet when I read that the riot caused damage mostly to electronic retailers, sporting good stores and fashion outlets, it just feels so... immature. So juvenile. So ghetto.

The city is out of control, and all we ever wanted was more Nike shoes, flat screen TVs and Gucci shoes? (even if it's just to make a quick buck on eBay, you can't deny the power of consumerism.)

The riots didn't change a thing; big corporate giants are still winning.

Teens don't have the balls to rob banks, they just want materialistic shit.

Plus they don't want to be told what to do.

Sounds like my rotten spoilt Gen-Y cousins.

I think most creatives love Banksy because he's 'cool' showing the middle finger to the empire. But if young people tearing down a city stealing useless junk is part of his utopia, I doubt creatives will be glad. We just want to read cool shit from books.

Australian companies suck in social media.

2011-08-08T09:33:00.004+10:00

KPMG has recently released a report that Australian companies are not using social media to their advantage as much as they should. Surprise!

Click here to have a read but it's basically more body copy to support the headline of this post.

The thing about 'research' such as this, is that it normally worsens the situation.

Here's what usually happens: CEO of Brand X reads this article on The Australian while his mistress is taking a morning shower. CEO goes to work, summons his CMO and asks, 'what is our company's position regarding social media?' CMO pulls out some marketing jargon from his ass, goes back to his office, frantically summons his assistant manager and this chain of command repeats itself for 2 weeks. Then the creative agency gets a brief that says: 'Brand X is looking into expanding its presence into the social media realm, yadda badda ladda, make us a facebook page for less than $3k."

The thing is, social media can't be forced. It can only be an extension and it should have a purpose. To engage in social media just for the sake of it is like those teen movies which they want to get laid just because they're turning 18. It'll just expose how little you understand about the issue.

But what do I know? I'm just a nobody who took briefs from companies and made facebook pages for less than $3k.

Screwed in a fancy type.

2011-08-03T16:39:00.003+10:00

I saw something similar in an ad annual 10 years ago, but I guess this is the contemporary 2011 version.

The concept is great, because the ad doesn't say 'speeding kills' or 'no seatbelt kills' or 'running red light kills'.

In fact, it's not about being dead from a car crash.

It's about the off chance that you survive.

And the consequence that follows.

Stuff I did for free.

2011-08-01T00:31:00.003+10:00

I don't consider putting up stacks of Pantone postcards on the wall as 'design'.

But I definitely decorated it and made it more interesting than before.

All that for only $24.95.

The Copy Book.

2011-07-31T01:22:00.004+10:00

Not only has D&AD revised The Copy Book, they've added an extra 150 odd pages to make it look like the bible(with pictures).

It is not simply a book for writers, it's a book for anyone who's interested in the industry, how the best writers / creative directors work and think.

Which is exactly what the old book did.

So why do we need a revised version of the same book?

My guess, first of all, is to make money. I'm the target market that will buy any crap that's remotely related to the industry.

Secondly, thanks to Mad Men, there's a new breed of young masochists trying to get into the industry, and they always need authoritative figure to look up to.

So the pros: big and thick. Well worth the read and the money. People will think you're an intelligent man with taste if they see it on your coffee table.

Cons: It gets quite depressing for the owners of the first book, to see some of the 'legendary' writers demoted to freelancers 10 years later.

From an art direction point of view, the type size is bigger and easier to read.

What we can learn from ZARA.

2011-07-25T00:53:00.004+10:00

If you've been around, or live not too far away from the CBD, you'd have noticed the alarming number of people carrying the ZARA shopping bags recently.

I'm not sure if you still have to queue up just to get into the store, but the last time I walked pass it I saw boyfriends standing in line for their girlfriends (or at least pretending to be).

This creates an illusion that ZARA is the next big thing and it will change the landscape of Melbourne's retail market. ZARA is what we've been waiting for all this time.

Flash back to Krispy Kreme, flash back to the opening of GAP. The launch American Apparel.

You see, the thing about Melbourne, or Australian retail is that the options are so limited, that any new opening is guaranteed to attract big crowds.

Does it matter if ZARA's new in town? I'm sure people will also queue up for UNIQLO, they will queue up for MUJI, they will camp out for Victoria's Secret.

We don't want something new. We just want something familiar yet not Australian.

Dark matter.

2011-07-15T10:40:00.003+10:00

So this Indian dude rang my door bell on a Saturday evening.

He said he was here to check on our meter.

We live on the 3rd floor, I did think it was dodgy but I also thought if someone took all the trouble just to come and check my meter on a Saturday evening, it has to be official business. It can't be salesman right?

Wrong.

He was a salesman, but I only figured it out half way through when he wanted me to sign on the 'Residential Agreement'. That's another way to say contract.

The thing is, he never identified himself as an Origin representative. He said 'there's been some changes to the power grid of this whole apartment, all of you have to switch to Origin.' It was pretty convincing too, he had a check list of the apartment, and I saw I was the only one without a tick next to a box.

I got so angry I actually asked him, 'so you're not a salesman?'

And maybe it's some Indian genetic ability he lied and said 'No. I'm here to help you save money.'

Luckily there's a 10 day cooling off period. I simply called them the next day to cancel it.

But before that I called my original energy provider to make sure I wouldn't get charged an exit fee if I choose to stay (Origin did offer a better rate).

Lumo gave me a discount on the spot to match, didn't ask whether the Indian was real, and I happily ended my phone conversation without that dirty feeling of being raped blindfolded.

So there're 2 things to take out of this:

1. You can simply call up your energy provider now and say 'Origin is offering me 0.15 per unit for my electricity bill. Can you match it?'

2. Australian companies get Indians to hardsell the product, but when you offer to cancel your account, they put a white man to talk to you.

No, I want my bank to fucking waive my bank fees.

2011-07-07T13:53:00.006+10:00

So in 2009 ANZ rebranded themselves to 'live in your world'. And then they forgotten about it and took the path of 'Barbara'.

Now 2 years later, we have The Mentalist in his slick waistcoat and iPhone, pretending to read our minds. And hey up pops the old tagline from 2 years ago.

Do you know how creepy is that, ANZ? You're brainwashing women with white guy hotness.

Don't get me started on pushing an invisible button on the 4th wall bullshit. (Channel 10 much?)

And I guess the client asked for something cute to go with the headline, and the agency came up with a thumbprint, and they bought it. Because everyone's a beautiful butterfly. Everyone's a snowflake.

I don't know. Stipped bare, the ad above is saying exactly the same thing as this ad below:

At least with NIB I'm not looking at the guy much(Maybe I wasn't looking at all), but in the case of missing the mark, ANZ is winning by officially sponsoring Simon Baker's career.

按摩院。

2011-06-26T11:16:00.003+10:00

“現在幾點了？妳那麼不寧願工作下次不用來了。我換別人。”

“......”

“剛剛還走了個客人。”

“不是我不寧願工作，我昨晚又吐又瀉，根本沒辦法休息。”

“妳別找藉口。妳自己天天上網把身體搞壞了。”

“你昨天哪看見我上網了？我八點就上床了你知不知道？”

“......”

“我是你女兒。身體有事你都不關心，打頭就為了工作說要換我。換吧。”

“......”

五分鐘後。

“客人是誰？”

“隔壁店主的父親。他們下星期開張了。”

“那個老人啊？幾歲了他？”

“七十二。”

“我還以為他八十了.....”

那天早上我剛好和女朋友鬧彆扭，發現最好的討好方式就像這按摩父女般：別當一回事。

過後買了她平時愛吃的早餐放在她辦公桌。晚上兩人繼續看電視。

所以說，日常生活到處是教訓，到處是道理啓發。

So I lied.

2011-06-08T22:10:00.006+10:00

I'm back as a freelancing art director this week.

If you live long enough in adland, you'll most likely have this conversation with your family or friends on the phone in the office at 8.30pm:

"Yup, sorry can't make it today."

"No, I'm still at work. Freelancing this week."

"Ogilvy One."

"Yea, thay're part of Badjar Ogilvy."

"Oh yea, they merged."

"Before that they were Singleton Ogilvy."

"Yea, back then they were Ogilvy & Mather."

"You're not supposed to get it. I'm telling you I can't make it today."

"Ok bye."

Weiwei aiiii?

2011-06-02T00:24:00.012+10:00

I do not know much of the Ai Weiwei incident. So this post won't be a political one.

He seems pretty much like the Julian Assange of the Chinese art world. Not that I know more about wikileaks either.

I did notice something interesting during the SBS Mandarin news today. Hong Kong was having a protest on Ai Weiwei's behalf, and the people were stencilling all sorts of posters and slogans around the city.

Maybe I'm over sensitive, but I can't help but notice the similarity between the two above. I'm not sure if the Hong Kong protestors did it because they know that the Obey posters' original intent was antiauthoritarian, or simply because it was easy to mass produce.

I do think the Obey giant is now slowly becoming commercialised though. If their intent was to get the public to symphatize with Ai, I'm not too sure if it's the right way.

2 weeks. That's an improvement.

2011-05-22T13:13:00.006+10:00

For the past 6 years, I go to Metropolis every week to pay my respect to the nice books. Sometimes the staff would tell me an interesting story or two about working in a gourmet book shop. In a way you can say Metropolis is my church.

For instance, the book depository is a UK government funded project. The books are so cheap because the government absorbs the price to ease unemployment rate. The irony, of course, is that this pretty much increases the unemployment rate around the world.

'Hegarty on Advertising' is only due out in June, but it's already on the Metropolis bookshelf for weeks. I've decided to pay twice the price on the internet for instant gratification.

I think Hegarty is pretty much the modern UK Ogilvy. I remembered swearing to myself never to buy another glorified advertising book again, but I don't know, maybe it was the orange colour or the pages that I flipped to that stroke a chord:

'It was a dysfunctional business - the creative department was constantly opposed to management and management was incapable of engaging clients with the truth.'- on his first agency in the 60s. The 60s!

'Tim explained that the only thing that keeps him sane is that, at the end of the meeting the witless assistant brand manager gets into a Vauxhall tin can to drive home and he gets into a Ferrari.' -on why creative directors buy Ferrari's.

'A club is a place people enjoy going to and spending time in. So why don't we think of the office as a club and learn from the way a club is run rather than an office?' - on creating a modern workplace.

'10 years later and we're still making TV commercials with the great ones still making headlines and changing the futures of brands. And I can't remember the last time I read anything about TiVo.' - on the fear of technology.

Hegarty wrote the book with integrity and filled some cracks with his 50 years worth of experience and stories, less the egoistic self-serve of Ogily's book. I know most of them are probably a load of manure anyway, but it paints a good picture of how great advertising should be.

Almost 4 weeks.

2011-05-06T08:39:00.003+10:00

I really have forgotten about this blog.

Mainly because, I'm not an art director anymore.

If you know me, you'd notice that for the past 6-7 months I've been working hard on starting my own photography business.

I'm also managing the facebook page and the look and feel of a Japanese language school.

Right after I left my job, in a ritualistic manner, I started Project Rojak again.

I think I'm busy. But sometimes it's kinda weird not having a proper job title and someone to report to. I guess I'm just not used not having someone calling me their bitch.

But seriously, who reads blogs nowadays?

Simplest, beautifullest beer ad ever.

2011-04-13T13:46:00.003+10:00

This is not a proper ad. But it is hanging in NYC pubs, so it still is a piece of visual communication.

And it's awesome. Because it has no copy (Sort of, I guess punctuation still counts) and no headline, and no logo.

But you still get it: Guiness. Coaster. Exclamation mark. Happy times.

Brilliant.

via

Cult is the first four letters of 'Culture'.

2011-04-10T12:15:00.002+10:00

CULT YOUTH from Diesel New Voices on Vimeo.

An interesting documentary(?) of aspiring comic artist in China.

Bad vs. badder.

2011-03-31T17:21:00.005+11:00

3 years ago, my old agency won the Coles account. In fact, that was the deciding factor that pushed management to clean out half of the creative agency, because suddenly they have extra $20 million to toy with.

Being one of the 'flushed' ones, it's inevitable for me to pay close attention Coles' advertisement.

At the beginning, it was a couple of slick simple retail ad with coins piling up to become a tower. A few months later, it became Curtis Stone's personal infomercial thanks to Masterchef. And then they had this 'Ta-Dah!' thing going on. And then it became this:

Last I heard the agency lost the account (in less than 12 months), so they may not be the culprit of this piece of art. That's not so depressing.

The depressing part is when Woolworths launched their new campaign this year:

That's gotta break your heart. In fact, the collective spirit of creative advertising around the world probably suffered a plunge.

Again, if we run the agency-client meeting simulator, it'd probably sound like this: Oh you know what, the scumbags at Coles have that catchy big finger thing. Why can't we have something like that? Boxing gloves? Hmm, yea. That's pretty good. What about we add some starburst to the gloves to emphasise that the price is REALLY getting knocked down? Eh? Eh? Eh? Now let's revise the cost because I'm pretty sure we came up with the idea.'

photos via

Direct marketing 101.

2011-03-18T14:55:00.012+11:00

Here's the brief to the most effective work I've done in my career so far.

The client: me.

Background: The client's lost his keys on a bike ride home. He remember hearing something dropping off near the 109 tram stop.

Objective: To produce a piece of communication to retrieve the client's lost keys.

Target audience: Anyone who's found the client's keys.

Insight: Target market is a tram commuter or a bike rider.

Single Minded Proposition: I need to return the keys to the owner!

How does the target audience feel now: I've picked up this key and I'm sure someone is feeling anxious about this.

How will the target audience feel after seeing the piece of communication: The client's made it so easy and informative for me to return the keys I'll be a fool not to!

Budget: extremely low.

Timings: extremely urgent.

Mandatory: The mention of keys and time of incident.

Call to action: Mobile phone number.

The work:

The result has been fantastic with a 100% response rate. The client achieved his objective and everything was turned around within 12 hours. This news has generated great PR within the client's workspace and is now a buzz in the blogosphere. Also, a new friendship and mutual respect was established between the client and the target market.

My desktop, upgraded.

2011-03-09T10:53:00.005+11:00

All thanks to IKEA, Hungary.

I don't normally suck up to the so called interactive campaign, but this just fits with my existing desktop background.

Maybe I should find a desk and drop in it somehow.

This. Is. So. Awesome!!

2011-03-08T17:40:00.001+11:00

How many people responded, we'll never know though.

via

Fukuoka so far.

2011-03-01T10:31:00.002+11:00

This is my first contact with a computer after 4 days in Fukuoka. Apparently internet is not a big thing here. At least not for Chika's family. I'm currently sitting next to the reception in this holiday onsen inn looking like a salary man pretending to do work while pissing off other real salarymen who have real work to do waiting in line.
I don't have much time. So here's a quick run:
Sitting crosslegged sucks.
I have been to a public bath house and my mind has been scarred and have seen more penises in an hour than my whole life thus far.
Bought a suit, shirt, tie, belt, shoes, handkerchief for 21000 yen ($250 dollars).
Attended a proper traditional Japanese wedding (Apparently only 24% of couples choose this over western and shinto wedding).
Tasted whale meat.
Tasted fugu fish.
And Japanese keyboards suck shit. The punctuations are all in the wrong place, and the spacebar has no space. I mean it's the size of a shift key.

Anyway, I probably won't have enough time to shop so I don't know, no souvenirs for you? Yea, yea suck it up. If you feel sad, imagine how I feel.

The perfect match.

2011-02-16T23:35:00.006+11:00

So I walked into the apartment at 10.34pm yesterday, and the girlfriend asked what I was up to. I told her the agency is working on a pitch.

'What's a pitch?', she asked.

I explained to her:

Imagine a hot chick, I'm not talking about 'your best friend's cousin' hot, I'm talking 'Victoria's Secret model hot' hot.

Now, this chick is looking for a husband, and she knows she can get pretty much get any guy she wants. So she goes through her phone book and short lists the top 5 eligible man for an interview to ~~screw~~ marry her. The criteria of the interview: show me how much you love me.

You can pretty much imagine what happens next. The girl gets showered with diamonds, yachts, mansions, circus troops, her very own golden statue, and she will then filter her list to the final two. And the process repeats itself until the girl is happy. By the way, the losers will not get their gifts back.

'Isn't that kinda slutty and degrading?' she asked.

Oh but here's the thing. The winner normally over-promises so much, that by the time they get married, the girl will realize he didn't live up to her expectation. That or the guy, being a multi-billionaire, will feel bored with his wife and look for a mistress. If they're half decent, they'd get a proper divorce. But most of the time, they'd just sneak around each other's back or better yet join a swingers club where they switch partners.

'That's disgusting. Wouldn't it make more sense for her to save time and actively seek for the right man that suits her own character? In that process no one would get hurt.'

I lit up my invisible cigarette and told her, don't be silly now...

How about a can to remind you of how fat you are?

2011-02-15T13:48:00.007+11:00

Pepsi announced their new skinny can design for Mercedes fashion week. The press release reads 'In celebration of beautiful, confident women, Diet Pepsi presents the taller, sassier new Skinny Can at New York's Fall 2011 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, Feb. 10-17.'

Get it, ladies?

To be beautiful and confident, you need to be as skinny and tall as the new Pepsi can. To match your skinny jeans, your skinny chihuahua, while you drown in your skinny throw-up with your skinny self-esteem.

Plate up.

2011-02-02T14:04:00.003+11:00

In case you haven't heard, Prince Winston and whatsherface are getting married.

Here's some cool memorabilia that would be awesome to have.

3 things about Steve Martin's new book.

2011-01-26T10:41:00.002+11:00

1. Steve Martin writes well. With 'An Object of Beauty' he structured the story in a way that you could finish it within 2 days without much effort.

2. He knows his modern art. That or he's done research.

3. Most important of all, he managed to stitch no.2 up with a character that you'll end up rooting for although you know she's just a manipulative slut.

Death in perspective.

2011-01-18T14:27:00.003+11:00

Came across this Guardian post about mortality rate in England and Wales.

So they totaled the amount of deaths in 2009 and categorized the causes accordingly.

Swine flu grabbed the media's attention in 2009, yet surprisingly it took 149 out of 491348 deaths. That's 0.0003%.

Even the normal accidents we fear such as poisoning, transport and 'intentional self-harm' all add up, it's still 0.036% of all deaths.

So the point is, you're more likely to die of cancer, heart attack, and diabetes. Download the PDF here.

古谷誰？

2011-01-16T23:50:00.004+11:00

嗨，中文，好久不見。

已經有十年了吧？在太平街的書蟲潮濕一角挖掘出稍微發毛的《稻中兵團》。

今晚心血剛好碰上來潮，速讀了古谷實的《白晝之雨》。應該說他是變態得有點寫實，還是寫實得有點變態？

初中時被他的單刀直入，毫無遮掩的下流吸引。現在他的風格卻哲學得讓人窒息，甚至悲哀。

是我變了嗎？在暗暗希望殺人犯被逮捕的同時，竟然也會萌生同情和體會。

為甚麼他就不能恢復以前的青春陰毛笑話，卻偏偏得探討社會如此黑惡的玄關？

There's something fishy about this sushi.

2011-01-12T13:01:00.008+11:00

I'm sure by now we're all familiar with the Taiwanese CGI news report.

I came across this recent one about the so called 'Sushi Police' in Japan. Basically the sushi federation (yea, that's right, federation) is planning to issue 'authenticate sushi certificates' to foreign chefs. Apparently this clip is a huge exaggeration of their main intention of regulating the handling of sushi.

However, I do agree with the end part where they question Japan's own behaviour of bastardising food from other countries.

And also, do foreigners really care about authentic sushi?

Lady in the coffee.

2011-01-06T18:14:00.003+11:00

So Starbucks updated their logo to a picture.

I know they're trying to be Nike and Apple, but seriously now it looks like a fish & chips shop.

I think the font definitely worked harder to define the logo more than the mermaid doing the YMCA. So the decision of the marketing department is a questionable one.

Perhaps, since only Asian students drink Starbucks and Asian students can't read, they no longer need the text?

Word.

2011-01-04T16:16:00.003+11:00

"I don't know if it's just me but I find myself skimming through my font library every time I am about to design a new wordmark. And the fonts that I end up using are mostly the ones that are already activated/installed on the system.

These are the fonts that proved themselves through the test of time by staying activated and used over over again (some of them are default fonts installed by the operating system but you know what I am getting at).

I built this simple tool for checking out a wordmark before diving into the font management program. Give it a try, and spread the word if you find it useful."

You should really check out http://www.wordmark.it It's cool.

Xmas, New Year, yawn.

2010-12-30T09:30:00.005+11:00

I'm not a big fan of celebration. I'm especially not a big fan of the city during Boxing Day. It's as if capitalism has merged with superstition for just a month.

I'm a big fan of pixel art. For some reason, any pixelated real object gives me a sense of surrealism.(Remember the pixel tie?) So these pixelated eye masks is my way of saying yay pixel art and boo festive season.

The Santa Brand.

2010-12-22T09:39:00.003+11:00

This is awesome.

A corporate brand guideline for Santa.

Just for the occasion.

Download your own PDF copy here.

via via

Google advertises.

2010-12-06T10:05:00.005+11:00

It's weird how in Japan, Google is not really famous. Most Japanese I know still use Yahoo! and Bing.

No wonder then Google has to make slick playful ads to promote their product benefit. Bizarre and interesting at the same time.

Not too different with watching a creative ad teaching me how to use the clock to tell time.

Update: I did a quick search on YouTube and guess what? I found an ad just to ORDER you to install Google Chrome.

Free delivery!

2010-12-01T09:35:00.002+11:00

I wanted to talk about this ad, but after searching high and low (5 minutes in Google) I couldn't find it.

Basically it is a poster for the new Daily Juice company campaign. You know, the one Mad Men goes to Willy Wonka land?

Anyway, the headline of the poster says 'Free delivery', and then you see a smaller subhead that reads: 'If you live in a milk bar'.

Perhaps that was the tone of ads in the 60s, but isn't that plain mean and irrelevant?

That's like Mercedes saying 'Free delivery, if you live in our car dealer!'

I mean, WTF dude?

Friday. Sweet.

2010-11-19T12:42:00.003+11:00

Although I've never laid hands on so many macarons, I still don't see the big fuss in them. They're just French biscuits. (In fact, while doing research for this shoot, macarons are originally from Italy.) Like how they try to twist cheese sandwich into 'Croque Mon-whatever'.

The colours are beautiful though. We bought the macarons from Le Petit Gateau on Collins Street. The Executive Pastry Chef, Pierrick is one of the most enthusiastic person you can meet. Go and drown yourself in sugary syrup there.

The Selby.

2010-11-18T16:28:00.008+11:00

Have you experienced this:

You wake up one morning with this beautiful idea. You know it's awesome. You know everyone around you knows it's awesome. You start planning on executing this idea, slowly sharpening your skill, ready for the launch. Ready to own the world.

And then you meet this stranger, and you briefly touch on your new idea, and she replies, ' Oh, so it's like The Selby'.

You say 'WTF is a Selby', log on to the website, and there it is. Everything you ever wanted to do, and then some. Beautifully executed. Well received. Raging reviews.

That flame in your gut extinguished, you're back to the self-loathing world of emptiness.

It's not too different from that scene in 'Knocked-up'.

And that was my 1.14pm today.

1927.

2010-11-09T21:48:00.004+11:00

During my 2 day stop over in Sydney I was fortunate enough to catch The Animals & Children Took to the Streets at the Sydney Opera House. It was a mix of theatre, projection, and musical.
The show is a production of the British theatre group 1927, and the writing and craft is mind blowing. There're possibly 10 characters in the play, but only 3 actors. Using projections of animation and cardboard slots the actors were able to tell a dark, humourous tale. Even the ending is interactive.
On the plane to Sydney, I found out the play is moving to Melbourne tonight until the end of the month, playing at the CUB Malthouse.
You really should check it out.

Uniqueue.

2010-11-05T14:48:00.003+11:00

Looking at a couple of facebook updates I deduced that Uniqlo has finally branched out to Malaysia. And according to my Google search, people have been queuing up since 10pm the night before.

I know there's a certain amount of irony that I'm writing about Uniqlo, (check out the cool dancing chicks on the left!) but this amuses me just like when I saw a packed Cotton On shop in Malaysia. Like when I saw people queuing up for Mamak in Sydney. Like when I heard people were driving for an hour to get Krispy Kreme doughnuts when they first came to Melbourne (KK went out of business last week). Or the queue for the new iPad.

I'm gonna skip the 'what were they thinking' part and go straight to my conclusion: people don't queue up for the product; they queue up because they're unhappy.

I read a friend's status on facebook recently: there's always time to spend money. And what possibly possess people to think 'OMFG I'm running out of time to spend my money I gotta queue up' is something I probably cannot relate to easily.

But all in all, whatever you queued up for, can never live up to your expectation. Because the really good shit are normally reserved for someone else that didn't need to queue. And if the products are that awesome, you're gonna find them on the shelves one day. I don't doubt if I walk in to Optus now I can sign up for an iPhone without hassle.

And that's the moral of the story: at the end of the day, they just want your money. Don't surrender your time as well.

You can't teach taste.

2010-11-04T17:10:00.005+11:00

A couple of weeks ago, we presented some ideas for a postcard to a client. The client came back with a very descriptive feedback:

At the same time, my boss and I were admiring an old campaign from last year:

Sadly, our client is not this client. But I can't help but think essentially, both clients are asking for the same thing.

It's really up to them, and it also applies to ourselves, to find our own voices and personalities. Can you use an elegant voice to reflect your brand, or would you rather go 'SALE! SALE! SALE! CLOSING DOWN SALE!' ?

Strangelove.

2010-10-28T11:30:00.002+11:00

That's right. When was the last time you paid for a typeface?

Moleskine - now guilt-free.

2010-10-25T18:26:00.006+11:00

Every time I want to buy a Moleskin notebook, the guilt pulls me back. What can I possibly write or draw to do the $35 price tag justice?

(I have no problem giving it out as a gift. In fact, Moleskin notebooks are one of my three 'fool-proof' gifts to impress girls.)

Although I sincerely doubt it, perhaps that was the insight of Fondo Ambiente Italiano to print 'The hand of Architect' entirely on a Moleskine book.

It contains 387 sketches of today's contemporary architects. And it comes with an additional notebook for you to draw.

DBC.

2010-10-21T16:57:00.003+11:00

Saw this ad in Southern Cross Station last week, and it has 'death by client' written all over it.

I saw the 'live a life less squinty' campaign before. The idea was people (note: non-Asian) squinting their eyes because of the sun and the product at the bottom right hand corner was transitions lenses. Cute.

And then I saw this. And my brain space-jumped to the meeting room and the client was panicking about the sales target.

'Maybe people didn't get the squinty eye thing, maybe they need to see a product? Like a before and after comparison?' 'Also, maybe they didn't see the product name, can we make it bigger?' ' Oh I'm not saying we need a new campaign, we don't have the time (money) to do that, no.'

The end result is this poster promoting sex change.

How the soaring dollar made me a wanker.

2010-10-21T16:29:00.007+11:00

So I took advantage of the short lived dollar parity and ordered a Kindle.

In my world, two type of books exist. The ones that I need to engage my senses in (cook book, design books, books I need to hold in my hands etc.) and the ones I buy, read and finish within a week and not know what to do with.

I was hoping the Kindle would solve my problem of the latter type and I can keep my bookshelf full of beautiful engaging book.

Somehow my colleagues thought it was a wank. Some commented ' why didn't you get an iPad?'

That startled me because I always thought an iPad was a bigger wank than a Kindle(at 4 times the price). Buying an iPad simply means you're eager to be cool; Kindle was merely a reading tool. And I'm serious about my reading. (I think.)

Perhaps simply because the Kindle was TOO serious a tool for reading, you cannot avoid being seen as a jerk off? The same as people who insists on short blacks and fixed gears bike? Who cares I'm stocking on books now.

And the logo oscar goes to...

2010-10-20T09:31:00.005+11:00

I was walking along Cardigan Street yesterday and I noticed the Melbourne Acting Academy for the first time. One of the reason was their logo.

Can you see it?

It's two 'A's forming an 'M', yes. But at the same time, it's a 'W' pretending to be an 'M'. Acting logo for an acting academy. Cute.

2009 = PROJAK.

2010-10-18T17:13:00.003+11:00

4 weeks before I got laid off from my last job in 2009, I started sending emails to my friends around the world regarding a personal project.

Fact was, I was bored and I wanted to keep in touch with my friends. In a two-bird hitting moment, I invited my friends to write, and I'd compile them into a pdf-zine.

I think we almost hit issue 20 until I ran out of steam. This is the first issue. It's much ado about nothing.

I'm posting this because I wanted to try out this new issuu thing.

They're pretty cool.

When ideas make a monster with two backs.

2010-10-15T14:00:00.003+11:00

A relatively uplifting and alternate point of view on humanity.

Not sure if I totally agree with him, but I cannot dismiss his point.

Life lessons.

2010-10-15T12:30:00.005+11:00

The School of Life is based in London and they address questions such as why work is often unfulfilling, why relationships can be challenging, why it's ever harder to stay calm and what one could do to try to change to world for the better.

It's founded by Alain De Botton (I have his book 'The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work on my desk at the moment) and his friends. Check out the list of the classes they offer. My favourites: How to make love last, how to have better conversations; how to read; how to spend time alone, and how to fill the God-shaped hole.

I would send my children to The School of Life. I'd probably enrol myself first if I had the chance.

via

What the fuck?

2010-10-07T14:54:00.009+11:00

You gotta be kidding me.
Multi billion gazillion dollar rebrand, and you end up with this?
Matt Dolphin's had the rational mind to write a proper post on this. I didn't.

via

The fucking beautiful James Victore book.

2010-10-01T14:31:00.010+10:00

How the soaring dollar made me a better creative.

2010-09-30T11:20:00.009+10:00

It all started with this book. I had it in my Amazon wish list after I read Michael Beirut's review on the Design Observer. Bought it when the dollar hit $0.96 and it cost me probably $40 in the end. It's so fucking beautiful most people (including myself) are afraid to flip through it.

I will show photos of the book, which consists of the work of James Victore. But for now I was curious about the person who designed the book. With the power of google I found out it was designer Paul Sahre.

Another couple of clicks lead me to a video Sahre gave titled 'A designer and his problems' last year.

It's 2 hour long, but it's probably the most honest and accurate presentation I've ever seen of a designer (so expect frustration and swearing).

Paul focused primarily on his book cover designs. The best part was his recollection of this book cover:

If you're clueless like me, there's a typo on the cover.

The original title was 'A History of Western Philosophy'. And the mistake went through the publisher, the author, the print house, the proof reader even, unspotted. Paul realised it 4 years later and the books were just sitting on the shelves all this while, with a giant typo.

In the lecture he said something like ' I started remembering I changed 'A' to 'The' because 'The' simple looked better. The line just wouldn't sit well with 'A'.

So what did I learn? I'm halfway though his lecture, most of his interesting work came from a very personal experience(especially the series of silk screen painting of phone conversations with his brother when they were both going through relationship problems).

So the moral of the story would be: dig deep.

All thanks to the Australian dollar.

Hembakat är Bäst.

2010-09-27T18:07:00.005+10:00

Just when you(well maybe not you, just me) thought the cookbook market can't get any more saturated, enter IKEA to kick everyone's asses in the playground.

Their project 'Homemade is Best', involves photography, ingredients and huge doses of creativity (or crack).

Cynics like me would think: yea yea, it's beautiful, but I don't care unless the recipes work and result in my girlfriend exchanging kisses for my food.

But stare at the picture above. Look at it long and hard. Isn't that the most unique cookbook photography you've ever seen? Imagine you're a designer, or an architect. Won't that make you want to run out and purchase it and show off to your less creative family, how creative you are?

I hate IKEA for the same reason I admire IKEA.

via Today&Tomorrow

My first ever complaint letter.

2010-09-26T22:16:00.007+10:00

Dear BSC Bikes,

I am writing this mail to complain, and also to compliment regarding your business.

Last Wednesday, my bike seat fell off at the corner of Swanston and Lonsdale. Although I was embarassed, I fortunately didn't suffer any injury. My first reaction, due to your brilliant positioning, was that you had a shop in Artemis Lane, QV. So I pushed my bike, with my seat under my left armpit, and arrived at the QV store.

Business must be going well, because I noticed there were 2 levels in the shop. A staff was on the 2nd level behind the computer doing some computing, and I was pretty sure he saw me coming in, since there was no one else in the room. However, I assumed he was busy and waited patiently for 10 minutes. He went on computing. I eventually dragged my broken bike on to the 2nd level, to which he replied 'how can I help you?'

Gee, I don't know, my bike is broken because it doesn't have a seat?

He appeared not to sense the sarcasm in my tone, took a glance(I swear, a glance) at my bike and said I need to replace the whole thing. He walked into your glorious workshop for another 5 minutes and told me the shop's ran out of a 26cm something tool. He then volunteered to call the Elizabeth street branch to check, completely ignoring the fact that he didn't even ask me if I wanted my 26cm something tool to be replaced in the first place.

Alas, I had no choice because I sent a picture of my broken seat to my boss through my phone and lied to her that I was getting it fixed. I left your QV branch with a belly of fire.

10 minutes later, I arrived at your Elizabeth street branch.

The shop assistant actually came out and touched my bike. Physical contact! He actually moved and spoke like a person working in a bike shop. Do you know what is the best part? The best part, is that he fixed my bike seat with a number 6 allen key. That's it. Nothing was broken. No 26cm-something needed. Just some tightening.

Even now, 5 days later of the incident. I can't help but shudder to wonder what if your QV shop didn't run out of the 26cm something tool? Would I be charged for $100 for something I didn't need in the first place?

How is that two shops, identical brand, offer such inconsistent service? I am confused by your product, and now I'm not sure whether my impression on your brand is a positive one.

I am writing this mail not to screw your day or demand anything (if I cared any less, I wouldn't have written at all) I'm writing for the sake of that man in Elizabeth street who fulfilled his job description. He deserves a raise, or at least a promotion. He should be running that QV shop of BSC Bikes.

Have a nice weekend.

Best regards,
The guy with a tightened bike seat.

Art-diction.

2010-09-19T20:52:00.011+10:00

This evening, while I was frantically skimming under the 'documentary' section of Borders, I realized I've developed an addiction.

It's an addiction of the documentation of modern art. I am now reflecting in front of my computer and I'm amazed at what I've read/watched in a month:

1. I guess it all started with Penguin's The Philosophy of Andy Warhol. I don't think I understand Warhol more than his silk screen paintings of the Campbell soup can and Marilyn Monroe. I enjoyed his exhibition in NGV 6 years ago and he gave me the idea of having a time capsule in shoe boxes. The book is surprisingly witty, funny and rational, opposed to my impression of him in fine art classes as an air head (he is, pretty self-indulging). Perhaps I would try to post his whole book in Facebook. I wonder if that's illegal?

2. Annie Leibovitz: Life through a lens. What can I say? Apart from Leni Riefenstahl she's the other female photographer that inspired me. I was just happy she had a DVD.

3. Rem Koolhaas: Kind of Architect. Bought it because it was going cheap in conjunction with the Melbourne International Film Festival. It's wanky European narration aside, I actually found his hyper-rational approach in architecture convincing. My favourite part would be how they tried to explained the Chinese CCTV building was actually the World Trade Centres broken and twisted in a loop.

4. Visual Acoustic: The Modernism of Julius Shulman. Shulman is an architecture photographer. I admit I've never heard of him before watching the DVD(narrated by Dustin Hoffman). Apparently he pioneered the look and feel of modernism architecture. You see this old man going around preserving his favorite building which he took photos of when he was young. I especially enjoyed the part in the trailer when his assistant questioned his choice in lenses while capturing Frank Gehry's Disney concert hall and he simply replied 'well that's why they chose me'.

5. The Mona Lisa Curse. Available free on YouTube (for now). Robert Hughes, critical acclaimed Australian born art critic introduces the destruction of the art world all thanks to capitalism. Well filmed, well written, if you were to watch anything on this list please make it this one(because it's free). You shouldn't miss how Hughes slaughtered this Mid Eastern millionaire on their views on Warhol and why he owns 800 of Warhol's art . Yet I have to admit, Hughes principles on what 'art' should be feels like an elitist, white supremacy world to me.

6. Chuck Close. Again, up until Friday I had no idea who he is. Chuck Close is a human computer who paints portraits in such a mind boggling way that he becomes a modern art icon by default. The documentary wasn't that engaging because it was basically his friends getting interviewed. But as an introduction to Close, it was more than enough.

7. Who the @#$% is Jackson Pollock? This is possibly the most interesting of all. Teri Horton, a truck driver in California purchased a painting for $5 in a thrift shop, only to realized it may be a painting of Jackson Pollock (her initial reaction was the title of the documentary). The documentary not only follows her journey of obstacles and support to prove the painting's authenticity, the art world is also depicted as a really weird, alien space.

8. Painters Painting. What a load of rubbish. I couldn't finish the film, because it was just an old American narrative of how the art world was. It didn't make any sense to me. Maybe I'll try rewatching it at some point.

I fear that I'm becoming an old man that looms around 'general interest' in DVD shops. But in the meantime, I wish more people would take interest in these subjects.

Clem down.

2010-09-17T10:51:00.009+10:00

Once every decade or so, big news hit the ad land in Melbourne.

Yesterday was one of those moment when the Omnicom network bought over 70% share of Clemenger BBDO, the most creative agency in Melbourne/Oceania/the world.

I know you don't give a shit. But it's a big deal because it affects the industry.

It is the equivalent of Walmart from the states acquiring majority shares of Queen Victoria Market. Perhaps a normal client or the average consumer won't be able to tell the difference (Just like how we won't know the Commonwealth bank ads are done by an American agency), but there will be a fundamental change in the nature of the agency and the industry.

On top of my head, I can think of how the creative + management department will have a new faceless boss to report to.

We will be importing more American/Global creative directors to Melbourne.

More money to America = less money to nurture the already frail talent pool in Australia/ New Zealand = sad creatives.

Too pessimistic?

At least Mr. Clemenger is now $80 million richer.

Real men don't cry.

2010-09-10T15:33:00.002+10:00

Brochure in art form.

2010-09-10T11:57:00.010+10:00

Whenever I fantasize about doing great work, I would also imagine how difficult the briefs would be. Is it a hard product to sell?

On top of my head, I'd think intangible services like banks and insurance companies would be a hard sell for advertising creatives.

For designers I'd assume architecture talk posters would be one of the hardest to crack. Simply because there're shit loads of information, all bearing the same importance, and you need to keep the school's logo, with different dates and venues intact. Basically it's a brochure on a poster.

That's why I envy the shit out of Michael Beirut for his posters of Yale School of Architecture. Over the years he's been able to create a voice, brand even for the school, and at the same time make all the information appear to be relevant and elegant. On top of that he uses only one colour.

He pretty much lives in my dreamland.

Poster taken via

FaceHarmony.

2010-08-27T13:45:00.006+10:00

I saw this commercial on TV yesterday about eHarmony, the biggest online matchmaking site in Australia. One of the feature was 'we will match all your profiles up to the last details such as humor etc etc'.

I'll let the humor matching thing slide. Just because you share the same sick jokes doesn't mean you share the same attraction. (The image of Eddie Murphy covering his eyes and saying 'Yea baby tell me that joke again' while air humping comes to mind.)

But what got me thinking, was that Facebook should definitely nail the online match making market. In fact, that should be their next step up.

With everyone 'liking' stupid shit and applications, comments even, it shouldn't be too difficult for Mark Zoolander to write some algorithms to find data that could matches every last detail to kick eHarmony's 'every last detail's ass.

It's easy. And it would only cost another 400 pages to their 20 000 pages of privacy policy. At least then, Facebook would actually help people achieve something.

To spin or not to spin? That is not the question.

2010-08-08T11:13:00.005+10:00

If you haven't seen Inception, read on if you like surprises to be ruined.

(Are they gone? Good.)

I never wanted to write a post about Inception because it's too topical. Over the weeks, however, I found out many people, including myself missed out on conceptual plot hole.

10 minutes into the movie, Mr. Japanese, Mr. Titanic and Mr. Cardboard face had a conversation about the probability of incepting. Mr. Cardboard face said something along the lines of ' You can't inject an original idea in to a person's mind blah blah blah, ideas have to from somewhere blah blah blah.'

Having worked in the 'ideas' industry, I can say that's a load of bullcrap. Not the 'ideas have to come from somewhere' part; it's their concept of how people are so noble or respectful of their ideas being 'original'.

We steal ideas all the time. We don't even need dreams to subtlely give us a hint. We consciously think 'that's a good idea, I'm taking it, and I'm making it my own!' And most of the time our minds find a way to justify that. (It's not the same, I change the color from black to charcoal grey!)

Upon realising that, the whole movie simply crumbled for me. There wasn't really a point to dive down dreams to implant an idea in to Mr. Scarecrow; just ask Mr. Hot Lady to forge a heart warming letter from the father and give it to him in real life!

Ok, that's a bit harsh. Let's talk about the important part, the totem.

If you need to argue whether the totem stopped spinning or not, you did not get the point of the movie.

Good days.

2010-08-04T09:28:00.003+10:00

The year was 1964.

This is a letter of admiration from the product marketing manager of Campbell Soup Company to Andy Warhol, attached along with cases of Campbell tomato soup.

William the manager also mentioned that the staff at Campbell were extremely interested in Andy's work and would like to purchase his Campbell soup posters, if they weren't so expensive.

Do you find anything wrong with this scenario?

If this were to happen today, and when I say 'this' I mean an artist tracing a corporate brand in his artwork, Andy won't be receiving a letter of admiration; it'd be a letter from the legal department. He'd most likely lose the case, lose all his money, end up staying with his parents and found OD in the park.

I'm most certain that modern corporations help certain artists to shine under the spotlight, but most of the time for the sake of sales, and how many of the artists gets screwed over behind the scenes, we never know.

I miss the good old days when product marketing manager knows and appreciate art and not just bell curves and pie charts. The world seemed happier.

China man in America pt.7

2010-07-28T15:31:00.004+10:00

Well technically, I'm not in America anymore. Although, I'm still pretty much jet-lagged and whenever I'm awake at 4am I think about the sunny, awesome fried pickle serving North Carolina. And the people.

To sum up my 8 days in Charlotte, America, I have to say the major difference is the people. Americans simply have honest personalities. I'm not saying they're all honest, more like they don't try to hide who they are. And they do it with such confidence I can understand how we'd take that as arrogance.

A grocery shop assistant in Charlotte is happier than a grocery shop assistant in Melbourne. Even when I asked if I could take her photo, she'd joke about hitting the club that night. (In Melbourne any other assistant would probably call security.)

Maybe it's because I was a tourist. And being a tourist you always find beauty in what locals would take for granted. But I need to learn to inject some American confidence in myself.

China man in America pt.6

2010-07-23T22:44:00.005+10:00

Ok, unsurprisingly, the shitty part of America is the money.

Let's start with the notes. I can't believe I'm saying this, but Australia's system of colored notes turned out to be a great idea. I get the amount simply by glancing at the colors; yesterday I was behaving like a caveman trying to sort out the hamsters from the squirrels. Not to mention the metric system of dimes, quarters and cents. But that's probably because I haven't got the time or intelligence to get used to it.

The next problem I had, was the tax behind everything. That's right, tax is not included in the price tag and you have to calculate the total in your own head, not very disimilar with their service tips. Perhaps this is why Americans are sharper in general, because they have to perform simple maths constantly. But I really don't like the feeling that everything is not what they appear to be.

Having said that, their credit card system is awesome. We were in a shop, and this guy basically took care of payment by an iPod touch attached to a barcode scanner and credit card swipe. At Costco, you're subscribed to their own version of American Express card and receive rebates to spend in the shop.

That's not necessarily a good thing, but it sure is convenient.

China man in America pt.5

2010-07-23T14:41:00.005+10:00

Saw the trailer of 'The Social Network'(or rather, the Facebook movie) before Inception and after being captivated by the soundtrack I have downloaded and read the script in Gary's living room.

Reserving my impression about the script(did I mention David Fincher is directing this?), I have to say, this is the best designed movie poster of the year. The fact that the movie title is hidden on the upper right hand corner and the viewers simply can't escape the tagline. It's a well thought, intelligent design.

China man in America pt.4

2010-07-21T16:38:00.003+10:00

I have to admit, my first impression of Charlotte is that everything is a knock-off of my world. The detergents look like detergents in Australia, but with different names. Cereal boxes look exactly the same, but with different names. I find comfort when I see ads about products I recognise eg., Nutella, McDonalds, Doritos.

Without my familiar brands, everything seems to be the same and I've lost my sense of bearing.

And then it hit me like that Nicole Kidman movie about the haunted house but in the end she realised she was the ghost instead (sorry for ruining it for you, it was a shit movie anyway).

Australia IS the knock off version of America.

We don't design stuff, we steal everything from America. We probably just copy and pasted the labels via Proctle and Gamble or Unilever.

And a little bit of Australian design pride died inside of me.

China man in America pt.3 - The wedding.

2010-07-19T21:54:00.011+10:00

Many things didn't go as planned for Gary's wedding.

From the photographer's point of view, the biggest obstacle was the rain. With a camera on each shoulder, I could only manage to support the umbrella by squeezing the handle between my cheek and collarbone.

But it was perfect. Because Gary and Leslie-Ann didn't want a conventional wedding to start with.

The ceremony was held at Gary's brother's beautiful backyard, which meant a lot to them.

The sister-in-law handled all the invitations and design.

Gary's best-man was his father.

Leslie-Ann did her own make up in the living room.

There wasn't any giant reception, or a whole line of bridesmaids.

And it's amazing even though the ceremony was dark and wet, everyone was crying (father of the bride couldn't lift his head up) and even as the photographer I couldn't help feeling all teary.

It was a small, elegant, intimate and emotional summer wedding. But most important of all, it was the wedding they both wanted.

I was telling Gary how this wedding is probably a special one for me (if I were to shoot any future ones) because I was simply part of it and everyone accepted me. I wasn't the photographer who turned up for the day. I was also the guest and I'm pretty comfortable with the relationship between everyone. Maybe I'm just bias simply because I'm so welcomed here. Being the foreigner, I find North Caroliners pretty sincere and upfront about their feelings. And I'm super stoked that I chose NC to be my introductory visit to America.

And to think I almost didn't want to come.

That's right.

2010-07-19T14:08:00.002+10:00

Gary was, and is happily married.

China man in America pt.2

2010-07-17T13:54:00.005+10:00

So tomorrow's the wedding day and I'm staying with Gary's parents tonight. They're such nice people it's freaking me out.
Seriously, I always thought such hospitality exists only in the world of Michael Bay.
But it's so great to be here I can't wait to shoot tomorrow.

The China man in America.

2010-07-16T20:36:00.004+10:00

So after being ordered to hold up my right hand to solemnly swear that I had no intention of invading the country, I found myself in terminal 4 of LAX.

And the first thing I noticed, is the consumption of things. Everyone's queuing up to buy food. There's 2 Starbucks within 300m radius, people were holding a bag of their McBreakfast on one hand and a big cup of watery colorful thing on the other, waiting for their flights.

Those who weren't eating were consuming technology. (One sweet thing they have though, is a counter to charge different type of mobile phones. Saw it in Tokyo airport 5 years ago, still amazed Australia is not doing it.) On my flight to Charlotte I sat next to a couple who had an iPad each. I heckled by reciting the Apple ad, 'iPad is thin, iPad is beautiful', to which they replied, 'I know! Isn't it wonderful!'

But the biggest 'fuck me' moment of all, is the size of the cars. If you think Australian Utes are big, shit, they can literally fit in the trunk of the GMCs here. As we drove out on Gary's Jeep, looking out of the window, I actually felt like I was in a normal sedan.

So that's my first day round up. As if you don't know this already. But I'm jet-lagged. So I'm going to eat more cheesy corn puffs and tortilla chips.

US of A.

2010-07-14T23:05:00.002+10:00

Yup, I'm actually off to Charlotte, NC tomorrow.

Not that it will make a difference. But I probably will blog more often now that I'm not in Melbourne. Maybe.

The last time I traveled this far was to London, and I hated it because it was going through a heat wave.

The weather forecast said Charlotte is going through a heat wave now.

So, wish me luck.

I am definitely getting Old Spice by the litter, I mean, gallon.

Ayem Tylerh Durdhen.

2010-07-07T19:33:00.004+10:00

I recently found out that Chika is a racist.

If she were to spot an Indian chef in the restaurant kitchen, she'd complain about the food. According to her, if the chef is Indian, then the food will definitely contain cumin spice, even if it's lasagna.

Actually, perhaps she's just sensitive about the food she eats.

Maybe I'm the racist instead.

But seriously, we don't eat out that much during lunch, and for the past 3 new places we tried, we've spotted Indian chefs in the kitchen.

Even the Irish pub we went for her birthday lunch today.

They're driving the cabs, serving us food, doing our laundry, answering our calls.

Can you imagine, an Indian Fight Club?

World. Word.

2010-07-01T19:11:00.012+10:00

Whenever I'm not making ads, I have time to look at ads.

(If you think that's ironic, consider this: most people working in advertising don't really have time to be exposed to ads. We simply look at awesome billboards and magazines ads and TV commercial from the office, through the internet, in front of the computer. But we still don't buy this 'digital advertising' bullshit. But more on that later.)

Since I used to work on ANZ I somewhat have a soft spot for them. I happen to love the guy who created the previous ANZ template thus resulted to my bashing of their new brand relaunch last year, titled 'We live in your world'. (see fig.1)

fig.1 Work of art

So when I walked down Chinatown yesterday and saw the new ads with the same message, I applied my natural cringe of disgust and walked on.

But I stopped.

And walked back.

Because, that wasn't an ad for ANZ. (see fig.2)

fig.2

It's an ad for ANOTHER bank. With the world as their preposition.

And since Citi is basically right in front of ANZ in Chinatown, is this like a face off of the banks? We live in your world. Oh really? In my world, there're no robbers. Oh really, in my world you're gay. Oh really?...

What I think about when I think in the shower.

2010-06-27T23:49:00.002+10:00

I'll start with a joke.

"I don't understand why women want to be equal when they can be better than men. This shows a lack of ambition. And that's why men are better than women."

I love logic. And I love a joke that triumps with logic. The only reason I didn't put this joke as my facebook status is that I know I will get a backlash from Damien Rochford.

I have nothing against women. I think all capable beings should be rewarded. I am especially against discrimination before giving any opportunity.

But this is an argument for those who doesn't share that believe. And this is an argument which I am trying to hard to argue against in my own head.

So a woman wants to get educated and paid as much as her male colleague, yet insists on her boyfriend picking up the check during dinner.

Isn't that like an employee saying: "In my contract, I want to have the same salary as everyone else, but I refuse to work overtime, I will not take responsibility for my mistakes, and I want a corner office"?

Just thinking.

The Junior dilemma.

2010-06-22T23:27:00.006+10:00

The advertising industry sucks at training creatives. In fact, the industry has absolutely no idea or interest in how to train juniors.

The first supporting reason, is that the industry is based on the Hollywood module, where 1% of the very best creatives get paid astronomically well, and the other 99% will simply get by while waiting tables or live with their parents until 30. (Every Tom Cruise blockbuster needs 2000 extras, and we all can't be Tom.)

Also, there is no winning formula in advertising. Simply because advertising is a predicting profession. Agencies 'predict' sales will go up with their very own subjective solutions. To top it off, some clients demand to see 3 or more different concepts in each presentation. Even if there is a 100% sweet spot-hitting solution, they somewhat voluntarily reduce the chance of obtaining it to 33%. (Imagine patients demanding the doctor to offer 3 tablets for them to choose with 2 being placebo and 1 being the actual cure.)

So when there's no guaranteed method, there's no sure way to train junior creatives. Hence all advertising books are so inspiring and vague at the same time. (Trust your guts, have a backbone, be a sponge, rely on your instincts.)

Advertising's turnover rate is one of the highest of all professions. How can senior creatives offer advice when they can't be sure their job is secure? (Work hard, son. Some day you might get retrenched by 25 like I did. And I'm one of the best in the industry.)

The next point is something I seriously hold dear to my heart to be true: the industry is simply not disciplined enough to support and create a fixed teaching module. If creativity is fluid, it has to be contained by something rigid such as a system. Having creatives to train creatives is like trying to hold water with a cup made by water. (Again, with the high turnover rate, a president of any award or training body normally last for 12 months maximum. Imagine a school that changes principals every single year.)

Ironically, I think the solution to succeed as a junior is simply to hang on and wait. Eventually the old farts will retired or kick the bucket and management being clueless or desperate most of the time will simply promote the next contact in their filofax or rolodex. Again, it's simply a matter of being at the right place at the right time. (And in the case of Hollywood, being hot and well connected.)

I can probably say this right now because I'm half way out of the industry. But also simply because deep down, I love advertising. Having finished half of this book I'm reading, I realised creatives are no different than financial analysts. Anyone is entitled to criticize and have an opinion, because there isn't a right or wrong answer.

This is just another rant because I realised people are still getting retrenched, and there simply isn't any safety net for being experienced, brilliant, loyal, or hardworking. This is advertising.

Black fat swan.

2010-06-02T09:31:00.002+10:00

An excerpt from this book I've spend 10 minutes reading on the train and tram:

"Patients who spend fifteen minutes every day writing an account of their daily troubles feel indeed better about what has befallen them. You feel less guilty for not having avoided certain events; you feel less responsible for it. Things appear as if they were bound to happen.

If you work in a randomness-laden profession, you are likely to suffer burnout effects from that constant second-guessing of your past actions in terms of what played out subsequently. Keeping a diary is the least you can do in these circumstances."

I have a diary that I neglect on a constant basis. In fact, I think I only write in it when I'm bored or have suffered severe trauma. So in essence it's actually crash log. I never feel better or think events are unavoidable upon revisiting the entries. It sometimes made me feel ashamed of putting my own stupidity on paper, and some centuries later aliens will display it in their museum of dumb human behavior (MODHUB).

The diary will never prevent me from repeating the same mistake; it is a proof that I will keep repeating dumb mistakes for the rest of my life. The only comfort from the excerpt is that I will be more experienced in getting over the remorse of my wrong doings.

But will blogging about this makes my future mistakes any more excusable? Maybe this is why people blog. To excuse themselves from, well, themselves.

Look, mum.

2010-05-25T15:51:00.003+10:00

Something I designed last year for University of Ballarat.
There's a funny, short story behind this job. The first ad you see on the inner jacket is an abortion ad with the headline: UNWANTED PREGNANCY?
End of story.

Documentary of things.

2010-05-12T23:11:00.004+10:00

Objectified is the second installment of Gary Hustwit's trilogy in documentary about design. His first was Helvetica, which elevated him(and all other legendary designers) to somewhat an authoritative figure in the design world. Perhaps I'm detached to the product design field, but I failed to connect with some of the designers. At some point, I thought 'so is this how people feel when I talk about design/advertising? Like I'm a total self absorbed nut bag?' The biggest difference is that Helvetica was a documentary about a font that changed and impacted the design world; Objectified on the other hand, tried to explain product design as a whole. That's why it felt like an ordinary documentary compared to its predecessor. I probably would feel bored watching a documentary on design or typography and excited with one that focused on the importance of Alessi's juice squeezer. I bought Helvetica even though I had to order the DVD from the UK. I downloaded Objectified, and felt like it was a right move.

On foreign property investors.

2010-05-12T17:41:00.011+10:00

Anyone who've applied or are currently applying for permanent residency in Australia can attest to this: it is not easy. If you agree, then you will not object my next point that the department of immigration has actually put a lot of thought into establishing the system. From the health check to skill assessment to police check, it's a pain in the ass. If any of you have had the experience of visiting the department of immigration, you'd know when I say the process and treatment given to applicants are sometimes degrading to some extent.

But I get it, when a system is set up, there's bound to be abuse to the system. Not sheltering the fact the applicants are here to share the fruit of culture and living standards of Australia. The fire hoops we had to jump through are understandable. But how high? Well, for any foreigner who wants to enter the country by being, let's say a hairdresser, it will cost at least 80 thousand dollars and 3 years. (An international student applying as a doctor will have to fork out 400 thousand dollars and 7 years of his/her life.)

A month ago I was watching this report about foreigners (mainly yellow) being the main cause of the insane property boom. Interest raise or tighter loan pre-requisite is useless because they are buying the houses in cash. So Australians suffer to get their first home and foreigners keep laughing their heads off with cold hard cash.

So my question is: If so much thought was put into establishing a system to filter migrants into Australia, why isn't the same being done for foreign property investors? If an international student needs to prove their intention to stay and produce for Australian society, why not Mr.Chan from Shanghai?

I think all foreign investors should at least pass the IELTS test. To show that they can at least speak English and not buying a property to launder dirty cash. I don't think it's too much to ask. In fact, the Australian government should see this as an opportunity to make more money. Make them go through all the process, applications and point tests just like applying for migration. I know business is business, and I'm not saying don't let them buy it, just make them bend over more.

Because, I cannot see the logic behind a medical student having spent half a million dollars and still have to work hard to get a home loan; while a money laundering tycoon from Taiwan can buy her way into being a citizen by being illiterate and ignorant about Australia.

I'm actually a carebear.

2010-05-04T23:21:00.005+10:00

For the past month I've been emailing back and forth with a friend regarding the prospect of having a wedding shoot in the States. And I decided to back out in the last minute because I wasn't sure if my work is worth all the trouble due to the increased air fare and I wasn't sure if I could deliver the value. And he wrote back:

"By emphasizing that Leslie-Ann and I care a lot about our wedding photos, we are not at all worried about your "performance." Loving photography and having ridiculously high standards for a photographer are two different things. We love photography. But we do not have unreasonable expectations. We both can take 5 minutes to look at your flickr account and know that we will get great photos. And shit.....even in the 0.0001% chance that something terrible happens and you fuck everything up....at least we tried, and I get to see you again! hahahah... seriously man, our wedding is a small party. As a challenge for a photographer, it is nothing more than a small party. It's a practice round for your wedding portfolio, and you have a rare opportunity to have free reign on a wedding armed with digital and film Nikon (again: "Nikon, right?") gear, with a couple of people (me and LA) who are not tightly-wound douchebags who will get all bent out of shape if their photos are not exactly perfect. We will love whatever you do. I promise."

I am usually pretty ~~sarcastic, calculative, insecure, timid and afraid to fail~~ Asian, but times like this I'm really glad that I know the people I know.

I really hope I get my visa.

Rantvertising.

2010-04-25T16:23:00.009+10:00

Generally, advertising works in regardless of its creativity especially in Australia where the population is lower but possesses probably 10 times the spending power than say, Malaysia.

What happens is that we get clients with A LOT of money and a market that is not very competitive.

I was having lunch with a digital producer and art director the other day. They were confuzzled by clients who are spending so much on traditional media instead of digital since no one watches TV anymore. My gut feeling is that majority of the 22 million Australians aren't as technology savvy as we'd think. Even if we can avoid watching TV, we still cannot avoid getting stuck in traffic and platforms staring at traditional adshels and billboards. I have a conspiracy theory that corporate marketers don't really want to fix Australia's poor public transport because that's a huge reach and frequency. I doubt clients are so incompetent to not realize that their 2 million dollar ads are not generating enough return of investments. But perhaps it wasn't the ads that worked or didn't work that matters, but the lack of choice for the public. We are simply stuck with the same service by the same brands in the same shops in every suburb.

Another point may be what I call the 'wedding photography' syndrome. The reason we see shit loads of wedding photos with couples kissing distastefully next to the beach during sunset is not because of the couple has poor taste, but perhaps that's what they expect out of wedding photography. And when clients expect less, agencies produce less.

And that leads to my next opinion: creatively speaking Australia is handicapped. Say we compare Sydney to New York, the top 10% of creatives in New York will always produce the best work in the world whereas the top 10% in Sydney will probably only end up getting promoted to New York to battle against their top 25%. The rewards are high but the competition is astronomically higher.

So like I said, because Australia has a high spending power, creatives are prone to stay (or retire)in Australia because you pretty much get the same pay for doing less. In short, the whole point of this post is: advertising sucks in Australia generally because clients don't really have to try very hard; and those who do think their problems can be solved by spending more money in telemarketing and promotions.

Sensis blackmailed Chika the other day. They phoned her and she said 'I would like to advertise on Yellow Pages only if our business name can come up in other search engines like Google'. However, they deleted the second half of the message and now they have her consent on record as 'I would like to advertise with Yellow Pages.' After the initial outrage I just realised how desperate Sensis has become. In fact, from Chika's original statement I wonder: In this day and age, who needs fucking Yellow Pages?

And when clients have employees blackmailing customers, who needs fucking creativity?

Cookies are everyone's right.

2010-04-12T17:22:00.004+10:00

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I ended up chatting with the landlord of this 11-floor building. And like any middle-age Chinese man, he started throwing me advices as if I'm his own son, who I assumed never listened to any.

One that stuck with me is: Never obstruct people on their way to success.

I'm not sure if it's an Asian thing, but I do have this experience of elders telling juniors ' When I was your age, we never had (enter basic commodities here),' or ' you need to suffer before you're allowed to be happy.'

I'm all for being appreciative and hardworking to gain skills, but suffer?

The landlord then elaborated that most people feel so threatened by the young, that they'd rather indulge in ways to make it more difficult for them to advance instead of coming up with methods to further develop his or her industry.

I agree that there's this morbid disillusion that the new generation needs to go through some unnecessary hardship to share the fruit of the current generation. Don't get me wrong, I strongly feel that sometimes the young can take things for granted, but that doesn't mean the solution is to prevent them from the basic luxuries of life?

So mum put the cookie jar on the top shelf to prevent baby Harvard from reaching it. Not because too many cookies is bad for baby Harvard, but because when she was young, she couldn't have cookies anytime she wanted.

How screwed up is that mentality?

It's one thing to reject a person if he or she is incompetent; definitely another if he or she wasn't as unfortunate as you are.

Study of major events in life.

2010-03-30T16:53:00.007+11:00

There are two things you do when big things happen in your life. You either keep it in, or let it out. What I can't figure out, is which events we choose to hide or go public. In this case, I'm afraid I might just be mentally ill.

When I lost my job last year, I had no intentions of hiding it. In fact, I posted my experience on Facebook and informed everyone I met. Some people are worried that I'm taking it too positively and I might shoot myself in the face with a shotgun.

3 months ago, I started seeing Chika seriously. And I tried my best to camouflage the situation. Not until I realised I can no longer deny this relationship or explain my absence to people I see constantly, I started opening up. And even with this blog post, it's a reflection piece rather than a blatant post with a title such as 'The death of my dry spell as they call it'.

The explanation I can come up with for my 'Yay jobless, boo relationship' mentality, is that getting laid off is a concrete fact and there is nothing I can do to change it. Being in a relationship, on the other hand, is just two people's opinion. For me, it has always been embarrassing to put a brand on something that it is not.

The second possibility, is that getting in a relationship seems so cliche, so bland, so expected of everyone that I don't really feel proud of it. Getting retrenched, however, is a life changing event that everyone's heard of, but not necessarily know how to deal with it. My elaborated post was merely just to show off that I for one, can cope with extremely circumstances. Getting into a relationship? Not that much of an extreme situation.

And the last and most pessimistic theory of all, is that losing my job gave me a sense of freedom. Suddenly I could take a step back and reevaluate my life and not stuck to a demanding job with the only reward of thinking 'at least I'm being paid to be creative'. Getting into a relationship, however, will cost me freedom. Maybe my extrovert or introvert response to news is directly related to my positive or negative emotion.

Then again, it could be all of the above.

It's show time?

2010-03-18T15:02:00.005+11:00

Many people don't know that Earth Hour was manifested by an ad agency.
In fact, back then even I didn't know the idea came from Leo Burnett Sydney.

This movement, this 'flick off your light switch for an hour to save earth' idea, was sticky to people my age. I remember my friends in Sydney being excited simply because they were curious of the city in darkness. This was during the bloom of social network, and many weren't as skeptical towards 'events' as they are now.

Earth Hour became the Dyson vacuum cleaner of awards, and the whole advertising industry supported it and pushed it globally. And indeed in the next 4 years, agencies around the world hopped on the bandwagon to win as many awards as possible: 'Heineken supports Earth Hour. Motorola supports Earth Hour. Your local deer hunter supports Earth Hour'. Bent image of a product becoming another product in the dark, tiny straight headline and logo. Done. Cannes finalist. Done.

At its peak, WWF even managed to get Shepard Farley (who also designed Obama's HOPE poster) to create postcards for EH. The postcard with its killer headline, 'Vote for Earth', had Farley's trademark illustration of a light switch heading into a ballot box.

So my question is: what now?

I googled Earth Hour today. Its official website reminded me of an energy provider, patronising me with information on how to recycle and fix my leaked tap. The countdown clock reminds me that it's 9 days before Earth Hour, and I'm actually confuzzled that no advertising blog, or facebook events, or friends reminding friends that it's happening that soon. Sure there's a toolbar to twit, facebook, digg, or do whatever you want to promote it, but I just don't feel excited anymore. It's pretty bleh. What irritates me the most, is the theme: It's Showtime.

It's Showtime.

Finally, the time has come for Earth Hour to take itself too seriously.

I'm not saying Earth Hour is created to win awards. Perhaps the financial crisis crippled their budget, perhaps people realised flicking a light switch once a year isn't doing much. But if I'm an agency and I found out EH is no longer a hit and the award faucet is getting turned off, I would probably think it's acceptable to go with a campaign based on 'It's Showtime'.

I'm a survivor?

2010-03-11T22:30:00.002+11:00

I doubt I've ever followed or finished a whole season of Survivor. Someone once told me that the show is like a micro simulator of the real world. In fact, I think Survivor was the very first reality TV show that took off.

However, isn't Survivor the total opposite of the real world?

20 people get stranded in an island, and the ultimate goal is to outwit, outplay, and outlast everyone else? And then the winner gets $1 million? So the best survivor in the world is the one who's got shit loads of money, stranded on an island with NO friends? The means to survive in our world (money) is totally mismatched with the show's world (not money).

How did we get convinced that it was a feasible idea? For 20 seasons?

Why the city sucks.

2010-03-05T17:57:00.004+11:00

The government seriously needs to regulate the street charity hagglers in the city.

How many times do I need to be harassed by people who are working for "non-profit" organizations that are supposedly helping some unfortunate victims or refugees at the other end of the globe?

They show you pictures or give you statistics to sadden your day, and then further guilt-trip you when you refuse to give up your two cups of coffee a week to save 500 million African children. Not to mention the patronizing ones that goes: "You know Angelina Jolie? Yea, she's a super star and she's the ambassador of USUCK as well." Oh wow, Because I'm Asian you need to pressure me with celebrity endorsement? She married Brad Pitt, why can't I marry Brad Pitt?

It's uncalled for to violate us like that. It's emotional rape.

I did not walk out of my apartment today expecting to feel obliged to save the world. For me this no different with hookers coming up to pedestrians offering a wank to inflict lust. If the government can stop that from happening, they need to apply the same pressure towards the charity organizations.

For all the ladies.

2010-03-02T16:17:00.002+11:00

Parky is doing well in Beijing, China.
His new semester has started. And he will be off to London after the term finishes.

Realoosation.

2010-02-25T17:48:00.002+11:00

Today, I was cleaning the toilet.

While scrubbing and brushing off the soap scum and the abundance of clogged hair, I noticed that there were 3 bottles of cologne that were accumulated over the past 8 years of my life.

Someone told me that after 6 months or so, cosmetics can expire. I thought it was bullshit. The marketers simply created this gimmick so that people would use up all their perfumes and fragrances within 6 months and maintain the spending power.

And then it struck me: Why aren't cosmetics and fragrance companies targeted for global warming? Surely these products are unnecessary(if bottled water are claimed to be harmful to the environment, surely bottled water with chemicals do too). And surely they pollute the air, as fragrant as they can be.

And then it double struck me: Even environmentalists stink. And even environmentalists hate people with B.O. Most of all, most environmentalists are women.

What's worse than the planet dying? The planet is dying and we don't have our best make up on, that's worse than the planet dying.