Not to #humblebrag, but I don’t make a lot of plans in my life. A lot of what I do is often done on a whim. For example, the reason I ended up in advertising is because I read Ogilvy On Advertising and decided to apply to the Humber College copywriting program right before the application deadline. Whims are also the reason why I’m currently taking an introductory improv class at The Second City.

I’ve thought about learning improv on and off for a few years, but it wasn’t until a friend asked if I wanted to join him in taking a class that I decided to do it. I had heard that doing improv can help you with a lot of different things: writing, comic timing, public speaking, managing stress — all things that are more or less part of my job. But I was also hoping that it might affect my life outside of work. After all, aren’t we all dying to become that loud improv/actor-type who always seems like they’re “on” no matter where they are?

Sorry, that was my token cynicism kicking in. That’s another thing I was hoping might be affected by taking improv. It can be easy to get cynical in advertising when your ideas are shot down or something you thought was great doesn’t end up happening. And personally I don’t think it does you any good. At least, it doesn’t seem to be helping me. So it was interesting that the first concept we were taught in the class was “Yes, and.” It’s the idea that in improv you always have to be open. You always have to say yes in order for a scene to work. You have to be prepared to say yes no matter what happened before. We were then told that if you embrace this idea in improv, it’ll eventually affect the way you think in other parts of your life.

And has it? So far, I think so. At work, I’m finding myself more willing to just let things happen. There are things you can’t control in advertising, especially as a junior copywriter, but I think it does help to be open. Whether that’s being more open to other people’s ideas, finding the best way to revise work or facing an unexpected challenge.

Aside from being a pretty great stress reliever and a way to force myself to think on my feet, improv is helping me remember there are still plenty of possibilities and opportunities to come when something doesn’t go your way. And I think in advertising that can only be a good thing.

The hotly-anticipated new Muppet movie is being released in theaters today. At first blush, this may not seem like a marketing-related news item. But in many respects, the Muppets may represent one of the biggest marketing stories of the year.

A group of beloved childhood characters in the 70s and 80s, the Muppets seems to fade into relative obscurity for much of the 90s and naughts. That is until Jason Segel and Disney threw their weight behind a new Muppet movie project – and an ambitious, far-reaching media campaign that deliriously (and hilariously) places Muppets everywhere from Twitter to Saturday Night Live to theater anti-cell phone pre-roll ads.

In tribute to the Muppets’ phoenix-like rise back into public consciousness, we present a series of meditations on the subject – from the far reaches of the blogosphere and beyond!

Beakering News – On Twitter, @BreakingNews is a popular source for up-to-the-minute international headlines. Recently, they’ve found a new rival whose tweets are just as salient, and often more poetic.

Before the Muppets: 10 Surreal and Experimental Works by Jim Henson – Jim Henson is known for his work developing Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock and others. But there are a number of other creative projects he was involved with that were infused with his trademark humour and voice. Including, of course, his early (dark) commercials for Wilkins Coffee.

Mahna Mahna: How a ditty from a soft-core Italian movie became the Muppets’ catchiest tune – We all know this song. Once we hear it, we hear it for the rest of the week. And we don’t mind it at all. Jingles have nothing on this tune. So – where did it come from? As usual, the answer has its roots in porn.

How social media revived the Muppets - Mashable recently published this great overview of the ways Walt Disney Pictures employed Social Media to revive the Muppet characters (and brand) in anticipation of their new film. Innovative, captivating, and to the exclusion of no channel, the results clearly speak for themselves.

Idea people tend to preface brainstorms with a gleeful refrain of “there are no dumb ideas.”
But when the truly dumb idea creeps out from under the carpet – dressed in Comic Sans evening wear – eyebrows raise, and silence reigns. Dumb ideas are insidious.

In terms of net volume, I believe that I come up with some of the dumbest ideas in the agency. So perhaps I’m biased when I say that I think the dumb idea may be the most important idea of all.

But how does one address a poor, dumb little idea? Do we simply awkwardly ignore it? Or can it serve a higher purpose?

Firstly, addressing the dumb idea lets you work through it. By putting a dumb idea down, and owning it, it lets you actively evaluate it compared to the goals of the project.
By simply making and letting go, you can engage in a creative catharsis.

You never know if there is a sliver of a good idea hidden in a bad idea, either. By laying out the spread of half-baked, unloved, unfinished ideas, someone else may see something valuable in the work you’ve written off.
But finally, there’s a greater, cultural issue with the dumb idea. The dumb idea implies failure. It implies the absence of competence, of cool, and of alchemical magic that creatives cultivate. The act of evaluating dumb idea implies that we might not have the answers yet.

By squashing our dumb ideas too early, or keeping them stowed away like a horrible secret, we close ourselves off to exploration and to productive failure. But culturally, we also close ourselves off to opportunities for growth and play. If we are afraid to explore the entire spectrum of our ideas and interconnections, then we are setting up a culture of narrow perfectionism and safe ideas. And in turn, we set a dangerous expectation for ourselves and others: only perfect ideas, the first time around.

We know that great creative is an evolution, not a revolution. Part of that is starting with dumb ideas — but finishing with fantastic ones.

Are you like me? Do you dress up fancy and spend hours perfecting the moves from Dance Central for Xbox Kinect? Okay, me neither. But French fashion label Lanvin’s cheeky mash-up promoting its Fall 2011 collection found its way to my inbox. And I love it.

The video, which has gone somewhat viral, features models dancing to Pitbull’s “I Know You Want Me” from the perspective of the Kinect. I guess what I love is that it ticks all the boxes fashion marketers deem obligatory in showcasing a collection – perfect models, perfect clothes, opulent/textured setting – but still manages to throw a curve ball. Lanvin is having quite bit of fun here, tapping into to a pop culture phenomenon, while still showcasing their clothing and brand aesthetic with a visual sensibility that’s familiar enough not to break their longstanding, high-end narrative.

All in all, I felt it broke the mold for a fashion brand (that dates back to 1909). And it works.

A game changer? Excuse the pun and tell us what you think.

Is it a PSA, issuing a warning about giving away personal information? Or, perhaps, a viral trailer for an upcoming horror movie? It’s conceivable. After all, Hallowe’en takes place in only a matter of weeks….
Jason Zada, a digital marketer who has worked on such projects as OfficeMax’s “Elf Yourself” is the man behind “Take This Lollipop,” an interactive experience that brings viewers into the narrative via their Facebook profiles.
While some critics argue that the idea isn’t totally new – Intel’s “Museum of Me” also mines your Facebook account, while a German site places you into a video with a scary ending – there’s no question that “Take This Lollipop” is certainly creating a commotion online.
Fast Company’s Jacob Berkowitz sees past the eerie and is excited by the business opportunities:
“The project isn’t the first social media-connected campaign that makes viewers a part of the story. And the horror execution here may be a little predictable. But the format itself is a great showcase for the potential of socially enabled, seamlessly interactive video as genre entertainment. Here it’s horror, but the device would work in another context and genre. Of course, if this is meant to be a public service message about privacy, it may be a little counterproductive–the video does nothing so much as demonstrate the entertaining upside of making your life an open book.”

Click on the blue lollipop, and see for yourself. I dare you.

Food for Thought: Whether you like it or not, Zada’s “Take This Lollipop” experience certainly is powerful – and incredibly engaging. What can we continue to do to leverage innovative interactive online technology as a means of developing meaningful – and entertaining! – connections between our brands and our consumers?

Over the past decade, the concept of a “brand” has changed steadily yet dramatically.
With new technologies, media, and methods of engagement, a company’s brand has had to adapt to new terrain in order to stay competitive. The broadcasting model of branding, with the “one true way” and safe-zones defined by measuring sticks, is an early modernist idea. Now, brand standards must learn to reflect the idea of fragmentation, complexity, and constantly changing points of engagement while still remaining coherent.

How does a brand change from a distinctly early-mid-20th century concept to an engaging, believable and sociable entity?

The answer is succinct and deceptively simple: Brands are for cows. Stories are for people.

Look at novels, fables, myths, legends. Each a testament to how a compelling narrative can transcend generations, ethnicity and geography. The same can be said for mediums — Homer’s poetry bridged the gap between the written and spoken word. The parallel can be drawn to a compelling brand narrative. A good story is transcendant, no matter what the medium, the time, the place, or the way we engage with it.

Which leads to the next question. What does that mean for the modern company? For the past 50-odd years, the brand has been limited to a book that defined typography, whitespace, and printing colours. It was seen as a fixed, immovable monolith in a world where a brand projected into the ether.
It means that we have to let go of our concept of the almighty corporate identity standards that dictate each and every measured movement, and a shift from the prescriptive to the descriptive.

By opening a brand to the idea of narrative, we also have to consider what this implies: A narrative has ebbs, peaks, flows. A narrative has a personality. A beginning, middle and end. It is also potentially flawed.

Creatively, it means development of an authentic voice, one told over years. Even decades.
And it means the willful bending and breaking of pre-supposed “brand standards” to retain an authentic perspective.

Crafting a proper story may take a lifetime. But patience, in this case, will be well rewarded.

When my alarm wakes me up each morning I take about 10 mins to catch up on news, sports scores and Twitter.  A few days ago, the Twitter trends read like my personal joy report: “Abercrombie and Fitch” and “The Situation.” In just 5 mins, 112 new tweets would appear for just one of these trends.

Flashback:  My friends and I are gathered eagerly in front of the TV for our weekly dose of Jersey Shore (I know you’re totally judging me right now). On a commercial break, my friend says, “I wonder if “The Situation” has a deal with A&F.  He’s been wearing their clothing A LOT in this season.”  We all had our reservations and theories about the supposed endorsement deal. A couple days ago we got our answer.

If you haven’t already heard (impossible if you are in advertising), it would be my pleasure to share the news that Abercrombie & Fitch has requested that “The Situation” wear another brand’s clothing.  Not only that, but they are willing to pay for the certainty of it. They even offered up the deal to the other Jersey Shore cast members. A&F says in a news release that it’s concerned that having Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino seen in its clothing could cause “distress” to their many fans, and “significant damages” to the brand image. Frankly, I agree.

When I think of the A&F brand, I think gorgeous, half-naked jocks playing rugby, or surfing the west coast shores. In every Abercrombie retail experience, you’re greeted by models who mirror this self-same image. The brand equity team must have felt their brains crack when they noticed that one of Jersey Shore’s fake ‘n baked, greasy, mysogynistic drunks were becoming the poster boys of their brand. I’m almost positive that anyone would agree that with the Jersey Shore’s viewership, Sorrentino could pretty much destroy A&F’s carefully crafted brand image.

How is MTV taking the news regarding their hit reality TV series?  Read this rebuttal, where MTV calls the Jersey Shore cast “sensitive reality TV icons.” Whether this is a publicity stunt or not, I agree with A&F’s proposed deal to the Jersey Shore cast.  In their eyes, and many others, they represent cultural oblivious at its worst. Endorsing them (or, in this case, being endorsed by them) is like silent assent to their mindlessness. I applaud A&F for addressing this particular “situation” by slapping back and identifying them as the douchebags they are.

What do you think? Is Abercrombie in the right? Or is any public endorsement a potential boon for a brand?

When developing advertising ideas, simplicity is usually a prerequisite; we are, after all, familiar with the old K.I.S.S adage (keep it simple, stupid). Somehow, it’s not always the case when developing applications. We often catch ourselves jamming in more functionality than is necessary.

Take Blurb.com. I am a huge fan of this book making service. HUGE. But even though I am an incessant picture-taker and love the idea of Blurb’s self-publishing platform, I’ve only used the site to make one book. Why? The process of making it is too complex and time-consuming. To Blurb’s credit, their BookSmart™ app is robust in terms of layout, size, and template options. I find the selection process of photos and templates paralyzing.

Perhaps Blurb sensed this, because in a stroke of brilliance they came up with an easy solution to get people like me to make more books. By tapping into the immensely popular social photo sharing app Instagram, you can now make an “instant book” to match your instant photos. Just link your account, push a button and all your photos are magically laid out into a special square-shaped book. K.I.S.S at its paradigmatic best.

Naturally you can edit the book, rearrange the shots, or choose from a few simple layouts. But Blurb must have purposely limited the options to match the simplicity of Instagram itself. Guess what? I’ve already made two books.

I think there are two lessons for us here. The first: remember to keep your ideas and executions simple. Granted, this is easier said than done when technology enables limitless functionality. So be vigilant. The second: tap into existing behaviours/technology whenever possible. Blurb must have seen an opportunity to leverage Instagram’s massive popularity and simple UX, and then created an app to match. Absolutely brilliant.

So what are you waiting for? Go make a book!

The times they’ve been a changin’. Increasingly, we are trying to find new outlets beyond the traditional :30 commercial and newspaper ad to get our clients’ messages out there.

Such was the case last year, when we decided to take some initiative and attempt a short film for our Honda client based around their continued involvement in racing. We assembled a small crew and went behind the scenes at the Honda Indy Toronto.

Honda has been supplying engines for the Indy series for the last 5 years, and in all that time, through all those races, there’s never been a major engine failure. It ladders up perfectly to Honda’s innovation and reliability. But we did have to keep asking ourselves, “How much is too much?” Viewers might forgive the overt branding and messaging in a :30 commercial, but how much can you get away with in a 30-minute film that’s intended for entertainment? How much branding can you sneak in there before viewers feel like they’re watching an infomercial and get turned off?

Needless to say, it was a delicate balancing act, and we’re very happy where we ended up. “Between the Walls” takes an interesting look at Indy racing, even for the casual fan. But woven throughout (subtly, we hope) is the theme of reliability, something that Honda parlays from the racetrack into every car they make. Tune in to TSN2 on Friday, July 8^th at 3PM, or check it out on honda.ca and see how we did.