outside the box

March 3, 2012

The Creative Strategist is almost over, but I’m only beginning. Here is the link to my personal website; someday soon this will be full of good shit, I promise you that. 

http://cargocollective.com/bradenbeck

February 29, 2012

I rarely shop at JCPenney, and if I do, it’s to buy a pair of socks, but because my grandfather was a buyer for the company in Los Angeles for over 20 years, I have always rooted for their success. The company is large and has been around for years, and I am extremely glad to see that they are attempting to improve their image. Falling behind competitors in recent years, they desperately needed new direction, and with the fresh outlook from their new CEO Ron Johnson and some celebrity-driven advertising from the one-and-only Ellen DeGeneres, the chance of a bright future for the company may still be possible.

Similar to the Super Bowl but with less hype, commercials that air during the Academy Awards are viewed by millions and can create huge success for brands. Johnson, a former retail strategist for Apple, is re-inventing JCPenney as we know it, and although it will take time, it seems that he is already off on the right foot. According to an article by Shareen Pathak in Ad Age today, the company’s new ad campaign starring Ellen was highly rated among commercials that premiered during the award show, and all four spots were ranked above the average department store score from Ace Metrix.

Beyond the humor and the quality production of the commercials, I think that JCPenney’s smartest move was choosing Ellen as their star. She has an extremely broad range of fans, she has celebrity status that isn’t over the top, people of all ages and backgrounds find her relatable, and well, if you don’t smile every time you hear her speak, you obviously have no sense of humor. The commercial spots are fun and shouldn’t be taken seriously, but they all deal with real issues that real customers go through everyday. If JCPenney keeps this up, I can see a huge turn around for them extremely soon.

February 26, 2012

As a creative being in this creative world, art is what I love the most, and by coming across Thijme Termaat’s personal website, I have been inspired to infinity and beyond. Straight MAGIC. Enjoy:

February 26, 2012

Showing data can be extremely boring and plain, but if it is made to engage and attract, data visualization can be exceptionally useful and persuasive. Data visualization can be used for anything; it can point out the growth in a companies income, or it can be used to show music genre relationships. Anything in the world can be shown in this way. Brock Kirby did this by making his Lifeform Positioning Matrix, and I found a website that does it for some of the most random topics in the world, but it is effective and way more enjoyable to look at than bunch of world with a table and a graph. The website is Information is Beautiful, and it is full of amazing visualizations. Below I posted two of my favorites. The first is the Taxonomy of Ideas, and it completely reminded me of Brock’s layout. The second is Left vs. Right World, a comparison between the conservative and liberal sections of our government, and although it’s packed full of information, it is still done in a way that is interesting and fun to look at.

February 26, 2012

While searching through the vast expanses of the internet, I came across something that disappointed me beyond belief. Racism still exists whether we want to acknowledge it or not, but I had no idea that it continues to survive in such unreasonable and stupid ways. According to IMDiversity, people that have “white-sounding” names are 50 percent more likely to get responses from employers than those with “black-sounding” names. The idea that we are still this far behind in finding equality almost makes me feel embarrassed to be part of this culture. This is sad and ridiculous.

IMDiversity’s article by Jennifer Hicks states the problem, questions why this problem still exists, and aims to find a possible solution. The article really intrigued me, not because I didn’t know racism is still alive and well, but because it gave my everyday surroundings new meaning. Just looking around in my classes I can see lots of students in my same position but who come from other ethnic backgrounds and cultures, and it makes me feel angry to know that something as simple as their name could give them less of an opportunity than I will get. The guilt that comes with the privileges of being a white male is bad enough, but now I have to feel bad about having a “white-name?” All I can do is learn from this, understand why it is wrong, fight to change it, and make sure that I use those privileges for good in this world.

February 25, 2012

What is it with Google lately? Their campaigns have had some of the best storytelling I have seen, well, ever, and they just keep coming. Google Chrome’s ad this year is one of my favorites, and not just because it showcases real people and real stories, but it also brings homemade YouTube videos that I love to televisions everywhere. YouTube has a ton of shit, lets be honest, but there are also some things out there that need to be watched, whether they are inspirational, clever, or just plain hilarious. The amazing thing about this site is that if the right people see a video, anyone on this planet has the potential to get famous.

The final two clips in the commercial are from a couple of the most inspiring videos out there, both funny and heart-warming, and these special people deserve to be put on a national commercial. One little boy named Owen inspires other kids to ride a bike in his clip, “Thumbs up for Rock and Roll,” while Jason McElwain, a high school student with Autism, makes six 3-pointers during his school’s basketball game in “A Hoop Dream.”

The first video I’m posting is Google Chrome’s actual commercial, and the second is of Jason being recognized for his accomplishments on ABC. Here is the link to Owen be interview by GMA, also on ABC. These are amazing stories and I’m so glad that a company like Google can take the time to recognize the small people out there. It’s all of us “nobodies” that have the potential to do the greatest things.

February 21, 2012

• Why 72andSunny is important this week:

In class on Thursday we are Skyping with Rachel Hom who is a Junior Planner there. Haven’t heard her speak yet obviously, but after reading up on the agency, I can’t wait to know what she has to say about her position and the lifestyle it brings- so far, pretty jealous.

• Why 72and Sunny sounds like the coolest place to work in the world:

Beside the fact that it’s located in Santa Monica and they hit the number 5 spot on Ad Age’s Agency A-list, their resume is full of huge names, and a lot of the brands are ones that I love and represent in my own life. If I am going to dedicate my work to promoting different brands, I want it to be brands I actually like and trust, and they have just that. PacSun, Nike, Discovery Channel, Xbox, and even Shock Top? I need to work hard so my future can look this bright. We talked about the agency briefly in lecture, but I hadn’t yet taken the time to look it up; I should have researched more long ago because I like what I see.

• Things 72andSunny has done that I love; some are funny, and others are easy to relate to, but all are hard to forget:

          *PacSun, DRESS IRRESPONSIBLY: Their first integrated brand campaign attempting to re-introduce the brand to a new generation.

*Discovery Channel, I LOVE THE WORLD: “The World is Just Awesome.” A campaign idea that proves to the world just how much Discovery Channel loves our planet, and the people and animals on it.

*K-Swiss, AWESOME DAY: A Campaign that reveals K-Swiss as The California Sports Company.

*Hewlitt-Packard, LET’S DO SOMETHING AMAZING: A new HP brand idea, showcasing the amazing things that can be done with their products.

February 20, 2012

In our ever-evolving digital world, advertising that used to work on a piece of paper or on a simple poster board is no longer applicable to us. Our focus needs to change. The goal is to draw clients and consumers to our creative work, but we are getting to the point where only the most innovative and out-of-this-world material can attract any interest at all.

Beginning as a social experiment by Senior Editor Bill Wasik of Harper’s Magazine in 2003, “flash mobs” are beginning to become more and more prevalent each year, and they are really starting to do the job right.

Flash Mob America, a company based out of Los Angeles that is responsible for bringing many flash mob productions together, is always busy finding individuals from all over the country that fit humorous-Broadway-upbeat standard that flash mobs meet. Flash mobs are choreographed, but for people who don’t know that they are taking place, they are exciting, fun, inviting, and best of all, random as hell. I witnessed one at Fred Meyer of all places, and although it was a small production used to promote a sandwich shop across the street, that image has stuck with me since. Flash mob’s work because they catch people’s attention no matter the number of people involved.

T-Mobile’s 2009 Flash Mob at the Liverpool Street Station in central London was an enormous success in the fact that it really resonated with the people,  and the video of the event has had over 33 million YouTube views to date.

Delta Airlines’ most recent video is a great example as well. Big name airlines generally have bad reputations, and Delta needed a way to show that they can still be fun and inviting. This production was also special because the dancers are actually Delta employees, which tries to prove that their workers are down to earth and have personality too. Personally, I still don’t want to pay hundreds of dollars for a flight that can’t even provide a full can of Coke, but they had the right idea.