PSFK Author:
Henry Lambert

Since Obama first beat Hilary Clinton in the Iowa primary those in the know have been talking about his approach to marketing.

Here are just ten things we’ve noticed:

1. Be different - celebrate your differences from what has gone before and turn any percieved weakness in to an advantage (e.g. inexperience becomes change)
2. Stand for something big - don’t get bogged down in the detail and try to elevate
the conversation
3. Be prepared to be flexible - there is no universal panacea
4. Be likeable - if people don’t like you they probably won’t listen to you
5. Have a big personality - have different facets to your personality
6. Embrace the little people too - the influencers only have so much influence
7. Embrace behavioural economics (only say you’ll change the world if you
actually believe you can)
8. Be optimistic - people know it’s bad, they want you to give them hope
9 . Listen - Most brands spend their time shouting about themselves rather than listening to what people actually need
10. Converse don’t dictate - you’ll only move forward if it’s a dialogue rather than a monologue

Influx Insights have also directed us to this:

Bizarrely London’s metropolitan transport authority, Transport For London, has been responsible for several of this year’s best and most interesting TV ads. From this clever use of graphics:

To the controversial ‘Do the Test’:

The agency behind this work has now created this film:

Using the “whodunnit” device the ad grips the viewers attention in the same way as the previous films in the series of commercials. However, this ad has a slightly different twist. In the same vein as its predecessors the ad brings the proposition to life perfectly.

I recived this lovely email from Howies today directing me to their series of Do Lectures:

Do one thing

Visit the Do site. (www.thedolectures.com)

And then forward one talk on to a friend. (The talks are amazing by the way)

That’s all we need you to Do.

Word of the mouth will hopefully Do the rest.

Right now The Do Lectures has had 17,276 visits from 107 countries/territories.

People from 2,576 cities have gone there.

To get a sponsor I reckon we need to get 100,000 visitors.

I also reckon between us we can get there within two weeks.

That would make The Do Lectures one of the most watched online lectures in the world.

So every single visit will count.

Do help if you can.

David Hieatt

We’ll keep you posted on the viewing stats to show you how we are doing.

The talks are from a bunch of interesting and varied people so I highly recommend watching one or two if you have the time.

This is the latest work from BBH for UK credit card Barclaycard. Lovely film with a great soundtrack.

W+K have been the most talked about ad agency of the noughties. From their Honda work in the London office to the consistently brilliant Nike work that flows from Portland they’ve set out to create interesting work. A key part of the London’s office success has been the process they use to find inspiration and create relevant work. The creative direction of Tony Davidson and Kim Papworth courses through the heart of the agency’s best work. The Times recently interviewed Davidson to find out where his inspiration came from:

‘He has three rules: collect everything- hence his passion for scrapbooks and fleamarkets - and never use an idea until it’s right; surround yourself with “inspiring things, people”; and get out of the office - which becomes increasingly difficult’

‘Digging deep into a brand lends a campaign authenticity, Mr Davidson said. “The DNA of the company is in its founders. Stick that culture on the walls around you and try to become that company emotionally. It stops you writing ads. I don’t like adverts. They’ve fallen into a set way of being done. People decode them and say I’m not interested’.’

Across the US and the UK families have seen their income reduce in value. In fact in the UK people were £14 a week poorer this September thanks to high inflation and limited wage increases. So with Gordon Brown’s announcement that Britain is about to enter a recession, this ad from KFC captures the moment perfectly.

This Fiat van spotted in London by Ben over at Noisy Decent Graphics demonstrates the power an irritated consumer can now wield. This isn’t an annonymous ranter on an online forum, it’s someone who Fiat have let down so badly they’ve re-liveried their vehicle. Ben says:

“I bet Fiat hate it if he turns up at the local dealership. And it’s highly visible on the road, and now thanks to me, on search engines.”

Despite having huge numbers of people visit and an incredible number of videos YouTube has struggled to monitise its incredible popularity. Brands have embraced it, whether it’s to post their latest commercial in the hope that it’ll go viral or to create their own video channel.

To try and unlock some of the commercial potential YouTube have partnered with brands to make the most of their content and one of the best examples of this is the Nintendo Wii Wario Shake It game:

It takes a few seconds but you’ll spot what they’ve done by the end.

One of the few campaigns that I genuinely can’t wait to see the next installment of has been that of Orange cinema. To date they’ve featured Patrick Swayze, Macaulay Culkin and Snoop Dog to name but a few.

The latest features Anjelica Houston as the star who’s at the mercy of the Orange Film Board.