31st March 2018
Top tip for those looking for great, often free, insights pertaining to the world of communications – WARC events and webinars. A recent event at the Charlotte St Hotel, highlighted some of the secrets of Cannes Lions Winners. Two of the case studies mentioned, are from a few years back, but are always worth a (re)watch – ‘Share The Load’, from P&G India; and the ‘McWhopper’ from Burger King.
Still on the ‘wonderful free insights’ tip, I heartily recommend engagement with NESTA and their events, specifically the current Sparks : Debunking Innovation series. I attended the first one this week, and there are few more coming up. NESTA’s big event of the year is the very reasonably priced FutureFest, in July..
Some interesting lessons for the world of communications from the world of magic. Especially love this classic clip of the man who can’t see the disappearing balls, when the audience can. ‘I Didn’t See a Thing — What Magicians Can Teach Us About the Science of Attention’
The increasing popularity of gifs is, partly, down to their increased use in advertising. ‘Clever marketers are creating GIFs to help consumers express themselves through these humorous, snackable videos which make them a shareable utility, versus an ad.’
‘Virtual embodiment has a different goal: convincing you that you are someone else. This doesn’t require fancy graphics. Instead, it calls for tracking hardware—which allows your virtual body to accurately mirror the movements of your real head, feet, and hands—and a few minutes of guided, Tai Chi-like movement before a virtual mirror.’ From The New Yorker ; Are We Already Living in Virtual Reality?
Dreaming of the summer? ‘The infinity pool extends into the distance beyond blue seas and under blue skies — the rest of the world and its indignities are banished beyond the horizon and space is seemingly endless….’.This is how how the infinity pool became a social media status symbol.‘
Exponential adoption of [AI] applications is, for now, happening. That’s great, but the idea of exponential inventions is a ridiculous concept.’ Kai-Fu Lee, a venture capitalist and ex-AI researcher, explains why we should adjust our expectations of machine learning progress.
This wonderful and powerful animated film from Dementia UK, uses the visual imagery of a stormy ocean to depict the challenge of connecting with a loved one who is living with dementia.
To parents of teenage kids, who are having trouble getting their offspring out of their bedrooms, the new gaming phenomenon ‘Fortnite’, is likely to be the problem. Here is a parent friendly summary from The Guardian, that may help. There are lots of features that make it popular, (it’s free, fun and very silly) but the the real secret sauce, is that it is open source. From Polygon – ‘it’s very much a living product that is constantly evolving. There’s this rhythm, this cadence that is much more alive than you’d think out of a traditionally-updated game.’
Struggling to recall a TV commercial as bad as this one. Campaign’s ‘Turkey of The Week’, from Nivea – ‘Footballer Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is having a post-match shower. So far, so bad. The Liverpool FC star then starts shaving his chest but nicks himself’…..(!!??)