Old skool

Not really one for the sun (being a milk bottle and all), I spent a sizeable chunk of Saturday indoors, going back to my UCLan roots to check out this year's degree show. Brought back quite some memories - some good, some bad, but none that left me having cold sweats thankfully. As surreal as it was to head back there, it left me feeling further inspired to keep at it and helped me to remember why I love the industry so much.

Needless to say, there were a solid few bright sparks amongst the work, of which a couple of my favourites I've included here.

Some of the Advertising Class of 2009

A moving piece for Fathers4Justice

And a humorous POS for Berghaus Opti-Stud

The rest of the show wasn't without promise, with some great work coming from graphic design, animation and textiles in particular. Overall, the whole thing just left me feeling inspired and strangely at home, as well as adding a little extra fuel to the fire of burning advertising desire within me! If you have chance to go along before the show finishes this Saturday, it's well worth a look. As for me, I'm off to write some more of my book. Toodlepip!

Creative projects

As ever, the "I will blog more" resolution has been waning, so I think it's time to pep up this tired ol' thing with some different stuff. Still working the temp scene (though hoping to become permanent if my ever so suave interview skills serve me well next week), so still trying to keep my fingers in the pies that interest me in any spare time I can grab and practically suffocate into submission ("You will be mine, oh precious 5 minute CSI ad break. I will doodle something right n... [the bright lights of the TV set become too distracting] Oooh, purdy adverts!")

For starters, I'll introduce you to Haylee. This is yours truly in mog form. I'm not sure what a mog is, but it's a character I made up whilst I was at college many moons ago, and I still seem to draw them to this day. So here she is - do be nice and say hello to her, she's quite shy.


My mogs will be making more of an appearance shortly, just as soon as I have time to upload some more of them when I'm not working on the book. The book being an actual book, not the portfolio. I've finally started the painstaking process of forming the plot for the lovely little piece of fiction I'm hoping to write. I won't say too much at this point except that the heroine will be (very loosely) based on me, and will no doubt arrive at a happy ending much sooner than myself!

Anyway, that's me for now, so do tune into the show again, whenever it next decides to air! My old partner in crime, a certain Ms Sparkinson, has recently set up her own blog to showcase her creative talents, of which they are vast and varied. So if you're around her neck of the woods, do be sure to pop in for a look-see at: http://sparkidoodle.blogspot.com/.
You can also find the link in my sidebar - be there or be square!

Sarah in all her mog-shaped glory

Move over, George!

Flo Rida CD single: £1.99
Reeboks with the stripes: £39.99
Simon Cowell's face: Priceless!

The end of a mini-era

A slightly sombre Monday evening as me and Sarah have decided to part ways. Various reasons leading to it, but mainly just in light of our current personal situations and the different directions we're being taken in right now. Sarah's currently trying to get work as an artworker whilst I'm on the 9-5 scene until finances allow otherwise. I don't think either of us would say it's a definite permanent move, but it's what's best for us both at this stage.

Has been a great 9 months and such a learning curve for us both, experiencing our first placements together and having our first ads produced, something I don't think we imagined would be possible just from our short time at the agencies we've resided at. Glad to have shared the experience with Sarah, and we'll no doubt continue to wreak havoc on the streets of Manchester!




Long live Team Sparkley!

In the spirit of forgiveness

Marks and Spencer have also been making up for their boo-boos (or boob-boobs) this past week after the negative press surrounding their "bigger prices for bigger bosoms" bra scandal. I've never been a fan of M&S as such, and the more expensive DD-cup and upwards bras did not impact on me in the slightest (as much as I wish they did), but I think there's something endearing about a brand that can hold their hands up to their mistakes. Fair enough, they needed to before even more people fled to Asda or Primark for cheap underwear, but to admit that they "boobed" (yes yes, puns are bad but this one is acceptable) and offer a new price AND discounts for a fortnight could well result in the biggest turnaround achieved in such a short space of time.

Unfortunately for them, their wily advertising charms will not have me crossing their threshhold. Power to the Primarni!

Learning lessons the hard way

This week brought about our first proper ads which was very good. Unfortunately, my week is ending on a bit of a low.

A year ago I was a student struggling towards the finish line of the degree under quite a lot of pressure and stress. Around this time I found myself on Facebook rather a lot (nothing new there!) and happened to post a couple of derogatory comments about a brand on a group that I joined, purely to let off some steam. Fast forward to today, and those actions have come back to bite me in the ass. The agency dealing with the brand's advertising has suddenly found this group and my comments, and politely informed me that I can rule out any chance of placement or long-term employment with them for the forseeable future as a result of this.

Let this be a word of warning to any current or ex-student who has ever thought that any negative comments they've made online would never be discovered, be it on Facebook or any other public forum - even blogs. During any placements I have had, I've always remained professional and abided by the terms of contract as well as asking permission before blogging about any aspect of work to avoid repercussions such as this. I understand and respect that the agency in question are simply protecting themselves and their client in such precarious times, but I am disappointed that something I wrote on one day a year ago as a disgruntled student under no contractual obligations, has now backfired so spectacularly.

If you're a member of any anti-brand/product groups, remove any comments and your membership now! I had removed my membership from the group some time ago, thinking the comments would disappear too - unfortunately not! As a mark of respect towards the brand and agency, I have now removed these. In future, unless you choose to be part of a pro-brand/product group, I'd advise anyone interested in this industry to learn from my naive example and stay away from these groups entirely.

As with everything I publish on this blog, this is just another stumbling block on the path to advertising superstardom, but the one I've learned the most from so far. I only wonder where it all ends - what of my criticism of the new Orange Wednesdays ad below? Does that assure me no chance of ever working for Fallon because I think their ad could've been better? If that's the case, then I think all of us bloggers are screwed! In an industry that tries to alter public opinion of brands and products, I find it a tad saddening that the creatives producing the work may only speak positively of brands and products, regardless of whether they are linked to them or not. But I guess you take the rough with the smooth and hope to hell you don't make the same mistake again!

Thus endeth the lesson!

What was that offer again?

The new Orange Wednesdays ads have come under some less than friendly fire since their first airing, the main criticisms being that they're just not as funny as the old ones, and that using the "I am who I am" line to send themselves up makes it less amusing still. Personally I don't have any problem with them, they're likeable enough, though it would be nice to see send ups of other well-known characters soon.

There is one flaw with the latest ad though - the flying monkey. Hell, nobody likes them, but that's not the point I'm making. Orange Wednesdays is a 2-for-1 offer. Witch + Vicki + monkey = 3. Is it just me, or did they need to give the flying monkey a flying monkey companion in order for the ad to sell what's it's meant to be selling?