If Hollywood worked for McCain

I got forwarded this today by my friend Ed, yep, this Ed.  I have to say, it's great when you see this type of thing being done - it shows that election fever is getting higher and higher.

I particularly like the John Woo ad, especially the slow-mo shots and running towards each other with guns yet somehow nobody gets hurt?

MyTake - Stay tuned for more of this stuff. I have already seen a few campaign badges going round featuring a Bulldog with lipstick and another one where Palin has the top billing over McCain.  There's going to be a million and one opinions during this election and the net is going to provide a great output for them. Hopefully we'll get a few more of these 

Oh, check out the Vlad and Boris song for Mrs Palin.... nice hair do

Lots of Thread(les)s to wear

I’ve been a T-shirt junky for a while now and I love it when I pick up something that I know a lot of other people aren't going to have. It all started for me when I was living in London and still considered myself to be relatively young and cool. I fell in love with small boutique brands like CardBoredRobert and my passion has never left, even though my cool factor has probably waned (a lot). But every now and again, I pick-up a new T when I find something off the beaten track. 

So, you can imagine my joy when I came across Threadless, which actually combines my love of all things social on the web with original ideas that manifest themselves as T-shirts. It’s hard to describe exactly what Threadless does in its entirety because it’s more than just a T-Shirt company. They are a community of artists and fans that come up with new ideas for T-shirts, help shape those ideas and then help bring the T-shirts to life through UGC such as fan pictures. 

The design featured in this post caught my attention and the designer, Evan Ferstenfeld, says this of it “This slogan came to me while thinking about our trusty ol' internet, and what would happen if without warning it decided to roll down its iron gates and close up tight for the holidays and beyond like any other shopping arena in real life? My guess: a 135 percent increase in people rolling on the floor laughing at bars and picnics around the globe.” And drinking beer Evan, don’t forget the beer…. 

MyTake – Pretty damn awesome idea, I’m just going to have to figure out how to get a T-shirt before they sell out! I love the collaborative approach they have taken and the idea of the Street Team is a great way to engage an already active community. It’s not going to change the world, but it will bring a smile to your face, it will give designers the chance to showcase their work, and most importantly….it’ll give me a bit of cool back.

You the Ad Man

If there are those that still doubt the power and value of user-generated content, read on. Based on an Australian idea a website called Supevirals has been set up that encourages the average Joe to submit advertising ideas to some of the world biggest brands.

Sure, on the face of it you might think it’s just those ad boys being lazy (apologies my advertising cousin – I only jest) but it’s actually quite clever. Most brands out there have a number of enthusiasts that would jump at the chance to create something for their favourite brand, this idea taps into that passion.

The idea is now headed to the US with venture capitalists after US$3million to get both investors and advertisers on board. The end product is bound to be top notch as VioCorp are the guys providing the back-end technology, which means the user experience is going to be pain free – thus encouraging more people to take part.

MyTake – SuperSmart! I saw a quote recently from the CEO of P&G and it reads: “The power is with the consumer. Consumers are beginning, in a very real sense, to own our brands and participate in their creation.” I fully agree with that statement and I think that Supervirals is an online manifestation of that belief. I wonder what my first advertising idea will be for, something that I have a lot of Passion for …. James Squire’s, there’s a good one.