Permima

This comes from the Conran Design Group in London for their client Permira, a private equity firm. This is in a publication piece that the group created for the company. The quotation from Permima's CEO is relevant to any type of business but I find it especially relatable to advertising. Strategy must be easy to understand, plain and simple. Not dumb simple but clear-cut and to the point. If you can't get your strategy out clearly, then your final advertisements will fail due to their complexity of understanding. Don't make a consumer work too hard at comprehending your ad, else you will lose them.
On a design note, the orange color makes the important information pop nicely. The layout is also not what I would expect from a private equity firm but that is to the company's advantage. The brand becomes less stodgy with such bold typeface and the stacking of the text. I also think that the placement of the quotation marks is a plus and their rounded edges help to soften the sharp typeface.

WWF: Our life at the cost of theirs?

"Elephant"/"Turtle"/"Rhino"
Advertising Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Mumbai, India
Executive Creative Director: Piyush Pandey
Creative Director: Sumanto Chattopadhyay
Art Directors: Mayur varma, Mandar Wairkar
Illustrators: Swapnil Nilkanth, Nishikant Palande
Copywriters: Sumanto Chattopadhyay, Karn Singh, Mandar Wairkar

These ads for the World Wildlife Fund are simple yet poignant. Each detailed image is of a city, town, human-built area, etc. that make up the whole image of the animal. The simple headline "Our life at the cost of theirs?" offers the reader an issue to contemplate and then reflect upon. The hand-drawn style typeface for the headline fits perfectly with the image. I also like the decision to place the WWF logo and tagline in the upper left corner. It is nice to see an ad that breaks the typical logo placement mold. Black and white was also a smart choice, like the images could be straight out of The Complete Encyclopedia of Illustrations.

Seperated at Birth? Coca-Cola and Pepsi

"Surfer"

Agency: Ogilvy, Singapore
Creative Director: Sonal Dabral
Art Director: Alan Vladusic
Copywriter: Neil Flory

"Surfer"
Agency: BBDO Germany
Creative Directors: Veikko Hille, Sebastian Hardieck, Toygar Bazarkaya
Art Director: Michael Plückhahn
Copywriter: Dietmar Neumann Beratung: Heike Flottmann, Annika Lauhöfer
Art Buying: Birgit Paulat
Production: Stefan Kranefeld Imaging, Düsseldorf

Apparently if you like cola soda you are Kelly Slater. Despite the same basic idea, each ad was able to have a different stylistic direction. Pepsi's landscape photo is a nice change from most soft drink ads. Sans the photoshopping in color, the image could be in any nature/surfer magazine. I especially give kudos to Coke for their ability to produce an ad without using the brand's name. It is classically Coca-Cola in every way: the color, the copy, the simplistic style. The two ads are definitely related, but I'll say they're fraternal twins, not identical.

On Looking up by Chance at the Constellations

It is not always images that make me stop and look. Periodically I do find myself reading a poem, finding a quotation, or even a full story that inspires my thoughts.


On Looking up by Chance at the Constellations
Robert Frost

You'll wait a long, long time for anything much
To happen in heaven beyond the floats of cloud
And the Northern Lights that run like tingling nerves.
The sun and moon get crossed, but they never touch,
Nor strike out fire from each other nor crash out loud.
The planets seem to interfere in their curves
But nothing ever happens, no harm is done.
We may as well go patiently on with our life,
And look elsewhere than to stars and moon and sun
For the shocks and changes we need to keep us sane.
It is true the longest drouth will end in rain,
The longest peace in China will end in strife.
Still it wouldn't reward the watcher to stay awake
In hopes of seeing the calm of heaven break
On his particular time and personal sight.
That calm seems certainly safe to last to-night.

Overworked Mind

I stumbled upon (which is how I discovered many things) this image done by a talented artist named Adam Simpson. It definitely makes sense to me after a long day. There's great detail to the drawing, check it out.