Everyone wants to be a designer; unfortunately many of us (myself included) lack the talent and commitment that this dream entails. Bespoke or tailor-made clothing allows us to live the designer dream without completing the fashion degree nightmare: additionally you get exactly what you want.  So when I discovered shoesofprey.com, I realised many of my female counterparts would feel as if they had died and gone to heaven!

The site, an Aussie start up, allows you to custom design and order your very own pair of heels. Once on the site you can work with a number of different shells and custom design a pair of shoes to suit absolutely any outfit. Now all I need to do is find a men’s version of the site. The catch is the price tag, I think I many of my friends would probably prefer a pair of Jimmy Choos on sale at David Jones for the $300 they are asking.

Despite this, the concept is great and it really is an awesome site. Who would have guessed that all it took was a little video post from 16 year old, apparent YouTube superstar/sensation JuicyStar07!

Testament to YouTube’s power as an advertising tool, the U.S based video blogger did a ten-minute paid review of the site and knowledge of the product exploded. Over 450,000 people watched it, which made it the 5^th most viewed YouTube video worldwide when it debuted. It received 90,000 comments, resulted in 700,000 visits to shoesofprey.com and 100,000 shoes designs saved in new accounts! To top this all off their Facebook page grew by 1000 fans in the space of a day.

Massive stats, but what is most interesting about all of this is in the follow through. Sales figures didn’t really rise in the same way that visits and online attention did. Given that the average age of JuicyStar07 subscribers is probably 14.275 years, I guess it is not really that surprising. A lesson learnt: YouTube is great but you still need to reach your target market and those with a disposable income. The stats demonstrate that for shoesofprey.com, this means those who have out-grown their training-bras.

The brainpower at Nike has decided their sports fanatic target market is just too niche, so their new campaign is targeted to the artistically advantaged. To celebrate the ‘Nike 78′ shoe, Nike has given 78 artists complete freedom to redefine what sports shoes are.

When I first saw this campaign, I thought it was a bad move on Nike’s part, artists are not athletic! They float through life surrounded in a haze of smoke, drinking double espressos, and complaining about bureaucracy. This image is very far from ‘Just Do It’ slogan Nike has built it’s empire upon, but some how this campaign works. The artists created some amazing pieces that will be shown in exhibitions around the world.

I think this campaign really brings Nike down to earth, for so long they have been on a pedestal, always choosing the best of the best to represent the brand. This campaign diversifies the Nike brand and brings the label into a new cultural realm.

Ashleigh is a UQ student currently in her fourth year of a dual degree in Journalism and Communications, majoring in Public Relations. She has a strong interest in the media, current affairs as well as post-production. When she graduates, Ash plans to dabble in multiple media related professions, hoping to toy with the possibility of being a journalist, PR account manager, publicist or radio producer.

However, there’s more to Ash than work! This is the elusive ‘Piñata intern’… yes, Ash is the girl who rocked up to our office one morning and handed us a gift…as it turned out, that day will now go down in FRESH-history as one of our best. Needless to say, her ‘in’ was a given and she continues to add a little somin’ somin’ to the office every Monday!

Besides large, lolly-filled, paper-mâchéd animals, Ash also has a weakness for clothes shopping, video games and is oddly obsessed with dogs. Woof! Ash also enjoys her friends, festivals, exercise and travel.

ASH 4 FRESH!

If people are getting bored with advertising, there are usually two common reasons. They think advertisers are either too pushy or don’t care about who they are.

It is never easy or obvious for a company to find the best way to reach its prospect. Through mass media (TV, radio, press), even if media agencies know who usually read the magazine X or watch the channel Y (and at what time), when you choose to publish an advert, you also know that you also pay for the part of the audience that isn’t your target and isn’t interested in your product or service. How many times a day, when you watch ads on TV, do you think “why do they show me this ad? They are wasting their money and my time!”?

On the internet, it’s usually better: with Google Adwords, adverts you will see are/should be related to the keywords you have used in your search; and websites that know a loooooot about you (the best example is certainly facebook) use the information you wrote in your profile to make relevant adverts appear on your page, provided your info is correct. Incorrect info within your profile means irrelevant ads – so not fool proof. E.g. If you are in a relationship but you don’t want to write it on facebook, you will keep receiving quite a lot of ads concerning dating websites. If you are straight, you should try to telling facebook that you are gay (and vice-versa) just to see how the ads change…!

Everyone gets fed up with pushy ads. Consumers expect brands to understand them and find solutions to their needs, they want a brand that is personable and offers an experience.

Following these two rules, Y&R Johannesburg has come up with a very smart campaign for the game Need For Speed Carbon on X-BOX 360.

In South Africa, when drivers breaking the speed limit are caught by a traffic camera, they receive their fine and the photo. Y&R decided to set up an outdoor ad roadside, strategically placed next to these speed cameras, with the simple message: “Need for Speed? XBOX”. So that when drivers receive their fine, they can see the friendly ad, reminding them that they can drive as fast as they like on X-BOX 360, without ever paying a fine..!

The agency walked away with a Gold Lion for this outdoor.

Fredd is 22 and is studying in a French business school (in Marseille). He majors in Marketing and will graduate with a Masters next year. Fred is keen on experiential marketing as he is solid on brands who get it that they need to stick close to their consumers in order to keep them.

Passionate about advertising (especially marketing services, stunts, user-generated content…), Freddy has also completed a 6-month internship at Leo Burnett in Paris, which cemented his desire to keep playing in the ad game. Fred now lays down his unique French flavour at FRESH where he is most famous for his kick ass foosball skills, his pink Cons and the Welcome Mat sofa!

Don’t even try to wind this guys up, Freddo is always a bundle of polite French smiles, the only thing that may ruffle feathers is the dissing of his favourite colour…pink, which he will tell you is not only for girls!

The new Apple iPad has been released to rave reviews and heavy criticism alike and at $629 for the basic 16GB Wi-Fi model all the way up to $1064 for the 64GB Wi-Fi and 3G it’s an investment many with practical applications will happily pay for.  In the US more than a million were shipped in the first month alone and ongoing stock shortages have repeatedly delayed international release. Weighing in at 730g for the 3G model the iPad weighs about half as much as the average laptop.

Many have claimed that the iPad is simply an oversized iPod Touch and in principal they are exactly right. But the iPad is not about what you can do on it, but how you can do it. Like the iPhone and the iPod before it, the iPad is not so much a device as it is a conduit for re-engineering information consumption in an industry in crisis; i.e. the publishing industry. The iPad allows you to read the newspaper as a newspaper, or a magazine as a magazine.  In fact, magazines and newspapers can improve on the paper experience by incorporating video, interactive and multimedia content. Traditional print media in its varying forms should use the iPad as an opportunity to modernise themselves into a mobile resource to reach their audience. The cost of publishing can often equate to as much as 50% of production costs particularly for newspapers and by harnessing digital mediums they can eliminate this cost entirely.

Some have claimed that the iPad is the last nail in the coffin for traditional print media because of currently unprofitable subscription rates for existing online newspapers. A monthly subscription to Business Weekly in the US costs just US$2.95 on Amazon via the Kindle wireless reading device of which Business Weekly receives only US$0.75. This equates to about 15% of the US$4.95 cost of a single copy on the newsstand or a tiny fraction of the US$49.99 price they normally charge for a yearly subscription. However distributing in this format does avoid the cost of printing and distribution. Most enter into online subscription deals that offer low returns because of an eagerness to appear to be up to date and relevant in today’s rapidly changing media. But the problem with the Kindle apart from its poor profitability for publishers is its presentation of content.  With a small 6 inch greyscale screen that is only able to show unillustrated content and extremely limited file format readability the kindle isn’t exactly competitive against today’s computers let alone technology like the iPad.

Some have claimed that the iPad will do for the e-book market what the iPod and iTunes did for music distribution, create order and profitability out of copywrite infringement chaos. The consumer experience is key in defining what people are willing to pay for in a world of mostly free content and the only way to do that is to offer something that is more convenient and more compelling that news on websites. The current format of online news is plain and uninteresting to read, often requiring the reader to lean forwards and intently focus on their task. In contrast, e-readers, both as apps and devices, can automatically deliver news and turn the whole experience into a lean-back, leisurely activity available on the go. The ability to zoom and adjust font size will also make the iPad user friendly across generations in a way that the iPod Touch and laptops aren’t.

With an easy to use purchase system like that of iTunes the iPad could succeed in turning e-books into an extremely profitable industry in the same way that iPods recaptured a market engrossed by the opportunities provided by programs like Napster. Now all traditional print media has to do is redesign itself into a visually appealing, device compatible format.

Studying a bachelor of business majoring in advertising and with a keen interest in digital manipulation and photo retouching, Alison is powering towards a career in creative advertising.

When she isn’t chained to her desk you can normally find Alison cooking up a storm at home or ensconced with a few friends and a glass of wine.

Also a keen traveller Alison has recently backpacked through Eastern and Western Europe and Turkey during the Christmas holidays and can’t wait to start planning the next big adventure.

The Green Team originally started in New York in 1993 and in 2007 they also set up shop in Hobart. They’re a communications agency that awakens brands, positioning them for success in a world that demands responsible business. The most interesting thing about them though is that they cater for what they call, the awakening consumer.

Awakening consumers are a powerful audience who they’ve been studying for years. They describe them as “well-educated products of the information age, who do their homework and support brands whose values are in line with their own.”

The awakening consumer was 22 per cent of the adult Australian population in 2008 and has doubled in size since 2002, making them the fastest growing segment.

Here’s an excerpt of one of their many interesting findings:

Sacrifice will become simplicity: Many awakening consumers who have lost their jobs, taken pay cuts or seen their savings accounts eroded over the past few months have been forced to reduce spending, and accept a sense of sacrifice. While, initially, the scaling-back and/or foregoing of various purchases may have been involuntarily, there will be many families that eventually come to appreciate their newfound level of simplicity.

There are few advertising agencies like this and to think the Green Team started in New York 17 years ago is amazing. Talk about predicting the future!

But that’s not all, last year, Green Team Australia also commissioned an energy footprint audit with evovantage Australia, to continue their progress in “greening” their office and reducing their carbon footprint. And who said advertising was evil?

I think I’ve found my new agency idol.

Shakespeare is still taught as part of the high school curriculum, his plays are still acted out around the world and Brisbane still performs his shows to sell-out crowds. Many continue to ask the question of why this man is so famous and highly regarded in modern society when he couldn’t catch a break back in his day.

The Bell Shakespeare Company celebrates its 20^th anniversary in 2010 with Australia’s own rendition of Shakespeare’s King Lear. Showcasing the talents of a theatre company dedicated solely to plays by Shakespeare, Bell undertook the production of King Lear to honour their illustrious playwright.

Receiving rave reviews from media outlets across the nation, King Lear tells the story of a family that is at odds with each other as petty jealousies and betrayal runs riot through their community. However those who have been privy to this story come to the realisation that there is more to this tragedy. It explores the inner workings of the way humans can be so insecure and how people in modern society are still able to relate to this issue. This reason alone is why Shakespeare’s tragedies and in particular King Lear are such an integral part to Australia’s school curriculum.

Shakespeare was a man ahead of his time, as can be seen through his ability to accurately portray the men in his plays with the inability to give or receive love and affection. So while students may complain about being forced to study literature from centuries ago; they are in fact receiving an education that will provide them with an insight into the intricate workings of the human mind.

A few months ago I saw a Greenpeace ad on the internet, aimed at making people more aware of palm oil importers, and the effect that they are having on the habitats and lives of orangutans. I found the ad to be very visually effective, but I moved on. Now however, the ad is still in my head! So, I think it’s time to write about it.

The issue has been in the media a little, but if you aren’t aware of it, basically, developers are tearing down rainforests in Borneo, in order to create palm oil plantations, and effectively taking away the habitats of orangutans. Palm oil is used extensively in many different products, by many different companies all over the world. This Greenpeace ad is targeted at Nestle, a major importer of palm oil.

The ad parodies the most recent Kit Kat ads, where a person takes a break from their mundane job, by having a Kit Kat. In this ad however, when the person unwraps the chocolate bar, instead of a delicious chocolate-coated wafer finger, there is an orangutan finger – including orange fur and a finger nail. The man doesn’t notice, and continues to eat the finger, crunching on bones, and spurting blood onto his desk and all over his face, all the while thoroughly enjoying his morning snack. Honestly, it’s disgusting!

Now, usually I think blood and gore are cheap tactics used by advertisers who can’t find a better way to reach their audiences. I think the reason why this ad appeals to me more however, is because the action of eating the orangutan finger is symbolic – obviously the point isn’t that by eating a Kit Kat, you may accidentally end up eating an ape’s finger! The point is that every time you buy a Nestle product (or any product from a company who uses palm oil), you are effectively allowing companies to continue to destroy rainforests and kill orangutans in the process.

This ad has been one of a few contributing factors into my current boycott of Nestle products, and although all people may not be as moved enough to go to that extent, I would challenge anyone to get the same amount of satisfaction out of their Kit Kat after watching this ad.