Ad Age Awards the West Coast

Congratulations to Muhtayzik Hoffer for being awarded Advertising Age’s Small Agency of the Year! Hazaa!

My short stint freelancing there was a great experience. Fun people and a very young, creative vibe. Plus it doesn’t hurt to be associated with an agency holding that title wahahhaa. They seriously deserve it, and I wish them continued success.

Also notable is Heat for their integrated campaign of the year. It was fun taking classes there, seeing the agency, and sampling the free mouthwash in the bathroom.

I don’t know why but it seems like this awards season is lasting forever. For the past six months, I’ve just been hearing of everyone winning this, winning that. With all these awards going on, who has time to actually make work? Maybe that’s just me being bitter for leaving this season dry. Well…if anything that just gives me more motivation to hit the desk. Long and hard.

And on that notion, I’m off to do more work and concepting.

Source Muhtayzik Hoffer, Heat Take Top Honors at Ad Age’s 2014 Small Agency Awards

We’re All Gonna Die

I used to watch the Simpsons all the time growing up, and for some reason, I’ve trailed off and forgot it was even still on the air. Surprising how the show is still running, but actually judging from just random browsing, I think they’ve managed to produce some really amazing content. For example, this tribute to Miyazaki is beautiful and inspirational.

All this time, I believe the series has been able to maintain its magic. The characters are still as quirky as I remember, and I imagine I could just as easily fall back in love and familiarity with any of them. I think the same holds true for the masses, and that’s what makes the newest spot for the upcoming Simpsons FXX Marathon so appealing.

Of course I like it. There’s an apocalyptic theme and straightforward copy. It’s also pretty ridiculous, but I love it. “WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE.” Haha what can be more fitting and hyperbolic. I can only imagine how fun it was to art direct this spot. Also, I can only imagine how FXX found it in their hearts to bless whoever made this spot with the budget to produce it.

This ad is a winner in my book, and I’d love to produce more stuff like it. Stuff that riles up the fanboys and makes them giddy.

Rough Day for a Writer

We all have them. Everything you write is garbage in the eyes of others. Does it discredit your talent as a whole? Perhaps not. Does it make you feel like shit in the moment? Abso-freaking-lutely.

I seem to be excelling in my strategic and analytical classes. The Asian in me is emerging, but when it comes to writing, I just can’t quite seem to find my groove. It’s disheartening, really. All of this ad school stuff lately has been incredibly depressing. We pay $40,000 to learn how to hate ourselves.

I have a feeling that I have the right idea for things, my mind just colludes it all by making things too complex. Why can’t I just think simply? Think of the obvious. Say the obvious. Just say it, and make people go ‘duh.’ I feel like that’s what’s lacking in my portfolio at the moment.

And yes, I know that by even admitting this in a public sphere makes any potential reader or employer think less of me. All in all, whatever. See me as I am. I am human. I’m recognizing my faults and evolving to compensate. If you’re someone whose culture does not support good mentorship and potential for growth, then clearly it’s best I was never considered a candidate to begin with.

Overall, it’s a sad day for this writer. Plenty of hardship to overcome. However tomorrow is another day, and all I can do is keep on chugging. That or quit school and start stripping. Also another feasible alternative.

The English So Fun

I’m part of the MinoriTeam, so it’s okay that I think this is more than culturally relevant.

Alma DDB’s print campaign for Rosetta Stone is pretty quick and funny. Takes innocent human error and exploits the hell out of it for comedic effect. I always laugh at my parents misinterpreting my words. They always find a clever twist to what I thought was a seemingly simple question.

“Mom, can I get fried rice?” She then hands me a flashlight.

This parallels a lot to advertising, actually. Take the obvious and spin it into something unexpected. Maybe I should take this metaphor as a lesson in my writing.

Any way, here’s the campaign:

PuffPuffChat & the My Ideas that Never Came to Be

Puffpuffchat is a web-based chatroom where you get paired up with some random based on how high you both are. Everything is kept completely anonymous and the UX itself is pretty basic. Overall, I love the idea. Some compare it to Chatroulette, but I think this site differentiates itself in that stoned people talk about the strangest shit.

Any way, the reason I’m dedicating this entry to Puffy Puff is that it sounds so similar to apps we had been talking about creating so many quarters ago. We should have made it, and we’d also be getting press in Adweek. Pfft!

The moral of the story is to just create whatever comes to mind. Even if it gets a bad reception during its initial pitch. What’s the harm in committing a few hours and just putting stuff out there? If it fails, you’ve lost nothing.

I need to take this mentality to heart and be more serious with following through. There’s so much procrastination in this world, and stuff is always getting pushed off until later. I feel more accomplished if I can gain the experience the now. How about this — as a promise to myself — I’ll pursue the next project that falls in my lap or pops into my brain. Why the hell not?

Let the random mayhem begin.

How Much Prankvertising Can We Endure?

Just read an article in Adweek critiquing the new Bosch silent vacuum spot.

For the most part, I agree with Adweek’s opinion. If I weren’t in advertising and didn’t know better, I would have assumed it were kinda-kinda real. But seriously, they’re putting so little effort into making these things seem legitimate and real. At times it was contrived to a point I thought it was an actual parody of prankvertising. Was it a prank on the prankers? I was expecting some sort of twist besides the one they obviously intended.

What would have vastly improved the spot would be if they were to poke fun at their own lameness. Obviously it’s not real. They should have gone over-the-top with it. Then there would be comedy, and then I’d find the ad to be cool. Yet they don’t quite cross that border and the ad remains “meh”.

However, contemplating on this has got me thinking. When will prankvertising finally become unentertaining? What will surpass it? Will it evolve? We all like trashy reality TV for a reason, and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Or maybe we’ll start introducing scripted drama commercials instead. Who knows.

Let’s Talk About Airbnb

Today’s major clamor was about Airbnb’s redesign. Love it or hate it, they definitely stirred quite a buzz in both the tech and design communities. My personal opinion is pretty unfavorable.

The new logo is going for something more loose and trendy, but frankly, I just think it makes them look like they’re trying too hard. There have also been comments going around about how the shape looks like Disney, a piece of poo, or something vaginal. Actually, the possibilities can be endless, so at least its versatility is to be commended.

However, the logo isn’t the worst thing that bothers me. Looking through the new website, I feel like the whole webpage just became so much more corporate and soulless. It looks like a hodgepodge of design trends where we see flat design, pops of pastels, lots of squares, and funky-colored vectors. Technically the pieces match, but the previous design just felt more welcoming. There was a vibe of locals just wanting to help locals. Something felt more communal and grassroots, and essentially, isn’t that the core of what Airbnb is all about?

I think they’ve stepped away from what made them so charming. Albeit the services have not changed at all, but I can’t help but wonder if their new look is reflective of an inner corporate tyrant waiting to do some damage.

Comparative Fantasy

The IKEA Beds commercial was released earlier this morning, and it reminded me of an amazing commercial I posted a while back. The styles were very similar to me.

This new spot, Directed by Juan Cabral, shows a woman in a dream sequence falling through the sky. Images are epic and somewhat ethereal as we watch her through her journey to the surface.

Very similar is Pelephone’s “Wedding” spot directed by Eli Sverdlov. This shows a woman in a dream sequence going through a fantastical, somewhat nonsensical journey as well. Though I much prefer this commercial because there’s actually some meat of a narrative. Cute and quirky. Definitely more fitting to my palate.

Though my overall observation with both these spots is that, again, visual appeal trumps all manner of sense. What do these outrageous scenarios have to do with either beds or cell phones? Such grand and majestic direction for the payoff of such mundane products. Seems a bit too lofty to me. I don’t buy it. Sure, I understand the value of pairing the unexpected, and the viewers seem to resonate. But all of this seems to be exactly against the grain of what I’ve been taught in ad school.

The advertising world is conflicting. Always conflicting. It’s hard to tell what sells and what won’t. I suppose the trick is to keep producing regardless of what you foresee as the result. Or that if your idea sucks, just make it pretty enough and pray for the vindication.

Hello, Monday.

Leave it to the Brazilians to come up with another visually appetizing ad campaign. This time quite literally.

Another case of where a fun image alleviates the burden of a straightforward headline. Overall, I like the idea of paralleling food to clothes. Although I am always reminded what the Sid Lee guys in Amsterdam taught me when seeing stuff like this.

This is merely Lürzers Archive material. Nothing wrong with that per se, but there’s no brilliant idea behind it. Photoshop is the hero.

All the while, what good is advertising if it doesn’t get consumers to take notice? Sometimes all that takes is making stuff look pretty. Way to sell myself short as a writer, but I also remember how someone random once mentioned how it doesn’t take good advertising to increase sales. The unfortunate truth.

Does that mean I want to be a shitty writer? Hell no. But from ads like this, I am inspired to create visually appealing work that also carries an amazing idea. That’s how a young creative like me lands his next big gig. Unfortunately, as always, this is easier said than done.

My Return to America & Blogging

Welcome back to me. Since I’ve last blogged… let’s see…

I moved to Amsterdam.
I did a trap room in Budapest.
I biked around Barcelona and met the love of my life.
I experienced an Arab world for the first time in Morocco.
I fell in love with Sevilla.
I enjoyed a short trip to Cordoba.
I move to Berlin. Again.
I returned to Barcelona.
I flew solo to London.
And now I’m living in New York City.

That’s the abridged version.

I’ve been compelled back to this blog because, among many things, this city is invigorating my will to do good. By doing good, I mean doing what’s good for me. I need to write more. I felt my work and mind weakening as I was playing around in Europe. It’s time to get back to what makes me really tick.

I’ll be graduating soon, and if my writing still sucks by then, who the hell will hire me? Would you? Please do.

As part of a quarter-long assignment, I’ve been tasked to record my thoughts on advertising on a daily basis. Why not include that as a part of my writing exercises in this blog. Everybody wins! So let’s get going. My select ad of the day is:

Pop Secret MICROWAVE by Deutsch LA. I post it not necessarily because I think it’s a great piece of film or anything. I wanted to post it because I wanted to point out that it’s very easy to tell the work done by Deutsch LA. Much like their Virgin America in-flight video, they incorporate the party scene. The nightlife. Young celebrities. The aesthetic to me is very reminiscent of Las Vegas / Los Angeles culture. Maybe that’s why it stands out so much to me. Lots of glitz, glamour, and pop culture. That’s their calling card.

Is there a revolutionary idea behind this video spot? Nay. Is it still fun to watch? Yep. The kinda mindrot Hollywood spews out. Michael Bay type stuff. It’s enjoyable nonetheless, and hell, I wouldn’t mind producing low-budget, visual spectacle like this in my career. Why the hell not.