Le Grand Content

Simply great.
Not-so-serious-content with very charming and entertaining graphic.

Taking off from The Straight Story

Significant events or emotions, don't fade and don't loose their strenght with the passing of time. Inside us, time doesn't exist.
Imagine to change time-linked consideration with other indexes.
Referral points would change.
We would not ask how old we are, but how many interesting tales we have.
Or... which emotions we havereally experienced and we can really transimt.
Relationships, jobs, and many other experiences would change their impact and our life perception would probably change as well.
"We do not remember days ... we remember moments." (Cesare Pavese)

()penAd

How many times have we thought to something like that?
How many ideas creatives have that are refused?
Why not to sell them in a gallery?
And why not to build a community able to receive brief and work in a free-lance way?
Well, probably because someone has already done it!
It is called ()penad.net
I would like to know who the clients are, and how much they spend.

via:Adsplinder

Shutdown Day 2007

How long do we have to wait for someone who impress the world for his internet-free, or technology-free, life?

Shutdown Day could be just the first sign of a bigger wave (like BuyNothingDay and SFContract?)

McDonalds & Conscience

McDonalds golden arches are a sort of conscience touchpoint: every time I go there I realize that there's something wrong in my life.
(clean restroom though)

Dumb Questions

Two months ago a representative of a research institute came to our agency to present methods and technics in qualitative and quantitative research (they also track social trends and attitudes). She spoke about social (and personal) positive values, and consciously ignored negative ones. "Consciously" - she said - because consumption, capitalism, advertising, and clients don't like negative emotions or negative values: they increase consumers' anxiety.

At the end of the meeting one of our creative directors expressed her doubts about the answer given by the researcher.
We spoke a little bit more about it and then... back to work.

1) In the evening I happened to see the Dove ad again (beauty perception)
2) The week after I received the December issue of Admap with the article "Sad-vertitsing"
3) Some days ago I read Russell Davies post "blurry" where he writes that for brands to become interesting they will have to be willing to "embrace negative emotion".

Negative emotions will probably be a good place to look for inspirations: I'm not the first one, and I will not be the last one to say that.

What is interesting, in my opinion, is what it seemed to be the "dumb" question: why not use negative emotion?

Could we say that:
The dumber the question,
the fastest the answer,
the strongest the assumption,
the bigger the opportunity?

Eatable Menu

...an eatable menu.
You go to the restaturant. You read the menu. You order what you prefer.
And then you eat it like an apetizer.

!!!

Client: DHL Courier Services
Agency: Jung von Matt, Berlin
via: The Hidden Persuader

Strong Coffee

This morning I woke up badly,
(I think yesterday night movie is responsible!)
But I have to thank Mr Tom Peter to remind me what I'm here for.
He compiled a list of 50 strategies to pursuit luck,
here are my favourites:

1. At-bats. More times at the plate, more hits.
2. Try it. Cut the baloney and get on with something.
4. If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.
5. Boring folks, boring ideas. Read odd stuff. Visit odd places. Cultivate odd hobbies. Work with odd partners.
11. Ask dumb questions.
14. Don’t back away from passion.
15. Pursue failure. Failure is success’s only launching pad.
18. Listen to everyone. Ideas come from anywhere.
19. Don’t listen to anyone. Trust your inner ear. Nurture intuition.
20. Get fired. If you’re not pushing hard enough to get fired, you’re not pushing hard enough.
22. Don’t hang out with “all the rest.” Forget the same tired trade association meetings, talking with the same tired people about the same tired things.
26. Destroy hierarchies.
29. Take sabbaticals.
30. “Repot” yourself every 10 years. (meaning change careers each decade.)
34. Disorganize. Bureaucracy takes care of itself.
36. Dis-equilibrate ... Create instability, even chaos.
37. Stir curiosity. Ignite youthful, dormant curiosity.
38. You need people who despise what you stand for.

You will find the entire list, and many other interesting contributes, here

My2ndFloorNewOffice

Aiming higher

My camera and me were aiming higher in Baratti.

Dangerous restaurants

Exciting, refreshing and very charming night in Bologna.
We spoke about motivation, enthusiasm, and food.

Enjoyment or enthusiasm are not a divine gift: they need commitment and training.
Slow eating, fine tasting, and deeply enjoying cozze, pizza or pasta is an art that is strictly linked with the ability to listen to our needs, desires and preferences.


But… warning: enthusiasm can be contagious and infect other sides of life.
I'm afraid that reading a (not only) italian menu can be a subversive action.

(Swimming) Lesson

One hour ago I was swimming.
I was trying to learn a new swimming-style.
I tried again and again, and it made all my swimming-pool mates laugh.
They were right... I was ridiculous.

When I feel an unpleasing emotion (like shame) I’m confused and I look for a sort of escape. But I can also decide to stop for a moment and just listen.
What is actually happening? Which is the real name of that feeling? Why am I experimenting that emotion?
While asking myself theese questions I start to feel comfortable, and that emotion doesn’t hurt anymore. Then I am free to decide what to do (instead of just impulsively reacting).

I think it is very important to konw, accept, or - at least - to learn, to feel comfortable with our own fears and mistakes. They are probably the main responsible for our rigidity and crystalization: they close the package on our head and write on it “final release”.

Beers and thoughts

Yesterday I had a very nice night, spent talking about... americans and italians, and the usual stupidity of stereotypes.

Charming atmosphere with candels and orietal dancers.
It's quite curious how much we struggle to be normal... to be accepted, to be part of a group; often hiding and refusing our more peculiar and weird sides...
It seems that we sacrifice a part of our identity in order to gain fellowship and reassure ourselves with a place in the (social) world. But... should we really assume that identity and fellowship are opposite? Probably not: close friendship or love are good examples.


Then we spoke about people and walls, communication and emotions. Probably we all are too fragile to live without barriers and fences: we have bones to protect our heart. Don't we?
But sometimes it happen that we leave someone or something visit our deepest room (actually, we don't decide anything at all!) and well...

In the end we spoke about coincidences in everyday life. It seemed to us that... Let's just say that we were drunk enough to start speaking about...
A very interesting, charming and fascinating night
...and good beers, too!

Daily Monster

Imagination, Ability and Simplicity.
Sometimes I think that all the rest is for the client...
(and for my "that's the right way to do it" thinking)

Go to Stephan G Bucher's DailyMonster it's really magic and hypnotizing!

Musicovery

What does the songs, "The eye of the tiger" and "Daddy Cool" have in common?
They are both at the "energetic" pole of the map that Musicovery creates to classify songs and musical genres.
The music quality is not excellent... (for the hi-fi version there's a fee to pay).
In my opinion it's great, like Pandora, but with much, much more!

One can easily try unusual itineraries... changing whenever he wants, and "seeing" what he is going to listen. In one word: a good "music navigator"

Thanks to Filippo!

About Music

Music is probably the best emotional trainer one can have,
and dancing is probably the best way the body has to express it

Footsteps in the office

Power, arrogance, determination, strenght, importance. The heel rumor announces and calls. Like modern trumpet adverts about the presence of a star. It’s a sort of everyday gratification socially accepted and allowed. But heels, I think, give importance while creating distance. The material distance that separates foots from the floor is translated into a simbolic self-assigned podium that set (or try to set) relational roles.
Sometimes it is useful, it can be attractive too, or amusing, but it can be pathetic and miserable too.

B Plan

This blog is part of my new pro-positive attitude.
I have decided that I will write it in english.
So, even if I will not write anything very interesting, I will be able to enrich my english vocabulary.
I think "B" plans, in general, are a good remedy against performance anxiety
(not so easy under the sheets but... )