Now that's a phat ad

Just came across these ads for the German Olympic Sports Federation (GOSF) on Adverblog.





In fact, it was hard to miss them.

And if you think about it, that's how all great advertising should be: simple and hard to pass over. These ads stopped me in my tracks and made me look.

I admit, I stare at fat people.

Breaking it down, you've got a visual that everyone is familiar with and a headline that's ridiculously simple, "If you don't move, you get fat." Come to think of it, that line almost sounds like the first thing someone said in a creative meeting."

Jim: So I see we've got work to do for the German Olympic Sports Federation account.
Bob: Yeah, we need to tell kids to get out and play, cause if they don't move, they'll get fat.

In my opinion, the line is all it needs to be. It finishes the story and points you to where you can go to get more info (the GOSF). You might be thinking, "Anyone could've written that line." Maybe you thought, "Making a great ad is so easy, a caveman can do it."

It ain't that easy, trust me.

As a guest speaker from a previous class told me, "The best ads are the ones that are "dumb simple." They floor you with their simplicity and your left thinking, "Why the hell didn't I think of that ad?!"

In this case, visual + headline = great ad. There is synergy beween the two. Also, the visual is the star of this show. The headline doesn't try to steal any spotlight, it only supports the star.

As an aspiring Copywriter, this is an important lesson for me because I sometimes try to be too clever. Many times, the result is an ad that is just too confusing.

I'll steal a page out of Scholz & Friends, Hamburg and try to remember:

Chunky but simple is better than clunky and complicated.

joeyz101

http://twitter.com/joeyz101

P.S. I have no doubt that I would look just like the chubby David (or worse) if I didn't run around the Arno river every day when I lived in Florence, Italy. I would spend whatever money I had on panninis, pizza and pasteries during the walk to and from school.

I miss having that problem!

Watch out for the signs

I am three days away from leaving my corporate gig.

Despite the fact that a pizza party will be thrown in my honor this Wednesday, I am still going about my business, tying up loose ends and sticking to the same routine that I've stuck to these last few years. Today a wrench was thrown in that routine as I sat down to eat my Sausage Egg and Cheese sandwich.

My hard drive crashed.

Three days away from my last day and the hard drive goes kaput. If that isn't a sign that my time here is done, I don't know what is.

When I wake up on Thursday morning I will be out of work. I won't have a job, but I won't be a bum. Instead, I like to think that I'll be out of the kind of work I don't want to be in and one day closer to the kind of work that gets my engine going (can work really do that?!).

As that day gets closer, I'm proud of the fact that I am a happy mix of bold and stupid enough to not let anything stop me from going after what I want.

When I think back, I wonder how I actually made this decision. I think it's because of the following:

• I have lots of interests
• I've spent tons of time with my self
• I'm always up for trying / learning new things
• I know what I want and I'm passionate about it
• I know who I am

Once I realized that there is something out there that I could do for a living AND really enjoy, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I thought about it so much that I decided to take a class, then I took another, then another and then another. I kept reading and thinking and talking about this one thing until it nudged and wiggled its way into all aspects of my life.

I'm really not superstitious but I do pay attention to the signs when they present themselves. I feel very fortunate to have already met many talented and enthusiastic people in the advertising industry and I know that this little network of mine will help keep me inspired and motivated to succeed. So far all signs are pointing me in the direction I want to go.

If on my first day as a Copywriter, my hard drive crashes, I'll revisit my plans.

Joe

http://twitter.com/joeyz101

Forget glass houses, start with glass corners

Random thought.

Every corner of every wall should be made of clear glass.

That way you can see if someone is coming around the other side.

That way you don't bump into 37 people a day.

That way you don't have to pour your coffee in a sippy cup for fear that someone will make you wear it.


In my humble opinion, we're talking about a major office innovation here.


Got a glass house? Don't you dare throw stones. If you spring for glass corners, you won't get bumped or burned (by coffee at least).

While we're on the topic of office innovations, I think they should have lanes or rows inside elevators.

If you work on the17th floor of a 20 floor building, you should stand in the back.

In my building, those who work on the lower floors always run straight to the back and then push their way out, while the high floor folks hang out in the front. It has to stop...there is a better way. Every morning I think about proposing an organized entry but the looks I see make me think the gang isn't game for such experiments.

It might be better to just stay late one night, make lanes out of duct tape and assign each lane a floor range. There you have it, the intelligent elevator. After all, why shouldn't we go in and out as easily as we travel up and down?

What strange ideas pop into your head over the course of a normal business day? I for one, constantly think of stupid things. Its up to us to make sure no day is ever just another day at the office.

joeyz101

http://twitter.com/joeyz101

Rain drops keep falling on my head

I'm heading out to meet with some friends for dinner, a little Italian food, hopefully I'll like it ;o)

Earlier today, I borrowed my sister's iPod and went for a run. I usually run with my iPhone and listen to Pandora. The "Kim Sozzi" radio station does a good job of keeping me fired up.

I'm probably the only person in the world with ZERO songs on my iPhone/Pod device thingy. I love music but just like I need someone to help me order sushi at a Japanese restaurant, I've always needed someone to educate me on the latest music.

Unless it's Frank, Dino or Louie (Prima), I'm lost.

I remember when I was in high school, a girl asked me what kind of music I listened to.

I said the radio.

That's why Pandora suits me. I plug in one song I like, and in minutes I'm discovering all these new songs and artists. Very cool.

My run started out with a little savage garden. Then it started raining.

Since I love running in the rain I didn't mind one bit. I was completely soaked. People in cars were giving me strange looks but I just smiled and kept on moving. Then to my surprise Dean Martin came on (I love my little sister!).

This is real music.

A whole bunch of my favorites played but the best was, as if on cue, just as the rain started coming down harder, on came 'Rain Drops Keep Falling on my Head'. It sounds weird but I doubled my pace and sang along the whole time.

That song is all about keeping a positive mindset when things get tough, maybe Dino was the mastermind behind another one of my favorite songs, 'Eye of the Tiger'.

I worked on my ads more today and posted them to an advertising Facebook group that I created a while back. I've already received some feedback on the campaign I posted but i think my ads still have a way to go.

When they're closer to a finished product, I'll post them. Hopefully by that time you'll have figured out how to leave comments and we can get a bit of a dialogue going ;o)

I'd also like to take a moment to 'remember' those who lost their lives (and their loved ones) on 09-11-2001.

I was on the train earlier this week when an old man sat down next to me. I see this man a few times a week but until this past Wednesday we never spoke.

How are you, I said. We talked about trains and commuting for a few minutes and then he said, I sometimes see that you wear a blue Italia jacket. Did you get that in Italy? I told him that I bought it when I studied in Firenze and he told me that he was from Calabria.

We got to talking about careers and I told him of my plans to chase my passion and become a Copywriter. He kept calling me a good boy and telling me that I remind him of his son.

He told me that he came to this country when he was 23 and he came because as much as he loved Italy, The United States is unique and special because it's one of the only countries in the world that gives you the opportunity to achieve your dreams.

He told me that I will have to work hard, be focused and stay passionate but if I do that I can succeed here. Sadly, he said that is not the case in other parts of the world.

People here, take this country for granted. He said they forget the sacrifices made by others but I will never forget. I'll never forget what happened on 9/11, and I will not forget all of the people that died. I won't forget the bravery shown by our city, the men and women who ran back towards the buildings, in an effort to help others.

I had the chills. I agreed with everything he said but I felt a bit ashamed because I feel as though I forget sometimes. I really liked this old man and I am going to make a concerted effort to remember and pray for these people on a more consistent basis.

We got to talking about gardens. From the sounds of it, his family has enough tomatoes to feed the neighborhood for a few months. I think I impressed him with my fresh mozz and sauce-making abilities, (maybe he has a grand daughter he can mention that to).

I'm just about to meet my friends now so have a great weekend and I'll post some more advertising related stuff soon.

joeyz101
http://twitter.com/joeyz101

Citi's Live Richly Ads

I love these Citi ads.

They were done by Greg Hahn, Steve Driggs and Blake Winfree (among others I'm sure). I forget the agency these fella's worked for when they did this campaign. I'll find out and update this post when I do.

These ads simple and so smart. They get down to the heart of the product, how Citi addresses identity theft, and they convey the message in a really funny way.

Of the three ads, I like the first one the least. I don't know why but the little old lady and the monster truck doesnt work for me as much as the second visual. The old lady in the tattoo parlor and the trucker getting his hair done with the girls both make me smile.

Speaking of little old ladies who make me smile, I saw my Aunt Ro Ro tonight and, damn is she cute. She's 85 now (but any chic over 70 is automatically my bag of chips).

She would always tell me to put out my hand and then give me two tic-tac's. My snacks have gotten bigger since then (and so have I) but it was really nice to see her. I really do have a thing for old Italian girls who know their way around the kitchen. These days, most ladies don't love to cook like the older gals.

I hope I'm wrong about this one.

Back to the ads, leave some comments and let me know what you think. It's now 3:15am and I need to get some sleep, big day at the US Open tomorrow with my tennis team!








joeyz101

http://twitter.com/joeyz101

Gone fishing

Apparently, I'm a stalker.

I've been spending the better part of my nights online. My mission: track down the award-winning Copywriters and Art Directors responsible for creating my favorite ads in the 2004 CommArts Advertising annual and learn.

Learn what though?

Anything really. Ten things, one thing. About them, about their ads, I don't know. On weeknights it's either this or watch the Golden Girls. I figure if I'm really disciplined, I can swing both.

Tom Camp and Jason Smith did some really great work for Harley-Davidson while at Carmichael Lynch in Minneapolis. The tagline for their award winning campaign is, "It's time to ride". The ads ran in 2004 and are just awesome. When I find them online, I'll post them to get your thoughts.

Tom and Jason started their own agency, Pocket Hercules, and after perusing their work, I was hooked. I am now a fan. If you want to see some more of their stuff, check out http://pockethercules.com/

The ad below is for Rapala. Rapala is a longtime maker of fishing lures. The movement of the lure is designed to mimick that of a wounded minnow because in the 1930's a Finnish fisherman observed that large fish would consistently attack the smaller wounded fish.





Simplicity.

Tom and Jason dialed in on what makes Rapala great (their lures catch fish) and they conveyed that in a way that is clever yet clear. Being from Brooklyn, a diehard fisherman I am not, and even I get this ad instantly. I just love this line, what do you (yes, you!) think?


As an aside, I consider my self to be somewhat of an outdoorsman but I've never had any real luck with fishing. I've had some success on camping trips but if I'm being honest, I should tell you that the fish I catch are much closer to the size of a Rapala lure than the fish they're designed to attract.

Over the years, I've heard a lot of fishing stories. They always involve huge battles and bigger fish; they're exaggerated and exciting, in a 'if you like flannel, you'll love this' kind of way. Despite my limited experience, I actually have a tale of my own.


I went fishing for the first time as cub scout in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. We went after school and as we threw our lines in the water, we saw party boats drift out to catch the big fish. I remember being confident, (or was it ignorant) as we began the waiting game.

I really didn't have the slightest idea how to fish (couldn't tie a knot, bait a hook, cast my line) but I had a feeling that this was something all adventerous boys just knew how to do.

But after a few hours of watching my friends reel in all the fish, I started to second guess my innate abilities. My frustration must have been obvious because a chubby old man motioned for me to talk to him. Great, all my friends are landing fish and I'm attracting strange old men.

I don't remember much about the man, except his advice. Here it is:

Hey kid, you don't look happy and you're not talking. The fish will only come if you talk to them, so say, "Hey fishy-fishy".

Hey fishy-fishy? I walked away completely disappointed. Was that really the sage advice my old fisherman friend had for me? I can't believe I walked 20 feet for this.

Another hour passed. 60 minutes full of everyone catching pretty much everything under the sea. One of the dad's even caught a small sand shark. Our trip was coming to an end and I was desperate.

Hey fishy-fishy. Nothing.

Hey fishy-fishy, don't you like pork fat? I've got some here for you. Hey fishy-fi...wait a second, was that a nibble? I couldn't believe it. It was!

Next thing you know, everyone is crowded around me, they could tell I had my hands full. There I am in the middle of it all screaming, "HEY FISHY-FISHY" as I fought to reel my prize in.

My friends were confused, I sounded ridiculous, but I didn't care. I spoke to the fish and they really came! It was really dark at this point, but my fish was now out of the water and I was bringing her home.

Closer and closer, I could almost see it now...I wanted it so bad. The line was finally short enough so I jerked the pole towards me

And got hit smack in the face, by an eel.

I screamed! Dropped my pole, ran to the fringe of the circle around me and watched in horror as my catch wriggled violently in it's search for water. One of the Scoutmasters eventually helped me to unhook and then toss her back into the sea.

That night, people caught bigger fish, lots of fish but I had the most memorable catch. It was my very first fish / eel and it's a memory I will always treasure.


Want to create memorable ads / hook big fish? Keep it simple and talk (network? I'm stretching I know).

joeyz101

http://twitter.com/joeyz101