the new Landrover work is really really nice - I shudder to think how many man hours ,just have gone into making it- it looks lovely, is really interesting, (look out for the mountain episode) and makes me want to go out and buy one - well probably not the one they want me to buy - I'd love a really old powder blue Defender cos then I wouldn't have to pretend that I needed it for the country while actually driving it round the suburbs.
Saturday 29 January 2011
Wednesday 26 January 2011
A Swift Kick
Oh dear oh dear - this is what happens when the cardinal rules of branded content aren't kept namely.....
Don't disappear up your own jumper creatively
Dont patronise your audience
" It is banal , badly written and patronising to young people everywhere!
Car manufacturers in the past have traditionally got things either spectacularly right - BMW/AUDI, or spectacularly wrong - FORD C MAX ice building. I'm pretty sure that anyone watching this will make a Swift decision of their own top watch something else.
Tuesday 25 January 2011
Aren't kids cute?
t when it comes to posting videos of 'funny' children online I am really uncomfortable with the 'freak show' element that seems to bring out the hideous voyeur in us all.
My funny child dislikes of all time include 'Charlie bit my finger' and the titanically awful 'Chubby Cuppy Cake boy' (do your own research I'm not posting them up on our blog).
The reason for my promoting that which i hate is to illustrate the strange trends that sometimes form in the 'whacky' world of online video.
The aforementioned horrors and quite a few more from their genre are benefitting from a sudden surge in viral sharing today - I don't know why - there's no real reason for it that I can fathom but it's happening .
Quick P&G - get your agency to buy some pre-roll before the wave breaks!!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I am posting this effort for two reasons...
1) It's mercifully short
2) the kid is actually pretty funny and sees off the patronising adult with ease.
Monday 24 January 2011
The Fun Theory
I'm really glad that this has had a resurgence in sharing and just goes to show that quality will always shine through. It is a fantastic piece of work in that it mixes up the advertising vs. content vs. product placement debate to just produce a great film worthy of 1 minute and 47 seconds of my time.
It isn't clumsy like a lot of these experiential based films are - its beautifully filmed and timed, music is excellent and It will please the branding purists who believe in consistency- see how long it takes you to guess the brand!
It's perked up my Monday morning no end.
Thursday 20 January 2011
It's the Devil's work I tell thee!
The best way to show someone how good your product is is to demonstrate it - nothing beats personal experience to cement the views of your consumer. This is a very clever way to do just that to promote an app who's function is very visual not to mention very clever.
In what could have been quite a boring film its the product attributes themselves that make it interesting. Also cock an ear to the music - it gives the product an instant personality that matches the slightly tongue in cheek props.
Wednesday 19 January 2011
Ricky Gervais in not always brilliant shock!
Ricky Gervais hosting the Golden Globes - his initial monologue - sorry but it wasn't very good was it? I love Ricky, not quite sure how he's hailed as a visionary genius to be honest but I love him.
One of the reasons is his unfailing ability to remain 'a fat bloke from Reading' in all that he does. Also the fact that he eschews advertising work, only did two series of the Office and is an all round credible artiste. Is anyone else ever so slightly worried that he's started to believe his own press?
He's always been boastful and its part of his charm but I find this quite embarrassing, my nine year old could read from the auto-cue more naturally and the jokes are the worst kind of vicious (obvious and cheap) It's a testament to the Ricky Gervais Brand that I feel churlish criticising him and lord knows I would find it daunting speaking to that crowd but then I'm not Ricky Gervais!
Oliver Russell | Joint Managing DirectorThe Big Shot | 10 Fitzroy Square, London, W1T 5HP
Thursday 13 January 2011
Just a penguin really
It's not a marketing led activity (I don't think) and yes its another cute animal but I actually really enjoyed watching it - made me feel all warm inside and of course it's not another damned cat!!
Oliver Russell | Joint Managing Director
The Big Shot | 10 Fitzroy Square, London, W1T 5HP
Wednesday 12 January 2011
Our latest work for ATP - the new 2011 creative - 'Game On'
From: Oliver Russell <oliver.russell@thebigshot.co.uk>Date: 12 January 2011 16:27:53 GMTSubject: Our latest work for ATP - the new 2011 creative - 'Game On'
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Media/Videos/2011/01/Game-On-Promo.aspx
Oliver Russell | Joint Managing Director
The Big Shot | 10 Fitzroy Square, London, W1T 5HP
Oliver Russell | Joint Managing Director
The Big Shot | 10 Fitzroy Square, London, W1T 5HP
Our latest work for ATP - the new 2011 creative - 'Game On'
http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2011/01/Other/ATP-Unveils-Game-On-Campaign.aspx
/www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Media/Videos/2011/01/Game-On-Promo.aspx
Oliver Russell | Joint Managing Director
The Big Shot | 10 Fitzroy Square, London, W1T 5HP
Friday 7 January 2011
The Sartorialist - Intel again?!!
Intel seem to have hit a content sweet spot at the minute. A completely different film from the Chase Film I posted earlier. This one is fantastic but maybe I'm biased. It's a feature on the guy behind the Sartorialist blog - one of my favourites and it's interesting, beautifully shot and a window into the World of the man who spends his life shooting amazing 'walk by' fashion on the streets of NY, Milan, Tokyo and sometimes even London - I'm ready for my close up Mr. S!
Oliver Russell | Joint Managing DirectorThe Big Shot | 10 Fitzroy Square, London, W1T 5HP
The Chase film by Intel
You get ever so slightly used to great looking films and clever techniques when you're on the inside of running content but there's only one word to describe my reaction to this......WOW!
Oliver Russell | Joint Managing DirectorThe Big Shot | 10 Fitzroy Square, London, W1T 5HP
Is anyone else getting fed up with Flash mobs yet?
Apparently not judging by the 29 million people who've watched this so far! There's nothing wrong with it per se, the singers are excellent but haven't we seen enough of this concept?
I do like the fact that this is not a major brand who's done it and its been obviously been very effective in reach - not sure how that will now convert to sales for Alphabet Photography but it's a cool and original product.
Oliver Russell | Joint Managing Director
The Big Shot | 10 Fitzroy Square, London, W1T 5HP
Thursday 6 January 2011
Is it an ad? is it editorial? Does it matter?
One of the debates that rages in our marketing channel (well at least bubbles) on is that of who owns the right to produce branded content. 
Of course the answer is anyone who can produce good content and get it in front of the right audience but there is an almighty land grab going on out in agency land at the moment.
Digital, media, creative, PR and Integrated all shout that they can produce the goods for their clients and they all have a valid reason for thinking so.
They all bring different activation skills to the finished product whether it be buying media around the content, selling in the content to editorial media, creating a great online destination for the content or coming up with a campaign that uses other disciplines to surround and exploit the central idea.
What I do find slightly annoying is this desire that everyone seems to have to put every piece of content into its own little box, to define every piece of content as either an ad or a PR activity or a piece or cheese etc.
Go back to content basics and it's clear that the consumer doesn't want ads, they want content. If a brand gets an advertising message in there then it will be accepted on the basis that it doesn't compromise the enjoyment of that content.
If the content is both engaging and relevant to the brand thats advertising then you've got it cracked. Not so easy
This example from National Geographic magazine is perfect. Of course they have so much editorial to work with to represent their brand but even so you don't often see media owners produce a film this clever, enlightening and compelling.
It's made all the more interesting through the end product it's promoting. It's not just a random feature, its a real appointment to read.
The film imparts knowledge that I can repeat to others and show my erudition and the graphic style while not ground breaking is easy on the eye and helps the piece to keep its pace which is important in a film that is entirely statistic based.
Is it an ad? Is it editorial? Is it branded content? Who cares? It's good!
Oliver Russell | Joint Managing Director
The Big Shot | 10 Fitzroy Square, London, W1T 5HP
Wednesday 5 January 2011
The Big Shot welcomes Mark Bainbridge
We are all very excited here at The Big Shot as today heralds the appointment of former Marketing Director of The British Army, Mark Bainbridge, as our new non-exec advisor.
Mark has been universally heralded as a visionary in Marketing and has received numerous awards for his work.
He is a lover of new technologies and of new ways of marketing and his involvement with us has been organic. As he's seen us grow he's become more excited about the possibilities that Branded Content has for marketers especially when good entertainment is mixed with good marketing technique.
As you would expect from someone who has controlled marketing budgets for a number of very accountable organisations his interest is very much based on marketing criteria and not just on 'pretty pictures' (although he likes those too)
We'll be interviewing Mark for a special edition of the blog really soon to see what he really thinks but in the meantime we are delighted to welcome him to The Big Shot and look forward to a long and fruitful association with him.
Oliver Russell | Joint Managing Director
The Big Shot | 10 Fitzroy Square, London, W1T 5HP
Tuesday 4 January 2011
Sometimes you just have to admit defeat!!
How brilliant is this?
I can only begin to imagine the horror of trying to coordinate this film if the brands featured had actually been involved!
What a great Xmas present for the brands involved.
Oliver Russell | Joint Managing Director
The Big Shot | 10 Fitzroy Square, London, W1T 5HP
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