The Big Shout

Friday 29 April 2011

Congratulations!!

To the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and to Aston Martin for the best piece of product placement we've seen for some time.

We are proud to be British!


http://gu.com/p/2zmp4

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Wednesday 27 April 2011

A ginger beer with a kick

As we are gearing up to be all traditional and British this weekend, street parties, Union Jacks, bunting and all of that "Gawd bless you guvnor" stuff lets talk about another great British tradition Ginger beer.-

One of those drinks along with cherryade and sarsaparilla that always sound better in theory than reality - always taste a bit wrong. But I'm drawn to the possibility of drinking it again by this - a prime example of how a 30" film can do it all.
Funny, engaging, bang on the brand image.

I'm off to try it again....



Oh yes! The gag is extended (very well) into Fentimans Cola....


and indeed into their Victorian Lemonade...

http://www.youtube.com/user/FentimansDrinks#p/u/0/nftdc8XylWs

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Tuesday 19 April 2011

I love a Coulis

Sometimes you just need to share something - I love this. It's actually very well shot which is why the cuts work so well.  Big belly laughs!



Oliver Russell | Joint Managing Director   

The Big Shot | 10 Fitzroy Square, London, W1T 5HP


Email:  oliver.russell@thebigshot.co.uk
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Sunday 17 April 2011

T mobile Pastiche - So obvious but so funny

I really didn't want to like this but I can't help myself - This pastiche thing works when the original is so well executed and the reason for doing it is news in itself.
What better example than a 65 million view original and the social event of the year?

> Oliver Russell | Joint Managing Director >> The Big Shot | 10 Fitzroy Square, London, W1T 5HP
>>> Email: oliver.russell@thebigshot.co.uk
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Friday 15 April 2011

Expanding Universe

Sometimes there is too much brand extension. Too much trying to make too many bucks with no real care for the original product or how the extension works in relation.

This is simple - Moleskine is a fantastic brand with lovely products - i cant wait to get involved in this whole new range. Some of it seems a bit odd but for me as a brand advocate that acts as a further charm.

http://www.moleskine.com/moleskine_world/special_projects/new_collection_aba.php

On top of that - here's a film that's actually art and reflects the brand perfectly.



> Oliver Russell | Joint Managing Director >> The Big Shot | 10 Fitzroy Square, London, W1T 5HP
>>> Email: oliver.russell@thebigshot.co.uk
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Thursday 7 April 2011

TGI Fridays is 25 (and I'm not)

I'm 42 years old actually and for me its a good age.
Life has a smoother feel than it did in my raw and raucous twenties (and thirties if I'm honest) and I feel myself heading towards a level of contentment - I take pleasure in my family and have interests outside of getting drunk and eating sausage sandwiches with a hangover.
So you're thinking "What the hell is the old man on about? Sounds Awful!!"

Yes alright I'm feeling ever so slightly old this morning.....As you'll see from the headline TGI Fridays is 25 and I was 17 when it launched and in those days there was only one of them (I think) in Covent Garden and it was pretty cool.
The obsession with Americana of all decades from the 50's was in full swing back then - 'Back to the Future' had just come out alongside such Brat Pack classics as 'The Breakfast Club', 'Footloose' and 'St. Elmos Fire'. Other great late lamented 'American style' West End joints were in their pomp too (Peppermint Park, Video Cafe anyone?)

Imgres

TGI's fitted in perfectly to that time - drinking Budweiser out of bottles, going there for friends birthdays, generally 'hanging out' - watching the bartenders flip their glasses back and forth. This became somewhat of a trend in popular bar culture culminating in the flaming magnificence that was Tom Cruise in Cocktail 3 years later.

Then as time passed and we all grew up a little and as 1988 raised it's smiley face ,TGI's relevance kind of faded for us - you'd go there to eat every so often and each time it was slightly less enjoyable than before and then at some point, I don't know when TGI's started springing up everywhere - even on retail parks next to Argos and Homebase - this was the final nail for me and my contemporaries.

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Well not quite - I had children and that really was the final nail - I actually took my kids to a TGI's on a retail park and endured the balloons, crayons and frankly disappointing food (which all seems to be cooked in Jack Daniels if I remember the menu correctly). I haven't ben to TGI's for some years - it has faded from my life.

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And then this!! It's actually a pretty good little film following the attempt of TGI's cocktail bar people to break the World Record for twirling glasses or something like that.
I don't know though, it just doesn't have the relevance and interest these days - I cant see this generations teenagers and even early twenties being wowed by a spinning cocktail shaker - it just seems 'out of time'

Or maybe I'm just getting old?



> Oliver Russell | Joint Managing Director >> The Big Shot | 10 Fitzroy Square, London, W1T 5HP
>>> Email: oliver.russell@thebigshot.co.uk
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Friday 1 April 2011

The Big Shot April 2011 Newsletter



The Big Shot

Newsletter
April 2011
We’re getting bigger!
We’d like to introduce you to the latest additions to our team. Mark Bainbridge, former marketing director of the British Army, has joined us as non-executive advisor, while two new account managers, Millie Parker and Laura Woods, have also joined the ranks.
We are continuing to take our expertise on tour. Managing Director Oliver Russell’s latest seminar takes him to The APA Digital Breakfast, where he will be addressing the challenge of combining marketing and entertainment in front of the UK's foremost publishing houses.
If you’re interested in us giving your team some free tips of the trade, let us know and we'll arrange one of our lively workshops with video, interactivity and we’ve even been known to throw in a competition to get some lively discussion going…
Our recent work… MasterCard
We've created 'The Big Shot' - but then you knew that!
This is another 'Big Shot', the new branded Facebook game we’ve just launched for MasterCard.
It's designed to further promote MasterCard's sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League.
By fine tuning their tactics, players can challenge each other online to win tickets to the UEFA Champions League Final.
It seems to have tapped into the competitive nature of Facebook Football Fans as we’ve had an amazing response since it went live last week!
Come and have a go if you think you're good enough here
BIG Impact
This one passed the 'tingle test'. A brilliant film in support of International Women's Day by We Are Equals to raise awareness of the gap between genders.
It proves what we have said again and again - the idea is the thing!
Combine a simple but targeted idea with a razor sharp script - throw in some great performances, possibly a famous face or voice and make your impact.
Watch it here
The Big Shout
Spring is Sprung by Mark Bainbridge
It’s been a crazy month in communications. It has been conjectured that the laptop is set to become obsolete, Steve Jobs has unveiled the iPad 2 – it’s lighter and thinner and has a camera - hmmm... not quite the version 2.0 features we might have hoped for. Mr Lund has left the COI – I will leave you to read into Andrew Lewin’s view of that one – as they say in the London bus fraternity “all change please”… Continue reading here
 
COMPETITION
This month we jetted off to Palm Springs to capture images of the World's best tennis players at the ATP Indian Wells Masters, to use in our 2011 creative campaign for the ATP World Tour and Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. 
To win an Apple TV, just 'like' our Facebook page and answer "which tennis legend is the subject of our photo album from this years shoot?"
Not sure? Check out our blog for a BIG clue here
Goodbye for now!
We'll be back with another edition next month but why not visit us on facebook, follow us on Twitter, drop us a mail or even give us a ring!
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THE BIG SHOT, 10 FITZROY SQUARE, LONDON, W1T 5HP +44 (0)20 7874 1570

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Branded Content - a very old phenomenon

It's amazing to think that while the concept of branded content appears to be a very modern phenomenon they were actually making amusing content led videos early in the 20th century - of course it was far more difficult to spread the word then but in some ways that adds to their charm....

> Oliver Russell | Joint Managing Director >> The Big Shot | 10 Fitzroy Square, London, W1T 5HP
>>> Email: oliver.russell@thebigshot.co.uk
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