Sustainability

The Idea Is Everything

By Delphine Hirasuna |

Tree_Sign
The beauty of this appeal by Oro Verde Rainforest Foundation is its humble low-tech innocence. It doesn’t smack of big budget glitz, high-tech digital manipulations, and pre-launch market testing. The idea is everything. Its charm is in its simple, direct, homemade look. A high school student could have produced it… but didn’t.

Actually, the campaign was created by ad giant, Ogilvy & Mather, in Frankfurt, Germany. Hand-written placards were posted on more than 600 trees in Germany and helped OroVerde raise cash donations by more than 27 percent.
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Brand Language

Students at Goethe University Discover Seoul

By Delphine Hirasuna |

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Project K, a Korean Film Festival, has turned into a popular annual event at the Bockenheim campus at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany. Dubbed “Four Days in Seoul,” the festival is co-hosted by the Korean consul general of Frankfurt; KGN, an organization of second-generation Korean Germans, and the University’s Korean Studies Department. In addition to screening Korean box-office hits and experimental, shorts, animations and indie Korean films, the festival features activities that give students a chance to learn about Korean pop culture and traditions.

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Product Design

Irresistible Trade Show Treats

By Delphine Hirasuna |

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Tokyo-based Nendo creative agency was just awarded “2015 Designer of the Year” at the Maison & Objet (M&O) trade show in Paris. Nendo won for designing a special chocolate lounge and candy named “Chocolatexture.” Instead of basing the names of the Chocolatexture line on the usual attributes – e.g., country of origin, flavor, percentage of cocoa butter content, technique, etc., Nendo based the names on shape. The nine different chocolates are about the same size, but differ in texture. The product names use Japanese colloquial terms to describe the specific shapes. Thus, “Tubu Tubu” implies tiny chunks of chocolate drops; “Goro-Goro means that there are 14 connected points; “Suka-Suka” means a hollow cube with thin walls, etc. The packaging features shape silhouettes as well.

The Nendo chocolate lounge was open for a limited time only during the M&O show in January. The design delegates who attended the event probably wanted to take the well-conceived packaging home to show their staff, but it is questionable how many were actually able to resist the delicious treat.
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Advertising

Schick Got You to Look

By Delphine Hirasuna |

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Is the fact that an ad is memorable the same as it being effective? This is a discussion that I had with the young designer who works with me on this blog. He loved this Schick razor print ad, created by Y&R in Auckland, New Zealand. I found the furry creatures clinging to the models’ chins kinda creepy.

Young hip male designer argued: “It’s very effective; it’s gone viral.”

Old female editor said: Who are the target customers? Lumberjacks, mountain men and Arctic explorers? The average guy in an office doesn’t have that much facial growth. In fact, they like to have a little stubble like they were out partying all night and didn’t go home to shave.

Young design argued: It got you to look. It drew eyeballs to this ad.

Old female editor said: Show me what the men look like after they have shaved and I’ll tell you whether I like the product or not. Show me the sales spike.

And so it went. Here it is. The vote here is a tie. Is an ad that lots of people look at and tweet about better than one that shows the effectiveness of the product? The jury is out on our end. Decide for yourself.
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Advertising

The Face of Max Shoes Customers

By Delphine Hirasuna |

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Except for the fact that this print advertisement for Max Shoes calls to mind the American idiom “Put your foot in your mouth,” it is a clever way of putting a face on different shoe styles.

Created by Swiss ad agency Jung Von Matt/Limmat, based in Zurich, the tagline for the Max Shoes ad campaign reads, “You are what you wear.” The model’s wrist is dressed up like a neck collar to suggest the type of wardrobe that works well with that shoe style. It also suggests the personality of the wearer and the social occasions for which it may be suited, and it gives the prospective customer a facial identity. It says a lot in a single shot. The campaign was art directed by David Hanselmann with creative direction by Alexander Jaggy and photography by Mierswa & Kluska.
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