Thursday, February 26, 2009

Something Rotten From Denmark

This is a transit ad I saw on the Tube today. My apologies for the poor quality. I took the photo with my iPhone from afar. To get any closer would have meant crawling over a group of girls and I really don't feel like being deported on sexual harassment charges. Or any charges, for that matter.

Anyway, it's an ad promoting the liberating culture of Copenhagen, Denmark, which encourages Londoners to "Free the Dane in you." If you can't tell, freeing the Dane in you seems to involve wearing a white robe and holding orange slices over your ears like an escaped mental patient who has just stolen their pyschiatrist's heart-smart breakfast.

Also, the red "starburst" in which the sub-headline is placed seems to resemble a splatter of blood more than anything. Maybe this is a subtle reference to the Tourism Denmark logo, which is a heart with cross-sections cut out of it? Either way, the last thing this ad does is inspire me to be a free spirit in Denmark. Although I could go for an orange right about now. Hopefully some Danish mental asylum escapee doesn't "free" it.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

British-ism of the Week (23/02/09)

"Alright" (British saying)

Similar to the previous British-ism, "alright" is a way of saying hello and asking how someone is doing packed into a single word. Although there are some folks who prefer saying the whole phrase, as in, "Are you alright?"

In Canada, I'm used to saying and hearing the phrase "How's it going?" knowing that the person is just saying "hello". So it shouldn't have been too much of a surprise to hear, "Are you alright?" But something about the phrase crosses the realm of rhetorical greeting and lands in the realm of sincere, sympathetic question. I guess it's because I'm used to people asking "Are you feeling alright?" when someone looks depressed or upset.

I say all this because the first few times I was asked, "Are you alright?" I had to take a look in the mirror to see if I'd gone pale. It didn't help that I had just moved to London and was feeling a bit overwhelmed, so it was possible that people would want to know if I was doing alright. But no, they were just saying "hey". So, not surprisingly, my first few responses of "Yeah, I'm alright. Things have been a bit tough, but..." threw them for a loop. It would be like someone saying "Hello," and the response being "Well, it all started during my childhood..." Understandably, I encountered quite a few blank stares.

Thankfully, my flatmates set me straight, explaining that it was more of a rhetorical greeting than a sincere question about the current state of your mental and emotional well-being. One friend admitted that her and her close friends often have complete conversations entirely consisting of different inflections of the word "Alright." It reminds me of the conversations a good friend from Canada and I used to have (and sometimes still do...) consisting entirely of the word, "Dude." It's good to know we're all a little bit crazy in the commonwealth.
2 out of 5 crumpets

Interviews x2

More progress on the job front as I had two promising conversations with recruiters today. Will likely meet with each of them early next week. Another couple of steps in the right direction!

Sunday, February 22, 2009

British-ism of the Week (16/02/09)

Since my flatmate recommended that I save these "British-ism" write-ups, I've decided to post them as blog entries, so they're on the site for posterity (aka procrastination).

"Wotcha" (British saying)

Another text message discovery, this British saying originated in the south of England (so says my South African friend - highly suspect!). Supposedly it means, "Hello, how's it going?" But I have a feeling that it came about through linguistic reductivism/slang that went something like this: "What are you saying?" "Whatcha saying?" "Wotcha sayin'?" And finally, "Wotcha." Although I'm sure by now it's become "Woo." It reminds me of the Canadian saying, "Howzit?" Which means "How's it going?" in Newfie speak. So this gets...
2 out of 5 crumpets
(for how uniquely British it is)

Saturday, February 21, 2009

A Balmy 13 Degrees in London

The sun is outside, so I am too. Have a great weekend.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Momentum

I'm happy to report that I've just returned from my first recruiter meeting! Yes, it was only an introductory meeting, but with the recent lack of activity, I'm happy just to be making contact with people in the industry. And very cool people as well. They seem very tuned into the industry and I'm optimistic that this could lead to some serious interviews down the road. Hopefully this road is more of a highway, though, as I'm keen to start meeting with agencies as soon as possible. To quote Buster Bluth, "Get me out there!" Although, in my case, let's hope the response to that statement isn't similar to the show, which was, "Stay out of the spotlight. People find you strange and alienating." That would be... unfortunate. Fingers crossed!

Sunday, February 15, 2009

A moment of silence, please.

...for the wallets we have lost.

Thank you.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

VD

Happy Valentine's Day!

(Clip from Demetri Martin's new show, Important Things - giving TV a much needed dose of awesome.)

Friday, February 13, 2009

Happy Friday the 13th!

In honour of this most sacred of unholy days, here's the trailer to the original Friday the 13th movie. As an ad, it's actually pretty effective. The eerie music and slow death tally keep you intrigued all the way. While we've all been desensitived to the point that it takes trailers featuring full-on torture to get us the least bit interested, I bet '80's kids were shitting themselves over this trailer. Added bonus: Kevin Bacon sighting!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

FU Snuggie

Found this on American Copywriter, so I feel it's only right to quote them here: "Genius."

Truly.

No Work and No Pay Make Steve...

...Get Creative.

The past week of my job search has been an emotional roller-coaster ride called I Love You, I Love You Not. A few times now, I've been contacted by recruiters who say they are very keen to speak with me about a job opportunity. But once we set up a day to talk, they evaporate into thin air. I feel like I'm being stood up for a blind date, except, in this case, my date was thinking of giving me thousands of pounds a year.

But I'm not going to let these ghosts haunt me. So I've come up with a self-promotional idea that will hopefully improve my chances of getting noticed in this city that is "heaving" (as my friend Richard likes to say) with people looking for work. I'll tell you know more once the idea has been put into action. All I'll say now is that I'm putting Canada to work for me. Stay tuned.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Eyebrow Freestyle

This spot for Cadbury Dairy Milk by Fallon is a follow-up to the highly successful and much awarded Gorilla and Trucks spots. And it's my favourite yet.

The brief was to make people feel the same joy they get from a Cadbury chocolate bar. Sure, maybe your eyebrows don't throw down cardboard and do the worm when you have a Cadbury bar, but maybe you're just holding them back.

What I love most about this commercial is how watchable it is. The song is retro and fun, and sure to be coming soon to a cell phone near you. And the eyebrow dancing is realistic enough at first that you get that youtube feeling - that you just have to show your co-workers and friends right this second. But then the dancing becomes so impressive you can't help but sit back and think, "Awesome," even though it's obviously computer-generated. I mean, you've got to love it when the girl looks directly into the camera and her eyebrows go berserk. Instantly classic.

This is the kind of commercial that could play during half-time at a hockey game (or football game...) and have everyone's eyeballs glued to the screen, as their eyebrows threw down for a dance-off. I'd love to see how people would react at a movie theatre. I wouldn't be surprised if the movie that came afterward seemed like a bit of a let down after seeing this spot, and the fun that ensued.

What's best is the viral and experiental potential. I'm sure there are already lots of re-creations of the original spot (heck, this one is titled "official version" so you know there are). You could take that to the streets and get people to re-create the commercial in front of a camera on tripod, then post it to youtube or a microsite or a big screen nearby - think Times Square! The potential marketing opportunities are endless.

Kudos to Fallon.

Brain Food


I came across this at a Tesco somewhere in Clapham. Not sure if it's unique to that area (I suspect not), but I can't help but wonder what was going through their minds.

The name of the company is Mr. Brain. Now, as a company name, that's fine, depending on the type of business. But when you're selling pork sausages, known for having the worst parts of the piggly-wiggly bits, any mention of brain would likely be a turn off. So would the term faggot, for that matter; at least in Canada. I knew that it was a British term for cigarette, but pork balls?? Although, considering that these were in a Tesco freezer, it looks like Mr. Brain is doing all right.

The header of the packaging is my favourite part though. "You asked for it!! Now with more sauce!!" Giving pork ball lovers what they want. That's Mr. Brain. Actually, I wish more companies were as responsive as Mr. Brain. Smart man, this porker.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Life's for sharing.

While by no means new, I think this flash mob commercial for T-Mobile is a perfect way to start this blog. That's what it's all about. And as it was said in the movie Into The Wild, "Happiness is only real if it's shared." I think the same can be said of anything, good or bad. But hopefully this blog will be filled with more of the former. And away we go.

p.s. I saw this ad while still in Vancouver, so it was pretty cool to walk through Liverpool station once I arrived. T-Mobile has bought all the video screens in the place and are running versions of this ad over and over. Brilliant stuff.

Confession

My name's Steve Zaozirny, and I'm an advertising copywriter. A confession of modest proportion, perhaps, but a necessary one nonetheless. A related confession is that I'm unemployed, as I've recently moved to London from Vancouver, Canada. So I'm currently looking for work; along with half the city, it seems.

As my days are relatively free right now, I thought a blog would be a good way to keep my fingers tapping along the keyboard, besides just when sending out the daily flurry of job applications.

It also seemed like an opportunity to share my opinions on advertising, both good and bad. I mean, my flatmates and friends absolutely love hearing my nightly critique of every dishwasher detergent ad on TV ("Now sparklier?! Who wrote this drivel?!"), so I thought it only fair that I share my brilliant insights with the world each day.

Of course, I'm kidding. But I do love talking about ads, and I'm sure a few of you do too.

Also, being Canadian, I'm very new to all the British-isms of daily life in London, and will be sharing my thoughts on them as well. So, basically, this blog is about being a Canadian copywriter in London.