As I started to mentally prepare for another round of nesting, I realised (surprise, surprise) that my home, that is my drawers, cupboards and the storage up the loft is full of good unused stuff. Now Sheira and I have been giving away clothes and books to local charity on a regular basis but some things, especially gadgets and other stuff are always left in the drawer…
So I decided to do something more useful and interesting with these unused stuff. Every month in 2010 I will dig something of value out of my drawer/storage, put it on ebay and 100% of the money from the sale goes to charity of choice - the winner will inform me where do they want their money to go to.
I’m starting with my old classic iPod mini that served me well and is still in perfect condition, packed with good music - all proceeds from this sale go to the Haiti Earthquake Appeal unless the buyer will insist otherwise.
In case you missed it take a quick look so you can get what I’m talking about
This piece that got all marketing twitteratis drooling left me with half a smile half a ‘meh’. It’s an idea I bet has been on the minds of half the creative dudes in the world. It definitely was on mine. That’s not to say I’m hot because I don’t think this idea is hot.
It reminded me of an interesting blogversation with Andy on his old blog where he claimed that: “Very clever things on the other hand have become the new obvious”.
Recently I wrote that I fear that in 2010 we’ll see loads of obvious stuff that might work but isn’t really exciting and i think that this is the perfect example.
While I strongly believe in the idea that brands should be generous etc., when I see (or do something like that with my clients) I can’t avoid the feeling that, how shall I put it, this is the kind of stuff you do when you don’t have a better idea to earn people’s attention - you give away free stuff in a slightly cheeky way.
Now compare it to this one that also gives free stuff and as I write this post I think I understand why I liked it so much better than the Coke thing. The obviousness in the Ikea promotion comes as a surprise. It’s a sweet-bitter kind of obviousness you see in a simple original idea.
With the Coke thing there was no surprise, just obviousness.
This _____________ (couldn’t find the right adjective) video is a fine visual representation to my love and hate relations with Animal Collective. I always found their music brilliant but just… too much. Too many layers of sound that end up feeling too schizophrenic and/or pretentious to the average non-hipster ears. That tilt from good to bad trip and back is too much of an assault on my senses unless I’m in a very unique mood.
It’s stories like this one that rather depressingly remind me how freaking comfortable and mundane my own life is:
Well, to be honest it also reminds me the Seinfeld episode (The Pilot #1 and #2) where NBC executive Russell Dalrymple’s obsession with Elaine begins to affect his work; she tries to let him down easy by saying she can’t be in a relationship with a high-powered man and would prefer to be with someone selfless, such as a member of Greenpeace. In order to prove himself worthy of Elaine, Russell joins Greenpeace and is lost at sea during a botched assault on a whaling ship… (apologies but couldn’t find the scene on youtube)
