Strangely Familiar (Work Edition)
Thursday, March 29, 2007
I got this from a colleague/friend at work. I think it's safe to say most of us find this VERY familiar. Funny though. Heh.
posted by fuzk, 3:27 pm
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Advertising Scholar
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
I'm a little peeved. Call it sour grapes, call it whatever you want.. but to the people who understands what I am about to say, I'm sure they will be too. First off, a little background..
Sorab Mistry (the EVP of Asia Pacific for McCann Erickson) recently started a program called, Talent Draft Initiative, where it hopes will fill the lack of depth in the local advertising pool. Top graduates, after a selection process, will be offered a job with the sponsoring companies. They include: McCann Erickson, O&M and TBWA, to name a few. These students will be with the companies for 2 years, with a guaranteed salary of $2000. They will then go through a training program developed by Mistry with the IAS and obtain an IAS Professional Diploma in Advertising. According to Mistry, Singapore is experiencing a "decreasing number of talents across all advertising disciplines" and a distinct "lack of young ad savvy locals". (Read all about it HERE)
Now, what am I pissed off about? That this is absolutely fucking bullshit. Off the top of my head, I know at least a dozen people who could use a job in the industry. No offence to Mistry, I don't think a program or a "talent draft initiative" is needed, people like you merely have to open your eyes (and heart) to know that everyday, people like me are trying to get into the industry.
Damn, let's not even talk about getting a foot in the industry, some of us are trying to get our damn toes in first! I have looked for one bloody year before someone decided to give me an opportunity, my friend has been told, "you're not good enough." I have friends looking, every single day.. what? No talents? I can't say we're the best, but I have absolute faith that if you give us a chance, we will work our asses off at becoming the best.
Maybe, just maybe, Mistry is looking for a quick fix... maybe he is looking for an advertising scholar. Top of class = top creative. Is it really that simple? Advertising genius Bill Bernbach once said, "I warn you against believing, that advertising is a science."
I'm not sure what I'm angry about anymore. Is it because we weren't given the same opportunities? Probably. Is it because I believe that this isn't the best way to look for talents? Probably. I just don't know what to feel anymore when advertising isn't about passion and lots of hard work, and people who truly wants it has doors slammed into their faces even before they could say, "Let me try."
Let me know I'm not the only one feeling this way.. that I think something is seriously wrong.. somewhere.
Sorab Mistry (the EVP of Asia Pacific for McCann Erickson) recently started a program called, Talent Draft Initiative, where it hopes will fill the lack of depth in the local advertising pool. Top graduates, after a selection process, will be offered a job with the sponsoring companies. They include: McCann Erickson, O&M and TBWA, to name a few. These students will be with the companies for 2 years, with a guaranteed salary of $2000. They will then go through a training program developed by Mistry with the IAS and obtain an IAS Professional Diploma in Advertising. According to Mistry, Singapore is experiencing a "decreasing number of talents across all advertising disciplines" and a distinct "lack of young ad savvy locals". (Read all about it HERE)
Now, what am I pissed off about? That this is absolutely fucking bullshit. Off the top of my head, I know at least a dozen people who could use a job in the industry. No offence to Mistry, I don't think a program or a "talent draft initiative" is needed, people like you merely have to open your eyes (and heart) to know that everyday, people like me are trying to get into the industry.
Damn, let's not even talk about getting a foot in the industry, some of us are trying to get our damn toes in first! I have looked for one bloody year before someone decided to give me an opportunity, my friend has been told, "you're not good enough." I have friends looking, every single day.. what? No talents? I can't say we're the best, but I have absolute faith that if you give us a chance, we will work our asses off at becoming the best.
Maybe, just maybe, Mistry is looking for a quick fix... maybe he is looking for an advertising scholar. Top of class = top creative. Is it really that simple? Advertising genius Bill Bernbach once said, "I warn you against believing, that advertising is a science."
I'm not sure what I'm angry about anymore. Is it because we weren't given the same opportunities? Probably. Is it because I believe that this isn't the best way to look for talents? Probably. I just don't know what to feel anymore when advertising isn't about passion and lots of hard work, and people who truly wants it has doors slammed into their faces even before they could say, "Let me try."
Let me know I'm not the only one feeling this way.. that I think something is seriously wrong.. somewhere.
posted by fuzk, 10:33 am
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Strangely Familiar
Friday, March 23, 2007
(Picture courtesy of nataliedee.com) posted by fuzk, 11:08 am
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Asia's Answer to Myspace - Friendster
Monday, March 19, 2007
I'm sure most if not everyone (my total readership of 5) who reads this knows what Friendster is about. For those who doesn't, it's something like MySpace. It's a place where you "connect" to your friends and make new friends. I think they call it a.. social networking site.. or something like that.
I'm also quite sure that a lot of you have heard that MySpace is making quite a huge wave in the marketing/advertising world. Everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon and create a profile for themselves on it.. from everyday Joes to celebrity wannabes like Kevin Federline; and the advertisers are lapping it up. In very much the same essence, Friendster is a site that has taken the world (at least this part of the world) by storm. I'm actually quite surprised that it has taken Jeff Roberto (marketing and PR director for Friendster) so long to pursue advertisers. [Read the article HERE.]
It would be interesting to see which advertisers jump on board and at the same time, remain relevant to the users. From the sheer numbers alone (Friendster has over 40 million users), your advertised product is bound to be seen by someone, the question is, is it to those that want to see it? I'm not sure how MySpace is doing it, but since Google has already jumped in, I think it's safe to assume that more likely than not, it's going to be contextual advertising.. but of course, we know how horribly wrong that could turn out.
To quote a friend, "using a bazooka to kill a mosquito" could get you what you want, but you also get a lot of unwanted attention. Let's wait and see how this works. What do you guys think? Is it going to work? Is Friendster going to be as "big" as MySpace?
Oh, and to prove that they are probably doing the right thing, I DO have a friendster account. Heh.
I'm also quite sure that a lot of you have heard that MySpace is making quite a huge wave in the marketing/advertising world. Everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon and create a profile for themselves on it.. from everyday Joes to celebrity wannabes like Kevin Federline; and the advertisers are lapping it up. In very much the same essence, Friendster is a site that has taken the world (at least this part of the world) by storm. I'm actually quite surprised that it has taken Jeff Roberto (marketing and PR director for Friendster) so long to pursue advertisers. [Read the article HERE.]
It would be interesting to see which advertisers jump on board and at the same time, remain relevant to the users. From the sheer numbers alone (Friendster has over 40 million users), your advertised product is bound to be seen by someone, the question is, is it to those that want to see it? I'm not sure how MySpace is doing it, but since Google has already jumped in, I think it's safe to assume that more likely than not, it's going to be contextual advertising.. but of course, we know how horribly wrong that could turn out.
To quote a friend, "using a bazooka to kill a mosquito" could get you what you want, but you also get a lot of unwanted attention. Let's wait and see how this works. What do you guys think? Is it going to work? Is Friendster going to be as "big" as MySpace?
Oh, and to prove that they are probably doing the right thing, I DO have a friendster account. Heh.
posted by fuzk, 10:18 am
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Jeff is the new Steve?
Thursday, March 08, 2007
I just saw this over at wired news, and what I saw blew me away.
Remember the cool multi-touch technology you saw on iPhone and how you could enlarge pictures just using your fingers? Imagine that in a big screen.. with even more features. If it's a little easier, think Tom Cruise in Minority Report.
All I can say is.. WOW.
Enough talk. Let me show you the videos and tell me what you think.
WOW.
Remember the cool multi-touch technology you saw on iPhone and how you could enlarge pictures just using your fingers? Imagine that in a big screen.. with even more features. If it's a little easier, think Tom Cruise in Minority Report.
All I can say is.. WOW.
Enough talk. Let me show you the videos and tell me what you think.
WOW.
posted by fuzk, 3:20 pm
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Osim has done it again.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Ever since Apple Inc. came up with the iPod, a lot of companies have tried to copy their style of naming their products - namely adding the "i" in front. I'm not sure whether it sells their products, but personally, it just tells me that you are lazy, and not very creative.
One of these companies is Osim. We have the very (in)famous iGallop, and their even more.. attention-grabing ads. Now, we have something that is going to be just as.. wrong. Osim now has iPoke in their collection. Yes. iPoke. No no, nothing naughty, just a foot and calf massager. (Look at product HERE) For the life of me, I have no idea why they would want to name a product like that.
Oh and erm.. I think Osim didn't think of it when they name they latest product.. but, it actually sounds like someone's scolding you. Yeah.. the product in question is uPapa. What's wrong you say? Well, say it like a Singaporean.. yeah.. YOUR FATHER AH! Brilliant marketing people, not so brilliant this time. In case you want to take a look at how the product looks like, click HERE.
May I just add that I have NOTHING against Osim? Okay.. maybe only towards their not very creative way of naming their products and their not so creative ads. I'm just wondering.. if the uPapa targeted towards dads start selling like hot cakes, would they come up with something for mums and call it uMama? Heh.
One of these companies is Osim. We have the very (in)famous iGallop, and their even more.. attention-grabing ads. Now, we have something that is going to be just as.. wrong. Osim now has iPoke in their collection. Yes. iPoke. No no, nothing naughty, just a foot and calf massager. (Look at product HERE) For the life of me, I have no idea why they would want to name a product like that.
Oh and erm.. I think Osim didn't think of it when they name they latest product.. but, it actually sounds like someone's scolding you. Yeah.. the product in question is uPapa. What's wrong you say? Well, say it like a Singaporean.. yeah.. YOUR FATHER AH! Brilliant marketing people, not so brilliant this time. In case you want to take a look at how the product looks like, click HERE.
May I just add that I have NOTHING against Osim? Okay.. maybe only towards their not very creative way of naming their products and their not so creative ads. I'm just wondering.. if the uPapa targeted towards dads start selling like hot cakes, would they come up with something for mums and call it uMama? Heh.
posted by fuzk, 5:49 pm
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