Quote of The Week, Hayden – 4/27/08

Copywriting is perhaps the only non-criminal activity that allows you to make a comfortable living off your character defects. These will usually include, but are not limited to pride, anger, gluttony, greed, lust, envy, sloth and fear. All of them are useful, depending on he circumstances, so make sure you’re familiar with each in all its facets.

-Steve Hayden, former Vice Chairman, Ogilvy Worldwide

I like to think I'm pretty familiar with my characted defects. Luckily there are many to work with.

Although I don't consider myself a slothful person, what I don't have in that area I make up tenfold in the other six.

dubs. out.

Sound Is Sweet

First the spot (from DDB London):



Now, how they did it:



Our time will soon come to make things like this.

dubs. out.

Vladimir Kush

Was in a terrible mood this morning while checking Ffffound and stumbled on this Russian-born painter. It immediately made me feel better for some reason.

Great stuff, very surreal, dreamlike and relaxing. He refers to what he does as "metaphorical realism."

Here are some I particularly liked:












To see the rest of his work, click here.

dubs. out.

Quote of The Week, Rilke – 4/20/08

Go into yourself and test the deeps in which your life takes rise; at its source you will find the answer to the question whether you must create. Accept it, just as it sounds, without inquiring into it. Perhaps it will turn out that you are called to be an artist. Then take that destiny upon yourself and bear it, its burden and its greatness, without ever asking what recompense might come from outside.

-Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

Not to sound flighty or overstated, but we need less approval from the outside world and more from inside.

The teachers always say that's it's what you think that matters. Now I believe it's up to us to start really believing it.

dubs. out.

Maybe Now That Charlton Heston is Gone...

...we can finally take the guns from his cold dead hands.

Today marks the one year anniversary of the shootings at Virginia Tech. Most people seemed to agree that it doesn't feel like that long ago.

While I'm sure every school in the country had some sort of vigil, actually going to school in Virginia with a good amount of Tech alums, things felt pretty sombering around here.

A few students posted up the following, which I found very touching.




They also put this up, which, although powerful, didn't affect me in the way that it probably should have...














...And then I came to this picture:


There are a lot of things we take for granted in this world. And ironically enough, our lives are probably what we think about least.

dubs. out.

I Hate Singing in Ads

but for some reason I sort of like this spot from LA's 72 And Sunny.



I love the bigness of the idea, which it's pretty safe to say, can't get much bigger than this.

Or maybe I just like the cameos.

dubs. out.

Quote of the Week, Collins - 4/13/08

People give us moments of their lives that they will never get back. Shopping in a store we designed, watching a commercial, surfing over a website we crafted, reading a package, book or magazine we art directed. What we do becomes part of their personal story. We owe them our best work, our best efforts, an interesting experience—and the truth.

-Brian Collins, COLLINS

If I've learned one thing at this school, it's that we must, above all, be cognizant of the fact that people don't give a shit about anything we create. They only watch what they want to watch, and the same goes for where they go and what they interact with.

If what we do doesn't interest them, then it won't be seen or remembered, and no beneftis will be reaped.

We should be honored when we create content that people actually want to see. It's something to strive for every single time, because without it, we're dead.

dubs. out.