If there was ever a league in moping, i’d definitely come out on top today. It’s the perfect weather to stay at home and facebook, tweet, catch up on some online shopping and write a post or two. Blisss! :P

So for a while now, i’ve been contemplating reclaiming lost treasures from my childhood. Sometimes, parents just do the most childish things and get rid of your stuff without telling you. Sometimes they give them away to a distant cousin or maybe toss it into the charity bag. Bottom line is by the time you end up realizing that you are missing your stuff, its usually twenty years later on a gloomy cloudy day like today. You are lost in your thoughts waiting for your girlfriend to call on Skype and suddenly the moment of euphoria dawns upon you followed by a reminiscing smile as you spot on etsy the exact same item you used to own as a child. Written next to it in medium bold – Now available for a limited time only for 15$. Shipping within 6 working days! Kachhing!! 

Oh how beautiful that feeling :) Ladies! (this one in particular) – a word of advice. Boys love their toys (take it as you like it) :P So scavenging through the deepest crevices of my memory bank, etsy, amazon and by the power of Google i compiled the following list of my sheer yearning delight. Hope you find joy in my memories too.

The Classic ViewMaster. I used to have one of these red ones with a reel of images from Paris and Rome. I still remember being mesmerized by the millions of windows on the Colosseum and the tiny people walking in and around the Eiffel Tower.

The Sony Walkman from the ‘My first Sony’ series. This was my favorite thing in the whole world. On the reverse side of the walkman, you could see the inner workings, cogs and springs of this wonderful music machine. Countless hours of Vanilla Ice, MC Hammer, Michael Jackson and Mix Tapes on repeat.

My first ever Atari console. Countless hours of fun. Summer vacation hours spent wide eyed in front of the tele with a joystick in hand (you perverts! i know what your’e thinking :P )

The infamous ‘Tip and Strip’ Pen. I vividly remember how this item alone turned the class geek into a class hero. Nothing like a pair of boobies to get the attention of impressionable minds :P

The Vintage Flik Flak 1988 Quartz. One of my favorites that mysteriously disappeared while moving house :(

This blog has seen its fair share of inactivity and has been subject to periodic bursts of inspiration, mood swings and heartbreaks. All this while it has been made empty promises to be written to more regularly and all along hopeful assumptions have been made that there may still be a soul or two that still visit this familiar place :P This blog.Current Population: ‘us’

Think its time i come to terms with the fact that i am only going to post stuff here when i fear coming across as too presumptuous on Facebook and/or when i feel like ranting to myself and/or when i just feel the need to periodically document the events of my life in the hope that perhaps one day an offspring will find it magical to bask in the revelation that his/her procreator was just trying to figure out life as it happened.

So that brings me to the present. Toronto Toronto Toronto. Love the city. Love its energy. More over love the fact that almost everyone is happy in their constant Diaspora state of mind. They all speak with an accent! Mom! No more mockery or mimicry of how my r’s roll or my a’s last longer. i feel at home! (so far)

Chanced upon this commercial today by way of creativity-online and i think it deserves a round :)

This cracks me up every time :D

Love the conversation Anthony Kiedis and Ed Ruscha are having here. Especially the opening bit where he says;

Sometimes you make something and the universe just says “Yes, you did good today. You woke up with nothing and made something where there was nothing. Your job is done”

Inspired by their chatter, i began to explore Ed Ruscha’s earlier work and found something that looked familiar. Art has always inspired advertising so no judgements here, just the pure joy of recording observation :)

Can’t believe that its almost been two years, the boys (Paresh, Sachin & Vishal) have managed to keep themselves dedicated to smuggling some of the best desi mixes from around the world. They’ve searched high and low for talent and kept things pretty damn real. Good going chappies! :)

Something else that they deserve real credit for is being patient with my erratic and elastic design deadlines. Here is a quick scroll down the musical lane (in chronological order)

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How to dominate the world by Wunderman
No brand was created as a global brand and was never designed to cater to a global consumer.
The world is full of young people so BE VISUAL ( Illiteracy is a huge issue and visual communication works best on a global level)
Find the average age of your country and deploy your campaign
Non-Western advertising has a tendency to promise STATUS. The consumer in these countries survive within a space intensive environment where everything is potential media space, eg; housing, shops, transport, refrigerators, rooms; etc.
Western advertising promises SUSTENANCE
Communication for a global brand needs to be culturally neutral

BBDO – The Next Billion. Relationship between consumers and the screens in the media scape.
Screen1 – The Television. The Television is the jester of the family. Its there to entertain and comfort you. Over the years, it has lost credibility in delivering news content because of the many stories of government alliances and conspiracies to control the media. It is currently the official source of entertainment
Screen2 – The Computer. The Computer is the ‘All Wise Sage’. Almost a little like the elder sibling who you are comfortable approaching with any kind of question and you are confident that he/she will have the answer for you.
Screen3 – The Mobile.mobile is the Lover. This archetype shoes characteristic similarities across multiple age groups and their relationship to their lovers. The teenager is protective, experimental and partly insecure about her lover. Never lets it out of his/her sight. He/she is receptive to new kinds of communication and advertising on this platform. When compared to someone who is over 45, the relationship with the mobile is more along the lines of ‘Don’t give me advertising bullshit! – You know me well enough by now to give me this crap’
Screen4 – the Tablet. The Tablet mimics the wizard who does things differently. This correlation was very poorly presented. i suspect it is because it’s an evolving medium.

The Times – The Future is Connected
The master class presented the beta tablet version of the Times newspaper. The digital newspaper is by paid subscription only following the philosophy that good journalism needs to be paid for. The application embeds advertising within the news content like a traditional newspaper. However, all the advertising is treated as a portal to more engaging content, eg; On the tap of a finger, the consumer can view the tv commercial, cars can be customized, phone features can be compared to one another. Consequently, the depth of feedback that can be attained is extremely rich. Users are more receptive to advertising on tablets because it is a ‘Lean Back’ and ‘Immersive’ experience as opposed to advertising that is meant to be received whilst on the computer. Advertising on websites that are meant to be consumed during work hours demand a ‘Lean in’ experience which is extremely difficult to achieve. On the spectrum of engagement lies Immersion on one end and Interaction on the other. The former seduces with beautiful looking content and the latter attracts with utility/applications.

Kraft Foods by Malcolm Gladwell - Importance of being 3rd
A culture built for INVENTION is not optimized for INNOVATION
Example – Apple comes in last. It comes in late to the party and dominates the scene. It turned up late for both – the phone and music player category and went on to rule.
Example – Friendster gave way to MySpace gave way to Facebook
Come second or third and MAKE IT BETTER.

Directory – Laughter the most direct response
PROPOSITION and PROMISE are different. PROMISE is where the humour in advertising is

Use of laughter defined the various groups in a society.
Laughing with v/s Laughing at
Very few brands leaders ‘laugh at’
Brand followers usually ‘laugh at’ in order to get noticed
What is funny in advertising? – Death, Profanity (language, poo, vomit), Politics, Religion, Masculinity and Gags
Establish strange perspectives on the product
Establish characters with a comic flaw, eg incompetnece, greed, laziness, vanity, snobbery
Comic setup – Premise within which the true story unfolds

Been playing with making some old school gif animations. Found this sequence in my stash.

My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.

Eff!! gets me everytime.. no matter how many times! :)

and she huffed and she puffed…