Sidewalk chalk--> Green Graffiti

Back in high school when I was campaigning for student body president I thought it was such a GENIUS idea to use sidewalk chalk advertising. It's cheap and people notice it. Some down sides are it's a little messy, and if the weather is bad- you're out of luck. But what if you lived in sunny california? The coastal boardwalks provide ample foot traffic where your ads would get noticed.

Water stenciling, also know as "reverse graffiti" or "green grafitti" is a fairly new form of advertising that allows brands to get their ad across by virtually power washing sidewalks. People use high-pressure water guns and stencils, which cleans the sidewalk and provides a new ad. Some of the first companies to use this form of advertising are GreenGraffiti (Amsterdam), CURB (London), & GoGorilla Media (New York).

Excess Baggage

I like how Muller pushed the idea of how annoying it is to be charged for bags on airlines. Muller took it to the next level when they moved outside of the airline industry and into taxi cabs. It forces the customer to remember how shocking it was when airlines started charging for bags. This ad highlights how ridiculous bag fees are! I hope the taxi industry doesn't adopt this trend.






Austin's GSD&M Idea City, exaggerates the benefit with their "Bags Fly Free" campaign. According to an article in Insidethatad.com:

" 'Bags Fly Free' has proven to be a strong marketing campaign for Southwest, and the airline believes it is a major reason that Southwest has gained market-share in domestic airline service, said Kevin Krone, Southwest’s vice president of marketing and sales distribution. Momentum has built since many leisure travelers fly infrequently and are still adjusting the hefty fees that other airlines are charging to check baggage."

Both Ad Agencies use mockery to say their airline has overall cheaper flights. I like how Southwest emphasized all bags fly free. The Southwest spots talk more about the benefit because they literally say "bags fly free" numerous times throughout the commercial. Whereas JetBlue focuses too much on the ridiculousness of charging extra for bags...it doesn't sell the benefit as well as GSD&M. Muller's tagline is also misleading "Check your first bag for free"- it doesn't seem like such a great deal after all. I do give Muller credit for making a funny ad, but in the end Southwest allows you to bring more bags for your buck.

Stella Artois- MOTHER

This ad puts a clever twist on what happens when a guy brings a girl home. He shows off his cool gadgets and woos her. But this time, she is engulfed by the gadgets and the beer prevails to be what the guy really wants. As a woman, I'm not offended by this ad. I think it could go both ways- it could have easily  been set in a woman's apartment and the guy could have been eaten by the couch. I'd like to see more like this but with different scenarios. Perhaps a man proposes to a woman in a very extravagant way- and instead of wooing over the ring/proposal she is more excited by the stella that he gives her before the proposal. It could also be a great interactive ad on a website. It'd be fun to click around the apartment and play with the different gadgets and see how creative/subtle the art director could be with product placement.

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A thick wooden Indian sculpture seems appropriate to start the design blog off. This rounded belly fella is a God, noted by his many arms.

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The crackled walls are a product of weather and time. It's an antique look that many in the US try to imitate with sandpaper & other "foe finishes".

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This is one of the few things I photographed in Agra besides the Taj Mahal. I'm not sure if the truck works, but the rusted exterior gives it character.

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I wish I could take one of these old Indian doors home with me. Why would you ever buy something at Pottery Barn? To attain this rustic look just find some old wood and hammer in some nails and rust!