Idea Magpie

Thanks Tumblr, it's been fun

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 23:22:54 -0400

To all those who follow me (and anyone else who might be interested) my blog is moving. I love...

Brands are people too. But too often they’re douches.

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 18:47:00 -0400

Earlier this year, Mitt Romney (to jeers from the assembled audience) asserted that corporations are...

Realizing the opportunities presented by a new world of retail

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 09:34:00 -0400

At a time when it’s easy to feel pessimistic about the prospects of retailers, a perspective...

Wanted to share and exciting and important project we’re...

Fri, 04 May 2012 15:07:45 -0400

Wanted to share and exciting and important project we’re currently working on.

We have partnered with Christy Turlington and her charity, Every Mother Counts to draw attention to the tragedy of maternal mortality – worldwide, a mother dies every 90 seconds in childbirth, yet 90% of these births are preventable.

As a show of solidarity to families left motherless around the world, we are asking American moms to disappear this mothers day – no cards or flowers, no phone calls, no status updates – we’re calling this No Mother’s Day.

To publicize No Mother’s Day, we have created the video above featuring celebrities and everyday moms and a Facebook page where you can show your support .

2 days in things are going pretty well. At the time of writing, the video has just under 35,000 views and the FB page has just over 20,000 Likes. There’s also been some nice media coverage including Fast Company, Washington Post, Huffington Post, Time and Creativity Online.

But we only have until Mother’s Day to make this a phenomenon on the internets so please please spread the word.

Belated thoughts on the Super Bowl part 2. $4Million, the price of unremarkability

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 05:10:00 -0400

The day after the Superbowl, I read a piece from Mashable which suggested that the fact that Apple...

Belated thoughts on the Super Bowl part 1. When will we stop talking to ourselves?

Sat, 25 Feb 2012 19:23:34 -0500

The Super Bowl always comes as something of an eye-opener for those of us who inhabit the bi-coastal...

Just in case you needed a reminder that what we do is utter...

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 11:22:30 -0500

Just in case you needed a reminder that what we do is utter nonsense. Colbert brilliantly debunks brand strategy.

The day after his final 60 Minutes segment, a memorable Andy...

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 15:06:13 -0400

The day after his final 60 Minutes segment, a memorable Andy Rooney rant against technological obsolescence “I had one typewriter for 50 years, but I’ve bought seven computers in six years.”

Dear readers (I’m pretty sure there’s one or two of...

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 22:58:00 -0400

Dear readers (I’m pretty sure there’s one or two of you out there). Sorry about the radio silence, I have recently become a father and whilst I have lots of ideas for new posts, finding the time to write them is proving to be difficult.

As you count down the hours until my next missive, check out these blogs written by people far more talented than me…

BBH Labs, Planning in High Heels, Media Muesli, PSFK, Paul Worthington, Made by Many, Digital buzz blog, Henrik Werdelin, Read write web, Edward Boches, Mashable, Silicon Alley Insider, Brain Pickings,My Posterous

The one night in the year that real people give a shit about advertising and we gave them… a pile of shit

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 12:08:19 -0500

I begin this rant by admitting that I’m an outsider, that last night was only my second Superbowl as...

Is Facebook devaluing the influence of friendship?

Sat, 05 Feb 2011 12:42:00 -0500

Over recent years, the narrative of trust in peers supplanting trust in institutions has become...

Creating experiences, not messages is the key to building the brands of the future

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 22:23:21 -0500

I wrote a post a while back about the difficulty of applying traditional approaches to marketing to...

Another cool personal project. This one from designer Jon...

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 11:32:22 -0500

Another cool personal project. This one from designer Jon Jackson whose departure from LA to go and work in New York City prompted the Adios LA Project where he “broke up” with his native town. A series of beautifully designed billboards accompanied by a great site explaining the project. What’s most impressive is that thanks to a friend at CBS outdoor, they were actually posted up at locations across LA to coincide with his leaving.

Following my post about the innovative agencies creating buzz...

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:16:39 -0500

Following my post about the innovative agencies creating buzz through smart self-initiated projects, a great talk by Ji Lee, Creative Director of Google Creative Labs and the brains behind The Bubble Project on the transformative power of personal projects.

The art of agency self-promotion

Sat, 15 Jan 2011 15:29:00 -0500

As we know, the recession that we have experienced over the last few years has had a profound...

Happiness Brussels’s eloquent comment on the Gulf of...

Sat, 15 Jan 2011 10:41:48 -0500

Happiness Brussels’s eloquent comment on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in collaboration with Anthony Burrill

Dentsu London’s Making Future Magic Ipad light painting...

Sat, 15 Jan 2011 10:36:55 -0500

Dentsu London’s Making Future Magic Ipad light painting project in collaboration with Berg

The Mobile Year in Review. 2010 was the year that the connected...

Mon, 27 Dec 2010 13:38:29 -0500

The Mobile Year in Review. 2010 was the year that the connected world driven by smartphones came true according to this nicely put together video from Mobile Future. Massive growth in app downloads and mobile social networking in particular.

Design is something to experience, not just see

Sat, 27 Nov 2010 10:33:00 -0500

As a planner it would be a dereliction of duty not to pipe-up during a lull in a brainstorm, stroke...

Research findings from In-Stat suggest that each US consumer,...

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 15:24:00 -0500

Research findings from In-Stat suggest that each US consumer, thanks to a proliferation of internet-connected devices, will have between 5 and 10 screens for viewing video content by 2014. In its coverage of the research, Gigaom commented “Such a prediction is a complete turnaround from just a handful of years ago, when web-connected televisions were just a fuzzy vision and the video industry was filled with competing media formats.” So just imagine the bewilderment Lorraine Baines (aka Marty McFly’s gran) must be feeling.