Pump Up The Volume

First they hopped in Barcelona.

Then they hopped through advertising

and Flashmobbed Yahoo across 17 countries.

Now they have congregated in a warehouse for the last leg of their tour.

Meet the Hoppers.

A long journey it has been for them and boy they are deflated.

That’s why they need your help.

From next Monday you can pump the hoppers in the warehouse via Twitter using #pumpt.

Yes that’s right.

You can pump up hoppers with Twitter.

But that’s not it, we’d also like to know what you want us to do with them once they have all been pumped. Tweet it. Tell it to our @chiefhopper. He will make the best idea happen. Honest.

Now have a live look at our clever techies setting up the pumpstation. Phew.

Here’s some set-up pron for the geeks amongst you.

The creative department is dead – long live the creative department.

The Future of Marketing, originally uploaded by Flo Heiss.

Funny isn’t it this thing called ideas. Where do they come from?
“They can come from anywhere” – Well, bollox to that. They can – but most of the time they don’t; but do they come out of a “department”?

Ty Montague drops and interesting bomb in this month’s Creative Review coverage of the Click conference in NY (November issue of CR, page 62): Can you “outsource the whole creative department”? Do agencies even need a creative department? Shall we fire our creative departments overnight? Is it possible to outsource all ideas generation to specialists in a particular field as campaigns become ever more complex and specialised and crazy?

In the same article Lars Bastholm is cited making a comparison to the film industry. They congregate specialists and crazy minds to create a film and then everyone crawls back into their little specialism holes. Freelance extreme (my words – not his).

I find this idea very, very interesting. We’ve been this discussing this at Dare a lot recently and the answer is probably a boring: yes and no.

You know, if your idea requires a pink flying elephant with a webcam ductaped to his trunk and an RFID chip clipped to his ears with his dung balls RSS fed into a widget you don’t necessarily have someone sitting around at your agency hat knows how to do this, but what you need is someone that a) can come up with this idea and b) someone that knows someone that knows someone that knows how to make this happen. A fixer.

So I think the real question is:

What is the right makeup of a creative department 2010+ ? A department that comes up with ideas for a digital world. Not just digital ideas. And that can make those ideas happen.

I put my hand up. I went round the conference circuit the last couple of years evangelising about how we do things oh so differently here at Dare. “No, we don’t have a creative department where everyone sits together.” I used to say, being all clever and out there. “We do things differently here.” “We are special.”

Well not really.

To be honest it is a nightmare trying to run a department of 50 people spread over 7 floors. So whilst a lot of “traditional” agencies it seems are opening their departments or declaring the death of it, we are doing the exact opposite. We are bringing everybody back together again; but with a twist. Did I mention that our tech department will be part of the creative department?

I think there is a great benefit to be had to have creatives, designers and techies sitting together sharing ideas and working together.

But hey, who knows if it will work. I’ll give it a shot. See you on stage in Cannes. Or not.

Digitelephant, originally uploaded by Flo Heiss.

Follow Sony Twilight Football

First we made this:

Now you can grab this little widget so you can follow the @SonyTwilight event minute by minute.

Sony Twilight Football: 7 games of football, 7 incredible locations, following twilight around the world

Colin. Rest in peace.

Nearly two years ago Rob & Dip got into Dareschool with their now infamous Hamster “stunt”.

Ever wondered what happened to the poor little chap? Not for the faint hearted.

Pen and Paper vs Twitter

I’ve had this theory about technological innovation for a while and I’ve been thinking about it again last week while on a lovely break in Tuscany. This is by no means anything I have researched, just a gut feeling.

Why is it that the further north you go in Europe the better technological innovations you get? The Swedes are the most prolific digital heads and the work coming from Sweden is always groundbreaking and new and beautiful. Skype, Spotify – Swedish. Nokia – Finnish. To name a few. Can anyone think of an Italian or German example?

Know what? I think it’s the weather. It’s no coincidence that the UK with it’s rubbish weather is so far ahead with digital life and the uptake of digital innovations and interactive campaigns. In Sweden it’s dark most of the year. What do you do? You make stuff. In Italy it’s outside life. Piazza, pizza.

Yes, I am sure it’s the weather.

I am a digital addict, I love everything about it. I live my life online trough Twitter, Flickr you name it.

But here’s the thing. Sitting outside a farmhouse in the middle of Tuscany with fireflies buzzing and crickets chirping, slowly getting drunk on the best wine in the world, even I don’t need Twitter.

Just pen and paper will do.

http://tinyurl.com/mr7oup, originally uploaded by Flo Heiss.

Major douchebag speaks sense

Never thought I’d say this, but Dieter Bohlen speaks sense in this clip. Unfamiliar with Mr Bohlen? He used to be in a german “band” called Modern Talking in the 80s responsible for “music” like this:

He has since reappeared on German TV as the German version of Simon Cowell (no Wikipedia link needed here)
You might have never heard of Dieter Bohlen and don’t speak German, but basically what he says here is that all music should be free and kids should not be criminalised for sharing music and the only way for musicians to make money is gigging. Going live.

I have written something along those lines a while ago (if you don’t want to read the whole gumpf just read the last para here)

Dieter I salute you. There, I’ve said it.

Everything at the same time

First I did this. (Rocky 2, 3 and 4 playing at the same time):

Then I did this (Jaws 1, 2 and 3 playing at the same time):

Full set here.

Now someone did this (Entire Metallica Death Magnetic CD at the same time):

I am in heaven.

Finally my Photoshop work made it into The Sun

I am so proud.

Mad props to Bitch Bag for the idea.

finally my photoshop work made it into The Sun, originally uploaded by Flo Heiss.

Stop! Meme time.

First this image popped up in The Sun. Now Bazil Nutts is everywhere!
Could this be the new Aretha’s Hat?

original, originally uploaded by Bitch Bag.

tourist_bazil, originally uploaded by Flo Heiss.

coleman_hasselhoff_bazil, originally uploaded by Flo Heiss.

Here comes my post about Twitter

Twitter?, originally uploaded by Flo Heiss.

I love it. I have been on it for some time now and even created a viral with/for/about it.

Now I read on Iain’s marvelous blog about Twitter and a piece in the Guardian and his observation on the comments, and how people think Twitter is crap.

I really don’t understand how people can think Twitter is crap. It’s just like saying the telephone is crap. It’s what you do with it that matters.

Ok, I’ll shut up now.