Logorama!

Logorama from Marc Altshuler - Human Music on Vimeo.

See the Oscar winning short animated film: Logorama. The whole film is available through Vimeo.com. The description below comes from our good friends of Wikipedia.

Logorama is a 17-minute animated film written and directed by H5/ François Alaux, Hervé de Crécy and Ludovic Houplain, and produced by Autour de Minuit. The film depicts events in a stylized Los Angeles, and is told entirely through the use of more than 2,500 contemporary and historical logos and mascots. The film won the Prix Kodak at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film at the 82nd Academy Awards.

Logorama explores the extent to which logos are embedded in our daily existence. Said members of H5, "Logorama presents us with an over-marketed world built only from logos and real trademarks that are destroyed by a series of natural disasters (including an earthquake and a tidal wave of oil). Logotypes are used to describe an alarming universe (similar to the one that we are living in) with all the graphic signs that accompany us everyday in our lives. This over-organized universe is violently transformed by the cataclysm becoming fantastic and absurd. It shows the victory of the creative against the rational, where nature and human fantasy triumph."

Must See! The Latest Heineken Marketing

My friend Apostolis, Greek marketing and development action hero, is always good in finding the really cool stuff. Now he brought us something on his Facebook page that made my blood run faster through my vains: a super great guerilla marketing campaign of Heineken. I've always been a fan of the Dutch beer brewer's advertising and marketing campaigns anyway, but this one is really great.

Thanks Apostolis. Thanks Heineken. Enjoy!

Fresh Fruit Tastes Better: Give Greece To Young Generations

It's an interesting time to be in Greece. The opinions are obviously quite divided about that, but at least we're living history again in this country. And it's not even a myth...

Last night the Prime Minister, Mr. George, announced more cuts and tax hikes for the Greeks and the civil servants. This morning the guy who brews my morning cappuccino in one of the countless coffee bars of Athens, asked me once more if these measures would finally make me decide to leave Greece. He has asked me this before. Like he tries to get me out of Greece. I think, in the spirit of the genuine Greeks, he tries to prevent me from becoming a victim of the system, but if I wasn't so full of confidence about the Greeks real intentions, I'd suspect he is a nationalist trying to get even the legal foreigners out of the country. But he's not. He just doesn't want me to suffer. The good heart.

Nice Job Cover Up

Nevertheless, Greece is struggling to recover from the blow it got of decades of built up financial tension, nicely covered up by all consecutive ruling parties. You must say they've all done a nice job in postponing the misery to the very last moment. Although everybody in Greece knew about the malpractices of practically every official, and business people, it still was a shock when it hit.

The power is to the youth. That is: the younger generations. The older Greeks simply have no idea nor reference how to competitively rule businesses or the country. Their world consists of bribes, under the table payments, double agenda's and an extremely low daring capability to innovate, invest or move forward. Business has been done based on private agreements, nothing written down and accordingly works the system of the public offices. As about half the country seems to be a civil servant, which means in most cases that they'll be employed for life, it has always been a highly popular job. With each changing ruling party, friends and family of the party leaders used their connections to become civil servant. As no one gets fired, no positions were replaced, just overpopulated. There are thousands of stories about the civil servants, that all sound the same: they don't work (if they show up at all) and if you want to get something done, you pay under the table. It is an inefficient organism, that's for sure.

Innovation Generation

The generation of people between 20 and 40, has experienced a lot more of how things could be in the world and as such in Greece. They studied abroad, think about innovation, dream about a greener world, better career prospective, honest rewards for their knowledge and modernizing the way everything is being ran in this country. However, the elder don't allow them to perform. The elder know everything better. Greeks have by nature the pride that they know things better, which is not bad, as they're pretty intelligent people who actually know about history, the past and use this knowledge in their thinking, but the old Greeks are not daring. They are used to protect what they have, perhaps a result of the dictatorship that ruled until mid-seventies and urbanization of Athens which brought half the country in one city, so you have to 'fight for your right' to have your space.

Whatever and however. The older Greeks have none to little vision, have no creativity, are paralyzing almost all progress the country should need and whoever of them works as civil servant, doctor, lawyer or tax inspector is quite likely to be corrupt and makes it almost impossible for entrepreneurs to operate and for citizens to enjoy life.

Probably not that I hit the nail on the head here, as there are too many different reasons how things could improve, but I definitely feel it's time the younger generations and the voices of people who are looking further than just Greece or their own front porch are being heard.

What's that, up in the air?

This video, 24 hours of global air traffic, made me Google.

An 'old' (2005) article in Energy Bulletin reads: 'Air travel produces 19 times the greenhouse gas emissions of trains; and 190 times that of a ship'. Clear. I suppose it won't be much different since the 2005 data. Perhaps the trains became cleaner. In that case it could be that it is now 25 times the emission of  trains. Nonetheless...

I googled a bit more, but couldn't find so quick the current exact amount of emission of 24 hours of global air traffic. Nor have I found the right numbers per year. I can't exactly tell you what the percentage is of pollution by airplanes. It's a bit the same story as this thing with the emails of scientists that leaked before the Kopenhagen summit: they supposevly overreacted on the actual state of the world. But even so, it is a fact that we have global warming, that our world is sick. It's in the same way that I might not know the exact numbers, but I know that airplanes contribute in a great way to the sickness of the world. I participate equally in this polluting, or maybe even more as I travel quite a bit for work.

Branson

Sir Richard Branson (Virgin) acknowledges it too and started to undertake action. He says he's putting GBP 1.6 billion to the table to invest into new green technologies. He hopes to create a biofuel for flying planes. See Friends Of The Earth for the interview. “Because I’m in one of the dirty businesses, I have all the more responsibility to do something,” he said in Times Online.

So, without the exact numbers at hand, having the assurance of Branson it is 'one of the dirty businesses', the YouTube video 24 hours Air Traffic around the globe almost gives me a soar throat, just by looking at it.

In case you’re interested: Here's a European one. And here a video for the USA. This too is: an interesting picture.

The Christmas tree of Athens

Look at that. It's kind of nice this year. The Christmas tree on Syntagma Square in Athens has a feelgood touch. It is a tree created from 250 fir trees that will be planted after Christmas in the area's that have suffered most from the summer fires.

Perhaps that this tree prevents the idiots who felt like burning the city and its tree last year from doing it again.

It's a damn mess!

I can't resist. Need to share something about it with the world (which - in my blog case - has a population of 42). But it's a damn big mess in Greece!

It has to be said: it’s not the easiest of times for the Greeks. The whole world is looking at the country wondering what exactly the financial mess is they’re in. “We’re not the next Iceland". Or Dubai, assured the Greek Minister of Finance.

Rubbish!
But the Greeks are actually in a real mess! The trash is literally piling up in the streets. And why? The garbage men are on strike. “Because they strike every year”, is the best answer you will get on the question ‘why?’.

The media hardly pays attention to it and if they do, it is a rather dry summary of events. The people don’t mention it. But it starts to smell. It starts to create a threat to the health of children who pass the piles when they go to school.

Tired
It’s difficult to solve a problem if nobody makes it his problem. The country is tired. Tired of everything that’s going on, everything that could be coming (riots to celebrate last years riots, tax problems, more corruption, whatever).

So it is a mess in Greece. And it keeps piling up.

The Story Of Cap & Trade

Watch and learn!

"This is a story about a world obsessed with stuff. It's a story about a system in crisis. We're trashing the planet, we're trashing each other and we're not even having fun". With those words Annie Leonard introduces her film 'The Story of Cap & Trade'.

Annie's film is one of the clearest and gripping explanations I have seen until now on environmental threats, poking through the realities of the big boys, explaining it in such a way that the average news consumer can also follow it: with drawings and great narrative. Like this our news media could actually be able to present it. In understandable wording. But, there's probably no journalist left with the professional quality to do so. At least they understand the newsworthiness of Janet Jackson's nipple or Tom Cruise jumping around on Oprah's couch.  

There seems little 'green' left in the Copenhagen results, if we watch and listen to Annie Leonard (and I hope you will!). Annie started the highly approachable Story Of Stuff Project. On her website Annie is described as follows: "Annie Leonard, an activist who has spent the past 10 years traveling the globe fighting environmental threats, narrates the Story of Stuff, delivering a rapid-fire, often humorous and always engaging story about “all our stuff—where it comes from and where it goes when we throw it away.”

Annie Leonard says she researches her Stuff, that she is not just saying something. And she's doing a great job, as you can see in the film. She's like the perfect person to read a book to an adult. It's very pleasant listening to her. She keeps your attention. I became an instant fan of her style and what she points out.

The Past Decade (by Newsweek)

Looking back

Nice going of Newsweek. They came with a special decade dedicate. Some 'Oh yeah, that's right, that happened too' top tens. The video covers the first decade of the millennium in seven minutes. Kind of USA oriented, but then again. Whatever they do there impacts the world. At least it helps the media grow in other countries, as they publish as much of the USA's irrelevant news on their sites. I mean, how can a nipple become world news?

Such A Night

Dr. John aka The Night Tripper aka Mac Rebennack

So this is Dr. John. My all time musical hero. The good doctor's real name is Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. (born November 21, 1940). He has played with practically anyone who has put a stamp on modern day music and jazz.

New Orleans

Dr. John is a cool fellow. Born and raised in New Orleans he got to be involved with all the old musical masters of that city. When the city started changing its attitude towards the countless music joints and started closing them down, Dr. John was forced to leave the city. He has never ignored his roots though, through music and otherwise.

Hurricane Katrina 

When hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans on August 25, 2005 and the American government failed to help the city and its people, the doctor got mad. "Nothing was did," he growled. And, only three months after the hurricane he recorded the EP 'Sippiana Hericane' while releasing the full album 'City That Care Forgot' in 2008, hooking up with old time friends like Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson and others.

Grammy Award

For the album, Dr. John won the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album. The press release of the recording label 429 Records, tells us that: “'City That Care Forgot'” is a bold musical statement and a cry for justice and humanity from an artist who is inseparable from the vibrant and colorful culture of the Crescent City. Says Mac in the Times-Picayune newspaper: “This is only the second time I made a record solely for the people of New Orleans. If it helps anybody down there to get any of their piss-offedness out, if it helps anybody down there in any way—good. This is a record I just could not not do. I couldn’t have lived with myself if I didn’t make this record.”  

The Break Up

Advertising

The subject is spinning out of control! There's clearly nothing left of advertising as it was. Does 'Advertiser' still cover the load? It used to be so easy with radio, tv or newspaper to chose from. But now. It's quite amazing all the LinkedIn discussions I find about social media, or researches including traditional advertising (which "doesn't exist" anymore) I am looking at. 'Mobile'! That's the keyword. And 'Social'! Another one. And nobody has a good solid clue what to do.


Everybody knows what not to do though
What about the advertisers? What do they do? Some of them might remember the internet hubble bubble. That should say it all. Try. Try what you can. This time, just as then: don't be afraid of the new. If you don't try, you'll never get to the point that it'll clear up.

Everybody is experimenting
The consumers, the internet users, believe me: the marketers too, so you have no choice than to experiment with them. It'll make it clear what will do the trick. One to one, or social, marketing is proving its worth that much is clear. It's just a matter of finding the best 'how' and 'which'. In any case it is in some advertisers advantage that there's a crisis. The advertisers, who are cutting their marketing budgets now, can let the consumer experiment and step back and watch the whole thing until they feel financially more secure. It's a risk they might be willing to take. Cos them damn consumers don't know what loyalty is anymore anyway, so they might very well lose them anyhow.

But don't panick
There're still ways to get your message across. Even more ways and better ways for sure. Identify yourself. Show your commitment to society and green and responsible corporate dedication and all that. There's a large and ready group of consumers who are waiting to embrace you for that. Because it is quite clear by now: it is necessary to work socially responsible. And as the whole world is going 'social', why would you not make the best use of it? Meanwhile you'll be doing some good too. How rewarding!