idsgn (a design blog)

Over the weekend a group of artists took to the streets of Manhattan, in a battle of art and advertising.

According to the Public Ad Campaign group, there are over 500 ‘illegal’ street-level billboards around New York City, covered with unauthorized wheat-pasted advertising. Participating in an a second round of ‘New York Street Advertising Take Over’ (NYSAT2), the group attempted to reclaim the public space on Sunday, white-washing and creating art over more than 100 of the billboards.

After what looks like the end of a possible friendship, Verizon Wireless picks a fight with the immensely popular Apple iPhone.

Premiering over the weekend, a hostile new television spot from Verizon hinted at the upcoming launch of the Motorola Droid, a new smartphone running Google’s Android. From the minimalist typography to the folksy music, the 30-second ad mocks Apple’s familiar commercials—focusing on the shortcomings of a device that’s been dubbed the ‘Jesus Phone’…

How can you encourage people to recycle more? A new campaign from Volkswagen says: make it fun.

With the notion “fun is the easiest way to change people’s behavior for the better,” The Fun Theory is a campaign by ad agency DDB Stockholm for Volkswagen Sweden that has people opting to do good in a series of public experiments. Its most recent turns an ordinary recycling bin into a “Bottle Bank Arcade,” giving people points and making a typically mundane task seem more like a video game.

As Advertising Week 2009 wraps up in New York, we’re presenting the last of our coverage: A lecture presented by the legendary designer, Bruce Mau. 

Bruce Mau is a Canadian designer who is known as a ‘re-thinker’ and ‘design futurist.’ He’s an author, designer and thinker who remains committed to moving our industry forward.

Most designers are familiar with S,M,L,XL, Mau’s hefty design volume created with Rem Koolhaas. As author of the design manifesto, Massive Change, Mau sought to push the definition of design forward.

Is your work useful, relevant and/or entertaining?

Jessica Greenwood, the Deputy Editor of Contagious Magazine gave a great presentation this week at Advertising Week 2009. Greenwood's presentation, entitled ‘The Future in 4D: Brands, Communities, Content & Technology’, focused on trend spotting in new media and technology. The overarching theme was to take advantage of every existing technology and keep in mind the mantra: ‘useful, relevant and/or entertaining.’

Today was the kickoff of the 6th annual Advertising Week conference in New York City.

We are happy to be here meeting so many other creatives in the industry. Conferences like this one are host to so many talented people and influential speakers, that one can't help but be inspired.

Not long after their strange Internet Explorer 8 ads, Microsoft is at it again with an equally puzzling campaign for Windows 7.

Created by advertising agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the TV commercials advertise the October release of Windows 7 in the best way Microsoft knows how: a PowerPoint presentation filled with unicorns and kittens. In case that wasn't enough, precious little 4-year-old Kylie (brought back from the previous ‘I'm a PC’ campaign) is added to the mix.

With the growing popularity of ‘viral’ videos on the web, leading brands are racing to create the next big thing. When it works, it can be a rewarding (and often budget-friendly) way to create buzz—but can success be bought?

Using social media, advertisers are able to captivate and communicate with audiences like never before. Advertisements featuring roller skating babies, nude flight attendants, dancing eyebrows, and rouge fonts are being watched by the millions right now, voluntarily and without the cost of TV airtime. These spots are so compelling that people actually want to watch them, and even share them with their friends—taking off and spreading like, well, a virus.

After being unemployed for a decade, Kool-Aid Man is back on the job in a new ad campaign which promises to deliver “more smiles per gallon,” and win the race against soda. 

Created by longtime agency Ogilvy & Mather, the new campaign marks the return of the live action mascot who was first introduced in 1975. The live Kool-Aid Man had been absent from the company's advertising since the late 90's, after losing his job to a (creepier) 3D-animated version of himself.

Advertising agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky, known for pushing boundaries in their work, have launched an experimental new website. In their own words: “Part agency website, part digital experiment.”

After witnessing Calvin Klein's now infamous ‘orgy’ billboard in New York City, and the controversy surrounding it, contributing writer Josh Smith looks into the history of sex in advertising.

A few weeks ago, while rushing in the morning commute, I noticed a new Calvin Klein billboard in Manhattan’s SoHo district. The suggestive poses and bare skin seemed pretty typical for a fashion ad. In fact, I might not have even noticed it, except that it seemed unusual to show such intimacy between one girl and three guys. I carried on my way though, without too much thought.

Later that day, the public outcry broke to major news outlets. Had I been witness to a newsworthy event? It was odd.

Trailing a series of failed and questionable commercials, Microsoft has launched an experimental new advertising campaign. Can Superman, puke jokes, and lolcats make IE cool again?

The new campaign features actor Dean Cain (former Superman from TV's Lois and Clark) in a series of mock-PSAs, advertising the launch of Internet Explorer 8. Produced by Indiana-based ad agency Bradley and Montgomery, the commercials try hard to be funny in spots like S.H.Y.N.E.S.S. ("Sharing Heavily Yet Not Enough Sharing Still") poking fun at web users who over-share lolcats, while going for the gross-out factor in O.M.G.I.G.P. ("Oh My God I'm Gonna Puke") featuring a woman who's accidentally seen her partner's obscene browser history.

This postcard arrived in the mail from stock photography company Veer:

At first it just looks like a normal postcard (with some nice varnished/debossed type), but when the postcard is exposed to sunlight something special happens.