Dancing Dodo

Why is animal advertising so popular? Because it’s amusing to see them act like humans? Or simply because they’re cute?

I’m still undecided on the subject for my dissertation, but advertising is one of the options I’m considering. So, I was interested to see that yet another advert featuring an animal has been created. Previously, we’ve seen PG tips’ family of chimpanzees and the ‘T-birds,’ the Carling crab, Frank’s Pablo the Drug Mule Dog, Compare the Meerkat and the Cadbury gorilla, to name just a few. The latest addition is the dancing dodo.

When I first saw this advert, I was quite stunned. I wasn’t sure whether to be appalled or to laugh. A part of me is ashamed to say that it was the latter. The concept is quite simple: play on the products name, 5 Alive, and resurrect a dodo.

Yet, because the advert was so ridiculous, I couldn’t help but laugh. It begins with calming views of a tropical island and waves lapping on a beach, so it was completely unexpected to see a chubby dodo come bursting out of the sand after being brought back to life by spilt 5 Alive. The dodo sings ‘I’m alive’ as well as dancing around the beach, performing not only the moon walk but also playing air guitar.

The advert was attention grabbing, I was curious to know from the start what it could be for. Then, once the dodo jumped out of the sand, I couldn’t stop watching and wondered what on earth could they think of next.

I think I laughed because I couldn’t quite believe what I was watching or how ridiculous it was. Yet, didn’t the advertisers win? They grabbed my attention and made me remember their product.

Dandelion building

Nicknamed 'the Seed Cathedral' and [my favourite] 'the Dandelion Building,' the UK pavilion, which was built for the World Expo in Shanghai, is unbelievable. Designed by Thomas Heatherwick, the 20 metre tall building recently won the Royal Institute of British Architects' Lubetkin Prize. It's made of 60,000 slender fibre optic rods, each containing a seed to promote the Millennium Seed Bank Project, an international conservation project introduced by the Royal Botanic Gardens.

When visitors walk into the structure, they are surrounded by the seeds; at night the whole construction glows; and the rods even 'quiver in the breeze.'

I adore quite possibly everything about this construction. I admire it's shape, how it's so different to some of the 'smooth' faced and harshly pronounced modern buildings; how its structure directly reflects upon its content and the Millenium Seed Bank Project, and manages to combine modern and natural connections.

What I enjoy the most is its ability to deceive your eyes and perspective. The protruding rods and blurred edges make part of you believe that this bizarre structure can't possibly be real, leaving you with an urge to touch it. I think this could also be partly due to it having a cube structure, rather than a sphere shape like similar natural forms such as a sea urchin or hedgehog, thus further enhancing its unnatural feel.

Other minor details also add something extra, without them the structure wouldn't be the same. The fact the structure glows and moves, making it seem alive and the seed in every single rod.

The project was incredibly thought out and is a fantastic piece of design. I find this building fascinating and wish I was able to hop on a plane to Shanghai and spend a day just walking around the Dandelion Building.

Street puzzles

Whilst doing some research at work, I stumbled across an unusual photographer, Nils Jorgensen. Based in London, Jorgensen finds his inspiration on the streets rather than in celebrities. A refreshing work method, I find it admirable that in a way his photographs celebrate the public.

Not only do I admire Jorgensen’s chosen subject, but also his intelligence and humour. Each photograph is like a puzzle that the audience must decipher to discover what Jorgensen wants to share with you. He uses the surrounding area to engage with and reflect upon the person or subject in his photographs. Furthermore, this aspect of Jorgensen’s work proves that he has an acute awareness of his surroundings - the exact topic of this Summer Brief.

Discovering Jorgensen has taught me that your “subject” doesn’t need to be the focus; the surrounding area can be a key factor and has the capability of improving your work.

Are the planes going green?

As previously mentioned, I was able to visit Farnborough International Airshow, one of the largest aviation trade events. Another show highlight [together with the Dreamliner] was the Airbus A380, which took part in the flying and static displays. A truly incredible plane, you can’t begin to imagine the size of this double decker or how eerie it was to see this enormous structure slowly turn and fly towards you.

Whilst walking around the Airbus A380, I noticed this logo on the side. After a bit of searching online, I found out that it represents the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity, declared by the United Nations – ‘..the year that celebrates the diversity of life on Earth, including every plant, animal and micro-organism.’ I thought it was quite a quirky graphic to have amongst the numerous corporate logos, the bold blue Airbus branding and the simple circular shapes that decorate the tail of the plane.

I admired the simple silhouettes and to see a graphic that didn’t over-use effects for once was refreshing. The silhouettes have been drawn with lovely detail: the curl of the waves, the smooth ‘S’ of the flamingo’s neck, the touching moment between parent and child and the two thin branches on the bushy tree. Every element is carefully chosen as a reminder of what and whom we are helping by protecting the environment. It’s also always great to see a logo that can play with your eyes - when you follow the curve of the wave your eye registers the first ‘0.’ Then your gaze moves on to the child and parent and you notice the ‘1.’

The logo reminded me of the 787 Dreamliner aeroplane, a fellow big name in the aviation industry renowned for being environmentally friendly. I wonder if this is a new trend in the industry? Have the aviation companies taken into consideration that high-profile figures, such as Prince Charles, have been criticised for their alleged over use of air transportation and have had to fly less in order to appease their critics? Or is it the constantly growing interest in recycling that has caused companies to go green? I don’t know the reason, but it’s interesting to see how this industry, and consequently its design, is changing.

Plane spotting

Here it goes, the first post for the Summer Brief…

I’m currently still on placement working for a creative agency who took me to the Farnborough International Airshow, one of the aviation industry’s biggest trade shows and one of the agency’s clients for whom they designed the advertising and marketing campaign. We were there to do work for the Airshow, but also to man our own exhibition stand.

Whilst there, I was able to spend some time walking around the exhibition halls and static plane displays. I began to develop an interest in the aviation world, and was able to tell the difference between the Blades and the Red Arrows from just the sound of their engines – please bare in mind I was there for a week! I found the whole event incredibly exciting and marveled at the air displays, unable to believe the speed and agility of the planes.

It was whilst I was walking around the exhibition stands of the various international companies, passing model planes, glowing signage and two-storey stands with their own bar at the top, that I realised just how much design [let alone money] had been invested in them. One Russian company had even hired dancers to perform on their stand, to the annoyance of their neighbours.

One stand that particularly caught my eye was that belonging to General Electric [GE] who supply engines for the 787 Dreamliner, the show’s biggest attraction. Made by Boeing, the 787 Dreamliner has been causing great interest within the aerospace industry because it’s the first major airliner largely built from composite materials and is renowned for being more environmentally friendly, using 20% less fuel than previous models.

Environmental impact was evidently the concept for GE’s exhibition stand, which featured white walls with bright green streaks and type. The type was sans serif and had a friendly curve to it, reflecting GE’s logo. What attracted much of my attention were the modern luminous green line drawings on transparent plastic. The affect was fantastic, light reflecting off the surface and being able to see through this detailed drawing, but the images were also chosen carefully, maintaining a professional air yet still fun and modern. I was particularly impressed by the combined engine and flower illustration, which clearly illustrates their environmentally friendly message whilst not forgetting the product itself.

I also appreciated the contrast between the large imposing industrial engine in the centre of the stand and the clean drawings and white walls and floor. I admired how the two combined, and every detail was thought out.

I respected the GE stand not only because its concept was delivered so successfully in such a clean and efficient manner, but also because it didn’t overpower me, its concept was subtle. I wasn’t bombarded with graphics, unlike some of the other stands. It was nice to be able to walk onto a stand without feeling visually stalked or pestered. Perhaps that’s a lesson: not to forget that subtlety could be the better option.