Some of you may have seen this. 2 million people have already watched this, so there is a good chance that you have. But it is truly brilliant and inspirational.
Firstly because Sir Ken is very funny in the speech.
And secondly, he talks so passionately about creativity in children and how we have spent years as a nation getting them to conform, rather than getting them to explore – a subject that is very close to my own heart.
If our schools took some notice of this, they would be far better places for kids to grow and develop.
I know it’s 20 minutes long, but bear with it and you will be royally rewarded. And so will your kids, because you will look at them differently and allow them to try things for the sake of it.
My kids are both at Rushcliffe School and they seem to be exercising a lot of his ideas. Concentrating on the individual in a way that seems to go far beyond the Every Child Matters (ECM) agenda being set by successive Governments.
James Lambert is not a name that many of you will be familiar with. I wasn’t earlier until I heard him on Radio Five Live. But he is the natural successor to our very own Eddie the Eagle – and he is 45 years old. There is hope for all of us yet.
James Lambert, Alan Donald Jones, Alex Winterhalde and Jason Weller - Britains Great big Ski Jumping hopes
Another plucky british trier through and through. He has already jumped 93 metres and holds the British record for it. Maybe 93m isn’t world class, but it seems an indecently long way for a 45 year old bloke to fly.
In his Radio Five interview this morning, he confessed that he had little or no chance in the upcoming world championships where he is representing Great Britain in Holmenkollen. I think it is because he doesn’t have a nickname, so I’d like to propose a few.
Jumping Jimbo (my fave)
Leaping Lambert
Jimmy the Jumper
It’s more difficult than it looks this alliteration and rhyming when you have names like James and Lambert. Anyone got any ideas?
Updated
I emailed the team earlier to wish them good luck and got back this rather lovely and brilliantly honest reply. Lets all get behind them and wish them all the best. I know I wouldn’t fancy jumping 90 metres (or actually ten metres for that matter)
Hi John,
This is Jason team captain for the team, thanks very much for your email I shall pass it on to James and the other lads, we do have some names for each other, but they can’t be repeated here, and they certainly don’t rhyme 🙂
But seriously it’s really great for all the lads when people cheer them on and root for them. Fact is James won’t win a medal and probably won’t get through the first round, but like everyone in the team he will give everything he’s got and more, and Alan, Alex, and myself are really proud of him, and next month the team will be in Harrachov for the Masters World Championships, and we shall have a celebration drink, and a toast to people like yourself who support us 🙂
JJB sports are as good an example as any that changing a logo changes nothing. All the papers were this week reporting that they were closing a further 45 stores that weren’t viable.
For me, you may as well close all of them as they are all pretty unpleasant in terms of a shopping experience and i’m now never quite sure if I’m in a JD, a new JJB, and old JJB or even a sports retailer above a DW?
JJB Sports – Sporting an old logo Rushmere August_2009
You can see below a lovely example of their bold new rebrand with a jaunty high tech logo that made no difference at all.
JJB Sports – Sporting a new logo Belfast, June 2010
My good mate Tim Garratt sent me a link to these, presumably as he had bought them for a close family member (geddit). For me, they look like the perfect Royal Wedding souvenir.
Crown Jewels condoms of distinction - Royal Wedding souvenir
You can buy them here – A bargain at only £5 per pack. It’s worth going over the website, just for the copy, which is brilliant.
But I think my favourite part of the whole press pack is the two line disclaimer they throw in at the end.
Crown Jewels Condoms of Distinction are not endorsed, sanctioned or supplied to Prince William of Wales, Ms Catherine Middleton or any member of the Royal Family.
Crown Jewels Condoms of Distinction are a novelty product and may not be suitable as a contraceptive or barrier against sexually transmitted disease.
I’ve read two books in the last few weeks and both have been absolutely amazing, phenomenal, beautiful pieces of writing – But only one of them actually made me truly upset – and it wasn’t the one I was expecting.
So I set about thinking why this could be?
And I believe it’s all about the connections you make with your audience.
The book ‘One Day’ by David Nicholls is an everyday sort of tale about a couple who never quite get it together and it revisits their life over 20 years on the same day. A unique concept, beautifully described, starting off as they met on their last day of college. It’s ‘what could/should have been’ throughout the book.
The second Book is a far weightier subject matter and is ‘The Book Thief’ by Markus Zusak. A story narrated by the character who is ‘Death himself’ and telling the tale of a young girl struggling with life and literature through the war torn German city of Molching during the Second World War.
Both are beautifully written. Both paint great big expansive pictures in the way they describe the scenes and both are worth every moment you will invest in reading them.
But I only connected with ‘One Day’. maybe I’m shallow and divorced from the realities of Nazi Germany, but I never quite connected with the characters, despite being captivated by the story.
So, when I write for brands now I’m trying to think about it from their viewpoint. How can I create connections, get inside their minds and think what they’re thinking. If we can do that, we can create amazing brands.
Updated
I thought a lot about ‘The Book Thief’ last night and another layer of the writing drifted into my thoughts. I guess it is the first time I have seen or read a story like this from the victims point of view. We are taught a lot about The War in school and standard British history and my visit to the Holocaust Museum in LA was still one of the most traumatic experiences of my life, but this book paints the picture of deprivation and fear for the everyday german souls. Those that would normally get forgotten for being on the ‘losing’ side. It makes me wonder whether we are actually winning any form of war on terror, or just beating the normal people to death, when we should be waging war on their governments.
This is a brilliant little film that really looks into how trends take off. It references Malcolm Gladwell and his Tipping Point theory. It is beautifully filmed all over New York and makes so much sense throughout. It’s creative, well thought through and relevant – without being up itself.
The killer point for me in the whole 13 minutes is the supposition by Jon Cohen, CEO of Cornerstone that any brand needs to be based on passion. I agree 100%.
The other great point is that what influences one person will just not be the same as what influences another. So we have to be individual. Create things because they’re great, not because the research said that they would be broadly acceptable to a mass audience. That’s a way to run a big brand and try not to mess it up too badly, but certainly not a way to create one in the first place. If everyone else is zigging, then zag.
Briliant, brilliant, brilliant.
And thanks to my mate Patrick Chapman, Marketing Director of WDA Automotive for pointing it in my direction.
I went for a nice drive today to Chippenham. Two obvious routes. M5 and turn left at Bristol, or the shorter more attractive route of the A429 right down through the Cotswolds. It should have been beautiful and it was last time I drove it. But this time it was so full of potholes, I bumped and crashed through everyone of them. It felt like the car was going to snap. No wonder there are so many 40 and 50 mph zones.
And then coming home, I swerved to try not to run over a fox and hit a kerb instead. Ouch. One broken wheel and I wish I’d stayed on the motorway. I will next time.
I have to confess I thought this was a joke when I saw the domain name. But I had a look at their promo video and I think it is great. Funny, quirky and nowhere near earnest – as you would probably expect it to be.
I don’t know what the shoes are like, but I have noticed that they do offer a resoling service which is a great idea.
To compare another great south coast brand, when Body Shop started, they used to offer a bottle refilling service. Just send the bottle back to them and they’ll refill it for much less than the price of a new one. Once Body Shop stopped doing this, they lost a big part of their soul. I hope the Vegetarian Shoes people learn from this mistake and stick to their brand values.
Advertising in toilets is probably a bit of a minority sport, but is an unusual medium in which to attract potential buyers.
This video demonstration/advert for a new type of interactive advertising toilet mirror is bloody awful, but the medium itself does have some potential for some fun concepts.
But what brands are going to spend large sums hanging out in toilets?
Over Christmas, we ate in Carluccio’s in Canterbury and I have to say that I think it was the nicest food I have eaten this side of Venice or Rome. It was beautifully fresh, incredibly tasty and pretty remarkable value. Five of us had starters, main courses a bottle of wine and some drinks for the kids. It came to £80. Not absolute KFC bargain bucket, but great value for such top quality cooking and simple unfussy service. Carluccio’s wasn’t a brand I had been particularly aware of before this, so it was a nice surprise as my expectations probably weren’t that high.
So I was quite pleased to see they have a new one opening in Nottingham. Building work is well underway. I guess it will be February or so for the opening.
Also over Christmas, I cooked a rather gorgeous turkey and leek pie that I adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe. Basically I added ham and some other leftover veg from Christmas dinner to make sure I had enough to feed the 14 hungry mouths around the table. It got quite remarkable critical acclaim, so thanks Jamie. I have to confess that I do rely on a few of his recipes, with his pizza base and tomato sauce topping recipe from his Italian book still being the nicest one I have ever made.
And then, I noticed that there is an all new Jamie’s Italian opening just up from Carluccio’s in February too. The difference is, I have high expectations of the Jamie Oliver brand. I know it so well, that I expect it to be excellent simple food and good value too. The whole Jamie Oliver brand is built on this platform, so it has to deliver.
I am genuinely excited to have an ‘eat off’ and see who does the best grub. I am convinced that the food in Jamie’s will be absolutely gorgeous. Friends have been rubbing it in about which ones they have eaten at and the reports are excellent.
It’s my birthday later this week, so I’m asking for a meal at both of these new places (when they open) rather than a conventional present.
I may invite AA Gill along so he can review them both with me. I’m sure he’s very welcome anytime in Nottingham.
Updated
According to the Nottingham Evening Post, Jamies Italian will open on Monday 7th February. Hopefully see you there soon after.
Updated 07.02.11
Just spoken to a friend who went last week as part of the soft launch. This was open to friends and insiders and seemingly, those who worked for Boots and was half price!
The verdict?
Fabulous food, really well thought out layout for a potentially difficult building, great value (even better at half price) and superb service.
Johnny Lyle's new brand thinking 