Cadburys Chocolate Fingers

Not quite Christmas

When moving my stuff up to Leeds during the summer, I popped into Sainsburys only to be confronted with a selection of Christmas cakes. Christmas definitely is getting earlier and earlier each year....

And now the Christmas adverts have started, primarily with the new Argos advert which is for their new catalogue and features a beat boxing (to White Christmas) Bing Crosby. Very clever, however I still think it's too early to begin preparing for festivities. I do however like the way that they have taken something that many people will automatically recognise and be familiar with and have slightly changed it. I can imagine it getting a lot of criticism however for 'ruining a classic'.

Adverts getting into the Music

Just a couple of adverts that seem to be following a similar style with music that have been aired over the past few days, IKEA and YeoValley. Definitely prefer the YeoValley milk one, mainly because the lyrics are so clever!

The IKEA Kitchen Party



Yeo Valley

This is England

I've just got round to catching up on the 'This is England 86' television series on Channel 4, and I have to admit that I'm quite disappointed with it. The original film was brilliant, portraying the times and problems facing skinheads at the time perfectly (or so I assume having not actually been born then). It was shocking, whilst also being incredibly realistic and the actors worked well within the script. I particularly liked the way that it was filmed quite 'messily' and made everything at that time look dark and dingy. It was also like a history lesson, bringing into light the wars on at the time and issues within politics.

Of course sequels are never going to be as good as the first film, however the hype that was set up around the series was a bit too much. I was almost upset that I wouldn't be in the country for the first show. It takes four hours of watching it, not only to depress you but also for you to realise that actually the actor's aren't very good at all. The best parts had been covered in the film, and by creating a new series it seems like they were just attempting to cash in on the success of the film rather than having new ideas to cover. I still like the way it's filmed, however maybe a bit too much of it is a bit too depressing in my opinion.

I did like the line 'we're not growing up, we're growing sideways'.

Mr Happy for Specsavers

This advert for Specsavers made me laugh when I saw it mentioned on the Brand Republic newsletter. Specsavers really stand out to me as a company that is interested in being quite innovative in it's advertising campaigns, especially as each is based around the 'Should have gone to Specsavers'.

This new one containing the Mr Men is by far my favourite. Not only does it give most people a sense of nostalgia through the animation, but it also is incredibly humourous whilst talking about the advantages to being a Specsavers customer.

Mr Happy is not happy as his glasses have broken, and he didn't get given a second pair free, or any of the other offers that Specsavers gives their customers.

'Looks like someone should have gone to Specsavers.'

Seven Days

Seven Days is Channel 4's new programme focusing on a wide, diverse group of people who all live in Notting Hill. As I mentioned in a previous post (Notting Hill Carnival) about this part of London, Notting Hill is incredibly diverse in the kinds of people that live there and this show focuses on this. From aspiring actresses, to gay hairdressers to unemployed soon-to-be teenage parents.

What stands out most about the show however, is that it's filmed the week it's broadcast, and along with a ChatNav facility on the Channel 4 website, viewers can comment on the characters and give opinions and advice on what they should do next. It makes for good watching when you see some of the characters react to bad comments, and even people coming up to talk to two of them in a cafe and ask 'is this all that you really talk about?'. 

I thought this was a really innovative way to create a show. So much of it is based on the viewer. The subject may not be to many people's tastes as to be honest the character's don't really do much but the interaction between them and the viewers comments makes the show stand out against other documentaries.

Guardian/Observer - Guess the Film.

Now I'm not the best at films. I haven't watched the Matrix, nor all of the James Bond's. I'm pretty sure I haven't even watched Edward Scissorhands.

So apologies that I was unable to guess even half of the 26 films referenced in this advert by Wieden + Kennedy for the Guardian/Observer, which promotes their film season.

The illustrations and designs behind the advert are really simple, with clear colour palettes and easy-to-the-eye graphics. The only qualm I have about it is that for an advert it takes a lot of concentration. I'm sure many people would happily go online to guess the 26 films, however even though I've seen it on television it wasn't until I happened to come across it online that I chose to look further into it. Aside from that it's an interesting piece of film, which combines some of the worlds best loved cinematography into a short snappy ad that would probably get film buffs jiggling about in their seats.

Incep-what?!

When the film Inception first came out I had no inclination to go and watch it. Leonardo Dicaprio, the one thing that could have swayed me is now definitely slightly past it, and the thought of sitting through nearly 3 hours of film in which if you were to turn away for one second you would completely lose the plot line didn't really do it for me.

However nearly a month after it's release I found myself sitting in the cinema about to embark on probably the most confusing film I had ever watched.

But confusing as it was, I can safely say it was amazing. The amount of thought and detail that went into the film was ridiculous, and at the end of the film everyone was left with the thought of 'what just happened?'.

The idea behind the film is that Dicaprio plays Dom Cobb, who deals in the art of extraction from people's dreams, thus stealing secrets from your subconscious. His past acts have made him a fugitive and lost him everything he ever loved, but in the film he is given one last chance to redeem himself by achieving inception.

The main thing I liked about this film was that it left you guessing. So many films end with a happy ending, or an ending that will continue on to a sequel. This film, although not having a clear ending, is complete.

The Orphanage

Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona, The Orphanage (2007) is probably the scariest film I have seen to date. The first time I saw it was in a small old cinema in Leeds called Hyde Park Picture House, which definitely added to the spookiness of the film.

The plot behind the film is that a woman brings her husband and young son back to her childhood home, an old orphanage, where she plans to reopen it as an orphanage for handicapped children. Before long her son Simon begins to say he has 5 invisible friends, of which his mother thinks have just sprung from his imagination. However, at the opening of the new orphanage Simon asks his mother to come see his new 'invisible' friend Tomas' secret cabin, of which she refuses, leaving him to run off in a mood...

If I go any further I would spoil the plot, however I would highly recommend this film to anyone who likes a good scare. Presented in Spanish with subtitles, some people may be in two minds about watching it, however having to focus that much more on the words seems to make the film even more effective. If the film had been translated into English I don't think it would have been as interesting. This way you get the original effects that were intended for the film, as well as being able to understand what they are talking about. This is something that is incredibly important when considering your audience through film. What may make sense in one language, may differ in another. The cultural ideas behind the film are also important, as something may be only relevant to a certain region. It's definitely something that needs to be considered through all aspects of design when thinking about the bigger picture to your audience.


Here is the trailer  -