So you may be forgiven for thinking that, to deserve such heady praise, something truly remarkable had just been witnessed (but then, isn’t that subjective too?). Anyway, I digress. If you want to see a list of awesome things then let me direct you to Neil Pasricha’s hugely popular 1000 Awesome Things.

The site, which Neil started in 2008 to combat the ‘doom and gloom’ of a particularly difficult period in his personal life, now welcomes over 50,000 visitors on a daily basis. At the time of writing, Neil is up to number 468 in his list of awesomeness, so isn’t projected to finish his countdown until April 2012: perhaps the final entry will be along the lines of finishing in time to watch the Olympics? In the meantime, you can follow his blog at the link above; and here are some of my favourite ‘awesome things’ that Neil has already mentioned…

- Using rock-paper-scissors to settle a dispute

- When hiccups stop

- Popping bubble wrap

- Thinking it’s Thursday, then realising it’s actually Friday

- Paying for something with exact change

- A long hug

- Mum’s scrambled eggs

Designer: White bread or brown bread for toasting?

Account manager: For toasting white medium slice but for butties brown/granary all the way

Copywriter: Warburtons Toastie (white)

Account manager: Yeah – Warburtons Toastie white all the way!!

Account executive 1: I’m going to have to go with extra thick white. Smothered in butter, and a bit of jam. Brown bread……why would you??

The boss: Tesco Finest multigrain

Receptionist: Thick white with lots of butter. Heart attack toast – mmmmmm!!!!

Designer: The results have been counted and recounted and there is a landslide victory to…
White Bread 12
Brown Bread 6
GET IN WHITE BREAD!!! IN YOUR FACE BROWN EATERS!!!

Senior Designer: PEOPLE WHO PREFER WHITE BREAD AS TOAST HAVE ALL GONE WRONG FACT – ASDA MULTI GRAIN AND RYE OR NOWT FOOLS

Account executive 2: Bit of a curveball, but could a bagel be considered? Mmmm, stomach glue.

Copywriter: Disqualified on the basis that prior to about 1998, no one in England had ever seen a bagel.

Account executive 2: I humbly apologise for bringing this stateside impostor into an otherwise hearty British portfolio.

…withdrawn.

Milk Roll?

Senior art director: A bagel is what happens when you don’t put the correct ingredients together then BOIL it, Very wrong.

Copywriter: Seeing as the goalposts have moved now… Naan bread?

Senior art director: It’s bread, it qualifies, but ask yourself… naan with butter and jam, in the morning???…I’m tempted

Account executive 2: Not to be pedantic, but I think the original question was ‘best for toasting’. Good luck getting a naan in the Kenwood.

Account executive 1: Fruit loaf is also quite nice, but then I guess it’s just another variation to the good old teacake. Now they are a fruitful treat. Not sure if this comes under the bread family tree or not.

Senior art director: Fruit loaf…. F***ing fruit loaf???  Get home you jibbering fool

Art director: Can everyone use their f**ckin loafs and stop. Stop Now

Copywriter: There’s a slice of common sense

Senior art director: I’m not rising to that!

Copywriter: Dough!

Production: Whilst you’re all bantering on can someone come out of Synergist for me please?

Artworker: Typical

Account executive 1: What a healthy debate about bread, maybe tomorrow we could crack open the which came first chicken or the egg?

Designer: The chicken evolved… Case closed.

Jailbreak (vb intrans. informal), jailbreaking

A hacking practice, by which iDevices are “freed” from Apple app store lockdown, permitting the installation of unauthorized, independent and unapproved applications. It has been estimated that out of the 42 million iPhones sold, approximately 3.5 million have already been broken out of jail – roughly 8 percent.

Hat tip to the Tech Broiler.

Nestlé went live last week with their latest campaign for the nation’s favourite mint-with-a-hole, the venerable Polo.

As you would expect, it’s a masterpiece of integrated planning, with all the right social media boxes ticked (if, creatively, it does recall “How do you eat yours” for Creme Egg a little bit) – it will be very interesting to see how it performs for the brand.

The campaign’s launch reminded us of something else delivered recently for Polo. Ingenious in its simplicity, the Polo snow stamp is a masterstroke of opportunism, guaranteed to put a smile on your face and build goodwill rather cost-effectively.

Props to JWT who rightly snagged a gold Lion for their efforts.

Philip K. Dick was right all along…

TOKYO — Digital advertising billboards being trialled in Japan are fitted with cameras that read the gender and age group of people looking at them to tailor their commercial messages.

(AFP)

 Hat tip to io9

Some people have tried to make out that email marketing is a complicated and technical marketing specialism that only experts that are ‘in the know’ can successfully execute. I maintain however that the principles of good email marketing are simple and that it is just like any other marketing discipline in the sense that you get out what you put in; i.e., with good planning and execution you will maximise your ROI. This applies whether you are an SME or multinational corporate.

Here are ten ways to get the most out of your email marketing:

Start by keeping it simple – Don’t run before you can walk.

Regularly clean your data – How can you expect to get the right message to the right people and avoid waste if your list is inaccurate? (Only 60% of respondents to the recent national Email Census admitted to regularly cleansing their database).

Set objectives at the start – In order to measure your success, you need a benchmark to measure it against.

Measure your results – There are simple and intuitive tracking programmes that can be employed to measure all manner of metrics such as open rate, click through, enquiries and so on.

Copy is king – Many email programs don’t automatically open images, so strong headlines and benefit-led calls to action make or break successful email campaigns.

Keep within the rules – Make sure you have a clear opt-in policy, particularly for consumer campaigns.

Provide a clear opt-out option – If people want to go, let them go gracefully and don’t cause negativity towards your brands by making it hard to opt out.

Test, test and test – Don’t be afraid to test different designs and headlines against different control groups to maximise response – preferably before the main campaigns go live!

Segment your data – Your customers/prospects will be much more responsive if messages are relevant to them.

Don’t over-face your audience – Most people get too many emails as it is, so focus on quality over quantity.

Gently, now…

Adolescent males of yesteryear will fondly recall the formative influence of Cadbury’s flake advertising upon our hormonal selves. Right up there with the Damart thermals catalogue and a scantily clad Debbie McGee. If you know what I mean.

Weep then, men of Britain, because she is no more (the flake girl, not Debbie McGee, that is). Last month Cadbury’s launched their latest flake campaign – sans bathing lady (and famous “crumbliest, flakiest” slogan) – the first since Joss Stone’s widely unheralded stint as spokes-snacker in 2008.

The new spot is by Fallon, the shop responsible for Sony’s fabulous bouncing balls and the Dairy Milk gorilla. I can’t say whether the Flake ad is the work of clever clogs Juan Cabral, (jealousy, so unbecoming…), responsible for those award-winners, but it certainly has his vibe about it.

Anyway, with both baby and bathwater summarily defenestrated, does the spot hit? Watch it yourself and decide. Gorgeously executed though it is, and clear in message, I can’t help thinking of Paul the Octopus, which is all rather offputting. Mind you, I prefer pies to chocolate, so it’s definitely not aimed at me.

We are on the hunt for a talented mid-weight/senior designer who has excellent creative skills and who can work on a wide range of digital campaigns within our busy creative team. We need a person who is conceptual as well as highly skilled in design, and who can add value to our current team by designing outstanding websites and digital campaigns. It is essential that the candidate has a wide range of software skills; ideally, they will also have capability in animation. We are an integrated agency so experience would be beneficial in offline media.

We are offering a competitive package commensurate with experience. Interested parties please apply to peter.craven@madhousehq.co.uk

We are looking for an experienced account handler from an integrated or digital background. You need to have a minimum of 2-3 years’ project management experience having successfully delivered projects right across the creative mix – with a very good understanding and experience of digital campaigns and website builds. We need a proactive team player who is an excellent multi-tasker and who will thrive in a busy environment.

We are offering a competitive package commensurate with experience. Interested parties please apply to peter.craven@madhousehq.co.uk

We are currently seeking an experienced Account Director from either a ‘specialist digital’ or integrated background. This position would suit someone who has an in-depth digital knowledge, planning and account management skills, and who would enjoy working in and add benefit to our fully integrated agency. We need a go getter; someone who will work actively to grow accounts, is strong strategically, presentable at board level and is not afraid to get their hands dirty when necessary in the delivery of projects.

We are offering a competitive package commensurate with experience. Interested parties please apply to peter.craven@madhousehq.co.uk