The Bourbon Cream

Last night on the Apprentice, there was a challenge to create their own biscuit, brand it and then sell it to major retailers. but judging by Twitter, both teams missed a hands down winner.

They wanted a Custard Cream top and a Bourbon Biscuit bottom.

SteJay: I'd have just mashed a bourbon biscuit and a custard cream together and called it 'Bostard' #theapprentice

jamesmadden76: I once invented my own biscuit by merging half a Bourbon cream with half a custard cream. I called it a bustard cream.

Davidthefixer: A biscuit where one half is bourbon and the other half is a custard cream #dream #TheApprentice

themarksmallman: Half bourbon, half custard cream. Biscuit DONE #theapprentice

Spacecable: If I had to create a biscuit I'd make a tripple decker bourbon as big as a dinner plate... maybe I'd cover it in chocolate #apprentice

Now I have no idea if either or both have some kind of licensing/trademark issues, but surely anyone can own the name/mixture? So why has no one made the Bourbon Cream? I'd buy it - and so would a few others!

Plank your way to £100 of free gym credit

Yep, you read that headline correctly. Planking, the 'new' craze that I knew about years ago - when it was known as the lying down game - is now becoming a competition for Pay As U Gym.

But there's a reason behind it too. Their competition page says there are loads of benefits of Planking, like:

• Improved core strength
• The ability to maintain a stiff Plank for longer < - I'm not sure that's a benefit 
• Improved horizontal posture significantly enhances vertical posture 

And they even give you a three week plan to become a real Planker! Wait, it gets funnier.

Week 1: Every night before you go to bed lie down and don’t move for 30 seconds. Repeat 5 times per Set for 3 Sets. Make sure you are properly warmed up before attempting this and please ensure you do it at ground level. Focus on staying really still and don’t forget to breathe. Remember “in through the nose, out through the mouth”. Say it out loud if it helps.

Week 2: Continue with the routine from Week 1 but try and extend each Rep to 60 seconds. During the last set try co-contracting your Transversus Abdominis and multifidus (you know the ones...) by sucking your belly in as if you are trying to squeeze through a narrow gap. Feels good right?! This will enhance your core strength which will be required for the longer and more public Planks in Week 3.

Week 3: By now you are probably beginning to see some results so the last week is much more about refining and honing your technique. To do this you will need a friend to ‘spot’ you during your workout, take photos and shout encouragement. Find a photogenic location, assume the Plank position and focus intently on being rigid and not moving. Get your friend to take a photograph so you can check if you were moving – if you did, then try again. Repeat until perfected.

If you follow this plan you should now be a proper Planker and we want to see how you got on!

The best bit is "Please make sure you seek the advice of your GP before commencing any Planking activity." So remember when lying face down in general, to check you're ok to do that...

And if you want to take part, competition entries can be found here.

The YCC at D&AD New Blood

As an active member of the YCC, we've been putting on more and more events for young creatives. And if our year wasn't going well already, it's now even better. We've got a large presence at the biggest graduate creative get together in the UK, D&AD's New Blood.

We've been lucky enough to secure two stands in the North Space to push our wares. And we've got lots of things going on.

Single Mingle
Think speed dating, but with folios. This is Single Creatives first event, and it's not a bad one. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday you can turn up in the North Space and have have 5 mins at a time with each person. Whether you're looking for a copywriter or art director to team up with, a flatmate to move to the big smoke with or someone to collaborate with on a project, this is the event for you.

Two Minute Tent
Challenge yourself to crack a brief in 120secs. We’ll provide you with the brand and you do the rest. We’ll be posting all the efforts online and decorating our stand with your creativeness. There may even be a prize for the best (possibly a placement), so what have you got to lose? It’ll only take two minutes.

Skype Crits
Over the weekend we’re organising some global folio crits. We’re in talks with people as far away as America, Australia and Thailand in some amazing agencies to give you a unique opinion on your work. If you’re interested in getting your book seen, make yourself known to the YCC during the setup on Wednesday or Thursday and we’ll try and sort a slot for you.

Paul Antonio Do-Shop
Fresh from his amazing Weekly Score, we’ve enlisted the world famous calligrapher Paul Antonio to run an hour’s workshop on Sunday from 12-1pm. He’ll be letting you get involved and teaching you some tricks of the trade. It’s also a great opportunity to see how he works and ask him some probing questions.

Portfolio Surgery
On Friday there’s a portfolio surgery. And we’ve got a team there too. Emily and Cate are in charge of inputting their wisdom to your folio on behalf of the YCC. So if you see them around, say hi!

Y
You may have noticed on our Facebook Page we’ve started a project to create all sorts of Ys. At New Blood we’re taking this in to overdrive. Pop by our stand with your Y inspired picture and it’ll take pride of place on our stand. And we’ll add it to the collection online. There’s plenty of downtime at New Blood, so if you’ve got nothing to do, Y not have a go (sorry).

New Blood in Brief
Every day we’ll be doing a round up of what’s gone down at New Blood. From agency talks and industry interviews to a flick through work and what’s happen at our stand, we’ll tell you everything we’ve seen. And in a bite size format. We’ll also be Facebooking, Tweeting #YCCatNB, Instagramming and wandering around. So if you want to catch any of us, we’re just a shout away.

One final thing
If you've read all the way down to the bottom, well done. But also, Ad Job Wall will hoping to get the odd scoop during New Blood. So keep your eyes peeled.

Kodak Facebook Poll

Picture this, Kodak wanted to capture the thoughts its Facebook fans about Father's Day. So it created a poll. Unfortunately, they also missed the little tick box that stops people from adding their own suggestions.

Ah, oh.

So from a few nice ones, they started getting some rather interesting additions, including "A new Kodak Community Manager who doesn't leave the Poll options wide up".

Oops.

The Chip Shop Awards

Are they taking the piss?*

On Wednesday the winners were announced in the not-so-swanky 93 Feet East. Maybe it's because it's classed as the alternative awards, but when you spend a few quid (or £70) for a ticket, sometimes you sort of expect more.  

© @laura_j_davies

On show is meant to be creativity with no limits. And some of it was. But I can't help but think it was limited. Especially by the £100 entry fee for professionals and £50 for students. It certainly put me off.

I'd love to take the piss, have lots of fun and try and win a Chip. But any award I win, I want it to mean something more. Chips are usually given to things that no client would ever buy that ad. So what does that say to any potential employer? We can think up stuff that's actually no good for your creative problem. However there were a couple of exceptions, including this clever little number by @LailaMilborrow and @PRPearson.

But on the whole, as one Tweeter mentioned: "They're about as useful to your career as boy scout badges." And I'd completely agree. Is the Chip Shop Awards as worthy, funny or even as good as it used to be?

I mean, it's not like the awards cost thousands either...

© @AshHumby

If you're interested, all the winners can be found here. Congrats to all. It's not you lot I have a problem with. 

*The picture below is actually one from the awards do. Lovely.

School of Communication Arts

Yesterday, I popped by the SCA studio in Vauxhall to do a bit of mentoring. Now I've done uni visits before. And I'm assuming I'll do plenty more in the future, but the SCA is a little different. You could even say it's the equivalent of a university advertising course 2.0.

Run by the energetic Marc Lewis, I arrived at 9am sharp where I was greeted by 20/30 students ready for their WIP meeting. Three or four projects were well underway, with another two set at the end of the day. The workload is frenetic. But in a good way. Some live briefs, some spec. And a great mix of clients to get your teeth in to.

The 'studio' is an old church hall. Spacious, open plan and very 2.0. And I started off by a flick through some of their latest ideas. Conveniently, you can too. Right here.

I got talking to a few of them. Oli and Mar are definitely heading in the right direction. Lots of nice digital stuff that's nearly in the realms of awesome. And by the looks of their website, they've seen plenty of useful people.

Alex and Lewis look like they have the makings of a good team too. A bit of direction and they're off talking weird and wonderful things. If they could commit more of their ideas to paper and let someone else pull the cherry from the pile, they'd be great.

And here's a little plug for Victoria Trow as well. I'll never be able to look at a Channel 4 brief in quite the same light - I now know the inner workings of 'Made in Chelsea' and 'The Only Way Is Essex'... She wasn't half bad either and she's looking to team up with a graduate digital art director if anyone's interested.

It's odd how there were 30 or so, and yet I seemed to spend all day popping back and forth to these guys and girls. Though I'm guessing that's where the other mentors come in handy!

Remembering this is a 12 month intensive course and then looking back at what most people learn in three years at uni. This place can knock the socks off them. Not to say that Lincoln, Sunderland, Staffs or Bucks (to name a few) are bad places to learn. It's just that this course is flexible enough to meet the demands of what an advertising course should be.

Brief. Scamp. Review. Repeat. 5 days a week. From 9 to 5 (or later). This place feels like work, not uni. And in my eyes, there needa to be more places like this.

Watford, I'd start looking over your shoulder... these guys are coming for you. And I'll be heading back to SCA soon.

New Folio Site

Today Ed and I launched our joint portfolio site: digitalcreativeteam.com

Yes, believe it or not, no one has even thought about buying a fairly obvious URL. We've even got our SEO in mind - we're always thinking digitally you see...

As with every folio site, it's a work in progress. But we've got plenty of stuff in the pipeline so keep your eyes peeled for some even newer stuff in the next week. So feel free to have a flick through our stuff. And, if you like what you see, drop us an email.

Make me their next top model

Next have launched a campaign to find themselves a new star of their clothing line. 

 

The trouble is, us public like a little laugh and a joke too. So let me introduce you to the current leader of the competition at moment, Roland. 

He looks a nice bloke, but do you think next will be cacking themselves ever so slightly if he does win? They're used to slim, toned and generic looking models. Not Jo Public. Well, unless that's their new marketing strategy. UPDATE: He even has a Facebook Page dedicated to him.

And while you're at it, my former boss at rehabstudio has also entered the competition. A classy look I'm sure you'll agree. So please vote for him too. I'm sure next would love you for it. Honest. 

UPDATE: It's getting weirder. Can we all vote for Skye please? Thanks muchly.

The Wanted Ads Promo

Comedy entrance of the year goes to Ben for the genius at the end. Paul on the other hand needs to work on his sad face. But his three-legged dog gets my vote. A nice X Factor pisstake from the wanted ads. It just needs phone numbers on the end.