Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Wooden cars to make a comeback



When I heard that classic, or should I say vintage, wooden panelled cars were all the rage in Southern California, particularly amongst the surf set, I naively thought to myself "Sure, it's probably just a bunch of hippies who cant afford a new car", but I was wrong. Initially picked up because of their exremely low trade values, surfers would buy 'woodies' as the cheapest means of getting around town with their hefty surf gear. It wasn't long after that the love affair with woodies evolved. Afterall, anything made of wood that is continually exposed to the elements requires regular care and attention in order to sustain and maintain some level of reliable performance. Over the years these wood panelled wagons have become extremely desirable, some fectching ridiculously high trade values. Yet, for me, it's not about the 'cool trend' that it seems to be, but the potential application such a concept may have in a future context. As everything seems to be going 'green', including the facade of my local McDonalds, I expect that we will see a whole lot more goods, products and services carefully packaged in an aesthetic that says "eco-friendly" or "sustainable", largely because people want to take part, participate in the 'make our world a better place' project. With this in mind, would it not be 'eco-friendly' for car plants to harness the wood panel concept and reduce the extent to which they rely on metals, at the same time giving the people the opprtuinty to say "Hey! Look at me, my car is 50% sustainable sources. I'm greener than you are". Why not extend the idea to smart cars, instead of plastic intechangeable panels it's all about screwing on to a wooden framework. Totally sustainable urban friendly wheels? Radical no?

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Saturday, July 14, 2007

Krusty-Os & Kwik-E-Marts



Burbank, California is fostering a unique marketing partnership between the Fox Network and 7-Eleven. Selected 7-Elevens stores across the US are being transformed into Kwik-E-Marts, The Simpson’s favoured local convenience store. As part of a campaign to boost awareness of the new Simpons Movie the Kwik-E-Marts will be complete with life-sized replicas of Apu, Homer and other Simpsons characters, as well as limited edition food items such as Buzz Cola and Krusty-O’s cereal. E numbers anyone??

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Brits Abroad: Banksy V Hopper



Love this. Funny. So what if it isn't FRESH, needs to be seen. Eveybody must recognise the original, and here you get it with some humorous additions... nice shorts fella!

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Reality Bites



Bringing the images of airbrushed faux beauties into line with reality is the ambition of a fellow blogspotter. The blogsite in question is offering a downloadable sheet of photo real cold sores that can be printed on clear labels for stealthy and realistic results when applied to ads and marketing in the public domain. Setting out to make a statement against the unobtainable and unrealistic perceptions of beauty being instilled in the public, this sticker campaign seems to be gathering steam since kicking off in February. Keep your eyes peeled

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Monday, July 02, 2007

Cornwall Up & Coming



Cornwall iz da shiz!
Went down to Cornwall the other week for a little break, Sennen Cove to be exact. It's absolutely stunning. Amazing beach framed by steep long grass sand dunes and very little development other than the very slight beach front parade (thats if one pub, one cafe, one fish and chip bar and an art gallery can be considered a parade!) Situated only a 20 minute cliff top walk from Lands End, it's a place to be seriously considered by all. The thing is, if what I saw and read while down there is anything to go by, the future potential is a whole lot bigger than Sennen Cove. With the prospect of a warmer climate creeping north and the growing taste for less commercialised, more wholesome short breaks, Cornwall is bound to see large benefits. The south-west English county has long suffered with economical issues largely sprung from the loss of mining as a key source of employment. Add to the scenario the fact that most of Cornwall does not received piped gas, that they are wholly reliant on fuel tanks in their sheds and gardens - an expensive and inefficient source of energy, and you have a Low Wage High Cost existence. However, this may soon cease to be the case as Cornwall has just received £20 million to develop and test a scheme of wave harnessing to produce electricity on a scale that could potentially spell out a future of self sufficiency for the County. This in turn should free the people to make a whole lot more of their limited disposable cash, a situation likely to boost the local economy. Healthy local prospects attract investors, considered investment in an area attracts business and lays a path for entreprenuerial activity... it's all eye's on Kernow. Watch this space.

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