Anyway, take a look at some of the presidential buttons from way back when:

You also have your "Goldwater", a "Nixon/Agnew", and the "Kennedy" button (which I'd still wear today).

Remember the "WIN" button? Although that was a Ford thing, I remember that simple button as being very effective, nonetheless.

Now, let's look at the logos of the 2008 presidential candidates:

Last, but not least, I found a button of old that speaks of a day when we really believed and trusted in our Leader. I personally would NEVER wear this one now.

This brings me back to art.

There is a Website I found about 3 years ago that deals with and addresses the many facets of war messaging in these modern times using the style of the propaganda posters from the '40s and '50s (well, most of them). The messages are clear, somewhat ironic, and tell the truth of what really is going on these days. I went back to the site and saw that the posters and other 'collectibles' are still being designed and can be purchased (or not). You can start from the beginning and check out all of the posters, jump to the newest posters, and even read the Hate Mail. (It's always funny to me how, just because we question the war or the methods involved surrounding it, we're not supporting the troops.)

The artist, Micah Wright, became interested in propaganda posters, and ultimately anti-war posters, after this mess started in 2001. His art is great! Open your mind, even a little, a think of the messages these posters contain.

Enough of my rant, let's see some art:

There you have it. The 475-odd posters and related messages are pretty powerful and thought-provoking. That's what art and freedom of expression are all about it. It doesn't mean that we're un-patriotic or un-American - just the opposite, in my view. It's just too bad that we're still expressing this sort of message some 5 years later.

Thank you for allowing me to express my anger and get this out.

Peace. 

I guess the best thing about Process for me is that, with each of the 50 highlighted designers and pieces, the design process is shown, from sketches to production and to completed product. It is interesting to see the new, and sometimes unorthodox, technology used to produce these pieces. Check out the Tavalone table or the Ampora vase which is made by bees' honeycombs.

You will also see the $100 One Laptop Per Child Computer, by Yves Behar of fuseproject. (The final version of this computer doesn't have a hand-crank and all components serve a double-purpose - mainly for dirt and dust protection.) It's a great concept and an empowering endeavor.

Other designers showcased in Process are Marten Baas, Laura Birdsall, Patrick Jouin, and the ever-popular Karim Rashid.

Other than the $100 laptop, there are no prices listed for the products. Makes me wonder. However, since some of the products are one-offs or produced in limited quantities, I guess the 'call for prices' concept applies. I don't think the $100 computer is really that price, either.

Process is a good book and extremely educational. I think it would be a good thing for young artists-to-be to be exposed to. It will get their creative and imaginative juices flowing and hopefully will inspire them to continue on with the tradition. The book will, of course, also be inspiring to practicing product artisans as well as instructors. Heck, it may even be of interest to other visual communicators like me.

Next time you receive a sales call at home, resist the temptation to hang up immediately. Listen to how the caller pitches her product instead. You'll notice how the "best" cold-callers communicate benefits in an attempt to whet your appetite for their product.  

Benefits are essential to writing persuasively because they pull emotional triggers. For detailed tips on how to think in terms of benefits, visit http://www.copywriting-designers.com/free_tutorial.html. Then read the tips below for additional rules that lie at the heart of all persuasive copy.

Demonstrate how the reader can benefit from the product.

The key to being persuasive is in helping readers to picture themselves using the product.

Do this by spoon-feeding contexts where the product would be desirable or beneficial. This ad copy for kitchen furniture proves that even mundane objects can be simulated desirably:

It’s where there’s always space for an unexpected guest.

It’s where you’ll spread out the maps for your next adventure.

…and where you’ll reminisce over the last one.

It’s a hot bed of family gossip.

It’s much more than simply a table.

Be specific—use examples.

People respond to specific facts, concrete examples, and details of content. People tend to ignore anonymous opinion, empty expressions, and meaningless phrases.

Every time you find yourself giving ‘opinions’ about the product, ask yourself if you can cut them out or reinforce them with facts or concrete benefits.

Opinion                                                                             

Great writers 

Specific                                           

From Shakespeare to Hardy.

Opinion     

Informative articles 

Specific    

Articles include our obsession with celebrity, Rastafarianism, and three very different islands.

Opinion    

Stylish dresses                                           

Specific

Dresses designed by Jackobson, Ralph, and Lorreine

Opinion    

Innovative kitchen appliances 

Specific                 

Automatic bottle-openers, voice-activated microwaves, and solar kettles.

Opinion    

Experienced staff                                        

Specific

Our staff have a collective 120 years of experience working with brand managers like you.

Opinion    

Efficient machines      

Specific                              

Our machines will pay for themselves in just 5 months.

Be specific—quantify where possible.

Your product will look more desirable if you can quantify its features and benefits.

For example, a product that has brand new components will be desirable, but a product that has over 10 brand new components will be even more desirable.

Here are four ways you can quantify your points:

·        Say how many people have bought the product.

National best-seller—over 1,000,000 copies sold!

Thousands of secretaries all over the USA recommend the ZX hole-punch

·        Put a figure to your product’s features.

550 new words

A new low: only five patients to each ward

·        Quantify and elaborate on words such as NEW, MORE, and EXTRA:

100% NEW!

50% Extra!

10 NEW chapters!

MORE guidance, MORE practice, MORE reference

·        Tell the reader how long it will take for them to benefit from the product.

Self-sufficiency in as little as 6 months

A prize is won every 3 seconds

Use vivid words instead of clichés.

Novel words are more effective at conjuring an image than hackneyed words. Get into the habit of using a thesaurus—a good thesaurus will help you to be more inventive with your choice of words.

Cliché                                            Vivid

Money                                            Cash

Clean                                              Immaculate

Clear                                              Crisp

Cool                                               Frosty

Strong                                            Rock-solid

Slim                                                Slender

Fitted                                              Snug

Innovative                                       Breakthrough

Successful                                      Blockbusting

Includes                                          Bursting with

 End your copy sections with benefit statements.

The final sentence in each paragraph has particular significance, as it may be the last thing your reader reads before he or she loses interest in your publicity and puts it down.

One way to sign off is to wrap up the points imbedded in the paragraph with a final summarizing benefit statement—what does it all mean for the reader?

Example without benefit statement:

If you need treatment you will be given a choice of nearly 270 quality-assessed hospitals nationwide. Their facilities include private rooms, en-suite restrooms, personal telephones, radio and television.

Example with benefit statement:

If you need treatment you will be given a choice of nearly 270 quality-assessed hospitals nationwide. Their facilities include private rooms, en-suite restrooms, personal telephones, radio and television. So wherever you are you can rest assured you’re always within easy reach of comfortable care in pleasant surroundings that feels… just like home.

 Adapted from 100 Copywriting Tips for Designers

© Shaun Crowley 2008

Of the speakers I saw, Gladwell did the best job of speaking to all of the conference's tribes simultaneously. He worked without a podium, hardly even glancing at his notes as he paced the stage. He had good reason to know his stuff: A Google search shows he's been giving versions of this speech for at least four years. It's a good one, with some surprising insights gleaned from his years of research on human behavior. Gladwell's talk was about how spaghetti-sauce producers influenced consumer reality in the 1970s by introducing alternatives to the traditional, "authentic" sauce (Extra Chunky et al). It's not hard to trace this development in consumer culture forward in time to our own day, in which a surfeit of choice threatens economic progress with a lasting fragmentation of the marketplace.

I thought of Gladwell's talk during a presentation given by Wende Zomnir, executive creative director of Urban Decay Cosmetics, on the last day of FUSE. Urban Decay had their Extra-Chunky moment of consumer connection when they first came on the scene in the mid-'90s with enamels and lipsticks in dark, unusual shades. "Beauty with an Edge" became the company's slogan, and Urban Decay's edgy appeal was cemented with its goth-glamorous product names, e.g. "Asphyxia," a pink-purple eye shadow. After pop culture's "alternative" moment passed, the company had to avoid going the way of Sassy and other relics of the period. Urban Decay's management adopted adaptable signatures (models in UD promo art are never pictured holding the product, only wearing it) and a "holy trinity" of elastic, overarching brand attributes--"Feminine/Dangerous/Fun"--to guide the company's growth into the mainstream marketplace. Zomnir summed it up this way: "We pretend that we don't appeal to the masses, but we do."

A recent example of successful innovation-in-the-mainstream from the Urban Decay catalog is the Hot Box Mini Makeup Kit, which conceals lip gloss, eye shadow, and mascara in a case whose size and shape echo those of a cigarette lighter. The kit's name was suggested by an Urban Decay assistant after the initial title, "The Walk of Shame Kit," was deemed too racy for underage makeup buyers (and their parents). The Hot Box won the fifth annual International Package Design of the Year award at the HBA Health and Beauty America Show in 2004.

"Ads rely on the cute-quips-after-scenes-of-destruction formula. Gorn—that pornographic admixture of gore and violence that "isn't serious," that's "just effects"—grows apace in popularity. Scenes of shaming and violence topped with the de rigueur snarky remark are everywhere."

The visuals that appear in the article—stills from a variety of 2008 Super Bowl commercials—demonstrate that even in an approximately three-hour slice of American TV, the ads are filled with violence and humiliation.

To be honest, I've been underwhelmed by Super Bowl commercials for at least a decade. I used to think it was because of my age—I haven't watched an "awards" show in over 25 years—or because of my personality: I'm not interested in shows like American Idol or The Apprentice. I even wondered if I’d become desensitized by the media assault over the years. But after reading this article, I think it may be the gorn.

In preparing the article, we watched all 50-some national ads that appeared during the game. The sameness of the ads quickly became apparent, with only slight variations on an unchanging theme of violence and humiliation regardless of what was being advertised. "The Man in the Irony Mask" changed my perspective; I recommend you read it. It may change yours. At least the game was exciting.

This gave a local artist, John Kuzich, an idea. He wanted to use these colorful and ephemeral passes for something more. He thought that there must be stories behind each Fast Pass and desired to capture them in an artistic way.

John decided to post signs in his neighborhood requesting folks to send him their out-of-date Passes for an art project. 15,000 Passes later, he has some of the most colorful murals in the City. He started out with some smaller collages but the big project is to have a mural of 4 panels of 720 passes each. The end result will be a behemoth 28 feet wide and 5 feet high. That's a lot of transit users.

[MUNI Fast Passes have been around since 1974 and cost $11 each at that time. Today, more than 100,000 of them are sold each month at a cost of $45 each. A rider has to use his or her pass 30 times in the month to break even. MUNI Fast Passes are good for unlimited rides on all MUNI busses, street cars and cable cars, and on the BART system within San Francisco.]

It's really good to see something being done with old bus passes that can not only be a colorful work of art, but also capture some of the stories behind them. I am proud of John Kuzich and support his vision. Now, if only the damn busses came on time.

If you're surprised by the presence of a tv-network executive on an ad-agency insider panel, as I was, you're not familiar with the latest mutations of 21st-century marketing. At the turn of the millennium, much was made of the then-new marketing term "synergy," but that once-controversial word doesn't do justice to the turbocharged product placement that is Meyer's stock-in-trade. She routinely works with sponsors to produce new-media supplements to televised content, such as the recent Project Runway online videos showing contestants cruising around NYC in Saturns. The commercials, designed to promote both the show and the automobile-maker, are housed on the Saturn website as a lingering endorsement. As Meyer explained, in the future Bravo plans to secure sponsorship for new shows before production even begins. "Product placement will become the first conversation we have," she said.

Unlike Meyer, ad execs can't rely on the goodwill of legions of reality-tv addicts. They have to chase after fickle, fragmented online audiences that have little tolerance for conventional advertising experiences. "Shame on any agency that only brings an outbound message," said Dawn Winchester. One fairly conservative way to engage web-savvy consumers is to associate a brand with an already-popular online phenomenon, as Dr. Pepper did with the YouTube sensation "Chocolate Rain." Marc Ruxin predicted, "The agency of the future will be looking outside the creative director."

The internet has enabled advertising to change in form as well as content. Guy Wieynk (whose last name, by the way, moderator McIlroy didn't even attempt to pronounce) of web site consultancy AKQA put it plainly: "Produce video, my friend." To drive home the point, he pointed out that eBay items with a video clip sell for 30% more on average than those without. Trevor Kaufman, CEO of Schematic, called for companies to adopt "radical transparency" on the internet by giving consumers behind-the-scenes glimpses of brands. Ruxin claimed that the best "ad" of the 21st century is the Google Toolbar. "It's about good content finding an audience. That was always important, but it's twice as important now," he explained.

As marketing strategies mutate, it becomes difficult to measure success, or even to define it. "How many views on YouTube is good? How does having 1,000 friends on Facebook stimulate sales?" were questions posed to the panel by Mark Ruxin. Throughout the evening, panelists mentioned the lack of metrics for online marketing, but Guy Wieynk disagreed. "You have to keep it simple," Wieynk stated. "You can track pretty much anything, but you have to know ahead of time what you want to track."

In the final, overarching disagreement of the panel discussion, Dawn Winchester voiced an objection to the very title of the event. "'The New Creative Agency' is not what we need to be building," she said. "Creativity and media need to be brought together. Media and infrastructure are as important as creative."