i am ghettosmurf.

In case you didn't know, J.Crew is coming to town and I must confess I am a little excited. The timing is both evil and spot on as my first born is but weeks away. Which parent can resist kitting their child out in America's finest? It's a question I am now forced to consider, if not by the Regent Store being so close to where I frequent during my lunch break, then by my wife who thought it imperative to forward me the 'Store Open' email. But putting my penchant for a navy cashmere sweater, crisp and fitted white work shirt with well made jeans to one side, I am particularly interested in what in-store experience J.Crew will deliver. The high-street has had a beating of late as we opt to tap, pinch, and one-click-buy our items online from the comfort of our sofa. So what will J.Crew do to pull me in?

  One thing is certain with an Apple Keynote - some will love it and others won't. Whilst I myself am yet to set aside one hour and fifty eight minutes to watch the Keynote in its entirety, the first one minute thirty two seconds has really caught my attention.

It's an introduction. It's motion graphics. It is a mood film. It is simply brilliant.

Where a mood film like this succeeds over say a Powerpoint presentation is that it can evoke feeling and take a viewer on a journey. It stimulates intrigue and anticipation. We want to know where this is going but at the same time enjoy the ride. Not something that can be said of some poor sod reading bullet points and pointing at bar charts on static slides.

Its simplicity sets the tone and the nature of the way it delivers its message helps prepare the minds of the viewers to the idea of 'change'.

Of course with a post like this I leave myself open to comments and thoughts that I am seeing far too much in this short introduction and that I too have been sucked into the hype of yet another Apple product performance.

Maybe I have (been sucked in), maybe I haven't.

One thing I do know is that a simple lesson can be learned here and that lesson is this: If you want to talk about something new, something different, if you want to prepare the minds of those of whom you are talking to so that they are ready to engage in a way that they haven't before, you need to change the way in which you share that information with them.

Mood films not Powerpoints get people on board for the simple reason that they the audience become captivated and engaged and not dictated to.

I just stumbled across this wonderful giant interactive installation project called 21 Swings developed by Montreal Daily Tous les Jours. I really love projects like this that play powerfully on memories so synonymous with youth and use the trigger of sound as a tool of engagement. The lesson behind this playful interactive instrument is the importance of collaboration and cooperation and demonstrates the power behind working together to achieve a common goal.

It is a gross understatement when I say I've neglected this blog. I could sit and come up with some elaborate excuse - the kind I used to be able to conjure up so easily back at school (my former teachers know what I mean) - but the truth is whilst I've seen many a thing to write about, I simply lost my digi-mojo. What's a digi-mojo I hear you ask? Since it's my word, I'll give you my definition. Long form: a digi-mojo is the wondrous ability to spot a trend, tech or temperament towards either of those two things and eloquently express my thoughts on how this might effect the way we feel, think and operate in the future. Short form: write something good on my blog. Why and how did I lose my digi-mojo? Simples. Digital fatigue. No seriously. It got too much. I was riding my 56k modem fuelled push bike on the world wide superhighway and simply getting left behind by the full flow of tweets, insti's (what is the nickname for Instagrams?), blog updates and general news on business, branding, tech, trends and everything in between. It was like digital Ducati's flying by me in the fast lane. #totesemosh

This morning I read this about the company I work for. It doesn't make for great reading, especially considering that a significant number of the ones that have left in the last year or so are ones that I personally worked with.

Putting the gross amounts of bonuses afforded to the powers that be despite not hitting targets (how does that make sense?) to one side, it is the rapid decline in company culture that really hurts. In a climate where those in work (including myself) should be grateful for a desk, a computer, a job description and a mention on the monthly payroll system, I have clearly felt a shift in working culture from a team with a common cause working together to build something to a look out for yourself, watch your own back and fight your own corner environment that breeds frustration and zaps efficiency, productivity and perhaps most importantly morale. This is a period where innovation, creativity and strategic development of a business offer with new exciting products carefully delivered is the only way that survival through this difficult period can be achieved. More so than ever before is the need for unity, camaraderie, togetherness and teamwork. In order to achieve these, a company needs strong leaders that can inspire others and communicate in a way that dignifies and brings people together. Generic newsletters sent across the business that ramble on about strength in certain areas and positive forecasts for future growth in others are meaningless. No one reads them and worse than that, they are painfully impersonal. I want to meet my "boss", I'd like to be able to talk to him - not about his bonus although that would be fun if not a little #awkward - but about the future of our company, what my role in it is and how we can move forward. I'm not looking for a pat on the back and a cheesy smile and handshake, I'm looking for honesty and to be treated like a respected, valued employee and human being.

This article in Forbes is an interesting one since it highlights a feeling (of some 1,000 American executives) that in times of economic difficulty, a good boss is deemed more important than a raise in salary. It doesn't take much consideration for this fact to make sense. Employees invest a massive amount of their time and energy into their working life. We make sacrifices to preserve our positions, we pull rabbits out of hats sometimes without so much as "thank you" and we abide by decisions of change made for us by those who don't fully understand the impact of those changes to our workflows and processes. Most spend more time with their colleagues than they do with their families and friends and thus it stands to reason that a good positive working culture (that is generated by a good leader) is placed higher on the list of importance than a better wage. It's not rocket science to realise that a happy workforce is better placed to deliver the targets set before it than a workforce disgruntled and displeased to find out about its top executives milking the bonus cash cow in a national newspaper. I wonder whether the next company newsletter will acknowledge the contents of that article. I wonder whether there will be an active attempt to unite the company as a whole. I wonder whether I'll even be here long enough to witness the change. I too would like a better boss and in case anyone is wondering what exactly I mean by that, here is a clear definition of what for me that would entail:

One of the things that differentiates successful brands from the mediocre ones is knowing instinctively what people want and delivering it to them in a meaningful way. Apple is known for being in tune with how people work, rest and play and have often been able to create needs that many didn't realise they had in the first place. This quality is powerful and cannot be underestimated, since it in essence means that a brand can dictate how people perform everyday tasks through the products they make. Much of Apple's success has come from the simplicity, experience and quality of design of their products. Every pixel has a purpose, every detail is considered. The problem with setting such high standards arises when those standards aren't met.

The Apple map app simply doesn't meet those standards especially when compared to the Google Maps app it has replaced. But putting the Google vs Apple business politics aside, this move by Apple demonstrates at least two things: 1) A certain arrogance in thinking that they could develop a superior mapping system in a relatively short space of time that could seamlessly replace something we have all become so used to and 2) a failure to appreciate just what it is about Google Maps that made it work for iOS users. Knowing how and why people use your offer (or even parts of it) is pivotal to future development and sustained brand loyalty and it’s interesting to think just how and why the developers of Maps considered it to be fit for purpose for iPhone users. Surely at some point during the building, developing and testing period, someone at the Infinite Loop lab said to themselves “I can see what we are trying to do, but it's just not quite right yet. The Google way...is just better”.

Apple must be given credit for their subsequent public apology, especially for the openness they've displayed in suggesting alternatives and stating clearly how these can be added to the homescreen for convenience.

It's a small but nice touch, yet in the arena of brand experience and mobile market share, prevention is better than a cure. We've already seen Samsung cleverly play hard ball on the whispered frustrations of Apple fans in that ad and whilst this is hardly the straw to break the Apple back, it is crucial that Apple stems the drip drip flow of self-inflicted brand slip ups.

Some of my fondest memories as a child are of me sitting in the back seat of my fathers car, captivated by the world outside my window, comforted by the warmth of being inside and the security of my seat belt. The people, buildings, sign posts, roads and other cars were the actors and actresses, props and backdrops in my own private screening of the world around me. I could look up and see the sky imagine where the people on that plane were going to and had come from and I could return to street level and imagine where people were going and what they were doing - all within a blink of an eye. This motion picture of the world was fast (approx 30-40mph if my dad was sticking to the limit) for the eyes and brain to constantly see > comprehend > assess > imagine and conclude before moving on to the next scene, but it was manageable. Those days of being a back seat driver and a passenger to my imagination unfortunately no longer exist in that romantic, nostalgic form and it's not because I now have my own licence. Our world moves and changes at a faster rate than ever before and whilst moving and changing is good, a part of me can't help but feel it is moving too quickly. One could legitimately argue that it isn't moving quick enough and instead it is me that has slowed down fatigued by my own juvenile desire to move on to the next BIG thing and the thing after that. I'm prepared to accept this fact. But before concluding at this juncture, consider how the life of an 80's child differs to that of a brat from the 00's (the naughties). This isn't the bit where I compare my analogue toys (and TV for that matter) to today's digital equivalent. That would be too easy and to be fair, what point would that make other than the fact that technology has progressed and times have changed? Technology should have improved (as it has) and times have changed (naturally). Instead, I speak of our ability to truly connect to moments in our lives and the products that fuelled those experiences. To illustrate, my father would speak of the summer of '69 (as an example) when this song came out and he was at this school and had this teacher by this name, he was reading this book, saw this film and so on and so forth. There is no web-based timeline to scroll through, perhaps not even pictures to trigger such memories, this is simply a time stamped indelibly in his brain that he can recall with fondness. How? Why? I think because the world moved at a more manageable pace and the products that fuelled those experiences had greater opportunity to sit comfortably in our lives. Meaningful connections had the chance to move in to our memory banks and establish roots that have lasted up until today. It took time before the SLR print had been processed and was in our hand and that period of waiting for holiday snaps created an anticipation that is now lost in our Insta(nt)gram generation.

Mine, I feel, is the last generation where we actually remember our childhood with simplicity and fondness. We laugh at the NAFNAF CO 54 clothes and smile when someone hums the Biker Grove or Grange Hill theme tune. We got our music fix on Top of the Pops and buying just one record at Our Price on the weekend and playing it to death was a massive deal. We recall the, TV holding page, Channel 4 and ITV idents and reminisce with glee about the GameBoy, Atari Lynx, Master System et al. We had 4 channels and a joystick in our hand, but we appreciated what we had and had enough time to let those delights mean something to us and shape those innocent years.

What point am I trying to make? Well it is simply this; whereby an album would be played to death for months on end with the press stop > press rewind > and press play game you would play with your cassette player to repeat that song, now we have access to endless amounts of music at the scroll of a wheel and a click of button. Want to repeat? Just click back. Want to listen something similar? An automated algorithm generates a list of what else you might like. Simple, quick and all too easy. Whereas we would once be sure to be in front of the telly as a family by 8 on the dot to watch something together, now we watch the programmes at a time that suits us, with or without our loved ones on any of our many devices. We've partially replaced the pages of a good bedside book and its bookmark with a screen or skeuomorph replica on a tablet. The joy of receiving a hand written letter with stamps of origination has been declared extinct by the speed and ease of emails, IM's,  Facebook walls and 140 character tweets and DMs. And to top it off, we now hold up retina display iPads at our loved ones so that those who couldn't be bothered to make the effort can 'join in' and 'be there' on that special day. OK so that last one is a bit cynical, but the accumulation of these digital shortcuts have contributed greatly to our inability to truly connect to and embrace the world around us and the rich experiences that such untainted, unadulterated interactions can bring.

I'm not being naive here, I know full well and accept too that in countless cases the digital world has indeed brought us closer than ever before, especially to ones that geographical distance would have otherwise meant very little or no contact at all. Advancements in technology have in many ways made our lives easier and enabled us to do things that were previously unheard of. I know this. I accept this. But there was something rewarding about the waiting, about the trying and about the experiencing before the digital world reduced time and increased 'convenience'. Having said all this, maybe the reality is that the world isn't actually moving quickly enough and that our somewhat inability to collectively adapt to the potential rate of change is slowing us down. Maybe, I should just accept that the experiences that I had as a child of the 80's that enabled me to appreciate even small things more meaningfully were themselves as radical a change to my parents as the era of the 00's child are to me today. Maybe, I should get over myself and stop talking all this drivel - I don't know.

What I do know for sure, is that with all this in mind, the traditional business model and the formulaic branding methods have to change radically. Since our world IS moving so quickly, IS changing at a rate of knots, can businesses really expect to be continuously relevant? Can the creators of products, services and the experiences they generate REALLY expect to their creations to have a fixed place in our lives for a sustained period of time? Should businesses adopt a shorter life span approach and focus on a shorter period of relevancy and meaningfulness and be confident enough to move on when time is up (new MySpace springs to mind)? Is a permanent state of beta the new 'established'? Or is the quick pop-up here-today-gone-tomorrow structure a sharp sword to the makers, designers, thinkers and doers, making, designing, thinking up and doing anything of any real lasting value?

Indeed I find myself asking questions like, what will the next Facebook be, what will the next game changing iProduct be and what universal standard/platform will the Internet be replaced with? What will the world look like when my sons son is sitting comfortably in the back seat of their commuter spaceship watching the world go by and having his imagination tell him its own story? Or will his window too be replaced by some device force feeding his brain an artificial reality?

The world is moving and changing quickly but business and branding still tries to achieve the same impact that it had on us years ago. That can't continue. The goal posts have moved, the rules have changed and - whilst this might sound contradictory - the catch up is unsatisfactory. Our digital world has done this to us, it has altered and rewired our brains and even though individually we might sign out from time to time for some analogue fresh air, we've been reprogrammed to iOS infinity and it’s far too much of a wrench to go back.

When we look at our map app (providing it's the Google one) it's clear that we are firmly placed on a path of disruptive innovation and congested progression. Our destination? The future, but who knows what that even looks like. The world is bursting with closely networked creators that don't want to create the next big thing, but the next, next big things after that and unfortunately the result of this fast forward thinking simply means that we struggle to appreciate what we have now and how far we've come. We are forever unsatisfied, forever chasing tomorrow.

It goes without saying that strong businesses and strong brands are built around strong leaders and talented people. The thing that enables both those on the outside and inside of a business to associate and connect themselves to the brand is a compelling, authentic and progressive brand story.

Stories have the ability to inspire, engage and at the very least can move listeners to feel something. That feeling, if meaningful enough and sustained over time, can in turn motivate listeners to act.

A workforce that can instinctively operate in harmony with the values expressed within that brand story is the solid basis upon which a relevant and purposeful offer can be delivered in a meaningful way.

Google Marissa Mayer today (September 17 2012) and you'll find a string of articles like this one about her most recent move to hand out smartphones to her fellow employees. The Blackberry era has taught us all that corporate phones are symbols of 'always-on-always-working' and so that takes the shine away somewhat of a free glossy iPhone 5. But it is clear what Mayer is trying to do. She wants to and needs to change the culture within Yahoo so that her colleagues feel inspired and happy to work. Happy people make fantastic things and fantastic things sell. Mayer doesn't need me to tell her it will take more than free smartphones to get Yahoo where it wants to be, but it is interesting to observe her thinking and strategic moves as she bids to inject some life and relevance to the Yahoo offer. Earlier this month, Mayer hired Jacqueline Reses to focus on the most important resource of any business - people. And this crucial appointment came after it was revealed that Mayer herself reviews every new hire. This strategy simply isn't sustainable for a business of that size and one can only imagine the talent that slips through the Yahoo net whilst Mayer attempts to processes a pile of CV's and portfolios in her in-tray. I started this post off by saying that strong businesses and strong brands are built around strong leaders and talented people. I stand by that because a business, the offer of the business and the brand that represents it, is only as good as the people behind it. It is however crucial to acknowledge that strong leaders or more accurately - a strong leader - can also be a great risk. A single person with strong opinions and ideas about the future vision of a business is an unhealthy formula. Input from others (especially those who have been part of the business for a lengthy period) is essential. It removes the risk of shifts in direction that comes with changes in leadership and is replaced by a central narrative that outlives any managerial tenure.

A clear brand story should be top of the agenda for Mayer. She must tap into the history of Yahoo, establish the principles upon which the company was founded, carry out an honest and accurate assessment of the current state and collectively script a clear vision for where Yahoo should sit in peoples lives tomorrow. She must aim to build something that will live on well after she has gone. The brand story must be repeatedly shared amongst all within the business and must be embedded into everything that Yahoo does. Yes, Yahoo needs a killer product or service that is relevant and purposeful to put it back on the map and in the hearts and minds of people. But Yahoo can only inspire people to reengage and reconnect with their offer if they themselves feel inspired and realistically confident about delivering an experience fit for today's world. All divisions, teams and people must think outside their direct remit and have a clear sense of how together they are contributing to the bigger Yahoo vision for tomorrow.

The wider application of Moore's law means excitement of a new handset will fade long before the next keynote address makes it obsolete. That's just what happens with technology today. But a believable and exciting vision expressed through an authentic brand story is far more effective in motivating and stimulating the desire to create the products and services to make Yahoo play a central part in users lives.

Sometimes, just sometimes, the internet brings us something that is comical, engaging, interactive and just plain old brilliant. This is one of those moments.

With the recent case of 'computer says no' at Natwest and the heavy rap over the knuckles for Barclays for having their fingers caught in the fixing rates till, it could be argued that now is the prime time to aggressively promote a new banking service to heap additional pressure on the established high street money men.

That is exactly what the boys and girls in that familiar shade of red headed by the insanely ambitious leader with the famous golden locks, Sir Richard Branson, have done. Bye bye Northern Rock. Hello Virgin Money.

For the first time a few nights back I saw the advert (above) for Virgin Money - and was particularly interested in what message the brand would communicate via this medium. The advert highlights the Records (music), Galactic (space travel, yes space travel), Atlantic (flights), Balloon flights and Train arms of the group, all as a lead up to the new banking service. The conclusion sees the words 'On a quest to make banking better'. Nice. Timely. Achievable? We'll see.

The brand message is clear: The Virgin group has over the years entered into a wide number of industries and hereby claim to have delivered great products and services in each of those sectors and now the aim is to bring that - excuse the phrase - 'Virgin quality' to the banking sector. Anyone who has ever used a Virgin mobile may care to disagree about the 'quality' aspect, but we get the point.  Personally, I feel that the ad itself is adequate. It does the job in drawing attention to the Virgin banking service but I cannot help but feel that Sir Richard and the Virgin group have missed a trick here.

In a time where there is great uncertainty and mistrust surrounding the banking and finance sectors, there is a real need to reach out to the battered and bruised consumer who is more wary, more pessimistic and less trusting, less confident than ever before. 

This was an opportunity to not only add yet another string to the Virgin bow or to include 'banking' to the portfolio of businesses, but to switch up the banking game, change the rules, redefine high street banking, to really make a bold statement of change that inspired confidence and at the same time have this values reflected in an identity that portrayed all the positive characteristics of a superior Virgin experience.

A quick glance through the Virgin group portfolio of products and services and their subsequent sites highlights to me a brand that visually is unnecessarily fragmented, disjointed and confused. The various permutations of the 'Virgin' name do very little in expressing and communicating the values of the brand that are embodied by the personality of Mr Branson himself who is perhaps to Virgin what Steve Jobs was to Apple.

I'm not talking here of a simple change of symbol or leading the charge for a new Virgin squiggle as such. No I'm considering the merits of developing a corporate identity that reflects the ambitious, increasingly diverse offer and growth of the Virgin group in addition to the quality of service that is often associated with the brand.

The very nature of the varying sectors that Virgin has entered would make such a brand overhaul extremely complex. How do you create an identity flexible enough to communicate the values of trust, honesty, reliability and ease-of-use all appealing and fitting for a new bank service, whilst also making that same identity system work just as well for a brand that offers commercial space travel? I feel that not only has this question not been answered or addressed, I see no evidence of it ever even being asked.

It could be argued by some that the Virgin brand is powerful enough as it is, so well known that really any calls for an identity overhaul would only ever come from an individual concerned with aesthetics. Yes the Virgin logo in all its different forms is a little clumsy, but at the end of the day don't we all know what Virgin does and how it does it? Maybe it is (a powerful enough brand) and maybe we do (know what to expect from their service).

However, I subscribe to the sentiments of this Fast CoDesign article that discusses how the design of the Virgin Atlantic lobby oozes brand values without blatant references to the brand itself. It's about the feel, the automatic association, the response to every single touchpoint of the brand, ultimately the experience that is had whenever interaction is made.

Whilst the competitors attempt to repair damaged relationships and rebuild trust, Virgin Money must do more than just state a list of reasons as to why they'll be a safer bet for our notes and coins. If they are to really steal a march on the high street banks, then every aspect of its presence must symbolize change for the better whilst generating a sense of security normally associated with those more experienced in the sector.

Car manufacturers Ford have made an app so you don't have to type another password for your Facebook, Google or Twitter accounts. With the aid of a Google Chrome extension, that old chestnut Bluetooth (I knew it was good for something) and the KeyFree Login app, the mere presence of an assigned smartphone device will be enough to grant you access to the aforementioned accounts.

Whilst many might ask the question what Ford is doing making an app seemingly unrelated to their main product - that product being cars, vans and anything else on wheels - I'm more interested on what this might mean for Ford as a business. Initially I'm led to think that this move is fantastic for both brand value/awareness but perhaps more importantly for the mind-set and culture of the business.

Recently I've been digesting the Game Changers Report by Wolff Olins that looks at the key behaviours of companies that are doing the complete opposite of standing still and sticking to what they know best. In short the sentiments of the report are that regardless of your offering - be it a product or service - in order to survive in this always-on always-changing world, the archaic rules and rigid structures of yesterday as far as operation, innovation and creation are concerned no longer apply.

Those five behaviours from the original report were: Purposeful, Useful, Experimental, Boundaryless and Value-Creative.

On a very basic level I believe the Ford KeyFree concept ticks all five of those boxes. Here is how and why:

1. Purposeful - The KeyFree concept by Ford has purpose and that purpose is defined in the video (see above). It focuses on the problem of time, or rather the lack of it. The purpose therefore is clear - this out-of-the-box product by Ford is just one element of their belief in making products that allow us to perform tasks quicker and as a result make our lives easier.

2. Useful - OK, so generally speaking we use our Facebook, Google and Twitter accounts so frequently that we are unlikely to forget our passwords for them. And really, in terms of time it doesn't take that long to key in 'QWERTY' or '12345' to log in does it? Nevertheless, thinking ahead, the future scope for this could be exciting as the service expands the number of online accounts it can remember your passwords for. Useful for that password you set-up yonks ago that you hardly ever use but really need at a certain moment? You bet!

3. Experimental - Experimental indeed, especially when you consider how surprised you were when you heard Ford were behind this app. We just don't associate Ford with a useful iPhone app, we just don't link Ford to password account management, yet somehow - through experimentation - a technology used for their primary product of vehicles has made its way to our smartphones in a very clever way.

4. Boundaryless - I don't know the ins and outs of how Ford operates as a business and I am not aware of the creative culture within the walls of a Ford factory. But whatever their former state, the KeyFree Login is demonstration of a way of thinking that is refreshing not stale, exciting not formulaic. This move demonstrates a breaking down of barriers and a willingness to try new things without the advantage of previous success or failures in this field to learn from.

5. Value-Creative - well in all honesty this will only become apparent in time, but certainly there is value in making something unexpected and making it well. Doing so can only be a good thing and may well open the doors to growth in other unpredictable sectors. It also shows a sensitivity to the needs of users and consumers they might not have otherwise had.

In conclusion I confess I might be reading too much into what is effectively just an app - one might I add I haven't even downloaded and used yet - but what i find fascinating about this app is what it might mean in the bigger picture for Ford as a company.

As Karl Heiselman, CEO of Wolff Olins stated in his introduction to the report 'we are living in unbelievably exciting times'. He of course is right and as businesses find new ways to grow in our fast changing world, I believe we the consumer are set to benefit with innovative products even more exciting than a KeyFree service from the guys who brought us the classic Cortina and the mundane Mondeo.

I've just stumbled upon this rather nice video about the Layar Augmented Reality (AR) project and although I've known about this app for a little while I think I'm a little more intrigued now by it's capabilities and the potential impact this technology can have on the publishing industry in particular.

Having worked in the publishing industry for over 6 years, I've seen first hand the struggle that publishing houses have had in balancing the way content is shared over the print and emerging digital mediums. The digital platform should do more than just regurgitate the print offering and in turn the print offer must add value that online viewing simply cannot give. It's simple to say, but much harder to accomplish especially when both mediums fight against each other for advertising opportunities.

Way back in 2010 when I think I first heard about the Layar app, my interest was limited because as the rather Carry-On-esque video above demonstrates, holding your device up in the sky in the hope that a solution suitable to your needs at that moment in time will come up onscreen just isn't something you would do - not if you don't want that very device jacked from your grasp. AR in this form was intriguing at first, but I guess I questioned the practicality in everyday situations.

Now, however I think that the Layar Creator technology that 'places the power of interactive print at everyone's fingertips' might just be one of the ways that digital and print media can move forward together and I can see imaginative, practical uses for interacting with the printed page.

I hear the phrase #printisdead a lot, but really why do we need to kill one medium off in favour of another? Why can't we find a place for both print and digital? Indeed, why doesn't the publishing industry embrace technologies like this to create bespoke media offerings that deliver material and content in ways that capture the imagination of their readership? In actual fact I ask those questions rhetorically reasonably safe in the knowledge of the fact that we will always find a place for both.

As with any technology aimed at transforming the way we do things, caution is required, but I look forward to seeing whether or not AR catches on in an arena like B2B publishing. I think the potential of cleverly activating print media with digital content is really exciting and further to this, I think the potential for brands to use AR as part of their strategy for advertising campaigns (and not just as a one-of-use-of-a-trend-gimmick) is yet to be properly explored.

At the risk of plugging Moving Brands (again) on this blog, they did this over 2 years ago. It was a self-initiated paper that incorporated AR technology to help the 'book live beyond its printed form'. Depending on the way you position the book to the webcam, you can tap into different feeds associated to Moving Brands' online presence. It was innovative and in harmony with their ethos of changing and moving in the same way our world does.

That was 2 years ago and demonstrates clearly that if done properly, AR can play a key part in merging the digital with the print form to make something truly interactive, engaging and content-platform specific.

Print is by no means dead and with AR could become alive and kicking in ways only our imaginations can limit.

I don't know what you call this (ahem 'brandvertising' perhaps?) but I like it. In the presence of branded content like this, traditional advertising formats seem particularly archaic especially in light of the fact that today's consumer is more cynical than ever before about advertising that serves only to shout the words "LOOK AT ME, BUY ME!!".

Granted this film is much longer than your average TV ad slot and other than previewing during the halftime break in an episode of Made in Chelsea, I'm not sure where it would fit on our screens if it were to be featured on the box in the first place.

Potential advert material or not, I like this because it gives the brand character, it displays a healthy combination of wit and irony and its simplicity makes it memorable. Attributing the right human characteristics and personality to a brand is vital to helping the brand connect to people regardless of the depth of their pockets.

Having become so accustomed to pinching, scrolling, swiping and flipping the screens of our handheld devices, it comes as no surprise that the future will see these gestures extended to our desktop computers.

Apple has brought the Magic Trackpad to market for desktop users as an extension of the touch technology that is associated with laptops like the MacBook Pro. Having not used the Magic Trackpad myself I cannot comment on its ease of use and whether or not it has the natural feel of the traditional mouse, but I am more inclined to think that it is a luxury alternative rather than a revolutionary or innovative way to navigate and control onscreen activity.

The Leap technology shown in the video above however looks like this could be something special. The device looks Apple-esque in form and finish and according to the site is more accurate than a mouse and as reliable as a keyboard. The response to human gestures in the video do look very impressive.

In their blog section Leap call out to software developers to request the SDK and I would be very interested to see the many interesting ways in which this technology can be implemented to the way we interact with computers and different software and maybe even our television sets too.

I am reminded of Moving Brands working on a very interesting 'Experience' project with the Microsoft Kinect device and I shall be on the look out to see how coders and developers put this potentially game changing motion-control technology to great and interesting use.

Could Leap be the killer mouse trap? I don't know but gesture based UI is going to become more central to the way we use more of our household devices and it'll be interesting to see how this develops.

As the domestic season draws to a close and the attentions of football fans around the world turn to Poland and Ukraine for Euro 2012, Nike has with perfect timing once again whet our appetite with another classic campaign.

The last major international tournament (World Cup 2010 in South Africa) saw the viral "Write the future" which was great for the clever way in which it showed the fine line between success and failure on the pitch and the contrasting consequences of both. The narrative was compelling but the campaign was passive and as far as I can remember lacked active viewer involvement.

This year Nike have taken the concept of a campaign to a whole new level. The showpiece ad up top is themed 'My Time Is Now' and it jovially showcases the new generation of stars in football making a claim to replace the more established names even non-football fans are familiar with. However, the additional twist - and one I think is a masterstroke - is the link with a different initiative by Nike called 'The Chance'.

The Chance is a project by Nike to 'search the world for the next wave of hungry young footballers.' The prize for the winners is the chance to go on a global tour to train and play with the world's best teams. At the time of posting, over 27,000 teams worldwide have signed up to the project, the video has had over 113,000,000 views (on its Youtube channel) people the world over are tagging their sports related tweets with #makeitcount and over 12 million people have 'liked' the projects Facebook page. This is Nike actively giving every young boy the platform to fulfill their footballing dream and effectively using social media to facilitate that.

The army of young hopefuls part of that project are represented by the unknown players in the advert in the black and white kit. Their inclusion in the advert is a telling touch of bringing together the fantasy world of reaching the highest level with the reality of thousands of hopefuls dreaming of becoming the next Ronaldo.

Combining this initiative with the 'trailer' to Euro 2012 does wonders for the Nike brand as a whole. In addition to feeding on the excitement of the upcoming tournament, Nike draws attention to its new range of football boots and international kits that will be worn throughout the tournament. It draws attention to "The Chance" project and encourages viewers to 'prove their hunger' and find the 9 tunnels featured in the ad.

The campaign doesn't end there however. There is more fun to be had with a Sonic-style game featuring Neymar and an interactive visit to the barber feature which allows you to 'do a Balotelli' and create your own iconic tournament haircut on Facebook - think Ronaldo 2002 or Valderrama.

I think this campaign is fantastic purely because of the multi-layered narrative that subtly yet effectively communicates so many different aspects of the Nike brand. Nike ads have generally always created a bit of a buzz, but this campaign isn't just about a vast array of new shiny products, it's about the way we feel about football as fans whether we're good enough and young enough to try to reach the top ourselves or whether we are sofa fans waiting for the spectacle to kick off. 

Without a doubt Nike as a brand is synonymous with sport all over the world, but as this campaign demonstrates when it comes to making an impact, creating even more brand awareness and involving the consumer/viewer, Nike don't just do it, they do it well.

I can find no better way to start this post than by saying that the Bauhaus exhibition at the Barbican is a must for any who claim to have even a passive interest in art, design, architecture, furniture, living...and even chess.

Walking around the exhibition Bauhaus: Art as Life, one cannot help but picture what it must have been like to be at an institution where work, play, precision and freedom all had their place and importance. From chess pieces to emergency money, children's toys to the Mies van der Rohe MR20 chair, the Bauhaus school proved to be a platform for thinkers, makers, artists and dreamers intent on shaping the future and how we would live in it.

I was impressed by the real sense of modernity in the graphical and typographical pieces as well as the furniture that came later on. But I found myself humored, sometimes even puzzled by the almost 'crazy' themes and stage productions for what were referred to as 'Bauhaus parties'. Examining the pictures of students and professors dressed up in costumes playfully posing together and laughing whilst standing on the roof of the building where inside they were plotting the future offered me merely a glimpse into the balance between creativity and invention that became synonymous with the Bauhaus name. 

In the founder, Walter Gropious' Programme of the State Bauhaus, he stated that it was his intention to "give equal status to artist and craftsman" - in other words blend freedom with focus, mix play with work and unite teachers and students. This philosophy was championed further by Johannes Itten, a teacher at the Bauhaus, who worked under the motto 'play becomes party - party becomes work - work becomes play'. The result of creating such a revolutionary cycle and environment that was so conducive to creativity and craft is clear for all to see and although many outside at that time didn't understand it, for those within the walls of the Bauhaus, it made perfect sense.

There are important lessons that we can learn from the Bauhaus culture of blending work with play and a creative agency in the modern world must provide scope for these two extremes to exist. In actual fact I'll rephrase that - a creative agency in the modern world must be setting the standard in demonstrating how work and play have a place within its spacious four walls in much the same way the Bauhaus did in its day.

In an industry where creatives and strategic thinkers are tasked with solving any manner of small to complex everyday problems, it makes perfect sense for them to have the space and the freedom to allow their imagination to wonder and get those creative juices flowing. As Steve Price puts it in his post Fraud, ego and f****** desks '...very rarely will those precious sparks of imagination come from sitting at a desk'. He's right.

The innocent nature of playing is mistakenly considered as being beneficial for only the young, but really we all from time to time need that breathing space to imagine, explore, learn and absorb without the pressure of deadlines, constraints, budgets and delivering tangible end-products for clients. After all the lessons learned whilst playing can prove to be invaluable when the time for real work arises.

I take great delight in seeing agencies actively playing and sharing the results of their time spent in the sandpit. Two agencies in particular spring to mind. Moving Brands late last year combined their knack for storytelling with a RepRap 3D printer to produce every child's dream - chocolate. The challenge of getting the machine to work in the first place and tweaking the unfathomable nuts and bolts to make it suitable for printing chocolate by no means sounds like fun to most, but you can imagine how rewarding it must have felt to overcome those hurdles and how invaluable the lessons learned will be. Which client work would allow an agency to go through that process with no guarantee of success at the end?

The other agency that comes to mind is Method. They too have taken a leaf out of the Bauhaus manifesto and have setup a creative experimentation initiative called - funnily enough - Method Play. The aim of which is simply to step away from client work and tinker with different technologies to 'expand thinking and better our creative brains'.

Examples of creative agencies being proactive on this front is fantastic but it is 2012 and this act of playing isn't I feel anywhere near as prominent as it should be within the creative industry, at least not to my knowledge and that simply isn't right.

Gropious and his contemporaries were thinking and behaving this way in the 1920's and the work that stemmed from that playful adventurous era is still with us today. It's still inspiring us, we are still learning from it and it's still being exhibited.