Running the City and the (IPhone)

I never really saw the appeal of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, but when I got GTA Chinatown wars for the DSi I became hooked, it has that overhead view which keeps it suitably retro and a killer playlist for your ride from GZA

The guys at Rockstar games took their time with the iphone app of the game (ie didnt rush it out for christmas) and for that alone they should be applauded.



You play Huang; you've landed in Liberty City to deliver an ancient sword to your Uncle Kenny to ensure his family retains control of the Triad gangs of Liberty City. Huang is a spoiled rich kid who expects everything to run smoothly, but his trip does not go exactly as planned. After being robbed and left to die, he will search for honour, riches and revenge in the most dangerous and morally bankrupt city in the world. You buy and sell drugs for a profit, hotwire cars, meet women for hookups and race from the cops - truly addictive

The iphone app is a little pricey (£5.99 / $9.99) but remember this is a fully blown game with incredible depth of storyline. The interaction between you and the kingpins and druglords are funny as hell and you will burn more hours and battery life than you will originally care for....the only thing I don't like is that the iphone may become the default platform for the GTA franchise in the future

On the flipside it may be the impetus i need to get that ipad!

The return of the Gorillaz!

Mark your calendars...Gorillaz are back with a new album on Mar 9th...Plastic Beach. Apparently Plastic Beach is the furthest point from any landmass on Earth; the most deserted spot on the planet.



The 'leaked' first single 'Stylo' has an electro feel and Damon/Murdoch take up too much airtime but Bobby Womack's vocals make the whole thing a truly sonic experience

Looks the animated band will be killing festivals again this summer and pushing us towards their own popular sound once again

Cool!

I never thought I would do this...but I love these too much not to post:

This is my 3 year old Lola...





Of course Ella is far to old for those sort of shenanigans!



Enjoy your weekends all!

14 years continuous innovation

Yes, ok it's a little cheesy but you have to admire what these guys have achieved...no mention of Knol though!

Biggest Hit at CES

So all the chatter is dying down from CES...So many tweets, too little time. Apparently and unsurprisingly it was all about big, thin, web enabled TVs, netbook and smartphone slates and Ballmer's technology troubles

However, just when you thought it was dull and duller (Job's didn't even show up), we get this!



That is Lady Gaga's business card. She is the new 'Creative Director' at Polaroid! I am glad she took the time scrub out her office and email address (ladygaga@polaroid.com) before uploading the pic to twitter. However there's something in this that feels cool.

Of course we won't see her sitting down and designing the camera, but we do know that she is a bigger brand than Polaroid right now. Polaroid is all about the spontaneity of capturing the moment. Gaga is a 'now' brand; totally individual and attention grabbing in that 'blink and you miss it' sort of way. What on the outside seems like an ill thought through stunt could be a genius move....well, at least I hope so!

Love this!

If you read this blog occasionally you will know of my love of "Pop Charts" - tunes as graphs....


Funny as hell!

For 2010 I want a......

First day back in the office, what to work on this year?

Working in a media agency you hear all that talk of '360', 'holistic' and 'integrated media'. As an industry we have been banging on about it forever. We are doing a really great job of building brand plans these days (some of our packaged goods campaigns have 40% TV and 25% digital) One thing that concerns me is that against this backdrop of a changing way people live their lives and every dollar counting clients are looking for more and more 'proof'

I suppose on one hand the consumers now find more things to do with the same amount of time as technology as enabled getting stuff done faster but the proof that it works from a measurement perspective still looks prehistoric despite all the accountable, 'digital' activity going on.

We did a really good thing about 18 months ago; we scrapped our digital department but it still seems like marketing generally is bogged down in individual channel silos....there's a digital client, with his social expert who hires a 'social' agency (kill me) and they come in with 'here's a Facebook strategy and I can give you a bucketload of data to prove while this Facebook strategy is a good thing'. Don't get me wrong, the clients and the specialists are excited about the future; it just seems so damn complicated

So what I wish for in 2010 is that big network agencies like ours take all that data we have been integrating on consumer response and build a story of it, a story that explains how people are living their life and what they really do, because even in a world of infinite choice, people still work in patterns and patterns are predictable. That's my job for 2010...what's yours?

Happy new year everyone