Fizz and Fashion

Female hearts - like mine - beat faster when they hear the name Marc Jacobs. We think about beautiful shoes and bags.

But from March on this will also happen when we look at a limited edition of Diet Coke cans and bottles. To celebrate the brands 30th anniversary Marc Jacobs has been unveiled as Creative Director exclusively for 2013 as an exciting element of the ‘Sparkling Together For 30 Years’ campaign.

Marc Jacobs has created a limited edition collection of must-have bottles and cans, combining the stylish and light-hearted personalities of one of the most influential designers of our time and the iconic soft drink. Inspired by the three decades, the chic designs capture the rise of female empowerment through the ‘80s, ‘90s, ‘00s, with a twist - true to Marc Jacobs’ signature style.

The exciting Diet Coke Sparkling Together with Marc Jacobs limited edition collection will be available across North Western Europe & Nordics from March 2013.

[via Coca Cola Company, pinterest]

It's not only about what's inside your food...

Everybody is talking about the current horse meat scandal and what really is inside your food. But maybe we should pay more attention to the actual packaging as well. Just recently I became aware of a new way of clever advertising that some of the worlds most famous brands are using.

Blippar is the first image-recognition phone app that brings packaging, posters, newspapers and magazines to life with augmented reality experiences and instantaneous content. Launched in the UK in 2011 it has been expanding globally ever since.

Last night I had a look through my cupboards at home and here are some examples of what some brands are offering with Blippar. And there are lots more out there.

Ok, the temperature is slightly wrong but anyway...

So if you spot me walking around Tesco while aiming my mobile at different products don't worry. I'll be trying to find new 'blipps'.

R.I.P. Otfried Preußler - books from my childhood

With sadness I read in the news today that the German children's book author Otfried Preußler (sometimes spelled Otfried Preussler) has died. As a child I read most of his books - not only once but many, many times. And I have to admit I still like them!

Otfried Preußler's books have sold more than 50 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 55 languages. Some of his best know works are The Robber Hotzenplotz and The Satanic Mill (Krabat).

But why does this qualify as a post on our blog you might wonder? Well. One thing that always stuck with me were the illustrations on the book covers. Put them amongst hundreds of other books and they'll stand out of the crowd. And furthermore they give a bit of an inside in the style of illustration that was used from the 1950s to the 1970s (the years the following books were first published) for children's books.

So here are examples of my favourite books and their cover illustrations:

The little Water-Sprite
Illustration by Winnie Gebhardt-Gayler
first published 1956

The little Witch
Illustration by Winnie Gebhardt-Gayler
first published 1957

The Robber Hotzenplotz
Illustration by Franz Josef Tripp
first published 1962

Further Adventures of the Robber Hotzenplotz
Illustration by Franz Josef Tripp
first published 1969

Final Adventures of the Robber Hotzenplotz
Illustration by Franz Josef Tripp
first published 1973

The little Ghost
Illustration by Franz Josef Tripp
first published 1966

The Satanic Mill (Krabat)
Illustration by Herbert Holzing
first published 1971

R.I.P. Otfried Preußler

[via wikipedia; Thienemann Verlag]

German Tuesday - Taking my love for origami to a whole new level!

I've always been fascinated by the art of origami and what you can do with a single piece of paper. Often enough we've done some sort of origami in the office ourselves when we needed an interesting and practical way of folding a customised leaflet.
When I was back home in Germany over the Christmas holidays I saw the following spot on TV and was immediately mesmerised by it.

Animation agency Sehsucht produced the full CG origamy-style commercial for Deutsche Fernsehlotterie, a charitable lottery, and with their agency Zum Goldenen Hirschen. The challenge was to create the characters as human as possible but with a realistically foldable look that carries the complex textures of paper. And if you're impressed by the spot itself take a look at this making of. It's even more fascinating. I wish I could storyboard like this...

[via Sehsucht]

Branding Frenzy at Mako Towers

We have been very busy at Mako recently and it has been branding all the way!

Here is just a small selection of some of the brands we have been working on in the financial industry, software creation, defence security and leisure.

Quite a varied selection I think you would agree.

We can work across all industry sectors and don’t limit our creativity to any niche areas; maybe that’s why our clients keep coming back to us!

More branding coming soon. Watch this space….

Have a break and plug out!

Nowadays we are all connected and constantly online. WiFi is available in airports, trains, bars, restaurants, supermarkets and many public places. Even the summit of Mount Everest has WiFi. So sometimes it can be hard to have a proper break without tweeting, Facebook or emails.

JWT Amsterdam therefore has come up with a "Free No-WiFi Zone" for their client Kit Kat. Benches in Amsterdam are fitted with signal jammers that block WiFi for a radius of 5 metres, so people can escape emails, status updates etc and instead take some real time for a break. Whilst eating a Kit Kat of course.

Instead of updating your status or tweeting
you have time to read a proper newspaper...

...or even have a conversation!

And you think this is utter bliss?

Then you'll love the Detox Break at the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel. It's not only about the detox of your body but mainly to reorganise you lifestyle, your habits and to revive yourself from an overstimulated world.

So what does it involve? Your laptop, cell phone, and all other digital devices must be surrendered upon check in, and will be held for you until your departure. Prior to your arrival, the television, phone, and iHome dock station will be removed from your guest room and replaced by literary classics.
And to top it all there are some healthy activities included such as kayaking lessons.

So maybe this weekend let's try to have a break and plug out!

[via behance, JWT Amserdam, Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel]