And improve your French ! France, land of better wine in the world, beautiful women, Tour de France, bling-bling president, Art of living. France which as a country can give birth to the better or worse.
Let’s talk about the better today, let’s open the JAK LAB #3 . Every quarter JAKLAB magazine offers a 360° vision about a theme or an aspirationnal trend. JAKLAB invites contributors and gives them room and time to explore and talk. Strategic planners, researchers, writers, artists, photographers, architects are creating an effervescent on line webzine. Monitored friendly by Just A Kiss  founders, a design, creative and strategic agency in Paris, JAKLAB is an open publication and platform.
After Desirable Sunstainability, Absolute Necessity , give a breath to your eyes and brain and involve your senses in Urbanity. If you want to contribute to the next issue, please feel free to “superpoke” this unique quartet on their Facebook group.  http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=11026998211 !  Have fun !  Brigitte Mantel .

Young Lions winners Thijs Biersteker and Karian Weijers

On June 16, The Netherlands won first place at the Young Lions Print Competition at the 55th Cannes Lions Advertising Festival. The winning team members Thisjs Biersteker and Karian Weijers, who have just graduated from the Willem de Kooning Academy, received a voucher for a Getty Images print of their choice as their prize.

The Young Lions Competition is designed to catapult the careers of rising stars that are set to re-define the future use of images in advertising. This year’s brief was set by Amnesty International. The charity disclosed a brief set around giving ordinary people extraordinary power to right the wrongs in the world. The teams, all under 28 years old, had just 24 hours to interpret the brief and develop a print ad using imagery from Getty Images.

 

“We are very happy,” said the ecstatic winning team from the Netherlands. “It’s a dream come true.”

Chris Stein/Getty Images

Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Environmental issues have been dominating both the editorial and commercial space for the last 2 years. There are very few people who have access to the media who are not fully aware of the fact that the environment is suffering because of our activities. If it isn’t the news telling us the latest ominous statistic, it is a commercial brand telling us that if we buy any product other than theirs the planet is doomed.

As we found when we conducted our MAP research last year, the world of commercial imagery has been green washed. Trees abound while cute and cuddly polar bears and penguins remind us of their plight.

Emerging out of this and, no doubt as a result of consuming large amounts of the more intelligent media, we are seeing the middle classes adopting attitudes and behaviors previously attributed to hippies and activists. The greatest difference being that these people are not dropping out of society and abandoning consumerism, on the contrary they are using consumption as the very mechanism that defines their “greenness”.

Thorstein Veblen wrote about “The Theory of the Leisure Class” over 100 years ago. He identified the rise of the middle classes who had disposable income to spend and used it in a bid to promote themselves to the outside world. He was the one who coined the phrase “conspicuous consumption” as the pursuit of products that gave one status amongst one’s peers.

So to now, we see a green conspicuous consumption amongst those consumers that have disposable income and wish to maintain a certain status and they most likely come from the middle classes.

The great news for brands is that this social group is the one who is willing to spend that little extra for their products if they think they are for a worthwhile cause. Hence the explosion of “green” products ranging from toothpastes to corporate jets!

NOW…..and here is the twist in the tale. This has all been going swimmingly for green advertising in the last year or so, however, something has now come along (that some…like Nassem Nicholas Taleb predicted but were derided) that was not expected and will no doubt throw a spanner in the works of the green marketing machine - that is the “credit crunch”.

The credit crunch will affect the middle classes the most, they are the one who dabble in the buy-to-let schemes, use credit cards for nights out and weekend breaks, they are also the ones who fund “daily luxury” brands like Starbucks. So what is going to happen now these consumers have less money to play with each month? The daily lattes may go, as will the taxi rides but will there be an impact on the burgeoning “green” market? Organic food for instance is more expensive than regular fare so will it be dropped in favor of something more economical? Will we care less about environmental issues as we spend more time caring about our financial future?

As with all crises large or small, we always retract back to what is closest to us and what can be easily influenced by us. Worrying about the polar ice caps may seem low on the priority list when we are worrying about whether we will get a summer holiday this year. OR – will the uncertainty spur us to think more about what is important beyond our own selfish needs and to concentrate on issues that really matter? (The environment potentially being one of those issues.)

From a commercial imagery point of view, it has thrown another element in the mix. Only last month, I was talking at a conference declaring the fact that environment was going to impact visual communication for years to come; both in terms of subject matter and aesthetic. Last week, I was also talking and had to admit that the future is not so certain. It will be interesting to watch whether the credit crunch becomes an issue that impacts the way brands communicate, maybe the green message will have less impact as a visual sales tool. Maybe the idea of “efficiencies” will be more attractive? Look out for those 3 for 2 offers at a supermarket coming to you soon!

I was happy when I found out that one of our projects this year is localization and developing our content for local markets. We have several markets (such as the Chinese market, where I work) that are in great need of localized content.

Every big brand is interested in the Chinese market, but does every brand know how to build its brand? It is a big question for my little head. To find an answer, I will show you some examples where you can see how local and traditional content is weaved into the stories that ad campaigns are trying to represent.

Here is an idea that was developed from the design pattern of the Olympic torch - the cloud. To the Chinese, the cloud is a symbol of prosperous future and happiness. Instead of putting all different kinds of Chinese traditional elements together, the audience can only see the cloud flying from the past to today. It’s abstract meets concrete. From impersonal to close to the region’s heart.

My point here is that to successfully brand to your market, you need a simple idea or symbol that the local audience has a deep feeling for and present it as obviously as possible. Simplicity can easily transfer the beauty and understanding to any audience. Also, in this clip, please note that the footage of landmarks are all from the Getty Images  collection.

My next example is about the newly released Nike ads:

  

Note the monkey king face on his front…

Beijing’s local culture is full of an “emperor feeling,” and people feeling proud that they live in Beijing (it used to be the capital for several ancient empires). The caption on the ads reads “Basketball Shaoye in Beijing.” Shaoye is the former title for the younger generations in the noble family.  This is combination of the younger generation and old nobility, Beijing opera costume (traditional elements) and a basketball uniform. This is “modernized tradition,” when the brands try to pitch to local markets and use traditional culture. Modernized tradition must be used properlyand can’t only be copy - it needs to be in imagery.

*Big thanks to Rebecca Swift who gave me great help on proofreading!

I recently went to see ‘You, the Living‘ (’Du Levande’) - an interesting and truly strange film by Roy Andersson - who was once quite accurately referred to as “a slapstick Ingmar Bergman“. It’s a surreal, meandering film - basically a hipster, European sketch comedy show - but in the end I found it quite entertaining. What really struck me, however, was how incredibly considered every single scene is - set and lit like a photograph. This photographic feel is only bolstered by the fact that the camera moves only twice in the entire film. To top it off - almost every scene (interiors and exteriors) were sets, painstakingly constructed in a studio.

It’s worth checking out - if anything for a bit about a man who ends up being sentenced to the death penalty for unsuccessfully attempting the old tablecloth trick at a posh dinner party.

I wonder if these new Jagermeister ads (who knew they had ads?) were inspired by Mr. Andersson - there’s a similar feel. Quite a funny little set of ads - great colour pallette.

Lars Borges/Getty Images

When we talk about making commercial imagery that feels more “real,” what is it we’re actually saying? There’s no question that imagery you once would have only found in an editorial context is increasingly being seen in advertising…but what else do we mean by “real”?

My take on it, is that we’re saying there must be some kind of emotional route into the image for it to connect with the viewer and feel believable. We want to feel connected to the message.

Some of the best communication in advertising occurs when an idea that has perhaps been lurking on the edge of a common consciousness is brought to fore front. Combine that with great visuals and you have something original that has broad appeal.

In some ways, it’s like hearing a great song for the first time - it feels very new, but there’s also something familiar about it.

Using a straight-forward term like “real” or “authentic” to describe imagery makes the issue of creating it seem a lot more simple than it really is.

What kind of authenticity are you after? Is it that you want to see exactly what your mind’s eye demands, or are you after a true emotional connection with the image regardless of the content?

If it is the first of these two, then perhaps what’s required is a technical understanding, or particular style, demonstrated through model choice, location, lighting and styling. Authenticity in advertising doesn’t happen by chance.

If it is the second of these, an emotional truth that’s required, then there are certainly no limits to the fantasy that may appear in the image…it doesn’t have to be real at all, but the message created needs to feel real - it needs to connect.

Let us know what you think the boundaries of “real” are…I think I’ve kept it pretty simple so far…

In the meantime, here are two of my favorite ads from the past that demonstrate the two approaches mentioned above:

 

Did you know Americans spend $41 billion (not million, BILLION) dollars annually on their pets? It all adds up - day care, walkers, grooming and toys (catnip, bully sticks, organic all natural foods, collars, coats, boots, scarves) the list goes on and on.

In the UK, sales of premium dog and cat foods grew 9.2 percent during 2006 to £655 million and that’s just on food! People love their animals and love spending their hard earned cash on them. I am one of those people.

It’s on my mind today because my most glorious 16lb hunk of burnin’ love cat, Snowbelly, died last week. And I am sad, very, very sad. I bring it up here because the first thing I did after the vet took him away was to look for pictures.

I’ve been taking pictures of my pets for 13 years. In fact, my friends tease me mercilessly about it. But today, I’m glad I did. Part of working through my sadness has been to get out those pictures and celebrate my buddy.

Clearly, I’m not the only one who excessively photographs or shoots their most beloved companions. There are so many websites immortalizing our furry, feathered, scaled friends - it’s clear we’re more than happy to spend that money to shout it out to the world. My three favorites are http://www.youtube.com, http://www.flickr.com and http://wwwlolcats.com - but you probably know all of those. What sites do you go to?

Consumer spending, which includes this consumer, means that we need to continually refresh pet pictures at http://www.gettyimages.com. We just completed a new pet project a couple of months ago. On a bad day, I’ve also been known to search for those new puppies, kittens, dogs, bunnies, chinchillas, ducklings or cats just to have a giggle.

But today, I have a gratuitous picture to celebrate what was my longest running relationship…all hail the great Snowbelly.

Colin Hawkins/Getty Images

Well, what does make a picture? We talk about trends, boomers, the explosion of the Hispanic market in the US, what colors are hot for spring or fall and the list goes on and on…And that’s all great, but isn’t there more to it? What happens when you dig deeper? What happens when you really try to get into the consumer psyche around how they respond to imagery based on what’s happening in their lives? Can we make better pictures as a result?

In 2006, we, the Creative Research team, started a new journey and we called it the MAP Report: what Makes a Picture. We spent 4 months looking at 50,000 photo requests, spoke to 500 customers, and visually analyzed over 2,000 print and TV campaigns from around the globe. We further analyzed customer behavior on our website, search terms, buying patterns, concepts and subjects and visual analysis of our own pictures, etc. Last, but certainly not least, we studied consumer behavior in London, Paris, Munich, NYC, LA, Sydney, Tokyo, Beijing and Sao Paulo. The result was the first MAP report we called One Life (whew).

One Life is about the trends resulting from consumers on overload - a need for grounding, to trust someone who’s real, a need to simplify our lives. It’s a reflection on the influence of women in the work force and a whole lot more.

We hope the report gives insight into our visual language and the way we visually communicate with one another, today and tomorrow, about the things we have in common and the things we don’t. We’re still using it to influence the pictures we’re creating today. These trends don’t disappear like next year’s new black, they tend to evolve and take on new shape. Consequently Guru Joe, Monotasking, the Confessional Consumer and the rest of the gang continue to provide us fertile ground for debate and brainstorming.

Take a look at the excerpts, I would love to hear your thoughts. We’ve got a new MAP launching here in the next month, it’s called AspEn. And that’s all I’m sayin’ - today anyway…

Daniel Day/Getty Images

“Hansel…he’s hot.”

So says Will Ferrell as Mogatoo in Zoolander, one of my favorite movies of all time. I bring it up, a) because it makes me laugh and b)because most industries from fashion, technology, fine art and food to name a few, are all trying to discover what’s hot, who’s in, who’s out and what’s next. It’s no different at Getty Images.

I head up this great team of people called Creative Research. Our job is to figure out “what’s hot” for pictures. We do this by studying how consumer trends and behavior affect the imagery our art directors, photo editors and photographers create.

In the past months I’ve spent a lot of time with the gang in sales and a lot of time with our customers. I wanted to find out the truth. Are we are bringing the right pictures to our customers?

So, we just completed this enormous study, we looked at over 2,000 print and TV campaigns from the US, Japan, England, France, Brazil, China, Australia and Germany. We looked at photo requests from our customers, we talked to customers, we looked at consumer behavior in each of these studies. Here’s an excerpt that you can now see for yourself.

What do you think? Talk to me people.

Photo: Erik Dreyer

As an interesting follow-up to the last post about the copyright issues surrounding the Pop Art show in London, is an article in the NY Times a couple of days ago about appropriated photography in fine art. Included are quotes from photographer Jim Krantz, whose work has been appropriated (with much success - the piece in question sold at auction a few years ago for upwards of $300,000) by the most famous ‘appropriationist’ of them all - Richard Prince. Mr. Krantz’s photography is currently on display at the Guggenheim Museum by way of Mr. Prince’s well-received 30-year retrospective exhibition there currently.

Mr. Prince’s canny insouciance is captured nicely in a quote from 1993, where he off-handedly compares his series of appropriated Marlboro Man imagery to bank robbery: “No one was looking. This was a famous campaign. If you’re going to steal something, you know, you go to the bank.”

Despite what one thinks of the means used, Prince’s selection of the Marlboro Man imagery is appropriate in more ways than one - for years the now legendary Prince has been carefully cultivating his own image as one of a cowboy or outlaw of the art world. What could be ‘cooler’ than a successful bank robber? Images of cowboys (from advertising no less), biker chicks, inane one-liner jokes painted on canvas, seedy pulp fiction book covers reproduced as large paintings, actual hot rod hoods as sculpture - it all glows with the “aren’t I a bad-ass”, James Dean-meets-King Midas aura that surely is the unspoken base appeal at work behind Prince’s success. It operates like a cultural pheromone, luring everyone from the bookish critics, curators and academics who have steeped themselves soggy with arcane theory and hope some of the cool will rub off, to the uber-rich and listless collectors of uber-priced art, for whom the promise of an injection of life-blood from the netherworldly cultures of the American hoi polloi is irresistible, to young art students (who in a former era may have gone to Hollywood), who find reassurance in the Prince story (for themselves and their parents as well, who initially balked at the art school price-tags) , sensing that it augurs well for their own future success - after all, looking cool is what they’ve done so well their whole life.

But these more sordid motives are rarely if ever mentioned, indeed perhaps taboo, though easily discernable beneath the kind of intricately coded veil of mystifying sophistry that seems to have become the sole function of art writing (or perhaps always has been?). To wit (from the Guggenheim’s introduction to the current show): “[Prince’s] deceptively simple act in 1977 of rephotographing advertising images and presenting them as his own ushered in an entirely new, critical approach to art-making—one that questioned notions of originality and the privileged status of the unique aesthetic object”.

But I admit to being a bit incendiary here, perhaps betraying the influence of Prince, provocateur par excellence, on myself as well. I do feel Prince to be an important and influential American artist, but also wonder if that importance might not rest at least partially on what he has revealed about the inner workings of the art world in contemporary society (intentionally or unintentionally? yet more fodder for the art sophists) . Whether it’s his influence or not is arguable (certainly not his alone), but when perfect recreations of grunge and gutter-punk get-ups from barely a decade ago sell for thousands of dollars in high-end fashion boutiques, I wonder if we’re any the wiser for it.