It’s that time again! Already half-way through your work-week and ready to catch-up on a few top stories? Yes, we thought so–it’s time, once again, for your mid-week mash-up!

Old Spice Follows Up Epic ‘Momsong’ Ad With ‘Dadsong’ Celebrating Their Boys Becoming Men (While The Moms Still Weep, Of Course)

He’s a man! He’s a boy! Much to a mother’s dismay, her little boy has to eventually grow up. This was the general idea behind the hilarious (and often creepy) ad that Old Spice graced us with earlier this year. Well, the time has come for Dad’s to have their say…and needless to say, it’s a proud moment for a father.

Coupons Are Coming To Your Twitter Feed

Twitter has announced plans to roll out a new feature that allows brands to tweet deals to their followers. These deals can be claimed online and redeemed in stores, allowing brands to accurately track the effectiveness of their ad strategies on Twitter. This latest ‘deal’ feature from Twitter will be tested during the holidays in the US on a handful of brands with plans to expand the idea to all brands in the coming year.

Lenovo Bends The Competition To Promote It’s Flexibility In Latest Product Demo Gone Wrong

Lenovo’s new laptop, the ‘Yoga 3 Pro’ bends over backwards (quite literally) in this product demonstration stunt that has us laughing and cringing at the same time. Take a look…

Billboard Uses A Little Magic Of It’s Own To Promote Magic Show In Quebec

The Quebec City Magic Festival made sure passers-by noticed this billboard as they incorporated a little ‘magic’ of their own…have a watch!

Google Is Set To Launch A Really, Really, Really Big Billboard In Times Square

Times Square; the Mecca of all things billboard. Well, the land of billboards is about to welcome the arrival of the biggest billboard yet–initially powered by Google. Measuring in at 77.69 feet by 329.65 feet, and crowing it the largest billboard on Broadway (not to mention the largest digital billboard in all of North America), this block-long billboard is set to go live on Monday. Featuring an interactive Android game and exclusive display capabilities through January 31st, this billboard will be used to promote both the upcoming Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions.

A picture may speak a thousand words but what about the words themselves? If you took the corollary of that statement to its ruthless conclusion you might think that the copy that accompanies your beautiful image is 1000 times less important, which, of course is not the case. And how those words are presented is a critical decision. The typeface, leading and font size are all vital to eking out every drop of meaning from your carefully crafted copy.

 So, when you scroll down that list of fonts on a Microsoft Word document with those names like Apple Chancery and Palatino Linotype, think of it as stepping into a walk in wardrobe for words and picking out a nice suit to dress them in.

Decisions, Decisions!

The right font gives your words their visual tone of voice, whether that tone is serious, dour, frivolous or playful.Your words, your thoughts are going out there to make their way in the world. They are going to sink or swim in the morass of headlines, banners and paragraphs so you had better give them the best chance of being read, absorbed and even acted upon.

To Helvetica & Back!

Some fonts are designed specially for a particular product or brand. This gives the messaging a distinct and unique coherence. Although, a recent exercise showed that those bespoke fonts aren’t always so wildly different from the bog standard and freely available fonts at your disposal:

Puma recreated using Helvetica Neue Condensed Black

The chances are, however, that you’ll have to go for an “off the rail” rather than a “bespoke” font and, if so, you need to give serious thought to which one is right for your business.

The right font – Discreet or Offbeat?

Well it all depends on your product, service or brand personality. There shouldn’t be a massive disconnect between your company’s tone of voice and the font deployed to carry that voice forward. Kooky fonts like “FEAST OF FLESH” are certainly eye catching and fun but perhaps not ideal for advertising some services:

(‘Maureen’s Parlour of Horror’ might be more appropriate in this case. Not only is the font inappropriate, it gives the impression here that you’ll leave Maureen’s emporium dripping nail varnish all over yourself).

In the same way, the following typeface isn’t really an affective choice for an accountancy firm:

(This font could be justified of the accountants in question wore Stetsons and were armed with Colt .45s but in the leafy environs of Dublin 4 it would be less appropriate).

This isn’t to say that you need to always err on the side of the tried and tested. The right typeface is something that should co-exist with the tone of your communication. If it were respectful, sober and modest, then a less flashy ‘sans serif’ font would probably fit the bill.

If you’re advertising a loud, brash and outrageous event, then there is more freedom to experiment a bit.

So, remember… When you are choosing a typeface to compliment your sales message it needs to sit there effortlessly showcasing your carefully crafted words. Like a fussy referee making terrible decisions, the typeface should be unobtrusive and discreet so as to allow people to fully focus on the words and their meaning.

The last thing you want people to think when they hold your all-important flyer in their hands is…

And, of course, a good art director is the font of all knowledge when it comes to advising you on what typeface best suits your brands personality and character.

Simon O’Neill
Copywriter

Hello, friends, and happy Mid-Week Mash-Up Day! Pop on that kettle and take a few minutes to settle into some of the stories that caught our eye over the past week–here is your Mid-Week Mash-Up!

Nike Warms Us Up To The Idea Of Cold Weather Workouts In Latest Ad

The old ‘It’s too cold outside to workout’ excuse just doesn’t fly, according to Nike. Emphasising their HyperWarm line, a quick-drying base layer of workout gear designed for total cold weather training support, a showcase of top athletes silently remind us that the cold weather conditions of winter are no excuse to stay indoors…even if Chris O’Dowd blatantly disagrees. Have a watch…

Pop-Up Shop Retailer In Soho Accepts Social Influence As Currency

And you were thinking your Klout score and number of Instagram followers didn’t actually pay off! Well, retail brand OnePiece is willing to exchange social media influence and promotion in exchange for clothing discounts. Following in the stylish footsteps of designer Marc Jacobs, who recently exchanged tweets and Instagram pics for prizes that included perfume and handbags, the #socialcurrency concept appears to be paying off for both brands and consumers.

Documentaries Backed By Brands

Described as “The purest form of content marketing,” by Rebecca Lieb, Altimeter Group Analyst, coffee brand Illy brings us the story of a group of female entrepreneurs from a small Costa Rican village that have created a sustainable coffee production business. The documentary titled A Small Section of the World will hit theatres this December, also following in the footsteps of brand Patagonia who sponsored the film DamNation, a story that sheds light on the damaging effects of outdated dams.

Land Rover Introduces Interactive Novel, Combining Fiction With Adventure

Kick-start your imagination with an online multi-sensory experience brought to you by author William Boyd and Land Rover. The Vanishing Game, an interactive version of Boyd’s novel was launched online last week featuring a Tumblr page that sets the murky tone for this exhilarating driving adventure with “interactive backgrounds, gloomy animations, and intoned narration” as we see the story unfold in front of us.

Heineken Spreads Holiday Cheer With Handwritten Cards

Heineken has teamed up with technology platform Bond, a robot powered machine that produces handwritten material with unique capabilities that can mimic individual writing styles. In this latest digital campaign titled, ‘Spark Your Holidays’, you can send personalised messages to recipients that come in the form of handwritten holiday cards, encouraging us all to take the time to enjoy the simple pleasures of the holiday season…with a Heineken in hand, of course.

Anyone else REALLY feeling the sudden cold change in the air? Perfect excuse to grab your favourite hot beverage and settle into a few of the top stories from the past week–here is your mid-week mash-up!

Honda Gives Us A Double-Sided Story In New Interactive Ad

Ever feel like you’re living a double life? This latest ad from Honda will make you wish you were! Check out the teaser ad below and visit www.hondatheotherside.com to view the specially designed YouTube page to switch back and forth between the parallel ads by pressing on the R key. Enjoy!

‘Call Of Duty’ Calls on Instagram

New campaign from the Call of Duty brand called ‘Mission Zero’ scores big with fans in their recent collaboration with Instagram for a reality-based gaming experience that targets the newsfeed of its Instagram-loving players. Take a look at the trailer below…

Netflix Gives Good GIF

Latest outdoor campagin from Netflix is all about the GIFs. To promote the recent launch of Netflix in France, roughly 100 different GIFs that feature a multitude of popular TV shows and films offered by the streaming service, are featured in this unique campaign. What makes this campaign even cooler is the fact that many of the GIFs are reactive to current events (like sports and weather)…take a look at the case study below…

‘Penny For London’ Cashes In On Micro Donations

Donating money in small doses (like, really small doses) makes it effortless to contribute to a charity of your choice by means of contactless payments. Could this be the next wave of donating to charities? Have a watch below to find out.

Pepsi Max Clowns Around In Latest Halloween Prank

We know Halloween has come and gone, but we just couldn’t help but throw this last Halloween prank in the mix because it is truly awesome. And it contains clowns. You’re welcome.