News Bulletin

COGS OF INDUSTRY

David Abbott, one of advertising’s greatest, sadly passed away at the end of last week. Abbott was a founding member of AMV BBDO, now the UK’s largest advertising agency and Creative Review’s Agency of the Year 2014. Most famous for his work with The Economist, Abbott was unsurpassed as a copywriter and leaves this generation’s creatives some damn big boots to fill. Click here to see his incredible portfolio of work.

LETTER FROM AMERICA

It’s not uncommon for brands to comment on recent events or current affairs to stay relevant with their audience. But rarely do brands respond to micro-trends in the social-sphere, as Denny’s did yesterday. Depending on who you follow on Twitter, you may or may not have seen this new ambivalent emoticon ¯_(ツ)_/¯ a.k.a “shruggie”. Denny’s saw it, and bounced it back, recreating the emoticon from fries – thus starting a conversation befitting of the brand and its audience. Good work Denny’s!

PRETTY PACKAGING

Chipotle is turning its ephemeral fast food packaging into mini think-pieces – featuring funny, uplifting and insightful prose from a host of authors and comedians. The delightful packaging reflects the company’s ethos of ‘food with integrity’ and the handcrafted quality fits with its award-winning advertising. But packaging like this is only worth its weight if someone stops to read it, and in Chipotle’s relaxed cafeteria-style restaurants there’s a good chance many will.

AND FINALLY

Japan’s Turtle Taxis offer passengers a ‘Yukkuri’ button that, if pushed, tells the driver to slow things down and allow for a more peaceful (albeit longer) journey. Choosing a slower pace has proved so popular there are now plans to introduce 500 of the Turtle Taxis to the city of Yokohama by the end of the year. ‘Yukkuri’ is a Japanese proverb which translates as ‘slowly, at ease’. And with that calming thought, we wish you a happy weekend!

NAME THAT BRAND

Here’s the answer to the Name That Brand from last week. Why not send us a Tweet and let us know the answer to this week’s:

And then, if you fancy the challenge, play the full game right here.