A meter of African culture.

Vuvuzela. The word reminds me of African smells, colours and moods. I find it fascinating that a whole world gets so upset over a one meter long piece of plastic. The vuvuzela was not, despite what many people might think, invented for the world cup this year, but has been used for years. Freddie ”Saddam” Maake claims to have invented the vuvuzela in 1965, and it has been popular since th 1990's on football games to annoy the opposite team and its supporters.

I don't mind a ban in other countries, but when in Rome… Or South Africa…

Royal theme.

South Africa and royal weddings – it's the shit (pardon my French). For a weekend the wedding between Swedish princess Victoria and her now prince Daniel yesterday overshadowed the Football (Soccer) World Cup in South Africa. At least in Sweden, Germany and a few other countries i suspect.

Even I found myself in front of the TV to watch the king hand over his daughter to Daniel (you might know my feelings towards that detail…) and in today's paper wedding was the theme of the day, even for adverts. Here is one. (Congratulations to the bride and groom. Hope you'll soon be 3.)

Slow Brands 1.1

A while ago I wrote about Slow Brands, admiring the famous but soon to be extincts advertising murals painted on walls in major American cities, such as New York. Like slow food is becoming increasingly more popular as people start putting value on their time, perhaps we're seeing a new trend of advertising murals appearing.

Design and brand agency Hedlund Noodapera has painted the walls at Helsinki International Airport, Vanda, and Kastrup in Copenhagen for client First Card (payment system for administering travel costs for larger companies). The choice of painting the walls instead of printing on another material was chosen to achieve the brilliant colours that are impossible to get when printing. But Clear Channel, in charge of the advertising space at Helsinki Airport had first to be convinced through example screens made in scale 1:3.

The murals now cover a total area of about 100 square meters. Perhaps a good reason to travel via Copenhagen or Helsinki this summer?

Read article (in Swedish) about the project.

Arnell's oranges and other tips on personal branding.

Brand guru / Mad Man / Brand Genius / Bernie Madoff of brands / one of the great brand impresarios of our age. Peter Arnell has been called many names. Last year his reputation was at stake with the Tropicana packaging fiasco, but Arnell has a long list of successful work for brands like Samsung, Donna Karan, Banana Republic, McDonald's, Home Depot and Pfizer.

A few years ago Arnell lost 250 pounds, partly by changing his diet into an extensive amount of oranges (as many as 50 a day). He has now written a book, Shift, about personal branding. Some of the chapter names: Start Your Own Orange Revolution, Reinvent The Obvious, Un-write Your Life, Go Helium, Create A Fan Club and Making Our Place in History tells something about the kind of content one can expect to find. Foreword by Martha Stewart and endorsed by Donna Karan and Mark Wahlberg among others.

Read an excerpt here.

Over and out – we'll miss you Mac and PC.

A legendary ad campaign has come to an end: After 66 movies with Justin Long and John Hodgman starring Mac and PC, Apple has decided to abandon the famous and appreciated campaign Get a Mac. The "Why you'll love a Mac" campaign has now replaced all the fabulous Mac ads on Apple's website.

The campaign was created by TBWA Media Arts Lab, and it recieved an Effie in 2007 and was named the campaign of the decade by Adweek. It was probably the reason behind Microsoft's decision to hire Crispin Porter + Bogusky to fight back Apple's attacs on PC.

I have used the Get a Mac movies in many seminars and workshops and I promise they'll become even more famous in the afterlife.

Royal place branding.

Sweden is considered one of the most modern countries in the world. Yet we are a monarchy. Perhaps it's by habit, or possibly because it gives people a sense of historical connection. One thing is clear though, the spotlight have been pointed to the members in the Swedish royal family lately, for different reasons.

What I'd like to address today is the royal wedding between crown princess Victoria and Daniel Westling, a boy from a small town in the middle of Sweden, and how their wedding will affect the brand "Sweden". A few weeks ago I laid my eyes on the wedding invites at the printing house who printed them (I did unfortunately not take a photo…), and my reaction was instant: How bland! Take a princess belonging to the royal family of one of the world's most modern countries, a country which is known, among other things, for its design. Result: a new royal (soon to be) married couple, becoming ambassadors for new Swedish design?

Not at all. Instead we see design which is very correct, very well made (it's not bad at all), but oh so boring and safe. But come to think of it, why should we be surprized? The princess herself has wished for her father, the king, to lead her to the altar, a tradition abandoned many years ago by the Swedish Church, as a symbol of old stereotypical gender roles and not worthy any modern woman of today.

Back to the royal design. The pattern that has been created for the royal wedding is now seen on a number of product ranges (by companies that have been approved to carry the stamp "Kunglig Hovleverantör"), from chocolate, to cookies, to coffee. All are part of promoting the royal wedding (and thus gaining from it) and by this shaping the brand image of a country.

Here are some examples from around town:

Slow brands.

I just watched a fantastic little documentary on the men (it's always been and still is men) who paints the murals on walls in New York. I'm fascinated by the patience and love these men convey when performing the artistic masterpieces on walls high above the hustle and bustle of the city.

Slow brands, like slow food, is a fantastic way of displaying and devouring a brand. The murals are taken over by quicker methods, like printed vinyl, but they are still there.

Film by Malcolm Murray. Concept: Mother NY. Production Co: Mekanis.

Up there.