Advertising Is Dead. Long Live Advertising!

This is an amazing book for anyone into ambient media. It's full of cool alternative advertising campaigns that have made people stop and take notice of brands. We're so overwhelmed with above the line communication messages that it's got to the point where people stop taking them in. Brands need something fresh, clever and witty to stand out from the crowd. Ambient media campaigns often allow brands to get closer to consumers and target them more specifically. And by catching them off guard, they're less likely to block out the messages as people do with traditional advertising. I could go on about the perks of ambient media but it'll take a while. If you want to learn more about it and see some amazing ideas, take a look at the book. It's a great source of inspiration.

Four Letter Word

This book is an inspiring collection of 21st century love letters. Joshua Knelman and Rosalind Porter have given forty of today's most celebrated writers a simple brief: to write a fictional love letter. This form of communication seems to have been neglected in modern society. But I think it's one of the most powerful and honest pieces of communication there is.

When I first picked this up, I looked at the phrase "love letter" and my first thoughts were: soppy, romantic, gush. But after reading the back, I thought I'd give it a go. I'm so glad I did as it's brilliant. It's fascinating to see how the writer's have given these love letters a modern twist. Each letter is unique: there's a set of emails from an obsessive stalker, a letter from Bigfoot to Santa, a missing persons ad... Each writer has tackled the brief in their own way; it's a great example of seeing how these creatives think outside the box. Some are so far out of the box, it looks like a dot to them. Reading this book will make you laugh, touch, feel pity, cringe, and shock you. It's well worth a read.