Case in Point

As mentioned Kate Winslet became their spokesperson a few years later.  She's never looked better and I love these ads. 

 

And she's got curves and a couple of kids.  Good choice.  She looks stunning as you can see.

 

 

Just out of curiosity I decided to check out the 2014 Advertising campaign online.  Looks like their going in a new direction again.  St. John's you need a new spokesperson and fast.  This branding works for you as it draws our attention and an admiration for the clothes and designs. 

 

 

There now that it's off my chest I'll get back to my "Get it Together" campaign.  Enjoy!

 

 

It's time to give Angelina Jolie a break...

I was recently looking for an image and came across some old images of Angelina Jolie modeling for St. John's.  Part of my cleanup and clearing out effort.

At any rate, let's get this out of the way first.  I like Jennifer Aniston (always have) but I've always felt that Angelina Jolie got a bum deal when the marriage ended.  Let's be honest here, it was Brad Pitt in the marriage and Brad Pitt who strayed.  I've always felt he got off too easily as everyone wanted to blame the vixen Angelina.  Now, Angelina was a great actress but a bit too weird and edgy for my liking.  That changed when she adopted her son Maddox and even more when she hooked up with Brad.  (If anything nowadays she appears to be the conservative, classic dresser and Brad looks like an unmade blanket - no offense Brad). 

 

By the way, Angelina clearly has curves, but she also appears to have a fast metabolism.  My son is the same way and he eats non-stop to keep a decent weight.  I have the grocery bills to prove it. 

 

 

However, I digress....  This is about the St. John's advertisements that she did when she was their spokesperson.  I'll be honest I had never even heard of St. John's (or didn't pay them much attention) until Angelina became their spokesperson.  I loved the black and white ads and saw the brand as sexy, elegant and stylish.  So you can imagine how surprised I was when it was announced that they were dropping her as their spokesperson.  "She was overshadowing the brand."  "They were going in a new direction, away from actresses and blonds...".   They moved onto a new edgy image.  Ok everyone has the right to change their look.  So you can imagine my continued surprise when they moved on to Kate Winslet a few years later.  Hmmmm - Academy Award Winning Actress, Blond. 

At any rate, I'm posting the images again and just had to get that off my chest.  It's been years since her affair with Brad.  Six kids later and their still together and still very much in love and clearly committed to one another and their kids.  So let's just move on and give the woman a break.  She's a good actress, clearly a good director and screen writer and humanitarian and from all appearances a great mother.   She has my admiration for those characteristics.

My favourite...

In Canada, due to Canadian content laws, we rarely get to see the much hyped Super Bowl commercials.  However, there are one or two that buy into the Canadian market as well and one of them is Budweiser.  My all time favourite commercials are the Budweiser Clydesdales.  I never tire of these commercials and could watch them over and over again.  This is one area that advertising gets it right time and again..  This year's ad for example, I mean seriously, puppies and horses, how could you go wrong?

A screen shot from this year's commercial. Check it out.

 

If you want a preview of some of the best of the commercials featuring the Clydesdales, check out this link. 

 To me this is a Super Bowl tradition I look forward to.  Keep up the good work Budweiser.

Super Bowl Time

Canadians love American football just as much as Americans do and the Super Bowl is of course the big time. 

It's a rematch between the New England Patriots vs. the New York Giants.

I'm sorry to say I really don't care who wins because I cheer for both teams.  So I'm looking forward to a good game and may the best team win. 

UPDATE:  Congratulations to the New York Giants the 2012 Super Bowl champions. 

Final Score - New England 17, New York Giants 21. 

The best Super Bowl commercials are also up for grabs.  This is big bucks and some of them are really good.  There is one problem for all Canadians.  Due to Canadian content laws, we tend to miss some of the best Super Bowl commercials which I personally find very frustrating.  So, for all Canadians who hate being a day behind.  Here is a link to some of the best for 2012.  You be the judge.  And in the spirit of Canadian content laws - check out Budweiser Commercial.

An Interesting Side Note

While looking for an image to use for the Clinique post earlier.  I discovered a great photographer and that led to other great photographers.  Doesn't this look delicious?

Photo for Clinique by Richard Pearce

Richard is a talented photographer who has done a lot of product shots for Clinique along with others.  He is represented by Cornelia Adams, which is an agency that represents great photographers whose work appears as editorials in magazines.  I've seen a number of these images over the years but never really gave much thought to the photographer behind it until I began showcasing so much of it on my blog.  After viewing this site, I have a new appreciation for the skill level of really talented photographers.

Photo for Clinique by Richard Pearce

Robin Wright photographed by Daniel Gabbay

Photo by David Meredith

Photo by David Meredith

Photo by Alexandre Weinberger

Photo by Alexandre Weinberger

There are so many great photographers out there and I felt that I should pay a tribute to those who put so much work into making products look great.  Models too for that matter.  Your efforts bring beauty and style into the homes of many and I for one appreciate it.

For those amateur photographers - keep up the good work.  I've seen some amazing images from people that only shoot a camera when they're struck with something that they want to capture.  These moments make a life time and inspire others.  So thank you for allowing me to inspire and find serenity in your images.

Romantic Tiffany's

Every girl wants one of these someday.

If I need to explain what it is then we have nothing in common.  

Basically I'm a romantic at heart so you can image how much I love the Tiffany's advertising campaigns.  Check out some of my favourites.



If you're not ready to think about Christmas don't view the rest of them.

That's right it's only one month away.  Ahhhhh.

A Paper Work of Art

I'm a champagne kind of girl.  It's my favourite drink of choice, but alas it's not something I can afford regularly.  My budget allows for special occasions only and sometimes not even then.  However, I like to try different kinds and this bottle design of Perrier-Jouët has always been an attraction.  Their most recent ad campaign showcases the paper designs of Jo Lynn Alcorn.  I'm envious of people that have this much talent and artist style.  The patience that it must take to create something this amazing is just beyond me.

"She began in her Connecticut studio quickly cutting from white Canson paper, forming flowers, vines, fruits, and the typography for Perrier-Jouët by hand.  The artist used an electric paper cutter for the precisely detailed architectural forms of the House of Perrier-Jouët and its doors, drafting even the most minute of details to match it exactly.  The pieces are nearly precious, ephemeral, and delicate like the nature they are inspired by. The frescoes (in parts) were flown to France where Alcorn worked closely with Japanese photographer Kanji Ishi to photograph them. A large roll of the same white Canson paper was ordered and used as a backdrop to the installations that were built in studio, sometimes reaching up to four feet in length and height. Alcorn worked consistently through the shoot building each fresco one day ahead. The series of frescoes depict a range of scenes: white anemones draped over the house of Perrier-Jouët, white garland with robust bursts of green, strawberries and an alluring rose, spiraling flowers, dancing butterflies, honeycombs, and golden blooms."

"The results are, in a word, breathtaking. They illustrate the freshness, intensity and delicacy of Grand Brut champagne, the generosity and aromatic richness of Blason Rosé champagne, the fresh, floral character and remarkable elegance of the cuvée Belle Epoque, the floral character and extraordinary aromatic richness of the cuvée Belle Epoque Rosé, and the exceptional finesse and aromatic subtlety of the cuvée Belle Epoque Blanc de Blancs, a champagne made from 100% Grand Cru Chardonnay. Rendered in crisp white with hints of color to describe the character of each piece without overpowering it, the final product truly captures the wine style of Perrier-Jouët: floral, stylish and diamond cut."

Images and text from Whitewall Daily

Black Velvet

This was one of my favourite ads – every woman should get to wear black velvet and diamonds at some point in her life. 

Diamonds by Bvlgari

Note to Advertisers

I totally agree with Garance Doré that we need to see more smiling in advertising these days.  It seems whenever I look through a magazine (and I'm sorry to say Ralph Lauren in particular), no one is smiling.  If you want me to want to buy your products and feel like I'm buying a piece of  your world, then make me feel that living there or wearing that outfit would make me happy.  We all want the good life, but not if it means we're running around looking vacant or pouting.  Smiles make people happy and their contagious.  We need more of that around us.

Garance Doré

I've been at this 2 months now and I'm already posting my 100th post.  Wow, I have a lot to say I guess.