Caramblogage

Finally, results! After listening attentively to all the recorded material I have, it is a pity that I am confined to a cursory exploration of this culture and the language. Distilling answers about the culture and the language into an overview is proving to be rather rewarding. Bear in mind that what I am posting here are sketches, to be improved upon once I wrap up the research next week.  Also: there have been a couple of rather exciting developments on the type side of things, which I hope to be able to report on in the near future.  I hope this answers some of the more pressing questions about what this is all about. Next up: advertising and the web. 

I woke up this morning to find that the city I live in stinks. No really, it's official. The local transport authorities are looking into perfuming our malodorous metro trains with a unique fragrance, following the realisation that the scent of concentrated humanity, canines and spilt beer is not very pleasing to the nose. I agree, but would love to see my native city of Cairo do this. When we were kids and took the trains, we used to joke, with a hint of sarcasm, that we were being bathed in Eau du Caire. , also known as about ten thousand people crammed into one train car. Back in Berlin, on my way home from work. I was squeezed between a drunken guy, a couple of unwashed punk girls stinking to the high subterranean heavens complete with dogs (less smelly) and a perfumed teenage whatchamacallit Altogether a miasmic mix, which I am not sure even the best-designed, most powerful Eau de Cologne (Old Spice, anyone?) could cover up. I'm more in favour of daily baths. And less po...

We are all so young so cool, such a desirable target demographic for advertisers, who spend our time spending our money on finding ways to spend our money on being different. The art of manliness, that venerable fount of wisdom on all things good, honourable and manly, shares it's thoughts on the Indie myth. Worth reading. Oh, and thanks to Paul for pointing me there.

One of the things Levis is known for, apart from their jeans, is the quality of their ads. How does a brand that has been known for some shockingly good TV advertising in the past adapt to the new reality of people actually being able to skip the ads on the telly and doing useful things with the time that frees up? They figure the following: They're all watching youTube anyway, and everyone is just itching for the next big funny viddy to hit the web. So they sent out some guys with helium and a pair of jeans and what happened was this: My only niggle with its realism is: wouldn't a guy with helium-filled pants float upside down, as his upper body has more mass than his helium filled pants? Apart from that beautifully produced and a lovely idea, even if the facial expressions to sometimes betray the fact that it is an ad. But even if it isn't, we think it is and so we mention the name levis in conjunction with some really cool stuff. Which is, at the end of the day, good pro...

(This post was originally started in July 2007, and left to rest for almost a year.) Now, Apple. Apple Inc. has, for a long time, been one of my favourite companies. They developp innovative and user-friendly products, their interfaces are full of eye candy and general usability than the competitions, they offer the promise of a virus and hassle-free computing experience. All of which maybe very true, I am writing this on a Powerbook ( since deceased ), which, in spite of a major overhaul last year, continues to serve my excessive and exxcentric needs admirably, albeit slowly. This is one of the pieces of computing kit I do love and hope to be able to do so for a long time to come. Apple, though, is no longer your friendly neighbourhood computer maker. They have in the four years I have owned this, and various other pieces of their stuff, developped from being an expensive fanboys toy to becoming one of the hottest items of merchandise on the shelves these days. In this post, I would l...

A while back, I was amused find a lingerie ad from the gulf in which the lingerie had been censored out very generously, leaving me with the distinct impression that the model shown must have had double-, if not quadruple D breasts. From Ogilvy Saudi arabia this slightly innuendous series of ads, which do the contrary. They leave us with the (uncovered!) head of the model and a few pieces of underwear. The could easily be misconstrued as an attempt to make Saudi women shed their hegabs , nequabs and all the rest in favour of transparent dresses that do not hide their lingerie. On the other hand, it might be a comment on the prevalent culture of censorship and repression in many Arab states. By contrast, here's an odd Disney ad from China, also featuring lingerie (note the pattern!)in an unusual context. I guess that is what they must call cultural differences.

This video was sent to me yesterday by a friend of mine. I think it illustrates the point of the changing face of marketing quite nicely,thus fitting well into the ongoing series, even though it does advertise Microsofts quaint efforts at online advertising.. Thank you Ranja!

Love these.. came up in a beery conversation and just had to pick these up off the net. They're both commercials for an egyptian TV station, playing with the Egybtian confusion with heavy and light b's and general pronunciation of ingilish... the songs they refer to are kind of obvious. Heehee. For more here

Last time, I wrote an entry about the changing face of the world of advertising. Recap:  Through the internet, we, for the first time have the opportunity to do thorough research into the products and companies we buy our goods from. This is leading to a much more critical consumer and a change in the marketing approach of those companies. And I promised you more. So, marketing is driven by the consumer nowadays, not by the product. How does this work? We are at freedom to express our opinions in a worldwide forum for the first time, and for the first time, the voice of the consumer has the chance to be heard. This leads to dialogue between the consuming parties, which the selling entity, be it the shop you bought it in, or the company that produced the product, can follow. A classic example of this is Apple Inc. (Formerly computers). Before the internet went truly global, with one billion users online and surfing, the companies reputation spread mostly though word- of- mouth, users...

From all sides, we are assailed by danger: Our oceans are rising up against us, with the polar caps melting as we warm our climate up. Suddenly winters seem warmer, droughts longer and more frequent, rain, when it does fall in what is known as the temperate zone of this earth, it seems almost tropical. Soon, Berlin will have to deal with diseases like malaria, bilharzia and the like. We, through the internet, are more aware than ever of the role of industry and corporations in all of this. All of a sudden, we are also aware of the conditions most goods we use in our daily lives are manufactured in — sweat-shops. low wage labour in third-world countries, no regard for the health of workers, and no interest in what kind of long-term effect feeding this world of consumerism will have on these countries. Also on the news: the world's biggest, and seemingly most developed economy slowly slipping into recession through impossible loans and unrestrained borrowing. At the same tim...

Now that all the excitement is over I finally have time to publish my Powerbooks obituary: This is to announce the passing on of Ks's Block on the 14th of January 2008. KS Block was found at Saturn, where it was rescued from a prolonged existence as a demo machine. It was purchased in April 2004, whereafter it accompanied me through many adventures including the great Cairo Kitsch expedition, the Rescue of Neverwinter, The Roman Summer, The Madrassah File and many other twists and turns in the plot of the last four years. It did many tasks it was not designed for, such as big and heavy rendering tasks, which sometimes forced it to work and toil for days on end, film editing with HD material and bookweight. By the time of its death, it had, through my road warrior Lifestyle acquired many bumps, scratches and general patina. Symptoms of its imminent demise started showing in April 2007, when it received a new Hard drive and Battery to replace defective units. It died as it lived: Qui...

it makes you think.. over the centuries, the martyrdom of a couple of early christian saints has been turned into a festival of worldwide love when roses and chocolates are given, kisses exchanged and silly schoolboys give their crushes hand drawn cards spelling out will you be my valentine. Romance at it's best: taking something horrible and turning it, with time, into something, if not good, then at least an expression of affection. Consumerism turns this into one of those musto- be celebrated days, like christmas, where you have to buy the beloved, the object of your desires, favourite courtesan or whatever does it for you, some trinket, some gift to prove to them that you haven't forgotten about that one special person that advertising tells you deserves it. Comes in handy in that spending slump between christmas and easter, too. At least that way, people spend their cash on useful things like flowers (pretties up the house( perfumes (olfactory delights for all!), ipods (ke...