TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) is an annual gathering of some of the world's most innovative thinkers in those three fields. Each gets around 20 minutes to deliver a talk on their specialist field. BMW have stumped up the necessary to allow the organisers to distribute the talks for free. School was never so interesting:
Phil Zimbardo talks about what makes people evil.
Dan Gilbert talks about how we synthesize happiness.
Enjoy.
Wednesday, 15 October 2008
Thursday, 9 October 2008
An open letter to the Co-op. Custodians of the English language.
As an almost daily visitor to your stores, and indeed a member of the Cooperative, I'd like to bring to your attention a matter that has concerned me over the last few days. Many's the time I have perambulated down your amply stocked aisles, exclaiming in wonder at yet another 'buy one, get one free' offer on a particular favorite confectionery of mine, or marveling at the astonishingly cold temperature to which you can refrigerate you apples. During the brief moments of indecision that inevitably hamper my soup selection I am often gratified to find that the audible frequencies that would otherwise meander aimlessly though the empty airspace around your neatly ordered foodstuffs are filled with the subtle, inoffensive entertainment that is Co-op Radio.
Occasionally as my hand is wavering between the oxtail and the scotch broth my concentration is momentarily diverted by one commercial or another, graciously informing me of an offer or promotion currently available on one or your product lines. Usually this does not cause any offence, indeed i may even raise my eyebrows and, after making a hasty plump for the oxtail, go forth and seek out this particular sundry in order to make the most of the promotion and to allow my daily allotted funds to stretch a little further.
However, on recent occasions a furrow has crossed my brow, as a particular item broadcast on your community-information service has caused me a certain amount of consternation. I was well aware that your many and varied services included the provision of fresh food and other daily consumables, financial services, medicines and other pharmaceuticals, jet-set holidays and, heaven forbid, should I have the misfortune to keel over and die, another branch of your organisation could convey me to the ground with minimum fuss and utmost efficiency.
I was not, however, aware that you had also taken upon yourselves the great responsibility of being custodians of the English language. Indeed, it is a bold and tumultuous step to move from merely utilising and preserving our mother tongue to actually taking an active part in the evolution of our lexicon. So it is with awe and not a little fear that I observe your courageous adaptations to the very cloth from which our language is so finely tailored. Not a timid change of meaning, or a subtle shift of inflection have we here, but the audacious invention of entirely new words.
Let me elaborate. A recent advertisement broadcast on your radio service has caught my attention, extolling the virtues of a popular brand of instant coffee. This undoubtedly fine tasting beverage is, apparently, on sale in your stores at a 'celebrational' price. Well let me say I very nearly sent an a array of tins spinning towards the ground in shock. We're entirely used to our American cousins bastardising our language - merrily appending words with superfluous and entirely unnecessary syllables in order, possibly, to convey some illusion of grandeur to the lesser mortals who might have the misfortune to be listening. But we, on the other hand are British. We have the a great literary heritage spanning many hundreds of years. We have educated, informed and reserved media publications, we have a Police force who will politely ask you to stop before they resort to the use of firearms for such innocuous offences as littering or speeding. We proudly play host to such bastions of correctness as Radio 4.
We know that the correct word to use in this context is 'celebratory'.
A word that has functioned well for many years without the need to be embellished or adultorated at the whim of the speaker. Please, Co-op Radio, don't try and turn American or I may have to purchase my soup elsewhere.
Occasionally as my hand is wavering between the oxtail and the scotch broth my concentration is momentarily diverted by one commercial or another, graciously informing me of an offer or promotion currently available on one or your product lines. Usually this does not cause any offence, indeed i may even raise my eyebrows and, after making a hasty plump for the oxtail, go forth and seek out this particular sundry in order to make the most of the promotion and to allow my daily allotted funds to stretch a little further.
However, on recent occasions a furrow has crossed my brow, as a particular item broadcast on your community-information service has caused me a certain amount of consternation. I was well aware that your many and varied services included the provision of fresh food and other daily consumables, financial services, medicines and other pharmaceuticals, jet-set holidays and, heaven forbid, should I have the misfortune to keel over and die, another branch of your organisation could convey me to the ground with minimum fuss and utmost efficiency.
I was not, however, aware that you had also taken upon yourselves the great responsibility of being custodians of the English language. Indeed, it is a bold and tumultuous step to move from merely utilising and preserving our mother tongue to actually taking an active part in the evolution of our lexicon. So it is with awe and not a little fear that I observe your courageous adaptations to the very cloth from which our language is so finely tailored. Not a timid change of meaning, or a subtle shift of inflection have we here, but the audacious invention of entirely new words.
Let me elaborate. A recent advertisement broadcast on your radio service has caught my attention, extolling the virtues of a popular brand of instant coffee. This undoubtedly fine tasting beverage is, apparently, on sale in your stores at a 'celebrational' price. Well let me say I very nearly sent an a array of tins spinning towards the ground in shock. We're entirely used to our American cousins bastardising our language - merrily appending words with superfluous and entirely unnecessary syllables in order, possibly, to convey some illusion of grandeur to the lesser mortals who might have the misfortune to be listening. But we, on the other hand are British. We have the a great literary heritage spanning many hundreds of years. We have educated, informed and reserved media publications, we have a Police force who will politely ask you to stop before they resort to the use of firearms for such innocuous offences as littering or speeding. We proudly play host to such bastions of correctness as Radio 4.
We know that the correct word to use in this context is 'celebratory'.
A word that has functioned well for many years without the need to be embellished or adultorated at the whim of the speaker. Please, Co-op Radio, don't try and turn American or I may have to purchase my soup elsewhere.
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
An open letter to Jewson
Please send a big thankyou to your delivery cretin, who, whilst driving along Manchester Road, Slaithwaite, Huddersfield at 9AM this morning, decided to use a conveniently large puddle to hose out most of the inside of my van, and give me an impromptu diesel-scented shower.
It's certainly saved me the effort of cleaning the van out, and I've always preferred the comfort afforded by wet muddy upholstery as opposed to the regular dry seating. I can now also spend most of the day drying out and smelling of derv, as presumably can the pedestrians he also generously showered. I'm sure we all hold the utmost gratitude as , due to the wideness of the road at that point, he must have gone out of his way to perform the favour. Keep up the considerate driving! Just think, if he hadn't committed this act of common courtesy in a wagon with your company name on the front of it in huge letters i'd have never been able to write and thank him.
Wednesday, 17 September 2008
Coming soon
We've all probably sat through a dreadful film realising we'd been sold a pup by the slick trailer that inspired us to go watch it. But how far could you go to misdirect an audience's expectations? Here are two examples of classic films with re-edited trailers.
First, family favourite Mary Poppins turns into a sinister thriller:
And here's The Shining turned into a feel good flick for all the family:
First, family favourite Mary Poppins turns into a sinister thriller:
And here's The Shining turned into a feel good flick for all the family:
Friday, 12 September 2008
We're looking for freelance conceptual creatives
We're looking to add more conceptual art directors and writers to our pool of freelance talent. We need ideas people who aren't afraid of a business to business brief or direct mail. It's people who can get to the crux of a client's problem and create a different solution to the ordinary that we need from time to time.
If you think we could work together, send a couple of scamps of the work you're most proud of along with details of your rates to hello@pigsandbees.com.
If you think we could work together, send a couple of scamps of the work you're most proud of along with details of your rates to hello@pigsandbees.com.
Friday, 5 September 2008
Wednesday, 3 September 2008
Doom and gloom? Could be great news for your business
The end of the world is nigh. Or at least the dreaded economic R-word is, if you read the papers. Whether you’re a glass half full or glass half empty type of person, there’s no escaping the fact that many people are beginning to panic. Belts are being tightened and wallets are staying closed, ensuring the self-fulfilling prophecy of recession will probably be announced just in time for Christmas. Depressed? Don’t be. Pessimism can actually be good for you.
Psychologist Julie Norem has spent years researching why some people always seem to take the pessimistic view. What she found was that people who tend to dwell on potential problems are no less effective than people who see every event as a golden opportunity. Pessimism actually helps some people come up with strategies to avoid problems and achieve a more positive outcome. Norem calls this defensive pessimism. Another insight from her work is that when, in experiments, defensive pessimists were prevented from following their usual pessimistic strategy they were shown to be far less effective. It seems some people simply work better focusing on the problems (real or imagined) than focusing on the positive.
Research like that carried out by Norem has also shown that people of all dispositions manifest a greater attention to detail when the glass is half empty. In fact some scientists argue that without a pre-programmed state of dissatisfaction, evolution would never have happened. Our ancestors would have set up camp at the first comfy cave, confident that some food will turn up eventually and that hungry Brachiasaurus would never find them. So what does all this have to do with your business?
Use the mood of pessimism to look for opportunities. When everything is rosy it’s all too easy to overlook opportunities for change. We’re happy, why would we want to change anything? But now that everyone has one eye on the worst case scenario ask your staff for ideas. Ask them how their own spending habits have changed (if at all), what their immediate worries are, what the deciding factor is when they’re spending their own money. Your staff, family and friends are your very own free market research team. Take an interest in how the threat of recession is affecting them and you might just spot a competitive advantage.
Psychologist Julie Norem has spent years researching why some people always seem to take the pessimistic view. What she found was that people who tend to dwell on potential problems are no less effective than people who see every event as a golden opportunity. Pessimism actually helps some people come up with strategies to avoid problems and achieve a more positive outcome. Norem calls this defensive pessimism. Another insight from her work is that when, in experiments, defensive pessimists were prevented from following their usual pessimistic strategy they were shown to be far less effective. It seems some people simply work better focusing on the problems (real or imagined) than focusing on the positive.
Research like that carried out by Norem has also shown that people of all dispositions manifest a greater attention to detail when the glass is half empty. In fact some scientists argue that without a pre-programmed state of dissatisfaction, evolution would never have happened. Our ancestors would have set up camp at the first comfy cave, confident that some food will turn up eventually and that hungry Brachiasaurus would never find them. So what does all this have to do with your business?
Use the mood of pessimism to look for opportunities. When everything is rosy it’s all too easy to overlook opportunities for change. We’re happy, why would we want to change anything? But now that everyone has one eye on the worst case scenario ask your staff for ideas. Ask them how their own spending habits have changed (if at all), what their immediate worries are, what the deciding factor is when they’re spending their own money. Your staff, family and friends are your very own free market research team. Take an interest in how the threat of recession is affecting them and you might just spot a competitive advantage.
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