Results tagged “branding”

As the time spirals away toward Christmas, I have been finding a few cute Christmas gifts and decorations. Pickering's Hand-Picked Gin Baubles is one of the items that I saw advertised that I knew I had to buy because the packaging and the products themselves look stunning. Buying also gives me the opportunity to try some gin. Alcohol-inspired gifts and advent calendars seem to be the rage this year. Pickering's Gin is a gin brand based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The box design has a vintage feeling, showing off the gin baubles while a hand reaches to pick out one. The shadow cast by the hand and the glow of this red bauble looks like a reindeer, more notably a red-nosed reindeer (Rudolph). Once I opened the box, I was not disappointed by the beautiful cushioned compartments for the baubles. I will definitely be reusing these once the gin has been drunk.

The box came with six rainbow-coloured baubles (or bulbs / ornaments as we called them in the USA). Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple are the colours on offer. Each bauble has a ribbon to put it on the tree.

The baubles themselves are quite heavy, so I am not sure how they would fare on a real Christmas tree (I don't believe in fake/plastic Christmas trees) and new wooden flooring. Of course, I always put the heavier and fragile ornaments on the bottom, but I cannot be doing this now as I have cats.

Each bauble is filled with 5cl of gin. I have not tasted the gin yet, so I cannot comment on that, but I love the product and the packaging. I purchased these gin baubles from Pickering's Gin website at https://baubles.pickeringsgin.com.

There are four canvases on Great Eastern Street, across from the Village Underground, and these change regularly to feature a new work of art approximately every week. This is part of the White Canvas Project. Over this year, I have been eagerly awaiting to see what will come next. I've included a taster below of some past pieces.

Animaux Circus

Hughs Odgers

Twesh

Another inspiring project that appeared early this spring was "I am grateful", which combined the use of Twitter (#IAMGRATEFUL), visitor interaction, and art. The four panels were transformed into a large 'whiteboard', and markers were provided for those passing by to leave a message about what they were thankful for. Photographs are below.

Advertising also plays a part of the work that is painted here. I have seen food products advertised on these walls, albums, and films advertised here. In addition to street art and advertisements, grafitti taggers also paint on the wall. You can see more artwork with these themes below. In particular, I think that combining street art with advertising is unique. I have seen several examples of this being done in east London. I wonder if it does influence sales.

Vova Zomb, Himbad, MyneandYours, Ant Carver

Unfortunately, it's more difficult for me to see what is painted on these walls now as they change so often and I am not working in the area anymore. There's been some stunning pieces over the past year that I have seen photographs of but have not been able to photograph. 

This evening was the opening of the seven-week pop-up Cadbury Creme Egg Cafe in Soho, London. I secured tickets to this sold-out seating in the cafe, which included two of the four desserts on offer, coffee/tea, and seating for up to an hour for the price of just over £10.00 for two. There was still a queue, even though I'd booked for seven. In fact, only half of the seats were available to book, and the remainder were walk-in. There are four Cadbury Creme Egg options on the menu, but alcohol cannot be served. However, merchandise can be purchased. The profits of this marketing campaign will go to charity.

When I arrived, there was a long queue for those who wanted entrance to the ball pit or the toastie takeaway. There was a smaller, but slower-moving, queue for those who had booked seats. The queue was in front of the shop, so the image below was taken later on and toward closing. Those who passed by were wondering what the hype was.

When we finally were allowed to enter the cafe, there were several Creme Egg-related items dotted around. The ground floor is the take-away, which features toasties only. Merchandise can also be bought and examined on the ground floor. There's also a locked bird cage with free chocolate to whoever can break the code and a game to find a "wanted" Creme Egg with a mask that is hidden somewhere in the building. The craziest feature is a "Press for a Creme Egg" button which sends a Creme Egg down the shoot for you. The little details (Creme Eggs dotted around the room and so on) feature the eggs in compromising positions and about to become 'goo', as this is what the Creme Egg marketing has been all about for the past ten years or so. I'm not a fan of it personally as I find it annoying.

We were finally shown to the cafe, on the second floor. It's a tiny room with five tables. I ordered tea, and I asked to order each of the four items on the menu, but they would not let me. I know that the tickets come with two of the items for free, but it is £4.00 for each item in the cafe. So, the bloke and I were only allowed to try two items in the cafe. (They were okay with me getting a toastie to take away later on, though.) Options included the Creme Egg Toastie, Creme Egg & Soldiers, Strawberries & MIni Creme Egg, and Creme Egg Tray Bake.

The bloke had the "Cadbury Creme Egg Tray Bake". This was delicious chocolate cake with chocolate icing and crushed Creme Eggs on top. This tasted wonderful and is not too sweet. It curved my chocolate-craving.

I ordered the "strawberries and a mini Creme Egg", which is exaclty what it is. I guess this is the option for the health-conscious. It wasn't very sweet, though, and I'd have preferred a better ratio of strawberry-to-chocolate. We decided to try these options because the "Creme Egg and Soldiers" would have been similar to the Creme Egg Toastie. I'd have loved to have tried it, though. 

We did not spend long in the cafe. It did take a little while for us to get fed, but the portions did not take too long to eat. We were off pretty quickly and went upstairs to the ball pit on the third floor where we watched adults lying down in the pit of balls. The balls could be thrown at items on the wall. I just watched; I did not partake in the fun.

After this, we headed downstairs and pressed the button for a Creme Egg before getting into the queue for the Creme Egg Toasties. The take-away toasties are £2.00 each, and they only take credit or debit card; they do not take cash. The Toastie was delicious, but it could have used a little more Creme Egg as the ends of the bread were absent of chocolate. The taste was similar but not as good as the Crispy Candy Company Creme Egg I had in Camden Market.

While the cafe was enjoyable for its novelty value, I found the price of items quite steep and too crowded/busy. There wasn't anything unique about the items, and the portions were small. I loved the tray bake and it was my favourite item on the menu. The toastie was good too. 

Cadbury Creme Eggs have always been my favourite chocolate, but they were much better when I was younger. They have suffered with recipe changes, and I'm not as keen on them now as I was a few years ago due to additional changes. In the past, I could eat several in one go (or I'd really crave another after I'd just eaten one), but I don't care for them as much now. I also preferred the rabbit-chicken campaign when I was younger and growing up in the 1980s in America. I'm not sure if the UK had the same advertising, but it featured a rabbit making cluck-cluck noises and the Cadbury Creme Eggs next to it. I loved the cluck-cluck rabbit. Here's the commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw_gEyg7Nt8

Have you been to the Cadbury Creme Egg cafe? You can order a take-away toastie or sit in the cafe as there are seats available for walk-in. It is open until March 6, and the hours are Fridays between 5:00pm-9:00pm and Saturdays/Sundays from 2:00pm-6:00pm. The cafe is located on the southern side of Greek Street in Soho.

It's Christmas season again in London. It feels like we have already just had Christmas because the time has gone quickly. I've had such a busy year with moving house and a working month-to-month on a busy job with a lot of overtime. A few weekends ago, I had a quick wander across London to see some of London's Christmas lights and window displays. I love walking around the city at this time of the year to see the decorations.

Cartier in Mayfair

The journey begins at Oxford Street where the same lights as last year have been used (covered here). These lights are gold and silver orbs ranging in different sizes, and they do look magical. The John Lewis and Debenhams department stores also have the same lights. (I did not take photographs of the John Lewis window display this year as I felt that it was not 'special'.)

Boots on Oxford Street is always decorated, but this year's lights are new and colourful, featuring stars and baubles and wishing shoppers a "Merry Christmas".

St. Christopher's Place is a small area of shopping just north from Oxford Street. This year's lights are large disco balls and gianty red and white baubles with snowflakes. I thought that these were very pretty.

Here's another giant bauble light.

Selfridges rarely disappoints, and this year's window and lights were themed around the moon. Christmas this year is the same day as the full moon, so this has proved popular in advertising. John Lewis' Christmas advertisement this year featured the man on the moon, which also supported AgeUK charity for older people. Selfridge's included a lit-up moon above the entrance, and the light projected onto it was animated.

The highlight of the window displays this year included the 'Star Wars' theme with the costume that Rey (Daisy Ridley) wore and a life-size replica of the droid BB-8. This is near the shop entrance. 

The other windows featured scenes inspired by the planets, the zodiac symbols, and mythology (as mythology does tie in to the planets). I am sure that I picked out Mars and Apollo. The side windows to the store featured facts about space, the moon, and so on. The large corner window on the western side featured a model of our solar system. However, I felt that the windows were slightly underwhelming this year.

Across the street, Marks and Spencer's boasted new lights. These are projected onto the building and animated with different colours, featuring a large bow on the front of the building. 

Meanwhile, Liberty department store featured a little bit of nostalgia. Their window displays are always packed but never themed as much.

Regent Street has new lights this year, and I have covered them here.

Carnaby Street always feature new lights. I covered their party lights here. They are nearly always my favourite area to look at for Christmas lights in London. 

In addition, be sure to check out the giant plug on the wall of one of the buildings as it is always decorated too.

Next up is Choccywoccydoodah, who always do chocolate sculptures for Christmas. Their small shop off Carnaby Street is always packed.

Mayfair's decorations were the same this year with the blue arches on South Molton Street and the feathery lights on New Bond Street. The Stella McCarntney shop also used the same bright lights, but Cartier's was different (see the top of the post).

Many of the shops in Mayfair have outside decorations trimmed with pine.

Fortnum and Mason's Christmas window displays were gorgeous, featuring many of their items. This looked like the perfect items for Christmas.

I loved the gold Christmas pudding and the pudding with the silver and gold almonds pouring out of it.

Their shop from was dressed with the standard Christmas trees.

The Strand also had Christmas lights down it this year.

Last but not least, Covent Garden retained its giant silver reindeer that was used in previous years. It also retained the Lego sculpture; this year's was Santa's Express train. You can read my post about it here.

The mistletoe lights in Covent Garden market are new this year, and you can read my post about them here.

I have included some posts from previous years with Christmas lights and window displays:

2012 Christmas lights and window displays

2012 Marmite Oxford Street lights

2013 Christmas lights and Eros snowglobe

2013 Christmas lights

2014 London's Christmas lights 

Halloween had not arrived before most shops have put out their Christmas items, and I felt that it was too early to post about Christmas until November. I went to Lush at the beginning of October and had a wander around to see what was on offer in the Christmas products this year. To see Lush's Christmas offerings from last year, view my post here. I saw that some items from last year have returned, and there's a few new items. Overall, there seems to be more items on offer this year. I didn't buy anything this year because I don't have access to a bath in the new house and this has to wait until I can afford to get some work done to install one.

Above is the Peeping Santa Bubble Bar and Lord of Misrule shower gel. Okay, Lord of Misrule is actually from their Halloween range, but the bright green colour looks Christmasy next to the bubble bar. 

The purple Bah Humbug Bubble Bar and Yog Nog bath bomb are also on offer. The Golden Wonder bath bomb (shaped like a golden gift) includes two bath bombs inside it, which changes colour in the bath. 

The Experimenter is the multi-faceted bath bomb on the right, and it was inspired by films. Above is a pink flamingo bubble bar stick, and the last item is the Butter Bear bath bomb. Butter bear was a favourite last year with a lot of people. 

One of my favourites from last year was the Holly Golightly bubble bar, which is silver with holly leaves. In addition, the peppermint-smelling Candy Mountain bubble bar can be purchased. The 'So White' bath bomb in the background has appeared for the past few years and smells like crisp apple to me and is one of my favourites.

A new bath bomb for the season is known as 'Frozen', and the colours remind me of the animated film of the same name and the dress that one of the main characters wears. Next to it is the Halloween offering, the Sparkly Pumpkin bubble bar, which I did try last year.

The Father Christmas bath bomb is back as well as Luxury Lush Pud, which is the multi-coloured bath bomb at the front. One of my favourites is the melting angel bath bomb, which appeared last year and is back this year. Star Dust is another bath bomb, on the other side, and this is new for this year. 

The Magic of Christmas is a stirrable bubble-bar which contains spices and an extra bit of sparkle. I wish that I could try this as it's a new one this year.

Another new offering this year is the gold shimmery 'Five Gold Rings', which are bubble bars on strings.

This year, the new Christmas soap is known as 'Old Father Time' and looks like a clock. The inside of the soap is colourful. 

Two soaps from last year also returned. Reindeer Rock soap returned, but it was designed a little differently this year. Yog Nog also returned. Fret not if you're also a fan of Snow Cake or Baked Alaska. These are my favourites, and I use Snow Cake all year around as I love the scent. These soaps were also for sale.

In addition, the peppermint-smelling soap pictured as the pink and green soap above (May Pole) could also pass as a Christmas product.

In addition to these products, there were also some Christmas jelly soaps that I did not get to photograph. I am really looking forward to getting a new bathroom and bath in place so I can start to enjoy using bath products again.

June is my birthday month, and I was happy to receive my Birchbox the day after my birthday. For those who do not know, Birchbox is a monthly subscription box, and subscribers receive approximately five sample or full-size skincare or beauty items. Although my subscription had ended last month, I decided to subscribe to one more box as I nearly had earned enough points to spend in the shop. I knew that this month was a collaboration with French Sole, a shoe brand. Each box came with one of three designed shoe bags, which could be selected by the subscriber. I choose the blue and white striped one with a red heart. 

So, what was in my box this month? 

HIP Ultra Shine Shampoo: This peppermint-scented perfume promises to make your hair healthy and happy. I am never fond of receiving shampoo as the brands that I use seem perfectly okay. This product seemed okay, but I was underwhelmed.

REN Instand Firming Body Shot: This product promises to plump and tone the skin to rid wrinkles. I actually bought a sample size a little over a month ago, but I have not yet given it a try. It does have some good reviews, so I am keen to try it out.

Balance Me Super Moisturising Body Wash: This is an award-winning product that doubles as a body wash and moisturiser. I have a small hoard of body wash, and this is a pleasant addition to the hoard.

Penhaligon's Iris Prima perfume: This perfume is a musky scent, and the company is a British perfumer. The scent if Berganot, sandalwood, and vanilla. This is a very grown-up perfume. I don't have anything quite like it as I tend to opt for the floral scents.

Mirenesse Secret Weapon 24Hr Mascara: This mascara promises to separate and coat lashes without clumping. The product is not thick, but it has a subtle effect. I am keeping this sample one aside as I recently received two of these in another box and had another sent for free (after I paid shipping costs). I will probably end up giving this one away.

STYLondon temporary metallic tattoos: Similar to this month's Glossybox, every subscriber received these temporary tattoos. These are the 'in' item at the moment and look best at festivals. I have tried these, and the first attempt was ruined. My second attempt was much better, and I received some nice comments about it.

Birchbox and French Sole Shoe Bag: Subscribers could pick out the design of the show bag that they wanted to receive, and I picked out the striped one. Each matches a pair of French Sole's ballet pumps. I do like the design of this.

What is my verdict? Again, I was underwhelmed with Birchbox. Many of the items I have already tried or currently own. The REN, mascara, and tattoos are products that I currently own. The shampoo and perfume are a bit 'meh', and I have a hoard of body wash. These are all products that just add to my ever-growing hoard. I would have liked to have tried some of the other items that others received this month in their boxes, but Birchbox rarely seems to get it right for me even after changing my beauty profile. Birchbox just wasn't hitting the mark for me. So, it's time to say goodbye to Birchbox and to attempt to use my stash of beauty and make-up goods. 

A few weeks ago, I was walking down Sclater Street and discovered a brightly-coloured blue and green wall by Stika (Josh Stika), whose work I recognised around east London. At first glance, the mural looked unfinished, but I immediately noticed the car parked next to it and that the car was painted like the mural. The car was a part of the mural, and I thought that this was cool. As I was stepping back to take a photograph of it, the owners of the car appeared and got inside. One of them went over to near where I was in order to get a photograph. I had to compliment the artwork, which he said was done by his friend. (Apologies for the photograph not being straight on; I wasn't able to take one straight on.)

This street art is actually a PR stunt for Vauxhall car manufacturer to raise awareness of their car 'Adam'. This is meant to represent the customisation options of their Opel Adam car. Even though it is a PR stunt, it does still look good to me. I like the concept of using street art to advertise in unique ways, such as this, though I think that this is probably a little frowned on in the street art world.

January 2015's UK Birchbox (dubbed "Hit Refresh") is a collaboration with "Women's Health" magazine and is packed full of products appropriate to ring in the new year and kickstart resolutions (both fitness and well-being). The box comes with a set of twelve challenges, based on ideas to promote health and well-being, and these contain several tips. The lifestyle extra, a pilates band, was included; the box also came with a packet of green tea. Subscribers received several well-being and health products to help with their routines.

Stila lip glaze (in 'glitter'): This lip glaze is a popular product with a large fan base. I received the pale pink colour, marketed as the shade 'Glitter'. I was not too sure about the colour for me, but it actually blends into my lips and looks more glossy than anything. The gloss makes my lips feel moisturised, but the product feels slightly sticky to me so that is unappealing.

REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask: This exfoliating mask cleans skin and makes it look refreshed. The product is thick and sticky in texture and smells of marmalade. After ten minutes, I washed it off my face and neck and was highly impressed with how clean and soft my skin felt. The product is recommended to be used once a week. This is a product that I would buy.

Philip Kingsley Body Building Conditioner: The recommended use of this product is to use sparingly and on the ends of the hair only. I had previously received 'Philip Kingsley' elasticizer in a box and was not impressed with it as I felt it left my hair looking greasy.

HealGel: This moisturising gel promises to protect and restore skin. It encourages rapid repair from damaged skin and can be used on scars and acne, rashes, or any other areas of 'broken' skin. I do not have any areas of concern to trial this at the moment, but I did test a dry area on my skin and the gel feels soothing. I cannot vouch for the results. 

activbod Cooling Finish Lotion: This is a post-workout product that promises to cool down and re-energise muscles. I'm currently not visiting the gym as it's best to be avoided this time of year due to the crowds, so I will use this in the coming months.

Embrace Matcha green tea: I love green tea, and this brand claims to have 10 times the antioxidants of normal green tea. I found it a little weaker than the usual green tea I drink, but that's perhaps because this is a fine powder.

Birchbox (and Women's Health) pilates band: I am not familiar with pilates, so I will have to research how to use this band. Pilates bands are meant to tone, increase strength, and improve muscle endurance. 

What did you think of this month's box? 

A couple of months ago, I came across the company Philosophy by noticing some nice package designs for their combination (shampoo, shower gel, bubble bath) products. The design of the product is minimal and consists of simple black typography and the colour of the actual product through the clear plastic bottle.

The name (scent) of the product is followed by a receipe. For example, coconut frosting, pumpkin icing, and cinnamon buns are three of the scents for their bath products, and each contains a recipe for an edible version of the product. (I can also vouch for the products as they smell delicious and lather up well.)

Drinks also feature in the range of scents for the bath products, such as melon daiquiri and margarita. Both of these also contain recipes for creating the drink. In addition, the brand sells  non-food scents, and the text underneath is an inspirational message instead of a recipe.

Some of the products can be purchased as a gift set with the bath product and lip gloss. 

This minimalist branding with the typography works well. The company was even brave enough to leave its brand name off of the product.

Yesterday I had a browse around Lucy Sparrow's "Knitted Cornershop", which just opened next to Columbia Road in east London last week. The cornershop is a result of crowd-funding and is open until the end of this month (19 Wellington Row, E2 7BB). After a month in London, the cornershop will then be moved to Brighton in October.

The Cornership displays items that one would purchase in a cornershop, except that they have all been knitted and are made of felt. Bubblegum, sweets, crisps, frozen foods, sandwiches, milk, laundry/cleaning products, medical products, newspapers/magazines, alcohol, cereal, fruit/vegetables, cheese, canned goods, sauces, jam, toilet paper, cheese, and biscuits line the shelves and racks.

The chilled items are presented in a cooler, and the frozen foods are presented in a small freezer. 

Outside, the shop looks like any non-suspecting cornershop. Imagine coming across the new shop for a pint of milk, only to discover that it is actually made of felt. The shop also has a sweet machine outside the door where visitors can put in a coin for some sweets.

The felted sweets and chocolate bars are in front of the counter, showing off their beautiful felted packaging and branding. These are a great likeness of the real item/brand.

There are some additional photographs of inside the show below.

The Cornershop is open daily until the 31st of August. The hours are from 10am to 7pm. Note that the items cannot be purchased from the shop, otherwise the shop would be empty, but visitors can look at the items in the shop and buy them online or fill out an order form in the store. They can also speak to Lucy Sparrow, who was there when I visited and was chatting to another customer. 

Actually, there are a couple of non-felt items that can be purchased in the shop. I bought a packet of shortbread; this comes in two pieces and is delicious. I also bought a packet of postcards that has some of the felt items on the front.

"The Cornershop"
19 Wellington Row
London 
E2 7BB

Hours: 10am - 7pm every day until 31st August

The shop's website is: http://www.thecornershoponline.com/
Facebook page for Lucy's company 'Sew Your Soul': https://www.facebook.com/sewyoursoulpage

Last year, I did not get around to writing up about the year's Super Bowl commercials. I just did not have time as I was in the middle of a tight-deadline project that zapped my energy. In the previous years, I published Review of SuperBowl 2011 Commercials and The Best SuperBowl Commercials of 2012 and decided that I would publish an entry for this year. I do not get to watch the game live as it is on far too late for me living in Greenwich Mean Time, and as it takes place on Sunday, I have work to contend with on the following day. I've included a few of the commercials broadcast during the 2014 Super Bowl below. 

Seinfeld Reunion
The commercial is a reunion for the characters of 1990s television series "Seinfeld" and plugs their new show. I love the television show, and it is a timeless classic, so I enjoyed seeing Jerry, George, and Newman again and listening to their timeless Super Bowl-related banter.
Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=FhmpTxLhqzU

Budweiser 'Puppy Love'
A cute puppy and a horse share a special bond as the puppy escapes to be near the horse and the horse escapes to be near the puppy. It is a cute and "feel-good" commercial.
Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uQB7QRyF4p4

Audi 'Doberhuahua' 
A boyfriend and girlfriend cannot agree on which dog to get and learn how to compromise by creating a cross-bred dog, which becomes a monster. However, buying an Audi means that no one needs to make compromises.

Turbotax
A commercial criticises past experiences where viewers have been unlucky, such as watching someone they like dance with someone else at school. The ad encourages visitors to use its tax services so that they can get lucky and get a tax refund.

Radio Shack
The brand is trying to update their image; perhaps they felt that consumers viewed their shops as dated. The ad features several iconic 1980s themes and characters: Chuckie Doll, Alf, California Raisins, and several others.
Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=9ft9ruGTO1w

Coca Cola 'America the Beautiful'
This is probably the commercial that caused the most controversy and led to a backlash on Twitter and other social media websites with threatens to boycott the company. Actually, I do not understand the reasoning. Perhaps Coca Cola missed the mark here. Americans are extremely patriotic. The iconic song is sung in several langauges, including English. The citizens of America clearly identify more with America than where their ancestors have come from. The country started as a melting pot of cultures and has evolved with its own unique customs and adaptations of customs brought from a vast array of cultures. To me, the singing of this song and showing American scenery is for hope and to celebrate the range of people which make up America and bring the country together. It is living the American Dream. The corporation clearly lost its stamp on this one. Perhaps it tried too hard by picking a symbol or a song that many hold too close. 
Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=443Vy3I0gJs

Teaser for '24'
Actually, this was filmed a few blocks from where I work and a couple of blocks from where my partner works. He actually got video and photographs of them filming this and saw Keifer Suntherland. (One of the photographs is included below.) By the time I knew about it, I had already taken my lunch and was too busy to walk over to have a look for myself. They had installed a phone box and post box on scene and an over-turned London taxi covered with Union Jack stickers and set up a small, controlled fire on site. The massive blast that comes from the right and the smoke around the Gherkin is CGI. The commercial is a little too "over the top" for my liking; Hollywood tend to over-dramatise.

Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fo4_r5RlBII

Budweiser: 'A Hero's Welcome'
This commercial tugs at your heart and is sure to win over those who are currently or have been in military service. A soldier comes home and gets a warm welcome. Touching.

SodaStream
There's some controversy over this commercial as well based on the company's location. In fact, Scarlet Johansson stepped down in Oxfam (charity) because she supported the company. 

Doritos 'Time Machine'
I enjoyed some of the company's past commercials because they are witty. This one did not let me down. 

Doritos: 'Cowboy Kid' 
Doritos cranked out another witty commercial. This year, both commercials featured children.

Toyota: 'Muppets'
Toyota uses the Muppets to advertise their cars, and this involves a catchy song.

Cheerios: 'Gracie'
This is a cute commercial where the father uses pieces of the cereal to tell his young daughter that a baby is on the way. 

Overall, 2014 was not a bad year for commercials. I am not sure if any of these particularly stand out, other than to create some probably-unintended controversy. 

This year's Christmas window displays in London tie in with the branding of the company and also tie in with traditional Christmas. I felt that this year's window displays were more interesting than the previous year's. I have taken a few photographs of Selfridge's, John Lewis, and the Liberty department store windows in London.

Selfridge's department store focused on traditional Christmas scenes, such as those miniature holiday villages that some put up over the holidays, with a twist. The scenes feature small people (elves and Santas) in a setting with model houses and trains and a larger-than-life product placement. For example, a large shoe or pair of headphones or a brand name purse is amongst the setting. I've photographed some of the window displays to show below.

The corner window display at Selfridge's, which is the most interesting, contains a village made out of gingerbread and a train made out of vintage packaging. 

The Liberty department store window displays feature several products, such as these colour-coded products.

John Lewis's window displays followed their advertising this year with their well-received bear and hare commercial (http://www.johnlewis.com/inspiration-and-advice/az-of-christmas/bear-and-hare). The window displays feature the woodland creatures made out of items sold at the store, such as birds made from scissors and a brown bear made from baskets and pillows and a fox made out of cleaners.

This year's window displays are certainly creative.

The Christmas season in London has arrived for 2013, and as usual, there are many decorations and Christmas lights. This year, Oxford Street has new Christmas lights that are shaped in round balls and purple-blue in colour. Last year, Marmite sponsored the Christmas lights with an interactive display on Oxford Street. I prefer this year's decorations on Oxford Street, even though they simple and not as imaginative as the Marmite tie-in with social media and technology.

This year, the Marks and Spencer store on Oxford Street replaced their Christmas lights with several flowery lights on the corner of their store. These were pretty, but they seemed more summery than wintery to me.

Selfridges also went out to add their lights to their shop front as well as decorations above the main door on Oxford Street.

Carnaby Street also invested in new Christmas decorations this year. Last year, their Christmas lights had a rock and roll music theme which tied into the street's rock 'n' roll history in the 1960s. This year, the designers of the lights went to the birds with bright red robins and encouraged visitors to use Twitter. I have enjoyed the Carnaby Street decorations for the past few years as they are always creative.

The Liberty department store's decorations were similar as previous years with Christmas trees upon the timber-framed side and a purple glow.

Regent Street had the same Christmas lights as last year's with the 'Twelve Days of Christmas' theme.

However, around Oxford Circus, the lights advertised 'Mr. Peabody and Sherman', which is a film coming out in 2014, and these covered up some of the 'Twelve Days of Christmas' boards immediately around Oxford Circus.

Additionally this year, some of London's iconic red buses contain a lit-up "Christmas is coming" message, which is sponsored by Sky.

Boots' shop in the middle of Oxford Street has new Christmas lights this year. I do not remember seeing Christmas lights on their shop before, unless they were strands of white lights perhaps. Their lights look festive.

St. Christopher's Place off of Oxford Street has replaced their brightly-coloured metallic giant baubles with white snowflake giant baubles this year.

I always enjoy seeing the Christmas lights in London every year, and it's worth going to see the window displays as well if you do not mind the crowds. I went on a weeknight, and although it was busy, I did not feel it was particularly unbearable.

There's been a few interactive Google Doodles recently, but one of the best has got to be the fiftieth anniversary of 'Doctor Who' doodle, which has been launched today.

The British science-fiction television series 'Doctor Who'  aired in the 1960s and brought scary villans, such as the Dalek, into homes. The series aired for several years before being discontinued for a while. The series is more popular than ever now with the new episodes, and many seem to be inspired by the show. It is certainly more widely-known world-wide now than it was previously. 

This lets me write about two of my interests as I like the 'Doctor Who' series and I like seeing how Google rebrands itself and gets the public to interact with it.

The game is fun. In brief, the player gets to start out with the 'Doctor Who' of their choice. They are then taken to a series of different planets/times where the Doctor has to obtain the missing Google letters, stolen from a Dalek, while avoiding the Dalek. Running into the Dalek means that the Doctor regenerates into one of his other forms in order to continue.

For more information about the Google doodle, read one of my previous posts here: The Google Doodles Story: Evolution of Google's Doodle 

Elle magazine has asked three design agencies to rebrand feminism, and their results will be published in its November edition of its magazine. The term is in need of rebranding due to all of the changes that have happened in the past several years as well as trying to get rid of negative stereotypes about the word 'feminism'. The campaign hopes to get the media to take notice of the issues surrounding women in today's world.

Rebranding Feminism campaign

One of the campaigns included the addition of a shutter painted off of Brick Lane, combining art and social media. The art encouraged visitors to use Twitter hashtag #IAMAWOMANAND in order to contribute. Using the #print hashtag after this means that the tweet will be printed and pasted onto the shutter. I logged onto Twitter and contributed to this:

"#IAMAWOMANAND I like travel, design, photography and developing websites!" - from my Twitter feed @jenikya

Rebranding Feminism Twitter tweets

It is great to see this getting some media attention now as I still find that women are treated inequal in the eyes of society, and this is simply old-fashioned thinking. I work in a field (Information Technology) dominated by men, and it would be great to have those barriers removed and for more women enter the field. I have my own stories, too. Imagine if women were equal in this world; perhaps we would be even more advanced in science, technology, medicine, and all other aspects. I certainly think we would if all boundaries (for men and women and other groups) were removed.

I paid a visit to Violet Cakes (http://www.violetcakes.com/) a few weeks ago. They are located in Dalston in east London. (They also sell on Saturdays at Broadway Market, but I visited their shop). There were many baked goods on offer, but some of their treats had already sold out by lunch time. I got some photographs of these and also bought a couple of items. 

The shop doubles as their bakery, and several members of staff were hard at work making the baked goods. I also like the branding. (Stationary from their shop can be seen below.)

Cinnamon Buns

Carrot cakes

Cupcakes

Brownie

Shop front and seating outside

Violet Cakes Branding

Artisan du Chocolat, based in Notting Hill in London, sell different flavours of handmade chocolates. Black Cardamon, Mole Chilli, Tobacco, Tea, and Lemongrass are a few different flavours of chocolate sold by the company. They also have a dark chocolate range, named after the areas, such as Java, Congo, and Vietnam.

I like the designs of their packaging for their ranges and the minimal use of colours with the use of repeated patterns, such as the packages below.

(Images of packaging taken from the Artisan du Chocolat website.)

In addition to the above packaging of chocolate ranges, their other packaging consists in minimal design... and even the design of their chocolates. A few other examples are included below.

(Images of packaging taken from the Artisan du Chocolat website.)

For more information and packaging examples, visit the company's website at: http://www.artisanduchocolat.com