The largest merger in advertising history!

     I don't necessarily believe in coincidence, but how crazy is it that I am over in London studying international advertising, and the largest merger of agencies occurs one of the last weeks that we are here? Today, July 28th, advertising titans, Publicis and Omnicom merge to become the largest ad agency in the world with a combined capital of just over $35 billion. What is a little more crazy is that just prior to this, I read in my text book that Omnicom generates enough income per year that they could effect world currencies just by shifting their money around in banks.

     Some questions that arise and something that we discussed in class are conflicts of interest. What happens when one agency who handles the likes of Coca-Cola, and Microsoft partners with another agency who handles Pepsi and Google? What about culture clash among agencies? Anti-trust laws? It is a very exciting time in the advertising world and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for both the agency and clients alike. 

"... all I wanted was for the truth to be revealed."

     Today was part of the weekend and with most of the homework caught up on, a few of us decided to go to the cinema and watch, We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks and boy was it freaking awesome. In my opinion, it was relatively bias free as it brought into light the good of Julian Assange, Wikileaks, and Bradley Manning. But also contrasted and showed some of the darker sides of each.

     I have always been a big proponent of Wikileaks and have kept up with it for quite sometime. I was fairly knowledgeable about Assange, Manning, and the Apache Helicopter / Reuters reporters video that came to prominence and gained traction for Wikileaks, but I dont think some of the peers that I was with had heard or seen of that video. The expressions on their faces when they realized some of the wrong doings that occur by our government & military is something I won't soon forget. I think this documentary was very eye opening, not only for myself but for them as well. One profound statement from Manning that really stuck with me in this documentary was that Manning could have given all those leaks and cables to another country or sold them off to this highest bidder. But Manning said that he wasn't about that. All he ever wanted was for the truth to be revealed.

     Later that afternoon, I had received a call from Ryan & Jen from Kerrang asking if I wanted to go out to dinner that night. I gladly accepted, and a few hours later, I was on the Underground to meet up with them. We went out to Yo! Sushi and had some good food and great conversation. Afterwards, we were going to get some drinks at a bar, but found ourselves in a casino!

Bet it all on black, they say!

Field trip to the BBC

    
     Today marks a day that I have been looking forward to for quite some time. Although I am not a news major, I have always turned to the BBC News to escape any bias from US news media outlets. And I was about to be right in the mix of where all the BBC News takes place. We had a tour scheduled at 2:30 and were shown around by a mediocre tour guide and one hilarious tour guide.

     Pictured above is the entire news room of the BBC viewed from the left side. One thing I learned from the tour is that if you were to split the room in half vertically, one half consists of the BBC News London team, the other BBC World News. 

(Click for better image)

     Above is a brief history of the BBC, read from right to left.

I've got the blues

    This evening, a few of us made our way to Camden and went to a blues bar where we got to watch Muddy Water's son perform. This place was jam packed, sweaty, and full of soul. 

Kerrang!, Hyde Park, a Super Moon, and the Royal Birth (WOAH!)

                                       

     I just got back from one of the most excellent days that I have           had in London (so far). After class had concluded, I gathered my things and began to head to Oxford Circus for my meeting with Ryan Cooper at the Kerrang! offices. For my British Media class, we had to select a media outlet in which we would use to compare and contrast with a similar outlet back in the states. I was psyched to have selected Kerrang! The largest rock publication in the world, outselling Rolling Stone.

     I had a short journey (or so I thought) to the K! offices, but upon my arrival, I was told that I had entered the K! radio offices and I still had several blocks to go. I continued on in the right direction until I finally made it to the Bauer Media Group offices which housed K! I met Ryan and was able to sit in the conference room and get my interview for my paper. Ryan was a good dude and pretty stoked that I was all the way from the states and had an interest in K! He gave me the grand tour of the K! offices, which to my surprise, was relatively small and housed about 15 members on staff. Not bad for being the #1 rock publication in the world!

The K! offices - some of the editors and design team

The back wall at the K! office featuring some of the recent covers

     I concluded my visit with Ryan and the rest of the awesome people at the K! offices with a head full of insight to this rock publication and a wealth of information for my paper. Across the street was a burger joint called, Byron and it was about lunch time. I still had a FULL day of adventure ahead, so I stopped and grabbed a bite to eat. 

                                                                                                                                

     With a full belly and a sense of excitement, I began my journey to Hyde Park for my solo walk. One of the assignments that Peter had given us (and one that I was most stoked about) was to go on a solo journey through popular destinations or parks around London. I was fortunate enough to have selected Hyde Park & Kennsington Gardens. Hyde Park is massive! I had several "checkpoints" to see as I made my journey through the park. The first was the Peter Pan statue and seeing as how I am a lost boy, I knew it was meant to be that I got this card. Second was the Serpentine Art Gallery which I found to be extremely weird but oddly cool. The third check point lead me through a large forest which was suppose to end in a "scenic rose garden," but that exhibit was no longer available.

Entrance to Hyde Park

                               

                                      Peter Pan Statue

                                 

Sculpture / Cafe outside the Serpentine Gallery

                                  

     The fourth stop was the very large, very lavish Prince Albert monument. It was pretty awesome to see this massive monument that was right in the middle of Hyde Park. Continuing on to the fifth stop was the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain. After just seeing the lavish Prince Albert statue, I figured the Princess Diana fountain would have to be equally extravagant, but not quite. Stop six lead me through what was left of the lush and green park to the exit, but not before passing Speaker's Corner. I got to see a lot of beauty and a lot of awesome things on this solo walk, but more importantly I finally got some time by myself and was able to really gather my thoughts and reflect on this trip and it was real humbling.

     I finished up with just enough time to make it back to Regents to get dinner and to get cleaned up. The class is meeting up this evening to go to Primrose Hill to catch a glimpse of the super moon. We had quite the trek, but once we made it, we had the sickest view of London. We all hung out for a few hours before we finally got to see the super moon rise just above The Shard. Shortly there after, we all had gotten word that Kate had given birth to the Royal Baby. The BT Communication Tower just off to the distance had a digital display at the top of it that read, "It's a Boy!"

     We took a trip to Buckingham Palace the day after the Royal Birth. It was so swarmed with people, but we had an exciting time. We had just missed the changing of the guards, but you can see them below as well. 

     

Sun rise in Brighton | July 18

    
     Just a brief update - After class, I made my way to the London Bridge Station, then onward to Gatwick Airport to meet up with one of my friends, Jamie Beadle. I met Jamie about a year ago in the states through the close-knit paintball community. This weekend is Jamie's birthday, so Jamie, his girlfriend, a couple of friends, and myself all packed in his car and had a night out on the town. We decided to head out to Brighton that evening and I'm glad we did. We got to watch the sun rise on the beach. Above is the new pier and just off to my right lay the remains of the old pier which burnt down several years ago.

Advertising has standards?!?

July 17, 2013

     After class today, we got to sit in on a very informational presentation at the Advertising Standards Authority. The ASA is the UK’s independent regulator of advertising across all media. They apply the Advertising Codes, which are written by the Committees of Advertising Practice. Their work includes acting on complaints and proactively checking the media to take action against misleading, harmful or offensive advertisements.

 

One particular issue that stuck out to me at the presentation was the ASA's discretion on altered images via Photoshop. In the states, it's commonplace for many print ads (especially those related to cosmetics) to be altered to enhance a product or brand, but that sort of practice just doesn't fly in the UK. I think banning said adverts is excellent and very practical and it blows my mind that there isn't any sort of regulatory body like that in the states.

Here is the example the ASA showed as one of their banned ads and one of adverts that received the most complaints.

 

                                                                     

Modern Times Rock & Roll

July 16, 2013

"Dullness is a disease. I really need danger

and excitement. I'm never scared of putting

myself out on a limb." -Freddie Mercury 

     Tonight, the class went to a theatrical play called, We Will Rock You The Musical by Queen at the Dominion Theater. I wasn't really too sure what to expect as I have never been to a play before but I was pretty stoked that we were about to pay homage to one of the rock Gods, Freddie Mercury and to one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time, Queen. 

     The show was absolutely incredible! I was on the edge of my seat for a majority of the time. Every thing from the stage layout and props, to production value, to the actual band that was playing was mind blowing. I'm not sure what else to compare it to, but it was definitely one hell of a first musical to attend.

     

Another stamp in the passport

July 11, 2013

     The first week of class came and went, and it was a jam packed week from start to finish. Monday began with an introduction to both Peter and Tracey's class followed by a bus and boat tour of London. 

     Tuesday, the class got to visit the Museum of Brands, Packaging, and Advertising, which was absolutely incredible to see the progression of advertising throughout the decades and how different issues throughout culture and history tied into the brands and their advertising efforts. 

     It is now Thursday and Jennifer, Courtney and myself are about to take a cab, train, and a plane across the pond and I am so stoked! (Sorry in advance for the picture overload that's about to occur.)

Jennifer, Courtney & I just landed in Paris.

Our roomies at the hostel

Courtney & I at the base of the Eiffel Tower

Here we are at the Palais Garnier

     In attempt to get my iPhone unlocked to get my UK phone number, I lost all media content on my phone including some of the most awesome campaigns from Heineken that I have seen and that I know won't be seen in the states due to their regional content displayed in most of the out of home displays. I'll try to post them later in the blog if I come across them on the internet. 

One thing that I did notice over in Paris is that the movie, Wolverine is a HUGE hit. It felt like every other digital display, flyers, building billboards, and underground ads were letting the public know that Wolverine is on it's way. I even saw some sweet guerrilla adverts (my personal favorite) for the movie. In some parts of the more popular areas, there were stencils spray painted of Wolverine with the release date underneath it. Not only was this very interesting to me, but it was very consistent with the culture and the amount of graffiti and street art the scoured the city. Can't say that I have ever really seen that back in the states. 

Please return your trays to their upright position (I HAVE ARRIVED!)

July 6, 2013

After linking up with a few other members from the trip at Heathrow Airport and a whirlwind adventure of riding the Underground for the first time, we finally made it to Regents University. And here is a brief tour. 

 Here is the entrance to Regents Park. It is filled with geese and pigeons and everything around is so green and lush and full of life.

 Just to the right of the entrance is the bridge that eventually leads to the entrance of Regents University.

Through the gate lies the pathway to Regents.

 This is Reid Hall where I and the rest of the group are residing for the summer. If you look at the entrance towards the center of the photo, go up three floors, and over two windows, that is my room!

And just to the right of Reid Hall lies another wing of Regents University. I especially like the vines growing on the building.

 

July 5, 2013

     I arrived at DFW Int'l, checked in my roller and enjoyed the last 30 minutes with mum and my little brother. I collected the rest of my belongings, went through the (surprisingly not too painful) TSA check and into my terminal. It still hasn't really hit home that in less than an hour, I will board a plane, fly 9 hours, and be living in London. I am so very thankful for this opportunity and for the people who believed in me and helped me get to where I am about to go. 

     

     At this point, I feel that my education has paved a solid foundation to my career for when I graduate UNT and I am really hoping to gain new experiences and network with phenomenal people while I am over here and gain knowledge that will be applicable to build upon that foundation. This is the first summer since I was 15 that I haven't spent on the road. I know everything happens for a reason and I really look forward to looking back on this blog come August and seeing just how much I have really grown and to see the experiences that I take away from this trip.