How do you feel when you see an established brand name baffle you with a new product? One that’s not associated with the infamous brand name you know and love?  Well, you either trust the brand name enough to love the product, or you’re completely baffled, wondering how on earth the product has anything to do with the brand name!

Sometimes, even the most tenuous link between brand and product can actually work rather well – who would have thought that a musical instrument manufacturer Yamaha could become such a successful motor vehicle company?  Or that Coca-Cola lip balm would really take off?  But with every successful idea that sends a product soaring off the shelves comes another brand’s dismal failure at extending their name into a new field – welcome, reader, to the fabulous world of brand extension.

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Before we go any further… no… the 14 times World Darts Champion is not moonlighting as a Commercials Director… the Phil Taylor we’re talking about is far taller, skinnier and has considerably less hair! Phil recently finished filming a new advert for us for Cottages4you… an ad that everyone here at Red C is incredibly proud of and was brought to life by both Phil and Sharon Gunnel, the Producer at Velvet.

Our first introduction to Phil was through his reel which immediately grabbed us for his clever subtle use of humour and ability to capture some lovely moments on films as well as getting some memorable performances from his actors. On meeting him I was instantly sold by his passion for both our concept and his desire to stay true to my original idea and deliver an advert that had high production values and quite simply and beautifully converted a singular message in a memorable way.

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It was billed as creative flair versus strategic nous. Those blokes in jeans and trainers versus those guys in suits. It was a hard fought match… for fifty minutes the game was too close to call, but a late flurry by Creative sealed victory for the boys with Macs and sent the PC guys running home with their tails between their legs.

With the help of some Precision Burner energy drinks saved up from a pitch for EAS… Creative were primed to take this game by the horns from the kick off. But credit to Account Handling… they were more than our equal for a long time and even took the lead a few times which only spurred on my brave warriors… dressed in black and playing like footballing Ninjas… we raised our game and produced some wonderful flowing football.

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You get a great feeling of pride when you see your work appearing in a book. It’s like that nice feeling you got when your Mum put that picture you did at school on the fridge for all the family and relatives to see. I knew when I received my copy of ‘Touch this, Graphic Design that feels good’, that I had a piece inside it… it was only when I flicked through the pages that I was amazed to see three pieces of work I did with my then Art Director, Simon Rowlands, had been chosen to appear in this fabulous book.

Compiled by Designer Scott Witham, who has worked for global clients including Sony, Virgin, Orange and the Royal Bank of Scotland, ‘Touch this, Graphic Design that feels good’ features intriguing projects that incorporate a gamut of “you can’t print on that” materials, including pleated, Issey Miyake type forms and razor-thin metal business cards; X-ray film; heat-sensitive inks; ceramic tiles; and carpet samples. In short, there are design solutions in this book that use any and everything, except plain paper.

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