Sassy!

This week was a good one at "The Haunt." There were a lot of new arrivals, a number of unbelievable finds, including these 2 beauties.





I've read about Sass and Bide a number of times already, and how Australians swear by this brand. Since my travels haven't brought me to Oz, and they aren't available in HKG, I haven't really seen this brand - and its products - up close. Now that I have, I understand why Aussies swear by these jeans.

The fabric, the fit, the composition of the denim - they're all designed to flatter. While examining these jeans, I knew that they'd make the wearer look and feel taller, slimmer and sassier. Too bad they don't make denim for men, I'm sure they'd do a great job with that. (But the Levi's jeans I bought recently makes up for that.)

This is the second denim brand from Australia that I'm into. The first one was Industrie, which Rustans used to carry but now discontinued. With all the new foreign brands coming in to Manila, maybe a Sass and Bide store is in the offing. Now that - and H&M of course - would be worth waiting for.

I can Lee

Thanks to a dream I had last night, I suddenly had a renewed interest on Coco Lee. She was one of the big Asian singing stars in the early 2000s, and got a lot of exposure in America for singing songs from the movie "Runaway Bride" and one from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." But I remember her from this really fun and easy-to-follow pop ditty.



When I was in HKG two weeks ago, I saw a magazine with her on the cover. If I knew I'd have this Coco phase, I would've gotten it.

Schwiiiing...

Wednesday already? Where did the rest of the week go? At the rate these days are swinging by, the next thing we know, it'll be Christmas!

The funniest movie scene of all time after time!

I've seen a lot of comedy films and no scene is as knee-slapping-big-guffawing-genuinely-hilarious as this scene. It's from my favorite comedy film of all time, "Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion."



Even though I've seen this scene a gazillion times, I still laugh out loud every time I view it. The choreography, the music, the absurdity -- all these contribute to why this segment is hilarious. But more than that, it's the earnest-ness of the performance of Lisa, Mira and Allan that made this scene a winner.

Really, I'll continue to adore this scene even if time after time after time passes by.

Shopping under Surveillance

On my way to get a ride home, I passed through (the new, improved, and surprisingly nice) Ali Mall, and eventually dropped by the Plains & Prints branch there. The branch manager (who usually attends to me when I'm there) had a short and interesting conversation:

BM: Hi sir. Ito po yung new arrivals namin.
ME: Thanks. (starts looking around)
BM: Ang tagal niyo na ding hindi nadaan dito, sir.
ME: Yeah. Medyo busy kasi with work.
BM: Malapit ba sa Gateway ang office niyo? Kasi madalas daw kayo nakakadaan sa branch namin doon. Nandoon nga daw kayo kahapon, eh.

Gosh! I suddenly felt like Cubao was one huge "Big Brother house" and everyone's under surveillance. Hahaha.

Once on this Island

Presenting the song that's been playing in my head the past few days.



Oh yeah. I'll rely on this song. Uh-uh-uh-uh.

Thinking Thematic

It was the first thing that Sir Conrad taught me when he took me under his wing as a copywriter trainee.

"Think Thematic."

That meant always looking at the big picture. If it was an advertising idea, the idea itself should be big enough so it could be translated to all forms of media: TV, radio, print, BTL. If it's an idea for a promo, it should be thematic and fit in with the overall concept of the brand and product. And so on and so forth.

My other Creative Directors taught me the same thing but called it different names. Sir Conrad called it "thematic." Lola O called it "an idea with legs." Even if people call it different things, I'd still call the concept "brilliant."

That lesson continues to be one of the most valuable things someone has taught me about advertising. But it's also a lesson that I've taken with me outside of advertising.

Now, it's customary for me to think thematic. Like whenever I'd organize a wedding, the first thing I'd think of is the theme or the big idea. The test whether it is a big idea is if it can be translated to an invitation, centerpiece, the apparel, and the cake. Same thing with birthday parties. And Christmas parties.

Heck, I've even integrated the "Thematic way" into shopping. The reason I take time to shop sometimes (attention Mark) is that I always think of the big idea. Whenever I see one article, my mind immediately tries to figure out what goes with it. Like whenever I see a trouser-cut jean at Mango, automatically, I'd think of two tops that should go with it. (One to dress it up, another to dress it down.) Plus, my mind starts to visualize shoes, a belt and accessories with it. Plus, there's the thought of pairing that new thing with stuff my sisters already have.

Actually, that's the reason why I always end up buying a number of things at once. There should always be a "theme" around the outfit. Sometimes I even get very, very particular that I already have the style, color - sometimes even the print - in mind whenever I see an item. That's when the perfectionist in me comes out. Even if I have to spend hours and go through different malls finding that item, I would.

Even this blog had a theme when it was created. Things that confuse me. And life as one big confusion.

Gosh. I can go on with this for hours. I never thought that advertising has such a profound impact on my life.

I'm glad that I stumbled into this industry.