Worra Lorra Bottle

Whilst this may look like us taking out the empties after another day's heavy liquid 'inspiration', it is in fact a snap from the shoot of our latest client. We can't say anything about them right now but the headline is a bit of a clue...

Stay glued to these pages for yet another fab name to join our client list!

Matt's The Way We Like It (Uh Huh)

We're delighted (and in no small part chuffed) to welcome on board Matt Casey as our new Creative Director. Matt joins us from TBWA Manchester where he was previously Design Director. He'll be helping us out on Henri Lloyd, Brother, Brawn GP, Manga, Wedgwood....well just about everything let's be honest.

His joining also means there'll be something of a shuffle elsewhere too. So...Mark Bottomley will now concentrate on the role of Managing Director and Senior Designer Simon Allman moves to become Design Director.

Commenting on the move, big boss Bottomley said “Matt joining is the perfect compliment to an expanding team. With the consolidated growth we’ve recently enjoyed, it’s a pleasure to be taking on someone of Matt’s calibre. It’s great to be recruiting in these challenging times and it certainly bodes well for our continued growth”.

Everyone's still sitting in the same seats (apart from Matt of course who'll be sitting in a new seat - new to him that is, we're not splashing out valuable money on a new seat no matter which fancy-pants agency he's joining from).

The Brawn GP Range Goes Live!

The Brawn GP merchandise line launched over the weekend and we were there to ensure a smooth sailing. At Liverpool and Manchester there was the Brawn F1 car on show, competitions and a general carnival atmosphere (if a car and a competition are all you expect from a carnival). We were there to witness the whole event and keep things calm.

At Silverstone, our erstwhile New Bizzer Duncan Slater was there to assist the launch (although to the uninitiated it may have looked more like having red snapper in miso sauce in the Brawn motorhome).

Anecdotal evidence is that the range is selling like hotcakes. One account claims the queues were six-deep when the stall opened at 5.30am (yes that's AM as in morning). Certainly on the evidence of our eyes it seemed as if everyone was wearing a white Jenson Button cap. Whilst the result wasn't everything we hoped it could be (well done Rubens!), we couldn't have hoped for a more enthusiastic reception to the launch.

Manga Kimono To Our Place

We’re delighted to say ‘konichiwa’ to the leading Japanese animation film company (and high priests of all things cool) Manga Entertainment as we’ve been appointed by them to handle the design and marketing for 16 of their new releases.

The company, often credited with bringing anime to the masses has aggressively marketed Japanese animation for over 10 years releasing over 200 titles on DVD in addition to major big-screen releases including Akira, Ghost In The Shell 1 and 2, Blood The Last Vampire and Ninja Scroll.

The work we’re doing covers packaging, advertising & promotional support materials. Speaking on the win our very own Duncan Slater said “For many, Manga is a brand synonymous with bringing Japanimation into the mainstream. We’re delighted to play our part in developing their success story”.

As soon as the new work appears we’ll get it posted up here.

China In Our Hands

Another great day for new business as WWRD Holdings, the new company encompassing Waterford, Wedgwood and Royal Doulton, appoint us to look at their their integrated Christmas campaign. The campaign (which is for all three brands) is going to emphasise their shared values of craftsmanship and durability. Anyone that's ever owned any of these brands knows that they last for ever. We'll be doing sales literature, POS and retail support stuff.

 
We're delighted to be working with brands so associated with quality and longevity. In crunched times like these, we all need reminding that when you buy quality not only does it look better, it also lasts longer. That's especially worth remembering around Christmas-time  

The Myth.....And The Reality

Judging by the calls we've been getting here at Origin Towers, it's clear that people now believe we're on the receiving end of Jenson Button's salary and all have our own Lear Jets to land on our private yachts.

OK so we (or at least some of us) went to the Monaco Grand Prix for the Brawn GP shoot and OK Jenson Button and Rubens Barichello WERE involved but any ideas we have expense claims like an average MP end here - with photographic proof. On the left you have yer actual Monaco Harbour and the image that springs to mind when you think of Monaco. On the right you have the harsh truth - which involved pushing clothes rails through sweaty backstreets and smelly underpasses and dusty racetrack for bloomin' miles (OK so that's not us in the photo - it's Graham from Henri Lloyd - but you get the point).

These trips abroad to playgrounds of the rich and famous are not the funfest they're cracked up to be - in fact, they're blinkin' hard work...and no we don't expect any of you to believe us.

A Winning Formula

Henri Lloyd, the market leader in technical sailing and lifestyle apparel, has appointed us to their account. The really rather fabulous win means we're taking on the launch marketing for the Brawn GP clothing range – including a flagship brochure, a lifestyle advertising campaign and integrated merchandise and retail support materials.

As well as sponsoring Brawn GP, Henri Lloyd is also the official supplier of
clothing and footwear technology to the Brawn GP Formula One Team who are currently kicking ass and taking names in Formula One, with Jenson Button leading the Drivers’ Championship and the team themselves leading the Constructors’ Championship.

Were that not enough, we've also been awarded Henri Lloyd's UK retail account too. This means we'll take on responsibility for designing and branding promotional campaigns in-store and providing retail support for UK retail outlets.

Henri Lloyd's Commercial Director Graham Allen was generous in his praise

Henri Lloyd operate in fast-moving environments so we need an agency who can understand briefs quickly, and provide immersive creative solutions quickly too. We were very impressed with Origin’s creative standards and quick thinking. We look forward to working with them.

Mark Bottomley, Creative Director at Origin, added

It’s rare that an opportunity arises to work with either of these fantastic brands. The fact that we’re working with both of them is a testament to the high standards we’ve set ourselves lately

Bring on the next win, I say!