[art_director]

It came out last week. Any opinions out there?

[godzookie2k]

It came out last week?!?! Damn, we didn't get ours until today, I was all prepared to be hot **** and post this same thread...but alas beaten. Granted i actually did some work today at...work, but I did manage to peruse while waiting for some pdf's to distill and GODDAMN! the work is fantabulous, loads of good stuff. I'll have to post more specifically once I have a chance to really go through it, but goddamn this is is the quality of work I expect to see in every CA. If you haven't gotten it, you should. Anything you like in particular Art_Director?

[art_director]

every year there are some highs and some lows. personally, i feel this years is slanted toward the lows. some of my thoughts:

1. pg. 43, midway bank ad: this ad was already in ca back in the 80s. it's also part of comedian stephen wright's routine. this ad should not be in ca.

2. pg. 32 - 33, streamlight campaign: blah.

3. pg. 20 - 21, altoids: can these just go away now? they're not that good.

4. pg. 18 - 19, harley: a timeless campaign; brilliant writing and photography; for a brand with such an attitude i've always felt the layouts could use more soul but it's hard to fault their simplistic elegance.

5. pg.16 - 17, heineken: lovely visuals

6. pg. 17, panasonic sbs: crap

7. pg. 13, dunlop campaign: not a new idea but done in a very fresh way. i love it.

8. pg. 18, hbo / oz ad: i HATE sodomy jokes, they're sophmoric and they bring the industry perception down, if that's possible.

9. pg. 24, giro: see #8

10. pg. 24 - 25, noh asmoni campaign: "our hotel used to be a brothel." now there's a selling point. in other words, this is crap.

11. pg. 40, mcilhenny ad: pure genius

12. pg. 40 - 41, samsonite: love 'em.

13. pg. 56, mini: did the judges get drunk before viewing this one? it blows.

14. pg. 57, economist: great idea, too bad outward bound did the same thing three years ago. the ads were in print and the mpls show. sorry guys, stealing ads SHOULD NOT COUNT.

15. pg. 60 - 61, museum of contemporary art: i LOVE these. great use of the ooh placements. i would have over designed these. the simplicity makes them work.

16. pg. 62, bell: how many times will show judges award the same damn concept? this has been done for everything from 3m to lifesavers. blah.

17. pg. 67, infiniti: having worked on cars i know how difficult it can be. have to say i LOVE this.

18. pg. 68, merlin frame maker: nice idea, but let's be honest, they're fake.

19. pg. 72, zippo: old idea rehashed in a half assed way. shouldn't be in the book.

20. pg. 62, charolette plastic surgery: nice idea, poor design.

21. pg 90, friends of boston's homeless: great twist on a used idea.

22. pg. 93, covenant house: freakin' brilliant.

23. pg. 94, tobacco free hall county: nice idea but HORRIBLE execution.

24. pg. 95, amnesty international: butler shine and stern is infamous for their fake award show submissions. this is one of them.

25. pg. 105, vw: this is a very nice spot.

26. pg. 111, vw: i liked this spot the first 425,765 times i saw it. now i'm sick of it.

27. pg. 122, tcm: terrible spot. jim jenkins is a hack director. he's only been in the books because kenny herzog wrote him in.

[godzookie2k]

Ok, finally having a chance to look at it closely. (damn those deadlines)

Originally posted by art_director:
every year there are some highs and some lows. personally, i feel this years is slanted toward the lows. some of my thoughts:

1. pg. 43, midway bank ad: this ad was already in ca back in the 80s. it's also part of comedian stephen wright's routine. this ad should not be in ca.

Agreed, horrible font choice, dumb copy and dumb concept.

2. pg. 32 - 33, streamlight campaign: blah.

interesting idea, horribly executed.

3. pg. 20 - 21, altoids: can these just go away now? they're not that good.

I've always found the altoids ads amusing, but yes, the campaign is getting as tired as the "wazzap" campaign was/is.

4. pg. 18 - 19, harley: a timeless campaign; brilliant writing and photography; for a brand with such an attitude i've always felt the layouts could use more soul but it's hard to fault their simplistic elegance.

Simplistic elegance is nice, but I don't agree that its demonstrated here. These are an example of an attempts at elegance but not executed, partially due to the utilitarian bold compressed univers type treatment and the over lengthy copy.

5. pg.16 - 17, heineken: lovely visuals

its ok, I'm not impressed. what is it with the all caps bold sans serif type.

6. pg. 17, panasonic sbs: crap

I like #2 on 17, its an interesting idea but not well executed.

7. pg. 13, dunlop campaign: not a new idea but done in a very fresh way. i love it.

GOD I hate vector "illustration"

8. pg. 18, hbo / oz ad: i HATE sodomy jokes, they're sophmoric and they bring the industry perception down, if that's possible.

I like the immaturity of ads like this but, not when they take themselves seriously, like this one.

9. pg. 24, giro: see #8

funny, but not good.

10. pg. 24 - 25, noh asmoni campaign: "our hotel used to be a brothel." now there's a selling point. in other words, this is crap.

hehehehe

11. pg. 40, mcilhenny ad: pure genius

I like it, but I wish the plate was fuller, it would make it more subtle. Not completely full so that the image was obscured, but, more stuff. or perhaps a full plate with the image on a placemat or something.

12. pg. 40 - 41, samsonite: love 'em.

ballsy. I like it. a rare scene.

13. pg. 56, mini: did the judges get drunk before viewing this one? it blows.

SO FRIGGIN TIRED of seeing these ads. they were entertaining for about a second, and then I lose interest, the idea is neat, but it doesn't deliver, it comes off as juvenile.

14. pg. 57, economist: great idea, too bad outward bound did the same thing three years ago. the ads were in print and the mpls show. sorry guys, stealing ads SHOULD NOT COUNT.

ugh.

15. pg. 60 - 61, museum of contemporary art: i LOVE these. great use of the ooh placements. i would have over designed these. the simplicity makes them work.

ditto, these are nice, I too would have overdesigned.

16. pg. 62, bell: how many times will show judges award the same damn concept? this has been done for everything from 3m to lifesavers. blah.

I like it, CA worthy, no, but neat nonetheless.

17. pg. 67, infiniti: having worked on cars i know how difficult it can be. have to say i LOVE this.

BEAUTIFUL.

18. pg. 68, merlin frame maker: nice idea, but let's be honest, they're fake.

great idea, I can't get a close enough look, but I wish the frames WERE frames, and better yet mattboard not foam core (from what I can see)

19. pg. 72, zippo: old idea rehashed in a half assed way. shouldn't be in the book.

there are better things one could do with the zippo brand.

20. pg. 62, charolette plastic surgery: nice idea, poor design.

I don't like the type treatment or the type of clock used, but its still pretty nice.

21. pg 90, friends of boston's homeless: great twist on a used idea.

I LOVE these. I haven't seen the idea used before even though it might have been, but I really LOVE these. The photography in the "maybe" license is a bit "ungenuine" though.

22. pg. 93, covenant house: freakin' brilliant.

would have made a smaller, serifed font choice, but fantastic photography and fantastic concept.

23. pg. 94, tobacco free hall county: nice idea but HORRIBLE execution.

I like it, I would have used the type to screen out the photo instead of lay it underneath.

24. pg. 95, amnesty international: butler shine and stern is infamous for their fake award show submissions. this is one of them.

I love number 3. "Fake award show submissions" ???

25. pg. 105, vw: this is a very nice spot.

yeah I like this too. VW commercials please me about 60 percent of the time.

26. pg. 111, vw: i liked this spot the first 425,765 times i saw it. now i'm sick of it.

ditto

27. pg. 122, tcm: terrible spot. jim jenkins is a hack director. he's only been in the books because kenny herzog wrote him in.

hehehhe it gets points for humor.

I'll post some faves later.

[godzookie2k]

page 7 #2- sarcasm good.

page 12 #1 I wish the book cover was designed more obnoxiously, but simple and clean.

page 15 #4 boring as hell

page 22 #2 interesting photo

page 35 #3 and #4 both are simplistic and smart.

page 37 #1 granted I'm really only happy just to see a vespa ad, but its funn. dunno about the design though.

page 54 #1 I dig this, its not mindblowing but it pleases me for some odd reason.

page 55 #4 HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH

page 58 #1 great idea, horribly executed.

page 63 #4 AGAIN, with the crap!

page 66 great humor.

page 70-71 I love em.

page 76 #1 interesting idea, humourous jabs at the RIAA make me happy.

page 76 #2 The tactile mini ads are great, from the sticker sheet ad to this, it brings interaction to a print ad, a rare occurance these days.

page 78--GREAT.

page 79 #2 fantastic, genious, I wish they gave these out at bars I go to, friggin amazing.

page 89 #4 I dig.

page 92. I don't appreciate the jabs at ad designers, but its still friggin hillarious and sarcastic and hard hitting...I dig.

page 93 deserves another kudos

page 95 #3 deserves another kudos

page 97 I like the truth campaign, edgy.

page 103 #1 hehehehhe

page 107 #3 the number of times I have relived this experience is mind boggeling....scarily...."true" I love it.

page 108-109 #1-3 Well done, I liked the MLB's Rally monkey stuff too.

page 110 #1 I like it. Sports center spots are usually pretty entertaining.

page 116 #1 this has had me cracking up every time.

page 128-130 MS Office:mac ad GOD I hate these, sorry, digretion.

page 230-231 ::godzookie prepares to go on indesign rant, sighs, and decides against it:::

[DeathMan]

I'm print-challenged. What are you guys discussing, and where can I get one? I like design and stuff, but I'm not into the culture at all, and I'm not great with concepts and stuff. I love to criticize though, so this book seems interesting to me.

[art_director]

Originally posted by DeathMan:
I'm print-challenged. What are you guys discussing, and where can I get one? I like design and stuff, but I'm not into the culture at all, and I'm not great with concepts and stuff. I love to criticize though, so this book seems interesting to me.

here you go: http://www.commarts.com/

communication arts has five annuals -- advertising, design, interactive, illustration and photography. they're all considered the pinnacle for each of these disciplines. if you're really interested in advertising and design these books are a must. the subscription price is well worth the money given that each annual alone costs $24.

to learn more about print also try:

a. http://www.oneclub.com/OneShow

b. http://www.luerzersarchive.com/

c. http://www.adcny.org/

d. http://www.printmag.com/