In honour of the start of the British summer, and in recognition of the fact that it will probably be about 48 hours long, we at Headbox have decided to throw together a summer playlist, with your help. These are the tunes that remind us of BBQs, water fights and sunburn.

If you’ve got anything to add, just shout out with a link and your reasons why it’s your summer tune and we’ll add them all to the post until we’ve got the comprehensive Headbox summer playlist!

First up is Quitter’s Raga by an artist I think is going to break out this summer and make a bit of a splash. He’s called Gold Panda and he’s from Peckham. This song’s a couple of years old now but hasn’t lost any of its appeal.

Second up is Up and Down by Oxford based producer Chad Valley. This guy’s multi-talented, and splits his time between Chad Valley and his older project, Jonquil. Both are doing the festival circuit this summer and I’m already imagining lounging on some far-flung field with a hog roast and a ridiculous pair of sunglasses as this plays.

This one’s by another Oxford band who made waves last year with the release of their first album, Beachcomber’s Windowsill. Stornoway’s lead singer is an ornithologist and the rest of the band comprises a varied ensemble of South African pirates & Russian translators. I remember seeing these guys for the first time in a dingy Oxford basement and feeling like summer was right there amongst the damp and the smell of sewage.

Washed Out is the stage name of Ernest Greene, who cites hip-hop as a major influence on his otherwise very chillwave tunes. He’s only been making music for a couple of years, but to me his stuff sounds like the first BBQ of the year. Awesome.

And finally (from us at least!), Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs. The man who dances like a Russian and has two dancers in dinosaur onesies who accompany him everywhere. We saw him live at SXSW this year and he was definitely the music highlight. Dance like no-one’s watching.

This one’s from Masaya & Reina over Twitter. Got a lot of love for this as a summer tune. In their words: “funky, chilled, fresh: perfect for summer”

This one’s from Aimee-Louise on Twitter. Another pretty non-mainstream tune, but very big. Woke me up a treat this morning.

And something a little more chilled to tickle your eardrums from Greg Thomas. In his words: “jj – From Africa to Malaga. Is the title not Summery enough?!”

So that’s it, for now at least. We’d love to hear from you – what are your tunes for long, chilled summer afternoons or the short warm nights? Get us here or on Twitter and let us know.

Hello!

We’re currently looking for a Digital Intern to join and aid our community and development teams. To start with this role will last 3-months but there is potential for it to be extended.

The main responsibilities for the Digital Intern will be:

1. Community on-going support

• Check and answer user emails, blog comments, etc…
• Manage the community blog (Wordpress formatting, video/picture sourcing etc..) and freelance writers
• Help writing up documentation and supporting research projects
• Help with internal training on the community

2. Technical support

• Testing and bug reporting
• Knowing the platform and helping in design of new specs
• General support for the Digital Project Manager

3. Social Media support

• Help maintaining the communities presence on Twitter, Facebook etc…
• Keep an eye on communities stats and analytics
• Copywriting and proofreading for the web

This role is perfect for a graduate with a keen interest in the digital world and a desire to learn about online communities and digital projects in a marketing agency.

The successful candidate will need to have excellent Microsoft Office skills (Word, Excel and PowerPoint), excellent written English (for blog writing), confident telephone/communication skills, a keen interest in social media, an understanding of how websites run and, in a perfect world, a basic knowledge of HTML and web development.

To apply for this role you need to have access to Central London, our offices are based on Tottenham Court Road, and be available to work 5 days a week, 9am-5.30pm.

All travel costs and lunch expenses will be paid for.

To apply for this position please send your CV & cover letter to marion@facegroup.co.uk with Digital Intern in the subject line of your email

We would also like you to answer the following question in no more than 250 words:

What is your favourite online community and why?

I look forward to hearing from you!

Marion

2010 was Headbox’s 3rd year on the web and we’re really happy with the progress that has been made over the last 12 months. On the outside our humble little co-creation community may not look like much but inside a whole range of projects and developments have taken place.

It’s been a fun and exciting year with many highlights, here are 4 of my personal hi-points:

Lynx Twist

In 2008 we ran a co-creation workshop in New York City with some Headboxers from the US and the UK. They were tasked with coming up with a new variant to add to the Lynx range… Fast forward 2 years and Lynx Twist, the first ever entirely co-created product, hits the shelves.

Everything behind the product, including the name, was created, developed and designed in the New York workshop. The Headboxers involved should be very proud of themselves, it’s not everyday that you get a product released!

It was a long 2 year wait but it’s amazing to see another Headbox product in stores (the first was Tango with Added Tango), let’s hope there are some more to come in 2011!

Headboxers Moving on to Bigger & Better Things

In the grand scheme of things 3 years isn’t a very long time… however when you’re in our line of work you see a lot people come and go. This is why we always get so excited when we hear our members are doing something amazing… Especially when working with HB might have helped them achieve it!

Whether it’s getting a great job, going on an incredible adventure, going to Uni, setting up a business venture, showcasing creativity or winning something amazing… we always love to hear what you’re up to.

Without naming names, 2010 has been a great year for Headboxers doing amazing things and we’re fully expecting you to keep on surprising us in the future.

Ideas, Ideas, Ideas, Ideas

A lot of our projects this year have revolved around you guys coming up with ideas for global brands to put into practise. We have thrown some seriously tough briefs at you and every time you have managed to smash them out of the park.

Just when I think the briefs been too hard or too obscure you give us some ideas straight from the heart of leftfield. The brands we have been working with have been blown away by your creativity and originality.

So a big pat on the back for all of you who have taken part! Well done you!

Headbox.com

If you don’t like technical mumbo jumbo look away now.

It’s not easy building a co-creation community, mainly because it’s a trial and error process. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we get it wrong… But as 2010 comes to a close I think everyone hear at HBHQ is happy with how the website works and looks… and we hope you are too!!

Over the last few weeks we have made some massive improvements that will hopefully help you manage your projects and tasks a lot more easily. We aren’t going to be resting on our laurels though; we will continue to improve the co-creation platform in 2011. We have some great ideas in mind that we can’t wait to put into action.

So there we go, 2010 in a little nutshell, bring on 2011… time for us to get bigger and better all over again.

Oh and one final thing… if you’re a Headbox member and have never applied or been able to get on a project please don’t give up hope! We really want to get as many new people as possible involved in projects in 2011 so please apply for everything and anything!

Have a very Merry Christmas and see you in 2011,

Matt

Every once in a while an opportunity comes along that is so big I just can’t help but share it with you guys.

First, a bit of background…

Our friends over at Battlefront UK have a huge competition going on at the moment that I think is well worth getting involved in. Battlefront support young people who are trying to make a difference in the world by creating awareness around a social issue.

Alongside supporting the young campaigners Battlefront also document how their campaigns are progressing through their YouTube channel. These YouTube videos are going to form part of the content of the Battlefront TV show that will broadcast on Channel 4 next year.

And now the competition…

Battlefront are looking for a presenter aged between 17 & 21 to help host the YouTube & Channel 4 show next year! It is a fully paid job that will give anyone hoping to get into the world of television some amazing experience!

To put your name in the hat all you need to do is visit the battlefront site (HERE), choose one of the campaigns to talk about and make a 1-minute video talking about that campaign. Easy.

The only catch is that is that we’re in the last 24 hours for applications… so you’ll have to be quick.

We think this is a seriously good and winnable (seriously winnable) opportunity for anyone out there wanting to get a taste of the world of TV.

So what are you waiting for? Go get yourself a presenting job!

The Battlefront presenter search

Christmas is a special time of year for a lot of reasons… the family reunions, the giving of presents, the long-lasting traditions, the smile on the face of a small child after Santa has been, and not forgetting, the Yuletide message of peace and joy that spreads throughout the world on but one day of the year.

However, you can forget about that because there is only one reason I like Christmas, and that’s the annual release of limited edition Christmas sandwiches!!

I am massive fan of sandwiches in general, but once Christmas starts sniffing around during November I know that my luck is in and the high street food chains will be battling it out to take over my taste buds with festive joy.

This is why David (fellow sandwich lover and Headbox employee), and I decided to embark on an epic journey. It started as a bit of a joke… wouldn’t it be funny if we ate all the Xmas sandwiches on offer and tracked our progress on Twitter… this comment quickly turned into a serious plan and a methodology was in place:

• 5 days – 1 high street retailer per day.
• Sandwich must be eaten but other offerings may be consumed.
• After sandwich consumption 140 character review written.
• Sandwiches judged on taste and taste alone. No other factors come into the decision-making process.
• Winner picked at end of mission.

After the rules were laid down we got our stomachs into gear and began the eat-a-thon.

Monday – Prêt-A-Manger
The Christmas Lunch £3.25

140 character review: Big for a 2 slice sandwich & surprisingly sweet. Port & Cranberry sauce a highlight. Onion brings strange crunch. Good stuffing. Nice start

At the beginning of the week David set his stall out early and labeled EAT as the favourite. We made a pit stop to check out the EAT Xmas Full Works in all its glory, however by 1pm on Monday it had sold out. Ominous signs.

Food wise though the week started with a boom as the Pret Christmas sandwich provided an excellent first meal. The moist sweetness from the cranberry and port sauce resonated throughout the sandwich and the unexpected crunch from the onion added another dimension.

It tasted great but deep down in our hearts we knew it wasn’t going to be the winner, it was the tip of the iceberg.

Tuesday – Boots
The Christmas Special £2.80

140 character review: Boots have gone for quantity, not quality. It’s a monster. An Xmas feast as cooked by the ’shameless’ family. Dry, stodgy & unsophisticated.

After the delicacy of Pret’s well-rounded offering Boots hit us with a stodgy punch in the mouth. A concept ‘3 course’ sandwich consisting of 1 x prawn cocktail, 1 x turkey, stuffing and cranberry, and 1 x Wensleydale and cranberry.

It was like eating a cake, there was so much dough and bread that the filling got lost. We were left stuffed, but ultimately disappointed.

Our frustration was lifted thought when rumours started circulating that Marks & Spencer had upped the ante and were doing something a little bit special…

Wednesday – Marks & Spencer
The Christmas Carvery £3.95

140 Character Review: A triumph. Quantity meets quality. Salty Hot turkey & gammon playing off the sweet cranberry, subtly good stuffing. bread choice nice touch.

Wow and I mean WOW. David and I could not believe what was happening before our very eyes at the deli counter in M&S Oxford Street. A Christmas sandwich CARVERY!!!

There were dedicated M&S employees carving hot roast turkey and gammon before placing it inside a baguette, or bloomer (your choice) then smearing it all with lovely cranberry and stuffing… It truly was a Christmas miracle.

Full credit to M&S for pushing the boat out and allowing us to eat a sandwich that smashed typical sandwich boundaries. It really was fantastic.

Thursday – Greggs
Chicken, Bacon & Stuffing Sandwich – £2.45 and a Festive Bake – £1.45

140 Character Review: Horrible. Worst of the week. The bake was a creamy mess and the sandwich was just chicken & bacon with jam thrown in. Awful. Wasted Lunch.

The less said about this the better really… disgusting. They couldn’t even be bothered to put turkey in their Christmas sandwich or bake, no attention to detail.

I was adamant that I would write a letter of complaint, but David calmed me down and reminded me that the next day we would be heading down to EAT and the early favourite would get its chance to shine.

Friday – Eat
The Christmas Full Works – £4.12 (toasted, £3.50 untoasted)

140 Character review: Sensational. Unwrapping the heat proof paper is like a present on Christmas morning. This dense sandwich delivers on all levels. Contender.

Sometimes being the favourite can have a negative effect, it heaps pressure on you and you buckle under the strain. EAT though, did not disappoint.

It was really special and the extra toasting cost was well worth it. On the shelf the Full Works doesn’t look too special but in the mouth it really is splendid.

Even though it was day 5, and we had both had ODed on stuffing, EAT’s quality really shone through and gave us a tremendously difficult decision.

Conclusion

There were 2 clear winners here, M&S and EAT. We couldn’t decided which was the very best so we retired for the weekend knowing that we had to come to a decision on Monday.

It was tough but in the end someone has to win… so, the final decision, in reverse order:

5. Greggs
4. Boots
3. Prêt-A-Manger
2. Eat
1. Marks & Spencer

Yup, M&S’s complete Christmas sandwich experience won it for them. In all my years of eating festive baps I have never seen anything like it. A real, real treat that would give any sandwich a run for its money at any time of the year.

We’re not sure if it is available in all stores but if you can get your hands on it then you will not regret spending the £4. If you can’t find it anywhere then Pret and EAT will provide an adequate substitute.

Congratulations Marks & Spencer you done good.

Winner!

So now our mission is accomplished and we both feel like we have done something good for the world. If one person decides not to eat anything festive from Greggs then we know it was all worth it.

Thanks for reading and a massive thanks to all of you who supported us on Twitter, it was good fun!

Matt (@headbox) & David (@david_moon)

Critics have raved about AMC’s Mad Men, the show which (according to the NY Observer) has ‘made advertising cool.’

But what can we learn about advertising from the show?

Many think Mad Men can be taken for a lot more than just its entertainment value.

So much so that a course is even being offered at the University of California, Berkeley on what they call: “a thematically, symbolically, and historically rich television series.”

Although the show is fictional, many of the advertising campaigns shown in Mad Men make use of real ads of the period, and many of the characters loosely represent real ‘ad men,’ lead Don Draper, for example, is based on Draper Daniels (creative head of Leo Burnett Co.- the brains behind iconic campaigns like ‘The Marlboro Man.’)

Things may have changed quite a bit in the advertising world since then (watch Digital Mad Men for an idea of what they’d be talking about had the show been set in current times) some of the most inventive ads created ran during the 1960’s and for that reason they’re still relevant.

Take the ‘Kodak Carousel’ slide projector pitch by lead character Don Draper in the Mad Men episode, ‘The Wheel.’

In his pitch Don Draper shows that as much as things have changed, the most essential aspect of good advertising has remained the same: in order to successfully build a brand, an ad must engage the consumer and somehow make it relevant to them.

He does this by making an emotional connection with the viewer (a concept which may not seem that innovative now, but was actually a new idea at the time. )

The advertising ‘rules’ of Mad Men have been related to contemporary times in a variety of ways from guides on ‘What Mad Men Can Teach Us About Internet Marketing,’ to ‘David Ogilvy’s ‘Mad Men’ Rules for Successful Email Marketing.’

The most interesting thing about Mad Men advertising, however, is the way the show is itself like an advertisement for the era it’s meant to represent.

Mad Men producer David Chase explains (in an article in the NY Times): “Here was… a story about advertising in the 1960’s, and was looking at American history through that prism.”

Mad Men gives us a depiction of the era which is historically accurate, but also filtered through a lens of brands and pop cultural references.

And like most successful advertising campaigns it has influenced our buying behaviour from latest fashion trends, books (Mr Mad Men,  Sterling’s Gold: Wit and Wisdom of an Ad Man, Mad Men: The Illustrated World), and toys and games (like the Mad Men Barbie Collection), among others.

And because Mad Men is responsible for the re-branding of AMC (the American cable network, which used to stand for ‘American Movie Classics,’ but has been de-emphasized in recent years thanks to shows like Mad Men).

The show’s name ‘Mad Men’ is useful for merchandising purposes, as well, and the show’s creators have capitalised on all of this so we can probably expect to see plenty more Mad Men-themed products in the future.

And in current times where the typical advertising agency boss no longer holds as much influence as he maybe once did, there’s still something which can be learned from the ad men of ‘Mad Men’.

Many words come to mind when I think of the variety of videos that can be seen on YouTube: funny… stupid… odd… entertaining. This one, for example, I somehow never get bored of:

This is just one example among the hundreds of thousands of videos uploaded to YouTube on a daily basis, but can any of them actually be considered art?

This is the question ‘YouTube Play: A Biennial of Creative Video‘ seeks to answer in their upcoming exhibition, in which YouTube has partnered with the Guggenheim Foundation to search for the best creative talent in online video.

So far, 125 of the best videos have been selected from a total of 23,000 submissions from 91 countries, in their search to find not just what’s ‘now,’ but what’s ‘next’ in the realm of online video.

The 125 short-listed will be narrowed down even further, to just 20, by a jury, which includes filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, and Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, among others.

The chosen finalist will be shown in kiosks in Guggenheim museums in New York, Berlin, Bilbao, Spain and Venice, beginning October 21st.

So what are the criteria in selecting the most innovative online videos?

The selections vary in technique, subject matter, and budget, but show the extent to which online video is increasingly being considered a legitimate art form.
Here are a few of my personal favourites (although I have to admit I haven’t watched all 125 of them!!)…

Yelp

“Shabbat is a very old idea- 5,000 years old. Just take a break more at one day a week. I desperately needed a ‘technology Shabbat.’ Recently addicted to tweeting, I became that person I hated who pulled out her iPhone while actually talking to someone- sneaking email fixes in bathroom stalls. It was getting ugly…”

The Coincidental Dreamers

“A tale about a boy and girl who have never met and ‘coincidentally’ have the same dream…”

Bad News- A Media Fiction

“Is it possible that the exclamation of the end of the world is able to provoke the apocalypse? The film asks the question which consequences could be caused by information and news.”

To see some of the other 125 shortlisted (and pick your own favourites) head over to the YouTube play website.

If life were just like the movies, what could we expect the future to have in store for us?

With the re-release of Back to the Future in cinemas coming up, I decided to take a look at some of the other films over the past century which have made predictions for the future…

Farenheit 451, 1966

“Robinson Crusoe, the Negroes didn’t like that because of his man, Friday. And Nietzsche, Nietzsche, the Jews didn’t like Nietzsche. Here’s a book about lung cancer. You see, all the cigarette smokers got into a panic, so for everybody’s peace of mind, we burn it.”- Farenheit 451

in the future (well actually the past… because the ‘future’ is meant to take place in the 1990’s) book-burning is common practice in a society that looks down on people who think for themselves…

I don’t remember many mass book burnings in the 90’s, but maybe they were actually predicting the invention of the internet…

Do people even read books anymore?

Soylent Green, 1973

“Soylent green is people!”- Soylent Green

In the year 2022 (just 12 years from now- in case you can’t do math), the world will be overpopulated, poverty-stricken and unbearably hot from global warming…

Not a completely unbelievable vision for the future.

Due to overpopulation, things we take for granted today (food, like strawberries, for example) will be considered luxuries.

A lack of resources will force us all to eat soylent green in order to survive (aka we will all have to resort to cannibalism- see above quote.)

If that’s not bad enough, it gets worse for women… Actually women might not even want to stick around for 2022, because in the future women will be referred to as ‘furniture’- the stuff rich people can buy to decorate their flat…

So much for equality of the sexes in the future.

Blade Runner, 1982

“A new life awaits you in the Off-world colonies! A chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure!”- Blade Runner

In the near future we can expect everything from ‘replicants’ -robots that look just like us (if you’re a model and your name is Darryl Hannah) to ‘off-world’ colonies on other planets and flying cars.

I would like to be optimistic and say that a lot can happen in 9 years, but somehow I don’t picture our technology to be that advanced… at least not by 2019.

It looks like Blade Runner predicted one thing right though… flying cars may not be fantasies for the future anymore and could take off as early as this year.

Idiocracy, 2006

“The years passed, mankind became stupider at a frightening rate. Some had high hopes the genetic engineering would correct this trend in evolution, but sadly the greatest minds and resources where focused on conquering hair loss and prolonging erections..”- Idiocracy

If you think the process of natural selection favors the smartest and brightest of us, then you would be wrong.

In the future, years of the ‘dumbing down process’ will have taken full effect.

This is explained as the result of years of intelligent, educated people putting off having children and starting a family until its to late for their career, while the less intelligent… (I think you get where I’m going with this…)

Just imagine a world filled with the offspring of Britney Spears and Kevin Federline and that’s what we have to look forward to for the year 2505.

2012, 2009

“Six months ago, I was made aware of a situation so devastating that, at first, I refused to believe it. However, through the concerted efforts of our brightest scientist, we have confirmed its validity. The world, as we know it, will soon come to an end.”- 2012

Don’t worry about getting a job or paying off your debts, in fact, do whatever you want and spend as much money as you can.

Why?

Because none of it really matters… The world is going to end in 2012 anyway, so you might as well spend the next 2 years in the most fun, irresponsible way possible.

This is good advice if you believe the premise of the film 2012, which is apparently based on the belief that the ancient Mayan calendar predicts the end of the world will occur December 21, 2012.

But if we’ve learned anything from films about the future, its that we’re always scared the world is going to end (2012, Armageddon)… or aliens will take over (Alien, Battlefield Earth)… or (fill in the blank with any other extremely unlikely catastrophe).

Films never portray the future as a place anyone would look forward to living in, but for some reason we all enjoy watching them anyway…

What are your favorite futuristic sci-fi films? Are they all unrealistic fantasies or do you think any of it could actually be possible in the future?

Thanks to everyone who took part in the My Ideal Chew project!

Well done to everyone who took part, we were really impressed by everyone’s ability to really push the boundaries of what a chewy sweet could be and how creative some of the flavours were!Unfortunately there could only be 11 winners (which is quite a lot!) and they are listed below:

• 1 st Prize -  £100: Adele Jane
• 2nd Prize – £50: Oliver Pringle & Yemi Akintunde
• 3rd Prize – £30: Sophie Jacazio, Joe Stone, Rushda Khan & Lolade Akintunde
• 4th Prize – £20: Shuresh Vamathevn, Sandip Powar,  Louise Barnett & Dionne Farley

Well done to the winners! We’ll have some more projects coming soon so stay tuned!

We are looking for creative and outgoing people to make their own video diaries about how they use their mobile phones in their day to day life. As an incentive in return for your video diary we are offering a brand new flip cam worth £124.99*.

Those of you who we think have made the best video diaries will then be selected to go through to the second stage of the project.The second stage of this project will involve parts of your video diary being re-filmed by a professional film crew. For those who are lucky enough to go through to this stage of the project, we are offering £100 for half a day of your time.

How can I get involved?

If you are aged between 20 – 25 years and are available to make your own video diary between 2nd – 6th October and available for a professional shoot for half a day on 19th,20th or 21st October then we’d love to hear from you.
Please send your response putting PROJECT OSCAR in the subject line to Victoria@headbox.com by Wednesday 29th September including the following details:

• Name
• Age
• Contact telephone number
• Profession
• Marital status
• Address