Australian Creative have launched their new site and the Hotshop competition for 2007.

The site is a nice start to a magazines site but I hope they adopt the learnings that CR use with their website by providing the interactive content that compliments the print version of the mag. CR's blog is also being edited quite well too.

I do have a large crit and that's to do with the Hotshop competition. It seems quite silly to ignore interactive as a category. I've asked Barbara Messer, the editor, why this was omitted for a second time (I complained last year too) and she responded...

"I haven't included an interactive section in Hotshop b/c I actually expected interactive agencies to choose either the design or advertising categories to enter, as most interactive agencies operate in these areas. "

I feel interactive is big enough to stand on it's own. Advertising & design both don't seem like the right place to enter.

So consider this the official petition for interactive agencies to get their own category. Hey while we're at it lets petition Campaign Brief to also cover interactive. These mags can't ignore us for long enough.

So please add your comments to this post in your support. I would post the email addresses but that might not be the best idea.

UPDATE: Australian Creative will be adding Interactive as a category and are drafting up the entry form now. Wow things move fast. Thanks Barbara for looking into this so fast.

Now, lets see who else we can lean on :)

Posted by Ashley Ringrose at 12:58 PM | Link to this Article | Comments
Archived in: Industry News

Commarts mentions us in their "Web Watch" page in the September/October Issue - which also happens to be the Interactive Annual. Lots of other good stuff in there too

Check it out at https://www.commarts.com/ca/interactive/cai06/

and Commarts - Thanks for the Props!

Posted by phil at 5:59 AM | Link to this Article | Comments
Archived in: Blatant Self Promotion

What banner caught the eye of our editors lately?

White Rabbit by Profero was an universal winner this issue voted by all the judges as the stand out banner. Its like extending the banner format and going on a cultural journey across the web. Take a journey

This week saw Bannerblog supply the first of many creative features for B&T magazine's Creative Eye. Here is the article for those who reside outside of Australia. We have been busy searching the web for the best banners out there. There have been some classics but overall on our internet travels it has been slow. With all the web 2.0 talk we are on the search for banners that use AJAX, so if you know of any send them to us. Top Tip: 26k is fine for a video banners just check out Citroen spin to see how its done.

We've finally posted our 500th banner. The event was likened to the landing on the moon with the entries team highflying each other while wearing party hats and drinking non alcoholic champagne.

Renault Clio: Fingerprints Adidas a3 Adidas: Impossible Field Emirates: Time will fly Nokia N-Gage: Grenade Coca- Cola: Colors Adidas: Beckham Melbourne: Lose Yourself Dolby: Light up the night sky SBAB: Shutdown Gothenburg Opera - "Cats" Save the Koalas Trident: Smile Simpsons: Premiere Toshiba: Don't even go there! Apple: iPod Nano Coke Zero: Beach Itv 1: Prehistoric Park Fruit Loops: Pirate

B&T Top 5: September Toboggan Escape Nike: One Time Only Little Dancer Fart button Let Tekken Decide Enter the Copywriter Protect the Human Soul glo* Many of you may not have noticed (we've checked the stats) that we have a thriving news section. This is where everything non banner related goes. We were one of the first to bring you Little Dancer, who has since gone onto to take over the world. So if you have any industry related news or more likely a campaign your agency have launched please submit it to us.

Sent this email from a friend? Subscribe here. You can also unsubscribe if you feel like too.

Posted by Ashley Ringrose at 6:18 PM | Link to this Article | Comments
Archived in: Newsletter

We've been having a bit of a discussion lately on the BannerBlog editors' listserv around the issue of form fields in banners... okay, the discussion was about dropdown menus, but adding in other form items seems to make sense.


In regards to drop downs, the general consensus amongst us is that they have been abused to date (functioning primarily as auto click thru triggers.) That said, we can see situations where they might work.


So the question here is: Can anyone out there provide us with some stats? Have a campaign that used drop-downs (or any other form component) that worked or didn't? Able to share some stats?


Looking to foster a little discussion here, and hopefully collect some more evidence to backup or refute our general gut instincts: Drop-Downs are a bad idea in banners, unless custom developed as a panel...


Along the same lines - any stats on Forms and Data-Collection, such as e-newsletter signups in-banner?

Posted by phil at 3:19 PM | Link to this Article | Comments
Archived in:

As reported last week in B&T and Adnews (and gossiped about for a while before that) Chris James has left The Farm to join BMF's digital department as their creative director. With Chris James a 50% owner in The Farm and BMF is one of The Farm's biggest clients the move is quite a big deal for both parties involved.

Neither agency site has acknowledged the fact.

The hardest part about running a digital agency is obtaining and keeping good talent. Chris James has made his job an uphill battle by starting from scratch with the relativly new BMF venture. One wonders why BMF didn't opt to buy The Farm outright. Of if they did what went wrong?

There is already a fierce battle for good people within the digital agencies in Sydney and Melbourne and CJ will have to work some magic to establish his team and start popping out the good work.

One positive side for Chris would be the increase creative nature of his role with less hassling with the business side of things that come with owning and running a business. And the fact he'd be using BMF'smoney to get things done not his own :)

Good luck to all parties involved.

Posted by Ashley Ringrose at 7:08 PM | Link to this Article | Comments
Archived in: Industry News