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 :)

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.

Creative review has launched a blog to compliment their print and electronic offering. I haven't trialed the E-CR yet but from the looks of it they have really integrated that part into the mag well with the print version containing hyperlinks and indiators as to what content is expanded online. I don't think any other magazine is doing this right now

I hope you all enjoyed my quick presentation on Kick Ass Online Creative at Eyeblaster University yesterday. I too enjoyed myself as I haven't been in a room with so many media people before without wanting to hurt anyone.

Here is my presentation for those that missed it or wants to go over it again. Just insert your own well timed, witty comments between and during the slides ;

Download the 3MB PPT file.

Big thanks to Mick from Eyeblaster Australia for putting it together. My only comment would be catering wise party pies are better than fancy sandwiches.

Take a boring building in Glasgow, add explosives and a few thousand litres of paint, and you get the beginnings of a new Sony Bravia ad...

Be sure to check out the website for more images Bravia Advert