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In my recent blog post, "Paradise lost and found: a tropical color direction for spring and summer 2010," I predicted that we would see a flush of tropical color this spring with blues and turquoise leading the way. Sunday night's Academy Awards certainly showed that this direction is starting to bloom. While there was an absence of turquoise on the red carpet except for Robert Downey Jr's teal-turquoise tie and tinted glasses, Barbara Walters did wear a lovely turquoise gown for her special that kicked off the evening. Even without the support of turquoise, blues did rule the evening. When the camera would scan the audience there were pockets of International Klein Blue everywhere—especially in the front rows. The celebrity blues were worn by: Mo’Nique and Gabourey Sidibe in International Klein Blue, James Cameron and his wife sporting Avatar blue, Mariah Carey in a deep high chroma cobalt blue. Elizabeth Banks in a pastel gray blue. Maggie Gyllenhaal looked magnificent in her International Klein Blue and white print. Another print that stole the show was Rachel McAdams' soft watercolor print—even though it was multicolor it had an overall blue impression. It had joy and recovery written all over it!

In my October blog, "The economy's influence on 2010 color and trends," I talked about the importance of white that started a year ago with Mrs. Obama's white inaugural gown. Keeping this strong classic simplicity trend alive were: Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried in bright white, Diane Kruger in classic bright white with black accents, Sarah Jessica Parker in classic Chanel with a slight gold cast white with gray accents.

Hot accents!

The hottest accent of the evening was the glowing orange worn by a pregnant Paula Patton. Reds added to the fire with Penelope Cruz in ruby red, Vera Farmiga in rose red, and Sigourney Weaver in lipstick red. Lee Daniels added a warm, yellow glow. Sunset purples glowed in Molly Ringwald's royal purple gown and Zoe Saldana's sparkly white, Ombré lavender to deep purple frock was talked about by all. Christopher Plummer looked dashing in his deep plum jacket.

Pretty pinks and lavenders

A celebration of back-to-the-'60s femininity was expressed with soft pastel gowns—Queen Latifah wore a satiny soft rose lavender, Charlize Theron was in mauve, Jennifer Lopez and Anna Kendrick wear pretty in the pale pinks. Demi Moore appeared to be almost nude in her classic pastel flesh ruffles.

And the winner's wore ...

Sandra Bullock sparkled in her bright polished sterling silver—it stole the show and the Oscar from Meryl's bright white. Kathryn Bigelow definitely was dressed to join the ole boys club in her conservative gray satin. I think Paula Patton's orange and spectral opposite of blue would have made a more appropriate, "I have arrived!" statement for Kathryn.

Image courtesy of dpstyles™(flickr); permission being requested.

Is Foursquare going to be this year's Twitter? I have some resistance to trying the latest thing just for the fun of it and I signed up. Should you, too? And if you are a marketer, should you already be thinking about ways to use Foursquare to grow your business? Or can you afford to wait? Here are a few posts that talk about what Foursquare is and what it might become. (For those who have absolutely no idea what Foursquare is and want to find out, start here.)

1) "Foursquare: Phenomenon or Fad:" Mindshare
This report decides that the answer to the question about whether marketers need to start taking notice of Foursquare yet is "a resounding maybe." On the plus side, the report notes that Foursquare has become the favorite of opinion-leading blogs such as Mashable and TechCrunch. It's also come up with an ingenious game-based model for getting people to play/participate in these early days before it reaches the critical mass it needs to be really useful. We are all gluttons for points.

2) "Why Foursquare clowns around:" Thought Gadgets
Ben Kunz explores this game angle in a bit more depth. He notes a curious trend in social media: "Most of its tools start out as perceived toys, worthy of laughter, and then gradually migrate to the mainstream." It doesn't take long either. In the early days those using Facebook, Twitter, and now, Foursquare are laughed at. Then just a few months later, anyone not using these tools looks like they are out-of-touch. Ben says that the game-like mechanics of these new tools may seem silly but they are actually the engines that help grow the number of users and their activity levels.

3) "Are virtual worlds over?" Raph Koster
The game-like mechanics that Foursquare and other social media use are just one of the things that they have co-opted from virtual worlds. They've take so much, in fact, that perhaps there's no need for virtual worlds any more? Raph explores this question his readers volunteer a lot of opinion too.

4) "Foursquare, Baby, Foursquare:" TechCrunch
Foursquare has around 450,000 users and just passed the one check-in/second milestone. But it's not so big that you'd expect it to already have attracted attention from the likes of Condé Nast, Marc Jacobs, and the New York Times. But it has. The latest deal is even more surprising. Foursquare is now prominently featured at the Miracle Mile Shops attached to the Planet Hollywood hotel in Las Vegas in a deal worked out with the help of place-based social media site, LocaModa.

5) "Foursquare—Dodgeball On Steriods—Is Going To Be Huge:" Social Strategy & Design
Kudos to Karl Long. He predicted that Foursquare would be a breakout hit right from launch. His pick this year: Social calendar Plancast, "a service for sharing your upcoming plans with friends."

6) "Are Modern Web Apps Killjoys?" ReadWriteWeb
Is Foursquare making us enjoy life a little less? In this interview Adam Greenfield says he stopped using Foursquare because it made him less social. For a while, he enjoyed "checking-in" at places he visited. Then he found himself spending time on that versus actually enjoying the place and socializing with those around him. As the post points out, all technology can be anti-social and Foursquare is not nearly as bad in this regard as a cellphone or even a camera.

From Brand Mix

I just came back from a stay in Kerala, an amazing southern province of India that really lives up to the country’s promise: Incredible India!

Full of stunning colors and fantastic flavors, Kerala is a place where your senses are constantly engaged. But the most thrilling experience for me were the sounds of Kerala. A unique mix of babbling birds, whispering winds titillating the top of trees, and the chanting of faith from temples and mosques. It instantly brought me back to 25 years ago when I first visited Kerala. Memories flooded like happy monsoon rains, powerful and refreshing.

In our Western world we are overwhelmed by visual stimuli. As designers we have reached a great level of sophistication and are able to manage these visuals and create unique universes. How fantastic it would be to explore the parallel universe of sounds and add a subtle layer to branding and design. Let’s go beyond words and colors to create of new form of stories.
 

I was fortunate enough to visit the Geneva Motor Show this week. From the exquisite Lamborghini Gallardo to the modest Skoda Fabia, the great and the good of the the auto industry gathered on the opening day to display and delight in their latest shiny creations.

And here's what struck me: when you stop to think about the amount of technology, innovation, and design that goes into each car, it seemed ironic and perverse that each manufacturer—without exception—conformed to the presentation standard of covering their beautiful creations with a floppy drape (cue drum-roll reveal) only then to drape a floppy model over their beautiful creation (and in many cases, it was the car that was the stunner).

Sure, this is a very evidently a man's category. And sure: This is the category vernacular. But lipstick is, well, just lipstick—right? And gratuitous has always been, well, just gratuitous—right? Sex sells when it's sexy. But when flesh is pressed awkwardly onto metal, looking distant and occasionally resentful, it serves only to detract from the very thing you came to admire (and believe me, I'm as fond of a looker as the next guy). But this had that curbside quality that seemed even more anachronistic under the overhead lights of this vast, impersonal shed, amidst a flurry of gray suits barking endlessly into their Blackberries.

It seems many categories have revolutionized themselves and their presentation to the world, especially those that make a virtue of technology and innovation. I wasn't so sure about this category in Geneva...

This is something I noticed while I was under the influence of watching Lost. This trio of ads all seemed to express celebrity contradictions of some kind or another. I'll leave it up to you to see if this post makes any more sense than Lost does.

1) Julia Louis-Dreyfus for Healthy Choice

Many/most celebrity endorsement ads fail because it's just not believable that the celebrity would use and enjoy the product. Remember pre-tree Tiger and his Buick spots? So, how to use a celebrity spokesperson like Julia Louis-Dreyfus to endorse Healthy Choice? The answer: Have her in the spots but don't have her endorse the product. That's unusual and a bit contradictory, right? I think that these ads, with great execution, get the balance between credibility and promotion just about right. It's a decided improvement over previous efforts. (The whole "spokesperson" series can be seen here.)

2) Jon Hamm for Xfinity

Do you want a celebrity for themselves or for the character they portray? This is not Jon Hamm speaking here. It's Don Draper and, as we all know, he's a real pro.

3) Jeff Bridges for Hyundai

Finally, there's the case of Jeff Bridges who has been the voice-over for recent Hyundai ads but will be temporarily replaced by other actors for the seven spots planned to air during the Oscars. He's not done anything wrong. In fact, it's the opposite. He's nominated for best actor in for his role in Crazy Heart and the show has rules against ads that feature celebrities running near segments of the program that feature those same stars.

From Brand Mix

Once upon a time not so long ago I booked a flight on my “preferred” airline. The one that has spent 20 years and countless emails earning my loyalty and awarding me near-goddess status. The one that claims it will reward my 1.8 million miles with eternal recognition. My airline and I have a reciprocal relationship: I continue to fly and even have some affection for this old-style airline. I smile indulgently and forgive its foibles—old seats, bad food, broken lights, and grumpy gate agents—because it is my brand, my airline. Our relationship is long and enduring. Almost a marriage.

Back to the story. Only after clicking "purchase" did I notice that the flight number was suspiciously long: four digits. Egad. The dreaded code share. Oh well (I thought), the flight is labeled as my airline. The airline that promises me upgrades, lounges, texting when a flight is delayed, and recognition whenever I fly. So of course my brand will deliver on its promise regardless of whose plane it is, right? After all, it doesn’t matter which franchisee owns the Starwood property I am staying at, they still recognize my gold status and the benefits remain. My husband’s Ralph Lauren polo shirts are just as good when I buy them from Marshall’s as when I buy them at Nordstrom’s. A brand’s a brand.

Apparently that’s not the case with airlines. A brand promise just isn’t. When you encounter the curse of the code share apparently all brand bets are off. You can’t pick your seat, you can’t check in online, you can’t upgrade, you can’t use the lounge, and you can’t use your free drink coupons. Nada. All the things my airline brand offers me as a reward for loyalty don’t apply—even though I gave them my money on their website and booked a flight with their flight number and later talked to their customer service agent about a seat.

So here I sit in the back of the plane, in a middle seat, drinking warm ginger ale. It’s one thing to make the brand promise. It’s another to deliver it.

Image courtesy of Ray Ally, Landor Associates.

What do Lamborghini, Bugatti, and Aston Martin have in common in China? Well, apart from being the most luxurious sports cars in the world, they have all recently opened new showrooms in Beijing. These premises on Jinbao Street are the largest flagships sites for the brands in Asia.

The obvious reason for opening in Beijing, are it’s the capital and political center of China. It is also a favorite destination for China’s rich to shop. More importantly it’s the home of the most number of super rich people in the country. According to the Hurun Report there are 8,800 billionaires (U.S. $15m) and 143,000 millionaires (U.S. $1.5m) in Beijing, most owning at least two to five luxury cars.

In the current global recession most car owners are looking for more economic and fuel efficient options, or are just not buying new cars. With sales down in the rest of the world, China is the opposite with booming car sales across the country. China’s wealthy elite are even trading up and looking for ever more exotic cars to buy.

Late last year I was interviewed by CNN on a story about one of Beijing’s most private clubs. An exclusive members only club for the sons of millionaires who race high performance cars around Beijing’s race tracks.

These members drive Lamborghinis, Ferraris, and Porsches but not just your bog standard range. Most of these cars are special edition or supercharged versions costing upwards of RMB 2m (U.S. $285,000) to RMB 3m (U.S. $428,000)

With all the world’s car brands looking to China for their growth, luxury car brands could be the most successful. China is now the number one or number two market for most car brands. Lamborghini sees China soon overtaking Italy, to become number two market behind the U.S. Last year they sold around 80 units in China out of global sales of 2,000.

The traffic in Beijing is getting worse, yet car ownership in the city is on the rise. With a population of 17.5 million there are currently over four million cars on its roads. Despite this number rising by 2,000 new cars everyday you won't see many of these luxury cars on the streets of Beijing.

Only last month a Bugatti Veyron was spotted in Shanghai. The other drivers on the road, gave it a wide berth for fear of bumping into it. So if you see a luxury performance car in China, it will more likely be stuck in traffic, rather than roaring down the street at super-fast speeds.

From X-RAY China

Have you seen that YouTube clip “Shift happens?" There is no point in summarizing it, just watch it. Once you've done so, please read on.

We want what we do to have longevity, so naturally we have to have a view on the future, but Niels Bohr famously said, "If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don't understand quantum mechanics." Arthur Clarke said, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” These two thoughts capture the near impossibility of extrapolating into the future, and particularly, predicting the future of the relationship between technology and society.

Are we heading towards Star Trek or Mad Max? When the railways were first developed people thought that it was a pretty neat way of getting stuff from city A to city B (Manchester and Liverpool in the first instance), but there were also predictions of disaster. Luckily it turned out that people could still breathe when travelling in excess of 20 mph, however they hadn’t reckoned on someone being knocked down and killed during the opening ceremony. The larger point is that they had absolutely zero idea of the changes that would ensue. Let’s look at some of them.

The U.K. had to develop a universal measurement of time (you can’t run a railway without one, and prior to this it was fine to have different cities on different times). Goods did not have to be made close to the end user or the source of the materials. Prices were harmonized between cities (free capital economy). People could travel with ease and speed. And? Before railways the following concepts did not exist: mass leisure travel, commuting, super cities, suburbs, mass production, mixing of gene pools (95 percent of people married someone who lived within five miles of where they lived), the traveling salesman, industrial scale warfare (two million shells fired in the Battle of the Somme, try carrying them by truck!).

As this example indicates, the future is unknowable, so is it possible to hazard a guess as to what our life will be like years from now? It could be argued that we are poor at predicting the future because we envisage it in terms that are too specific and too technologically based. If we want to guess the future of the relationship between technology and society we may need to view it in terms of the relationship, not in terms of the technology. Perhaps then, using the right metaphors, we might shine a spotlight on the future.

So here’s my attempt: in the future the world will be completely immersed in information "soup" into which we will all dip diverse communication devices, or "spoons." And people like the scriptwriters for Star Trek—who focus on the human need, not the technology—will determine the design and form of these. Easy.

Image courtesy of kennymatic (flickr); permission being requested.

Rally around the pants! There are almost 500,000 fans on Facebook, almost 10 percent of Norway's population. All because one of the team members picked these crazy pants out of a catalog. Pantastic!

And the pants are either inspiring the Norwegians. Or distracting the competition. They are in the final against the Canadians, taking out Switzerland 7-5 in the semifinals.

Empire State Building turns red and yellow

Chinese New Year celebration have spread across Asia and are now becoming more global. Originally these started in the China towns of cities around the world like London, New York, and San Francisco. However now the celebrations are becoming more mainstream and spreading out across countries.

In New York, the iconic Empire State Building just put on a special light show. It celebrated Chinese New Year's eve by changing its building lights to red and yellow, representing the colors of China’s national flag.

Empire State Building lights on for Chinese New Year

"The Empire State Building was lit with red and yellow lights in New York on 16 February 2010. The Empire State Building was lit in red and yellow Tuesday night to celebrate the Chinese Spring Festival."

Best chopstick food in Canada

The 2010 Winter Olympics has put Vancouver on the map for many people around the world. However for most Chinese, Vancouver is already a well-known destination as it has one of the largest immigrant populations of Chinese outside America.

Vancouver is constantly voted the best city to live in and is now voted to have the best Chinese food outside of China. I have never been to Vancouver but my Chinese wife once lived there for six months and definitely agrees.

Canada wins Chinese gold

"Vancouver may be hosting the Winter Olympics, but it also seems to triumph in dumpling devouring. Over 38 meals in 12 restaurants, our indefatigable writer beholds the thrill of noodle pulling. (Warning: Don’t read this on an empty stomach.)"

Dog food off the menu

While the best Chinese food may be in Vancouver, the Chinese government is now planning to ban the sale and eating of dog in China. Eating dogs is a common practice especially in southern China’s Guangzhou province where it is something of a speciality.

Several years back I was offered dog meat at a roadside food stand in Guilin. However this dog food was not already dead, but was a little live puppy. It was running around tied to a long rope and couldn’t have been more than a few months old. The stallholder picked him up by the scruff of its neck in one hand and had a meat cleaver in the other. Grinning, he offered to chop it up and cook it fresh, but I obviously declined and decided not to eat at this place at all.

Eating cats, dogs could be outlawed

"In a move prompted by calls of animal cruelty, legislation is being drafted to make eating cats and dogs illegal.

It may be months or a year before the draft is actually voted on by lawmakers, but the plan is to submit it to the legislature and State Council by April, according to the leader of the drafting team, Chang Jiwen, who is also director of the Social Law Research Department at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences."

From X-RAY China