PSFK Author:
Henry Lambert

Here at IF! and PSFK we’re considered in some quarters as an influential blog. As a result we sometimes get sent stuff like books, event invites and other bits and bobs. However, we’ve recently been asked to take part in what is a pretty interesting PR project by UK mobile phone company O2.

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Argentina’s capital and the most European city in South America, Buenos Aires, is seeing a boom in property prices and a recovery to pre crash prices. Today’s Guardian has a  report on the reasons for the city’s upturn:

"Lots of foreigners, for example, are interested in purchasing in off-beat districts like San Telmo and Barracas, where there are still some real bargains. Right now, Palermo Viejo is the really hot place to buy." Once home to writer Luis Borges, Palermo Viejo’s bohemian feel has given way to a seriously trendy vibe in recent years. Its cobbled streets are now awash with fashionable boutiques, ultra-cool bars and multiple ‘for-sale’ signs."

Much of this won’t surprise PSFK readers as we’ve covered this very cool city heavily in the last year:

The Fairs and Markets of Buenos Aires
JC’s Buenos Aires Report
Buenos Aires City Report

As first reported in fashion.psfk last month American Apparel has released its very own newspaper and online radio station, Viva Mexico City. The newspaper is available from most American Apparel stores and features stories that tie in to the American Apparel brand. The current issue, Julio, contains articles on a homeless man winning a design competition, the truth about buttock surgery, and the Border Film Project.

The website contains details of the newspapers stories alongside a soundtrack to the month selected by DJ Tedward or Gay Beach fame. The whole package is well worth checking out.

This summer will see the release of Who Killed the Electric Car, the story of how the GM EV1 took California by storm before being cruelly killed off.

Thanks to modern battery technology electric cars are now viable alternatives to other city vehicles. The modern EV (electric vehicle) has a range of over 40 miles and top speeds in excess of 70mph.

The film comes at an interesting time in the development of the EV as London, in particular, has become the centre for EVs. The G-wizz is the most popular offering with approximately 500 being driven around central London. The Maranello 04 has been launched this year and provides the first real competition to the G-wizz. An interesting twist on the EV is the Tango EV which is built in Britain but marketed in the USA by Commuter Cars. The Tango EV is extraordinary in that it’s phenomenally quick and seats it’s occupants one in front of the other like a fighter jet. The next EV to cause a stir is the smart EV, an electric version of the popular smart city car that will be launched at this summers British Motorshow.

So is this a new dawn for the electric car or will as the movie suggests the oil companies, motor manufacturers and big businesses conspire to wipe it out yet again.

If London is anything to go by then electric cars are back and they are here to stay.

Times Online article

Disclaimer: the author works for an ad agency that represents smart

We were fortunate enough to speak to Nick at Trackies the other day. Nick is a collector of fine vintage sportswear from the 1980s and is trying to locate the elusive Adidas Colorado jacket. If you can help contact him here.

Why did you start collecting?

In about 1983 when my mates were all too busy wearing there tracksuits
out. I didn’t want to ruin mine at all. It was of a design that the
shops had sold out of now. So I stopped wearing it & "mothballed it"
2+ decades later, it’s still in it’s original box.

What motivates you to collect?

If I see a tracksuit that is genuinely from the 80’s of the type
available in the UK. I can’t resist.
The newer items don’t interest me. Sportswear manufacturers now
are about cheap eastern manufacturing and keeping the shareholders happy.

Why tracksuits?

I think maybe it’s because they were seen as "disposable" and
in the case of a lot of the hoodies I have, their is so many
design variations to the same basic layout.

How do you find stuff?

Some rare finds can be had in Charity shops. A lot of junk can be found
from online Auction sites. Usually from most people describing something
thats 5 years old as "RARE" "Vintage" "Only one ever"

Once you’ve got the colorado jacket, what will you do with your time?

I don’t spend much time looking for it now (sobbing sound / violin).
I’ve resigned myself to the fact that all that were made have:

1) Been burnt to a cinder with a clothes iron.

2) Burnt to a cinder on November 5th because it was scorched by an iron

3) Decomposing for the next 10 millennia 100ft down in a land fill.

Do you think that your collecting is an extension of you?

Yes, absolute hoarder.

I’d really appreciate it if you could give me a few pointers.

Try wearing a 80’s tracksuit/hoody. Just notice how many people freak
out around you. "Oh, it’s a Tracksuit, your wearing a Tracksuit".
It’s almost funny.

This Nike ad has been causing a little bit of controvesy over here in the UK. Some newspapers have said:

‘Consider this repulsive poster carefully. Rooney’s face and upper body are smeared with what looks like blood in the shape of the cross of St George. His mouth, with two disjointed fangs, is wide open in a yell of hatred and wild aggression. This is a depiction of primitive, violent man - a bloodthirsty barbarian lifted from the dark ages.’

We thought we’d post it up on PSFK and see what you guys thought about it. Great advertising or aggressive, offensive and opportunistic? Click below to vote

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10 years ago if you had a friend chances were that you’d met them at least once, spoke to them on the phone occasionally and they’d visited your house or you’d visited theirs.

People had a group, outside of their family, that they could fall back on when they needed emotional or social support. For the most part though they liked to meet up with their friends and chat, watch sport or just hang out.

It used to be the case that anyone that considered speed dating or blind dates would be considered a bit sad or a little bit inept. Why would you need to go and meet other ‘loser’ singles when everyone else managed just fine at meeting partners.

People were happy with the number of people they knew and believed that their social circles were sufficient.

The internet has destroyed these preconceptions and traditional definitions of friendship. It is now perfectly normal to meet your partner online, have more friends on your iChat buddies than friends you’ve met, and share music tips with hundreds of mySpace friends.

This appears to be a major shift in the way people act socially. It’s now ok to go out and acquire friends. It’s perfectly ok to log in to Friendster or Soflow with the express intention of meeting new people to be friends with.

This says to me that it’s fine to be in need. People want more friends, better friends, more contacts and better contacts. It’s almost as if, in the last ten years, it’s become fine to be insecure.

This major attitudinal shift gives brands a great way in to people’s lives. By facilitating forums for people to meet in they have the opportunity to have a positive and permanent effect on people’s lives. However, knowing that people want more and better friends and contacts there must be a more efficient and impactful way for brands to interact in a positive way with people’s lives.

Reebok has announced that it is moving away from the lifestyle focus that has seen some of 2005’s most controversial ads. It’s new owner, Adidas, have pointed Reebok’s strategy back towards the athletic market which is apparently where Reebok started.

Reebok President & CEO, Paul Harrington, stated:

"We’ve been a little bit too lifestyle-focused maybe over the past couple years, and we want to shift actually more toward the performance side of our business."

This brings an end to what some see as an unimaginative marketing strategies a major sportswear brand has had. The focus on urban culture was guilty of giving the appearance of trying far too hard for consumers attention and appeared at least two years too late to have real credibility. The campaign sought salience through celebrity and gained notoriety as its 50cent executions [no pun intended] appeared to glamorize gun culture.

Metro West Daily News

Yahoo have announced the creation of a programme that allows users to turn their TVs into DVRs. Yahoo Go for TV lets users plug their PC into their TV via the standard video and audio connectors enabling the computer to playback and record TV.

The new service allows users to view photos from Flickr, watch Yahoo videos and listen to LAUNCHcast radio all from your favourite spot on the sofa.

This seems a pretty logical step. Google has become the world’s largest media company and Yahoo aren’t far behind. Anything that gives these companies access to the TV enables them to monopolise our work and leisure time. However, it also empowers the consumer allowing us to timeshift programming around our lives.

All you early adopters, let us know how you get on with using it in the comments.

MarketingVOX