It all started with a laughable product: a USB-powered chainsaw.  Given the range of computer accessories out there, it wouldn’t be completely unheard of for a company to take things too far in hopes to cash in on the selection.  The brief video and clean-looking website got lots of media attention.
After the pre-orders started pouring in, the folks at BBH Asia Pacific revealed it was all a hoax to promote the conservation of paper.  The folks who pre-ordered the i.Saw were greeted with this message:
Hello.
We love that you liked the i.Saw enough to pre-order.
Truth is, you already own a chainsaw. [...]

At PSFK Conference NYC, Danielle Sacks (Fast Company) led a thought-provoking discussion about the rise of the “New Idea Agencies” – companies that are thinking outside of the traditional client-agency model and creating their own products, brands, and intellectual property to launch direct to market. The panel, featuring Robbie Vitrano (Trumpet), Carl Johnson (Anomaly), Bart Haney (fuseproject), and Ben Malbon (BBH Labs), explained how their companies’ unique business models evolved and the struggles (and benefits) of agencies becoming their own clients.
Developing IP rather than just messaging is clearly an attractive idea. Why build brands that, ultimately, you have no stake [...]

We’re looking forward to having Ben Malbon, Managing Partner at BBH Labs, join us at PSFK Conference New York on April 2. On a panel with Bart Haney (fuseproject), Carl Johnson (Anomaly), Robbie Vitrano (Trumpet), and moderator Danielle Sacks (Fast Company), Ben will be discussing the pursuit of intellectual property and how it’s changing the way agencies and new businesses operate.
First, who are you and what do you do?
I am one of a small team of people who run BBH Labs. Labs is an innovation and experimental unit focused on ensuring BBH is as smart as possible when it comes [...]

Looking to invest, but don’t dare go near Wall Street? Last week TED conference-goers were introduced to a new locus of shares by Trust Art, a collaboration between FameGame, BBH New York and SquareSpace. Calling itself “a stock market for cultural renewal”, the system offers up ten unique artistic endeavors proposed by designers, engineers, videographers, and choreographers just waiting for your funding. Each is a one-year project which will result in some “artifact” that will be auctioned off by the site. Revenue is split between the artist and the investors.
Learn about the projects, follow the progress of the artists, and [...]

By now I’m sure that most readers of IF! are familiar with the simplicity vs complex debate. We’ve covered it here and here. It’s a concept that has been born in the mind of Russell Davies and is at the heart of W+K London.