Garr's posterous

between a tweet & the presentation zen website

Sticky Toyota TV ad from Down Under


Last year I gave some seminars in New Zealand. After the seminar one of the participants there in Wellington sent me the link to the Toyota TV ad above (filmed in NZ and shown in NZ and Australia). As she told me, the ad at the time captured the public imagination and caused a bit of controversy. She said that people were even sad when they learned the dog died years after the ad ran. Humor, which surely can be misunderstood, is a powerful connection when it works (and is memorable). She said that the ad's use of humour, unexpectedness and a high degree of authenticity was quite effective at the time (and there we were talking about "the bugger ad" years after it had ran). Almost no words used at all. Simple...and effective.

 The ad gets a mention here on Wiki in the "bugger" discussion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugger

"Look through the disability and meet the human being." [Video presentation]


This video was the winner of YouTube's Project:Report. Checkout the Project:Report YouTube page:
 
http://www.youtube.com/user/projectreport
 
This was the assignment (from the website):
"Produce a piece that empowers an underrepresented community to tell its own story to the world. First, choose a group of people that are rarely covered by the traditional media. Then let them use the camera to document their own lives, and to tell their own story. It's up to each individual reporter to collect the footage captured by the members of this group, and to weave that material into your own reporting to create a compelling and unique story."
 
In the short video presentation above, Perez thought it best for much or the camera work to be done by the residents themselves to see the world through their eyes. Sure, the footage is not perfect, but it works. It has an organic "real" feel to it. Stick with this to hear some really good bits at the end. This is a good story, inspiring message.

How to present at a conference with impact (Canadian style)

 This older PZ blog post sums up my approach to presenting in most ballroom-style or conference presentation/keynote settings.

 I am Canadian: http://snipurl.com/eldfn

 The 4-part mantra:
  • Be noticed.
  • Be understood.
  • Be memorable.
  • Inspire people to take action.

 (And yes, all of this assumes you've done your homework and have prepared well *for them*)

 And here's one of my favorite Canadian presenters (Dick Hardt).

   http://www.identity20.com/media/OSCON2005/