Monday, June 27, 2011

B for brand and Benneton

I've always enjoyed the Benneton brand. When I was a youngster I always tried to get mom to buy me something from Benneton - I still wear stuff from it. : ) However, all of a sudden, the company`s outlets disappeared without a trace (at least here in Brazil.)


There were agitated moments in this brand`s lifetime. Their new approach to advertising back in the days got them famous. Some time after, it ostracized the brand and made its creative mentor - Toscani - leave the company.


Here are a few ads: David Kirby, AIDS patient, portrayed as Pieta; below is an albino African woman among others in her tribe.



Picture from http://shayco.wordpress.com/2008/09/20/benetton-what-a-shocker/



picture from http://www.kunsthandlung-schoenen.de


Before those ads, there was the brand itself. The string of controversial ads are, in my opinion, a way of  uniquely express themselves in the market. It`s weird, but nobody has to think the same.


It seems Benneton is back in the game. Their new addition to the team, You Nguyen, who is the new creative ahead of store fitouts and design, says Benneton must stay true to its identity. It's a valid concept, as image is everything you have in the end. It's the first association people do in their minds. 


Once a mighty company - selling more than any retail brand in the 80s - Benetton may be remembered by consumers as a controversial shop, but a single one though.


I'll stick to it, Benetton is still a big brand for me.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

FYI

iPad 3? Already? And a 3D one?


Wow, technology news these days make their way around the globe faster than celebrity gossip - more so if they are rumours - or upgrades.


You know, Im still enjoying my iPad (one).


I was considering the second version, when the tabloids rummoured a new one is on the works.


I then read a piece about iCloud on the local paper today. Steve Jobs came out of nowhere to announce it and make investors happy. Yeah, Apple is also getting ahead on the smartphone battle, leaving Blackberry behind.


Returning to iCloud story. It means to gather all media stuff you have and store it in this cloud. You can access it from your remote Apple devices. 5GB is for free, but service is 25 bucks a year. Brazil is not on the plans to get the service, yet.


There is the new operational system, IOS 5, to launch soon too. 200 (!?) new functionalities, like weather and stock markets on your screen right away.


And I was talking about... iPad 3! Hhm, after all those news, it turned out not to be that interesting anymore. But you can read more here. And here. More stuff here too.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Worth studying?



Since I have arrived in Brasilia, Brazil, I started to look for jobs. Of course, in Brasilia, the most bureaucratic city in Brazil, the majority of jobs are government's. If you are not Brazilian you should know you need to be approved in tough exams in order to join the government force.

That's what Im doing at the moment: studying for the exams. The thing is I'm a bit frustrated. The reasons are as follows:

1) The competition is far worse than anything else you are aware of (except for navy seals recruitment)
2) gov jobs are a dead end for someone's career
3) public administration in Brazil doesn't function well, actually it is horrible

The competition for those jobs is high and jobs in private companies are quite competitive too, but the salaries in government are a lot better than in most private companies. The job market situation in Brazil lately is favorable mostly to jobs in demand, such as hospitality, retail, and on the other end, technicians and engineers in constructions and stuff. It's hard to pay rent and support a family with an initial - and average - private company salary.

When Fernando Collor was president, he signed a law to give stability to public workers not only in the federal sphere, but to all others linked to government - public banks, post, police and so on. That decision relieved workers about the possibility of getting sacked (almost impossible). If anyone imagined something like pursuing a career in government, it has been revoked from constitution, then you are stuck in the position you applied for in the exam day til retirement. 

All this turns productivity at work pretty bad, no, maybe, terrible! When you work in a job you CAN'T get fired, then you know things aren`t right. Carlos Osmar Bertero, in a World Bank and Brazilian government request, in 1994, made a document (sorry, it`s in Portuguese) where he expresses his opinion on public management in Brazil - in brief: "Almost all things that oppose the common sense are practiced. Performance and quality of services to the population are poor and the costs to the nation are not low." 

I think you get my point. Well, now, excuse me, I have to go back to my studies.