At CLM BBDO, La Redoute one of our clients was hit by controversy this year after consumers spotted a naked man in a picture from their online site. Was it done on purpose? Or was it just a dramatic coincidence?

The Internet is a fertile ground to promote these phenomenons. Being the media of instantaneity, it values speed over accuracy. Online there is anything about everything and it is up to the reader or the viewer to decide the degree of truth.

Since the age of press, radio or television, we have always questioned the authenticity of what we are reading or watching. Hoaxes aren’t new, it is something that has always existed. Back in 1938, while Orson Wells was reading the War of worlds broadcasted live on radio, It created a wave a of unprecedented panic across American cities, thousands of people thought that Martians were in.

On TV, people have always managed to fool newsrooms. The mystery of the Piano man in 2005 is a good example of this. Police in England were stumped when they found a man wandering the beach in a formal suit. He didn’t speak, but masterfully played the piano. The saga ended by discovering he couldn’t play the piano and that he fooled highly trained doctors by mimicking behaviour he had seen when he worked in a psychiatric unit.

The Yes men pose as top executives of corporations they hate. Armed with nothing but suits, the Yes Men lie their way into business conferences and parody their corporate targets in ever more extreme ways – basically doing everything they can to wake up their audiences to the danger of letting greed run our world. Bellow, Alessio Rastani from the Yes men astonished BBC viewers last year by describing his hopes of profiting from a recession.

These initiatives are not only coming from activists or individuals. Joaquin Phoenix back in 2008, at a time when other celebrities were perhaps more conscious than ever before about how to cultivate an image – Phoenix willingly tore about his excellent reputation to make everyone believe he was entering a hip-hop career. Everyone at the time believed that he completely lost his mind. All this was of course totally fake.

Now, Advertisers are also using hoaxes for commercial issues. Thinkmodo is an agency creating fake videos for their clients to hope to go viral on Youtube. James Paceley founder of Thinkmodo entered the business after launching an Iphone App that enabled you to view the people you filmed naked. Building from this success, he saw the huge potential it could have for brands. Their most recent hoax orchestrated was a viral campaign for the launch of the film Limitless. We see a guy taking over screens at Time Square with an electric transmitter and an Iphone:

James Percelay, told the Daily Mail: “The art form is progressing where people presume now that these videos are hoaxes. We’re entering into an understanding that, it’s kind of the implicit agreement now where the audience just wants to know how we did it. It’s almost the way you go to a magic show. You know it’s not real, but you still want to sit down and figure out how that guy pulled a car out of his briefcase.”

He also did emphasis on the fact that his success comes from creating something edgy and spicy that would get them talking about this product. This is what thinkmodo did for Microsoft. To promote a new gaming accessory they staged a nude gaming party. The fake trend became viral and made the news.

In the age of Internet, hoaxes are turning out to be a commercial success and an effective PR tool to get your voice heard. James Percelay: “It’s powerful because if the story sounds good even though it may sound absurd, they are going to want to believe it.”

Brands are constantly looking for content that’s going to generate millions of views and free PR. The Internet pushes people to want to share awe and well-crafted hoaxes are really effective for that purpose. It remains to be seen if people will develop weariness against the multiplications of these stunts, but with the multiplication of tech innovations and thousands of new stories being published everyday, the possibilities at the moment do seem vast.

During this expedition throughout the walls and corners of the agency are visitors will be able to attend 3 special representations:

Guillaume Martin
Planning Director
Curious about Insights?
Discover how we come up with big ideas by taking a closer look at people, with Mr Martin.

Our director of planning will tell you how curiosity helps us to develop strategies for high-impact brands.

Our job cannot be carried out with a blind eye. It’s through being constantly curious about people, observing the way they talk, behave and consume, that the best ideas are born. Come and see for yourself, through the insights that have inspired huge campaigns, how curiosity is useful to brands and to business, Curiosity is great. Curiosity that serves our clients? Even better.

Matthieu Elkaim
Creative Director
Curious about Creativity?
Join Matthieu Elkaim in the discovery of new creative territories.

Our creative director will explain why the survival of our craft relies upon our curiosity and ingenuity.

Our job is to tell stories that arouse the curiosity of consumers, inspiring them to take an interest in our brands and choose their products. But the consumer is a marketer too! And in order to captivate his interest, we use our curiosity daily to explore new forms, new vistas of expression, and new media to come up with new ideas.

Anthony Hamelle
R&D Director
Curious about Digital?
Come and find out how to breathe live into crazy ideas, thanks to digital technology, with Mr Hamelle.

Our R&D director will unveil all the curiosities and innovations our production lab has to offer.

Every minute, 36 hours of video are uploaded onto YouTube. Every 24 hours, 200 million tweets are exchanged globally. Every day in France, around 20 million people spend over an hour on their smartphone. And ten years ago none of this existed! Naturally, we are curious about all of the trends that appear and catch on over the years, about the many opportunities waiting to be seized each month, about all of the conversations that teach us so much every day. Come and discover how we manage to give meaning to this effervescent universe and breathe live into the craziest ideas, thanks to digital technology.

So what makes the world’s busiest high-speed rail network so special? The Shinkansen delivers all that the people of Japan love best: efficiency, superb customer service and state-of-the-art technology. It boasts a gleaming track record for punctuality, with the average train arriving within six seconds of scheduled time. Even minor delays to the service make headline news and are frequently the subject of debate in Parliament.

Beyond the statistics, however, a spiritual journey awaits. The Shinkansen has achieved a cult status in Japan, with its own distinctive etiquette and an atmosphere of reverence, reminiscent of a place of worship. Staff bow upon entering and exiting each carriage, whilst passengers speak in hushed voices that complement the whisper of the hurtling train (you’d never guess it was moving at 300km/h).

The Shinkansen is not just about moving people from around, it’s about bringing a nation together. High-speed rail has virtually rendered the whole of Japan a suburb of Tokyo – comparable to the success Eurostar has had in closing the gap between Great Britain and the continent. This clearly has major repercussions for commuters who, thanks to the Shinkansen, can afford to live up to 200km outside of Tokyo. Thus urban over-crowding is reduced, and economic benefits better dispersed. Just as Eurostar has transformed the way we travel, and indeed our perceptions of national boundaries, the bullet train’s record-breaking speeds and ever-expanding network are making Japan smaller all the time. When asked, 70% of Japanese people said they would choose high-speed rail over air travel for journeys of up to 800km. It is no coincidence that the Shinkansen’s eco-credentials cannot be faulted either.

These sleek, bullet-shaped trains have become part of Japan’s landscape, both physically and culturally. Truly ubiquitous, the Shinkansen’s futuristic design has captured the imaginations of children and adults alike. You need only look at the well-loved Sanrio cartoon series, featuring animated bullet trains, which, in typical Japanese fashion, has spawned a plethora of themed merchandise – from Shinkansen alarm clocks to Shinkansen sleeping bags.

To this day, the Japanese maintain a special relationship with the Shinkansen. In a commercial to celebrate its launch, the manufacturer JR filmed the newest E5 series bullet train travelling the length of the island. We see more than 30,000 people dotting the landscape on either side of the train, waving, holding up signs, and cheering it on its way. The effect created is very much one of a carnival, « where the experience is shared as one, through a connection that is real and physical. »

It seems that Japan’s love affair with the Shinkansen is as strong as ever.
You can view the campaign below:

For media enquiries, please contact Clementine Buren, CLM BBDO’s Communications Manager
For new business enquiries, please contact Caroline Lecomte, CLM BBDO’s New Business Manager

On the 4th of October 2011, the curiosity shop organised its second coffee corner to talk about what are the key ingredients that make are cities liveable?

You can view a short video that present our panel and see how it felt to be there:

The big cities on our planet are constantly growing, and are becoming more and more impossible to escape. The human being is turning into an “urban being”. By 2050, the majority of people will live in a city or up to a day’s travel from one.

Whilst growing, every city has its own environmental, social and urban issues. Authorities, urban planners, architects, designers, sociologists are confronted by such challenges everyday. Meanwhile, the cities’ inhabitants live fast-paced lifestyles and are constantly seeking to improve their quality of life. People love their city but above all they are looking for solutions to make it an even better place to live.
Some successful cities, of varying size and location, are able to offer a great quality of life to their dwellers despite these issues. Tokyo for example, with it’s teaming crowds and high density, manages to run like clockwork. Copenhagen spoils its population with fantastic architecture and one of the best cycle lane systems in the world. Or Melbourne – geographically so far removed from everyone else on the planet – which offers sunshine all year round and actively encourages quality local retail to help reinvigorate the city’s neighbourhoods. Though each one is of a different scale, with unique urban planning issues, these cities somehow manage to provide their inhabitants with an impressive qualify of life.

The constant evolution of our cities affects us everyday, but also has consequences for our clients at CLM BBDO, because urban transformations create more demand for services which aim to improve our daily lives. Today, we would like to hear our panel’s point of view on the topic: What are the ingredients that make a city liveable?

To answer this question, we gathered together a panel of professionals whose work shapes our urban landscape, as well as a ‘liveable city’ dweller.

Dominique Rouillard is an architect who specialises in the development of medium-sized cities. She teaches at the École Supérieur d’Architecture and is in charge of a laboratory called Architecture action, which addresses issues surrounding the link between infrastructure, architecture and territory.

Caroline de Franqueville works as an urbanist for Chronos – a research and prospective agency in Paris.

Sebastien Girardot is a professional musician from Melbourne – recently voted the most liveable city in the world, according to a study in The Economist magazine.

Google, Shazam or Twitter are just some of those brands that have broken free from their social condition to join the lips, pens, keyboards and search queries of millions, in the form of verbs.

google.
verb (third-person singular simple present googles, present participle googling, simple past and past participle googled)

shazam.
verb (third-person singular simple present shazams, present participle shazaming, simple past and past participle shazamed)

Brands who aim for the pinnacle should consider this transitive option, i.e. turning nouns into verbs. However this is no easy task and should not be tried unless your brand is bold enough to create something that turns your consumers into actual users, and to put the weight of your brand (and your media spend) behind this new something…

The question is no longer « To Be or Not To Be », rather « To Tweet or Not To Tweet’. Will your brand dare to try and join the ranks of these select few? How would you use these for instance:
To Apple?
To Starbucks?
To Disney?
To Pepsi?

Anna Wintour created this event to open-up these big luxury names to the general public and drive sales for the night. Paris being a global reference for Luxury fashion brands, we thought this event was a good opportunity to go out to the street and see how people feel about Luxury nowadays. It was a good time to see if luxury is really accessible?

Instinctively a lot of people from outside would certainly say: « It’s luxury of course it’s a inaccessible ». But, at the same time there is a paradox, thanks to the Internet with sites like the “Satorialist” or “Fake” people are intellectually aware of everything that’s happening in fashion and luxury more than ever before. Louis Vuitton is perhaps the most product placed brand in popular media. We asked them their point of view and where luxury started and ended for them?

In terms of brand image, we wanted to know how they felt about the mega European brands and their communications. Do fashion shows still excite them or do they get a greater buzz by other independent fashion events?

Finally, we wanted to get people’s point of view about luxury and fashion in the streets of Paris, this city is the fashion capital of the world but how does that reflect everyday in the streets?

If you’ve missed out on the Vogue fashion night out and are curious to find out what people had to say, please click on the following video:

A word from the street about Luxury at Vogue’s fashion night out from Curiosity Shop on Vimeo.

On the 6^th of July 2011, the curiosity shop organised its first coffee corner to talk about the return of craftsmanship and the artisan into the consumer landscape.

You can view a short video that present our panel and see how it felt to be there:

Artisans were the dominant producers of goods before the Industrial revolution, but since then these masters have faded away from the spotlight.

Since, the financial crisis a wind of change is starting to blow on the planet, people are feeling the limits of mass produced goods all neatly identical that are coming out from the some factories miles away from home.

People now have the will to introduce some meaning in what they purchase and consume. They want their objects to reflect a personal aesthetic, a sense of value and real narrative.

In 2011, the artisan has risen again and is taking the high street by storm, from those who make objects to those who provide services. Beyond consumers, a lot of governments are encouraging their nation to promote “Made in my country”, they’re providing state aids to encourage people to pick up tools and produce locally made goods like in Japan. In the US, president Obama encourages Americans to buy and produce locally made goods. Helsinki has capitalised on the development of small outlets sourcing local products, this choice has contributed to the rebirth of the city making it one of the most liveable cities in the world.

At CLM BBDO, we work for big Global brands; we sense this wind of change will have impact on our clients. We would like to know if this return to craftsmanship is just a passing trend? Will it last forever? Or, perhaps will it coexist in the actual consumerism landscape?

We’ve invited a panel of people who are artisans and entrepreneurs who commercialise craftsmanship to learn from our panel’s experience and see if the artisan will be the entrepreneur of 2011?

Antoine Netien, store owner of Café Coutume in Paris

Robin Hureau, Co-fonder of the online shop: « La belle écoppe »

Julien Scavini, Tailor: “Scavini tailleur”

Alain, Master barber: « Maître Barbier »

If you’ve missed on the first Coffee corner, you can download a recap of the discussion from the following link: Artisan discussion notes



For our Pepsi client we wanted to catch-up with global youth. Indeed, they are exposed to expansive life: The experience of other cultures, endless entertainment and new forms of technology have made possibilities seem limitless. We decided to go around the world to see how they see their future.

Bellow, you can view the documentary:

Youth Documentary from Curiosity Shop on Vimeo.

During our investigation, we kept a travel journal reporting back all our findings and the people we met:

We even set up a facebok travel page to stay in contact with all the friends we made on our way:

Making new friends can be difficult, a lot of people here in Paris have their own cliques and many of us get caught up by time between work, family life and everyday duties. It’s difficult to find a bit of time and places to open up to new people, even though we would love to.

Our new-made friend Jim Haynes has probably bought a solution to all this. For the last 40 years Jim has been breaking down the barriers between people through his supper clubs. Jim has lived on the left bank of Paris, on rue de la Tombe-Issoire where every week since then he has organised his Sunday suppers that have become famous all around the world.

The process to get invited is pretty straight-forward. You email Jim at jim_haynes@wanadoo.fr, He responds to confirm you on the list, emails you his address and access code and then your in.

You’re greeted by Jim, wearing an apron with the words ‘JIM’ sewed patchwork style on to it, perches on a stool next to the table with a pile of recycled envelopes and a clipboard, ticking off names and accepting ‘donations’, a minimum of 25 euros each is suggested.

He barks instructions left right and centre (‘Mariana from Honduras meet Laurent from France”) as his living room fills up about 10 mins with people from everywhere, hungry for food and new contacts. For a brief moment before the room is filled up to the brim with smiling faces and plates of home made pasta swallowed down with cups of wine and Kronenberg beer bottles.

What you get is three hours of home made food – mains, salad and desert and just about has much wine or beer you can drink – and the opportunity for newcomers; from a former American actor planning to live 3 Months in Paris who was just introduced to Jim by a friend to a German music anthropologist who just read about him in Die Welt. Or a curiously over confident student bouncing around the room saying Hi I’m Aimee to everybody. Those were just some of the ones we had time to talk to.

Jim has the gift to put everyone at ease. You can’t meet with Jim without wanting to see him again and that, by all accounts, is the secret of his success. Jim is everybody’s friend. Jim wants to make everyone happy.

Yes, this is Jim’s world. Welcome grab a chair, take a seat and have some food, meet his friends. He’s full of stories about couples who have met, fallen in love, married and had babies as a result of his dinners.

After leaving Jim’s dinner, We have made more new friends than in a year living in Paris. Once, you’ve experienced it you just want to come back the week after. Jim Haynes definitely y taught us a lesson about life how open-mindedness and the joy of exchanging and learning from one another leads you to being a better and interesting person.