This current campaign for Fage yogurt by Mullen is running with the line Plain Extraordinary. It’s high production values are nice and have clearly aimed to position it more in the guise of a natural beauty product rather than a yogurt which is certainly a cool category jamming idea, but then there’s a few bugs in the system!

The voice over script is so bad that it feels like the ad is a spoof on indulgence. Now that is fun, see the old Boddington’s ad from the UK which parodied the Calvin Klein and luxury sector to mock its superficiality and bring the tone of the brand to life.

So I was pretty much in hysterics thinking this was a really fun ad, especially when it cuts to the shot of the cow covered in yogurt. I was waiting for the clever twist which made the brand really cool, but it didn’t come.

Judging by some of the inspired viewers comments for the spot on YouTube it’s a hit with a some people who actually buy into the faux sincerity of the script, butI’ll leave it to you to decide. It feels like this really could have been something fun and smart which it has failed miserably to do, in favor of believing its own cliche.

Last year was about dealing with tough change, but this year is definitely about making the most of what you have and finding inventive ways to maximize opportunity.

Naturally here at MILK this is cool news. Being a company that specialises in cultural direction and how to develop new concepts to connect businesses or brands with consumers feels a good place to be.

The interesting thing is that the scope for developing concepts is broader than it has ever been. Whether it be straightforward brand strategy and proposition development, or NPD, or  business diversification… the range is truly expansive.

We’re talking to clients and business partners about the different ways to innovate, sometimes with IP share on ideas and initiatives, sometimes working as an ideas creator, sometimes helping to drive innovation through business. Even the approach to innovation is becoming innovative!!!

When I used to work with T-Mobile, they had a slogan for their business philosophy: ‘Never stand Still’. It is certainly this mentality which will highlight the winners and losers in the year ahead, those brave and creative leaders will embrace this new era of pioneering and those that don’t just won’t be around for long.

Much of the work we do at MILK is based on understanding changing culture and trends.

The interesting thing is that generally the preoccupation with trends focuses around: What is the trend and where’s it going? This has been fueled by books like Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point, focusing in on why something small fads become popular trends and others fade away without establishing themselves.

For us, the more interesting point to focus on is: What is the trend derived from and why? What in culture is changing to make something of interest bubble to the surface in general societal attitudes and behaviours?

One indicator we use as a point of reference is shown in the diagram above.

Just about anyone who’s studied or worked in marketing has heard of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, but surprisingly few have come across Shalom Schwartz.

Schwartz took Maslow’s thinking and pushed it further to determine a map that demonstrates values states, it also proposes that these values sit opposite one another in a wheel like configuration.

Taking this simple reference point and applying it against society you can start to build a real picture of what makes us tick and more importantly why!

Now if you start to measure society’s values (like the smart folks over at Cultural Dynamics do!) then you start to understand the motivations and pressures driving shifts in values.

Understand this and you understand how trends form. Start to project values shifts based on known values movement and you can start to see how and if trends will grow!

For people in the communications industry or government this is like alchemy for ideas, it’s powerful stuff.

Sekai camera

Call it what you wish, post digital, mobile apps, convergence media…

To us the principle interest is integration into our daily lives. We’ve seen some really interesting applications of branded ideas using integrated technologies such as the Livestrong Chalkbot, We are Scarf, Baker Tweetand the epic Foursquare. But equally the topic gets dulled down by the dump of bad executions too.

Some good guys in the industry have been moving the commentary along, the likes of Faris Yakob and  Helge Tenno and if you’re so inclined take a peek at Mashable, or Ismashphone.

We’re expecting big things next year around this area, as things like Foursquare started to build in numbers in the UK and more stores and bars get involved.

It still feels that the scope for brands using this kind of innovation has hardly scratched the surface, but it seems the hottest place to spend your budget if you want genuine social engagement, creativity and real/digital integration.

TAT is a Swedish software company and they are hot on new mobile applications, especially in augmented reality.

Check out their Augmented ID on this You Tube link.

Basically it use facial recognition software and links in all your social media profiles like Facebook, Twitter, Linked in etc to your face!

Then you choose which profiles you want to be public at anytime so that when someone points their iPhone at you it brings up all your profile details that you have public.

Awesome for networking, dating, retail loyalty in-store, you name it.

Gonna be big… soon.

They have shops in Clerkenwell Road, Covent Garden, Manchester and online.

More info on Magma here.

We’ve been looking at where the deep pocketed will safely expend their wealth in times where spending flashy cash isn’t cool and petrol thirsty motors don’t really fit with the recent Copenhagen’s agenda and here it is, the Aston Cygnet!

Now Aston Martin is without doubt still wound licking at the sales fall off in the last year, but kudos for the innovation here.

If things appear in market as planned for early 2011, for £20k you can get behind the wheel of the Cygnet. Now this is some £10k more than the Toyota IQ, the car the Cygnet is built upon, but there’s an interesting catch…

To buy one, you must already own an Aston Martin. They state that many of their customers already own a small car like an IQ, so this is Aston’s way of servicing their needs and taking steps to lower the companies emissions CO2. This is interesting because they’ve found a way of creating an accessory for a real Aston, which in this guise shouldn’t damage the core brand’s image.

We believe this sort of innovation trend around ‘Micro Luxury’ is just emerging, but something we’ve been tracking before the economy dropped.

In actual fact, other than Mini and more recently Fiat 500 and this year’s Audi A1, the choices for interesting design led small cars have been extremely limited.

Prius undoubtably carried the torch for perceived eco-motoring, but there has always been a gap for luxury drivers looking for a compact, urban, eco car, but with high quality design and styling specification.

What will be interesting is to see how and to who the Aston is marketed (if at all) and whether a decision is taken to push the rollout beyond Aston owners if the launch is met positively with purchasing demand.

We’ll be tracking micro luxury closely into 2010, incorporating ethics, styling, and rationalised over indulgence.

The other thing worth a mention is the concept of ‘restricted purchase’. We’ve seen this trend driving exclusivity in products with high loyalty cues like designer toy sales and rare books/ records, but moving out to a premium price point via a luxury brand feels pretty innovative. Again another area we’ll be reporting on as luxury brands begin to seek new ways to reinforce the exclusivity of their sales propositions.

What a ride, what a year!

For those of you close to MILK, both clients, partners, friends and pets, the launch of our new magazine and web site is met with ‘about bloody time’. But for those MILK virgins out there, we’re hoping the response is abit more, ‘ooh nice pink bits!’

We’ve got high expectations for the new magazine, which if not already, it should soon be in your mail tray. But if you’re of the impatient persuasion you may read it here.

Keep checking back to this blog for updates, or set your RSS, because we promise this thing called MILK is about to blow the roof off cultural thinking and fill you with the freshest, most progressive and interesting trends, perspectives and generally awesome thinking you could wish for – More Informed Lifestyle Knowledge – get it? good. Now share the love.

If you want to know more about contributing to MILK Magazine, please contact clyde@milkinsight.com