WORST BOOKS OF 2013

We couldn’t find a lot of interesting books around, lately. No wonder the publishing industry is in deep ‘sheet’.  The majority of publishers seems to have developed a certain taste for crap wrapped in a glossy dustjacket. To make things worse, talented writers with something to say are disappearing, just like happened to big reptiles and alcohol-free beer. Good books, very good books, are rarer than astatine. The rest, and we are talking about 1 million titles every year, is just trees sacrificed for no reason. If, to all of the above, you add the fact there are more writers than readers, and that readers mostly read what they write, you get the whole picture. The Brandpowder Team, in a drastic attempt to instill a sense of pride in the publishing industry and to push good writers to abandon Harry Potterism and type some goddam’ good stories, would like to introduce you to the top worst books of 2013. We personally published these books at our own expenses,  as a no-profit experiment to provoke publishers, writers, readers and, why not? hopefully also analphabets, to do something about it.

Opening Picture: The Not So Yellow Pages are a guide to imprecise listing. You can browse them, let’s say, when you are not looking for something in particular and you just jerk around thinking life is about getting lost somewhere, nowhere. Fakebook (below) is a novel talking about demotivation, failure, depression, solitude, despair, staging an anxious, over-perspirating guy with smelly armpits. It sold just one copy, bought by the author.

Below: This opus in two volumes, which comes in a lavishly hardcover leather-bound edition, is a meditation about nothing to say. The 240 empty pages are a masterpiece on silence and creative white out. A must non-read for whoever feels  blocked or simply overwhelmed by data overflow. Mostly unsold.

This book (below) is highly recommended for the daring investor who’s always looking ahead for new opportunities. Unfortunately, also this one didn’t sell a single copy (out of the 50 we printed). We were shocked, since Mars is the next frontier. Not to mention KitKat and Bounty.

The worst-best seller on our list is this rather imposing, meek-looking book with a challenging title aimed to the disobedient. We didn’t find a single customer willing to pay 20 bucks for its precious insight. The cause may be people are much better off than we think, or they are simply convinced they know better?

This project, as many others developed buy the Brandpowder Team, was a complete fiasco. Indirectly, it was a success. It proved our point. Thank you for your attention.

THE FLAGS OF CHARLES FLAGRANZ

 

 

What if Pakistan sent a man on the Moon before the United States? What if the US or North Korea concentrated more on the environment and less on their artillery? What if Stalin or Hitler married a good cause like the future of their children or assisting people where it’s mostly need it? What if Seychelles went to Everest before the British? What if the Pope promised true access to information instead of Paradise? What if a great Country like China was going to believe in Coke instead of Communism?

An answer to all such stupid dilemmas comes from Charles Flagranz, an anarchic artist who is changing the meaning of the world by changing its symbols. The provocation is interesting, insulting or funny. It depends from your point of view. Our beliefs are based, more often than we think, on visual symbols. Their power is holy, hypnotic and unquestioned. Not for Charles Flagranz, who is travelling the world in search of answers, and probably troubles. He kindly asked us to promote his work on our blog and we are happy to oblige. The Brandpowder Team wanted to give a tribute to Flagranz’s message which is, basically, quite positive and universal. We don’t take any responsibility, though, because we represent an independent authority on bullshit and we only believe in our flag (which is a beer label). Anyways, the border between flag and flagrant is quite easy to break, most of all if you are addressing susceptible people.

We asked Charles (during a brief interview over the phone) some clues about his future projects. He told us he recently run out of money and, for a while, he won’t be able to produce any art. He’s just hanging around, touring the sunny coasts of South Africa with an old motorbike. He told us he wishes to be rich and famous like Jeff Koons, but without marrying a porn star. We asked him what he currently does for a living. He told us he’s now considering a part time job as a carpenter in Cape Town, just to make a little money to get on a plane and pay a visit to his uncle Hans in Stuttgart. We didn’t want to ask him more.

THE PRIMORDIAL SOUP OF COMMUNICATION

Advertising should sell beauty, irony, hope, humour, questions, poetry, imagination, love, nature, visions, projects, entertainment, dreams, challenges, play, thirst, landscapes, innovation, culture, excitement and ideas. Beside soup. Brandpowder, more than a traditional agency, is intended as a surreal place where people promote experiments in visual communication, design, fashion and products, at a slower pace.

A SYMMETRY

Above: the first law of false symmetry says that, in order to by symmetric, the two statements should say the same thing: symmetry, as a word, is asymmetric like the term asymmetry. So it’s symmetric in the end result of the sentence, but it can’t be symmetric in meaning.

Body of evidence.

Vintage Alien.

Stand up for your rights.

Sportsaucer.

Doublekinky.

The yippie’s midlife crisis.

Suspended.

.LapisipaL.

Going nowhere.

Above: few examples of false symmetry developed by the Brandpowder Studio. For this essay, just out of curiosity, we asked two twins to work at their computer in front of a mirror. The experiment didn’t bring any particular result, though.

Below: the second law of false symmetry says that, in order to by symmetric, the two statements should say the same thing: symmetry, as a word, is asymmetric like the term asymmetry. So it’s symmetric in the end result of the sentence, but it can’t be symmetric in meaning. Please note that, for a matter of coherence, the second law is identical, but not symmetric to the first one, confirming the theory of false symmetry.

THE VEGETARIAN CAR

  What’s wrong about oil?  (Photo: G. Esiri)

We recently got a tough assignment by the Planet’s Auto Association, a global firm which protects car makers’ interests worldwide. Brandpowder’s task was to rehabilitate big, expensive cars in the eyes of people, shifting their perception from disgust to tolerance. Not an easy goal, considering people’s green awareness to global warming and the fact we are going through one of the worst oil crisis ever.                                             Can a car smile? P.A.A’s friendly logo.

There was only one person who could get his hands dirty on the job and still come out unscathed, so we called Chris Law. Beside being one of our best freelance contributors, Chris is also a car nuts. He immediately accepted the challenge and, a week later,  came back to our office with the Answer.

” Gotcha!” he said with a big smile. He paused for a second, just to keep us guessing for a while. Then he asked: ” You guys know where petrol is coming from? “.  None of us had a clue, of course. So he continued: ” Petrol is formed by deposits of organic materials, such as dead algae and plancton which, million years ago, were trapped under a thick layer of sand and silt. Then, enormous pressure and temperatures slowly turned this pulp into a reserve of oil and gas.”

Chris showed us a black and white geologic rendering of Earth’s multiple layers. “Cars are vegeterian!” he announced, banging his hand on the table. His point slowly started to drill a well into our brain, and we soon realized we had hit something big. Cars as herbivores eating seaweed salads! That was not only a picture capturing our imagination, but also a revolutionary idea.

Should I feed my Jag with Scottish heath?    (Chris studying the future of energy)

We decided to develop a whole strategy around this concept: Vegetarian Cars, after all, sound armless and even friendly, and the statement is irrefutable. We later came up with a strong visual for the campaign which, after client’s permission, we are now glad to publish on our blog as a world premiere. Have a good read!

Banality pays: A ‘green’ car should always be green. (double spread ad)

No cars were harmed during the making of this shooting.

This poster outraged eco activists. Sports cars’ owners were enthusiastic, though.