On a trip to Sri Lanka, a couple of BBDO Guerrero staffers came across a paper made from elephant dung at an elephant orphanage. This was the inspiration behind the book of crap ideas. The paper for the book was shipped back to Malaysia.
Then the copy and designs were silk-screened onto the pages before the bookbinders set to work. The book was a demonstration of the truism that in advertising you almost always start
with crap ideas before you get to the remarkable and beautiful ones.
There was a huge demand for the book, fuelled by the course being run in cities as diverse as Beirut, Ho Chi Mihn, Moscow, Singapore, Manila, and at both Cannes and the Asia Pacific AdFest.The agency is now trying to find ways of getting the book produced commercially. In the meantime, it has demonstrated its commitment to creativity and has helped reach a number of potential new clients.
When this book was mailed out to prospective clients, what they would have noticed, I hope, is the physicality of the thing.
It is wonderful to touch. Paradoxically, what makes it perfect for me are the imperfections in the paper,
the minute bumps, and the lesions. That’s what I love about DM. You can handle it, weigh it up, feel the texture.
And receive a thousand tiny signals about the brand as you hold it. Every one of the signals in this piece is about the craft skills and passion of the people who wrote it,
designed it, and put it together without compromise.
