Burn the heretic!

I know this is a bit passé now, given the headlong rush that is Interwebiverse 2.6 or wherever we've got to. But I'm interested to see how many people agree with me about Poke's much-ballyhooed Good Things Should Never End website. Ben's already posted about it, of course, and he likes it.

I don't.

We should begin by acknowledging that this doesn't matter two hoots: lots and lots of people (like Ben and advertising bloggers Agency Tart and Scamp) seem to like it very much. And no piece of communication is going to please all the people all the time.

But I've heard very few dissenting voices on this one, and I wondered if there were any in our congregation.

My biggest problem with it is that it's boring (to me, anyway). The little bees took much too long filling up their honey jar for a start. Then I was cast into an increasingly familiar world of trendy illustrated characters - somewhere between Stefan's Daily Monster and Amos toys. And true to their billing, they go on and on and on. And on.

You're supposed to share the wonders of this site with others, by clipping little animations and posting them on your own site or blog, thusly:

Oooh. Bird goes round. Do it again, bird. Oooh. He did. And hey presto: Orange has free ad space on Noisy Decent Graphics.

The one bit I was intrigued by was a television thingy called Buzz, who apparently wanted to speak to me. Being neither five years old nor congenitally stupid, I knew Buzz was just a clever bit of software. But I gave him a go. Oh dear. Maybe not so clever.

This sort of content is supposed to engage you as an active participant, but the technology is still so feeble compared to your own brain, it's surely stultifyingly limited.

There's an interactive TV ad too, in case you weren't aware (by the suitably edgy-sounding Weapon 7). I'm pretty curmudgeonly about iTV too - it always seems a rather lacklustre alternative to Proper Telly. Like the online version, it's been immaculately produced. I just don't want to spend ages peering at a screen (of any kind), hunting out hidden freebies. Our lives are measured in mere decades, people.

Scamp claims the site will engage you for at least half an hour. If it does, you surely need a bit more going on in your life. If you're really desperate to fill a half-hour at the desk, why not expand your vocabulary and feed the world at Free Rice? Or you could astound yourself for real with a couple of the talks on TED. Or you could read a damn book.

God I sound old.

Comments

[gareth]

I think it boils down to whether your an "ideas" designer or a "doing" designer. I'm not much of a craftsman - I couldn't have put this site together with my limited skill set. So I think of myself as an "ideas" designer, I get that kind of work. I am envious of their technical savvy but I neither like or dislike the work, I'm ambivalent because it doesn't really say anything new or interesting about Orange. Maybe it generates a lot of trafick? But does it generate business or shift brand perception or add brand value? I would suggest not because this style is everywhere and there's little visually that Orange can own. It's generic. Well put together but not thought through. It reminds me of good student work. Most college time spent learning the tools of the trade... little on developing ideas.

[gareth]

ps. sorry about the rotten spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc... Writing whilst holding wriggly 9 month old.

[Mike Reed]

I know the feeling, Gareth. Thanks for the interesting comments.

[Angus]

You don't sound old Mike, just pragmatic. And you're not alone in your sentiments.

[Anne]

I didn't get it either. I feel quite relieved that you've posted this. I think it's nice but pointless. It made me feel emotionally dead, like I should have been feeling waves of happiness but instead there was nothing.

[mave]

I hate that site. it's a total wank, and I agree - very unengaging. I don't know why people are so hyped on it.

[Mike Reed]

Oh, hurrah. I'm not alone. I knew it. I wasn't quite expecting comments like 'emotionally dead', but I know what you mean, Anne. And I'm glad to have provided relief.

[Gareth (a different one)]

I completely agree, first time I saw this I just felt - so what? It's the same shallow "viral" brand 2 point oh content pushed out by agencies worldwide looking to prove their relevance.

[omg]

It's not supposed to be wholly engaging and endless hours of entertainment. It's some really nice Flash work. You bloggers do nothing but complain these days. Get over yourselves.