Oh my God, it’s fashion week again

Take a deep breath and prepare for a long and alcoholic week. Click the flyers, register and get free drinks til you drop. And goodie bags. Here is my list of selected Berlin fashionweek parties.

The first one is the classic one, be early, it will be packed.

DANDY DIARY – POOL PARTY, monday, July 1st, 10 pm, Köpenicker Str. 76
DandyDiary-fasionweek-summer13-openingparty

BRead&Butter Opening party, monday, July 1st, 6 pm, Tempelhof Flughafen, only with trade fair pass.
bread-butter-berlin-openingparty-fashionweek-summer-2013-party-flyer
Also check the other shows on site. They are quite good.

G Sessions at Voo Store, Tuesday, July 2nd, 9:30 pm Oranienstraße 24
G-SESSIONS

Patrick Mohr Human party with DJ Hell , Wednesday, July 3rd, 10 pm, Prince Charles, Prinzenstraße 85f
Patrick Mohr Show

Vice Elements, Thursday, July 4th, 11 pm, Prince Charles
vice-elements-fashionweek-berlin-summer-2013-party-flyer
with ao Renaissance Man, check this Renaissance Man mixtape, it’s strange, it’s good.

Adecco vs Blogger – part two

Short intro: The blogger Turner Barr accuses the global HRM firm Adecco of having used his idea, name and even personality for a campaign.

adecco blogger copy scandal 2

In my first post about the fight over “Around the world in 80 jobs” I mentioned I had both asked Turner Barr and Adecco for further clarifications. I had asked Turner since when he had been in contact with Adecco, what he wanted to achieve, what they had offered and what he considers being a good outcome of the story. After their first reply I had asked Adecco (again) how and in which kind of process they had developed the idea and also questioned the “corporate social responsibility” character of the campaign which looks more like a brand idea to me.

None of both answered me, but Turner published an article where he outlines his demands towards Adecco:
– apologize
– pay him the amount the agency got, which he calculates being 50 000 $
– pay 50 000 $ to a charity
– stop using the name and brand

That’s a bold statement for a negotiation. And he might be asking too much. Of course, this would be unacceptable by Adecco. They might apologize and they might pay an undisclosed amount to a charity but dropping the name and stopping the campaign and paying Turner on top would be, realistically, way too far. If it comes to a legal conflict, Adecco has better chances given the fact that they have a running registered trade mark application. The only One thing Turner can do is register a Trademark as well, but focused on another sector, e.g. media, marketing and publishing. Here, he could beat Adecco since they registered applied for human ressources services and it would be up to a court to decide if they play in the same field and which that is. Referring to the deleted part, see the first comment, about Trademark law and possible outcomes of a conflict. My knowledge apparently was a bit superficial.

However, there is another risk for Turner which is far more dangerous.

He could risk to lose his community by being too greedy. Apart from the demands towards Adecco ,he also started a fundraising project to “keep Around The World in 80 Days alive”. While I agree with Turner that Adecco has copied his idea and should do something about it, I think he is going a bit too far here. He should use the story to gain popularity and interest and it’s perfectly ok to ask for an apology and for a payment to a charity. That would easily be backed by the community which has been following the case so far. This community and the reputation risk for Adecco is the only leverage he really has (apart from the more than uncertain legal situation) and should not risk that with wanting too much at once.

The ball is in Adecco’s court. If they come up with a smart solution and offer, they can win back some sympathy. But they need to offer something. If both, Adecco and Turner, are smart now, they listen to the many voices who evaluate the case and find a way for both to profit.

Update: Adecco just posted that they have come to an agreement with Turner and so did he.

Update 2
This is how it was settled: Adecco apparently accepted Turners demands, stopped using the brand and paid their dues. I am impressed, I did actually not expect such an ending. But I am very happy and pleased, not only for Turner but for any small creative entrepreneur and also for online activism in general. Together, people can have a very strong voice.

Sirius Mo & MC Ramon: Itchy / Cornerboy

Sirius Mo MC Ramon Itchy Cornerboy

This is one of the best music videos so far this year and one of the coolest ever, so it needs to be on Stylewalker.net. Being a huge Sirius Mo fan myself, I was happy to know he is releasing a new album on Monkeytown. This is his first signal and it’s a perfect fit.

We see Roman Geike aka MC Ramon aka Romano as a starring character, playing: himself. Roman is an entertainer by heart, be it as a rapping “cornerboy” or be it as German chansonnier (“Schlagerstar”) as you see in this video – he always takes it very seriously. This enthusiasm is infecting. In the video Ramon is walking the streets of Berlin, dancing in a washing saloon and visiting people in their gardens: everybody falls for his charme.

The video is also about Moritz’ aka Sirius Mo’s home, Berlin-Friedrichshagen (I think!), close to the lake Müggelsee. It’s a great contrast, the home turf and the rapper who used to be a Schlagerstar and the fusion electronic music which can easily appeal to anybody who is into grooves and melodies.

Enjoy “Itchy / Cornerboy”:

About Adecco and a blogger’s idea

This is a story of either a bold theft of creativity or a big big coincidence. It is a story of a blogger and a multi million dollar company, a story of an idea and its name, a dream and a campaign. Read the full thing.

adecco blogger copy scandal

Adecco is the “world’s leading provider in HR solutions” and currently running a competition called “Around the world in 80 jobs” as part of the initiative “Adecco way to work

The problem is: “Around the world in 80 jobs” is also the name of a website by blogger Turner Barr from Washington. He is actually doing what the title depicts: Travelling the world and working in different jobs and blogging about it. Turner has been doing this since 2011. Adecco registered applied for the trademark in April 2013.

Barr is upset: “Recently, I was both astonished and demoralized to find that my entire brand, image and web personality was swiped for use in a marketing campaign … without ever being asked for permission or acknowledged. The video for their marketing campaign was particularly creepy for me, as even my age and personality didn’t escape the level of detail spent on creating this doppelganger”

Right now, the story is trending online, from Twitter to Reddit and Adecco’s Facebook wall is full of idignant accusations.

Bildschirmfoto 2013-06-21 um 18.43.24

I mailed Adecco’s German press office to get a statement, explicitly asking if they were knowingly using somebody else’s idea. Here is the answer (in English, find the German original at the bottom of the article):

“‘Around the World in 80 Jobs’ is just the name of a competition as part of our initiative. With ‘Adecco Way to Work’ we want to give young people perspectives and inspiration, especially considering the difficult situation in Southern Europe. We are aware that there is a conflict in the use of the name ‘Around the world in 80 jobs’. We are trying to find a solution. Today we do not see the necessity to take legal steps against Mr Barr. We did communicate to him that he may use the name in the US and beyond. The initiative is about the perspective of young people, not about the name.”

This answer left me puzzled. It did not help to clear the accusations. If it was about the “perspective for young people”, not about the name, why would they register a trademark? And if they registered, why would they not decide to take it away from Turner Barr? Why would they not answer the question if they copied the idea or why it would look so similar? And how is this initiative helping young unemployed people?!

It does not create jobs. It does not create perspectives. The information about finding a job on the website are the same you can find anywhere else. The free coaching sessions can be found in one Southern European country, Italy, at least. Not in Spain. Not in Greece. Not in Portugal. The link to the Chilean offer leads to a pure informational website.

I adressed these questions in my reply to Adecco. I also asked Turner Barr for a statement. I’ll post an update as soon as I have answers.

According to the blog of the the agency Simplyzesty, the agency Mortierbrigade is behind the execution. It would be easy for Adecco to blame the agency and claim they had no idea about the original blog. But that would be too easy.

Here is my personal opinion: I don’t think everybody involved knew it was a copy. But some did. Which is why they registered the trademark to be safe themselves.

As a blogger I would feel the same as Turner, abused and then ignored by a very big company. As a marketer and agency creative, I feel ashamed. Do we not do our job because we like to develop ideas and come up with new exciting stories? To innovate?

Everybody is still waiting for an official statement and offer by Adecco. I am curious how this story unfolds. Especially since I suspect Adecco had planned to release some great videos showing the winners of the competition working in exciting jobs.

The original German statement by Adecco’s German press office:

“Die CSR-Initiative, die seit April läuft, heisst „Adecco Way to Work“. „Around the World in 80 Jobs” ist lediglich der Name eines Wettbewerbs innerhalb unserer Initiative. Mit „Adecco Way to Work“ beabsichtigen wir jungen Menschen Perspektive und Inspiration für den Arbeitmarkt zu vermitteln, besonders angesichts der sehr schwierigen Situation in Südeuropa. Wir möchten junge Menschen motivieren, über die Grenzen hinauszuschauen. Wir sind überzeugt, dass jede Initiative, die jungen Menschen eine Perspektive geben kann, in dieser schwierigen Situation eine kleine Hilfe sein kann.
Wir sind uns Bewusst, dass es einen Konflikt über die Verwendung des Namens „Around the World in 80 Jobs“ gibt. Wir bemühen auch weiterhin um eine Lösung. Aus heutiger Sicht sehen wir keine Notwendigkeit, rechtlichen Schritte gegen Herrn Barr einzuleiten. Wir haben ihm kommuniziert, dass er den Namen „Around the World in 80 Jobs“ auch über die USA hinaus verwenden kann. Uns geht es in dieser Initiative um die Perspektive für die jungen Menschen und nicht um den Namen.”

Stylewalker’s Sunny Summer Mix

Featured

summer mix cover-3

I used to play a lot of fluffy house music back in the days. And I still have a heart for warm, groovy and sunny 4-to-the-floor tunes. So here are 60 minutes of easy get away which would fit well on a rooftop in Barcelona, a bar in Thessaloniki or a ship in the Adria.

It would also fit well for a sunny weekend to listen during the daytime. Make a coffee, open the windows, get a book and relax in the sun. Which is what I am going to do right now.

Includes music by Sirius Mo, Oliver$, Bonobo, Cosmin TRG, Mathias Kaden, Martyn, Cut Copy, Sbtrkt, Rooflight, Martin Buttrich, Justin Martin, Veitengruber ao.

Schwarz Don’t Crack

schwarzdontcrack

I saw them yesterday at a shop opening which is not really the greatest environment for a band to perform. Yet, they did very well, filled the room with atmosphere and played a really good performance. “Schwarz Don’t Crack” is the name and the band consists of Sebastian Kreis and Ahmad Larnes. Ahmad’s singing is definitely a trade mark, with his deep expression and variety of details and mixes well with the electronic RnB sound floor which Sebastian creates underneath. Very slow disco beats and lots of pop samples create a style which sounds familiar yet unique. They are about to release an album on B pitch records and Melt booking already have them in their roster. So the future is bright for this likeable odd couple, watch them grow.

Hear for yourself, here’s their first track:

Find more on their Soundcloud.

I especially like the “Miami” video. It reminds me of the clips I tried to produce with my friends when I was fourteen.

Here is a good interview which tells their story.

(Photocredit: Vitali v. Gelwich)