As worn by Marathon runner Mark Gurney. I love it: unexpected and for the real fanatics only.

I saw a brilliant example of embracing randomness as part of the creative process in an episode of Chugginton – the kids TV show about trains.

One of the trains, Frostini, makes icecreams and has to invent a new flavour for the Mayor. But he’s stuck in a creative rut: no matter what combinations he plugs into his icecream machine nothing works. He gets more and more exasperated as the deadline approaches. Oh no!

Frostini sends his helper Wilson out on an errand, because he’s too busy to go himself. Wilson gets attacked by monkeys and covered in fruit. Disaster! He tries to sneak back and clean up without getting in more trouble from Frostini. But the smell of the fruit that Wilson is covered in inspires Frostini to create a masterpiece for the Mayor. Just in time!

It takes Wilson to go somewhere new. But he was going to wash off the messy fruit. We needed Frostini to embrace the randomness and realise the fruit wasn’t a mess, it was a masterpiece.

The personal hand written messages feel unexpected – like the athletes themselves are speaking to you of their personal sacrifice and determination to make it count. It makes the inclusion of the twitter hash tag and the athletes @names so much more natural.

That’s the balance that these ads strike so well. Yes, it’s about the top athletes staring out in a moment of no pain no gain. But it’s not sealed off – there’s a thread if you want to take it and join in. Just tweet from here or include #makeitcount and you’re part of it.

The pledge is technique that green or social brands use a lot to try and create behaviour change. But they often have a layer of worthy around the action that gets in the way, feels too directional and detracts from the power of the pledge. Here Nike have used the pledge in such a open, bold, unworthy fashion. The result is you just want to get involved…

This year the gallery of old white men, who often look deep in thought only about where to hang their award, are rudely interrupted by The Protester. Anonymous. Full of purpose. Seeking change, not fame.

Shepherd ‘s image feels perfect too: a composite made from 26 images of protesters from around the world.

There’s probably going to be a point in the future when this happens, because there’ll be no more stuff to make stuff with. It happens for some businesses (Dodo burgers) sooner than others, but it’s probably going to happen to most at some point.

The weak brands fail at this point – they can’t exist without selling product. But the strong brands still work. Patagonia, for instance, works without GoreTex shells and Fleece midlayers. Take away the product and you still have something: a passion for enjoying the outdoors respectfully, a sustainable outlook on the world and the drive to change things. And those things can still be brought about without selling units. Patagonia high end guided holidays, outdoor skills workshops, or activism camps.

Some brands have already started: Nike+ helps you strive to be a better athlete without having to buy a pair of shoes.

Of course, this ‘thing without the thing’ is brand. And one of the oldest marketing clichés is “people don’t want to buy a drill, they want a hole in the wall” (Could Stanley or B&Q sell picture hanging service?) But material scarcity forces us to think about sustainable brand strategy in a different way.

What would your brand do in a de-materialised world?

I love the unexpected at play here. Meeting new people, hearing their stories and seeing where it goes. That feels like part of the magic of a good network – new perspectives inspire and motivate.

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do. – Apple Inc.

RIP Steve

I love a good manifesto. So simple, pure, powerful full of intent. A great way to define a brand.

This one for Holstee sums up a lot of things for me. It’s got a life of it’s own too – reblogged 100,001 times and printed into posters and cards.

Found this postcard in a design shop in Barcelona.

It reminds me of the quote by Oscar Wilde: “Sorry I wrote you such a long letter; I didn’t have time to write you a short one”.

That’s what design is in a way – thoughtful reduction, removing and refining. It takes time to do this, which is why simplicity has value.