Become a Honda fan

Our two Honda fan pages have just gone live on Facebook – Honda Cars UK and Honda Civic Type R.

The pages are a chance for Honda fans to see the latest news, chat with other fans and share photos and videos. We’re looking forward to lots of eager fans joining up and getting involved – so make sure you do too! Just visit the Honda cars UK page and the Civic Type R page to join.

Facebook Unlimited

The new Facebook entertainment channel, Unlimited, has just been launched. We worked closely with RDF media to create a platform for all the latest buzz news from hundreds of Facebook communities in one place.

Unlimited brings you the most talked about Facebook subjects, as well as exclusive interviews, features, competitions and polls. Fans can interact by sending in photos and videos of themselves doing things like reviewing gigs, or they can simply join in the chat. It’s all about sharing, so if you want to stay ahead of the game, check it out and become a fan!

Green Team are go!

We reckon we’re pretty green here at Collective Towers, however we want to be greener and we’re not talking about the colour of our skin after too many jars and a dodgy kebab. We’re taking our responsibility to the environment seriously and to facilitate this we have set up a green team. It’s a bunch of us Collectivites who are passionate about the environment and want to ensure that our company is doing all that it can to help it too.


We had our first meeting today and it was chock full of ideas on how we can improve stuff around the office, from double-sided printing to encouraging our suppliers to be more environmentally-friendly too. Watch this space to see how much greener we become.

Civic Type R MUGEN site is live

It’s been a big week for the new Honda Civic Type R MUGEN. The first production model was revealed at the Tokyo Motor Show, accompanied by our new site which we've loaded with video, images, specs and more.

MUGEN engineers have transformed the Honda Civic Type R. The new model is a pure-bred performance car, and just 20 are being made here in the UK. So it was up to us to showcase this exclusive car in all its glory. Come and see what we've done.

One Tequila, two Tequila, three Tequila, goal!

A few of us from Collective took clients for a grand day out yesterday. Off we went to Liverpool to watch the mighty reds take on Lyon at Anfield. Beer and wine was flowing, and before long our Greg was doing his best to teach the French supporters how to sing 'You’ll Never Walk Alone'.

The game ended at 1-1. But we weren’t ready to call it a night - oh no. Instead, we made a fascinating discovery: Flavoured Tequila. Much tastier that your average, run of the mill Tequila, and the variety of flavours meant we just had to try them all. Custard cream, Iron Bru, Cough Candy, Passion Fruit, Blackcurrant. And there wasn't a headache in sight this morning.*

Thanks to everyone who came along, it was a cracking day.

* A lie

IPA Social Evening Seminar

A few of us attended the IPA Social Evening Seminar on Tuesday. It was a chance to hear talks from industry experts and get involved in lively discussions about the principles of social media. Our developer Adam went along to the event and you can check out his blog to hear all about it.

BBC 1Xtra re-launch

The BBC 1Xtra site went live at the weekend, and we’re pleased to say that Collective helped make it happen. Check out the site for yourself to see the designs and enjoy the latest sounds in hip hop, R’n’B, garage, drum & bass and dancehall.

Table tennis champions (nearly!)

Last Wednesday the Collective table tennis team entered the Inter-Agency Table Tennis Tournament, to slug it out against the very best and worst of digital agency ping pong talent.

We're proud to say we made it to the final. But we're prouder to say that the event helped to raise money for Shift.ms, a charity that supports young people with MS.

It was as close as it could be at the end of the tournament with Collective vs. Steak Digital in the final. And in the words of team leader Omar "we were undefeated going into the final, but we just couldn't bring it home!!"

Photo credit: Thanks to Spotlight for the picture above.

Flash on the Beach blogs!

The Flash on the Beach conference last week brought together the most creative, technical, inspirational and entertaining industry leading speakers in the rich media world.

Nearly 50 of the world's most talented designers, developers, creatives, film makers and artists were presenting over the three day event. And our very own Marc Hibbins was there. Check out his blog and see what inspired him.

‘Let’s get excited about … Bug’

What’s not to love? Bug is a (kinda monthly) celebration of the latest quirky and quintessential pop promos and their directors. Hosted by the ever-charmingly-flummoxed Adam Buxton (of Adam & Joe fame). At My-Favourite-Place-To-Be-In-London, the National Film Theatre. (Surely the World Record for number of links in an opening paragraph is mine now.)

Last Friday’s shindig (Bug 15) showcased many, many gems which I hope Mr Buxton won’t mind me sharing here. My top three of the night:

‘Hibi No Neiro’ by Japanese post rock band Sour, directed by Masashi Kawamura, Hal Kirkland, Magico Nakamura and Masayoshi Nakamura, 2009. Webcam shenanigans that make you think ‘wow, someone took a lot of time and trouble setting all this up.” But mostly it just makes you smile.

‘I Will Be Here’ by Tiësto, directed by Muto Masashi, 2009. Everyone loves watching a man pretending to be a robot. Fact.

‘Here Comes Trouble’ by Ill Ease, directed by George Wu, 2009. It’s got strings, pulleys and wooden pegs in it. To say more would be to spoil it.

Finally, I can’t resist sneaking in this extra slice of oddball genius picked by Adam that had the room chuckling: ‘Wonderin’’ by the somewhat-slightly-dazed Neil Young and the Shocking Pinks (directed by the fab Tim Pope in 1983).

Bug 16 lands at the NFT on Nov 12 and 20 – highly recommend the trip (and pop to the bar after as there's usually DJs and the chance to chat to Adam too). Let me know what you think (unless you don't like it and want a refund - then I'm not so interested).

P.S. "Stephen!"