Due to scheduling conflicts President Obama could not come to see us on his recent trip to Beijing. However, we could see his presence by simply glancing out the window. Or perhaps more accurately, we could see Beijing’s Weather Modification Office in action for his visit.

A quick look at the Air Quality Index (AQI) as measured by a clandestine sensor on the US embassy in Beijing over the five days pre and post his visit shows a revealing picture. From readings in the “Unhealthy” range, the air quality magically dropped to “Good” while His Obamaoness was in town, and then proceeded to go back up to “Hazardous” levels.

Mere correlation or causation? You decide.

In a few hours the venue of the 2016 Olympic Games will be announced at the IOC session in Copenhagen. The candidates: Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.

At the centre of all the hectic bidding and presidential maneuvering are 4 predictably multicoloured logos with uniformly cheesy slogans about unity and friendship. And vision statements that wax eloquent about “the people’s games” and “celebrating diversity”. Swap the logos and bid books around and you’d be hard pressed to tell one candidate from another.

There’s hope yet… history shows it’s unlikely the final logo for the Games will be the same as that for the bid. Although it’s safe to assume nobody will make the kind of change London did after it won the 2012 bid, and risk the consequences.

We’ve been going down to Vietnam quite a bit lately and it hasn’t been just for the phở and 333s. After a year-long collaboration, we’re proud to unveil the re-energized SSI brand which launched on, when else, 09.09.09.

The comprehensive branding program included research, strategy development, design, training, and implementation efforts that have transformed how SSI presents itself to its customers and the world. It is not often that companies have the vision and commitment to embrace a comprehensive brand change, one that is not merely cosmetic but goes to the very heart of the business. We couldn’t have asked for a better client in this exciting market.

Check out some eye-candy of the Mekong-inspired identity below and get the full story in the press release.

It certainly feels like we’re celebrating a lot of revolutions around the world these days. From old ones like Bastille Day, to new ones like Iran, something is in the air. So we looked at the independence days of 250 countries and territories around the world to see whether there is some kind of pattern going on.

Turns out that July is indeed the month for revolutions. From Burundi, which won its independence from Belgium on the first of the month, to Vanuatu that kicked out the Brits and the French on the thirtieth, twice as many places set out on their own during this month than would be expected. That’s 38 countries in July versus a yearly average of 21 per month.

Could it be the weather? Are people emulating the biggies like Bastille Day? Has Will Smith inspired them? Or do people simply have more time on their hands to cause trouble during the (northern) summer? We’re not quite sure what is going on, but July was the month that we resigned and declared our independence too.

Lists are fun, and the new Fortune 500 list of the world’s largest companies released last week is no exception. For the first time in the 54-year history of the ranking a Chinese company has broken into the elite group of top ten global companies. Propelled by China’s relative isolation from the global financial crisis, Sinopec rose from #16 to #9.

US$210 billion in revenues is nice. 640,000 employees is cool. But for the love of Mao, can someone please tell them to do something about that atrocious logo? Officially called the rising sun, it has been the one major Chinese corporate identity that’s always baffled us.

The rivery “S” reminiscent of an oil spill. The weird, inexplicable raised “IN”. The industrial “OPEC” that makes you want to grab a wrench and unscrew it. Polite designers call it “dated.” Less polite ones ask “why is the man on the left urinating crude oil.” But everyone agrees it lacks and idea or personality. Certainly anything that conveys the official lines of “a commitment to supply environmental-friendly petrochemical products” or “an endeavor to become a multinational energy and chemical company with strong international competitiveness.”

Sinopec, and China, deserve better.

It is no secret that we at Shift. love Legos.

However grown men putting together fire engines inevitably attract some strange looks. But fear not, now there is a good excuse for anyone to buy Legos again regardless of age.

The new Architecture series released last week includes models of five iconic American buildings such as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim museum. We’d rather see the other Frank’s version attempted in Lego, but it’s a good start.

As our G-20 masters hobnobbed across Europe last week they issued communiques with some staggeringly large numbers.

As humans we can understand quantities of ten by looking at our hands. We can understand quantities of a hundred when we cram ourselves into a budget airline. We can even understand thousands when we go to the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens.

But millions, billions, and trillions? They are just so far removed from our everyday experiences that they are nearly impossible to comprehend.

What does 1.1 trillion (that’s 1,100,000,000,000) really mean?

Fortunately Ray and Charles Eames have come to our rescue.

Their remarkable 1977 film puts things in perspective. Try and guess the scale of a trillion (10^12) before you start watching.

Chinese New Year is a time for, among other things, paying respects to one’s elders. We were delighted to see the newly launched W+K Radio follow this tradition and air a wonderful little interview with David Kennedy, the grand daddy of Wieden+Kennedy.

Those of you blessed with an attention span and a remote interest in advertising history should definitely check it out. There’s nothing quite like listening to war stories straight from the source, and Mr. Kennedy doesn’t disappoint.

Segment one teaches us about the joys of timber, the value of scotch, and how to resign from your boring, stuffy, big-agency job.

Segment two offers lessons on how to win back clients, the services of stylists, and how trying to save your ass can transform youth culture.

Background viewing is here, here, and most definitely here.