By Sarah Beatty twitter @SarahBT86

Late last week, we paid a visit to The Icecreamists, a heavy metal ice cream shop made infamous by its baby gaga breast milk ice cream. And no, we didn’t fancy trying it!

The shop itself is located in Covent Garden on Maiden Lane; an ironically innocent name given its interior looks like a cross between a glam rock brothel and a sinister upmarket nightclub. Basically, it looks pretty damn cool.

The ice-cream, or ‘vice cream’ as it is known within the Icecreamists walls, was something very special. We went for Pricilla, Cream of the Desert (an amazing mix of Baileys, white chocolate and Horlicks – YUM) and The Custardy Suite, made from real Italian custard.

As it’s open till 12, we sauntered down at half 10 at night, which gave visiting The Icecreamists an even naughtier feel. With its decadent décor, the uniform of the staff, and the huge size of the ice creams, it feels worth the extortionate prices they’re charging (5.95 for two scoops!)

Where they’ve really succeeded is in creating a place that is not just about ice cream but about experience, and what an experience it was! With a perfect location in the heart of Covent Garden, they’re in the perfect place to pick up trade from tourists and local lovers alike looking for the kind of place to tell their friends about.

We’ll definitely be going back after payday!

by Ruby Harrison Twitter @IHeartWords1

As a youngster, I beat every lanky girl in Bristol at the 100m, 200m, and 400m sprint. I had spiked running shoes, and knew how to leap off the start line like there was a hot pizza waiting for me at the other end. As stupid as it sounds, for those 12something seconds when I legged it down the track, I was an Olympic athlete. Fast forward 6 years later, and when I run for the bus I feel like an aging lady in need of an iron lung. Not good.

When the lovely grads decided Pulse should do something great for charity I was all for it. When they suggested the half marathon I was quite alarmed but, trying hard to believe in that old and annoying idiom, ‘there’s no such thing as can’t,’ I went along with it. Today, we go to get our feet tested on a treadmill at Runnersneed (www.runnersneed.co.uk) and find the perfect trainer to accompany our street pounding selves.

Each day until the dreaded September 25th is accounted for with training or rest days (printed out and annotated…the only half measure here is the marathon itself). We have considered protein shakes, sports bras, health checks and just how awesome the shoes ‘we could have bought with the money we could have saved’ are…

Answer? Pretty awesome. Oh well.

So, 6 months, 26 weeks or 182 days. Whichever way you look at it, it’s going to be an uphill jog. For the humour of the office, and the motivation of ourselves, we’ll be posting regular updates of our progress along with probably horrific photos, so come back to check up on how we’re doing and give us your support, or just laugh. Finally…sponsorship forms to follow. Be generous, as we may not survive the race and nobody likes to end on a bad note. Plus, it’s for charity. Wish us luck!

By Ruby Harrison Twitter @IHeartWords1

A truly great ebay wetsuit

Here at Pulse we’re not only about making great things happen. It gives us a good buzz to see great things happen too.

Enter a random guy from Truro, obviously blessed with the gift of the gab, who decided on Friday to put up his old wetsuit on Ebay and get a few quid towards a new one. With such gems as,

‘It’s still a great warm suit that will make you surf at least 200% better. It won’t really but it will keep you warm and it’s flexible so you’ll be able to throw your arms around like Beyonce,’

People obviously felt his love for the old suit. The response he got was astonishing.

Once the bidding had reached £400 (more than he paid for it brand new!) the nice guy decided to donate 95% of what it sold to the Japan earthquake appeal.  Once the wetsuit company heard about it, so pleased were they with the brilliant free advertising they were getting, they decided to donate a free, brand new suit to the winning bidder.

Three days on and the bid now stands at a massive £9,300.  More than 20 surf companies have donated things from surf boards to roof racks. The seller has received over 2,000 questions about the wetsuit, and the price is still going up.

Check the famous suit out here http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/XCEL-3-2mm-Infiniti-Drylock-Summer-Wetsuit-Medium-USED-/160559216667

It just shows what great things you can achieve with the power of words and a lot of enthusiasm!

By Ruby Harrison twitter @IHeartWords1

D&AD Sharp'ner at Vibe bar, Brick Lane

The crowd - and someone with very shiny hair

The theme was: ‘What makes a good idea?’  Andy Cameron said ‘You’re doing things right when people copy you.’  Take W&K’s ‘Old Spice’ campaign, copied by the muppets:

He said ‘integration is everything’.  Digital activation is not enough.  Take the “Old Spice’ twitter replies:

And another great example – ACCESS – an interactive art installation by Marie Sester:

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Adrian Burton from Lambie Nairn design agency said that ‘There are 5 things that make a great idea’:

1.)      Insight

Take the branding for O2 – owning a global thing like oxygen and symbolising it in their bubbles.

2.)      Originality

Take the BBC2 robot (that I liked when I was a wee kid)

3.)      Impact (it’s got to deliver the goods)

4.)      Empathy

“People will forget what you did…but they will never forget how you made them feel.”

5.) Objectivity

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Next up was Paul Davis, illustrator.

http://www.copyrightdavis.com/

Check out his v. cool website. There was an illustration of an account handler telling a creative what to do, I’m dying to find it- if anyone knows the one I mean, please post it on here.

Paul Davis presenting at D&AD Sharp'ner

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And finally, Andy Whitlock, a strategist from Poke, who spoke about taking an idea or concept that you know works, and channeling it into a new idea.  It doesn’t necessarily need to be radical, just interesting.  For example:

Andy Whitlock, from Poke London, presents

1. Ikea taggers

2. Google street view – Winter Olympics

3. Queensland Tourism- The best job in the world

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/4384730/Best-job-in-the-world-promotion-spawns-copycat-campaigns.html

4. Go to places in London based on your mood

http://www.ifeellondon.com/

5. Fallon – My Collection

http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/yourcollection/

6.  Pokes local ‘bakery tweet’

http://www.bakertweet.com/

7.  Glastonbury most tagged photo

http://glastonbury.orange.co.uk/glastotag/

8. Wants for sale

http://www.wantsforsale.com/wants.html

9. Tom’s shoes

http://www.tomsshoes.co.uk/

10. Red Bull – Wake boarding in Saint Marc’s square

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And so a lovely time was had by all. Thanks Pulse for paying for us to go and thanks Mike and Jon for organising it.

by Sarah Beatty twitter @SarahBT86