Melbourne Remote Control Tourist

Have you ever wanted to really see a city before you visited?  That's the main idea behind the wonderful new Melbourne Remote Control Tourist campaign from Tourism Victoria.  As you may remember, a few months back I highlighted the San Pellegrino remote control robot that allowed internet users to control a robot in a small italian square for a few minutes at a time.  Now Tourism Victoria has taken the idea the the nth degree by enlisting a combination of technology and remote control tourists.  The campaign allowed internet users to control one of four people roaming around the city of Melbourne from October 9th to the 13th.  Outfitted with a combination of livestreaming cameras, GPS backpacks and handheld computers the tourists can be controlled by users on remotecontroltourist.com via Twitter & Facebook.  The remote control tourists can be told where to go, what to taste and what to experience.  It's a brilliant idea in allowing potential visitors to truly see and experience the city of Melbourne before they go.  In the first two days this modern evolution of the classic subservient chicken saw the remote-control tourists drink 21 cups of coffee, 71 high-fives, handshakes and hugs, 28 selfies, 2 karata lessons, one busking session while traveling a combined 50 kilometers.

The tourists were available throughout the day, with highlights from each day turned around in hours and uploaded to the website and YouTube.  Check out the intro video below as well as the Friday highlights.  I absolutely love the idea and while technically challenging, you can imagine the wide future and application this will have across the travel industry, particularly as wearable technology such as Google Glass becomes more pervasive.  The project was created by Clemenger BBDO, Exit Films & Jason Zada (the guy behind the Cannes winning 'Take This Lollipop.')




Posted by: Reuben Halper

Intel/Toshiba - The Power Inside

Last year I wrote about The Beauty Inside a campaign from Intel & Toshiba which went on to win both an Emmy as well as three Grand Prix's in Cannes (including Branded Content) this year.  Pereira & O'Dell are back with 'The Power Inside,' which is the third iteration of the social/interactive film series.  As in previous years, the film is directed and stars various Hollywood heavyweights.  The first episode launched August 15th with new episodes released weekly for the next month and a half.  The key aspect is the participatory nature of the film which allows viewers to be featured in the episodes through various mechanisms such as uploading photos of videos of themselves.

This year's iteration takes a more comedic approach (as opposed to the emotional and earnest 'The Beauty Inside' and the original horror-based 'Inside.').  The premise is that an alien race of extraterrestrial moustaches and unibrows are attempting to take over the upper lips and eyes of people around the world. The main character is Neil, who together with his friends and the help of technology discovers his inner strength to defeat the moustache and unibrow invaders called Uricks.  It's very much in the tone of Zombieland or Shaun Of The Dead.  Ridiculous? Yes, but also very well written, shot and produced.

In an interesting twist, AdWeek reports that Intel & Toshiba are selling product placement within the films to additional advertisers: 'Spotify, Skype, Fossil watches and Skullcandy headphones are all paying for placements with merchandise rather than cash. The merchandise will be given to winners in weekly contests tied to the series and as giveaways when U.S. consumers buy a Toshiba laptop computer promoted by the series.' 

I've never heard of such a thing being done before (at least in terms of branded content) but it's a clever way for a brand to leverage the previous success in order to offset the costs of the current campaign.  Check out the trailer and episodes in the playlist below.

Posted by: Reuben Halper

Little Caesar's Case Study - Barton F. Graf 9000

Newsjacking and real-time response seems to be the tactic du jour in digital marketing these days.  With that in mind, Barton F. Graf 9000 released this hilarious case study showing how Little Caesars took over the social media landscape and enlisted all of America to celebrate their new deep, deep dish pizza.  Good stuff.


Posted by: Reuben Halper

KLM - Must See Map

For the past couple years, KLM has been setting the bar in terms of how an airline should behave in the digital space.  Recently there was an excellent article about their approach to digital on Think With Google (article is here).  Almost every campaign includes a service design element where they attempt to enhance the user experience either before, during or after the journey.  The latest from KLM is a tool called Must See Map, which uses a custom Google maps implementation to allow travelers to create a personalised map for an upcoming trip.  That functionality alone can be done with the standard Google Maps functionality.  However, Must See Map allows users to invite Facebook & Twitter friends to suggest places to visit and directly add their suggestions to your map.

It's a really nice execution driven by the insight that travelers most often look to friends for suggestions of places to go and things to check out when planning a trip.  Those suggestions typically come in the form of e-mail or social networks posts, so KLM is eliminating the pain point of having all those suggestions in e-mail or list form by enabling your friends to input them directly.

My favorite part of this whole experience is how KLM is bridging the digital and physical worlds.  Once your map is complete, KLM will send you a hard copy of the map within three weeks.

Check out the explanation video below.  Anyone know the agency behind this?

UPDATE: This was created by the good people at Code D'Azur.

Mercedes Benz - #YOUDRIVE

Mercedes, AMV BBDO, & Stink have developed an innovative idea to help launch the new Mercedes Benz A-class.  On Saturday, October 6th viewers are invited to take part in #YOUDRIVE a campaign that's being billed as a social media first (at least in the UK).

Using Twitter, viewers will drive the action of a 3-part story that will be shown during the commercial breaks in the X Factor.  The spots center around a musician and a professional driver who are chased by 'the man' on the way to a secret gig.  In practice users are invited to choose what the characters should do next by voting on Twitter with the hashtag #YOUDRIVE.  Think of it as choose-your-own-adventure on a massive scale and brought into the television experience.  But wait...there's more!  The spots will also direct viewers to the lovely Mercedes Benz YOUDRIVE YouTube channel where they can view the ads as well as create their own story.  The final ad will also show the voting percentage /breakdown for each choice. 

This is quite an effort.  Obviously each of the possible decision paths had to be shot and readied for the voting outcome, but it actually pays of the much bandied about term of social TV viewing.  David George, marketing director of Mercedes-Benz UK, said the new A-Class vehicle represents a "new, younger, more dynamic' & that it's 'a modern Mercedes-Benz that encourages people to do what we know they enjoy – to get involved.'

What I find fascinating about this idea (and 'social TV' in general), is that the creative can't be separated from the media.  In other words, this idea, this execution only works if the media placement is spot on.  In order for this to be a success it needs to run against a TV program that is considering destination viewing, where liveness is important, and where the audience is passionate enough about the show that you can pretty much guarantee that they'll be around for the second spot and ultimately the following week for the third spot.  It's interesting to see how new creative ideas and formats (see the Coke Polar Bears during the Superbowl) emerge around premium programming where the 'liveness' guarantees a large and captive audience.

So check out the trailer below & if you're in the UK you can use this campaign as a good excuse for why you're actually watching X-Factor

Additional Articles: Brand Channel | Campaign

Intel & Toshiba - The Beauty Inside

Last year Intel & Toshiba brought us 'The Inside Experience,' a social film project that was billed as the first of it's kind.  While I wasn't personally a huge fan of The Inside Experience as it played out, respect to all involved for pushing the boundaries and blurring the lines between web series, short film and social media campaign.  It's an interesting and rapidly developing area, so I'm glad to see that Intel & Toshiba are back to present 'The Beauty Inside.'  Created and developed by  Pereira & O’Dell, B-Reel and director Drake Doremus, 'The Beauty Inside' is a film about Alex (Topher Grace), a guy who wakes up looking like a different person each day.  Interesting storyline, but what's innovative is how the film uses that premise as a way to include and facilitate audience participation.  As the folks over at B-Reel describe 'it is Hollywood’s first film that gives the audience a chance to play the lead role. Alex can be a young, beautiful redheaded women one day while an overweight man late into his 40s tomorrow. He chronicles his ever-changing appearance as webcam diaries on his Toshiba Ultrabook. While fun and intriguing at first, Alex quickly realizes his limitations as he falls for Leah (Mary Elizabeth Winstead).' 

Split into six episodes, 'The Beauty Inside' is a 30-minute social film that allows users to audition to play the role of Alex.  Users can choose from a list of script outlines that are based on the upcoming episodes and audition throughout the campaign by uploading a webcam video or photo of themselves.  It's a nice way to foster audience participation in a way that fits seamlessly into the story rather than a clunky social media bolt on.  Of course there is a social mechanic as getting friends to view, like and share your audition film increases your chances of being included in the film.  Check out the trailer below as well as the first episode.  The film (as much has been posted so far) can be seen at The Beauty Inside YouTube channel.

Tide Responds To Fake Onion Article

This is great.  The satirical newspaper The Onion (which everyone should read religiously if you don't already) recently ran a spoof column from a fictional Tide digital director entitled 'Hey, Everybody! This Cool New Tide Detergent Video Is Blowing Up All Over The Internet!'  In the column, the fictional Tide guy writes:

Hey, everybody, have you seen this awesome new web video from Tide detergent?
...it's got these cute, funny talking animals, a cool indie-rock song, and it's just so hilariously random. And it's got this amazing cameo by Bret Michaels, which is so funny because Bret Michaels is hilarious and from the '80s.
  But hey, I don't want to ruin it for you. Just take a minute to check it out for yourself at the Tide website or Facebook.com/Tide, or check out Tide's totally awesome YouTube channel, which is like a treasure trove of cool, popular videos that everyone loves. And honestly, do yourself a favor and just go to Tide's website and hang there for a while. It's a totally awesome place to go and play online games and meet other cool fans of Tide products.
...The other cool thing is, after watching this awesome vid, I honestly just want to go out and buy a lot of Tide. Obviously, I've always bought Tide anyway because it's the best detergent around, but this awesome new clip just makes me want to buy it more. But hey, I guess it should come as no surprise that a brand that makes such a quality detergent would also make a quality video. I mean, it's Tide.   They're the best. They always come up with great stuff like this. It's a hip, modern company that is totally in tune with today's Internet culture, so it makes sense they'd have such a cool online presence.


Read the whole fictional column here.  As always the Onion is spot on, but the best part is that Tide has responded to the fake column by creating a real video that mirrors all of the elements described in the column.  Very meta.

We constantly hear about brands being responsive and listening to their audience (or the Internets in general in this case).  It's great to see a brand doing more than just paying lip service to the idea.  Check out the response video from Tide below.  My favorite line is 'making viral videos with reputable brand partners...':
Additional Articles: Brand Channel

Puma Social - Live Life, Don't Watch It

Let me first say, I haven't a clue what Puma Social is...from what I can tell it's an amalgamation of their various social activity plus some ER stuff and an umbrella for their Lifestyle/Youth outreach.  But you know what, it doesn't really matter...what matters is the message they're putting out in the video below.

A Puma describes it in the video itself
'With the rapid rise of reality television, more and more people seem content to spend time watching life on television, instead of actually living one themselves. Elevating those who fight, backstab and cheat into celebrities and role models. Something has got to change. So for the latest PUMA Social release we are offering people a choice: do they want their nights to be spent staring at televised strangers, or do they want them to be more? A time when they live life, instead of just watching it. Where reality stars are replaced by teammates. The 90-second film juxtaposes a slew of reality television audio clips with visuals of life being played. It celebrates those who choose to ignore the banality of today's reality television climate, in favor of creating their own stories with friends and teammates. Furthermore, the film encourages those of us not out already, to get off the couch. Because in the end, life deserves to be played, and channel surfing is not a sport.'


AMEN.  Seriously, I couldn't agree more.  Our own friends and live are far more interesting than the vapid half-wits on reality shows.  That said, I'll vegetate for hours watching whatever HBO decides is worthy of airing, but that's not the point.  OK, that's the end of my rant.  Overall really nice work by Droga5 & a great way for Puma to send out a strong, inspiring message with a clear call to action.

via Nicola Young

Subaru - First Car Story

Anyone who drives remembers their first car.  Now Subaru and its creative agency, Carmichael Lynch, are tapping into the emotion and memories of loving (or hating) your first car in a new integrated campaign for the new 2012 Subaru Impreza.  The hub of the campaign is FirstCarStory.com features an amazing animation/video generator that allows users to recreate the story of their first car through bespoke animation, music, text and voiceover.  The site then generates a really cool custom animated short story, which of course are sharable via users social networks.

"Everyone loved their first car, no matter how bad, beat up, or borrowed. That first car became a new chapter in life or a ticket to freedom and first car stories are often the most memorable stories we have," said Alan Bethke, director, marketing communications, Subaru of America.  "The First Car Story campaign provides a creative outlet for reliving those unique, funny, unforgettable car experiences anyone who had a first car can relate to."

It's really worth playing with the site to get a full sense of what you can do.  I love the idea of turning phrases or words that the user types in the story as a way to trigger a library of animations (ie. typing in pulled over by the cops triggers an animation in the video with sirens and handcuffs.)  Another cool aspect is the ability to tag friends in the video, since many of our stories, memories, etc. from our first car include shared experiences with friends from yesteryear.  FirstCarStory.com really takes the idea of creating bespoke and personalized content for the user a step further.  All in all, just a great branded content tool to provide utility and entertainment to the user.

This really hits home for me, since I loved my first car, a beat up old, white '79 Buick Lesabre, so I took a stab at creating my own video, which you can see below.


Here's a story mashup that Subaru created to illustrate the tool.


Supporting Articles: Creativity