YouTube - The Missing Person Pre-Roll

Throughout my childhood, missing persons were prominently featured on the side of milk cartons (if you're not familiar with this phenomenon, Slate has a good background article here).  It's only natural that the hunt for missing persons should be updated for the digital age, specifically YouTube.  For missing persons week the Australian Federal police and VML Australia developed a Missing Persons pre-roll ad.  The ads featured missing persons in Australia and were geo-targeted to focus on the specific location that each person was last seen.  Additionally, they modified the typical 'skip' button to allow the user to select 'Yes I have' or 'No I haven't' seen this person.

While no missing persons were found, it's a wonderful idea particularly when it comes to finding missing children as YouTube is the perfect media platform when trying to reach the younger demographic (who spend a tremendous amount of time on YouTube).  If I'm honest, the modification of the 'skip' button seems gratuitous as you could simply include a call to action to click on the video if you've seen the missing person.  In any case it's a smart use of media and something I hope will be used more widely.  Check out the case study video below.

Posted by: Reuben Halper

Google - Hangout Comedy Club

Google has partnered with UK charity, Comic Relief, to bring viewers around the world closer to the famed Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  Every year hundreds of musicians and comedians flock to Edinburgh for a chance at their big break, while thousands of fans come to see their favorite acts or the next big thing.  Gigs take place in small venues across the city during the festival, but now a selection of those acts are breaking the digital fourth wall through via the Hangout Comedy Club.  As the official Google blog post describes:

To be part of the Hangout Comedy Club, simply join a Google+ Hangout hosted by one of our famous comedians, including Katherine Ryan, Sanderson Jones and Joey Page. Just like a real comedy club, if you’re brave enough, you can join the front row with up to eight others. If you’d rather sit out of sight, join a Hangout, add your friends, and watch from the safety of the back row.

As in real-life, participants in the front row can heckle the comedians or (and perhaps more likely) become the object of the ridicule from whomever is on stage. [brief aside: is it harder for the comedians to make fun of people when they can't see their whole outfit or make fun of their date?]

Those people in the back row will have the opportunity to use the 'Laugh-O-Meter' which uses face tracking technology to measure how much you're smiling or laughing throughout the set.  Based on the laugh-o-meter score, it will then suggest a donation amount (higher if you laughed heartily) with all proceeds going to the Comic Relief charity.

It's another wonderful example of using technology to bridge the gap between the real and digital worlds.  Check out the intro video below or head on over to Hangout Comedy Club to see the schedule of upcoming events.


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

Toyota - Meals Per Hour

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, Toyota teamed up with the with Food Bank For New York City to assist those families still affected by the storm.  In addition to providing financial support, they also brought expertise in terms of operational efficiency and engineering.  They recently released a video documenting their efforts, called 'Meals Per Hour.'  For example, Toyota brought in experts around the 'The Toyota Production System (TPS),' which is based on the principle that 'the summation of many, many small, cheap improvements can have a big impact.'  They dramatically increased the efficiency of the local food bank by implementing the TPS system to help distribute meals.  As one of the Toyota employees says: 'These basic principles of the Toyota Production System apply to any kind of process — it doesn’t have to be manufacturing.'

While the video is an inspiring piece of content, it might not have had a great deal of viewership without an additional twist.  Upon the release of the video, Toyota pledged to provide one meal for every view of the video (up to one million views).  This is a great example of marketing for a good cause.  Additionally, it's a great way to both drive viewership of the video and further anchor Toyota's commitment to CSR initiatives in the mind of the viewers.  Check out the video below or head on over to Meals Per Hour to find out more about the project.


AdWeek has some stats around the media generated by the project.


Posted by: Reuben Halper

Dove - Camera Shy

Off the back of the tremendous success of the Real Beauty Sketches, Dove has released the latest ad in their quest to reduce the self-esteem issues that women face.  The latest film, Camera Shy, was created by Ogilvy & Mather London asks the question; When did you stop thinking you were beautiful?  The film, which won Gold at Cannes, shows shows footage of  women of all ages desperately trying to hide from the camera, before ending with shots of pre-schoolers confidently parading and performing for the camera.  It ends with the line 'Be Your Beautiful Self.'
The film is growing in popularity, with nearly 17 million views to date, though that is a far cry from the nearly 150 million views that the Real Beauty Sketches video racked up.  I find the insight behind this video more compelling than Dove Real Beauty Sketches insight 'You are more beautiful than you think.'  Scientifically speaking that statement may actually be false.  This article from Scientific American sums it up quite nicely 'The evidence from psychological research suggests instead that we tend to think of our appearance in ways that are more flattering than are warranted. This seems to be part of a broader human tendency to see ourselves through rose colored glasses. Most of us think that we are better than we actually are — not just physically, but in every way.'

The article goes on to describe a series of studies in which 'researchers took pictures of study participants and, using a computerized procedure, produced more attractive and less attractive versions of those pictures. Participants were told that they would be presented with a series of images including their original picture and images modified from that picture. They were then asked to identify the unmodified picture. They tended to select an attractively enhanced one.'

Regardless they're both wonderful pieces of work that hopefully serve to help women to feel better about their self-image.




Posted by: Reuben Halper

Other Things I Like But Don't Have Time To Write Up - Old Spice, Tap King, Samsung & Heineken

Old Spice - Architect
I love the recent work for Old Spice from W+K that brings back 80s type jingles.  Check out the latest video, 'Architect.'


Tap King - Lionel Richie Beer Fridge
Lionel Richie + Beer makes for a winning ad.


Samsung - All Eyes On The S4
A great stunt to demonstrate a killer feature of the Samsung S4, namely that it knows when you're looking at the screen.


Heineken - Departure Roulette
In order to promote the new Heineken 'Dropped' episodic adventure series on YouTube, Heineken challenged travelers in JFK to drop their travel plans and play departure roulette where Heineken would send them to a random destination.



Posted by: Reuben Halper

Barclaycard - #BespokeBallads

UK financial provider, Barclays is getting into the offers arena and has launched a new service called Barclays Bespoke Offers for their existing account holders.  As you may have guessed their point of differentation is that the offers from both national and local merchants are bespoke for each individual.

In order to promote this new service Barclays (and their agency, Dare) have created Barclays bespoke ballads.  They've enlisted several teams of comedians and songwriters to turn people's tweet stream into songs.  Here's how it works...a user submits a tweet to #bespokeballads, the songwriters/comedians then comb through their Twitter feed and create a bespoke song based off their Twitter activity.  That video is then uploaded to the Barclays Bespoke Offers YouTube channel  Check out the intro video below.
If you want to see these in action, you can see below the #bespokeballads created for my colleague, Nathan Guerra.

As in most things, the execution is everything.  In this case, the execution is really well done.  It's another great example of providing a personalized digital artifact back to users who have taken the time to engage with the brand.  On the other hand, the personalized videos are relatively meaningless unless you know the person being serenaded, which is why it also makes sense to include influencers, celebrities or people who have a large following on Twitter.



Posted by: Reuben Halper

How To...Anything At All

My colleague, Dr. Joe Adam Fry, has kindly volunteered to write a guest post for 5 Cool Things, highlighting a little prototype that our team has been working on.  Take it away Joe...

So the idea was that as we work with YouTube content and Google Search data every day, we know that there is a how-to video for pretty much EVERYTHING in the world. 

So, how would you go about learning everything? Well, head over to How To Something and start learning all the things!

The world’s biggest and longest tutorial loads a random how-to video which you can either watch, share or skip if you already know how to do that particular thing. The results are generated from a randomized list of 600 verbs which is then contextualized by returning the top query phrases around that particular verb (using the suggest API).  So you too can learn, in one continuous STREAM OF AWESOME, how to marry a millionaire, how to skin a squirrel, or how to sneeze on command and much more.

The result? Serendipitous learning at its best.

Topshop/Google+ - The Future Of The Fashion Show

Lately there's been a trend in terms of fashions shows bringing the audience closer to both the catwalk and behind the scenes of the show (see the recent interactive Adidas Fashion Show).  Now Topshop has teamed up with Google+ to launch what it's calling 'The Future Of The Fashion Show.'  The show itself takes place at the Tate Modern, but a host of tech will make the experience incredibly rich for the audience online.  The desire is to give viewers the ability to see the show from every point of view including the makeup artist the audience in the front row and even a first person view from the models as they walk down the runway (using micro HD cameras).  As the Telegraph writes:

Google+ will offer its users exclusive digital diaries by four of Topshop's famous model faces - Cara Delevingne, Jourdan Dunn, Rosie Tapner and Ashleigh Good - in their 'Road to the runway' series which will track each of the models from their first fittings for the show to the moment they hit the catwalk.

Via YouTube, Topshop will broadcast not only the live show but a 'red carpet hangout', allowing viewers to join in the hustle and bustle of the celebrity arrivals at the show, and using Google's 3D streetmap technology you'll be able to explore the show's exciting venue, The Tanks at Tate Modern.

Other aspects include a 'Be The Buyer' app which will allow fans to create their own mood boards from the pieces on the runway, as well as video advice from International buyers and Topshop's in-house team offering tips to aspiring young buyers or fashion enthusiasts. An animated Google+ photo booth has also been installed in the brand's flagship Oxford Street store allowing fans to upload their looks to an interactive digital window immediately.

Check out the video below that demonstrates how it all comes together & tune in on Sunday, February 17th at 3PM (GMT).

SodaStream Responds To Their Ad Being Banned In The UK

This ad from Sodastream, home carbonation system that lets you make your own soda, was banned in the UK because it 'denigrated the bottled drinks market.'  Ridiculous.  In response, SodaStream launched a protest TV ad showing a black screen and inviting the users to watch the original/banned ad on YouTube.  The banned 'Sodastream Effect' ad has gone on to garner a ton of views and attention in the press.

Sodastream have also decided to run the 'Set The Bubbles free' ad during the Superbowl.  This just shows that YouTube can give a voice to the disenfranchised, whether they be brands or individuals.  Another interesting tidbit is that the agency responsible for the ad is Common, which is headed by Alex Bogusky who left cp+b two years ago to become a consumer advocate and has previously gone after the soda manufacturers through campaigns such as the real bears.

See below for the censored version of the ad that Sodastream ran on TV as well as the banned ad that lives on YouTube.  It's a great piece of creative and generally just a great way to turn lemons into lemonade (to use a tired ass cliche).

The replacement spot that ran on TV



The Banned Ad

Two Nice Uses Of UGC From Brands - AT&T and EE

EE is the name the recently launched 4G brand from the owner of Orange and T-Mobile.  They & their agency, Poke, have leveraged the huge UK viral hit Fenton (JESUS CHRIST IN RICHMOND PARK) as part of their comms around the speed of their 4G network.  They've taken the original video and 'Remastered it' in epic form.  Users can switch between the original video and the “Fenton 4GEE Remaster” on the EE YouTube channel.  The premise is that everything on YouTube looks amazing on the EE 4G network.  The video will also be featured in the EE retail stores and feature heavily across all of the 4GEE digital activity.  Whether the remastered version actually demonstrates the speed of their network is up to you to decide, but it's a clever way to leverage the success of the UK phenomenon that was Fenton.


AT&T (another telecom company in the US) is also using UGC to promote their 4G network.  In this case, AT&T (and their agency, BBDO NY) took a piece of user generated content that had been making the rounds on YouTube called 'Hello' and used it as the premise for their latest TV commercial.    In the original video was from a high school football scrimmage and showed a player doing a flip over a defender.  As the video description says:

'Hello" demonstrates an amazing moment being shared across the country on the nation's largest 4G network, AT&T. It starts as an amazing football play seen by a few people. But once posted, it becomes a moment the entire country can enjoy, and something that builds to an introduction our hero will never forget.'
Personally I find this a much more believable use of UGC in a branded context as it naturally reflects the way that people view, share and discover new content while also positioning AT&T in the middle as the facilitator/service provider through their 4G network.

Sony - DSLR Clueless

'All the gear and no idea' is the rallying cry for this campaign from Sony for their NEX range of cameras.  Over the past couple years the sales of pocket cameras basically dropped off a cliff due to the rise of smartphones.  The corresponding decrease in price of DSLR cameras has meant all sort of people buying super high quality cameras, even if they have no need and no idea how to use it.  That's why I love this campaign, which was developed by Havas Sydney.  It's based off simple truth that most people with DSLR cameras have absolutely no idea what the hell they're doing.  They've produced eight different spots, each centered around a different type of DSLR idiot.  It's a great way to promote their range of NEX cameras that have the same sensor size and take the same quality pictures as the DSLR.  A nice touch at the end is the call to action for viewers: 'Remind you of someone? Share it with them.'

Check out the spots below or head over to the Sony DLSR - Gear, No Idea YouTube channel.
Additional Articles: Inspiration Room |

Juicy Couture - California Dreaming

We talk often talk about the various content triggers that get people to watch, view, share, participate, etc.  This Juicy Couture video, directed by Terry Richardson and featuring supermodel Candace Swanepoel hits a number of content triggers.  That alone would be enough to guarantee substantial views.  What makes this particularly interesting is how they've used annotations throughout to make every single frame of the video shoppable.  Click the annotations at any point and users are taken directly off to the purchase page for that particular item.  Really simple and clean, no crazy microsite or custom experience, just good content and an easy way to buy.

hat tip: Digital Examples

Movember - David's Big Problem

A bunch of us around the office raised a nice chunk of change for Movember (BTW - it's not too late to donate to the Google UK team or me directly).  I was shocked to look at the Movember.com leaderboards and see that Canada is crushing the rest of the world in terms of money raised. I suppose it should be no surprise that the best creative (IMHO) supporting November comes from the Canadian arm of creative agency, TAXI.  Check it out below...so good.
via Leon Bayliss

Water Is Life - #FirstWorldProblems

Water Is Life is an non-profit group that works to provide clean water to people in need around the world.  Many people are unaware of the fact that millions of people around the world lack access to clean water.  Faced with the challenge of how to promote this organization and the issue in general , DDB New York developed the #FirstWorldProblems campaign.  The central campaign video highlights the gap between the haves and the have-nots.  Regular Haitians, many of whom are still affected by the 2010 earthquake, are shown reading from tweets with the hashtag #FirstWorldProblems.  For those of you not familiar with the hashtag, it usually contains tweets with trivial problems such as 'I hate it when my phone charger won’t reach my bed.'


In other videos, Haitian are shown responding directly to specific tweets.  Each video also features a call to action to donate now and visit waterislife.com to find out more about the issue.

DDB New York Executive Creative Director Matt Eastwood said he hoped that the campaign would actually eliminate the #FirstWorldProblems hashtag  '#FirstWorldProblems allows its user to self-mock the petty concerns of those in so-called “first world” countries, yet seem strikingly insensitive when compared to real issues across the world.'

The campaign has received some criticism, but I think it's a fantastic example of a) hijacking a hashtag for good and b) taking the idea of personalized responses videos and using them for good (or perhaps shame?)  For me personally, I found it packed a significant emotional punch and made me reconsider the paltry things in life that I occasionally bitch about when many people in the world are unable to meet even their most basic needs.

Additional Articles: Huffington Post

Bodyform Responds - The Truth

Many of you have probably already seen this as it's been rapidly making the rounds on the interwebs.  To truly appreciate the response video below from maxipad brand, Bodyform, you need a bit of background.  Two weeks ago a guy named Richard Neill posted a rant on the Bodyform Facebook wall.  As mashable reported, his rant went viral and gathered more than 40,000 likes in 24-hours.  Have a read at the rant below.

Usually that'd be the end of the it...a brief blurb in the never ending story of the Internet.  But wait...there's more!  Bodyform (and their agencies Carat & Rubber Republic) created a brilliant video addressed to Richard Neill.  They created a fictional CEO, Caroline Williams, who calmly and hilariously responds while apologizing for the lies that Bodyform (and other femcare brands) have perpetuated on the male population through years of advertising.  Check it out below.  It's quite possibly the best response video I've ever seen.  Again, it's great to see brands/agencies being agile and quickly responding as a way of tapping into even the briefest moments of zeitgeist.

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

La Casa Eco & Sodimac - Skip This Behavior

As skippable pre-roll advertising becomes more and more prevalent, it's fascinating to see the emergence of clever ways to leverage the format.  In particular I've seen more and more advertisers creating skippable pre-roll advertising that somehow incorporates the 'Skip This Ad' button that appears on YouTube TrueView ads.  The latest and perhaps most clever execution comes from La Casa Eco & Sodimac in Chile.  Developed by Mayo Digital, the pre-roll aims to raise awareness about bad ecological habits and do it in just a few seconds.  For example, as the pre-roll starts an infographic type image is shown with the message:

'With that lightbulb that stayed on all day, you could've washed three full loads of laundry.

If you want to change this habit, the first change begins at home.'

A visual call out in the form of a pointer encourages users to click the 'Skip This Behavior' button.  Once a viewer clicked on the button they were redirected to a site packed with various ecological tips.  The result was that over 80,000 Chileans chose to 'skip a behavior' over the course of one week.  Very nicely done.  Check out the case study below.

via Adi Ziv-AV

Comment Haiku

Here's a nice little experiment from the technologists at W+K Portland.  As they explain:

'Comment Haiku is a tech experiment by a small team at W+K Portland. Our aim was to see if it's possible to use code to convert YouTube comments (generally regarded as total illiterate drivel) into poetry. We feel like we got part of the way there. If you want to see under the hood and look at the code, it's in two projects on github: haiku and django-haiku. All of the code is under the BSD license and we'd love more people to play.'

Check out the video capture of the experiment below or head over to Comment Haiku to play around yourself.  Fun!

Refuge - Don't Cover It Up

Does something happening twice make it a trend?  Well I'm calling it one.  If you recall, a couple months back I posted about VW & DDB enlisting Youtube Star, Nikkie of Nikkie Tutorials, to create a PSA highlighting the dangers of applying makeup and driving.  That video recently took a gold for viral advertising Cannes.

Now YouTube star Lauren Luke and BBH have teamed up to create a video on behalf of domestic violence charity, Refuge.  The video offers tips on how to cover up bruises, with Lauren Luke indicating that her bruises are the result of domestic violence ('if you got some bruises from a jealous type of partner, etc.).  The video abruptly ends with the sound of someone entering the house and closes with '65% of women who suffer domestic violence keep it hidden.  Don't cover it up.'  This is part of the wider Don't Cover It Up anti-violence campaign from Refuge.  More information can be found here.

It's a great way to reach Lauren Luke's nearly 500,000 regular subscribers and to highlight the silence that too often accompanies domestic abuse. The video feels particularly authentic as Lauren Luke has talked about her past experience with domestic abuse.  Contagious Magazine has a more in-depth write up with additional background and insight.