Some of you may remember the Cannes winning VIP Fridge Magnet service for Red Tomato Pizza in Dubai from last spring (see case study here). Now Durex, along with their agency, Buzzman, have launched an interesting branded service in Dubai. Based off the insight that you never have a condom when you need one, Durex has launched a delivery service that will bring you a condom, wherever you may be, within an hour. It's a nice take on branded utility for a mobile app and is definitely a new twist on location based technology. Again, good to see mobile apps that actually give something back to the user (and in this case also promotes safe sex) Check out the overview video below.
The campaign/app has been successful enough in Dubai that Buzzman and Durex are running a competition to decide the next city that will get the SOS service, so feel free to head over to SOS Condoms to vote for your city.
hat tip: Adverblog
Monday, February 4, 2013
McDonald's - Track My Maccas
The recent Tesco Horse Meat scandal has put issues of supply train integrity and brand transparency front and center. It's been interesting watch McDonald's (across various regions) dedicate significant time and effort to behave in a more transparent manner. The McDonald's - Your Questions campaign was featured on this blog a few months ago, but even that effort pales in comparison to the recently launched 'Track My Maccas' campaign. Track My Maccas is an app that provides McDonald's customers with a vast amount of information about where the various parts of their McDonald's meal were sourced. As the good folks over at Contagious describe:
Once downloaded onto a smartphone, the TrackMyMaccas app uses GPS and image recognition, combined with date and time information, to find out where and when a particular McDonald's menu item has been purchased. It then overlays that information with data from McDonald's' supply chain in real time. Finally, it serves up an immersive and entertaining story about where the food has come from.
Using augmented reality, the app then transforms the restaurant table into a farmyard, showing where the beef was sourced, or the ocean, if the main meal was a fish fillet. The story unfolds differently depending on exactly where diners are in Australia.
People can also meet the suppliers, for instance, farmers, fishers, bakers of burger buns, etc, and find out how long they have been working with McDonald's.
The app, developed by DDB Australia, is a fairly mind-blowing effort from both a logistical and a technical perspective. I also appreciate the effort taken to make the resulting information/data both interesting and entertaining, rather than simply presenting it in a dry, tabular way. Check out the video below that shows off the Track My Maccas app.
hat tip: Contagious
Once downloaded onto a smartphone, the TrackMyMaccas app uses GPS and image recognition, combined with date and time information, to find out where and when a particular McDonald's menu item has been purchased. It then overlays that information with data from McDonald's' supply chain in real time. Finally, it serves up an immersive and entertaining story about where the food has come from.
Using augmented reality, the app then transforms the restaurant table into a farmyard, showing where the beef was sourced, or the ocean, if the main meal was a fish fillet. The story unfolds differently depending on exactly where diners are in Australia.
People can also meet the suppliers, for instance, farmers, fishers, bakers of burger buns, etc, and find out how long they have been working with McDonald's.
hat tip: Contagious
Hessian - A Brand In Search Of A Product
Here's a really fascinating idea from identity and product designer, Ben Pieratt. He begins with the Walter Landor quote 'Products are made in the factory, but brands are created in the mind.' Typically a brand is inextricably intertwined with an actual product. Even if the portfolio has expanded far beyond the original product, the brand DNA is often anchored in that original product (eg. Nike). In many cases there's reference to some sort of origin story for the brand or it's component elements (eg. the Nike swoosh).
Pieratt's fascinating idea is the complete opposite of the typical brand story. He's created a complete brand identity, Hessian, that's essentially a tabula rasa for whatever company is willing to purchase the brand identity and associated assets. In short, he is selling the brand completely independently of any product. He's created what could be a compelling brand for any number of products, be it a store, an apparel line, a restaurant, a service, etc. As he explains:
The core thought with Hessian.tv is that, as designers, we naturally see solutions to problems/opportunities we can’t help but notice in the market. We have concepts that we know are valid and worthwhile, and not only that but we instinctually know how they should be launched, how they should look, how they should work, and who their target audience should be.
HOWEVER, as anyone who has tried building something knows, the actual production and launch of a great idea is incredibly difficult. Not only that, but, as Svpply taught me, launching, leading, growing and managing a product is an entirely different skill set than most designers have or want to have or should be expected to have.
Inversely, there are oceans of MBAs, Managers and Entrepreneurs out there who are passionate and talented at the actual building and leading of companies, but may not actually be great at identifying worthwhile problem/solutions in the market.
It's a genius idea and I'm anxious to see how it progresses. Check out more at Hessian.tv
hat tip: Kottke
Pieratt's fascinating idea is the complete opposite of the typical brand story. He's created a complete brand identity, Hessian, that's essentially a tabula rasa for whatever company is willing to purchase the brand identity and associated assets. In short, he is selling the brand completely independently of any product. He's created what could be a compelling brand for any number of products, be it a store, an apparel line, a restaurant, a service, etc. As he explains:
The core thought with Hessian.tv is that, as designers, we naturally see solutions to problems/opportunities we can’t help but notice in the market. We have concepts that we know are valid and worthwhile, and not only that but we instinctually know how they should be launched, how they should look, how they should work, and who their target audience should be.
HOWEVER, as anyone who has tried building something knows, the actual production and launch of a great idea is incredibly difficult. Not only that, but, as Svpply taught me, launching, leading, growing and managing a product is an entirely different skill set than most designers have or want to have or should be expected to have.
Inversely, there are oceans of MBAs, Managers and Entrepreneurs out there who are passionate and talented at the actual building and leading of companies, but may not actually be great at identifying worthwhile problem/solutions in the market.
It's a genius idea and I'm anxious to see how it progresses. Check out more at Hessian.tv
hat tip: Kottke
Target - Tweet To Runway Show
I'm pretty much a sucker for real(ish)-time video response campaigns. Old Spice pioneered the format, but other brands have taken up the mantle in new and interesting ways. The latest Twitter --> Video response campaign comes from US retailer Target. The Everyday Collection campaign, conceived and developed by mono, is an unlikely fusion of high style with food and various household items like kitchen rolls, detergent and diapers. The idea was to create a fashion show with a couple twists. Rather than show off high-fashion, the models were showing off everyday items from Target. Furthermore, the featured objects were chosen based off tweets mentioning said objects, often in humorous or otherwise quirky ways. Basically taking the banal and turning it into something more.
In total, more than 150 videos were created, all of which were featured on the Target YouTube channel as well as the Every Day Show site. Each video shows the original Tweet and those Twitter users featured were given Target gift cards. In general the response video is a nice mechanic to create a personalized digital artifact for a select group of people. It also has the benefit of ensuring that the people featured will then spread the artifact (and campaign) among their own social network.
Check out the highlight video below, some of the videos are quite amusing, but to be honest most don't really land well. It just goes to show that execution is everything. What sounds hilarious when read on Twitter becomes something completely different when delivered by a model. Regardless, it's a nice effort from Target and their agency, it's just tough to top some of the campaigns that preceded this one.
In total, more than 150 videos were created, all of which were featured on the Target YouTube channel as well as the Every Day Show site. Each video shows the original Tweet and those Twitter users featured were given Target gift cards. In general the response video is a nice mechanic to create a personalized digital artifact for a select group of people. It also has the benefit of ensuring that the people featured will then spread the artifact (and campaign) among their own social network.
Check out the highlight video below, some of the videos are quite amusing, but to be honest most don't really land well. It just goes to show that execution is everything. What sounds hilarious when read on Twitter becomes something completely different when delivered by a model. Regardless, it's a nice effort from Target and their agency, it's just tough to top some of the campaigns that preceded this one.
Southern Comfort - Comfortable Weather Guy
The 'Whatever's Comfortable' spot developed by Wieden + Kennedy for Southern Comfort was one my favorite ads of 2012. IMHO, everything about the advert was pretty much perfect, absolutely nailing the brand tagline of 'Whatever's Comfortable' in a delightful way. Given the popularity of the spot, it's no surprise that the brand is extending the duties of the Comfort man character. The Comfortable Weather Guy site features the eponymous character against a backdrop of whatever the weather is in your particular city. You can also see Comfort man deliver the weather (against an appropriate backdrop of course) anywhere else in the world. It looks like there are about sixteen different videos that are matched up to the particular weather at any given time. Check out the original spot below as well as the different weather videos or just head over to the website and have a play around yourself. Silly? Yes. Pointless? Somewhat. Entertaining? Most definitely.
A Few Things I Like But Don't Have Time To Write UP - Microsoft, Call Of Duty, SPIES Travels
Microsoft Internet Explorer - Child Of The 90s
Check out the video for the new Internet Explorer that resonates nicely with the target audience (eg. people my age) by tapping into nostalgia for the 90s. It's a nice way to encourage people to give Explorer another try. As they say in the ad 'You grew up. So did we. Reconnect with the new Internet Explorer.'
Call Of Duty 2: The Replacer
I love this spot because it's so different from most videogame launch ads. The Replacer, created by 72andsunny, is a nice take on the idea that there are always things getting in the way of playing a new videogame. Sort of reminiscent (on a smaller scale) of the NAB Stand-Ins campaign from a new months back.
SPIES Travels
Here's a fun little experiment from Danish travel company SPIES travels and their agency, Robert/Boisen & like-minded. To encourage travelers to book a vacation in warm climes, they went to some extremes to show much energy you get from a sun filled holiday.
Check out the video for the new Internet Explorer that resonates nicely with the target audience (eg. people my age) by tapping into nostalgia for the 90s. It's a nice way to encourage people to give Explorer another try. As they say in the ad 'You grew up. So did we. Reconnect with the new Internet Explorer.'
Call Of Duty 2: The Replacer
I love this spot because it's so different from most videogame launch ads. The Replacer, created by 72andsunny, is a nice take on the idea that there are always things getting in the way of playing a new videogame. Sort of reminiscent (on a smaller scale) of the NAB Stand-Ins campaign from a new months back.
SPIES Travels
Here's a fun little experiment from Danish travel company SPIES travels and their agency, Robert/Boisen & like-minded. To encourage travelers to book a vacation in warm climes, they went to some extremes to show much energy you get from a sun filled holiday.
Friday, January 18, 2013
Telstra New Year's Eve App
We had a session at the Google Creative Sandbox in Cannes last June with James Hilton of AKQA. Among other things, we discussed the potential of mobile and product design in general. He said something that really stuck with me; unless an experience is useful, usable or delightful then it's just contributing to the digital landfill. Unfortunately many brands seem to ignore that advice and pump out ill-conceived mobile apps or experiences that meet none of the aforementioned criteria. That's why I love this app developed by Australian Telco, Telstra for New Year's eve in Sydney. The app has a host of features to enhance and amplify the experience of fireworks goers in Sydney. As the good folks over at Contagious explain:
Throughout the night, four Telstra Colour Moments will automatically sync phone screens with the lighting on Sydney Harbour Bridge, and the fireworks displays around the bay. The screens will light up, becoming a visual extension of the show.
Message the Bridge, another function on the app, enables users to write and submit their very own New Year's message - with 1500 of these being displayed on the pylons of the bridge over the course of the night. A dedicated Facebook app lets people without a smartphone send messages to the bridge.
Telstra has also included features to help the public get the most from the evening: the maps function, for example, details the best vantage points from which to see the fireworks, and includes information on reaching each one; and Midnight Messages enables users (on any network) to pre-load 50 SMS messages which Telstra will then send out to their loved ones, free of charge, at midnight.
Telstra also streamed the fireworks on their YouTube channel for those folks who couldn't attend in person.
Overall the Telstra App is just a great example of a mobile application that meets all of the criteria. It's useful (best vantage points via maps, rules about what you can and can't bring to the fireworks, etc.), usable (nice UX in the app, but also the ability to pre-load SMS messages to send at midnight) and delightful (become part of the larger experience via the Telstra Colour Moments, Message The Bridge). Check out the demo video below.
hat tip: Contagious
Throughout the night, four Telstra Colour Moments will automatically sync phone screens with the lighting on Sydney Harbour Bridge, and the fireworks displays around the bay. The screens will light up, becoming a visual extension of the show.
Message the Bridge, another function on the app, enables users to write and submit their very own New Year's message - with 1500 of these being displayed on the pylons of the bridge over the course of the night. A dedicated Facebook app lets people without a smartphone send messages to the bridge.
Telstra has also included features to help the public get the most from the evening: the maps function, for example, details the best vantage points from which to see the fireworks, and includes information on reaching each one; and Midnight Messages enables users (on any network) to pre-load 50 SMS messages which Telstra will then send out to their loved ones, free of charge, at midnight.
Telstra also streamed the fireworks on their YouTube channel for those folks who couldn't attend in person.
Overall the Telstra App is just a great example of a mobile application that meets all of the criteria. It's useful (best vantage points via maps, rules about what you can and can't bring to the fireworks, etc.), usable (nice UX in the app, but also the ability to pre-load SMS messages to send at midnight) and delightful (become part of the larger experience via the Telstra Colour Moments, Message The Bridge). Check out the demo video below.
hat tip: Contagious
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Newspaperswork - 6 Things YOu Can Miss While Reading A Newspaper
I somehow missed this prior to the holidays. The guys at Duval Guillaume recently created this lovely video in order to promote Newspaperswork, the marketing platform for all Belgian newspaper publishers. In the video, three of the top advertising executives in Belgium are offered a free ride to work in a chauffeur-driven sedan. Ostensibly they've been offered the chauffeur service so that they'll have time to read the newspaper on their way to the office.
Rather than ruin the payoff, I'd ask that you just watch below.
It's an incredibly clever and interesting use of video to demonstrate the power of print. Very meta.
Rather than ruin the payoff, I'd ask that you just watch below.
It's an incredibly clever and interesting use of video to demonstrate the power of print. Very meta.
Nokia - Open Song Project
Nokia is promoting the new Lumia 920 and the power of the phone's Pureview camera system. As part of the campaign, Nokia's advertising agency Naked Communications recently launched The Open Song Project. It is a collaboration between Nokia and Danish Rock Orchestra Spleen United that allows users to interact with the band's song 'Hibernation' to create a bespoke music video. The hook is that each user can create their own individual version of the video from the sixteen different sequences that appear in the song.
All the videos have been shot with the new Lumia 920 without filters or edits. Whether or not the link back to the phone is particularly strong, the interactive nature of the project is really exciting. The band isn't launching the song as a standard music video, instead putting it out there for people to create their own versions. Users can save and share the version of the video that they create, meaning that there is no 'official' music video, only fan creations from the component parts. It's sort of like a easily accessible version of Kutiman or a less collaborative version of Jam With Chrome.
Check out the video below or head over to The Open Song Project site to create your own version (note: too bad it's done in flash or else it'd make a hell of a Chrome Experiment.)
All the videos have been shot with the new Lumia 920 without filters or edits. Whether or not the link back to the phone is particularly strong, the interactive nature of the project is really exciting. The band isn't launching the song as a standard music video, instead putting it out there for people to create their own versions. Users can save and share the version of the video that they create, meaning that there is no 'official' music video, only fan creations from the component parts. It's sort of like a easily accessible version of Kutiman or a less collaborative version of Jam With Chrome.
Check out the video below or head over to The Open Song Project site to create your own version (note: too bad it's done in flash or else it'd make a hell of a Chrome Experiment.)
BMWi Born Electric
Here's a nice bit of mobile advertising. The BMWi Born Electric campaign allows users to take a virtual test drive in the BMW i8 or i3 concept car with Google Maps and Street View. After selecting one of the concept cars, users are put in the drivers seat and can choose a route that they want to take to any location or one of many landmarks in different cities. Users are given an in-car perspective and given a view of their route via Google Streetview. An accompanying map shows the location on the route and how much power is left in the electric battery. If you select the 'Interior 360' option you can pan around inside the car and get a 360 degree interior view of the car and a 360 exterior view of your location in Street View.
Targeted at city dwellers, the mobile experience is a really nice way to put the experience of the i3 and i8 into the users hands while showing how electric cars can easily fit into their existing urban life.
Have a play around with the London experience.
Targeted at city dwellers, the mobile experience is a really nice way to put the experience of the i3 and i8 into the users hands while showing how electric cars can easily fit into their existing urban life.
Have a play around with the London experience.
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