Malmo Hardware Store - Toolpool

The past several years has a tremendous rise in the number of sharing (p2p or otherwise) and on-demand services that are disrupting existing business models.  Service like Zipcar, AirBNB, TaskRabbit, etc. are changing traditional models of ownership and resourcing.  Considering how potentially disruptive these types of services can be to existing business models, it's surprising that more brands haven't recognized the potential in these sharing services as an alternative to ownership of their products.

One business that has embraced the on-demand usage model is Malmo Hardware store.  They've developed a Zipcar-like service for power tools, called ToolPool.  As their agency, The Fan Club, describes:

'Malmö Hardware Store needed an idea to be able to compete with the giant home improvement chains that are taking over the market. We learned that the stores main earnings comes from supplies, not from expensive tools. So we created ToolPool. It works just like a carpool, but with tools. And it's for free. All we ask for in return is that you share our message on Facebook.

During the very first month, ToolPool received extensive media coverage, over 600 members and sales in the store increased by 25%.'

It's a wonderful example of service design.  See the overview video below.

via: Yosuke Suzuki

Audi RS4 - Ultimate Paintball Duel

I think of the Audi station wagon (errr...estate car as it's called over here) as a boring staple of the British upper-middle classes.  Generally speaking, estate cars/station wagons are thought of as boring family-mobiles that just appeal to Moms.  Audi's challenge is to shift the stigma away from estate cars and demonstrate the performance and handling of their recently relaunched RS4 wagon.  Rather than just talk about specs like the 450hp V-8 engine, Audi's agency Rubber Republic have brought the promise of the RS4 to life through a top-gearesque paintball duel.  You may remember Rubber Republic from their awesome Bodyform response video work.  In this case, they've enlisted two of the best UK stunt drivers (check out the behind the scenes video here) in 'two brand new 2013 RS 4 Avants with bonnet mounted paintball guns take over a military aircraft hangar and go head to head in the ultimate paintball duel.'  The result is sheer joy to behold & a perfect way to appeal to a male audience all of whom believe they could secretly be race car drivers.

Check it out below.
via: Yoram Cisinski

TED - 3rd Annual Ads Worth Spreading Winners

The winners of the 3rd annual TED - Ads Worth Spreading initiative have been announced at the the recent TED conference.  So what makes an Ad Worth Spreading?  Well it's worth watching the original TED talk from Chris Anderson, but as Ronda Carnegie, Head of Global Partnerships at TED, says:

'The best ads are excellent content--driven by ideas. Culturally relevant content with strong storytelling has the power to spark change, raise awareness, and communicate new ways of thinking...

...The ads selected have a common thread around human connection.  They create contagious emotion around wonder, imagination, culture, humor, and ingenuity.'

Most of these have been featured on the blog at some point in the past, but it's worth twenty minutes of your time to view them all.  See below for a handy playlist with the 10 winning videos.

According to the YouTube blog:

Ads were nominated in six categories: Talk, Social Good, Cultural Compass, Creative Wonder, Brand Bravery, and Education. Six nomination teams made up of one TED speaker and one rising thinker in advertising searched for ads in each category, while 25 leading figures in the ad industry searched for ads across categories.

Each of these ten ads go beyond the creative brief to spark imagination and create moments of emotional connection with audiences. The winning work will be showcased at TED2013 as well as on TED.com and you can watch them all here on YouTube. Combined, they have been viewed more than 100 million times on YouTube.

Bus Stop Ads - The Good, The Bad & The Excellent

I thought it'd be interesting to change gears a bit and showcase some interesting (both good and bad) work from the out of home world, namely bus stop/bus shelter advertising.

The Good - First up is a nice stunt from Qualcomm which effectively delivers on the tagline 'We make life better with mobile.'  Check it out below:


The Bad - Next up is a stunt from the Weather Channel to promote their mobile app which tells users the exact time when rain will start or stop.  Since the Weather Channel takes the guesswork out of weather forecasts, they wanted to see people get caught in the rain one last time.  To do so, they outfitted a bus stop with a rain machine.  Call me crazy, but I'd be pissed off if I'm sitting there waiting for my bus and a brand decides that they're going to make it rain on me.  I wouldn't exactly be rushing to download the app after that moment of unexpected precipitation.

The Excellent - Last up is from SAS in Norway.  To show off the array of new sunny destinations that the airline services, JCDecaux outfitted a bus stop with what looks like an airplane window.  Users who pull up the window shade are presented with videos from one of the sixteen new destinations.  It's a great way to grab the attention of people who, by definition, have some free time on their hands while waiting for a bus.  It's also a perfect execution considering the winter weather in Norway and other Northern European countries, coupled with the universal desire to get away to sunnier climes.

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.

Two Attempts To Stop The Harlem Shake - W+K NY & Freddie Wong

I've never seen a meme explode so quickly as the Harlem Shake craze (there's currently 4,000 harlem shake videos per day being uploaded).  If you want background on the phenomenon, check out this YouTube trends blog post.  At the same time, I've never seen a meme become so immediately and thoroughly tiresome.  When the anchors of the Today show are doing it, you know that it's time to take it out behind the barn and put it down for good.  Thankfully, people more talented than I are doing their part in putting an official end to this phenomenon.

First up YouTube star Freddie Wong:


And the good people at Wieden + Kennedy New York bringing an old meme into the mix:
And finally, the guys at Vice have a good write up about why the Harlem Shake as currently imagined is but a shell of it's former self and generally sucks.

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).

Nivea - Stress Test

I love this fantastically executed stunt from Nivea in Germany to promote their Stress Protect line.  Nivea's agency, Felix & Lamberti, setup an elaborate ambush in an airport waiting lounge, making it seem that the targeted person was wanted by the police.  I don't want to spoil the video, so I'd just suggest you watch below.

Valentine's Day - Nivea, Sky, & Ikea

In honor of the most Hallmark of holidays, I thought it'd be nice to show few examples of Valentine's Day executions that stood out in my mind.

Nivea - A Date To Remember
Nivea is promoting their new Stress Protect deodorant range which 'provides proven protection under stress, so whatever happens, you can stay cool and confident.'  Developed by Agency Republic, A Date To Remember is billed as the first date that the user controls.  The interactive YouTube experience allows the user to choose how the date (awkwardly) unfolds while showing the stress level that the 'ordinary' girl is experiencing.  Check out the trailer below and have a play around with the experience on the Nivea UK YouTube channel.



Sky Germany
This ad from Sky in Germany reminds football fanatics the potential risks of forgetting Valentine's day, More importantly, it just goes to show that everything is better in slo-mo.


IKEA - Australia
A love this Valentine's day print ad from IKEA in Australia.  See below.  No further explanation needed.

amusing Valentine's Day offer—a free crib for babies born nine months from today.

EasyWay Language Center - Subtitles

A bit of background, Brazil-based EasyWay language center is primarily targeted at foreigners living in Brazil (eg. student and ex-pats) looking to learn Portugese.  You may remember the innovative use of the Chrome speech input functionality that they used as part of their web experience a few months back (see previous post here).  Now EasyWay has launched another service that uses Google technology in a clever way.  Their agency, Loducca, has created a browser based experience that helps people learn Portugese by providing subtitles for Brazilian TV in any language.

The website provides real-time subtitles to the major Brazilian TV channels by combining old school closed captioning technology and Google Translate.  Here's how it works:  EasyWay has a computer hooked to up to TV set 24 hours a day.  The computer captures and uploads the closed caption data to be translated on the website.  Users visit the site from their mobile device (or laptop I suppose) and choose their preferred language & TV channel.  Voila!  The subtitles for the program are displayed on their second screen, synced up to the TV broadcast.  Check out the video below for a better explanation.