IKEA - 2014 Augmented Reality Catalog

A few years back it seemed like augmented reality was going to be the NEXT BIG THING.  Reality has since intervened as most augmented reality executions proved to be mainly gimmicks that didn't provide a particularly compelling experience nor did they provide true utility to consumers.  Now IKEA is showing how augmented reality can be truly useful through their 2014 augmented reality catalog.  Created by McCann and IKEA's in-house agency, Icom the app allows IKEA customers to preview items from the catalog to see how they'd look in their homes prior to purchase.

Here's how it works, a user places the 2014 IKEA catalog on the floor in their home and then fires up the app on their phone or tablet.  The mobile device recognizes the tablet as the augmented reality marker.  The user can then select from various items in the catalog where they are overlaid onto a real-time view of the room (as captured through the camera of the mobile device).

Again, this is a great use of technology in order to provide true utility to the customer.  Users can see how various colors would look in-situ, as well as getting a sense of the size/scale of the furniture within their homes.  Those two features alone ease two of the most common pain points when buying furniture (eg. will color x good? will it fit properly?).  In fact, IKEA developed this app after their research showed that 1 in 7 customers purchased items that were either too large or too small for their homes.  It's a win-win as the app also has the potential to reduce the amount of store returns.  Check out the video that demonstrates the app below (complete with slightly creepy Swedish guy):





Posted by: Reuben Halper

Amstel - Pause

The past year has seen a wealth of clever experiential campaigns, interactive vending machines and other types of successful public stunts.  They typically require some sort of feat of concentration, physical exertion or the like from the relatively few members of the public that actually encounter the installation or stunt.  The more amazing, the more likely it seems that the subsequent video will garner millions of views.  The latest stunt from Amstel in Bulgaria bucks that trend by asking very little from the user.  Their agency, NEXT-DC created Amstel Pause, an interactive vending machine that rewarded users with a beer for simply doing nothing (eg. taking a pause in their hectic life).  All you had to do was stand in front of the machine for three minutes in order to receive a free beer.  It's a fantastic idea and taps into the reality of our busy world where we often forget to take time to stop and smells the roses (while drinking an Amstel of course).  According to the agency, the installation was live for:

'16 days, working from 16:00 to 21:00 o'clock in the busy center in Sofia, Amstel Pause collected:
— 4,032 minutes of break or more than 67 hours of rest for different people;
— Average of 84 users per day;
— Total of 1,344 beers given to people who do nothing;'

Check it out below:

Posted by: Reuben Halper

A Few Things I Like But Don't Have The Time To Write Up - NBC, San Pellegrino, & Oakley

Premier League On NBC
American TV network NBC recently acquired the rights to broadcast the English Premier League games in the States.  In advance of this past weekend's season opener they released this hilarious video.  So, so good.



San Pellegrino
I love this little experiment by San Pellegrino that gives their audience the chance to experience a little bit Italy by allowing them to control a robot in a small town in Sicily.

Oakley Dreamland - A Backyard Progression
Red Bull has forced other brands associated with action sports to step up their game.  Oakley has answered the call with what's one of the most epic skate videos you've ever seen.  If nothing else, fast forward to 7:30 to see amazing Helicopter shenanigans.  Interesting that the brand didn't split this into multiple episodes as there's just such a wealth of great stuff in the 8-minute long video.




Posted by: Reuben Halper

Honda - Hands

To celebrate more than 65 years of engineering accomplishments and innovation, Honda has released this delightful film, 'Hands.'  As W+K London (the agency responsible for the film) writes: We have simply called the film 'Hands' as a testament to the tinkering nature of the Honda R+D engineers whose curious spirit (or hands) has made Honda the largest engineering company in the world.'

The film is a delight to watch and simply features a pair of hands magically transforming Honda products from one into another, taking the viewer from the earliest Honda products to the present day.

It's captivating enough to want to watch it again.  Additionally, Honda (and their digital agency, Collective) have launched an interactive version of the film.  The interactive version of the film, called The Engineer's Cut, allows 'viewers to interact via seemingly hand-written notes and doodles. Once clicked, the notes reveal the tales of engineers and innovation that have gone into the various Honda products.'


See the screenshot below and have a play around yourself by heading over to Honda Hands.  My only criticism is that there could be a stronger link between the flat film and the interactive version.  Clearly car enthusiasts or people who were delighted by the film would be interested in the interactive version, so an embedded link in the video sending users to the interactive version could help drive even more users to the deeper version.

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

Baba Beptanol Baby

As a new parent, it's been fascinating to see/experience just how much myself and my wife use the Internet for all things baby.  Recent research also shows that new and expectant Moms spend 35% more time online than the general population.  Obviously this represents a real opportunity for brands to insert themselves into the Moments That Matter for new parents.  As a result, I've been looking at ways, (both good and bad) that brands are providing utility to an inherently time poor audience of new parents.  One of my favorite examples comes from JWT Brazil for the brand Bepantol.  They created the Babá Bepantol Baby app which turns two iOS devices into a baby monitor.  From a utility perspective it can potentially eliminate the need to buy a baby monitor, or provide an ad-hoc baby monitor for situations where the family is away from home.  The app allows parents to talk to their children, provide ambient light around the baby, play lullabies, etc.  It's a great idea and particularly relevant when you look at the same research around smartphone usages for new Moms: 'The smartphone quickly becomes the mother's significant other: 36% of women purchase a smartphone as a result of becoming a mum, while 59% of mothers called it their do-everything device.' 

Check out the case study video below.



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

Febelfin - See How Easily Freaks Can Take Over Your Life

Last year, Febelfin, the Belgium federation of the financial sector launched a film that purported to shwo an amazing mind reader revealing the secrets of various members of the public.  The film, created by Duval Guillaume, garnered millions of views and was a great piece of content to highlight the fact that many people's entire life can be found online while also urging people to be vigilant with their data online.

Now Duval Guillaume and Febelfin have gone a step further to highlight the dangers around identify theft.  In the latest film they actually steal the identity of a random person.  Rather than just steal his online identity, they go on to impersonate him in real life.  It's both creepy and fascinating. Again, these videos serve as a great tool to generate awareness of the dangers that come with being lax in our digital lives.  Perhaps most importantly, they communicate the danger in a way that's much more compelling than the typical messaging around identity theft and online security precautions.  Check it out 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

Yediot Newspaper - History Where It Happened

I love this outdoor advertising campaign for Yediot Newspaper in Israel.  For most of modern history, Newspapers have been the authoritative source for documenting major events as they happen.  Yediot Newspapers (and their agency, Saatchi Israel) brought this ideas to life by showing people history where it happened.  Front pages from prominent days in history were placed in bus shelter ads in close proximity to where the events actually occurred.  For example, the front page from the day of Yitzak Rabin's assassination was displayed in a bus shelter where he was shot.  All of the bus shelter ads taken together, documented the majority of the key events in the history of Israel.  It's a lovely way to give real-world context to historical events.  It'd be interesting to explore additional digital components that could be added to an idea like this to make it even richer.  Check out the case study below.




hat tip: Adverblog


Posted by: Reuben Halper