This is nice experiential campaign from Australia that effectively bridges the offline and online. Streets Ice Cream (and their agency Soap Creative) launched the 'Share Happy' campaign (sounds a bit reminiscent of Coke - Open Happiness no?). Installations were setup across Australian cities that invited any passer-bys to record Matrix style 360-degree rotating videos of themselves. The videos were then uploaded to Streets Ice Cream Youtube channel and available on the Streets Ice Cream website. Participants could go to the site and easily search for/find their video and easily share it out amongst friends, family, etc.
Great idea. It's simple, but effective. Participants are rewarded offline (ice cream samples) as well as online (a cool digital memento of an experience that they couldn't otherwise have).
Check out the 'Best Of...' video below.
Additional Articles: Simply Zesty | Digital Buzz Blog
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Uniqlo Undercover
I love seeing innovative uses of the Google Maps interface (such as Levi's Roadwear covered here a few months ago). Uniqlo has recently partnered with Japanese fashion brand Undercover and their 'UU' website launched a month or so back. The site uses Google maps as the mechanism to browser the whole product collection. As you can see from the walk through below, you can zoom in further and further to go from big (and random) pictures to product details on individual garments. You can also turn on and off different maps layers that will organize the collection by area (mens, babies, etc.), show social comments about the collection or take you to a store locator layer. Just a great use of a navigation interface that we're all familiar with as an innovative way to show off the entire collection.
Have a play around with it yourself art the Uniqlo Undercover site or see the video capture below.
Additional Articles: FastCo | TheFWA
Have a play around with it yourself art the Uniqlo Undercover site or see the video capture below.
Additional Articles: FastCo | TheFWA
Heineken - The Fever Keeper
Heineken and their various agencies have done an amazing job of activating their Champions league sponsorship and providing both utility & entertainment to football fans through initiatives such as Heineken Star Player. The latest work (from Vidal Parternship) is aimed squarely at Champions league fans in the US. Due to the time difference, most games occur when people are at work and therefore can't watch the games live. As any sports fan who's tried to watch a Tivoed game knows, you essentially need to enforce a communications blackout from match time until you get home and can actually watch the recorded game. There's just too many opportunities to see the results of the game accidentally while browsing the web. Enter Heineken Fever Keeper, a Chrome browser extension that blanks out any revealing information about the match, regardless of what site you're on.
Genius...now if only there was something similar for smartphones. Check out the video below for more detail and to see it in action.
Additional Articles: PSFK | Adverblog
Genius...now if only there was something similar for smartphones. Check out the video below for more detail and to see it in action.
Additional Articles: PSFK | Adverblog
Google Maps Cube
Back in January Google released this delightful video to promote Google Maps. It features a wooden block 3D labyrinth of a cityscape that's suspended and rotated to show off a physical representation of navigating via Google maps. At the time it promoted a beautiful HTML5 walk through of Google Maps, but it always struck me as surprising that there was no digital execution to match. Fast forward a couple months and now we see the release of Google Maps Cube. It's a fun WebGL based game/Chrome Experiment that allows users to experience different map based challenges. The experience digitally replicates the metal ball in a wooden maze-type tilt games while promoting different features and functionality of Google Maps.
Have a play around: http://www.playmapscube.com/
via Leon Bayliss
Fix At Four PSA
I really do think that some of the most clever work of the past couple months have been various public service announcements. Here's another excellent set of PSAs encouraging pet owners to get their dogs or cats fixed at four months.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Smart Argentina - Animated Twitter Commercial
Smart cars pretty much fit anywhere and in any parking spot. BBDO Argentina decided to demonstrate this fact by showing how a Smart car can even fit in Twitter. Using a series of 455 tweets they've created an animated commercial in their Twitter feed. It unfolds much like an animated flip-book. Scrolling through the Twitter feed doesn't really convey the intended effect, so the best thing to do is go to the Smart Argentina Twitter page and use the 'J' or 'K' keys to scroll forward or backward. Of course you can just check out the video below.
The strapline at the end reads approximately: 'It goes anywhere, even in 140 characters. A big idea for the city.' Nice use of a small space to demonstrate a small product.
Supporting Articles: Adverblog | Adfreak
The strapline at the end reads approximately: 'It goes anywhere, even in 140 characters. A big idea for the city.' Nice use of a small space to demonstrate a small product.
Supporting Articles: Adverblog | Adfreak
$#*T Kids Say & Course To Shine - Topical/Relevant PSAs
There seems to be a wealth of really wonderful and emotionally evocative public service announcement (PSAs) work being done lately. In the past few weeks I've also begun to notice PSAs that tap into the current zeitgeist/memes/trends as a clever way of creating relevancy with the intended audience. I'm not sure of the agency responsible for this first one, but it seems that VW has teamed up with Nikkietutorials, one of the many Youtube stars/gurus, to help communicate this message. Rather than trying to describe the video, please watch below (hint: be patient)
We often talk about brands enlisting Youtube stars/gurus as part of their marketing activity, so it makes complete sense to partner with them in order to get across the message that '500,000 road crashes are caused by women drivers applying make-up.' Just a great execution in terms of creating something unexpected within the perfect context of a beauty tutorial. (via my colleague Briain Curtin)
Next up is a PSA for the NSPCC (National Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Children), created by Inferno London called $#*! Kids Say
While perhaps it's a bit late to the Shit _____ Say meme, it's still a great way to convey the message which asks the viewer to trust their instincts when they think things aren’t quite as they should be & generally raise awareness about the NSPCC mission.
Romanians Are Smart
I love seeing examples of Google search or AdWords used in creative ways. Converse Domaination was probably the most prominent example of a creative campaign using AdWords. Now McCann Erickson has developed a campaign for Romanian confectioner Kandia Dulce, producer of the ROM chocolate bar, to improve the online reputation of Romania. Currently when you type 'Romanians are...' in Google search you get Google Instant results that are less than flattering, for example when I type 'Romanians are' Google instant returns 'scum' and 'latin.' The campaign aims to change that by essentially Google bombing the results so that first instant result will be 'Romanians Are Smart.' Check out the case study below for more details and feel free to help change the Google results by heading over to RomaniansAreSmart.com
It'll be interesting to see if this is successful in changing the Google results, but regardless it's a great concept.
Supporting Articles: Inspiration Room | SEO Moz
It'll be interesting to see if this is successful in changing the Google results, but regardless it's a great concept.
Supporting Articles: Inspiration Room | SEO Moz
Project Re:Brief - Alka Seltzer & Avis
I'm slightly obsessed with Project Re:Brief. If you're not familiar with Project Re:Brief then stop reading and head over to ProjectRe:Brief.com for some background. Anyhow, I just love the concept of bringing iconic campaigns to life through digital media and truly believe that we're just scratching the surface in terms of the potential of display, mobile and digital advertising as a way to create an emotional connection between advertisers and users. With that in mind, I was excited to see the last two of the Project Re:Brief campaigns have gone live.
Check out the re-imagining of Alka Seltzer - 'I Can't Believe I Ate The Whole Thing' & Avis - 'We Try Harder' below. It's better to head over to the Project Re:Brief site and play with the desktop versions of the ads, they really are exceptional. Mobile demos/walkthrough videos are included below, but if you're not familiar with the original campaigns then it's definitely worth heading over to the site to get the full context of the original and re-imagined campaigns.
Check out the re-imagining of Alka Seltzer - 'I Can't Believe I Ate The Whole Thing' & Avis - 'We Try Harder' below. It's better to head over to the Project Re:Brief site and play with the desktop versions of the ads, they really are exceptional. Mobile demos/walkthrough videos are included below, but if you're not familiar with the original campaigns then it's definitely worth heading over to the site to get the full context of the original and re-imagined campaigns.
Tipp-Ex Experience 2
I thought I'd post this in case you've been holed up in a cabin without Internet. If not, you've probably already seen this...the Tipp-Ex Experience is back for round 2! The original Tippex Experience, developed by Buzzman in 2010, proved to be one of the most popular and successful Youtube campaigns of all time. The campaign garned millions of views and many, many awards (see original campaign here or the case study here). I wasted far too much time playing around with the original campaign and this version is no different. In the original campaign users were invited to rewrite the story of 'A Hunter Shoots A Bear.' In the new campaign users are invited celebrate the Hunter & the Bear's birthday throughout different times in history (see video below for backstory and to begin the experience). Just type in a year and see what happens (check out 1990 for the Saved By The Bell spoof). There are about 40-50 different videos from various years and some of them include interactive features (try typing in 1980). Have a play around and say bye-bye to a couple hours of productivity.
WTF!? Tupac Performs At Coachella
Remember that Dave Chappelle skit where Tupac wasn't really dead (if you haven't seen it, check it out here. Chappelle's show was brilliant and is sorely missed)? Anyhow, in a case of art imitating life, Tupac has in fact risen from the dead with help of holographic/CGI technology and decided to perform with Snoop Dogg & Dr. Dre at Coachella.
Very cool technology and not the first time it's been used. For example, there's a holographic pop star in Japan and T-Mobile staged a Mariah Carey concert in multiple venues using similar technology. That said, I believe it's the first time that the technology has been used to bring back a dead artist. The whole stund reportedly to have cost more than $500,000. What's scary is that it's being talked about a future revenue stream for the music industry, that is resurrecting long-dead artists to do holographic performances. Ugh. I'm pretty sure that's one of the signs of the apocalypse no?
Very cool technology and not the first time it's been used. For example, there's a holographic pop star in Japan and T-Mobile staged a Mariah Carey concert in multiple venues using similar technology. That said, I believe it's the first time that the technology has been used to bring back a dead artist. The whole stund reportedly to have cost more than $500,000. What's scary is that it's being talked about a future revenue stream for the music industry, that is resurrecting long-dead artists to do holographic performances. Ugh. I'm pretty sure that's one of the signs of the apocalypse no?
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Mix Against AIDS
Back in December for World AIDS day, the Brazilian radio station Mix FM launched a campaign (developed by Quê Comunicação) to raise awareness about the dangers of HIV/AIDS 'In Brazil, surveys have shown that the number of HIV cases keeps growing among young people. The radio Station Mix FM could have an important role in this scenario: alert young people, making them feel how easy it is to a virus to spread around. So we've made our own virus.'
Mix FM posted two sexy videos (one of a hot guy, one of a hot girl) to their Facebook page with a message encouraging viewership. The end of each video included the message:
'That's What Happens With HIV. You Get Distracted. Get Infected. And Spread The Virus Without Even Noticing. Take A Look At Your Wall. Always Protect Yourself.'
Once a user watched the video it was automatically posted to their Facebook page/timeline without their permission, thus driving home the 'viral' message (pun intended). Just a genius idea to encourage condom use & demonstrate the dangers of unprotected sex in a tangible way. Of course, it was completely against Facebook policy since it was essentially spam, so Facebook took it down within a day or so. You could imagine doing something similar in a less spammy way by retargeting users who'd viewed the video with display ads across the web that drove home a similar message. Would it potentially cross the 'creepiness' threshold. Absolutely, but then again that's the point with a campaign like this.
Mix FM posted two sexy videos (one of a hot guy, one of a hot girl) to their Facebook page with a message encouraging viewership. The end of each video included the message:
'That's What Happens With HIV. You Get Distracted. Get Infected. And Spread The Virus Without Even Noticing. Take A Look At Your Wall. Always Protect Yourself.'
Once a user watched the video it was automatically posted to their Facebook page/timeline without their permission, thus driving home the 'viral' message (pun intended). Just a genius idea to encourage condom use & demonstrate the dangers of unprotected sex in a tangible way. Of course, it was completely against Facebook policy since it was essentially spam, so Facebook took it down within a day or so. You could imagine doing something similar in a less spammy way by retargeting users who'd viewed the video with display ads across the web that drove home a similar message. Would it potentially cross the 'creepiness' threshold. Absolutely, but then again that's the point with a campaign like this.
Hungry Jack's (aka Burger King) - The $5 Experiment
Hungry Jack's is the Australian equivalent/subsidiary of Burger King. They want to promote their $5 Stunner value meal and the idea that you can get great value for $5. So Hungry Jack's and their agency (BBDO Sydney) decided to run the $5 Stunner experiment to see if they could source all the elements for a 30-second TV spot through the services site Fiverr. For those of you who may not be familiar with Fiverr, they bill themselves as 'the world's largest marketplace for small services, starting at $5.' On Fiverr, you can hire people to do various odd jobs for you, including various creative services large and small.
Check out the description from Hungry Jack's & the video below:
'You've asked for it, so the $4.95 Stunner is back. And to prove just what great value the Stunner is for $5; we've successfully made a Stunner TV ad, where each element costs just $5. We used a website called Fiverr to find the elements we needed from people all over the world. We also asked our Facebook fans for a photo of their dog, and we ended up choosing Axel, a lovely dog from Western Australia, to star in the ad. His face was animated for (you guessed it!) just $5 on the Fiverr website.
This is the end result - we hope you like it!'
It's a really interesting initiative (my soul dies a little bit every time I have to use the phrase 'crowd-sourcing' or 'co-creation) and it will be interesting to see if other brands embrace this format moving forward. One of the constant issues with UGC-type of campaigns is tapping into the 'Why?' of user participation. What's the motivation/incentive to participate, especially when it's not necessarily the user in front of the camera or actually featured in the TV campaign? In this case, the user is actually getting paid, so that eliminates much of the incentive dilemma. Of course it opens up an entirely different debate about agency compensation models, eg. the whole Victors & Spoils crowd-sourcing debate.
Supporting Articles: Fiverr Blog | Digital Examples
Check out the description from Hungry Jack's & the video below:
'You've asked for it, so the $4.95 Stunner is back. And to prove just what great value the Stunner is for $5; we've successfully made a Stunner TV ad, where each element costs just $5. We used a website called Fiverr to find the elements we needed from people all over the world. We also asked our Facebook fans for a photo of their dog, and we ended up choosing Axel, a lovely dog from Western Australia, to star in the ad. His face was animated for (you guessed it!) just $5 on the Fiverr website.
This is the end result - we hope you like it!'
It's a really interesting initiative (my soul dies a little bit every time I have to use the phrase 'crowd-sourcing' or 'co-creation) and it will be interesting to see if other brands embrace this format moving forward. One of the constant issues with UGC-type of campaigns is tapping into the 'Why?' of user participation. What's the motivation/incentive to participate, especially when it's not necessarily the user in front of the camera or actually featured in the TV campaign? In this case, the user is actually getting paid, so that eliminates much of the incentive dilemma. Of course it opens up an entirely different debate about agency compensation models, eg. the whole Victors & Spoils crowd-sourcing debate.
Supporting Articles: Fiverr Blog | Digital Examples
Samsung - Elephant Plays with a Galaxy Note!
Samsung has been coming on strong in the smartphone market lately. According to Cannacord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley, Samsung is the second place manufacturer for mobile carriers in the US behind Apple. Of course, that's really just an excuse for me to post this delightful video that The Viral Factory created to promote the Samsung Galaxy Note smartphone/tablet. The video features an elephant (named Peter) playing/interacting with the Galaxy Note. What I found really interesting (besides the fact that an elephant is playing with a freaking smartphone!) is that so many viewers were skeptical about the authenticity of the video, despite the fact that the description is explicit in saying that this was 100% real, In fact, the Viral Factory posted several behind the scenes videos to demonstrate that no post-production trickery was involved. I suppose skepticism is to be expected considering how good the execution has become for various hoax campaigns such as those produced by agencies like ThinkModo.
See below for original video and behind the scenes.
See below for original video and behind the scenes.
Skittles - Touch The Rainbow
Skittles (and their agency BBDO Toronto) cleaned up at Cannes last year, winning a Gold Lion in the Film Category and a Gold Cyber Lion for the now famous 'Touch The Rainbow' campaign. My personal favorite was the Skittles Touch: Cat spot featuring Zach Galifianakis as a half-man/half-cat (see below).
Now Skittles & BBDO are back with another series of 'Touch' videos that are bizarre as their predecessors. All five can be seen in the playlist below. My personal favorite is the Zombie Tennis video. Personally I don't find the latest videos as impressive. Then again, they set the bar pretty high as the previous 'Touch' campaign that surprised and delighted viewers with the unexpected nature of the spots.
Now Skittles & BBDO are back with another series of 'Touch' videos that are bizarre as their predecessors. All five can be seen in the playlist below. My personal favorite is the Zombie Tennis video. Personally I don't find the latest videos as impressive. Then again, they set the bar pretty high as the previous 'Touch' campaign that surprised and delighted viewers with the unexpected nature of the spots.
Columbia - Great Moments In Trying Stuff
I posted this to the 5 Cool Things G+ page a couple weeks ago, but just have recently had time to explore the rest of the Columbia Sportswear Youtube channel. Their latest campaign 'Great Moments In Trying Stuff' is a series of videos that demonstrates the benefits of various Columbia sportswear through a series of amusing pseudo-science experiments. As they put it: 'What do sweaty hot dog buns, cafeteria workers, mesh tank tops and a cat have to do with proving our gear is the best in the industry? Everything. Watch as we put our most innovative products to innovative tests.' The videos are extremely entertaining while also being peppered with features/benefits/functionality throughout. Anyone know the Agency responsible for the work? In the meantime, here are my two favorites, but check out the rest of the 'Great Moments In Trying Stuff' on their Youtube channel.
BONUS: 8-Bit Mad Men
The Fine Brothers are one of the more established Youtube Stars, ie. content creators that have created a huge audience/following on Youtube. They release videos twice a week that typically tap into the Youtube zeitgeist (such as this one, Kids React to Nyan Cat) and have racked up more than a million subscribers.
They recently released a fantastic Youtube game, tapping into the excitement around the Season 5 premiere of Mad Men. The game (done in 8-bit/Nintendo style complete with awesome Nintendo-ish sound) uses Youtube annotations to create a choose-your-own-adventure experience where you play Don Draper looking to level up on his inner peace, new ideas, and confidence. Have a play around below:
They recently released a fantastic Youtube game, tapping into the excitement around the Season 5 premiere of Mad Men. The game (done in 8-bit/Nintendo style complete with awesome Nintendo-ish sound) uses Youtube annotations to create a choose-your-own-adventure experience where you play Don Draper looking to level up on his inner peace, new ideas, and confidence. Have a play around below:
This is just one of many interesting executions across various mediums that tapped into the excitement around Mad Men, with Sky in the UK running 60s-style spots during it's ad breaks & Newsweek revisiting it's 1966 design for the issue the featured a Mad Men cover story (again complete with 60s-style ads from contemporary advertisers throughout the magazine).
Supporting Articles: Forbes | MTV
BONUS: The Best April Fool's Day Joke (excluding Google)
Google always goes big for April Fool's Day & this year was no exception. The 8-bit Google Maps, the Youtube Collection, & Google Racing were all genius, but I also loved this April Fool's Day Joke from WestJet.
Introducing Kargo Kids. So good:
'...with plenty of toys and a state of the art feed trough, your children will be able to run, play, scream and eat all they want, while you enjoy your flight in peace and quiet.'
Introducing Kargo Kids. So good:
'...with plenty of toys and a state of the art feed trough, your children will be able to run, play, scream and eat all they want, while you enjoy your flight in peace and quiet.'
Monday, March 19, 2012
Project Re:Brief - Re-imagining classic ads for the modern web.
Quite simply, Project Re:Brief may be my favorite project to come out of Google. Despite the fact that we're in the midst of a revolution in display, video and mobile advertising, many people still question whether these new advertising mediums can tell an emotional story or build brands. Project Re:Brief answers that question by taking four of America's most iconic advertising campaigns and re-imagining them for the web. The blog post announcing the launch of Project Re:Brief explains it more eloquently than I can:
This year, digital advertising turns 18. Over nearly two decades, waves of innovation have transformed the medium—it’s come a long way since the blinking banner ads of the early Internet. But we think the most exciting changes are still to come, as marketers and agencies increasingly embrace technology to enable new types of creativity, and build online ads that don’t simply inform, but delight and engage their audience.
For example, what if an online ad could bring together two strangers on opposite sides of the globe? Or let you follow a real-life adventure as it unfolds? We wanted to find out. So we started an experiment, both to celebrate 18 years of online innovation, and to link advertising’s digital future to its storied past: Project Re: Brief.
We started with four iconic ad campaigns from the 1960s and ‘70s from Alka-Seltzer, Avis, Coca-Cola and Volvo, each considered groundbreaking in its day. The advertising legends who made the original ads then came out of retirement to rethink their original “brief,” this time, using the full range of technological tools at their disposal, to reach consumers in today’s digitally connected world.
I highly, highly, highly encourage you to go to the Project Re:Brief and watch the videos, but more importantly experience new ads (and the original) for yourself. In fact, I just sent a Coke to You can check out the intro video below:
You can see how the re-imagined Coca-cola Hilltop ad works below. Amazing! It really brings to life what can happen at the intersection of technology and creativity.
Supporting Articles: New York Times | Fast Co. | Mashable
This year, digital advertising turns 18. Over nearly two decades, waves of innovation have transformed the medium—it’s come a long way since the blinking banner ads of the early Internet. But we think the most exciting changes are still to come, as marketers and agencies increasingly embrace technology to enable new types of creativity, and build online ads that don’t simply inform, but delight and engage their audience.
For example, what if an online ad could bring together two strangers on opposite sides of the globe? Or let you follow a real-life adventure as it unfolds? We wanted to find out. So we started an experiment, both to celebrate 18 years of online innovation, and to link advertising’s digital future to its storied past: Project Re: Brief.
We started with four iconic ad campaigns from the 1960s and ‘70s from Alka-Seltzer, Avis, Coca-Cola and Volvo, each considered groundbreaking in its day. The advertising legends who made the original ads then came out of retirement to rethink their original “brief,” this time, using the full range of technological tools at their disposal, to reach consumers in today’s digitally connected world.
I highly, highly, highly encourage you to go to the Project Re:Brief and watch the videos, but more importantly experience new ads (and the original) for yourself. In fact, I just sent a Coke to You can check out the intro video below:
You can see how the re-imagined Coca-cola Hilltop ad works below. Amazing! It really brings to life what can happen at the intersection of technology and creativity.
Supporting Articles: New York Times | Fast Co. | Mashable
Two Compelling PSAs - OCD & Alzheimers
Here are a couple of recent PSA's that have really impressed me. No, I'm not talking about KONY.
The first PSA is from the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation. Developed by McCann Digital Israel, it compels you to repeatedly watch the video to get the message. It's a nice way to demonstrate what people afflicted with obsessive compulsive disorder must go through on a day to day basis to complete even simple tasks.
The second PSA is from The Alzheimer Society of British Columbia. Created by Rethink Canada in support of Brain Awareness Week (who knew such a thing even existed). In this beautiful spot, we're taken through a lifetime of memories seen through the lens of neural imaging. The spot urges the audience to protect memories and support Alzheimer's research. Watch it below, and then watch it again. Seriously.
Supporting Articles: AdFreak | AgencySpy
The first PSA is from the Obsessive Compulsive Foundation. Developed by McCann Digital Israel, it compels you to repeatedly watch the video to get the message. It's a nice way to demonstrate what people afflicted with obsessive compulsive disorder must go through on a day to day basis to complete even simple tasks.
The second PSA is from The Alzheimer Society of British Columbia. Created by Rethink Canada in support of Brain Awareness Week (who knew such a thing even existed). In this beautiful spot, we're taken through a lifetime of memories seen through the lens of neural imaging. The spot urges the audience to protect memories and support Alzheimer's research. Watch it below, and then watch it again. Seriously.
Supporting Articles: AdFreak | AgencySpy
Gap Geo-Fencing Campaign
Dave Etherington, Titan’s senior vice president of marketing and mobile, says that 'The lines are kind of blurring,' he says. 'You’re only a click away now from rich brand experiences and purchases.' He went on to say that Gap & Titan were pleased with the results which has a noticeable, but unspecified, sales uplift. Additionally, 'the campaign, which ran from Feb 20 to March 6, delivered 2.5 million impressions, with a 0.93 percent click-through rate.'
It's a really nice way to enhance the efficacy of standard outdoor ads and I love the potential that geo-fencing and other mobile technologies are starting to offer as a way to bridge the digital and offline to provide true cross-platform experiences.
As eConsultancy pointed out, we'd need to know more about the campaign before passing judgement, were the posters near actual Gap stores? Were the results skewed due to it being an offer? No
Supporting articles: PSFK | TechCrunch | eConsultancy
Parrot AR Drone Remote Control Banner
The Parrot AR.Drone, in my humble opinion, is probably the coolest toy/gadget on the market. They've done a fantastic job showing off the capabilities and experience of the drone through various media, primarily Youtube videos (see their channel here). A recent rich media campaign developed by Beacon Tokyo takes things a step further in bringing the user closer to the actual experience of piloting a Parrot AR.Drone. In a media bridging exercise, a user is prompted to scan a QR code in the interactive banner. That then triggers their smartphone to act as a controller for a virtual AR.Drone on your screen. You can then fly around, shoot at the site, which eventually collapses and prompts the user to watch more demo videos or go off to Facebook or Twitter. Take a look in the video below. Reminds me of the Doubleclick media bridging Christmas card/demo, Snowball Fight.
Again, just a really nice way of bringing users closer to the actual product experience and showing rather than just telling.
UPDATE: You can experience it for yourself here:
http://ardrone.gallery-site.net/
Supporting Articles: Contagious | Adverblog
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
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
Happy (Belated) St. Patricks Day...
...but that's really just an excuse to post the hilarious Guinness - Round Up Your Mates video.
via Andrew Bent
via Andrew Bent
Monday, March 5, 2012
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
"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."
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
Peugeot - Let Your Body Drive
To promote the idea that the new Peugeot 208 is like an extension of your body, BETC Euro RCSG developed an interactive Youtube experience/video entitled 'Let Your Body Drive.' According to Peugeot, the new 208 'has been designed to be perfectly in tune with the driver's body: more intuitive, more sensation, more stimulation. It allows the body to express itself fully, and the new interactive film perfectly illustrates this'.
That of course, tells you nothing about what exactly 'Let Your Body Drive' is all about. Simply put, it's a choose-your-own-adventure story using Youtube annotations. You're put in the shoes of a naked dude who's just been caught cheating on his girlfriend and is basically wandering the streets in his birthday suit. Choose correctly and you get back together with her. Choose poorly and...well you get the chance to play again.
The story is well done and amusing throughout. Respect to them for not hitting the user over the head with Peugeot 208 branding/messaging throughout the experience. From a more technical perspective it's nice that the experience takes place within a single video. Many choose-your-own-adventure type executions using Youtube annotations pop the user off to a separate, unlisted video at each decision point. That's great in terms of protecting the story flow, but from what I've seen there's significant drop off/bounce when users are taken to a separate video, rather than jumping another point within the same video.
'Let Your Body Drive' is part of a larger digital & ATL campaign that's currently running. The interactive video is also nicely integrated into the new Peugeot 208 campaign site, which houses previous interactive experiences and promotions for the 208.
Have a play around yourself by going to their Youtube channel or see below.
The story is well done and amusing throughout. Respect to them for not hitting the user over the head with Peugeot 208 branding/messaging throughout the experience. From a more technical perspective it's nice that the experience takes place within a single video. Many choose-your-own-adventure type executions using Youtube annotations pop the user off to a separate, unlisted video at each decision point. That's great in terms of protecting the story flow, but from what I've seen there's significant drop off/bounce when users are taken to a separate video, rather than jumping another point within the same video.
Have a play around yourself by going to their Youtube channel or see below.
via my colleague Inga Spitzer
The Coca Cola Video Puzzle
At this point one would hope that every advertiser is putting their TV commercials online in a branded environment. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean that people want to watch or in any way interact with those commercials, though a healthy dose of paid media to drive viewership and awareness certainly helps.
More importantly, how do you get them do more than just watch your ad? In other words, how do you get them to go from a passive viewer to actually DOING something. This work from e-dologic Israel provides a nice solution. They developed a Facebook app that turns the spot itself a video puzzle that users need to piece together (with the opportunity to win prizes of course!). I took a crack at it, which you can see in action below.
It's also worth checking out the case study below for some impressive results. More than 350,000 views, but incredibly users who took part watched the ad 23 times on average!
More importantly, how do you get them do more than just watch your ad? In other words, how do you get them to go from a passive viewer to actually DOING something. This work from e-dologic Israel provides a nice solution. They developed a Facebook app that turns the spot itself a video puzzle that users need to piece together (with the opportunity to win prizes of course!). I took a crack at it, which you can see in action below.
It's also worth checking out the case study below for some impressive results. More than 350,000 views, but incredibly users who took part watched the ad 23 times on average!
BGH Air Conditioners - Dads In Briefs
I adore this spot for BGH Air Conditioners from Del Campo Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi, but it also gives me cringeworthy flashbacks to my own childhood experiences.
So how do you sell air conditioners in a humorous way in the middle of Argentinian summer? Appeal to the visual violation that results from a non-air conditioned house with a middle aged Dad...hence the horror that many of us have surely experienced 'Dad's In Briefs.'
So how do you sell air conditioners in a humorous way in the middle of Argentinian summer? Appeal to the visual violation that results from a non-air conditioned house with a middle aged Dad...hence the horror that many of us have surely experienced 'Dad's In Briefs.'
via No10 Buzzilla's Blog
TED - Ads Worth Spreading Winners
Back in October I wrote about the 2nd annual TED Ads Worth Spreading competition. According to TED founder, Chris Anderson "TED’s mission is ‘ideas worth spreading.’ The dream behind this initiative is to find companies that want to communicate ideas to their consumers in the same way that TED wants to communicate with its audience. What makes ideas powerful is that they have a life of their own; an idea can reset someone’s worldview and even begin a domino effect as they pass it on to friends."
This year's Ads Worth Spreading winners have been announced. So what makes an Ad Worth Spreading? Well it's worth watching the original TED talk from Chris Anderson, but in short the jury "sought out ads that were driven by ideas...at TED, we’ve seen the power of imagination and innovation. We want to reward companies that have invested in longer-form, beautifully crafted campaigns that value human attention and intelligence, and take the time to tell a thought-provoking story.”
Some of the winners have been featured on this blog in the past, some of them you've probably seen floating around the web, but some of them (at least to me) were new revelations. The one thing they have in common is that they're all worth watching and sharing. I highly recommend you take 30 minutes of your day and go watch them over on the TED Ads Worth Spreading Youtube channel. I've also compiled them into a handy Youtube playlist, so you can sit back, relax and watch them all in one go with the minimum of fuss.
For those of you short on time or just want to know the winners, I've copied this except from the Youtube blog post announcing the winners:
Chipotle: Back to the Start; Company: Chipotle; Agency: Creative Artists Agency
As he regrets the mass production and artificial methods of his industrial animal factory, a determined farmer opts to return to sustainable farming methods for the future and betterment of society.
Citizen Engagement: The Return of Ben Ali; Brand: Engagement Citoyen; Agency: Memac Ogilvy Tunisia
Although former Dictator of Tunisia President Ben Ali was ousted amidst the chaos of the Tunisian Revolution, many quickly lost interest in politics. In order to galvanize the Tunisian people out of hibernation, La Goulette shocked residents by warning the return of tyranny. 88% turned up for the October 23rd vote.
NTT Docomo Mobile Phone: Xylophone; Brand: NTT Docomo, Inc.; Agency: Drill Inc.
Organic and imaginative, NTT Docomo captures the essence of their new mobile phone to redefine nature and technology.
Microsoft/Xbox: Kinect Effect; Brand: Microsoft / Xbox; Agency: Twofifteenmccann
Pushing the realm of imagination and technology, the Kinect takes a leap into the future of education, gaming and interaction
Sharpie: Start with Sharpie; Brand: Sharpie; Agency: Draftfbc - Chicago
Cheeming Boey, builds a career around drawing on cups with Sharpies. His inspirational story is one of creativity and drive, challenging those who tried to taint his dream.
Mazda: Defy Convention; Brand: Mazda; Agency: Team Cosmos/JWT Germany/Team Mazda Europe This moving advertisement shows how their heritage helps Mazda to see things differently and overcome adversity.
L'Oreal Paris: Aimee Mullins; Brand: L'Oreal Paris; Agency: R/GA and McCann Erickson
L’Oreal’s new beauty ambassador knows a lot about challenging notions of perceived beauty and achievement, as the wearer of double prosthetic legs.
Rethink Breast Cancer: Your Man Reminder; Brand: Rethink Breast Cancer; Agency: john st.
A tongue-in-cheek assertion that women are more likely to watch a video if it features a ‘hot guy’ underpins the serious message of this video.
Prudential Day One: Linda; Brand: Prudential; Agency: Droga5
Linda Gutherie reveals the thought process and life changes behind retirement as she shares her first day of retirement.
Canal +: The Bear; Brand: Canal+; Agency: BETC Euro RSCG
A bear skin rug that becomes a movie director? Just watch it ;-)
Some of the winners have been featured on this blog in the past, some of them you've probably seen floating around the web, but some of them (at least to me) were new revelations. The one thing they have in common is that they're all worth watching and sharing. I highly recommend you take 30 minutes of your day and go watch them over on the TED Ads Worth Spreading Youtube channel. I've also compiled them into a handy Youtube playlist, so you can sit back, relax and watch them all in one go with the minimum of fuss.
For those of you short on time or just want to know the winners, I've copied this except from the Youtube blog post announcing the winners:
Chipotle: Back to the Start; Company: Chipotle; Agency: Creative Artists Agency
As he regrets the mass production and artificial methods of his industrial animal factory, a determined farmer opts to return to sustainable farming methods for the future and betterment of society.
Citizen Engagement: The Return of Ben Ali; Brand: Engagement Citoyen; Agency: Memac Ogilvy Tunisia
Although former Dictator of Tunisia President Ben Ali was ousted amidst the chaos of the Tunisian Revolution, many quickly lost interest in politics. In order to galvanize the Tunisian people out of hibernation, La Goulette shocked residents by warning the return of tyranny. 88% turned up for the October 23rd vote.
NTT Docomo Mobile Phone: Xylophone; Brand: NTT Docomo, Inc.; Agency: Drill Inc.
Organic and imaginative, NTT Docomo captures the essence of their new mobile phone to redefine nature and technology.
Microsoft/Xbox: Kinect Effect; Brand: Microsoft / Xbox; Agency: Twofifteenmccann
Pushing the realm of imagination and technology, the Kinect takes a leap into the future of education, gaming and interaction
Sharpie: Start with Sharpie; Brand: Sharpie; Agency: Draftfbc - Chicago
Cheeming Boey, builds a career around drawing on cups with Sharpies. His inspirational story is one of creativity and drive, challenging those who tried to taint his dream.
Mazda: Defy Convention; Brand: Mazda; Agency: Team Cosmos/JWT Germany/Team Mazda Europe This moving advertisement shows how their heritage helps Mazda to see things differently and overcome adversity.
L'Oreal Paris: Aimee Mullins; Brand: L'Oreal Paris; Agency: R/GA and McCann Erickson
L’Oreal’s new beauty ambassador knows a lot about challenging notions of perceived beauty and achievement, as the wearer of double prosthetic legs.
Rethink Breast Cancer: Your Man Reminder; Brand: Rethink Breast Cancer; Agency: john st.
A tongue-in-cheek assertion that women are more likely to watch a video if it features a ‘hot guy’ underpins the serious message of this video.
Prudential Day One: Linda; Brand: Prudential; Agency: Droga5
Linda Gutherie reveals the thought process and life changes behind retirement as she shares her first day of retirement.
Canal +: The Bear; Brand: Canal+; Agency: BETC Euro RSCG
A bear skin rug that becomes a movie director? Just watch it ;-)
Monday, February 27, 2012
Track Me
Last time I wrote about the continuing rise of personalized video response campaigns, especially around holidays or big events. Soon after that post, Innovative Thunder, the creative team from RG/A responsible for the Cannes-winning Pay With A Tweet launched a new project called 'Track Me.' Over the next month Innovative Thunder & the band Riot !n Paris will create songs about randomly chosen people based off their social media profiles. Users can submit themselves for consideration on the Track Me site and new songs are posted each day. The background for the idea is that "with all the stuff people post, tweet and put out in the Google-sphere, there is enough material to write a whole song for each of them. So we thought, why not do that?" said Leif Abraham and Christian Behrendt of Innovative Thunder. Check out the teaser video below.
They kicked it off by creating some tracks for various celebrities to give people a sense of what to expect. Check out the one for Kate Upton below. It's also worth checking out the tracks they've posted for the lucky people who've been selected, which are also pretty damn good.
The idea of bespoke music isn't new, but this approach and this scale is certainly ambitious. I especially like the fact that those people selected will have something tangible in the form of a personalized track that lasts long after the experiment ends. It'll be interesting to see if any advertisers piggyback off this idea like they did with Pay With A Tweet.
Supporting Articles: Creativity | CoCreate
BMW - 0 to Desir3 Contest
BMW is giving the public the opportunity to win a new BMW 328i as part of their new '0 to Desir3 in 5.9 Seconds' contest on Youtube. While contests are nothing new for Youtube, I really like the hook for this one. Entrants are challenged to prove their desire as creatively as possible, but the video entries must be 5.9 seconds long (or less). The contest is part of a larger campaign developed by KBS+P. It's a clever way to tie in one of the main USPs of the new 328i, ie. the fact that it does 0-60 in 5.9 seconds.
Entries close on March 9th and will be whittled down to the top-30 via a panel of judges. The winner will then be determined by a combination of public voting and panelist judging. I've been impressed by the quality of entries so far. Here are a couple of good ones below...
Twisted Metal: Shoot My Truck
Two days, one truck, over 100,000 bullets. That about sums up what happened when Deutsch LA & Stink Digital teamed up to create a real-life shoot em up experience. The stunt was to promote the relaunch of the Twisted Metal franchise on Playstation 3. Shootmytruck.com allowed users to fire a real M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (read: big ass machine gun) over the course of two days at at a perfect replica of the hot-rod ice cream van from the main character in the game. The gun was hooked up to a remote interface which allowed users from around the world to login via Facebook or Twitter and fire the gun, unleashing damage for a full 30 seconds. See intro video below.
In a nice effort to increase word of mouth and earned media, players were able to jump the line, by sharing the experience with friends. Even cooler, the truck was also equipped with various explosive laden objects, so there was a chance that your gunfire could result in big explosions. For a grand finale, three lucky winners were given the opportunity to fire the gun for 90 seconds to finish off and literally blow up the truck. Check out the highlight/wrap up video below.
Supporting Articles: Contagious | AdFreak
In a nice effort to increase word of mouth and earned media, players were able to jump the line, by sharing the experience with friends. Even cooler, the truck was also equipped with various explosive laden objects, so there was a chance that your gunfire could result in big explosions. For a grand finale, three lucky winners were given the opportunity to fire the gun for 90 seconds to finish off and literally blow up the truck. Check out the highlight/wrap up video below.
Supporting Articles: Contagious | AdFreak
The Artistifier
Considering that The Artist cleaned up at the Oscar's last night, I thought it was topical to share this great use of the Youtube API. The Artistifier allows you to turn any Youtube video into a black & white, silent movie a la The Artist. Just paste in the URL of the Youtube video and then you're given the opportunity to create your own silent movie complete with old school dialogue cards. Once you're done, it creates an 'Artistified' version of the video, removing the sound from the original clip and adding in music from the Artist and the caption/dialogue cards. Check out this funny one that someone created using the Moneyball trailer:
via Myles Riseborough
via Myles Riseborough
Intel Pop Up Theater
I really like this stunt campaign from Intel to promote the design and responsiveness of the new series of Intel Ultrabooks. The idea of flashmobs are pretty tired, so it's nice to see a fresh take on the concept.
The Ultrabook™ POP-UP THEATER is a series of live stunts that demonstrates the ultra thin design & responsiveness of the Ultrabook™.
A uniquely choreographed team of 60 individuals create a human digital wall made of Ultrabooks. The Pop-Up teams make surprise appearances on the streets of Los Angeles, transforming an everyday location into a mini theater.
Supporting Articles: Creativity | Digital Buzz Blog
The Ultrabook™ POP-UP THEATER is a series of live stunts that demonstrates the ultra thin design & responsiveness of the Ultrabook™.
A uniquely choreographed team of 60 individuals create a human digital wall made of Ultrabooks. The Pop-Up teams make surprise appearances on the streets of Los Angeles, transforming an everyday location into a mini theater.
Supporting Articles: Creativity | Digital Buzz Blog
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Valentine's Day & The Rise Of Personalized Response Campaigns
We've all seen (far too many times at this point) the Old Spice video response campaign. What's been interesting is to see the rise of the personalized video response campaign for other brands, particularly over the past few months. All of these campaigns use a similar mechanism and format. Intro video inviting users to submit their comments, questions, requests, etc. via Twitter, Facebook or Youtube followed by a personalized response video for all or some of the submissions. The goal of course is to get the consumer involved and give something back in a way that's spreadable, or at the very least creates a degree of brand endearment.
o2 kicked things off this Christmas with The o2 Santa. The idea was that we can't all be with our loved ones during the festive season, so let The o2 Santa help you spread some cheer. Using the hashtag #02santa, followers could tweet Santa a message they’d like him to read. Santa (and his agency elves) then created a personal response video which was posted on the The o2 Santa Youtube channel. All told, nearly a thousand response videos were created in a couple weeks.
Now o2 is going back to the well for a Valentine's day with the o2 Cupid Love Cloud. See below.
My favorite example is the work that CP+B's Valentine's Day initiative for Kraft Mac N Cheese. Remember Ted Williams, the Golden voiced homeless guy who was all over the news last year? After being featured on Good Morning America, he then got picked up by Kraft for various commercials (read here for more background). Kraft has enlisted his dulcet tones for a personalized response campaign, 'The Golden Voice Of Love.'
Tweets with #voiceoflove have the opportunity to be read out by him, because 'nothing says you care, like having Ted Williams say it for you.' I also dig the cheesy romantic video background to each video. Another nice aspect of this campaign is that Kraft is donating a 100 boxes of Kraft Mac N Cheese to Feed America for each tweet, especially relevant considering Ted Williams used to be homeless. Nice touch.
Check out more on the Kraft Mac N Cheese Youtube channel or submit your own before the end of the day.
Supporting Articles: PSFK | MediaPost | The Drum
o2 kicked things off this Christmas with The o2 Santa. The idea was that we can't all be with our loved ones during the festive season, so let The o2 Santa help you spread some cheer. Using the hashtag #02santa, followers could tweet Santa a message they’d like him to read. Santa (and his agency elves) then created a personal response video which was posted on the The o2 Santa Youtube channel. All told, nearly a thousand response videos were created in a couple weeks.
Now o2 is going back to the well for a Valentine's day with the o2 Cupid Love Cloud. See below.
My favorite example is the work that CP+B's Valentine's Day initiative for Kraft Mac N Cheese. Remember Ted Williams, the Golden voiced homeless guy who was all over the news last year? After being featured on Good Morning America, he then got picked up by Kraft for various commercials (read here for more background). Kraft has enlisted his dulcet tones for a personalized response campaign, 'The Golden Voice Of Love.'
Tweets with #voiceoflove have the opportunity to be read out by him, because 'nothing says you care, like having Ted Williams say it for you.' I also dig the cheesy romantic video background to each video. Another nice aspect of this campaign is that Kraft is donating a 100 boxes of Kraft Mac N Cheese to Feed America for each tweet, especially relevant considering Ted Williams used to be homeless. Nice touch.
Check out more on the Kraft Mac N Cheese Youtube channel or submit your own before the end of the day.
Supporting Articles: PSFK | MediaPost | The Drum
Your Film Festival - A Global Search For The World's Best Storytellers
Youtube & Emirates Airlines recently launched Your Film Festival, 'a global search for the world's best storytellers.' The idea is simply...
15 minutes to tell a story. Millions of people to watch it. $500,000 to make a new one for the world to see.
So how does it work? Aspiring Filmmakers have until March 31st to submit a short, story-driven video. There's no entry fee. It can be any format - short film, web-series episode, TV pilot - and any genre. In June, audiences around the world will vote, sending 10 deserving storytellers to open the 2012 Venice Film Festival where a Grand Prize Winner will be be rewarded with a $500,000 grant to create a new work, produced by Ridley Scott and his world class team (the same guys behind the Youtube Life In A Day initiative).
There's a couple things that really standout for me about this initiative. We often talk about the democratization of content creation as the barrier to entry for filmmakers gets lower and lower. Video and editing equipment that used to cost thousands of dollars can now be purchased for an almost inconsequential amount of money, allowing amazing and incredible work to be produced at a fraction of the price. Obviously the emergence of video platforms such as Youtube, Vimeo, etc. provide an outlet and global reach for literally anyone and their work.
However, the barrier that still typically exists is traditional distribution. Many of the independent movies that make it into cinemas are first screened at various festivals, and those festivals have significant entry fees that are beyond the reach of many aspiring filmmakers.
That's what I love about Your Film Festival. There's no entry fee, literally $0. Additionally, it takes the idea of global distribution and accessibility to an entirely new level. The top 50 semifinalists will have their film translated/subtitled into more than 50+ languages where Youtube is localized. Additionally, any entries submitted with a script will then be machine transcribed into any of the localized languages. Pretty amazing if you think about...
In another cool twist, all of the semi-finalist entry films will be shown on the in-flight entertainment systems of Emirates flights for an extended period of time.
Supporting Articles: Huffington Post | PSFK | Youtube Blog
Heineken Serenade
Heineken #Serenade is the latest initiative from Wieden + Kennedy. The Facebook app invites you to create a humorous serenade for that special one you would like to bring on a date. Users are asked a serious of questions (what you intend to do with that person, why they should go out with you, etc.) which are then used to create the serenade (there are something like 600 different options if you factor in the different languages available. Once you create a serenade for that special someone, it's sent off to that person where they can respond Yes or No on whether they'll go out with you.
In addition, Heineken hosted a 8-hour live event on the Heineken Youtube channel where they chose some of the best serenades and invited users to surprise their loved ones by having their serenade performed live by the band. You can view the highlights on the Youtube channel or check out one of the videos below.
via Sibylle Tretera
Supporting Articles: Creativity | Digital Buzz Blog
In addition, Heineken hosted a 8-hour live event on the Heineken Youtube channel where they chose some of the best serenades and invited users to surprise their loved ones by having their serenade performed live by the band. You can view the highlights on the Youtube channel or check out one of the videos below.
via Sibylle Tretera
Supporting Articles: Creativity | Digital Buzz Blog
Red Hot Chili Peppers 'Look Around' Interactive Video
The Red Hot Chili Peppers recently released a cool interactive video for their new single 'Look Around.' Developed by Axe Studios & Therapy Studios, the panoramic video allows users to click and drag around the video panning back and forth and zooming in and out between various rooms. Little easter eggs with bonus videos, photos, etc. are sprinkled throughout the video and can be revealed via the 'show hints' button. Check it out below:
You can also see the linear, non-interactive version here.
You can also see the linear, non-interactive version here.
Valentine's Day Google Doodle
If you haven't already gone to google.com to see the delightful Valentine's Day doodle animation, stop reading and go there now (if you're reading this post Valentine's Day I'm sure it'll be in the archive) or check out the video below.
There's also a nice article over on TechCrunch about the creative process behind the animation.
There's also a nice article over on TechCrunch about the creative process behind the animation.
Monday, January 30, 2012
5 Cool Things Superbowl Special Edition
Considering I'm a Yank & a HUGE New York Football Giants fan (channeling my inner Chris Berman, for those of you who don't get the reference), I thought it'd be worth doing a special Superbowl edition of 5 Cool Things. Is that an original idea? Not at all. Does it make for a fun 15 minutes of you time? Absolutely. Read on the posts below for the latest and greatest in advertising for this Sunday's game.
Also, don't forget to check out Youtube AdBlitz during (or before) the game, where the Youtube team will be posting the various spots as they air during the game and allowing fans to vote for their favorites.
Also, don't forget to check out Youtube AdBlitz during (or before) the game, where the Youtube team will be posting the various spots as they air during the game and allowing fans to vote for their favorites.
Honda - Ferris Bueller
Ferris Bueller is back, but for whom? This unbranded teaser was uploaded to Youtube last week with the following in the video description: "We hate to be such a tease, but on a day like today, we just have to. Stick it out until the Super Bowl, or take a 'day off' on Monday and catch the big reveal."
After racking up 4 million + views and generating a ton of buzz in a few short days, it turns out it's an epic two and a half minute spot for the Honda CR-V that stays true to the movie. According to Honda:
To celebrate the launch of the all-new 2012 CR-V, Honda brought Ferris Bueller's Day Off back in a big game commercial. We cast Matthew Broderick as himself, skipping out on a day of acting work and living it up in his all-new CR-V. Relive movie history with Honda's fresh twist and wonderful homage to this '80s classic.
Think you're a true fan of Ferris Bueller's Day Off? We hid over two dozen references to the movie throughout the commercial. Some are obvious, some are VERY subtle. See how many you can find. #dayoff
My only question is...where's Cameron?
After racking up 4 million + views and generating a ton of buzz in a few short days, it turns out it's an epic two and a half minute spot for the Honda CR-V that stays true to the movie. According to Honda:
To celebrate the launch of the all-new 2012 CR-V, Honda brought Ferris Bueller's Day Off back in a big game commercial. We cast Matthew Broderick as himself, skipping out on a day of acting work and living it up in his all-new CR-V. Relive movie history with Honda's fresh twist and wonderful homage to this '80s classic.
Think you're a true fan of Ferris Bueller's Day Off? We hid over two dozen references to the movie throughout the commercial. Some are obvious, some are VERY subtle. See how many you can find. #dayoff
My only question is...where's Cameron?
VW - The Bark Side
Lat year The Force: Volkswagen Commercial was the clear winner (at least in my mind) of all the Superbowl ads. Not only was it the best spot of the game, but they also dominated in the lead up to the big game by releasing their spot five days before the Superbowl and racking up 14 million views prior to kickoff on Superbowl Sunday. Those views (and this holds true for all of this year's pre-released ads) are arguably more valuable than a typical TV view. Why? Well a view on Youtube (or other channels) represents an explicit choice to view the content, rather than a passive, interruption based view that one normally associates with TV. In fact, Kantar media estimated that the pre-game views for The Force equated to more than $500,000 in free media for VW, and that didn't include the PR/buzz around it.
With that in mind it's not surprising to see more and more brands releasing their full creative or the extended versions of their creative as VW did last year. So how do Deutsch LA and VW follow up on last year's hit? We won't know until Gameday, but they've generated a tremendous amount of buzz (not to mention 10 million+ views) with their teaser 'The Bark Side.'
I just hope that the actual spot can live up to the expectations generated by this canine chorus.
With that in mind it's not surprising to see more and more brands releasing their full creative or the extended versions of their creative as VW did last year. So how do Deutsch LA and VW follow up on last year's hit? We won't know until Gameday, but they've generated a tremendous amount of buzz (not to mention 10 million+ views) with their teaser 'The Bark Side.'
I just hope that the actual spot can live up to the expectations generated by this canine chorus.
Audi - Race The Light
Audi has been teasing it's upcoming Superbowl spot from Venables Bell & Partners. The teaser looks back at the highlights of the spots they've run during the big game in past years.
They've now revealed the full Game day commercial, 'Race The Light.' which promotes the Audi S7. Rather than just a typical reveal, they challenged Facebook fans to piece together/gather all 60 frames from the 60 second spot in order to unlock it.
Result? nearly 2 million views of the full spot as of Monday. See below for the spot.
They've now revealed the full Game day commercial, 'Race The Light.' which promotes the Audi S7. Rather than just a typical reveal, they challenged Facebook fans to piece together/gather all 60 frames from the 60 second spot in order to unlock it.
Result? nearly 2 million views of the full spot as of Monday. See below for the spot.
First Bank - Pee Break
Without a doubt, this year has seen more brands releasing their full creative before the Superbowl than in any previous year. By my count there's more than a dozen spots that have already been released and it's only Monday. All of these commercials are battling for pre-game buzz and hoping to be 'The Force' of 2012.
For me there's one commercial that stands out among the rest. It's just so completely different than the typical spot and takes such a different approach to the insane media buy that's become the 30-second Superbowl spot. I really wish I could've been a fly on the wall during the client pitch for this. It's really too bad it's only a local spot.
As The Denver Egoist explains:
'For the jittery Super Bowl fan whose own unflinching game day passion exceeds his bladder’s, FirstBank offers solace. Continuing its ongoing “helpfulness” campaign, the bank’s first-ever Super Bowl spot, created by TDA_Boulder, is a pee break. The spot runs on NBC’s Colorado Super Bowl programming during the break between third and fourth quarters. Wish the rest of the country could witness this genius.'
For me there's one commercial that stands out among the rest. It's just so completely different than the typical spot and takes such a different approach to the insane media buy that's become the 30-second Superbowl spot. I really wish I could've been a fly on the wall during the client pitch for this. It's really too bad it's only a local spot.
As The Denver Egoist explains:
'For the jittery Super Bowl fan whose own unflinching game day passion exceeds his bladder’s, FirstBank offers solace. Continuing its ongoing “helpfulness” campaign, the bank’s first-ever Super Bowl spot, created by TDA_Boulder, is a pee break. The spot runs on NBC’s Colorado Super Bowl programming during the break between third and fourth quarters. Wish the rest of the country could witness this genius.'
Coca Cola - Polar Bears
Coca-Cola is undertaking an ambitious Gameday initiative using the much loved Coca-Cola Polar Bears. This year Coke promises that the bears, one of whom will be supporting the Patriots, and one the Giants, will respond in real-time across the web and even in the TV commercials during the game.
According to the press release:
'Coca-Cola is capitalizing on the growing trend of second screen media consumption to extend its connection with fans beyond the television screen to the computer screen and the social media universe. Coca-Cola is launching a unique viewing experience for fans that merges a live digital stream and social media with traditional television advertising. The stars of the campaign are two Coca-Cola polar bears who will be watching the big game live and sharing a Coke from the comforts of their Arctic ice cave.
Fans can join in on the fun and watch the game with the polar bears "in the Arctic" by visiting www.CokePolarBowl.com. The digital platform uses proprietary technology to bring the computer-generated polar bears to life through live animation -- a technological first for the big game or any media event. The live stream will showcase the animated polar bears' reactions to all the plays on the field, the halftime show and highly anticipated commercials.'
According to the press release:
'Coca-Cola is capitalizing on the growing trend of second screen media consumption to extend its connection with fans beyond the television screen to the computer screen and the social media universe. Coca-Cola is launching a unique viewing experience for fans that merges a live digital stream and social media with traditional television advertising. The stars of the campaign are two Coca-Cola polar bears who will be watching the big game live and sharing a Coke from the comforts of their Arctic ice cave.
Fans can join in on the fun and watch the game with the polar bears "in the Arctic" by visiting www.CokePolarBowl.com. The digital platform uses proprietary technology to bring the computer-generated polar bears to life through live animation -- a technological first for the big game or any media event. The live stream will showcase the animated polar bears' reactions to all the plays on the field, the halftime show and highly anticipated commercials.'
They also have alternate versions of the commercials set to run depending on which team is winning. See this mashable article for a more complete explanation of the Weiden + Kennedy campaign. It'll be interesting to see how successful Coke is in engaging the audience on a second screen during the game. The strategy makes a ton of sense considering more than 50% of viewers watching the game plan to have a second screen running.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Honda - The Great Unknown
The past couple of months has seen some great work from Weiden + Kennedy London (as well as B-Reel & Partizan films) for Honda's 'The Great Unknown' pan-European marketing campaign. The campaign supports the launch of the new 2012 Civic.
The first phase kicked off with the launch of the new Honda Civic UK Youtube channel which (according to W+K London) 'introduced the campaign idea and was car-specific: the content relates to the various improvements and enhancements of the Civic.' This included the adorable Happy Dog interactive film (see below), which highlights 'the journey the Honda engineers undertook- how they got to the final design of the Civic and the lessons learned along the way.'
The second installment, Honda - The Experiment evoked the iconic Honda Cog commercial (see here) from 2003, brought to life through a physics based HTML5 game/challenge where: 'Each video window contains an object that interacts with those around it to create hundreds of possibilities and combinations. After six levels of solving chain reactions you get the chance to create your own and challenge your friends.' The goal is to experiment and discover what works, just like Honda engineers do.
Warning, it's addictive and frustrating at the same time. There's also an interesting making of video, that can be found here.
For the third and final installment of the campaign, Honda launched the 360 degree interactive film 'Off The Grid.' It feels very much like Google Streetview, but aims to take users to places 'off the grid' or part of 'the great unknown' that they'd never get a chance to see otherwise. This includes new perspectives/views of places such as Antelope Canyon, an Alaskan glacier cave and an underwater sculpture gallery. The locations and cinematography is incredibly stunning, and the Yellowbird 360 degree player means that users can control the perspective as the experience unfolds. See below, but I highly encourage you to experience it yourself on the Honda Civic Youtube channel. There's also a nice 'making of' video here.
In fact all three installments of the campaign can be seen on their Youtube channel.
Supporting Articles: B-Reel | PSFK | W+K London
The first phase kicked off with the launch of the new Honda Civic UK Youtube channel which (according to W+K London) 'introduced the campaign idea and was car-specific: the content relates to the various improvements and enhancements of the Civic.' This included the adorable Happy Dog interactive film (see below), which highlights 'the journey the Honda engineers undertook- how they got to the final design of the Civic and the lessons learned along the way.'
The second installment, Honda - The Experiment evoked the iconic Honda Cog commercial (see here) from 2003, brought to life through a physics based HTML5 game/challenge where: 'Each video window contains an object that interacts with those around it to create hundreds of possibilities and combinations. After six levels of solving chain reactions you get the chance to create your own and challenge your friends.' The goal is to experiment and discover what works, just like Honda engineers do.
Warning, it's addictive and frustrating at the same time. There's also an interesting making of video, that can be found here.
For the third and final installment of the campaign, Honda launched the 360 degree interactive film 'Off The Grid.' It feels very much like Google Streetview, but aims to take users to places 'off the grid' or part of 'the great unknown' that they'd never get a chance to see otherwise. This includes new perspectives/views of places such as Antelope Canyon, an Alaskan glacier cave and an underwater sculpture gallery. The locations and cinematography is incredibly stunning, and the Yellowbird 360 degree player means that users can control the perspective as the experience unfolds. See below, but I highly encourage you to experience it yourself on the Honda Civic Youtube channel. There's also a nice 'making of' video here.
In fact all three installments of the campaign can be seen on their Youtube channel.
Supporting Articles: B-Reel | PSFK | W+K London
Axe Anarchy - The Graphic Novel
Razorfish and Aspen comics have created a cool new campaign for Axe Anarchy. A bit of background... Axe is looking to expand beyond their typical audience of young men. They're introducing a new line of fragrances for both men and women called Anarchy. To promote Axe Anarchy they've embarked in a co-creation project with fans to create an interactive graphic novel.
The Youtube channel is the hub of the campaign where fans are invited to shape the graphic novel by contributing storyline and character ideas (users contribute directly using Youtube, Facebook or Twitter from directly within the channel). Think of it as a participatory version of the classic Choose Your Own Adventure books. Every few days, new chapters are added to the Youtube channel with story arcs evolving depending on fan input. Additionally Axe is rewarding good ideas from fans by depicting (and tagging them via their social media handles) in the actual graphic novel.
While I really like the idea, I do question the strategy and wonder how effective it will be in attracting a female audience. Regardless, take a few minutes to check out the Youtube channel and see for yourself.
via Andrew Bent
Supporting Articles: Digital Buzz Blog | Creativity | AdFreak
Israel Anti-Drug Authority - Adam Barak FB Timeline
McCann Digital Israel is running a clever campaign for the Israel Anti-Drug Authority using the new Facebook Timeline feature. As far as I know it's the first campaign use of the Facebook Timeline. They've created a fictional profile for Adam Barak and shows a photo comparison of a year in his life on drugs vs. a year where he stays clean. The split screen photos shows his downward spiral into addiction (leaving out all the fun parts ;-) You can see the profile here (UPDATE: the campaign violates Facebook regulations on brands using fake profiles and has been removed).
This sort of comparison has been done before, most memorably in the Faces Of Meth posters from the US, but it's a nicely done piece of work. My favorite part is that the photos are of a real copywriter at McCann, Daniel Barak.
Doritos Crash The Superbowl Finalists + One That Should Be A Finalist
A few months ago I wrote a post featuring the latest iteration in Doritos Crash The Superbowl competition. Well the five finalists for the 6th annual Crash The Superbowl competition have been selected! They're all amusing spots, though not mind blowing or particularly original. Out of the finalists, my personal favorite is Bird Of Prey (see below).
What's interesting is the buzz around one of the submission that didn't make the cut. I think it's far and away superior to any of the five finalist videos. It's racked up nearly two million views on Youtube in the past week, far more than the views for the finalist videos on Youtube. To be fair, the Crash The Superbowl site uses a different video player, so it's impossible to know how many views each of the finalist videos has racked up on CrashTheSuperbowl.com.
See the playlist below for the rejected video and the five finalist videos. You can vote for your favorite at CrashTheSuperbowl.com Predictions anyone?
Supporting Articles: AdFreak | Buzzilla | Devour
What's interesting is the buzz around one of the submission that didn't make the cut. I think it's far and away superior to any of the five finalist videos. It's racked up nearly two million views on Youtube in the past week, far more than the views for the finalist videos on Youtube. To be fair, the Crash The Superbowl site uses a different video player, so it's impossible to know how many views each of the finalist videos has racked up on CrashTheSuperbowl.com.
See the playlist below for the rejected video and the five finalist videos. You can vote for your favorite at CrashTheSuperbowl.com Predictions anyone?
Supporting Articles: AdFreak | Buzzilla | Devour
Delta - Your Bag's Journey
Ever wonder what happens to your bag after it gets checked in at the airport? Delta recently released a video that shows what happens to a checked bag once it goes behind those black rubber flaps. They put together a piece of luggage with six built in cameras that then traveled on a flight from Atlanta to New York City. Obviously this bag got special treatment (there's no baggage handler rifling through the luggage to nick your electronics or chucking it haphazardly onto the baggage cart), but overall a very cool behind the scenes look at what a bag goes through to get from point A to point B.
The video (which has racked up about a million views in two weeks) is also an effective way to promote the new Delta mobile app that allows flyers track their checked baggage.
Supporting Articles: PSFK | Devour | USA Today
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