If you don't take Valentine's day too seriously, you might have fun with Romance Novel Yourself. Silly but quite viral online application that let you or your partner star on the cover of a romance novel.
I'm not a big fan of QR codes, but this idea is worth being shared because it's smart and buzzworthy, at least among us, creative geeks :-) See Frisk mints in action...
Posting cool stuff on Adverblog is getting more and more difficult. I mean, I think the time of cool microsites is almost over. I was discussing the topic with some friends in Amsterdam the other day. To be successful and to be meaningful, you need to do more than a website. You need to connect it with the offline world, and surely you need to create a story worth being noticed and shared through social media. Paid media is no longer enough to drive traffic. And, in the same way a good/creative website doesn't make a campaign successful if you don't build an integrated action around it. So, getting back to the point, to become a cool campaign we can write about, you need to tell us a story that goes beyond sharing a link.
Last weekend i received a link to this video, where somebody from supertalented KokoKaka showed how their new website for Wrangler was supposed to work, this was a hell of a teaser:
Then, the site came alive on Tuesday, and i must say that is one of the most delightful experiences i've seen lately. A simple idea with a beautiful execution, "delightful" is the word for me, as dressing/undressing the guy to the rhythm of the music is absolutely memorable.
Probably Martina has something to say related to the shopping experience (there is not) and there's no much more than that, but having the whole video or the song for download makes me say "yay!", it closes the whole experience and makes this jeans collection a one to remember for this year.
To launch the new identity of the Creative Circle awards in the UK, Mark Denton and the team at Coy! have produced this fantastic animated film referencing dozens of great ads from the last god knows how many years. Try and spot all of them, best score so far is 78...
Absolutely moving, huge concept and simple yet brilliant making, this online ad to enforce the use of seat belt while driving is one of the most wonderful things i've seen in the latest times, brought in by Sussex Safer Roads Partnership. The happy consequences of using it, instead of the usual rawness showing what happens if you don't, made my day.
Aditionally, and not as a part of the campaign but because some users created it, a Facebook group gathers people for the cause, Embrace life, trying to get the most people involved trying to get the video on tv.
Swedish magazine T-Post, distributed as a T-shirt (yes, check it out), has released an issue where the t-shirt itself becomes a "paper rock scissors" game to play against. A bit creepy, but also interesting as it keeps on unveiling new ways of interacting with physical products, as in the Adidas' sneakers augmented reality thing.
This is an hilarious and brilliant way to promote your beer in Argentina, by Del Campo, Nazca Saatchi and Saatchi for Andes. Any description i provide wouldn't be worthy of the campaign itself, so check this video out to see what is it about:
It has become kind of trendy for the fashion industry to work with famous directors and movie makers to present the new collections. Prada and YSL are just the latest high end fashion brands that decided to go this way. It's a strategy I don't fully get as I miss a more integrated communication approach but I presume the "short movie" solution is paying back in terms of PR and possibly does a good job in filling the TV sets within the showrooms with content that goes beyond the usual catwalk.
Prada has worked with Chinese filmaker Yang Fudong to represent the new direction in its visual communication through a black & white journey in Shanghai during the 30s & 40s.
The Games We Play is a series of videos recently launched by Puma. It's an impressive job that combines playful live-action with a fully illustrated set. Puma's commitment in running, fitness, motorsports and golf is explored and visualized with a touch of colors and sense of humor.
I really look forward to see if there is going to be more around this campaign. Both the idea and the execution are so cool that I wonder how they are going to fully exploit such a creative boost.
Firstborn has recently launched a simple yet effective digital experience to explain common misconception about well-being and insurances in the US. It's nothing more, nothing less than a promo for an insurance company called Aflac, so it's good to see it's not the usual boring corporate website you would expect for such a client.
What I really like is the communication approach that starts with the "attract and engage" phase. If this first part proves effective, consumers will be more likely to stay on the website, listen to the additional facts or promotional info the brand wants to get through and possibly convert their attention into a quote request. It's as simple as that... but how often do we remember to follow this path when we plan a digital experience?
From Japan another great example of digital communication and a clear demonstration that the online media and online commerce are (more than) ready to support any brand or product (if the communication is done in the right way). Today we talk about dogs, fashion and ecommerce. The brand is called Free Stitch and produces clothing for small dogs. I personally hate the idea of putting a ridiculous cloth on my dog but I appreciate small dogs might suffer cold... and this website would definitely push me to buy something fashionable.
The experience is brilliant, with a gallery of "models" wearing the different items and the absolutely fantastic possibility to browse the collection by clothing or by "dog".
Looks like Diesel is back to the great stupid campaigns of its glorious past. Be Stupid is a smart concept that offers a wide range of possibilities to be further explored and exploded with wit and irony. The idea is simple: smart may have the brains, but stupid has the balls... the balls to create new stuff, the balls to do crazy things, the balls to surprise.
If you think you are doing something stupid enough you can send your stupid video to Diesel and win the possibility to be featured in the video catalogue/music clip they will produce over the next few months.
