In Poland, Coca-Cola is online with an advergaming site to celebrate the Christmas period.

The site features a total of six advergames. I managed to play only a Xmas-Coke version of the popular Chinese game Mahjong, then my score wasn't good enough to access the second game. And here comes the best part of the site: only the first advergame is open to everybody, all the others require a minimum score to enter. If games are good and funny to play I really think this is a sticky idea to keep people on the site.

Sorry but my Polish is not good enough :-) to tell you if there is also a competition associated to the site. If any reader can help... thank you!

TomTom, the GPS satellite navigation system, has launched in France a reality-show style challenge, in which two teams need to survive a travel around France just using the TomTom technology. The Ch'ti Brothers are competing in the TomTom Raid against Bonnie & Clyde trying to find all the checkpoints the game points them to. Players receive no money for the ten days raid, so finding the checkpoints is also crucial for survival, since these are the spots where the teams get food and a place to sleep.

French users can follow the competition online, watching real time videos. They can send players supporting messages and also vote for them to enter the chance of winning a TomTom navigator.

[via Alternative Buzz]

AKQA has (not so) recently launched the new European website for Nike Free shoes. It features excellent animations and a perfect use of video shootages. An emotional experience that definitely delivers a great brand message for Nike.

In case you are interested, this is the link to Nike Free USA, which is also nice but not as engaging.

A new report by Mediaedge:cia analyzes in-game advertising warning about the risks of flooding videogames with promotional branded messages. Mediaweek warns "using videogames simply to 'reach' or interrupt people cannot be regarded as an effective use of a channel with such potential." Instead, according to the new report ads need to "enhance a game's alternate reality".

Well, as you know I'm a little bit biased in posting a news about my friends at eRoi. Ryan and Dylan are two lovely person (not just because they provide me with a free newsletter tool :-) and, most of all, they can do crazy things... Check out www.wearshortshorts.com and see how the Holiday Office Olympics are going. You can buy merchandise related to the event, and even decide what is going to happen.

Definitely an unusal way to present a company but also a good idea to showcase your abilities, even if not exactly marketing related :-)) A job needs to be a serious fun. If you don't have a good time at work, how can you deliver your clients with the best results?

In case you are asking...
- yes, the guy in the picture is eRoi's CEO
- yes, he looks like John McEnroe
- and yes, his shorts are waaaay to short...

To promote the videogame "Prince of Persia: the two thrones" Ubisoft has launched a viral video where two guys try to train for the game in real life. Unfortunately they didn't learn by heart the game manual, so you can imagine the results...

Maverick is behind this crazy idea.

[via AdJab]

Samsung is online in Scandinavia with an interactive adventure game starring its D600 phone. Exploring the phone features, users are provided with tips to solve a mystery. The game is quite interesting to play, and surely does a good job in showcasing the phone's characteristics. In order to enter a draw for the weekly prizes, olayers need to finde the 5 hidden clues on the site and shortly write their own ending to the mystery story.

The online game, created by Perfect Fools (via JWT), is also connected to a mysterious Tv commercial.

Thanks to Chris, I've found this advergame created by Virgin on Heavy.com. Using a magnifying glass the challenge is to name the 74 music bands represented in the crowded image I show below. The Eagles and B'52 are probably the easiest to spot. Definitely the perfect game for a Sunday, rainy, afternoon.

Who said MSN is the bad guy online? In Spain, they are about to launch a project called "Buscador Solidario".
The idea is to provide users seeking information on drugs, child abuse and depression, with relevant links to charities that help fighting such problems. For example, if a surfer looks for "abuso infantil" on MSN.es he will get among the very first results the link to associations like Save the children.

A fabulous series of ads via Adverbox. Unfortunately I don't know the agency, any suggestion?

In The Netherlands, the new agency !Achtung, has developed "Pakman", an advergame for Suitsupply, an unconventional manufacturer and retailer of (business) suits. In Dutch PAK means SUIT hence the name of the game. It's a funny revisited version of the traditional Pacman game: Pakman is running in his underwear, his mission is to save Angel from Fatman. When eating the magic pills, Pakman gets superpower from his suit and is able to kick Fatman’s ass! Rescuing Angel in each level gives you a voucher for a tie, a shirt or a complete free suit.

Traffic to the game is generated from Suitsupply website, a newsletter to all subscribers, banners and of course send-a-friend.

In the UK, Panasonic is online with an advergame to promote its Lumix technology for digital cameras. The game has been developed by Inbox Digital and is nicely placed within the camera display (see below). It is quite funny to play but, most of all, has an interesting mechanism to assign the prizes. Basically it gives away quite easily £20 vouchers to purchase a Panasonic camera, while it assigns the digital camera only through a final draw.

The Washington State Department of Health has launched an online youth anti-smoking campaign. Developed by Seven2 with Sedgwick Rd. the advergame challenges players to throw as many disgusting things as possible at a doll's head. The selection of items includes, but it's not limited to a dirty sock, a fish head, a worm and a dead mouse... The game can be practiced in solo mode or in a challenge against a friend.

The game is definitely disgusting but hopefully effective in persuading young smokers to quit.

[news via Mediapost]

In France, Greenpeace has launched a viral video and a website to drive people's attetion on the pollution issue. I'm not sure the video has a big viral potential, in the sense it doesn't make people very eager to pass the link, unless they are very much concerned about the future of the planet. However the video it's definitely a spot that doesn't fit the traditional TV space and therefore finds its ideal space online.

The New York Times reports a recent survey found out the relationships between agencies and clients are going pretty bad, preventing the parties to work more productively. As Nancy L. Salz, a consultant based in New York explains, there are huge opportunities to work better together but there is also a huge gap between the two sides. For example, when asked to assess the level of teamwork that exists in their relationships, 59 percent of the advertiser respondents said there was more teamwork but only 25 percent of the agency respondents agreed.

Since the introduction of text-based advertising from Google a few years ago, the usage of pop-ups has started to decline. As the IHT writes, thanks to Google, there are no more monkeys to punch.

Brandweek has named the top guerrilla marketers of the year. In Brandweek vision, guerrilla is based on the concept "let us entertain you". Among the winners we find Chicken Little, Audi, Qwest and Peta.

A nice report with brief case studies can be downloaded here (opens .pdf).

Online advertising expenditures in the US have hit a new record in Q3, reaching a total value of $3 billions. As reported on Media Guardian, the figures, compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers, show that US online ad spending has almost doubled in the last two years from just $1.75bn in the third quarter of 2003, as advertisers move more of their budgets online.

A guerrilla-style campaign for eBay Belgium created by Mortierbrigade. The stickers where placed on empty shops windows around Brussels.

Today, only strong content here on Adverblog... These are the print ads that promote the upcoming edition of Humo (Let the beast go) giving away a Durex condom. By Mortierbrigade.

Alto, a mail order retailer dedicated to clothing for tall men has launched a viral video to spread the word about its service. It's rather bloody, but definitely effective, since 250.000 people have already watched it, Brand Republic reports.

Alto's tagline says: "Tall people have enough difficulties: now great clothing isn't one of them."

From Sweden, Dear Mr Barroso, one of the best examples I've ever seen of interactive online storytelling. It's a video animation featuring an open letter from the Swedish Alcohol Retail Monopoly to Mr Barros, the EU President, to act in order to reduce alcohol consumption throughout Europe.

The site has been produced by Forsman & Bodenfors, B-Reel, Efti and it's an extremely powerful example of what you can do online to promote an idea, not just a product or a brand.

[link via Reklamfeber]

In the US, AtomShockwave has launched the Shockwave.com Immersive Network, a platform that will place multiple advertisers within the company’s popular games. As AdAge reports, the AtomShockwave has already signed Sprint and Sony Pictures to sponsor the first available title "Switch Wakeboarding". The game site attracts over 20 million unique visitors per month, so the gamevertising (another neologism, bleah!) opportunity is really big, also because the audience is mostly young and therefore particularly difficult to reach through traditional media.

According to the Yankee Group in-game advertising a $500 million business, and could top $1 billion by 2010 (but cable TV generates 22 billions...).

Leg, Paris for Eurostar.

[via Advertising/Design Goodness]

According to a research recently released in Spain, 61 percent of surfers actually look at online ads. Alt64 Digital carried out a study to understand what users look at while reading online newspapers such as ABC, El Periodico, El Mundo and La Vanguardia. Among the findings, the study points out less is better when it comes to the quantity of ads to be displayed on a page. Skyscrapers on the side of the page and leaderboards usually get most of the users' attention.

The study has been carried out on account of Eyetracking Media España and can be downloaded for free here (opens .pdf, in Spanish).

Absolut is an "absolute" benchmark in online marketing. Their new "Second Skin" minisite is simply amazing. Four singing bottles in a perfect Christmas style. Congrats to Great Works for the excellent idea. I especially love the singing tell-a-friend.

[via Adrants]

A good news for online marketers, a bad news for healthy living: according to a new report by Forrester Research, about a third of all Europeans see surfing the Internet as one of their favorite leisure-time activities (it's more popular than playing sports, going to the gym, or shopping). Surfing the Internet is the third most popular hobby among online Europeans. Online consumers who see Internet surfing as a hobby are more focused on entertainment. They are also far more likely to use the Internet to replace their old-fashioned media sources: radio, TV, or the phone.

Reuters reports Google has launched a new feature which will allow advertisers to sign up for AdWords ads directly on the site the want to advertise on. The feature is called "Onsite Advertiser Sign-up" and will surely advertisers looking for niche audiences. As Gary Stein, analyst at Jupiter Research points out, Google's move is a clear sign that the competition is getting fiercer in this sector, and the search engine wants to keep its existing powerful position through the AdSense program.

Also, from the Onsite Advertiser Sign-up program we can also see that adverising on niche sites such as blogs, for example, is becoming more and more important in media plans. I still haven't seen the feature in action, but I definitely look forward to see how it works.

Check out this viral video by Durex and Humo (a Belgian magazine). It's brilliant!

What's the best day to send out your emails to customers? My friends at Eroi have just release an interesting report analysing the opening rates day by day and by list size.

You can download it for free here (opens .pdf).

Duval Guillaume for Association Nationale des greffés cardiaques et pulmonaires (ANGCP), Belgium.

A great outdoor campaign in Barcelona by Match.com.
Copy says: "Don't wait for the love of your life. Find him on Match.com"

Unfortunately I don't know the agency, if you do, please leave a comment or email me.

[via Marketing-Alternatif]

Product placement evolves and meets online video. Mediapost reports CBS will put a bonus scene from CSI: Miami on its website featuring a plot twist that will not be revealed to television viewers until later in the season. This is already a smart marketing move for the broadcaster, but the the big news for advertisers is that the bonus scene page will be sponsored by General Motors' Hummer brand of trucks which will also actually appear in the bonus scene itself.

This is actually something that confirms there is life after the 30 seconds commercial, and that product placement can be done in more sophisticated (and smart ways) than just showing a guy drinking a Coke in a popular tv series.

In the UK, automaker Seat has started a mobile marketing initiative to promote the launch of its new Leon car model. A Wap portal featuring all the information on the new Leon is currently being promoted with Tv and print advertising. The Wap site also allows visitors to book a test drive or order a brochure.

Ok, this is not a sensational news, but I like the fact Seat is exploring new marketing channels. The future is in integration, so let's support all the brands that make the first steps in this direction.

[news via NMA]

Ok, this is the challenge: make Joseph Jaffe's book "Life After the 30-Second Spot: Energize Your Brand with Bold Alternatives to Traditional Advertising" a bestseller with the help of the blogs.

Joseph will issue a free copy of "Life after the 30-second spot" to any business/marketing/advertising-related blogger that agrees to review the book. Here he explains more about the unusual initiative.

I'm happy to help him spreading the word about the book, not only because I'm about to receive my own free copy :-) I'm really curious to find out how this idea will perform but, most of all as I already said in the past, my idea is that blogging is all about sharing.
On his blog Joseph will share the numbers, and I sincerely point you there not only to get such info, but to read one of the best marketing blogs available.

Scholz & Friends, Berlin for N24 Gesellschaft für Nachrichten und Zeitgeschehen, winner of Best Print Ad for media promotion at the 2005 London International Awards.

These ads by Grey Worldwide (China) for the Volkswagen New Beetle aren't new, but I find them lovely in their simplicity.

If you know the past you can predict the future. This isn't always true, but this post by Doc Searls really helps understanding how the podcasting business model can evolve. If you're interested in the topic there is also a (very long) post on Ratcliff blog which, on the contrary, considers the "future" of podcasting.
Be aware you need some time to read the discussion, and you will also have to skip some flames. But it's worth reading to get a better idea of where the podcasting business can or cannot head.

Yahoo! is running a special promotion for the upcoming release in Europe of the new Harry Potter movie (on Nov. 18th). Ads for "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" are appearing on Yahoo's homepage in the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain.

The Harry Potter movie has its own minisite where users can learn more about the characters, play some games and download screensavers, icons, wallpapers and AOL icons. On the minisite visitors can also create their own Christmas wishlist and share it with friends and relatives. Of course all items are Harry Potter related and are available at popular online stores such as Amazon UK. Unfortunately you need a very good sight to read the tiny text and enjoy the wishlist, but I think this is a smart idea to engage users and generate word-of-mouth not only around the movie but also on the related merchandising. This is an example of the email you receive (click the image to enlarge it).

Who said online forms are boring create (and to fill out)?
If you're looking for some inspiration, take a look at the form Bos Advertising created for Ricola. While they gather information from users willing to win a vacation to Switzerland they also deliver branded messages on Ricola's herbs. It's nice to see and apparently pretty effective since a lot of people submitted their data.

We need to remember people want to fill in forms as soon as possible, so you cannot ask for too much of their time just because you want the form to look nice. Of course once again the point is about delivering relevant content. If it isn't relevant it might just become annoying and prevent people from completing the data entry. If it's relevant and nicely presented, then the conversion rates will be more likely to grow.

In the UK, food advertising to children using cartoons characters and celebrities might soon be banned. Brandrepublic (sub. req.) reports the Department of Health believes role models for children should not be used to endorse nor promote products high in fat, salt or sugar.

Can you imagine Kellogg's without Tony the Tiger? (but are cereals junk food?)

If a law will pass, we can definitely foresee big problems for food brands which are also often promoting their products in co-marketing deals with movie releases.

Italian online bank Fineco has just kicked off an Internet campaign asking users "what's your excuse not to have Fineco?".
Fnac already launched the "excuses" a few months ago in France; what's the incentive for users to submit their excuses? there is no prize to win nor any other advantage is offered; where is the call to action? what's the campaign goal? after submitting the excuse nothing happens, users aren't invited ask for more info on the banking service, nor they are taken to a sign-up page, there is just a "Discover the advantages" on the top of the top right of the page, far away from where you click/look for the excuse..

Sorry for the nasty comments, but once again I'm disappointed by the way online marketing is done in Italy. This campaign from Fineco is a waste of money. Please, don't tell me their goal is just branding. Branding cannot be your only goal, especially when you're selling online services.

DDB Colombia for Zinema Zombie Second Season/Bogota Museum of Modern Art, winner of the best event poster at the London International Awards.

With this ad for Nike TAXI Toronto won the London International Awards in the category "Billboard advertising". An eight foot extension of Canadian hurdler Perdita Felicien was attached to the top of the billboard.

(click to enlarge)

These ads are also part of the campaign.

JWT Sydney for Kellogg's All-Bran. The ads were placed at the rear of toilet doors. Simply great :-)

On Business Week Heather Green explores some of the possibilities to make money out of podcasting. Sponsorship is at the moment the most used business model and it's usually based on a flat rate deal with the advertiser. Sponsorship implies a 15 or 30 seconds audio ad at the beginning of the podcast. Of course, as the article points out, if the ads are based on a flat rate, they can end up being a bargain or a total failure, depending on the number of downloads the podcast will receive. Prices per thousand downloads range from $10 to $25, with podcasters taking advantage of the fact they reach specific target groups. The more selected the audience, the higher the value for the advertiser.

However, several podcasters want to stay "pure" and avoid advertising to make money out of their audio files. Some are asking for donations (even $2 can help) or charging subscription fees.

Motorcycle insurance company Bennetts is online with a racing advergame to drive brand awareness and generate sales. The game, challenging players to "takes the babes to the limit" has been developed by Dig For Fire. Red Line Racer is rather funny to play, but I'm sure a lot of men will find the website worth a visit rather because of beautiful girls that "decorate" it.
Marketing Direct reports that in a month more than 165,000 people have played it over four million times.

It's November and it's time to start with the predictions on what will happen next year in the advertising world. Will online advertising surpass outdoor? Will mobile marketing eventually take off? Will it be possible to find a reliable business model for podcasting? Etc... 24/7 Media has started the game announcing at Ad:Tech New York which will be the top 10 trend in online marketing and advertising in 2006.

1. Consumer-generated media will become increasingly attractive to advertisers

2. Advertisers will continue shifting traditional ad spending to the Web due to increased Internet consumption and better targeting/reporting capabilities

3. Advertisers, cable providers and interactive marketing experts will collaborate to address "The TiVo Effect"

4. Brand advertisers will drive the next wave of growth for the paid search market

5. Best practices in localized mobile marketing will be perfected overseas in 2006

6. Online advertisers will employ holistic targeting methods to deliver better results and reduce reliance on high-profile, high-CPM ad buys

7. Technology and better data access will transform online advertising success to a formulaic equation

8. Japan will be the next frontier for paid search and interactive marketing

9. Mobile carriers will adopt new ad models to boost revenue beyond usage

10. Performance-based pricing models will demonstrate the true value of search engine marketing (SEM) as a lead generation channel

As you can see, mobile marketing is also touched in the prediction. It is expected to take off here in Europe, while it will still be in the test phase in the US. More details on each single item can be found in the press release.

[via AdJab]

Yesterday at Ad:Tech New York industry experts debated the issue, presenting different opinions. Mediapost collected the points of view in a brief article: Nick Denton, founder and publisher of Gawker Media said he can't really point to any examples of posts that originated from ads themselves. Steve Rubel said that advertising on blogs assisted marketers in "finding the customer evangelists out there" and "empowering them with tools."

Personally I think that "do blog ads create buzz" is a tricky questions. It would be more correct to ask: do blogs generate buzz? OR how do ads on blogs perform?

New Media Age reports Nescafe is online in the UK win an advergame called "Lift your cups" supporting the TV campaign starring fashion gurus Trinny and Susannah. The game has been created to build awareness around an on-pack promotion (text-to-win) which gives away a shopping spree with Trinny and Susannah worth £10,000, or one of 25,000 £5 vouchers to spend on lingerie at a selection of high street shops.

The game has been created by Outside Line.

Through Apple's website, the King Kong movie trailer is available for the iPod video also.

I've found the link on iLounge, and I suggest you reading the entry because of the interesting comments users posted.

A bus shelter ad created by JWT Amsterdam to draw people's attention to the importance of reporting even commonplace and relatively minor crimes. The ad contains several objects (bags, mobile phones etc...) recovered after a crime was reported.

An unusual (and smart) ad for Yahama placed on a supermarket shopping cart in Sweden. Don't tell me you never played driving shopping cart :-)

[via Reklamefeber]

Adobe has just launched copydetected.com a sort of viral marketing initiative to fight software piracy. A video presents the misadventures of Kevin, a creative type hooked on pirating Adobe software, furthermore several info on Adobe's innovative ideas are presented. The site is localized in five languages, targeting the UK, Spain, France, Portugal and Italy and it's based on a concept by JWT.

This morning I received an email from Adobe telling me about the webisodes. I didn't know I signed up for such email (I received it on my private account), but this is not the point. The email was well designed but it contained a huge video attachment of about 2MB. I wonder which are the results of such mailing. How many recipient have actually downloaded the full message? How many opened the attachment?

Together with MSN, Sprite has launched a branded entertainment website. The site targets teens and challenges them creating a graffiti design using pre-designed stencils and backgrounds. Graffiti can designed in 25 different locations and can voted by other users.

The Refreshing Wall also offers a downloadable screensaver that displays, in real time, the newest graffiti designs that users of the site are creating.
The Refreshing Wall is the second part of a co-marketing initiative online since April with a music site dubbed "The Scenario," which featured Sprite's character Miles Thirst.

Mediapost reports the news and the opinion of Gayle Troberman, MSN's head of branded entertainment:

Again, Net#Work BBDO for Designer Group (South Africa), bronze winner for print advertising at the The Loerie Awards 2005.
Copy says: Tames the wildest hair.

Lovely ads, especially the first three presented here.

An ad placed at the Johannesburg International Airport to greet arriving and departing passengers. It's a world first, a 5000 m2 billboard which required 1000 liters of paint and 9 separate permits from different regulatory authorities due to the sensitive nature of the site. (click to enlarge)

Created by Net#Work BBDO for Virgin Atlantic, the ad won the silver award at the recent Loerie Awards in South Africa.

MSN has launched an interactive quiz to promote its search engine. The idea in the "Search Supremo" campaign is to challenge users to find answers to a set of football-related questions by using the search engine.

As Netimperative points out, there is also a competition that will give away football tickets to the fastest player answering the questions.

Jim Coleman, account direct at MRM Worldwide (UK) explains:

Lowe Argentina for Renault Kangoo Express.

Wannabes is the title of the interactive soap opera the BBC will launch in 2006.
BBC News explains two episodes of the web-only soap opera will be available every week. They will feature interactive elements enabling viewers to influence the content. The show will use a mix of traditional drama writers and those from a games industry background.

Sounds like the perfect kind of content for the iPod video also...

Nike has just launched a multimedia campaign starring Ronaldinho and the new Tiempo Legend shoe. As NMA explains, the campaign includes mobile, online and video podcasting push. Nike is going to be the first brand to enable consumers to download Ronaldinho's video on their iPod. There is no above-the-line media spend for the campaign, so Nike will only rely on word-of-mouth to spread the idea.

The campaign idea is great, I mean, the fact that they combine digital channels to deliver the message, but I saw the video and it isn't really as good as I expected. Ok, I'm not a big football fan, nor a football player but I found it rather boring.

Kesselskramer, Amsterdam for Diesel.

[via Adverbox]

In the UK Topshop is about to launch a a mobile phone style advice service. The service will allow Topshop customers to interact with the retailer's style advisers. Revolution explains clients using their mobile phones can book appointments with advisers, receive advice, reserve items and receive picture messages of recommended clothing.

[via Textually]

A crazy idea from Yahoo! Australia & New Zealand. As Bandt (reg. req) reports, Yahoo "will send rotating teams of creatives to live and work in a transparent box as part of an innovative experiment to champion the "power of online creativity". The Think Tank box is a fully-functioning creative studio with a desk, PC and white boards. It will house creative teams from various advertising agencies who will work four to eight-hour shifts, 24/7, creating campaigns based on the briefs submitted through the site www.yahoothinktank.com.au (down at the moment :-(

Yahoo's idea aims at promoting the online medium among traditional marketers and advertising agencies, in order to convince them making online marketing a major component in their future campaigns.
Yahoo marketing director Brett Corrick explains on Australian IT:

OgilvyInteractive Paris just lunched this campaign for Motorola EMEA with a dual-site operation (first click here and then click on the "3G is Here" promo at the bottom right of the page).

The splash page allows users to self-select their target groups: either knowledgeable of 3G and eager to get started or among those who know little to nothing about 3rd Generation Mobile Technology. Upon self-selecting, users are taken to one of two campaign sites.

Belgian agency These Days has just launched a viral video for Pioneer to promote its DVD recorders that can store up to 455 hours of data.

Dubbed "Need more space?" the video is a little bit too short (doesn't create enough pathos) but in the end rather amusing. Check it out at: www.455hours.com

Thursday Nov 17th the 2005 Beaujolais Nouveau will be released on the market and even it's a wine, and by definition a very traditional product, there is an online campaign to promote it. I love the idea (and I love the Beaujolais Nouveau also). It's a flashy website, quite interesting to visit to find out more about this excellent wine that every year is able to create a lot of expectations around its new edition (is this the right word? sorry...).

There is even a blog, but they probably need some advices on how to run it properly. I'll be happy to help, in exchange of a couple of bottles...

MTV has partnered with Warner Music to allow mobile subscribers in most European countries to download or stream to their phones a unique short-form mobile package of WMG and other world-renowned artists appearing at the awards. Included in the mobile package will be clips of red carpet arrivals and pre-show interviews; short backstage interviews with the artists; clips of award presentations from artists such as WMG's Sean Paul; and excerpts of music videos.
Gary Ellis, VP, Content & Operations, MTV Networks International, said:

The event will take place in Lisbon, tomorrow, I suppose, but it's impossible to find such info on MTV's websites.

If you're younger than 18 years old, they say you're not allowed to enter. But if you're younger than 18 years old, you also belong to the American Pie target group, so forget about the warning sign and click. This is exactly what they want you to do.

Universal has just launched Bandiesgonewild.com (thanks Dylan for the hint!) to promote the release on DVD of American Pie 4. The site allows visitors to create their own sexy videos just mixing over 50 available clips and the audio soundtracks. The idea is "hot" from different points of view: yes, it contains nudity and therefore yes, it has huge viral potentials.

The agency behind this is New Media Maze (UK).

In France (via JDN), Adidas is generating buzz around its brand by targeting football fans with an integrated campaign. A website with some funny content featuring popular comedians Omar & Fred is at the center of the stage, but the campaign idea is to drive 15 to 24 years old guys to the Adidas stores around the country.

The concept (by JMS L'inconscient collectif) targets in particular the fans of Olympique Marseille (sponsored by Adidas). An email marketing campaign (currently with an amazing 96% opening rate) invites young people to visit the Tyaimesoubien.com website, download a postcard, answer the questions it presents, and deliver it to the local Adidas store for the chance of winning tickets for OM matches.

In order to promote its UK website, Playboy has launched a "behind the scenes" viral video you can safely watch even from the office (but keep the volume low).

By the way, Playboy also has a blog.

Here in The Netherlands interactive agency Qi has launched an innovative campaign for Heineken taking advantage of Google Image Search. To promote the Heineken's Tapvat (a sort of portable beertender) they have created a personalized postcard generator and a competition that allows visitors to win they favorite travel destination.

All you have to do is to type in the city you'd like to visit. The system connects to Google Image Search and comes up with a series of pictures. Pick the one your prefer and the site will create your personalized postcard.

JWT Mexico for Nike Football.

[spotted at Brief Blog]

In the UK Vodafone is online with a website featuring The life of the Mayfly competition. The concept is based on a Tv campaign created by Bartle Boble Hegarty/London.

The idea is to allow people sharing their view on how to make the most of each day. Anyone who gives life to a mayfly has his/her name displayed on the website and gains the chance to win the final prize. The best mayfly will be awarded with a trip to Italy, to the Fiorano Race Track at Maranello. There the winner will be driven around a track by Michael Schumacher in a Ferrari Granturismo.

Again, an online marketing idea that gives visitors to star at the center of the stage... give people 30 seconds of fame!

A new report by Interpublic agencies Weber Shandwick and FutureBrand ("050 A Fresh Perspective") found out the majority of consumer advertising is focused on 20 to 40 years old people. And if you consider that in the UK, over 50-years-olds currently hold around 80% of disposable income (about £196bn in spending power), you realize how big is the chance you miss.

[News via BrandRepublic]

In Canada, Unilever brand Thermasilk has launched "Hit On My Hot Guy" a site that tries to answer every girl’s dream - give her the ability to create the perfect "hot" guy. The site offers dozen of possibilities to teenagers wanting to create and share their ideal boyfriend. I believe it also has good viral potentials in the target audience, also because there are prizes to win. In three weeks Hit On My Hot Guy generated 120,000+ unique visitors, 30,000+ contest entries and over 73,000 send-to-friends.

A 15-second spot on MuchMusic is driving traffic to the site. There are also sponsorships on teen sites including the virtual teen community Habbo Hotel Canada where the Thermasilk has created the 'Hit on My Hot Guy' room.

The good thing about this advertainment website is that it also provides product related information such as tips to get wonderful hair and the brand is always placed in good position.

The agency behind all this is Capital C.

R/GA has just created a website for Verizon to showcase the three winning short films on the transformative power of broadband created for the ProMotion Pictures' Film Competition. Verizon's sponsorship of the films is part of its 2005 branding campaign, "Richer. Deeper. Broader," which launched in June. Three winning student-teams were awarded $40,000 each by Verizon to convert their broadband-inspired ideas into short films over the summer. The competition unites future
business leaders and creative professionals -- Stern MBA candidates and Kanbar MFA filmmakers -- to collaborate and develop branded entertainment films.

Jerri DeVard, Verizon senior vice president for marketing and brand management explains:

The videos are really good, and definitely deliver a great brand message for Verizon.

My friends at eRoi did a good job for Konami to promote their first videogame for Sony PSP. The Death Jr. advergame generated over than 1.5 million unique visitors in its first month online, getting traffic most of all through word-of-mouth (65% of which were via influencer and peer-level word-of-mouth, according to eROI tracking statistics).

A month-and-a-half after hitting shelves, Death Jr. sales are exceeding projections by 135%.

The International Herald Tribune explores the business potentials of mobisodes and video delivered to portable devices such as iPods, PSP and mobile phones. From Fox to MTV, what are big media companies doing? Will mobisodes ever challenge TV shows?

If you're interested in mobile video, also check out this: Study: 1% of Mobile Subs Use Video.

These ads have been created by BDDP & Fils Paris for BMW to promote the BMW X3.

The copy says: Nouveau 4x4 BMW X3. Mixez votre territoires (New 4x4 BMW X3. Mix your territories). But I think the pictures deliver a different message. To me London, Paris and New York rather appear in a scary post-atomic scenario. What do you think?

Leo Burnett Jakarta for Jordan Dental Floss.
Ad copy: Removes those annoying bits. Jordan Dental Floss.

Yogurt Burst Cheerios is being introduced with the support of an integrated campaign that touts the cereal's burst-into-song goodness with a "Cheerioke" theme. Print and TV ads feature real people crooning "I'm Into Something Good" into a spoon. This concept is brought to life online with a virtual karaoke machine (at cheerioke.com) that allows users to create performances and send them to friends. Users can build a custom Cheerioke singer, select from three songs, then record via phone or their PC's microphone to make the animated pop star lip-sync to their voices.

A good idea in the field of user generated content. Oddcast technology offers amazing opportunities to brands who want to take interactivity a step further.

(thanks Ian for the hint)

Are looking for more cool interactive ideas? Check the archives