Being one of the most extraordinary uses of Papervision 3D i've ever seen, in this campaign done for Cadbury Schweppes Spring Valley (by George Patterson Y & R Melbourne + Digital Pictures Melbourne) you're elected to receive one package in which you'll find what is called a Neglected Sensible Shelter, a sort of Tamagotchi creature you have to feed with Spring Valley products.
On October 4th 2008, the Volvo Ocean Race will start off again in Alicante, Spain. Volvo, head sponsor of the global sailing event, just launched RUSH, a cool interactive film game to promote the event - and offcourse some of their Ocean Race car models.
In Australia the local government has launched an informative website to support teens finishing school and debuting in the adults world.
The "Get out there" experience is dubbed "a survival guide for young adults" and it really offers a wide range of information on several different topics (even on gambling!). The site looks really nice and functional only on the homepage (althought not very innovative), then if you browse the second level of content the interface is quite flat, but I don't really mind given the goal of the project that is to inform rather than to entertain.
Droga5 and Sarah Silverman have thrown their hats in the fierce political furnace that is the 2008 Presidential Election. Pro-Obama Jewish voters have organised to mobilise young Jews to go to Florida to convince their grandparents to vote for Obama. The Jewsvote.org campaign is called the "The Great Schlep" and stars Sarah Silverman. Droga5 produced the video.
The Best Ads site has launched their new podcast available via iTunes and it seems to be going off! Maybe because it's free...
On day three the BestAds Podcast has made an impression up to #1 on the top video podcasts in Australia and #2 in New Zealand and #15 in the UK and #90 in the USA. I guess podcasting the world's current best ads has appeal to the ad folk who catch trains etc to work everyday...
To celebrate's it's 30 year anniversary, Diesel throw's a Dirty 30 party in 17 cities around the world. To promote the party, a 70's style porn movie has been re-edited into.. well, see for yourself :)
update:Other then many among us, YouTube doesn't like the video and is removing all copies due to 'terms of use violantion', probably because of adult content :)
The latest minisite by Uniqlo is all about colors.
Simple, pleasant and effective as usual, the site presents a virtual travel through a colorful landscape populated by merino's pullovers. The video is interactive, meaning that when you see a color that you like, you click and discover the full range of products available in that tone.
I very much like the interface, that makes the navigation first inspirational and them extremely concrete and practical.
The new Nintendo Wii game 'Wario Land - Shake It' is taking it's shaking very seriously. The game is controlled by shaking the Wii, which is nicely translated into the promotional website (shake buttons to load). But even better is the YouTube channel for the game. We've seen similar concepts, but this is a YouTube's first. See for yourself!
I like the interface of the website launched in Japan by Volkswagen to promote its new Tiguan model. The car is at the center of the stage, while all around you find questions (and answers) about its characteristics. This is definitely not the usual way to present a car, it requires a bit of effort from the user and therefore more engagement.
Of course this choice has also a negative side as it might result annoying to the less intuitive and patient users. I would have rather chosen this path for a car with a younger audience (eg. Smart).
I like the way they approach advergames in Brazil, because they look at collaborative solutions, not only at fun for individuals. A few months ago we saw the example of Greenpeace and the award winning WeAtheR project, today we look at this website by Sprite called Jogo de Verdade.
It's an online version of the Game of Truth: you have a virtual room in which you can invite your friends, there's a bottle in the middle to be spinned around to decide who has to answers the questions. Everything is simple but quite funny also because in the room users can chat with each other.
Giorgio did it again. Armani just launched a new fragrance for men, and to keep the pace with the times as also launched a website to support it.
With a dark, mysterious and sexy atmosphere as usual the site does a decent job to present the product (the visuals remind me a bit of Batman). Music plays a key role to keep the visit pleasant. The same goes for Josh Harnett, the protagonist of the TV spot.
From Japan, a new website that, if I understood it correctly (?! ;-) is extremely cool. But let's proceed with order... First of all, the link: Tutuanna is a Japanese underwear brand that has recently launched a virtual showcase of its entire collection.
The design is very nice, very feminine and, most importantly very functional. There is also an help menu that supports even the less experienced visitors.
The US Department of Energy has launched an interesting website to explain kids the importance of using the energy wisely. It's a very rich project with plenty of things to explore and interact with.
The weird thing is that there isn't much text to read. All is conceived with a learning by doing and learning by exploring approach, which is unusual but interesting to discover.
The White Rabbit is a concept restaurant in Singapore with a lovely, illustrated book-style website.
I like the idea of a trendy restaurant investing in its online presence as well. It's important to consider branding at 360 degrees, especially if you target the young creative class (haven't you read Richard Florida?). In my opinion it's a must, but often owners don't agree or simply prefer to invest their money in assets or promotion that (apparently) bring a more immediate and direct benefit to the store.
They also have a very popular group on Facebook that consists of almost 2,000 members.
Strange but true, the Tax Office can be your friend. Look for example at the Dutch case, the local "belastingdienst" has launched a campaign to explain to young people how they can get some money back if they fill in and present the right form.
The initiative consists of nicely illustrated website that offers a bunch of tips and a series of amusing TV spots. My Dutch is good enough to enjoy the creativity, but I don't dare explaining it publicly. Anyway if you watch the videos n. 3 and 4 you can understand them and enjoy them even if you don't speak Dutch.
I love when media are well integrated delivering a rich and new experience. It's the case, for example, of The Carphone Warehouse X Factor Challenge website in the UK, that perfectly supports and enhances the TV show.
The website has the most basic and obvious functionality which allows visitors to vote for their favourite performers in the show. But there is more, as users have also the chance to become stars of X Factor themselves. By using a PC or a phone the next singers wannabe can record and submit their performance, winning the chance to participate in the show, as the artists or, at least, among the audience.
CHI & Partners London and Unit 9 did a great job, both with the concept and the execution. First of all, as I said before, I like the way the web has been integrated with the TV show.
If you are a Pokemon fan, you'll love this global website recently launched by Nintendo. It's the GTS Journal, a Wall Street Journal for Pokemons.
Actually there isn't much you can do on the site a part from watching the lovely illustrations (that change everyday, of course) and drawing with a coloured pencil all around the Pokemon (but not on it!!).
The iconic Levi's 501 denim is back with a global communication campaign dubbed "Unbuttoned" that on the Web takes two shapes: one for the US and one for Europe.
In North America the site launched already a few weeks ago and it features a series of celebrities "unbuttoning" themselves in front of the camera by telling something about their lives or simply acting spontaneously (or silly, if you want).
In Europe the campaign of course explores the same concept but it involves locally relevant people taken from several different countries. Once again I have a strong feeling of dejavu when I see artists, musicians or celebrities in general confessing themselves or simply telling a story in front of a camera. The concept of "unbuttoned" could offers to many entry points, I feel that, at least for now, they've chosen just the safest way.
If your goal is to promote a deodorant for men, you can base your concept on two options:
a) the protagonist of your ad is a super sexy guy and all girls run after him (this is Axe, the latest example is the Axe Billions advergame)
b) you focus your campaign on an invincible hero, a stuntmen, who overcomes any challenge (and this is the Rexona way).
In France, Airness has decided to follow the second path, building an online adventure game in which you, the cool guy in the spot, have to face a series of challenges (mini-games) to be eventually free your instinct.
If you are Italian (and also if you are not) you can't help falling in love with a Ferrari even if passion for cars are not on your agenda (like in my case). The Ferrari California website has been launched last June, and it has been visited by a few millions of people.
Passion is a terrific traffic driver, especially when the website is then able to deliver all the emotions you expect to experience when you connect with such an iconic brand.
From Sweden a nice website to promote the online travel agency Travellink. It's an hybrid but interesting project that mixes an ability game with a quiz. Your goal is to race around the world balancing the cube where six different destinations are displayed. By moving the cube you roll the world ball making it bounce against the monuments while avoiding the lighting bolts. Every time you hit a monument your are prompted with a question about the country you are visiting.
It's an amusing experience, I like it in particular because it challenges the user with a smart navigation system (everything is explained during the loading screens - but of course it's in Swedish).
The agency is Smedby Digital. Thanks Brita for sharing it and explaining it to me :-)
In France Adidas has launched a mini-site to promote its Low Pro Football collection. Even if these shoes are among the ugliest they produce, I like the project. Not really for the website (very basic and with the usual user generated content part) but rather for the great videos they produced to tell the audience the secrets for being stylish.
I appreciate both the creative standpoint and the execution. In each single video you breath style and, just as importantly, you can experience a wide number of products. I like the mood that takes us back to the Thirties, and the fact that the collection comes to life in the storytelling which is something that rarely happens.
Just launched - A funny ad for Carlton Mild in Australia. The beer is mid-strength so you can stay longer at the pub drinking with your mates... well I am sure we have all seen this, been apart of it or been at the wrong end of this situation. VERY AUSTRALIAN!
You can take it for fun, or you can take it seriously. It's up to you. Discover how healthy is your lifestyle with this simple test put online by the British insurance company Pru Health.
I'm too borderline to share my results (the only positive thing is that I don't smoke). I'm wondering if they're tracking the results and keep the info for when someone asks for a quote...
Even if you have to create just a simple, low budget website that purely works as a retail traffic driver you can still do it with a touch of creative taste. Take Decathlon in France, for example. The sporting good chain store recently launched a mini-site as part of its back to school / back to sports in-store initiative.
The site aims to be nothing more than a virtual window that shows all the products currently discounted in store. However you will appreciate the "window" is enriched with a series of animated characters who make more fun and visually pleasant the navigation through the range of sport disciplines Decathlon is able to serve.
By: martina // Permalink // Comment(s): Category(s):Online marketing
In UK and France Wonderbra launched today an online campaign starring Dita von Teese. In the video, the burlesque star becomes a scientist who discovers the gene for sexiness and transforms into the Burlesque version of herself.
The action supports the launch of the new Wonderbra by Dita Von Teese range later this month.
There is also a website supporting the campaign, but it's not particularly well done (all links open in pop-up html windows... pure horror!).
Now, this is extremely weird. I can't find any other adjective to describe it if I want to keep an objective point of view at least in the introductory part of the post. In Belgium, the Flanders tourist board has launched "Clinique Scheelboute", the website of a medical center that allows you to get implanted an additional body part (an ear, an arm, a leg) to fully enjoy your experience of the region.
The point is that the Flanders have so much to offer that you can't experience them at full with a "regular" human body. You need at least two arms more to carry all the bags you will collect because in Antwerp you will shop twice as much; you need an ear implanted in your hand to enjoy all the music offered by bars and the concert halls etc...
I had no idea of what XM Radio. And I'm still not sure of what XM Radio is after looking at the website they recently launched. Don't get me wrong, the site is very nicely designed, the animations are lovely, and the interactivity is fun, but I find it a bit hard to understand the connection between the animals and the satellite radio.
I realize I will sound picky (but this is why you like me, right? ;-) but, in my opinion, the site lacks in concept, not in execution. Of course there are links around the site that allow you to discover the XM world, but they aren't really in the context of the storytelling.
Strange, astonishing, rich, complete, surrounding, big. Here are the few adjectives I would use to describe the "run Cactus kid, run" campaign by Oasis (the fruity drink not the band ...).
I let you read its Wikipedia page, the mechanism of the campaign is fully described. You will see how many digital leverages have been activated, with no less than 8 different personal sites (myspace, flickr, youtube included).
In Denmark TDC has launched a nice video website to promote its USB connect card. Created by In2media, the site features an ordinary young man who connects to the world from a bench in the park and becomes a sort of Plastic Man superhero.
You don't have to speak Danish to appreciate the work. Just browse around and enjoy the weird videos. From the bench in the park you can fly over the stadium to watch the football game, or you can reach the closest ATM to check your bank account.
I very much like the idea of the neverending arms that allow you to be everywhere. It reminds of my days at the primary school, when I was dreaming to be Plastic Man everytime that I forgot an exercise book at home.
Introducing Nescafe Charge, directly from Japan, a product that, at first sight, looks absolutely useless or, better, superfluous: a recharge for your Nescafe stock.
However, as usual, it's important to go beyond appearances. If you have a better look around, you smile watching an Einstein look-alike who explains you the brilliance of Nescafe Charge, and then you realize it's all about being eco-friendly (I still have a lot to learn in this field).
Don't miss the "try charge" section. It's so amusing (and weird) that they make you play with the product to understand how it works. Learning by doing also online. Why not?
In Mexico, our friends at Grupo W made a qualitative and original website for Unilever's brand Rexona (aka Sure).
To promote its Sportfan range, the brand invites you to compete through a series of different games. You'd better perfectly know Mexican football for one of them, if not you can still enjoy the freekick game as I did!
The 8 best players will be selected, and will have the chance to follow the Mexican national football team on its way to the next World Cup. That means 4 qualification games and then 4 games in South Africa. That is in the case of the team getting qualified, if not, winners will have to find consolation with friendly games... (Rexona is an official sponsor of the team).
Lingerie brand Agent Provocateur just released "the most scandalous experience ever seen on a AP website".
The interactive advermovie (or something like that) consists of a full browser movie, which leads you into a dark castle, full of mistresses in sexy underwear.Your mission is to save a virgin by making the right choices. A really great way of showing new products while entertaining the visitor. Similar to AXE's Let The Game Continue, but one step further. Well done.
Footlocker has launched a very nice website to promote its exclusive Nike model, the Tuned 10.
It must be pleasant for a highly reputed brand like Nike to know it can rely on its distributors to maintain its high standards of creativity. The ergonomy, navigation, animations, content, graphism benefit from a very good execution. The site cleverly exploits the shape and colours of the product. You can experience the shoes assets through simple but modern casual advergames. A little bit abstract you might say ... but this why the integration is well executed.
Laaaaadies & gentlemen, please welcome from Australia, the king of Chunga: Hans Fagerlund!
Ok... What is Chunga? : an eatable and sugared version of Jenga a classic ability game, where you need to remove then stack blocks from a tower without ruining everything. And who is Hans? Hans is the undefeated legend of Chunga of course... Both are born from JWT Sydney and RMG Connect imagination to promote online the launch of a new Kit Kat : Cookies & Cream.
The site sticks to the product promise, it's very rich! You will find many more videos on Youtube, a blog, facebook, myspace, msn contents, goodies, podcasts etc ... and an advergame which is part of a contest.
Anothere cool interactive project coming from Sweden: it's called the Turbo Gene Test and it aims at discovering your personality as a driver and consequently, the car you should drive.
It's a simple but amusing experience, very nicely designed with witty questions and interactions that make the website worth a couple of minutes visit. Unfortunately at the end the outcome of the test is a bit too obvious and boring, but maybe it's me that I'm too demanding.
The agencies behind the project are Lowe Brindfors and Acne Digital.
By: martina // Permalink // Comment(s): Category(s):Automotive
At first sight it looks exactly like HBO Voyeur (which is not a good thing), but if you have a better look you realize it's an enhanced version of the award winning Big Spaceship project.
This website, launched in Sweden by Starring for Atava, an insurance company, actually brings you live action broadcasted directly from the webcams of the users who want to be part of it.
From Germany an amusing advergame created by Interone for MINI. It's called Power Slide Parking and it challenges users to push a friend on a MINI Baby Racer right in a parking place.
It's difficult and engaging enough to make you play at least a couple of times while keeping an eye on the collection of MINI cars parked along the street.
By: martina // Permalink // Comment(s): Category(s):Advergames
?). In my opinion it's a must, but often owners don't agree or simply prefer to invest their money in assets or promotion that (apparently) bring a more immediate and direct benefit to the store.
