Juicy Couture - California Dreaming

We talk often talk about the various content triggers that get people to watch, view, share, participate, etc.  This Juicy Couture video, directed by Terry Richardson and featuring supermodel Candace Swanepoel hits a number of content triggers.  That alone would be enough to guarantee substantial views.  What makes this particularly interesting is how they've used annotations throughout to make every single frame of the video shoppable.  Click the annotations at any point and users are taken directly off to the purchase page for that particular item.  Really simple and clean, no crazy microsite or custom experience, just good content and an easy way to buy.

hat tip: Digital Examples

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:

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

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.

via my colleague Inga Spitzer