Showing posts with label usa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label usa. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Intel/Toshiba - The Power Inside

Last year I wrote about The Beauty Inside a campaign from Intel & Toshiba which went on to win both an Emmy as well as three Grand Prix's in Cannes (including Branded Content) this year.  Pereira & O'Dell are back with 'The Power Inside,' which is the third iteration of the social/interactive film series.  As in previous years, the film is directed and stars various Hollywood heavyweights.  The first episode launched August 15th with new episodes released weekly for the next month and a half.  The key aspect is the participatory nature of the film which allows viewers to be featured in the episodes through various mechanisms such as uploading photos of videos of themselves.

This year's iteration takes a more comedic approach (as opposed to the emotional and earnest 'The Beauty Inside' and the original horror-based 'Inside.').  The premise is that an alien race of extraterrestrial moustaches and unibrows are attempting to take over the upper lips and eyes of people around the world. The main character is Neil, who together with his friends and the help of technology discovers his inner strength to defeat the moustache and unibrow invaders called Uricks.  It's very much in the tone of Zombieland or Shaun Of The Dead.  Ridiculous? Yes, but also very well written, shot and produced.

In an interesting twist, AdWeek reports that Intel & Toshiba are selling product placement within the films to additional advertisers: 'Spotify, Skype, Fossil watches and Skullcandy headphones are all paying for placements with merchandise rather than cash. The merchandise will be given to winners in weekly contests tied to the series and as giveaways when U.S. consumers buy a Toshiba laptop computer promoted by the series.' 

I've never heard of such a thing being done before (at least in terms of branded content) but it's a clever way for a brand to leverage the previous success in order to offset the costs of the current campaign.  Check out the trailer and episodes in the playlist below.



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Bear Time Stories

Perhaps my hard heart has grown softer since having a child, but I seriously was blown away by this idea.  Bear Time Stories is a project which:  'allows you to record yourself reading out a bedtime story. Your story will be put on a mp3 player built into a stuffed animal and given to parentless children around the world...
...Using voices from around the world the Bear-Time Project hopes to show how by donating a voice we can all help to make a child's dreams a little sweeter.'

Check out the overview video below and then head on over to Bear Time Stories to donate your voice or just your $$$.
via: Leon Bayliss


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A Few Things I Like But Don't Have The Time To Write Up - NBC, San Pellegrino, & Oakley

Premier League On NBC
American TV network NBC recently acquired the rights to broadcast the English Premier League games in the States.  In advance of this past weekend's season opener they released this hilarious video.  So, so good.



San Pellegrino
I love this little experiment by San Pellegrino that gives their audience the chance to experience a little bit Italy by allowing them to control a robot in a small town in Sicily.

Oakley Dreamland - A Backyard Progression
Red Bull has forced other brands associated with action sports to step up their game.  Oakley has answered the call with what's one of the most epic skate videos you've ever seen.  If nothing else, fast forward to 7:30 to see amazing Helicopter shenanigans.  Interesting that the brand didn't split this into multiple episodes as there's just such a wealth of great stuff in the 8-minute long video.




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Monday, June 10, 2013

Useful Advertising - Lowe's & UHAC

Here are a few examples of brands providing advertising that is genuinely useful to the viewer/user.

Every few months there's a new digital marketing platform du jour that's billed as the 'next big thing' for marketers.  Oftentimes brands attempt to shoehorn their messages onto the platform in rather awkward ways.  In short, many brands and marketers forget that just because you can, doesn't mean you should.  With that in mind, it's nice to what Lowe's is doing on the latest platform du jour, Vine.  As you know Vines are restricted to 7 second clips, so Lowe's is providing convenient little tips and lifehacks through quick hit Vines.  Very nice use of the platform.  See below and head over to Digital Examples to see more examples of Lowe's Vine postings.



On a completely different note, check out the work from Draftfcb Toronto on behalf of Canadian Union Hearing Aid Center.  I won't say more as I don't want to spoil it.




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Points - The Most Advanced Directional Sign On Earch

I absolutely despise the term Internet Of Things.  Thankfully a more elegant and descriptive phrase is on the rise.  The term enchanted objects (originally coined by MIT Professor and product designer, David Rose) perfectly captures the essence of the latest creation from the folks at Breakfast NY.

My description really won't do it justice.  Simply put, points is the world's most advanced street sign.  More than that, Points demonstrates how imparting connectivity on every day objects has the potential to make them into something far superior to the original.  Check out the video below.


I highly recommend heading over to the Breakfast NY website to read more about the Points project.  You can imagine how Points can grow an evolve as technology changes and the sign becomes personalized for each user who encounters it.  You can try it out live via Twitter by using the hashtag #PointsSign and watch Points display your tweet and point to where you are in the world.



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