Found here, brilliant example of branded utility.
When Romania was in Red Code suffering from overheating somebody actually thought and implemented a great idea. The Lipton Showers started the fight with global warming.
Forget bombarding consumers with irrelevant marketing messages, provide us with something useful! It’s great when brands give something back and have something interesting to say.
A much BIGGER integration is upon us - the colliding of our digital and real-life worlds
July 25, 2007
Thanks to PSFK, originally at IF!, for posting this thought-provoking presentation by Tribal DDB (an ex agency of mine) on the new digital landscape blurring with the real world. There is a much BIGGER integration taking place, where technology is gradually disappearing from our view but also the real world is waking up. Although this is not an entirely new subject, it’s only recently that we are really seeing the reality of this with heightened consumer involvement and smart use of technology.
Take a look - it makes you take a step back, and look at the bigger picture of what’s going on around us!
Matt Dyke identifies the key trends that really emphasise this blur, and there are some really interesting examples of brands engaging in new and exciting ways. Though underlying all of this is the power of consumers. Here are some of my favourite examples, some taken from the video, and some of my own!
- Nintendo Wii - great example of real world interactions with digital objects
- Crowd gaming - brilliantly entertaining and deeper interaction (sort of group Wii experience), shows how people also share digital experiences in real-world communities
- Arcade reality - this mobile application overlays objects digitally on your real-life mobile view, shows how we can add value to the real-world through technology
- MINI talking billboards - simple smart technology, brilliant personalisation and shows how objects can talk to each other
- Orange spot the bull - simple idea using GPS which created a big buzz in the blogosphere, demonstrates the blurring of digital and real-world locations
Interesting stuff. But remember, the technology is just the enabler, it is the consumer’s participation in communications which is making this big big integration come to life. Brands need to think about the added role they can play and how they can be creative with smart technology.
I just joined the brilliant transmedia Facebook group created by Adam Crowe - a great place to share projects, ideas, and resources on transmedia storytelling.
“A transmedia story unfolds across multiple media platforms with each new text making a distinctive and valuable contribution to the whole”
- Henry jenkins
A recent example of this is the intriguing 1 18 08 mystery where information has been scattered across across multiple channels.
I came across another great example this morning when reading the Metro. The Golden Jigsaw is…
…a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle. To complete the picture, you first have to find the pieces. And they could be anywhere on the internet!
As there’s a $1million (£490,000) prize up for grabs I think I’ll give it a go!
Human brain cloud - great for ideas
July 18, 2007
Sean at iChameleon stumbled across this brilliant site - Human Brain Cloud which uses mass participation to share ideas.
“Look at the word. Type the first word or phrase that comes to mind.”
Simple and smart idea - you can look up words and see the associated ‘brain cloud’. Even though the site is really new, they already have some interesting stats. Not to anybody’s surprise, ’sex’ is the most submitted word.
Human joysticks
July 13, 2007
Found this great video on Adverblog. It’s the latest MSNBC.com invention to enterain people waiting for movies to begin. Which lets be honest is pretty boring most of the time.
‘Crowd gaming’ sounds like a kind of group Wii experience.
“Motion sensors throughout the theatre track the audience’s collective movement and use them as ‘human joysticks’ to play an arcade game on the wide screen.”
The clip demonstrates how people are sharing digital experiences in real-life communities, beyond the browser.
Adverblog rightly points out this would only really ‘fit’ for certain types of movies - probably the big blockbusters like the Transformers movie.
I want to be a human joystick!
1 18 08 - one of life’s little mysteries (for now)
July 12, 2007
What at first seems like just another YouTube clip, is actually one of life’s little mysteries…
This mysterious home-movie style trailer by J. J. Abrams was played before the Transformers movie. What begins as a seemingly normal video of a going away party, evolves into an explosion of some sort and lots of mad confusion all around! The film doesn’t even have a title at the moment, just a release date 1 18 08, though it has also been nick-named the Cloverfield project.
The interesting thing about it all is the online conversation that has sparked as a result - here, here, and here are just a few examples. Not to mention over 2 million results on Google. The website is just as vague, but there are related sites popping up all over the place - including Cloverfield news, ethanhaaswaswrong, ethanhaaswasright, and even Slusho which I believe is a fake Japanese slurpy. This is related somehow, and supposodely first featured in J. J. Abrams’s show Alias.
The blogosphere is going seriously crazy trying to solve the clues that are popping up as to what it’s all about. It seems the lack of knowledge has only made it more intriguing. Even for me! Some are speculating this could be the finale to Lost on the big screen. Which would be great! Others say it’s the next Godzilla movie. Er, lets hope not.
May be all this talk is a load of rubbish, but to be honest who cares. The over interest is this is quite fascinating enough to me.
Whatever it is, a seemingly smart move by Paramount - they must be on to something…
My Simpsons Avatar…ay caramba!
July 9, 2007
Thanks to Gary (fellow iChameleon blogger) for for pointing out the brilliant Simpson’s Movie website, and Meme Huffer for daring to post his very own Simpson’s avatar. More here. I was playing around with it last week and I thought I’d post my own. So this is me if I was in the Simpsons. I couldn’t get it to look much like me, so instead it’s just the geek within me!
The whole website is pretty good with games and interactive tours and lotsa other fun stuff. Though be warned - best not to go on it if you haven’t got some time to waste!
I’ll leave you with this great YouTube clip of the Simpson’s parody of World of Warcraft…
1-click award - a bit of fun
July 6, 2007
Check this out. A bit of fun for Friday! Ever wonder what really happens when you move your cursor around the screen?
Nice and green
July 4, 2007
I’ve seen lots of loverly green things about, it’s the hot topic of the moment, and brands are taking notice…
This sewing website is a beautiful interactive experience where you can stitch away (quite literally). What’s nice is how it involves multiple users so you feel part of the big cause. This sort of mass participation is becoming more and more popular.
This campaign by MTV is all about targeting yoof cultcha to reduce carbon emissions, but mainly it just looks cool! MTV Switch has public service announcements and online resources promoting green lifestyle choices, all backed by huge celebs.
And a deserving winner at Cannes, in a world’s first, ‘Earth Hour’ saw Sydney turn off its lights for one hour at 7.30pm on Saturday March 31 2007. Shows just how we can all make a difference!
Anf finally, if you use iTunes for your music, I stumbled across this great site - Tunes for Trees. For every 1o songs you purchase, a tree will be planted for you!
I wonder what brand will be next to jump on the green bandwagon!
