Aside from the social merits of this bold move, you also have to applaud the use of their own assets (i.e. the name of their ice-cream) to reaffirm the brands free-thinking reputation. In a world of shrinking advertising budgets and media fragmentation, smart brands are exploiting their greatest assets to drive business. Food for thought.

Via Stylist

Once lucky diners have made a reservation, they are emailed an exclusive link to an animated journey that is designed to wet their appetites (created by The Neighbourhood).

“Our animated journey takes the diners through a series of evocative landscapes and visual cues that they will discover during their visit, encountering a series of reward mechanisms through imagined worlds, to arrive at the door of a sweetshop.

Once inside, the visual stimulus is removed leaving a curious world of sound guided by John Hurt’s narration as the shopkeeper.  The narration and rich binaural audio soundscape allows guests to recall their own childhood sweetshop, imagining the sights, sounds and  smells through a combination of stimuli and memory.”

“Taste” is just one of eight steps in Heston’s multi-sensory journey. The journey is designed to touch all the senses. This is in stark contrast to typical advertising which, for the most part, works by appealing to people’s eyes and ears only.

The notion of multi-sensory advertising (especially when it comes to food) has long fascinated me. Food is an incredibly emotional and sensory experience (for me anyway), and the opportunity for brands and advertisers to tap into this is huge (and under exploited). Rarely does advertising touch all the senses – but when used (correctly), has the power to be more meaningful, more memorable, more emotional.

Who better to bring this to life than Heston Blumenthal. His multi-sensory reservation experience is a smart way to deepen the emotional engagement with diners, and extend the relationship beyond the physical dining experience.

Hats off to Heston.

Via

Invisible Mercedes. 

Not only is it invisible to the environment, it’s actually bloody invisible. Nuff said.

The Guardian “Three Little Pigs”. 

A well known story re-told in the digital age. Inspired.

IKEA Berora. 

A touch-screen friendly glove and awesome IKEA invention. Where do I buy??

“You Fix” is a new type of tariff that let’s you fix your monthly bill (then top up once you’ve used up your allowance). Because nobody likes nasty surprises. This is a new sort of ad for T-Mobile – not only does it do a brilliant brand job, the focus is on a fantastic no nonsense product that offers great value for customers.

Watch this space for more advertising goodness from T-Mobile and You Fix

To excite consumers about the innovative new offer and to encourage downloads, Cake is implementing a six week experiential tour across the nation, starting today in London’s Victoria Station, and heading to Manchester Piccadilly, London Liverpool Street, Glasgow, London Paddington, and Leeds over the following weeks. Trained staff will inform passers about the key steps to download, and also hand out branded popcorn.

Film To Go movie rentals can be enjoyed at home (on a laptop, PC, or TV via a cable), or even out and about on an Apple mobile device – to watch whenever wherever suits them.

The experiential activity is designed to connect with people in the real world to drive adoption of the exciting new weekly film offer. We know that Orange customers already love to watch movies with Orange Wednesdays, but can’t always get to the cinema. Film To Go compliments Orange’s growing film portfolio, and answers this genuine consumer need. We hope that customers who have never previously thought to download a movie or watch one on the go, will now enjoy a whole new film experience with Orange.

It’s a smart move from Orange who are constantly looking for new ways to reward their customers. You can get more Film To Go details on the website here.

Via adsoftheworld

Backseat driver lets kids enjoy driving from the back seat of their car via an iPhone game. Here’s the smart bit – the app uses GPS technology to mirror the route of the real car in which the player is riding. Score points by steering “My Car” left and right to follow “Papa Car’s” path and pick up objects. After you’ve gained some points, you can customise your car with your own designs.

Er, when’s the adult version coming out? Is it weird that I’d quite like it for road trips? Nope, didn’t think so.

Strange as it may be, the strangeness itself is both disturbing and calming. On the one hand it makes absolutely no sense. But on the other hand it actually manages to land all the rational benefits plus emotionally put you in the mood through romanticism for a cup of hot joe. It’s simply inspired.

Enjoy David’s coffee here davidlynch.com/​coffee.

On the plus side…

Rewarding your customers for interacting with your brand is a good thing.

It bridges the gap between the telly and the real-world.

It has the potential to create buzz.

On the down side…

People like to check-in to places, not telly ads. This isn’t something people naturally do.

The fact that you have to download the app, before idly awaiting for the ad to appear, is a huge barrier.

The only reward is free Pepsi. Meh. Unimaginative. And is the experience itself rewarding? I doubt it.

Apart from the fact they’re giving away Pepsi, I struggle to see what is uniquely Pepsi about this idea. It’s an interesting use of social technology, but what does this actually say about Pepsi as a brand? Other than that they’re willing to experiment with all things social. See Pepsi’s new social vending machines over here for more on this.

So what’s the verdict? Social hero or social suicide? Answers on a postcard please.