Why Didn't They?

Mexico City

2011-03-29T04:49:00.000-07:00

Just returned from a a fascinating work to Mexico City. Amazed by how progressive and social media connected everyone was. One of the girls in the Havas Entertainment team had 13,000 followers on Twitter! proper social media stars they all are.

More to follow.

2010-11-22T05:02:00.000-08:00

some 3

2010-11-22T05:01:00.001-08:00

cake group

some 2

2010-11-22T05:00:00.001-08:00

SoMe boot camp

2010-11-22T04:58:00.000-08:00

i love this pic.

Friday feeling

2010-07-02T08:13:00.000-07:00

Thank God it's Friday...

All hungover at Cake

2010-07-02T08:07:00.001-07:00

This is how we look at Cake today

, and this is how we feel.

.... stick a donk on it before for vinspired.com?

2009-06-04T09:58:00.001-07:00

Good campaign this, even if I'm a bit bias.

Part 1: Bring a bunch of volunteers together to make a spoof music video.

Part 2 : Get Blackout Crew to remix the spoof and 'put a donk on it' . Sick.

If you're interested in more donking, here it is:-

...Make the Army this interactive online before? (Skive Creative just have)

2009-06-04T09:52:00.001-07:00

Another gem, what a day we're having today.

Start Thinking Soldier new website.

I take my hat off to Sean and his team at Skive. They've produced something frighteningly real, and fun. Sorry, I know fun isn't the right word for what our armed forces do, but they're using interactive game play with video, and I love that.

...use youtube to host an interactive video site before? (BooneOakley.com)

2009-06-04T09:46:00.001-07:00

This is a brilliant idea. Don't make a web site, just stick everything on You Tube.

Inspiring stuff.

..put a donk on it?

2009-05-30T06:45:00.000-07:00

bbbbbbbounce

..invent Tweenbots earlier ?

2009-04-17T04:52:00.000-07:00

This is such a clever invention, that demonstrates the power of crowds so well.

Tweenbots are little robots, human-dependants, that navigate the city with the help of people they encounter, as they roll in a straight line and at a constant speed.

Each one of the robots has a destination displayed on a flag and relies on people's help to reach its destination.

Watch the video below

Read all about it on the blog here

And if you like silly cool things like this, then find more here

Corporates use of social media via blogs

2009-04-07T09:59:00.001-07:00

here's an interesting story showing how any company can be relevant in the social media landscape. Good attitude and approach.

The Barbarian Group publishes a blog about its marketing research for GE to entice collaborators and make science cool.
news article

The Barbarian Group's first project for General Electric isn't a campaign at all. GE Adventure is a blog about science and marketing that aims to tell the massive company's stories, make science cool again and start a conversation with future collaborators in adland--all with the wonder of a science-loving fourth-grader

http://geadventure.com/

...power all the Xmas lights with volunteers around the country? (VInspired.com festive favours campaign launches)

2008-12-01T08:32:00.000-08:00

Just heard about this and it's a cracking idea. Encouraging 16-25 year olds to do volunteer work / do a favour, by simply getting on a bike for 15 mins and powering the town's Xmas tree lights.

It's taking place in Manchester and London this month, and click here to book a place.

And there's a solid online game featuring Daniel Craig and Amy Winehouse.

Well done, nice festive campaign blending online and offline. And the first Xmas thing that makes me feel good about doing nice things for others.

And as a final bonus there's an advent calendar with daily deeds to do.

....And even a Xmas e-card with some festive humbug action items. Love this sort of stuff. (Sercet button on her mouth at the end, password is anything you want it to be)

...make choosing printers fun before? (New Epson site launches)

2008-12-01T08:11:00.000-08:00

Well another corker from the favourite website awards (thefwa.com), and this time a great example of how flash can make choosing a printer online, a rich experience.

http://www.epsonality.com/

click on meet your epsonality. it's lovely.

it's the attention to detail that sets this apart. the guy on his laptop, the woman with the picture frame, the 3 legged dog.

bliss.

..create a digital version of this with stats ? (sprint + digital steroids)

2008-11-22T05:21:00.000-08:00

... still buzzing about the sprint widget.

I have it on all the time, it's fascinating, the audio stats and moodometer is great.

Especially this http://www.moodyornot.com but I wish they'd let people submit or clone this with other sub links.

Why not open source this for everyone ? why doesn'y someone else do one ?

http://now.sprint.com/widget/terms.html

Funny- I've got this weird 'bog bowl of now' in the background (audio from sprint widget page), whilst my daughter's getting freaked out again, by this guy....

.... produce the mother of all widgets before? (Sprint just have!)

2008-11-18T03:19:00.000-08:00

this is awesome.

nothing more to add.

click and download it, and get inspired by it.

http://now.sprint.com/widget/

..standardise socila media measurment before? (well they've now created a wiki for it)

2008-11-07T04:47:00.000-08:00

at last.

thank god.

it's coming.

http://measurementcamp.wikidot.com/start

...incorporate night vision into cars earlier ? (Mercedez just has)

2008-11-04T03:36:00.000-08:00

I've been looking into night vision for a piece I'm doing on the A to Z of digital creativity.

Night vision footage was one of the things i was looking at.

Nice to see this.

..show you what to do in a quake earlier ?

2008-10-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

Great site. Winning loads of things. Nuff said. Respect. Clickety click.

... do this earlier? (Wassup 2008 and the boyz are back!)

2008-10-27T15:13:00.000-07:00

This made my night. Saturday night, when sat at Rhodes airport at 1am with 2 kids, waiting 2 hours, for the flight to Gatwick.

Pulled out my mac, go onto a wifi network, browsed the news to catch up on reality, went to Yo u Ttube, saw this in most viewed that day.

Oh i laughed, and smiled, and it made my day.

8 years after i compressed the first ever ones for the internet, and sent out to our early adopters top 1000 (eat 1000), which became eat 5000 and then Eatmail.tv and it's back. Remember those anyone ? and the web only version we haggled Bud for. and Wash Up which we made, and then came all the spoofs.

Here's a trip down nostalgia lane, in reverse order.

....tell me about the 4 hour work week before? (Timothy Ferriss has the answers)

2008-10-27T04:26:00.000-07:00

This could quite possibly enable you to change your life. Click here

No shit. I've checked out all the links, blogs, and reviews, and this isn't just hot air.

Dig around on the site and you'll see for yourself. Something for everyone to aspire towards i hope.

....acknowledge the changes in video consumption before ? (Howard Rheingold strikes again)

2008-10-27T03:23:00.000-07:00

Great video article below, all on er video.

If you haven't already checked out seesmic before, then you should.

It's like video tweets (twittering)

..put more faith in user participation and innovation before ? (Walkers gets 1.1m entries to it's 'Do Us a Flavour' Challenge?

2008-10-27T02:33:00.000-07:00

I love this.

I love the fact that the brand reached out to it's audience and asked for help.

And it did it in a way that made them truly feel part of the product development giving them 1% share of any future royalties and prize of £50k up for grabs.

This is proper Hawthorne Effect marketing.
They'd expected 250,000 entries. they got 1.1m.

The website went into overload with 2.4m sessions, averaging nine minutes per session. we saw this type of activity start with genuine web2.0 collaboration, content and community activity with the likes of Jones Soda, Boeing World Design Team and others. But this is big business using fans and brand ambassadors (And I'm sure reaching new ones) with something truly interactive.

And the winning flavour :- CHEESE AND RICE.

Ok I'm joking, you'll find out the final 6 in Jan, and the eventual winner (as voted by the public of course) in May.

....give me a rev share on this new tracking software ? (

2008-10-27T02:22:00.000-07:00

This has been one of my 'wifi shed' ideas for a while.

I didn't get my butt in gear sooner, but I'm glad to hear these guys have. This seems like a really simple solution to child tracking

read the article here

......tell jezmondo before they gave him food poisoning?

2008-10-13T00:35:00.001-07:00

I'm crook. in bed, not well. cant' move. cant' go to work. I can still work though and I can blog.

so catching up on a few of my favourite blog rolls. Here's some latest stats for the obsessive out there:-

Many of these are courtesy of Brandie.

Besides the “usual”, Kazaa, Britney Spears, Dragonball and Kobe Byrant were the most searched for terms in 2003. In 2008, Brittany Spears and Dragonball are still in the top 10.
Most-used features of the Internet: Sending email - 91%, Using a search engine to find information - 88%, Researching a product or service before buying it - 78%, Buying a product - 66%
Over 176,000 complaints were lodged with the FTC in 2006 relating to Internet fraud; an increase of 16,000 over 2005.
33 percent of youth have been victimized by cyber bullying
According to the Miniwatts Marketing Group’s Internet Usage and World Population Statistics (last updated March 31, 2006), worldwide Internet penetration is only 15.7%
Internet Porn stats (hysterical): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOFTQpNhsWE
For the 2008 election, A record-breaking 46% of Americans have used the internet, email or cell phone text messaging to get news about the campaign, share their views and mobilize others.
In 2006 Digital music sites average a global daily peak of over half a million visitors per minute.
Dollars spent per visit are growing faster than the number of visitors to online retail stores.
In 2007 Spam levels reach 93 percent of all e-mail in March, fueled by botnets.
54% of ebay items receive 0 bids, 23% receive 1 bid and 5% receive 2 bids
3.8% of all ebay auctions are won in the last 5-10 seconds
In January 2006 “chuck norris” surpassed “boobs” in most searched for term
April 2008 “dodo bird” was the #1 searched for term
The 2008 Olympics was the first time athletes were allowed to blog once inside the Village
Facebook averages 11.6MM picture uploads per day (June 2007)
Over 2MM Facebook users will turn 21 in the next year (2007)
88% of Asian adults online have high speed internet access
Between Chicago, Orlando, NYC and Las Vegas, Las Vegas is the most talked about travel destination on any major trip review / travel plan website
71% of YouTube users are employed
Facebook is the #1 photo sharing site
Charley Kline at UCLA sent the first packets on ARPANet as he tried to connect to Stanford Research Institute on Oct 29, 1969. The system crashed as he reached the G in LOGIN!
Yahoo! Answers includes 16,000 questions about Las Vegas
Generation Yers spend 12.2 hours a week watching using the internet, but only 10.6 watching TV
People spend an average of 20 minutes a day on Facebook
25% of General Motors’ budget will be online in 2009
The Huffington Post gets 2x – 3x the traffic of The Star Tribune
89% + of the U.S. Population is online
363 Billion Text Messages Were Sent Last Year\
94% of NikePlus users recommended NikePlus.com to a friend
Barack Obama has 92,000+ Twitter followers…he’s following 96,000+
23% of social network users have installed an application/widget
There are over 184 million bloggers worldwide
The Pope and the Catholic Church Have started texting
Social networking sites are officially more popular than porn sites
There are 650,000 new videos on youtube a day
39% of people on the web have subscribed to an RSS feed
32% of people on the web trust bloggers’ opinions about products
Millenials spend more than 16 hours a week online
Topside beef should be be pot roasted for at least 3.5 hours. (is this why i got food poisoning?)

.....design with simplicity and beauty in online galleries before?

2008-10-08T05:28:00.000-07:00

This is just a really nice way to show images, and make the user experience more fluid. Nice gallery.

click here.

Produced by this agency in amsterdam, who do loads of cool work, and challenge conventional ways of presenting info and rich stuff.

...beamvertise before? (Guerrilla projections not in ATL campaigns for Sony)

2008-10-07T03:24:00.000-07:00

What is beamvertising?

Shock horror there isn't even a Wiki on this.

Simply it's projecting a moving image onto a public surface. It's the latest evolution of projections which started with stills (and the infamous Ministry of Sound on Buckingham Palace) and Gail Porter on Houses of Parliament.

One of my favourites of all time is this:-

And they're now being used in ATL campaigns such as this for the Sony Vaio from Saatchi's in Sydney.

It doesn't stop there, and it doesn't have to be on a building. Why not go proper guerrilla with street teams as digital billboards.

...shoot Xbox commercials inside my head before ? (New Xbox commercials that blow your mind)

2008-10-07T03:02:00.001-07:00

This is huge.

I take my hat and head off to the creatives at T.A.G. for these latest executions. Presenting a concept that involves undergoing a lobotomy to remove the entire brain and replace it with a home theater must be excruciating and hilarious.

Reminds me a bit of an anti drug campaign from New Zealand a few years/ decades back.

...minituarise sports players on mobile phones before ? (Sprint phones now come with tiny stadiums)

2008-10-07T02:57:00.000-07:00

I really like this new spot from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and Psyop for Sprint. Features two guys who flip open a Sprint phone and watch a football game played in a miniature stadium

It's a good way to promote Sprint's NFL package.

.... make adult porn cleaner before ?

2008-09-25T08:11:00.000-07:00

This is brilliant. This has made my day. I'd heard that someone (thanks Claudio) had given old porn movies the treatment, but i wasn't expecting this.

This is going to be one of the viral successes of the year.

Watch it, laugh, share it.

Diesel SFW XXX - Watch more free videos

..... show how important the internet was to sports fans media consumption previously? (Sports fans move to interactive media says EIAA research)

2008-09-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

Great article (publshed pre Olympics) which illustrates how important the internet (and rich media) is to sports fans. Clearly shows that digital media is fast becoming the medium of choice for sports fans and pushing the boundaries of media convergence across TV, internet and mobile.

According to EIAA data:-
twice as many sports fans use the internet while watching TV compared with the average user (32% vs. 16%);
TV and internet now far outstrip other media at peak viewing times and twice as many sports fans watch video via mobile compared with the average mobile user (12% vs. 6%).

Key European Findings:

• 32% of sports fans use TV and Internet together compared with 16% of all users
• 73% of sports fans watch television and 68% use the internet during the peak media consumption period (5.30-9pm)
• 39% of sports site users watch TV, film or video clips online and they are twice as likely as the average mobile/PDA/Blackberry user to watch video/film clips via their mobile (12% vs. 6%).
• Over a third (36%) of all European internet users currently visit sports sites
• Sports website users spend over 13 hours online each week, 10% more time than the average European spends online and an increase of 27% since 2004

Over a third (36%) of all European internet users currently visit sports websites and these sports site users spend over 13 hours online each week, 10% more time than the average European and an increase of 27% since 2004.

"These figures are set to ramp up as we approach a summer full of hot-to-watch events such as Euro 2008 and the Olympics," said an EIAA spokesperson. "Events such as these can act as catalysts for media change as fans adopt new habits and technology in order to follow their favourite sports. Brands need to work out how best to reach and interact with this sports-driven audience as it develops and it is vital that marketers create strategies to take advantage of the media opportunities surrounding key sporting events."

Watching sports online via video is proving a primary draw.
Nearly 40% of sports site users watch TV, film or video clips online, much more so than the average European internet user (39% vs. 30%).
Interestingly, this activity has grown in popularity amongst sports site users by 144% since 2006.
ComScore figures also show that from January to December 2007, time spent on sites with video streaming and downloads has increased by 72%, from 53 to 91 minutes.
In March 2008 alone, nearly 154 million people visited these sites, an increase of 22% when compared to the same month in 2007.
The most popular sites include Youtube, Windows Media and DailyMotion.com.

According to ComScore, 912 million Europeans visited sports sites in 2007 - an average of 76 million per month - and further analysis of sports sites shows that visitors significantly peak during the big sporting spectaculars. For example, the number of European sport site users increased by around 5 million in September and October 2007 when the Rugby World Cup was on and when the Six Nations Rugby tournament took place in March this year, European sports site users rocketed to 84.7 million (up from 77.4 million in February).

EIAA research shows that from 5.30-9pm 73% of sports site users watch television and 68% use the internet, making them by far the most used media during this peak consumption time. The internet is also proving a medium for round-the-clock consumption and with 87% of sports site users having broadband, global events such as the Olympics in China this year, present additional high-impact opportunities for marketers to target this audience as they look to follow the action in real-time online.

According to the EIAA, this need for information and updates on the go is highlighted by the fact that 93% of sports site users own a mobile/PDA/BlackBerry (vs. 83% of all European internet users) and are heavy users of mobile internet. Interestingly, they are twice as likely as the average European mobile/PDA/BlackBerry user to watch video/film clips via their mobile (12% vs. 6%) and are more likely to perform other online activities on their mobile:

Additionally, almost half (48%) of all sports site users communicate via social networking sites and they are also more likely to have digital technology in their home. Nine out of 10 sports site users (91%) own a DVD player (compared to 75% of all European internet users) and 86% have a PC in their home (vs. 64%). This demonstrates a greater technological uptake by those that watch sports online and points to a heavy consumption in technological products which could be translated online in the future.

Ultimately, almost three-quarters (71%) of sports site users find that the internet provides them with what they want quickly and have positive attitudes to online advertising. In fact, 57% rated the internet high on creativity thus marking the demographic to be a more engaged and receptive group compared to the average European internet user (51%).

Alison Fennah, Executive Director of the EIAA said: “With a definite correlation between the increase of users of sports sites and the key sporting events over the past year, sports fans are becoming a targeted demographic this year. Looking at their online habits and activities, sport site users are likely to increasingly move their sports consumption online partly due to its ease of use and accessibility, and but also its real-time availability and technological capabilities. Ultimately this highlights how marketers can target and benefit from this captive and engaged audience online, especially when the big sporting events demand attention. Marketers must look to tap into this trend and media mindset when creating and developing their advertising campaigns.”

The study involved 7,008 random telephone interviews with over 1,000 respondents in the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the Nordics respectively and 500 respondents in Belgium and the Netherlands respectively. Interviews were conducted throughout September 2007.

put that in your pipe any doubting marketers who think that sports fans just read the nationals, tabloids and listen to Radio 5 Live.

...plan it all together ?

2008-09-24T04:42:00.001-07:00

Planners are a funny old bunch. Not funny in the sense of haha but more in a dry, sarcastic, ironic way. Unlikely that you'll find them on the stage telling jokes, more sniggering in your ear or heckling.

If this floats your boat, and you want to enter the world of planning, then this place is as good as any to start. Check all the links to other humour killers.

....make bank interiors more lush before?

2008-09-24T04:35:00.000-07:00

The Coolhunter has just dropped something into my inbox, which one again has the WOW factor. This time it's the latest bank designs in Milan. Considering the current financial meltdown perhaps best to put these all on hold, but WOW- would make standing in a queue worthwhile.

....create a social community between London and New York before- NyLons ? (British Airways launches MetroTwin)

2008-09-23T12:44:00.000-07:00

This is brilliant, get straight onto the beta list as fast as you can here.

Thanks ixtlan for the Flickr shot.

The concept of twinning (bars, clubs, places, top 10's with the same in either New York or London, vice versa) is a stroke a genius. The commercial opportunity for any indie or multi business, to find an equivalent in either city is huge.

This could connect people, and places in a whole new user generated / recommended / twinned way.

Contagious Magazine have rubber stamped it, read about it here, and so has my good mates paras shah here

...make streamed videos easy to download?

2008-09-12T06:52:00.000-07:00

frustrating as hell this.

It used to be easy to download a video file (since sites didn't want to get spanked with the continual bandwidth issues of streams) and these days it's near impossible.

if you're doing a presentation and need to include a video, sure you can hyperlink to it, but it's clunky and takes you out of your deck.

I've found a tool that's helping address this thank god.

Use it, it's good.

..... do this before?

2008-09-08T09:39:00.000-07:00

This is funny, and set to be a tearaway hit when it hits the screens later on this month.

We've seen Lego fans create some hilarious stuff in the past, and this series looks set to become folklore pretty darn quick.

....at least put a diversion sign up when they gave out £20k of free petrol! (EA stunt to promote the Mercenaries 2: World in Flames game)

2008-09-08T01:31:00.000-07:00

i don't know if i think this is great, or pants.

Either way it caused chaos, got media attention, and only cost £30k all in.

You decide.....yay or nay. Read the rest of the story here

....make more car ads without cars in before? (Honda Accord Whooosh)

2008-09-05T04:32:00.001-07:00

not very convincing, but nice enough.

...make more banner games before ? (Skive makes whale banner for Hancock movie)

2008-09-05T04:25:00.000-07:00

Well done Skive.

Love this interactive banner.

Shame you don't get any points for hitting a boat.

Click on the image to have a play.

... do this before (Beijing Olympics 2008 street marketing innovation)

2008-09-03T09:55:00.000-07:00

I love what Mini Cooper did for the Olympics. They dragged traditional Chinese street transport into the 21st century with these great bike-powered Minis.

Samsung did something nice too. Giving Olympics' fans a chance to view all of the action from their own "private" alien-like pods.

Nice use of creativity. Let's see what 2012 in London throws up.

......choose a beter voice over to what would have been a great site otherwise (Vodafone future's site)

2008-08-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

love the site.

love the future.

hate the annoying cows in the clips.

.... offer an alternative to sending flowers as a gift before ? (The biscuiteers delivery service is awesome!)

2008-08-20T02:46:00.000-07:00

Biscuiteers web site

A friend of mine showed me this amazing packaging the other day. I was half expecting him to open up the box and there was an iphone inside it. Nope- it was biscuits. How cool are these? (ok they' not cheap at £30+ but heck just expense them- and sweeten up your client or lover)

v festival 2008 was hot, hot, hot (especially the Sloggi dance stage!)

2008-08-17T10:22:00.000-07:00

great festival, once again.\ every year- always delivers at least one moment of pure joy.

For me this year it was the Sloggi dance tent. mesmerizing. got stuck there for hours. no joke. brilliant. I know a bloke who's paid good money for dancing this good, isn't that right Rich ?

make a mac version ?!!!!! (I HATE MERCEDES-BENZ)

2008-08-14T04:31:00.000-07:00

I HATE MERCEDES-BENZ
I HATE MERCEDES-BENZ
I HATE MERCEDES-BENZ
I HATE MERCEDES-BENZ
I HATE MERCEDES-BENZ

YOU'RE CRAP, CRAP, CRAP.
YOU'RE CRAP, CRAP, CRAP.
YOU'RE CRAP, CRAP, CRAP.
YOU'RE CRAP, CRAP, CRAP.

WHY DON'T YOU MAKE STUFF FOR US ON MACS! WE DO EXIST YOU KNOW......
WHY DON'T YOU MAKE STUFF FOR US ON MACS! WE DO EXIST YOU KNOW......
WHY DON'T YOU MAKE STUFF FOR US ON MACS! WE DO EXIST YOU KNOW......
WHY DON'T YOU MAKE STUFF FOR US ON MACS! WE DO EXIST YOU KNOW......
WHY DON'T YOU MAKE STUFF FOR US ON MACS! WE DO EXIST YOU KNOW......
WHY DON'T YOU MAKE STUFF FOR US ON MACS! WE DO EXIST YOU KNOW......

BAN MERCEDES BENZ............BAN MERCEDES BENZ............BAN MERCEDES BENZ............

DO NOT TEST DRIVE OR BUY A MERCEDES-BENZ CLC COUPE UNTIL THEY MAKE THE GAME IN A MAC

DO NOT TEST DRIVE OR BUY A MERCEDES-BENZ CLC COUPE UNTIL THEY MAKE THE GAME IN A MAC

DO NOT TEST DRIVE OR BUY A MERCEDES-BENZ CLC COUPE UNTIL THEY MAKE THE GAME IN A MAC

DO NOT TEST DRIVE OR BUY A MERCEDES-BENZ CLC COUPE UNTIL THEY MAKE THE GAME IN A MAC

....make a lite version of this game? (Mercedes-Benz CLC dream test drive game)

2008-08-14T04:22:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I've just come across this in Campaign, and i was keen to play it.

Imagine my horror when I found out the file size is 105mb! WTF!

Now i know all about file size; i remember squeezing clips into 650KB in the end of 90's; and making flash games with build in projectors for about 500KB.

But seriously Weapon 7 and Agency Republic, what are you thinking about.

the experience had better live up to my expectations...... so I'll report back when I've given it a test drive. that is if it works in a mac, if not prepare for a flame war.

click to play

.....online advertising for dummies (i get asked alot ,so here they are)

2008-08-13T10:18:00.000-07:00

DON'T DO IT. BUT IF YOU DO, THESE ARE WHAT...

Standard media are small filesized units (e.g. up to 30k filesize). They come in a range of formats – banner, leaderboard, MPU, sky, supersky, popup.
Rich media units are usually created through Macromedia Flash and are of larger filesize to the standard units. An increased level of colour and imagery can be used due to the larger file size available. They can be in the standard formats or the extended formats.

Formats
Banner ad – this is usually 468x60 pixels and is generally located to the top or the bottom of a page
Leaderboard – slightly larger than a banner, this is usually 728x90 pixels and is located to the top or bottom of a web page
MPU – 300x250 pixels, 300x200 pixels or similar. An MPU (middle page unit) is centrally located on the page
Pop Up – 200x200 pixels. This unit appears onto of the webpage in a separate browser
Sky – 120x600 pixel unit usually positioned on the sides of a web page
Supersky – 160x600 pixels, slightly bigger than the sky and again, usually positioned to the side of a web page

Floating or overlay - This unit floats across the users screen or lies above it
Expanding – This advertisement expands from a standard unit (e.g. banner, sky) across a web page over the content being viewed
Polite loading – A unit which allows very high filesized ads by downloading it in smaller pieces. Thereby minimising disruption to the content being viewed
Interstitial ad - A page of ads is displayed before the requested content
Wallpaper ad - An ad which replaces the web page background

.... look to the future, sometime previously in the past? (Lacoste Future)

2008-08-12T06:15:00.000-07:00

This is awesome- the new site from Lacoste celebrating their 75th anniversary, with a look to what the future will be for them, 75 years from now.

It's got everything I love:-

A viral video that's not overly branded and that leaves you with the WOW, OMG and WTF response. Beautiful shot, stylised, and edited. It's viral- I'll pass it on.

You click through to the site, and the experience doesn't let you down:

The loading bar means something, they've done something with it.
Nice user of ticker tape news of UGC entries.

I've skipped the video- I've seen it before. What else is there?

Nice navigation bar.

Andy's vision. Really nice, gritty and urban. And the tool bar is a dream. Everything i want to do with it's in there.

Share your vision- brilliant. Really good use of other people's contributions. And delivered in a nice way. Not dissimilar to the Boeing World Design Team though the site isn't live any more- 120,000 entries later)

Gestures- nice retro look at things.

Equipment- I was really expecting the hard sell here but was again pleasantly surprised. Not boring. Good info-tainment. I learnt something, and enjoyed learning it. All rich content with no duff buffering.

Downloads- Ok, nothing special here but it does the necessary.

Maybe I'm in a particularly happy mood today, but this site and experience has re-invented my faith that people are doing good stuff with branded content and film.

Credit where credit is due- well done French agency, Megalos.net

And also thanks to the (thefwa) favourite website awards for letting me know, and you're now in my bookmarks.

.... a 3D navigation for search ? (YooWalk.com)

2008-08-07T04:47:00.000-07:00

http://www.yoowalk.com/

Creates a virtual space where you explore some of the popular websites as ‘rooms’ and see other people who are browsing in the same way. This is very cool, though it's a bit gimmicky. I could see it working better with a games developer or niche community, Wii.

I'd like to customise my avatar more so though, and make him DEFLORD.

....tip off creative & tech agencies before they put the last nail in the coffin? (Sproutbuilder)

2008-08-05T11:42:00.000-07:00

http://sproutbuilder.com/

Sprout is a quick and easy way for anyone to build, publish, and manage widgets, mini-sites, mashups, banners and more. you can build a load of flash content, in a flash.

Any size, any number of pages. Include video, audio, images and newsfeeds and choose from dozens of pre-built components and web services. You can embed your sprouts on any Website or leading social media sites, including MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, Friendster, Blogger, Typepad and more.

like this:-

....releease this image of Madeline McCann as soon as it was reported? (GPS Tracking a solution to consider)

2008-08-05T08:01:00.000-07:00

As a Dad every time you see or read about this story, it makes you sick in your stomach.

Especially when you see an image like this, which the Portuguese police were allegedly notified about, less than 24 hours after her disappearance.

My wife has always thought i was nuts when i first started talking about chip and pining the kids. that was even before Maddy. Now even more so, they're going to get some tracking software until they reach 18 yrs old.

I've been looking into GPS tracking for some time now.

there's 4 solutions key solutions (detailed below), but for a good overview read these 2 links first:-

gps tracking
and a good Guardian article about it here

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Based Devices like The BrickHouse Child Locator alert you to a wandering child and helps locate them with a hand held unit. This kind of system can find children quickly within a range of 300 to 600 Feet.

Simple Audio Alert Units like Mommy I'm Here feature a cute Teddy Bear Receiver your child wears, triggers a loud 56 DB intermittent chirp/beeping sound when the parent pushes a button on the hand held remote.

GPS Logging Devices such as the PocketTrack will tell you where your child has been after you download the data collected on the GPS Logger to your PC to view the maps and data.

GPS Real Time Tracking Systems like the TrimTracXS ideal for monitoring the whereabouts of teen drivers enables you to log on to the Internet and see where your child is at any moment. There have been attempts to develop a Real Time GPS Unit the size of a wristwatch for children, but so far battery life and other issues have made this system unreliable. We continue to work on finding a system to fit this need.

...make 3d web sites before? (3D SITE)

2008-08-05T05:04:00.000-07:00

Where the hell are my glasses? I'd love to look at this.

http://www.encyclopediapictura.com/wanderlust/wanderlust3d.html

A video that is in 3D. Even without the glasses, it looks to have more depth
than a regular animation.

put a top ten tech ads of all time list together sooner? (at least they have now)!

2008-08-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

No suprise with Apple at the top fo this list.

Some other notable entries though:-

RCA dogs, Verizon's Can You Hear Me Now, Nintendo's The Wizard, Apple's Get A Mac, Maxells' Blown Away Guy, IBM's Little Tramp, Dell's Dell Dude, Energizer's Energizer Bunny and Microsoft's Start Me Up make the list.

The 10 Most Iconic Tech Ad Campaigns

top of the list:-

a great one stop search shop (addictomatic.com)

2008-08-04T08:30:00.000-07:00

Fed up of having to run multiple searches across online media to keep track of what's being said about your favourite brands? Enter Addictomatic, which compiles the results from a whole load of blog search engines, news searches, and other bits and pieces like Twitter and Digg to give you a good view of what's going on.

http://addictomatic.com/

....create a social community for New York and London earlier? (BA launches MetroTwin)

2008-08-01T01:54:00.001-07:00

It's amazing that this hasn't been done before when you consider how many similarities there is between New York and London (finance, film, art, fashion, culture, sights, people, nightlife, interests, etc).

British Airways has developed a community and social utility for these 2 metro audiences. Whilst it's still in private beta stage at the moment, the screen shots from the blog looks darn attractive to me.

Have a look here:-

It's currently invite only mode, but certainly worth trying to get in before the launch.
Click here

I can't help being a little jealous that i didn't have an involvement in this.
What a great idea and the Twinning feature looks like an absolute winner:-
Love a place in London, find it's twin in New York. Quality.

Well done to British Airways and Chris Davies. Exactly the sort of activity that as a frequent flyer I value and admire.

...collaborate sonner ? (Ikea + Mamma Mia, Converse + Pepsi, MTV + Sears, Netflix & Xbox)

2008-07-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

IKEA + Mamma Mia!:
The Swedish home goods retailer has joined forces with the new Mamma Mia! movie to entertain shoppers and immerse them in the tunes of the Swedish pop group Abba. With the trip to out of the way IKEA locations often being quite a trek and thus an experience in itself, they've aimed to create events that make shopping fun and lively. Stores nationwide will host sing-a-longs every weekend during June and July, and karaoke contest participants will receive IKEA gift certificates and tickets to private screenings of the movie. In the spirit of the movie's matrimonial theme, the Burbank, CA IKEA location is even hosting a mass wedding event for 20 lucky couples in which they will provide the justice of the peace, cake, entertainment, reception, and $500 gift cards as wedding presents.

Converse + Pepsi: In honor of the 100th anniversary of the Converse brand, the sneaker company has launched a year long "Connectivity" campaign in which they will team up with icons in the categories of sports, music, art, fashion - and beverage?! Converse and Pepsi created 12 styles of limited edition sneaker cell phone charms to be packaged with the soft drink; the charms come in popular styles including Chuck Taylor All Stars, Jack Purcell and Larry Birds. Though the brands seemingly don't have much in common, other than being pop culture mainstays, their pairing benefits consumers who get a fun, free and possibly collectable gift.

MTV + Sears: In an effort to up their appeal amongst the trend-conscious teen demo, Sears partnered with MTV to create a musical movie called The American Mall. Produced by the creators of High School Musical, there will be several approaches to integration to gain exposure for both brands: many of the scenes in the movie were shot in Sears locations and the characters will be wearing apparel and using products from the retailer; Sears will receive promotion along with that of the movie on popular MTV shows such as TRL; and following the premier of the movie on MTV, the DVD and soundtrack will be sold exclusively at Sears - a fact which will be promoted on MTV. The American Mall is set to air in August just in time for the back-to-school shopping season.

Netflix on Xbox 360: In an effort to bring their instant gratification services to a larger audience, Netflix just announced a collaboration with Microsoft. Following collaborations with set top box makers Roku and LG Electronics Inc., over 10,000 Netflix titles will be available via Xbox 360 via a software upgrade this fall. And for those lucky gamers with Xbox 360 Live Gold memberships, the upgrade is free.

...launch a social media debit card earlier? (PRE-PAID DEBIT CARD + SOCIAL NETWORKING = FACECARD)

2008-07-29T09:21:00.000-07:00

Wow, finally, something that could trump Facebook for SM coverage.

Facecard , launched by edo Interactive and Mastercard, is a new prepaid debit and gift card aimed at Gen Ys and Millennials. Like other prepaid debit cards it appeals to parents who want to introduce their tweens and teens to spending freedom while also teaching them financial responsibility (with the benefit of protection: there is no possibility to rack up overdraw charges with a prepaid card). However, for this plugged in group, facecard's unique draw is its online social networking component.

Card members create a customizable profile on the facecard site which allows them to connect with other members and ultimately electronically send and receive funds from friends and family. Sharing money electronically definitely makes sense for a generation that loves to give virtual gifts on social networking sites such as Facebook (where gifts are icons meant to beautify the recipients profile page) and with whom microlending is a growing trend. Facecard is partnering with retailers to offer retailer-specific gifts, called Prewards, replacing the accumulation of post-Christmas gift cards and will also offer targeted promotions based on members' spending habits.

Crucial to connecting with young people today, facecard has a multiplatform approach that merges online, mobile and real world. Accounts can be managed via the website, by mobile phone or at the good ol' brick and mortar bank. When money is transferred to an account it is available within 15 minutes - that means that kids can call their parents from the mall and have money on their card before they leave the dressing room. Additionally, facecard has uploaded a fun amateur-style informational video on YouTube and they have a flickr page showing pictures of their street team at this year's Bannaroo music festival. If that's not cool enough, they're philanthropic as well! They partnered with the Bannaroo to donate $10,000 to StopGlobalWarming.org.

...do this earlier? Let users choose the ending to Virgin Mobile ads

2008-07-25T04:29:00.001-07:00

You've probably seen Virgin Mobile's "All you can eat" online, TV and print
ads plastered everywhere lately. Virgin has come up with a competition to
coincide with their campaign giving you the opportunity to get your ad on
TV.

In a clever twist, Virgin has half-filmed three TV commercials based around
bizarre events happening at a 1950's American diner and they want you to
write the endings, and yep you guessed it they're throwing in an awesome
prize for the one they select as the most kick-ass.

You can storyboard the endings to "Mafia Kidnapping", "UFO Abduction", or
"Police Getaway", and win the ultimate road trip adventure, starting with
one-way flights for you and a friend to Cairns, $5000 cash, a Canon HD
digital video camera, a phone. and that's on top of them making your winning
ad and it going on TV! There are also tons of runner-up prizes.

As a creative tool, they've designed a very nifty flash app that you can use
to draw on top of the TV commercials to design, preview and share your
entry. The more out there the entries the better!

Check out the 15-second TV ad stubs, the gallery of entries already
submitted

Virgin Mobile user generated / created ads

...run a monthly 'most creative office' environment earlier (ie Regus!)

2008-07-25T04:06:00.000-07:00

How cool is the office you work in?

What would you like in yours?

Check the latest coolhunter article on this. A beauty.

These are my favourites so far.

.....have a lot more web cams / spy cams / feature cams at the Royal Open? (Harrington)

2008-07-25T03:29:00.000-07:00

Wasn't the Open awesome?
Wouldn't it have been great if we could get that bit close to the action with a selection of cam's to follow the action:-
caddy cam
club cam
ball cam
bag cam
etc, etc

I'd actually pay money for that to follow someone closer.

How about having it available to view on a mobile? Easy enough.

Why not have a secret cam? Via a short code on poster sites I access a site displaying live footage of a sponsored player. I don't know who it is- where the are- or what they're doing until I log on to view. some comp mechanic asks me to identify who what where to win a flight that night? loads of viral oportunites, but more importantly sweats the assets.

Even go further a create a cam widget.

jezmondo

.....create a viral for Aprilla launch?

2008-07-25T03:22:00.000-07:00

.....happy, smiling, walking along Ladbroke Grove last night as i went home- i had an idea.

An attractive girl whizzed by on a scooter.

Unfortunately her silk mini skirt got whipped up by the wind.

You know what happened.

There's a strong viral idea in here. over to your imaginations....

....take Mr Ben online, brand funded journeys?

2008-07-25T03:14:00.000-07:00

Remember Mr Ben? He went into the store- changed outfits- stepped into another world.
you never knew where but you knew he'd always return.

I'm sat at my desk- and either jump into virtual communities for some escapism, or search down some I'm feeling lucky route.

Why doesn't a brand take this on?
You go into a virtual store- choose an outfit relevant to where you want to go- pop out the back of the cupboard into another world where you surf (not dissimialr to the orange ballon race) and discover new places.

some great video journeys to be had.......

... dunk Oreo's into milk before? (Oreo turns an elevator into a milk dunking machine)

2008-07-22T10:32:00.000-07:00

I love this- really simple, effective and I bet every person who goes past it can't help being impressed by this creative use of alternative media. Let's hope the adult industry doesn' think about this for the awards in Vegas next year.

....plan for a drunken Glastonbury gatecrasher? (Sing Up)

2008-07-05T06:17:00.000-07:00

If you're going to do experiential activity at a music festival, at least take into consideration the audience and mess they're potentially going to be in.

Last week, experiential agency Not Actual Size found out the hard way.

It set up a mock up flower bed, with cheery happy cartoon flowers, and enlisted kids to sign What a Wonderful World.

all for their client Sing Up.

Shame a drunk staggered into the tent then, and passed out in front of all the kids, creating pandemonium with terrified children in fits oF tears.

caught help chuckling to myself on this..

pull all the social media personas together sooner?

2008-06-26T07:26:00.000-07:00

Anyone feeling the death by social apps overload?
Anyone else finding it hard to keep up?

1000head says it well "With so much out there, the lost at sea sensation is always a mere step behind you when it comes to being net social" The big question right now is speculation on when we'll have that one site/app that wll pull our social media persona's together. Here's a great article on the subject from read write web

Sometimes it's just hard to keep up. In this technology-focused niche we all live in there are new applications, new initiatives, and new platforms that spring up every day, not to mention constantly breaking news that fills our RSS readers. Take a day off and you're behind. Take an hour off and you just missed 300 more blog posts. In addition to the everyday struggles of information overload the average computer user deals with - like the overflowing inbox, for example - those in the internet/new media/technology space aren't just overwhelmed with new content, but also with new applications and choices to manage that content. What's a web-app loving person to do?

Drowning in Awesomeness

The double-edged sword that comes with keeping abreast of all the latest developments in technology means that we're always aware of the latest and greatest applications and services to try...but it also means that we've tried all of them. Unlike the average user, who doesn't even bother creating a Facebook profile until several of their friends cajole them into doing so, technology early adopters are the first to sign up and create profiles on every service that launches.

Sometimes these services have value; if so, they trickle down to the rest of the world over time. For example, social networks like MySpace and Facebook changed the way people interacted online. Flickr made photo sharing fun, easy, and social. YouTube let everyone be a star. However, sometimes they're not so great after all, and they end up fading away into nothingness in that area we've affectionately dubbed the "deadpool."

These failures don't seem to dampen our enthusiasm for trying the "next big thing," though. Every day, the web is filled with posts about this new app or that great service. When you think about it, it's really rather impressive that there are that many of them out there - enough to be written about in a seemingly nonstop fashion.

For technology enthusiasts, it's not enough to just "try" the new apps and services though. If they're the next big thing (or so everyone says), we're supposed to jump on board and use them, use them, use them. Scoble even recently threatened to expose some of the so-called "A-Listers" for not being active enough, saying:

"I thought about embarrassing most of the A listers on FriendFeed, because very few of them actually read that many blogs (I can tell, they rarely comment on, or link to, or FriendFeed with other people’s blogs)"

Right....because if they're not on FriendFeed, they're phonies, huh?

So, no. Commentary is not enough. We're supposed to live, breathe, eat, sleep, and dream this stuff. The problem is, while we're busy experimenting with this new thing and that new thing, we might miss out on actually enjoying the services that are already there for us, working just fine, thank you very much.

Too Many Choices

However, there are certain areas we've noticed that seem to be the biggest sources of conflict as of late. In these areas, several companies are clamoring to be the winner of the space, releasing duplicate or similar products, constantly adding new features, and generally trying to one-up their competitors in an effort to come out on top. When there are several companies doing the same thing, it gets confusing for the average user and time-consuming for the early adopters who play with everything. In the end, the hope is that one great service would come out on top, but that's hardly ever the case. We're already on MySpace, Bebo, Facebook, and LinkedIn because there's no one winner for social networks...are we going to have to use all these newcomers battling it out, too?

The Battle to Be Open

We never thought we would see the day that the big companies were actually fighting to see who can be the most open of the bunch, but that seems to be exactly what's taking place now in the battle of the social graph APIs. You've got Google's Friend Connect service vs. Facebook's Connect service vs. MySpace's Data Availability, each announced within days of each other. Instead of making it easy for users to understand what it means to be maximizing a social graph, the companies have just flooded the feeds with their separate announcements. As Marshall reported on Monday, the reason, at least according to Google is that "the beauty of open standards is that companies don't have to talk. They can just meet up around interoperable technologies." We would like to think that this battle for openness will lead to easier-to-use social networks as our friend graphs will get to follow us around, but something about the timing of these separate announcements smells like a battle brewing.

The Battle of the Lifestreams

There's MyBlogLog's lifestream, FriendFeed, Lifestream.fm and even Facebook's attempt at lifestreaming, which involves integrating a handful of services into users' Mini-Feeds and News Feeds. Too much? You betcha. Although FriendFeed is getting buzz, even it doesn't offer a way to really filter the info it displays. Sure, the "filter by service" Greasemonkey script can help narrow down content and the Friends & Groups script can help sort your friends into groups of your own choosing, but we shouldn't have to rely on a Firefox add-on to make our apps work for us. And while FriendFeed may be one service (besides Twitter, of course) that internet addicts can't live without, it still has a way to go to cross over to the mainstream user, especially if Facebook starts offering similar integration.

The Battle to Tweet on AIR

It seemed that every time our favorite Twitter AIR app Twhirl was updated, Alert Thingy followed suit and vice versa. Both struggled to integrate FriendFeed into their stream while still providing the best Twitter-on-the-desktop experience, and neither really accomplished that. Alert Thingy integrated FriendFeed updates into its stream in one window while Twhirl went with a second window just for FriendFeed. Neither was a perfect solution. Alert Thingy lacks the Twitter-specific features of Twhirl and Twhirl's two windows isn't ideal for users concerned with desktop real estate, like laptop users. What's worse is that in addition to Twhirl/Alert Thingy battle, we also had to contend with other also-rans which included both Twitter, FriendFeed, and combo apps like Snitter, Spaz, Feedalizr, bTT, and MySocial's browser sidebar and AIR app.

The Battle to Filter Your RSS

It's not just RSSmeme vs. ReadBurner - although that's an obvious pairing. Both of those sites feature top shared items from Google Reader. RSSmeme recently launched an API, which means it now offers filtering, albeit the geeky sort involving the creation of custom URLs. ReadBurner, not to be outdone, announced NetVibes support shortly thereafter. However, Google saw that other services were springing up around their RSS reader, so in an effort to keep people in "Googleland" they added friends to your reader to allow for a more personalized filtering experience. Those friends can also now share items with notes, so you don't even need to go elsewhere to comment on the items in the feeds.

Unfortunately, the downside to the friends feature means that in addition to those feeds that you now subscribe to, you're also reading suggestions from friends. Not that they're not great and everything, but is it really so hard for Google Reader to go ahead and mark it as read in your feed list if your friend's shared item is from a blog whose feed you already subscribe to? Apparently it is. Which means if it's really good news, we'll read it twice. Or even three times if someone else shares it later on. There might be a light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to filtering Google Reader via AideRSS, but ranking by popularity is really only one way to find the best content. There's something to be said for the hidden gems that get overlooked, too.

But the battle of RSS filtering doesn't end with Google Reader either. Perhaps not as apparent, but both Twitter and FriendFeed are slowly becoming people's preferred method of getting news. Why read through hundreds of unread, unranked items just to stay on top of the news? If it's any good, you'll hear it on Twitter or see it shared on FriendFeed. Some users are even positioning themselves as "human information filters," on these services, something our newest ReadWriteWeb contributor, Corvida, discussed not to long ago on her personal site. These highly active users (yes Scoble and Louis come to mind) are good friends to have on the service since they'll constantly be posting and filtering the best stuff for you.

Then there are the other memetrackers that exist to highlight the top stories of the day, too: Techmeme is at the top of the list, of course, but there are also newcomers/up-and-commers like LinkRiver, Techsted, SocialMedian, and community builder BlogRize. I'm just scratching the surface here and that's already ten different ways to filter the news.

The Battle of the Mobile Social Networks

This one will really surprise those not following the mobile networking space closely. When researching mobile network up-and-comer Brightkite, I stumbled upon a slew of mobile networks already competing in the space.

There's MocoSpace, Friendstribe, Hobnobster, Dodgeball, Zyb, mig33, Mobiluck, MeetMoi, JuiceCaster, Loopnote, Rabble, Wadja, Treemo, groovr, flagr, Lime Juice, Loopt, and Next2Friends, to name just a few. There are, in fact, many, many more. Some focus on texting, some on sharing images, others on geo-tagging, and others on traditional social networking. They're all acting like the mobile web is the wild west and if they can just get there first they might have a shot at winning.

However, who wants to bet that the mobile networks everyone ends up using are the ones who aren't pretending that the mobile web is some different web altogether? Even more likely winners are the mobile versions of MySpace and Facebook, where all your friends already exist.

The Battle of the Social News Sites

Of course there's Digg. But Digg is opening up the space for competition once again now that they're focused on going mainstream and featuring less technology news. Mixx seems to be doing well as a small, friendly tech social news site, but they're not the only one looking to catch the Digg overflow. There's also Yahoo Buzz, Propeller, Reddit, Digg-for-girls Kirtsy (formerly Sk*rt), Sphinn, roll-your-own Digg tool Pligg, please-don't-link to us Hacker News, and "if-we-ran-Digg" clone Sift'd. While all these sites are great for getting a post noticed by a wider audience, they're also multiplying the numbers of places you can read the exact same story you read hours ago in Google Reader, saw tweeted on Twitter, shared in FriendFeed, promoted on Techmeme, etc.

What Can We Do?

It's hard to say. Early adopters are not going to stop playing with every new service, but it's clear that we're getting to a point where tools that centralize, aggregate, but most importantly filter our content are going to be the ones that win out. There are only so many hours in the day, and, as it stands right now, every single one of them could be filled just consuming and interacting with content, social media, and web services. There's also this little thing called "going outside" that we would like to take part in, too. Hopefully we'll see the killer web app to filter the noise someday soon to help us do so, but it's definitely not here yet.

Eatmail.TV's back

2008-06-26T02:12:00.000-07:00

bring out a USB camera earlier?

2008-06-25T06:11:00.001-07:00

Nothing amazingly revolutionary with a USB digital camera, just that this little cookie looks lovely- strips you back to analogue thinking, less frantic and more observational, and what a lovely little giveaway to people that travel!

Sadly this is still a prototype at the moment with limited distribution but maybe worth getting in touch.

http://www.yankodesign.com/index.php/2008/01/22/usb-digital-camera-fakes-analog/

‘Imagine a tiny USB camera with no viewfinder, no LCD screen, no buttons except 1. Stripped down to it’s bare functions, this mini USB Digital Camera combines the feeling of not knowing how your shots turned out ala analog film with the ease of USB transfer. No cables are necessary. Just plug it straight away in your computer and always be surprised.”

...do this earlier? (LEVIS VIRAL)

2008-06-25T06:02:00.001-07:00

Good start made from Levi's and it seems they're following this up well.

here's the latest video. shame you can actually see the strings on this one

.....electric avenue site earlier?

2008-06-25T05:55:00.000-07:00

Electric Avenue is a constantly updated website that makes this easier and also includes an email subscription option to deliver the headlines to your in-box

News is divided into 2 categories

DEVELOPMENTS (new screen network launches, expansions etc)

CAMPAIGNS (with sub categories that highlight which of the unique features of digital have been used, e.g. dayparts, non-standard campaign duration, great moving copy examples etc)

we like this

.....do this earlier- great outdoor creative (HBO Cannes Winner)

2008-06-19T02:44:00.000-07:00

This is great. A worthy winner. I love this stuff.

Other notable winner who I take my Cyber hat off to, include:-

Lean Mean fighting Machine- Interactive Agency of the Year

Uniqlock- Cyber Lions Grand Prix
I just don't get this at all. Totally confused. It's irritating. It's not telling me anything. I have no idea why they felt it deserved a grand prix. Pants!

Sol Comments- Cyber Lions Grand Prix
This is, and was, always great. Simple, impactful, and keeps the brand promise alive.

Year Zero- Cyber Lions Grand Prix
Complicated, brave, guerrilla, multi channel- a good winner.

and gold highlights:-

absolut machines
Axe laser
Art Gallery Posters (love this but who was it for?)

outski.

lucozade's widget

2008-06-18T01:42:00.001-07:00

i quite like this. amazing that i clicked on a banner to get to it

...be this creative before ? (Microsoft Creative Showcases)

2008-06-05T04:50:00.000-07:00

OK, so they might be a bit late to the table with thier own products, but those that they have developed are awesome.

Apologies, this is a bit of a link dump but some of you might find it useful:-

Gaming and in game advertising
Massive in game advertising
Microsoft Surface
Popfly
Create a Mashup
Create a Web Page
Photosynth
Control Room & MSN Music In Concert
Live Earth
Research, case studies, info and creative news/examples
Tafiti: Silverlight and Live Search combined
Silverlight
Creative Inspiration and content

Thanks to Nick Corston who's got a cracking summer home in Bude that's up for rent. The summer house that is, not Nick.

.......ask me to be product tester? (mobile phone projector)

2008-06-05T04:24:00.000-07:00

Don't you hate it when an idea you had gets released in the press? Several years back I questioned how rewarding watching a clip on my tiny phone screen could be. Why not create a mobile projector add-on I thought? Then those smart people in Asia released news that they were developing it. "A movie projector in a mobile phone" article Samsung came out with some interesting news as well.
And this year it seems that it's likely to become a reality in 2008. Check out the Gizmodo article here I can't wait to see projections whilst I'm on the buzz of the latest blockbuster, projections on iconic landmarks, loads of other guerrilla and ambient activity, and opportunities in seeding content outdoors (and indoors).

If you want to know what the other top ten gadgets are for bu sines and consumers this year, Gimme the Scoop does a healthy round up here.

Here's the list:-

3M LED Mobile Phone Projector Everex Cloudbook EyeFi 2GB SD Card
Neonode N2
Walletex Mp3 Player
Fujitsu LifeBook U810 Tablet PC
Wireless HDTV (mmmm..... love this one 2!)
Polaroid Digital Instant Mobile Photo Printer (yawn... this is old)
Kodak & Belkin Bluetooth Photo Dongle
Pharos Trips and Pics

.......do this earlier? (Andrex Hello Softie game)

2008-06-05T04:16:00.000-07:00

Sweet little game for Andrex using the iconic puppy. (click to launch/play)

Nice combination of game play / creative with Windows Live Search.

Great cross pollination of message / brand and platform.

They've launched it with online comms on Hotmail. Perish the thought that i actually clicked on the banner.

But why haven't they done any seeding with this?

And why have they made the Live Search box below the fold? Durrrrr.

....create a digital tunnel to new york earlier?

2008-06-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

This is awesome if you haven't seen it already. The Telectroscope
(btw- Putin's given the green light for a tunnel from Russia to Alaska, so watch this underground space.)

I love the idea of giving people a window into another country from a central location.

In the past I've tried to excite clients to set up web cams so people can send Xmas messages in real time to friends and families. Whether it's waving in a shop window, or in a hotel, or on a CCTV camera.

I'm sure we're going to see these installation artists now taking the telecrascope everywhere.

......train these to clean the rivers and canals

2008-06-03T01:26:00.000-07:00

robotic jellyfish

Saw these on The Gadget Show last night and really impressed.

So much more that could be done with them.

Could obviously be employed by the councils, could obviously make great installations, and could be used well in support of all the tv ads we've seen of late featuring aquarium settings.

...put more easter eggs in this game?

2008-05-28T09:22:00.000-07:00

I like really like this.

An advergame just out from adddicted2tv.com made for The Times to celebrate the Ian Fleming/Bond exhibition at the Imperial War Museum.

Forget about the interactive tour, and go straight for the game. Doesn't matter what age you are- it's addictive fun.

One thing that was bugging me though was the loading page. I was sure I'd seen it before. Now i know kaleidoscope is nothing new, but I couldn't help but think they got the idea from this site, Cake Group

....at least have more than 1 stunt for the Mini!

2008-05-28T08:51:00.000-07:00

New campaign just out by Mini that's whizzing around the blogs.

Mini has a tough act to follow with this campaign. They did some great stuff in the past.

but this is really naff.

When I got the link, I had no idea what to do. I tried typing in expressions and getting error, but no explanation why. Then I kept forgetting to tick the terms and conditions. Eventually it loaded and the intro animation was nice, but then my excitement stopped.
So the car smashes through the front page of the image or URL. So what? This is a really old idea.

Why couldn't there be more than 1 car stunt? Why couldn't I choose or suggest, how the Mini dealt with it? Why didn't it do something more with the uploaded image?

We've seen some great viral/engaging work in the past such as this,

and the rest of them are on this microsite.

Even the tv spot was great.

Why didn't they re-enact some of the most awesome car stunts of all time? Bond, Bullitt, The French Connection, Hooper, The Italian Job, Matrix Reloaded?

2/10 for this, and that's being generous to the design.

very cool new place just opened in Perugia

2008-05-28T06:31:00.000-07:00

this looks awesome.

thanks becky p.

....really try for all out gross factor

2008-05-23T04:50:00.000-07:00

I love what's been happening with outdoor sites over the years, particularly digital sites.

We've been able to plug our devices into them, or receive content squirted from them. Some highlights include:-

Nokia interactive Bus stop ad.
In London Nokia gives you something to do while waiting for the bus: You can play a game of memory on the interactive N95 touchscreen ad

Thomson local ad.

Here’s a short clip of a Thomson bus ad which adjusts its advertising message to the location of the bus, in this case Charing Cross. It seems that the idea behind the Google Adsense bus billboard is brought to life.

But what about physical squirts, not just digital bytes?

I love this campaign in Vancouver promoting Science World, a non-profit, science-focused educational organization. It's a sneezing poster site to demonstrate the fact a sneeze can travel 12 feet and hover for three hours. Gross.

What next?

Bad breath.
Dandruff.
Perfumes.
Body odor.

.....trade and swap bookmarks

2008-05-23T04:33:00.000-07:00

We all have our favourite, but wouldn't you love to know what your peers favourite bookmamrks are.

I'd love to know which sites Steve Jobs visits on a daily basis. I'd love ot know where my peers regularly go.

Surely there's a business in here? Surely there's some currency and value?

If I was embarking upon a career in digital, what better way to get up to speed and familiarise myself with the job ahead by knowing where my peers regularly go.

What about for charity? I'd happily pay £20 for a list from a celebrity or a peer. It's a nice way to get to know someone based on where and what they look at. Now of course i know that Del.icio.us does this, but it's not widely known.

It would make great pr, buzz, and a good platform to get to know a brand/or individual.

...let me search within the eyes of Google

2008-05-23T04:29:00.001-07:00

I have my favourite sites that I'm cookied on. I have my favourite sites that I've bookmarked.

When I type a search in Google, why isn't there a widget which just searches- or perhaps shows the first search results from my current favourites? Maybe if I clicked in the Google eyes it would show me results in my favourites.

Search within a search.

..do this earlier

2008-05-23T04:21:00.000-07:00

This is in beta, and it's awesome.

Search Me

I don't know about you but when I'm searching for something and know what it looks like, i go straight to images.

I know what type of site i want to look at- i might recall it by look and feel, or want to start my navigation with a user friendly and creative interface.

Now there's a search engine that pulls up the front pages of the sites, for you to navigate from. It's classy.

I've often wondered why Google don't present a gird view, rather than a list view.

the grid views of results would show home pages like searchme, but would also categorise them in terms of those with the most buzz, comments, activity, video content. You'd be then be able to apply various layers and filters over the top to narrow down the search.

If I'm searching for Ronaldo sites i could then deep search within those which had the strongest heartbeat- representing the most active, live usage.

Special Effects

2008-05-23T02:58:00.000-07:00

I've always been intrigued by special effects layered on top of existing footage.

i came across this company and site

There's some great content on here though and some is really disturbing. Why didn't they put a massive health warning on clip number 2! OMG.

Whilst on the subject of special effects, it's not a massive leap off topic to share the latest from The Viral Factory.

They've been consistently pumping out some great work for Samsung over the last year and here's the latest. A very entertaining 2 minutes that flies by. Love the audio as well.

"It's good eh".

But..... why haven't they opened the campaign up to user generated illusions?

I'd love to see more brands using optical illusions in their campaigns. It generated buzz, interest and participation. It makes great social currency. Like these:-

More great ones here at moillusions.com

and my favourite-

Life's too short for the wrong job

...let us see the perspective from a ref's POV

2008-05-23T02:35:00.000-07:00

..this is a cracking AD, directed by Guy Ritchie.

We all know we can put a web cam anywhere- spycam, skirtcam, fan cam , you name it.

But why not have a ref cam so that we can all see the game from his POV, and understand how much aggression and abuse he receives during a game.

Ref's are the un-sung hero's of the game. Time to give them the respect they deserve.

The whole world in your hand part 2

2008-05-21T09:58:00.000-07:00

Part 2 of a post on mobile usage.

Until we get free bundles this might be a good crib sheet to see what takes the time, and gives the pleasure

a 90 second YouTube clip streamed on your mobile= 1.5mb

finding a route with Google Maps= .6mb

checking Facebook updates= .1mb

reading and replying to e-mails= .5mb

placing bids on ebay=.25mb

browsing 50 web pages= 1mb

So...... don't download a clip on your mobile (sync it across) and look at loads of web pages (tick)!.

....let us see the outtakes

2008-05-21T09:44:00.001-07:00

We saw this campaign last year from Ray Ban and it went down a storm with more than 8 m views and loads of awards.

It captured a lot of attention because it's got that WTF response- it is real, is it fake, CGI, how did they do that? All the things that ignite buzz and interest online, just like the CGI for a Levis campaign in Iceland last year.

So what popped up on my radar recently that I've been following? Well, Levis and a rip off, of the Ray Ban ad.

Do i like it? Of course.

but what i'd love to know and see a clip of is:-

Was he wearing protective kit?

And most importantly where are the out takes? surely these would have been even more viral.

I'm looking forward to the law suit.

8 out of 10.

........ let us all have eat as much as you want mobile bandwidth packages before?

2008-05-21T02:25:00.000-07:00

How many years now have we heard that it's the year of mobile?

Who has actually produced successful mobile campaigns other than the entertainment and one or 2 automotive brands?

Finally Vodafone has announced it will include mobile internet access in its pay monthly tariffs.

Maybe the worm has finally started to turn.

Mobile operators should have made mobile browsing free years ago. It would certainly have speeded up adoption.

4 years ago i remember a service called Flix that downloaded a java client- a vidlet onto your mobile desktop. 2 clicks later and i was watching mobile clips, at £1.50 for entertainment, and £4 for adult. Flix made money when you slept, but obviously bandwidth charges were far too costly for many.

And then a year after that Bacardi launched B Live Radio. The first brand funded mobile radio station. It was free, but depending on what package you had could mean paying up to £10 for half an hour's listening pleasure. Not a good option when Bacardi would rather have had £10 spent on their liquids. Bacardi should be commended for launching this globally, despite the limitations and lack of support from the telco's.

i pay enough for my mobile service. I shouldn't be penalised for using the features that the likes of Vodafone are pushing for their own commercial objectives.

Come on networks- give me free bundles! (Ad funded if necessary!)

Slideshare

2008-05-21T02:20:00.000-07:00

How many times do you have to write a presentation from scratch? Loads I'm sure.

how many times are you at conference and they ask for your presentation to upload?

Wouldn't you love to be able to have a quick scoop over other presentations on similar subjects?

I'm amazed how many people still don't know to use open source presentations and findings.

My favourite right now is Slideshare

And yes i am in the process of uploading my presentations for others to do likewise.

Why banners fail to have any of the X factor

2008-05-20T05:22:00.000-07:00

Intriguing headline and article that i just got on the i-media connection newsletter.

Any one who knows me or has heard me soap box it on banners, know i've never been the greatest fan, so i was drawn to this intriguing article

"If you come to a site, and before you enter the site, you have to sit through an ad- it's an introstitial.

If you are on the site and have to sit through an ad when going to a different section, it's an interstitial.

But, if you are on a page and all the ads on the page are from the same advertiser, that is a roadblock.

MOTO means master of the obvious, to some.

i like the style of how Sean X writes and i agree with much of what he says, but unless people can create 'banners' that really do delight with multiple formated content- engagement- interactive call to participate-not to preach- then the focus should be in the editorial section of the site for maximum endorsement- rather than the bits round the outside.

I read the paper, I skip the ads.
I read the editorial and look at the pictures.
If the brands featured/associated/the creator- in there, then I'll then look at the ads with more interest.
It's the same with the digital.
It's the same with i-TV.

It's the norm unless you're really, really lazy.

Death to the banners. a lazy creative way to buy yourself the chance of a relationship.

Much better to earn it respectfully and credibly with some strong social currency that respects and rewards each other online, just as we'd expect and demand it, if we met socially..

I'm shocked how many brands ignore basic social skills online. Brands need to be social. Make friends and be popular.

And those that learn how to listen properly, are going to be streaks ahead in any popularity contest.

It's not just 'nice' to be popular- it's also hug£ly rew$rding.

A New Beginning

2008-05-19T05:40:00.000-07:00

Today's the start of a new week and a new chapter in my life.

After being agency side for more than 15 years I'm now decided to be a digital consultant, offering my services to agencies and clients. An agency for agencies if you like.

I want to focus on what I'm best at- coming up with strong strategical and digital ideas, with a strong emphasis on social media.

I'm fortunate to be starting this new venture with some old friends, colleagues and employers.

Each week I'm going to post my thoughts and frustrations when seeing campaigns in the press. My personal opinion on what else they might have considered to create the digital WOW factor.

Let the fun begin.