Monday, June 30, 2008

Personalised Nike Soccer Kits

Personalised sneakers are nothing new since the inception of Nike ID shop. Taking it one step further, Niketown London now lets visitors go beyond just sneaker personalisation. Niketown now lets you design entire outfits with a new application called “Build Your Team Kit”.


According to PSFK, “the interactive display on the first floor of the store enables anyone to customise a complete Nike soccer kit for themselves and their teammates. Colors, styles, names, emblems, and even sponsors can be added and amended on these personalized jerseys.”


Now you can take on your opponents in your next Sunday league match feeling like a million pounds, which is probably what a personalised kit for the whole team would set you back…

via: PSFK, rubbishcorp

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Relevant Spam

Nope, it's not an oxymoron. You would be surprised at how useful spam advertising can be when you are trying to find something relevant to your immediate needs. The problem comes in for most is having to sift through thousands of useless ones before you find what you might originally be looking for.

A French company, called Pubeco, has launched a new site that aims to help cut back on that waste. Launched by Sustainable Development Multimedia (DDM) earlier this year, Pubeco invites French consumers to take an eco approach to the problem by refusing to accept any more print advertising. But rather than simply opting out of all ads in general—80 percent of which are actually appreciated by their recipients, the site says—Pubeco encourages users to view those of local relevance to them online, and it publishes advertisers' paid communications on the site for that purpose.

Via:Springwise

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

You The Magazine Editor

Much like the WEbook project we featured last month, whereby your writing can be published as a book, a new website called Magcloud that has been launched recently now offers another interesting print-on-demand service.


Magcloud serves as an economical way for niche publishers to print small runs of magazines and delivers these magazines to the doorsteps of anyone who orders one. Publishers also need not get the community's approval before publication as it is in WEbook's case.

Users upload PDF’s of their magazine to the site and set a desired profit on top of shipping and productions costs. Magcloud then generates a publisher page for your title which provides information, issue previews and an order form. After that the site does all the work, handling the printing, mailing, subscription management, and promotion. Although anyone can buy from the site, publisher accounts are invitation only during the trail phase at the moment.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Premium Olympics Gucci Gear

Gucci has announced a limited edition line of merchandise to commemorate the Beijing Olympics later this year.

Called “8-8-2008 Limited Edition”, the collection represents "Happiness" and " Celebration and has 8 exclusive items which was chosen to mirror the lucky number "8" in Chinese culture.

A first for Gucci, along with the collection is the I-Gucci watch. The watch is the first ever digital timepiece from the brand and will also be available worldwide, unlike the other seven items of the collection which one can only find in Hong Kong and China.

Via: Notcot

Friday, June 20, 2008

Officially THE Most Expensive Burger

Burger King, the home of the famed Whopper and The King is out to set a new record.

The fast-food giants launched a R1600 burger earlier this week in one specific chain in London. The burger will be available once a week, but it has been said that it will eventually be available for order via a hotline for those with expensive fast-food tastes.


So what do you get for the same amount of money as a pair of Diesel jeans? Fox News says “the fine ingredients of what is called simply 'The Burger' include Wagyu beef, white truffles, Pata Negra ham slices, Cristal onion straws, Modena balsamic vinegar, lambs lettuce, pink Himalayan rock salt, organic white wine and shallot infused mayonnaise in an Iranian saffron and white truffle dusted bun.”

Delicious? Maybe. But I’m not certain it’s worth that much money. At least all the proceeds from The Burger sales will go to the Help A London Child charity, which assists young people experiencing abuse, homelessness, disability, poverty and illness, so you know your indulgence does serve a greater good.

The Burger has beaten the previous world record for the most expensive burger, held by Daniel Boulud for the DB Double Truffle Burger in New York, (1994) priced at around R1000.

Foot Generators


Here’s a novel innovation to help Eskom eliminate load-shedding. British engineers have developed under-floor mini generators that capture the energy from the footsteps and turn it into usable electricity.

Perhaps gyms - in future - can become self sufficient in terms of energy by installing similar generators in the various machines?

They’ve calculated that 34,000 commuters in London’s Victoria Underground station are capable of powering 6,500 light bulbs every hour. They plan on installing the first foot-powered generators at Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth as tourists climb up and down the 570 steps.

Apparently the imaginative electricity generator was inspired by an American military technology which made use of soldiers’ boot-mounted generators to produce energy.

Via:PSFK

Thursday, June 19, 2008

More Ways To Get Fit While Gaming

The appeal of gaming is that it allows the players to temporarily escape into a make-believe world, where there are no real life consequences. But ever since the Wii Fit came on the scene towards the end of 2007, the line between real life and gaming has become increasingly blurrier.

Now, SecondLife has jumped on board with this trend and has launched a test phase for the SL-Fitness program. The company has set up prototype stationary bikes connected to computers to allow riders to explore the SecondLife world. Sensors on the bikes read the velocity of the turning wheels and the direction of the handlebars - allowing the avatar to interact with the virtual world. There is even an “ET button” that lets the rider take flight.

The first prototypes are based on conventional bike-type home-trainers, with more conversions and prototypes are in the pipeline.

Via:Trendhunter

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Ford Focuses on Music

Ford USA has launched the 2008 Focus with an unusual and interesting spot.

The US car manufacturing giants have decided to dismantle the car and transform the parts into various music instruments, resulting in a beautifully executed concept. Check out the clip below.


Via: Lunatica Desnuda

Nokia's Global Art


Nokia has invited the world to take part in a collaborative animation competition with 1000s of people worldwide.

The mechanics of the competition is pretty straight forward, but the results (so far) are quite amazing. How it works is as follows:

1. 1000s of people hold blank frames
2. Universal Everything draws cell animation onto each frame
3. We all become part of an animation which crosses the globe
4. The process then continues with public submissions, creating an infinite global animation

The contributor with the most images also stands in line to win a new Nokia N95 8Gb

The project will be an ever-growing social piece of video art, shown on the video walls in selected Nokia Stores and related public displays. Below is a clip on the art collected so far:


Via: Notcot

The Magic of adidas


adidas has begun reaching out to consumers in a new way. The brand has decided to use its shoes as the main aids for some magic tricks.

adidas sen a self-proclaimed “magician in the hip-hop style” called Dynamo, to the arts district in South Beach Miami to perform David Blane-like magic tricks to unsuspecting passers-by.

The brand has made a short film which is available at adidas.com/superstar , along with some interesting behind-the-scenes downloads.

Heroes Launch


Heroes, the popular American science fiction TV series is to be released in New Zealand.

For the launch campaign, out-of-home elements such as the sidewalk stencil ad (as above) which reads “Someone can stop time” as well as TV spots. There was also a guerrilla campaign highlighting one of the main character - Hiro Nakamura - and his powers to stop time.

Sixty people were used for this ad who, on queue, would freeze in a dramatic standstill for a few minutes as if time had in fact stopped.



Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Smart Advertising


Smart Cars USA have launched a social networking site called
smartinsider.com, allowing fans of the diminutive car to form localised groups, exchange ideas and stories, as well as upload their own videos and pictures. Users are also able to create their own Smart blogs through smartinsider.

The site has a very similar look and feel to that of Ning-based social-networking sites and to date, has more than 2000 members.

Not to be outdone by Smart USA counterparts in their marketing efforts, Smart Cars in Japan have also had an interesting marketing campaign lately. Fake Smart Car vending machines have been installed around city centres in Japan, poking some fun at today’s generations’ need for instant gratification.

Some Smart marketers who seem to understand the target market well and how their product offerings can complement the consumers’ lives.


via: SmartUSA Insider, C Scout Japan

Smokers Targeted

Here’s a nice new channel for marketers who are really wanting to target in on a group of people with the same interests.

With smoking bans now an international trend, smokers have been forced to congregate in one spot, usually outside the side entrance of buildings in the cold. Belgium-based Ashvertising have produced an outdoor ashtray/television combo in which news and advertisements could be displayed.

As smokers finish and extinguish their cigarettes, the screen displays world news, sports results and weather forecasts along with advertising spots. According to Ashvertising, brands like Mars, Nestlé, Proximus/Vodafone and Sara Lee have been among the early adopters of the medium, which is now being used by numerous Brussels restaurants.

via: Springwise

Friday, June 13, 2008

UGC Mash-Up of "The Witch of Portobello"

Brazilian author Paulo Coelho is tapping into the power of social networks to promote his works by collaborating with MySpace to make a user-generated movie based on his book "The Witch of Portobello".


Aspirant film-makers can submit videos focusing on one of the book's characters to MySpaceTV or Coelho's MySpace page, myspace.com/paulocoelho.

Up to 15 winning submissions will be selected and a video "mash-up" called "The Experimental Witch" will be produced. Users can also submit songs for a soundtrack to the film, with up to 16 selected for the project.

Coelho, speaking from Paris in a conference call with reporters, said that his agent has been approached by "quite a few people" interested in buying the finished product for a 52-minute TV film.

Submissions for the project, which will be promoted in 20 countries, will begin on June 16 and close on July 25, with winners being announced on August 24. The selected filmmakers would receive a reward of 3,000 euros as their prize money.


via:Adweek

Live In A Cardboard Box In IKEA Style

IKEA has begun their massive marketing campaign in anticipation for the opening of their equally massive store in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

The retail innovators have begun scattering twenty-foot pop-up IKEA room settings throughout New York City.



The temporary vignettes will be placed at "iconic sites" like Union Square (June 12th), Borough Hall plaza (June 9th), Brooklyn Public Library (June 13th) and Cadman Plaza (June 15th). But that's not all! The store is also getting architect John Hobbs to build huge sculptures of local landmarks like the Empire State building and the Brooklyn Bridge out of Ikea cardboard boxes; those will be unveiled outside of the store on Beard Street on opening day.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Doritos Advertise To Aliens

Doritos has set their sights on a brand new, previously untapped target market.

With the assistance of some really intelligent folks at the University of Leicester in the UK, they will send their brand message 42 light years away from Earth, far beyond the solar system in which we belong.

According to Trendhunter, the message will only reach the target by the year 2050 and we will only receive a message by 2092 – assuming that there are alien beings interested enough in buying some earthly snacks.

The wacky idea may not sell too many packets of chips, but should create a bit of PR for the brand. Definitely an alien concept in marketing!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

BMW's GINA


Earlier this week, BMW released their latest concept vehicle, the GINA Light Visionary Model - a German acronym roughly translating to an infinite combination of geometry and function – which is a roadster with a rather interesting exterior.

Unlike the conventional metal of today’s cars, GINA has an animated cloth exterior. The special cloth material does the job in terms of protection for the car, as well as providing the correct aerodynamics and aesthetics.

Chris Bangle, head of design at BMW, says that there will be no difference in how the car lives with you, but it differs in terms of what it could be for you, how you could change things, even to the point where you can change the shape of the exterior.

According to Bangle, the point of the exercise is not to have cloth BMWs in future, but rather to make us think differently about the design process and the degree of flexibility that cars can offer consumers.

Reportedly, when you enter the car, it “wakes up” around you and allows the driver to choose what functions to display, exactly the same philosophy upon which the BMW iDrive system is built.



adidas' Impossible Goalkeeper


adidas, in their promotion for the Euro 2008 Championship currently underway in Europe, has installed an interesting piece of ambient messaging, featuring star goal-keeper Petr Cech with numerous revolving arms on a Ferris wheel.

The image is said to be 30 times bigger than Cech himself and has been called the “Impossible Goalkeeper” and reportedly took 20 days to make.

User Generated Ad Jingle


Samsung UK, through their lastest marketing initiative, is offering young, up-and-coming bands a chance for their big break.

The cellphone company has launched a website to give bands a portal to upload their tunes. Four winners are chosen through voting by the community and their music will be featured in the online and radio elements
in the advertisements for Samsung’s next handset, the f400.

Get Your Own Facebook Application

Thanks to Coca-Cola's newly launched Facbook application called CokeTag, bloggers, indie bands and anyone seeking to promote their own brand to achieve fame and fortune that much quicker.

The interesting and differentiated function of this application is that allows anyone to promote themselves and their interests via a convenient DIY portable application, making the process of sharing of viral elements that much more powerful due to the highly targeted nature of networks and fans.

Coca-Cola describes CokeTag as a “personal, customisable widget for individuals, bands, bloggers, artists, and companies to share links to content they want to promote and drive traffic to anywhere on the Web.”

The CokeTag application features a self-service editor that allows you to control both the content and skin. Several levels of expandable menus enable easy navigation to specific content, while a built-in click tracker lets the creator know every time someone looks at their CokeTag and which links they visit.

Trendhunter describes the distribution options as follows:

(1) Create and post your CokeTag on your personal profile page,
(2) Create and post a CokeTag to any Facebook Fan Page you administer,
(3) Grab and post any CokeTag that you discover on to your own personal profile,
(4) Send a CokeTag as Facebook e-mail attachment,
(5) Post a CokeTag as a Facebook Wall post.

CokeTag will later be available across OpenSocial sites in the near future such as MySpace, Bebo, etc. and eventually be open to all Blogging platforms and everywhere on the Internet.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Facebook Photo Frame

Here’s a nice little gadgets for all you Facebook addicts.



The eStarling’s WiFi digital photo frame instantly uploads photos of you and your friends through your Facebook account whenever you are within WiFi range. Each frame gets its own email address and you send the photos you want, via email to the frame, which then displays your albums.

With more than 70 million registered users 14 million photos uploaded daily, eStarling has more than enough potential buyers on their hands with this intelligent, channel-specific product.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Make That Ad Disappear!



Leo Burnett Italy has created a novel awareness campaign for the Fiat Panda which makes use of 100% edible paper as the medium. I guess the agency was relying on word of mouth rather than reaching more of the target market through potential pass-along readers.

In order to generate buzz and interest in the car deal, the unusual ad comes packaged with a magazine and reads, “100% edible paper. Fiat Panda 1.2 Natural Power Climbing at €11.000. Offer valid until supplies run out. Better make this ad disappear quickly.”

An interesting idea, although one would question how many of these ads were actually seen by the target market, considering the relatively high production costs the ad would require.

Camry - The New Spy Vehicle


Toyota’s Camry has been the best-selling vehicle in America in nine of the past ten years. With US sales of Toyotas dropping by 8% year-on-year, the Japanese automaker seem willing to connect with every single previously ignored demographic in their attempt to revive sliding sales.

Professional African-American women have never been drawn to Camry’s. A recent study found that black women do buy mid-price sedans, but they just tend to buy into other brands. The Camry was being outsold almost 2-to-1 by Dodge's Avenger among black customers - a car that suffered from less horsepower and lower fuel mileage than just about every six-cylinder competitor, including the Camry.

To shift the car's perception and increase purchase consideration, Toyota have turned to 42 Entertainment, a company that specialises in creating alternate-reality games - including a recent innovative viral campaign for Warner Bros.' forthcoming "Batman: The Dark Knight" – for a piece of branded entertainment in order to connect with professional Africa-American women.


In the game, Bianca, an assistant designer at an urban fashion house, finds herself and her new 2009 Camry entangled in a world of espionage.Bianca's unwitting involvement in espionage will be assisted by Camry's various gadgets – including the on-board Bluetooth, navigation and push-button ignition system - all features that will be "seamlessly integrated" into the content.

The campaign is supported by a $5 million print, radio and online campaign that will run in media primarily consumed by African-American women and aims to drive the target demographic to iflookscouldkill.com, a site where "fashion and espionage collide”, says Toyota.

via:Advertising Age

Friday, June 6, 2008

Can-Statues From Coca-Cola



Coca-Cola, aware of the amount of waste their products contribute to the world, has arranged for some fine artists to convert their used cans into treasures. With these beautifully crafted sculptures being displayed with a message to reduce, reuse and recycle, Coke hopes to be seen as part of the solution and not the problem.



Artist Sam McGeever has recreated iconic London landmarks including Big Ben, Angel Of The North, the Clifton Suspension Bridge, and even the Birmingham Bull of Wall Street fame.

via:Trendhunter

PS3 Opens Up In-Game Advertising Platform


Sony has opened up its PlayStation 3 platform to allow brands to advertise on the medium in their bid to capitalise on the successes that Microsoft have achieved with their in-game advertising platform with the Xbox. The deal could be worth $100 million over three years to Sony Computer Entertainment America.

Video game marketer Electronic Arts, will be the first to take advantage of the PlayStation 3 platform via its EA Sports and real-life based EA brands. EA Sports games include Madden NFL football, NBA Live basketball, Nascar racing and NHL hockey. EA itself will run ads for The Need for Speed and Burnout.

The in-game advertising on PS3 can be updated and adjusted in real time. The advertising also enhances the gaming experience, according to one study. In-game ad firm Massive, conducted a survey on in-game ads among Xbox 360 clients and concluded that "an average of 70 percent of gamers agreed with statements that the dynamic in-game ads contributed to realism, fit the games in which they were served and looked cool."

Pricing for in-game advertising is based on a formula that entails ad size on screen, viewing time (minimum: two seconds) and angle view, in addition to a cost-per-thousand factor. A typical budget for one ad across several games would be in the high six figures.

In-game advertising is in a fledgling stage, generating $54 million in sales in 2006, per Parks Associates, Dallas, but could grow to $800 million by 2012.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Feel-Good Cola

In the transparent world unleashed by technology, where every company’s actions are traceable and monitored, various corporations and their standards of ethics have come under scrutiny over the past decade or so.

The next ethical alternative brought to us by the Fairtrade organisation is Ubuntu, billed as the feel good alternative to world famous brands like Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

The producers have also paid due attention to the aesthetics of the product. The cans feature a chic white design which would make potential consumers not only feel good, but look great when drinking it too.

The cola is made from Fairtrade sugar, hailing all the way from Malawi and Zambia. Besides paying the mandatory Fairtrade Premium for the sugar, the Ubuntu Trading Company has also committed to return a share of its profits to the African sugar farmers to help them develop their communities.

via:Smart Planet,TrendHunter

Absolut Gay Pride


Absolut Vodka is a brand that believes in the importance of encouraging people to be proud of who they are. 30 years ago, when the company began their support for the individual’s rights, they were considered by many to be too bold.

This philosophy, combined with a sense of innovation for which the company has always strived for resulted in 311,000 Special Edition "Absolut Color" rainbow bottles in their show of support for the gay and lesbian community being launched last month.

Along with some of the bottle is a limited edition cocktail book about preparing cocktails with the rainbow, with all of the recipes being based on six colours of the rainbow flag.

via:BrandNews

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Murderous Facebook Profiles


Mujeres Asesinas
is a new Argentinean TV series with a rather twisted plot. The show, which means “Murderous women”, touches on family violence and unravels a plot where common women are transformed into murderers as a result of various unforeseen circumstances of life.

What is interesting about the launch of this series for us non-Spanish speakers in the world is that the series has made its media debut on Facebook.

With an intelligent and strong launch through Facebook—where they published each murderer's profile and their history—the show is already stirring up plenty of curiosity about their 13 actresses, as well as a sense of anticipation for the launch.

via:Trendhunter

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Out-The-Box Thinking In Retail

Australian retailers Ksubi opted for a simple, cheap and earth-friendly shop concept when building their latest store. The fashion label collected off-cuts and thrown-away cardboard and other refuse to build what they’ve termed “The Bombed Mache”.





80% of the store has been built with environmentally-conscious material which would have saved the retail chain a lot of construction costs. The creators of the cardboard shop were also recognised at the 2008 Interior Design Award by the Design Institute of Australia for their ingenuity.

Trendhunter says that “The Bombed Mache” still offers the same superb shopping experience to its hip target market despite its shanty-looking appearance.