Audi A8 & The "Light Light" Sculpture

Audi recently launched the all new A8 in the US, a car that the marquee has bench-marked as the cutting edge in innovation and design.

The new sedan boasts a whole new aluminum frame, next generation LED lights as well as a whole new interactive, hand-writing based navigation system. Added to these visible technological advances, Audi also claimed that despite the larger capacity engines, fuel-consumption will decrease with the new model.

Audi combined with the opening of Design Miami for the launch of the new A8, and featured a panel of design experts who spoke about the importance of innovation in design, and how core both are at Audi. A special sculpture was commissioned by Audi which took four weeks from brief to completion, and was inspired by the car's impressive use of aluminum and LED and interior ambient lighting.

Via - Cool Hunting

Free Access To Disney For A Day

In a bid to inspire people to show more care to those less fortunate then themselves, as well as boosting traffic to Disney theme parks in the US, Disney has announced an initiative called "Give A Day, Get A Disney Day"Disney will be partnering with HandsOn Network to highlight a variety of volunteer opportunities with participating organizations across the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. Starting 2010, those who contribute their time need only have it verified by HandsOn; then, in exchange, they'll get a voucher from Disney which will allow them one day admission to a Walt Disney World or Disneyland theme park.

Via - Disney Parks

Football Gets Big

EA Sport's latest football-related communication campaign, called "How Big Can Football Get", aims to bring together football fans from around the world through the power of Twitter.

EA Sports has developed a new application, released on beta which uses data driven by an estimated two million Fifa10 games played each day, encouraging players to share their opinions, passions, and dedication for their team.

Fifa Earth uses data from Twitter, tapping into tweet mentioning keywords or hashtags such as goals, football, soccer and uses geotagging, to show how the world talks about and plays both real and virtual football. The application also aggregates game score from Fif10 matches, creating a live interactive competition. The better a user plays in Fifa10, the higher the team's ranking on Fifa Earth.

Via - Brand Republic

Audi's New Car Configurator

Audi has launched an interactive car configurator with Microsoft Surface as the main hardware to run the program.

For the initial launch, Audi will allow multiple users to configure and customise the A4 of their dreams in an immersive 3D environment. Through simple hand gestures or motions, one can virtually alter everything on the car. It'd be interesting to see whether the brand will make use of this latest technology in their dealerships, as opposed to the more traditional brochures.

Audi Car Configurator on Surface @ IAA 2009 from Neue Digitale / Razorfish on Vimeo.

Via - Neue Digitale

30 Years Of Hip Hop And Still On Top

Thirty years after the first mainstream rap song, Rapper’s Delight, hit the US charts, 13 October 2009, Hip Hop has become a dominant culture that has influenced the creation and advancement of many brands. In thirty years this genre of music and culture is a Multi Billion industry and includes: TV Shows, record sales, beverages, films, record sales, endorsements and clothing labels.

50 Cent and Jay Z, prominent hip-hop artist have collectively made $ 180 million in the last twelve months alone. How this brand of music has influenced the world of marketing is particularly interesting, brands like Ciroc Vodka and Patron have been launched on the back of Hip Hop mogul support such as P Diddy.

The culture not only promotes music, but also has been influencing hip-hop culture purchases and brand development for the past thirty years and Counting. "Despite the economy, hip-hop is just as powerful as it's ever been in the endorsement and licensing world," says Ryan Schinman, chief of Platinum Rye.

Via:BBC.com

Work On Your Guns With Your iPhone

Here's another innovative iPhone app which will no doubt contribute to iPhone owners' sense of superiority!

For a fee of £1.79, iPhone owners can download the REPS app which promises to turn your phone into a mobile Nintendo Wii. Users can set weight loss targets and view their progress via a real-time rep counter, which calculates how many calories have been burnt and alerts users to how many reps they have completed by vibrate or sound. Users can also use the app while listening to the iPod music on their iPhone.

There are also motivational audio clips from a personal trainer to further keep you motivated.

Via - Revolution Magazine

Levi’s: Back To The Future

New York based adverting agency Wielden & Kennedy has created a digital game that aims to link the past with the future. This game blends real and virtual worlds as the player goes on the ultimate treasure hunt across America.

The games narrative revolves around a historic character named Grayson Ozias IV who left message recordings in the 1890’s and the aim of the game is to hunt these messages and can ultimately win the $ 100,000 fortune Ozias buried. This campaign entrenched the heritage of the brand and celebrates the brands roots.

via:brandwise.com

Tap Water Resurgence?

Bottled water has been a marketing phenomenon over the past decade or so and will no doubt one day go down in marketing history as one of the cleverest new products - alongside tobacco marketing. The ability to have consumers willingly pay disproportionate amounts of money for a commodity is the holy-grail we're all after and perfected by various bottled-beverage companies world wide.

However, with fears of global warming and the negative impact the bottled water category has had in it's contribution, the past few years have been far more difficult for the industry with various projects aimed at discouraging consumers to purchase bottled water.

It would seem a similar initiative has recently started in London. The city will install various "hydrachills" - essentially water fountains - that will allow people to purchase 500ml of water for a nominal fee of 20p, a fraction of what's charged traditionally by bottled water brands. The 20p charge will go to a charity organisation called Waste Watch, whose aim it is to change people's perception and use of natural resources.

Via - Gemma Charles' Green Blog, Brand Republic

Surprising Service

PSFK provided an interesting new idea for restaurants who are looking to increase their word-of-mouth recommendations.

The restaurant in question is called Ogori Cafe in Japan. Apparently an innocuous enough looking cafe with an interesting difference in the way patrons experience their orders.

According to the post, "you get what the person before you ordered, and the next person gets what you ordered. Thus, if you’re in on the game, you can choose to be either a generous benefactor, and treat those that come after you – or try your luck at being cheap. Either way, it’s an interesting experiment that explores surprise, kindness and encourages interactions."

There's also an interesting account of their personal experience when they visited Ogori on the post which definitely makes you realise that unexpected generosity is possibly the easiest way to bring joy to those around us.

Via - PSFK

How To Spend It (If You Have It)

The UK Financial Times publication will be launching a standalone website targeting the well-heeled on the 3 October 2009, coinciding with the brand's 15th anniversary.


Howtospendit.com will offer advertisers microsite opportunities and has already secured several launch advertisers, the most prominent of which being Rolex. Included in the offering will be regular postings has well as weekly video bulletins highlighting the latest in the world of technology and gadgets.

In an environment where luxury brands are facing increasing cynicism from consumers in their brand messaging, the FT believes that they will meet the advertising requirements to an interested and targeted audience.

We'll wait and see.

Via - Brand Republic

Drive The New R8

Audi, in conjunction with Sony's Playstation 3 platform, will soon enable the average man on the street to enjoy and experience the newly launched Audi R8 E-Tron electric car.
Audi capitalised on the PS3's ability to go online and has created a virtual universe called Audi Space, where one can test drive the new R8 concept around a track. Presumably a safe enough environment so that their precious concept vehicle does not get damaged...

The game goes live in December for all those lucky enough to own a PS3!

Via - Top Gear

Beck's "Music Inspired Art"

Becks has launched an interesting interactive initiative in promotion of their campaign, dubbed "Music Inspired Art".

The beer brand has installed interactive billboards all around London that invite passers-by to plug in their MP3 players and view their selected tracks in the form of visual displays. The interactive poster generates a graphic display from the music that is being played on the iPod. Once the track is over a still is taken of the display and uploaded to becks.co.uk/flickr.

Uploaded pictures are tagged to the various posters sites, which completes the interactive circle for participants.

Via - Talking Retail

Cadbury's Believes In Reciprocity

In celebration of 101 years of trade between Cadbury's and Ghanaian cocoa farmers, as well as highlighting the brand's commitment to fair trade, the confectionery giants launched a campaign in the UK, which debuted late last week.

Campaign elements feature print ads designed and painted by Ghanaians using traditional Ghanaian techniques, as well as a viral spot filmed in a Ghanaian village.

The soundtrack is provided by one of Ghana’s biggest music stars called Tinny features in the video, along with High Spirits, regarded as one of the country’s best dance troupes.

The music track is also available on iTunes, with the proceeds of the sale going to Ghana's cocoa communities.

Via - Brand Republic

Around The World In 225 Days

In a first for Coca Cola and FIFA, the beverage company is taking the authentic FIFA 2010 World Cup trophy to 86 Countries in 225 days. The original trophy is seldom seen by the general public, and Coca Cola’s campaign will be the first of its kind.

The Worlds most sought after soccer possession, will travel 134,017 kilometers around the globe, the trophy will visit every nation in Africa, giving the fans a once in a life time opportunity to get a picture taken with the prestigious award. "Through this event, we are really engaging football fans on a global scale, giving them the unique opportunity to have their picture taken with the most prestigious prize in world football and to embrace the excitement surrounding the FIFA World Cup," said Sep Blatter on the FIFA website.

via - FIFA.com

Expensive Garbage

Packaging matters... and no other example quite illustrates the point as well as New York-based artist Justin Gignac's initiative started back in 2001.



To prove his point to a colleague that packaging design is integral to increasing the value of a product, he began an experiment which saw the artist collecting and re-packaging trash found on the streets of New York city into specially designed cubes - each signed and dated by the artist.


8 years down the line, New York City Garbage has sold over 1200 items. The collection also boasts "Special Edition" cubes such as 'New Year’s Eve Times Square 1-1-08', at a price starting merely at $100.

Via - PSFK, NYC Garbage

Castrol Speaks To Drivers In Traffic

Castrol launched a campaign in the UK earlier this year highlighting their wide range of product offerings, allowing the consumer to find the right oil for their individual vehicles.

The campaign was supported online, as well as via a simple mobile app which allows consumers to send in their vehicle registration details. Castrol then checks the registration with the department of transport, thus allowing the brand to know the details regarding your vehicle before sending the user their recommended Castrol oil.

The brand has taken it a step further this week. Castrol has set up registration plate number recognition cameras at five slow-moving traffic sites in London, and once the registration details has been verified on the database, the correct oil recommendation for the vehicle is displayed on adigital billboard further down the road.

It's a clever use of technology which will allow the brand to add a highly relevant touchpoint for potential consumers.

Via -Brand Republic

New Marketing For Retro New Balance

New Balance is making their latest limited edition offer enticing for consumers by combining interactivity with a feeling of exclusivity.

Those who purchase the New Balance 574 has a polaroid taken and are invited to the online portal - 574 Clips - which features a short video for each of the shoes sold, where owners can match their polaroid to the video about their particular pair of shoes.

Once a match has been made, the user can "claim" the video and have their name featured at the end of that clip.

Via - 574 Clips

Burberry Ventures Online

Luxury brand Burberry has ventured online in their latest shift of resources to online engagement.

The luxury label will soon launch an online portal called Art Of The Trench which will invite consumers and fans to send photos of themselves in the brand's iconic trench coat. The portal, Burberry hopes, will offer a consolidated brand experience for those who might not otherwise have had that much exposure as yet.

It will be interesting to see how this latest online engagement from a luxury brand turns out when the website launches. In the meantime, interested consumers can sign up for an automated update from Burberry.

Via - Brand Republic

Pepsi Max Crowdsources Global Campaign

The creative direction for Pepsi Max's next global campaign rests solely in the hands of fans and budding digital creatives.

Pepsi Max is calling on entrants to submit a proposal for a 90-second ad under Pepsi's ethical banner 'Refresh Everything', with the eventual winner being granted budget and guidance to produce a Pepsi Max digital advertising film that will be rolled out in early 2010.

The added incentive is that the ad will also be played on the big screen before the gala premiere of British actor Clive Owen's new film, Boys are Back, at the London Film Festival.

If you think you have what it takes, download the brief online here.

Via - Revolution Magazine

Breathing Life Into Toys

A new online platform developed by US company ToyBots is about to revolutionise the way children interact with their toys in future - or rather, how their toys interact with them.ToyBot's new platform will essentially provide the online software for toy-manufacturers to build their "hardware" around. With internet connectivity and GPS tracking enabled on potential future products, a teddy-bear could ask it's owner for a hug or even learn some catch phrases and talk to their owners.

According to Revolution Magazine, "Other innovations include being able to "tickle" -- say for example -- your Barbie online and it will giggle in the real world or a grandmother would have the ability to record a story that the toy can read to her grandchild hundreds of miles away."

An interesting application which the platform also allows for is the connection to social networks from the physical toy - which would allow children to have a physical avatar to their online presence whilst interacting with each other.

Via - Revolution Magazine

Halaal Make-Up

Canadian make-up artist Layla Mandi - who converted to Islam - spotted a gap in the market and has accordingly aimed to fill the lack of supply for Halaal cosmetics with her new range called OnePure skin care products .

Her products products contain no pork extracts and no alcohol, allegedly both common in standard make-up ingredient. The range has been certified by a Malaysian Islamic authority, which has verified that everything down to the fluids used to clean the production equipment is Halaal.

According to Springwise, over 70% of Muslim women worldwide live by the Halaal code - and the stamp of authenticity should ensure the range's appeal to many of these individuals.

Via - Springwise

"Intelligently Combined" Audi

German agency Kempertrautmann GmbH was responsible for the latest Audi commercial, called "Intelligently Combined". The spot features a giant perspex Rubics Cube with various car parts in it. As the cube is turned and manipulated, the car is slowly put together in a precise and beautiful way. There's also a very fitting sound-track to boot, making for an amazing and eye-catching commercial.

Via - Campaign Live

GM: May The Best Car Win

GM's current number one priority, no doubt, is to win back the trust of the millions of consumers they have let down in their home market over the past year. In their first push since GM Re:Invention, the American car manufacturer has launched a 60-day money back guarantee, underlying just how much the brand believes in their own products. Below is the TVC featuring the new GM Chairman, Ed Whitacre.

According to AdWeek, the next phase of the campaign will compare the attributes of GM models to those of competitors and is scheduled to run until December 2010.

Via - AdWeek

Connecting The Old Fashoned Way

Whilst Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and YouTube have been considered essentials for any marketer worth his or her salt in the 21st century, it'd seem that one of the most established communications tool is making a comeback and offering an older, but perhaps more effective way of connecting with consumers.

A small company based in the Silicon Valley called SayNow has been offering a free service allowing stars to connect with their fans (65% of whom are teenage girls) via voicemail over the past few months. The approach has been gaining in popularity, with the service claiming that it averages 10 million fan calls per month - equating to one million voice minutes per day.

Callers can also leave voice messages of their own, many of which are then made public on SayNow.com. Callers can sign up to get text alerts when stars like Selena Gomez, of “Wizards of Waverly Place,” or the Jonas Brothers (22 million SayNow calls from fans and counting) record a new message.

Artists can also choose to chat on live conference calls, as well as returning calls for one-on-one conversations that can be broadcast to the entire group. Part of the value-add SayNow provides to it's users is the ticket sales alert, allowing fans to be the first in line to purchase tickets to see their favourite artist in person.

With cellphone penetration ever increasing worldwide, SayNow's business model is certainly one worth keeping an eye on for brands.

Via - NY Times

Lots Of Product-Related Tweets

Having analysed over 500 000 tweets, Pennsylvania State University researchers Jim Jansen concluded that around 20% of them disseminates some kind of product-related information.

Jansen and his team looked for tweets mentioning a brand and why the brand was mentioned - to inform others, express a view on the brand or something else - and found that people were using tweets to connect with the products.

According to the press release, "with about six million active users daily and predictions of more than 20 million users by the end of the year, Twitter has become the next big thing on the Web."

With businesses starting to make profits from the use of Twitter - both in terms of sales and as a brand-building tool - the micro-blogging tool could see increased adoption in future. Imagine your brand reaching a potential of 6 million per day, can any brand afford to ignore this free channel?

Via - Penn State University

Google Earth Augmented

Some smart academics at the Georgia Institute of Technology has infused the latest marketing craze that is augmented reality with an old crowd favourite that is Google Earth. The result is a mash-up that could potentially allow brands to showcase their presence in a life like scenario in the online environment.

Below is the proposed technology in it's infancy stages but already holds much promise for brand application in future.

Via - Revolution Magazine

Premium Goes Online

Fabergé, makers of the world-renowned golden eggs, recently re-launched on the 09 - September - 2009 to bring the brand more in-line with the digital age.

In a move that could potentially save the company millions, Fabergé has decided to forgo the traditional boutique stores and instead opted to hire various online advisors who will be available to consumers worldwide 24 hours a day. The company believes that the on-on-one assistants will provide premium consumers a high level of personalised service, as well as having some consistency at this important brand touch-point.

As the sales advisors build relationships with customers, they will be able to place new or alternative products directly onto customers' screens based on personal preferences and interests. Customers can browse the jewellery from every angle in minute detail online.

To view the new and updated website in line with this relaunch, click here.

Via - Brand Republic

Be A Ralph Lauren Designer

Ralph Lauren has launched an iPhone app that allows users to design their own customised rugby shirt on their handset and then immediately order their perfect shirt online - as long as you're based in the UK.

The application has also been designed so that users can superimpose their own faces on the design and share it with others - adding a nice social media element to the initiative. Users can share their look on Facebook Connect, email, or within the app's Rugby Gallery, which will distribute the look to Rugby.com as well interactive high street store windows across the UK.

Via - Rugby.com

Magical Pizza Doors

Domino's Pizza in the Netherlands launched an interesting campaign which not only serves to increase day-to-day sales and get consumers to see a new side of the long-standing fast food delivery category, but also contains the all important viral element as well as PR-value.

The pizza chain simply installed white doors featuring delivery phone number and equipped with doorbells for the delivery people to ring in a public space - thereby allowing modern consumers to satisfy their need for instant satisfaction right there and then.

A fantastic example of a simple idea based on a relevant consumer insight.

Via - Adverlab

Audi To Unveil Electric Vehicles?

3 YouTube clips about electricity appeared recently. Below is an example:

A dedicated YouTube channel contains the other 2 videos with an url at the end of each clip driving users to ElectricityUntamed.com.


Once there, users will discover that the clips are mechanisms driving traffic to the Audi global site, with a count-down clock until the 15 September.. when Audi plans to unveil their iteration of "Electricity Untamed". The site also shows that Facebook is utilised as a viral mechanism. My guess is that the German marquee plans on showcasing their version of an electrtic vehicle. For now, we'll just have to wait and see.

With Audi having lagged behind other premium motoring brands in establishing their green credentials, could this be the first major effort for the VW-owned brand?

Google To Help Others Charge For Online Subscriptions?

Google, which came into existence and prominence because of their aim to make information freely available to everyone has just announced something which seems rather incongruent to everything they have stood for.

According to Revolution Magazine:

"The internet giant's plans, outlined in a proposal to the Newspaper Association of America, focus on allowing publishers to generate much needed Revenue from online subscriptions and micropayments.

The system will essentially allow consumers to sign-up and manage multiple content delivery accounts through one single channel, thus allowing them to easily access premium content from a range of different websites.

Rather inconsistent with their altruistic nature?

Via - Revolution Magazine

Designer Morning Sickness Bags For Pregnant Women

As if carrying a baby for nine months accompanied with: weight gain, abdominal cramps, heartburn and indigestion is not enough. Pregnant Women also have to deal with morning sickness; expected moms live with the fear that this side effect of pregnancy may strike un announced.

A Canadian based Company has created the ultimate solution, designer vomit bags that any expected mom would be proud to keep as a part of her fashion accessory, until needed. All morning chicness bags are made of sturdy paper with leak-proof polyethylene lining and horizontal closure clip and are available in six designs. This is proof that anything if packaged and marketed properly can grab the attention of the consumer.

via:morningchiccness.com

Consumer-Generated Vitaminwater

Glaceau Vitaminwater is making use of social media for research and engagement with their latest Facebook application, which monitors buzz from various sources including Google News, Twitter, Flickr and food blog Foodgwaker to create a list of the top ten flavours at any given moment.

If a certain flavour consistently causes enough of a buzz, a final top-ten list will be published on the virtual Flavour Creator app where a final ballot will be held and the most popular flavours available in stores by net year.

Another nice touch calls for consumers todesign the label for the bottle, name the flavour and write the entertaining blurb explaining the water's health benefits, with the winning design selected by Vitaminwater's celebrity partners 50 Cent and Carrie Underwood. The new flavour and label will be announced in December with the winning designer taking home $5000 for their efforts.

Basically, the entire process allows Coca-Cola to create the most popular flavour for the relevant target market, by simply handing over the power to the consumers themselves.

Via - Brand Republic

History Of Flight

Nike has recently launched an interactive portal aimed at sharing the story that is Air Jordan.


The beautiful site, called History of Flight, contains interesting anecdotes and stories that have all helped to shape the Air Jordan story throughout the sub-brand's 24-year history. The easily navigable space also entices users to try the various links, thereby increasing the time one spends interacting with the brand.

Definitely worth checking out!

Via - Nike.com

The Gathering Of Savvy Mommies

Proctor & Gamble UK has identified a new consumer segment - which they have termed "savvy mommies" - and in a bid to appeal to them, the FMCG group has has its key household and beauty FMCG brands under an umbrella community site.


The website will target mothers with children aged five and over who use the internet on a day-to-day basis, with content ranging from special guest contributors, blogs, a forum and online product offers.

There are also features articled on subjects from growing plants to funding children through university and getting ready for a party.

According to Brand Republic, P&G is currently running similar effortsin other European countries including France, Germany and Italy, with a reach of a million consumers per country.

In addition to the relevant information, the interactivity and simply navigable space should allow the various brands to really make an impression on targeted users

Via - Brand Republic

Don't Ever Abbreviate

For every trendy "new" past-time, there're bound to be anti-trends. Not even the latest darling of social media, Twitter - which has seen phenomenal growth over the past year or so - is exception to this rule.


Woofer is now online for all those who are frustrated with shortening their profound thoughts of the day into 160 characters. It has been irreverently described as the new anti-Twitter 1400 character 'macroblogging' service, which offers everything you would find on Twitter, but with the benefit of a lot more words.

The site has allegedly already grabbed the attention of some celebrities such as Jimmy Fallon and Ryan Seacrest, as well as more than 11000 other registered users at the time of posting.

Could this be the next big thing? Or will it's bark prove worse than it's bite?

Via - Funkadelic Advertising

Report Suspicious Non-Human Activity

Sony Pictures UK has launched a successful online campaign in promotion for SA film, "District 9" which calls for all humans to dial in to a 24-hour line and report any suspicious non-human activity. According to the digital agency handling the promotion, hundreds of callers have already left messages about alien sightings in the UK since the phone line went live last week.

The online campaign have also included takeovers of various popular UK sites, such as Sky Sports and MySpace.

Rich-media ads will also appear on The Guardian, which lead to sites that have been created to support the films release - including its very impressive homepage at www.d-9.com

The ads also encourage users to share their video content via social networks, helping drive online buzz on websites like Facebook and Twitter. It's a fantastic example of a cleverly integrated online campaign which we'll hopefully see more of in the future.

Via - Revolution Magazine

Recycled Advertising

Target in the US have recently launched an interesting initiative to highlight their commitment to sustainability.

The company has commissioned 2 emerging artists in Michael Anderson and Josh Goldstein to design art for their Times Square billboard that will be on display until the end of October. Thereafter, the vinyl from the billboard will be transformed into 1,600 limited edition bags designed by Anna Sui.

US consumers can pre-order the bag online for $30. Not a bad price for an exclusive piece of art!

Via - PSFK

Wine for Homosexual Men

There seems to be a growing number of brands targeting the lucrative gay consumer market, a trend that has been exemplified by certain bespoke services that target the gay consumer directly. In recent years we have seen a banking service, hotels, wedding boutiques, restaurants and travel websites specifically target gay consumers. The recent addition to this growing trend is the introduction of a Spanish wine, specifically marketed to homosexual men. UO! is a new brand of wine created with gay men in mind, with the packaging and website imagery tailored accordingly.

The winemakers describe their offering by defining the Sauvignon Blanc and Verdejo as a blend, featuring earth tones and "wisps of flowers and fruit – the perfect accompaniment to a gathering of friends on a hot day, whether the heat comes from within or without." Antinoo, meanwhile, is a Monastrell that's "young and mature, fruity, elegant, smooth…Mediterranean.... When you try it, shut your eyes and imagine that you are licking rivulets of syrup from his body.” This is merely one example of a niche brand that has decided to targeted the growing homosexual market, and has done so successfully.

via:springwise.com