Foam City

Sony and Fallon [London] is currently filming the next commercial for Sony electronics in downtown Miami, Florida. The high today was a sunny 75 degrees.

Ruth Speakman, European PR Manager for Sony, has been twittering about the event all day. She also kept live updates of the recent Sony BRAVIA "Play-Doh" shoot filmed in New York last fall.

Simon Ratigan, who has worked with Fallon in the past, is the director of "Foam City". Sony had the biggest foam machine in the world custom built, shooting out 2.5 million liters (660,430 gallons) of foam per minute.

The $1.4 million commercial is believed to be part of a massive campaign centered around the Sony Handycam, Cybershot and Alpha brands. The campaign is expected to be released in June.

According to BrandRepublic, "The ads will show various scenarios in which adults and children play in foam bubbles around the city."

Update (March 10, 2008) The spot may be aimed at the Sony Cyber-shot W170, a digital camera which automatically detects a smile and captures an image of the subject without the need of pressing the shutter. Who wouldn't smile in a sea of foam?

Update (March 11, 2008) For a lot more foamy goodness, check out some pictures taken and more information from a journalist at the shoot here.

(via Shedwa)

March for Babies

March of Dimes has renamed its biggest fund-raiser, Walk America, to March for Babies, capturing the cause more effectively within the name. Today's article in the New York Times says that a Gallup poll reported only 45% knew what the organization's mission was. Honestly, I didn't know what it was about until after reading the story.

Barkley has created a PSA campaign to announce the call-to-action. The campaign includes Marchofdimesbaby.org, a site where anyone, especially mothers-to-be, can get information from preconception to teenage pregnancy. The entire page has questions that can be either clicked on or highlighted when selecting what you're wondering about. The questions link to answers on the March of Dimes Web site.

Behind the many questions is a baby, and this is where the cute factor skyrockets. The baby is endearing as it plays or crawls or raises its hands in excitement. It may be one baby or babies; the video plays for a while, fades out, and another baby (or the same one) takes the page. From a design perspective, the simple video makes the site so much more interesting to look at. And from an emotional perspective, as a human being, I am pulled in. I'm not a mother, but I could watch that baby for a long time. Mothers are sure to be captivated -- with the baby and with all of the questions that can be answered.

Here are the PSA TV spots.

Christmas, We Love You the Best

The day we celebrate Christmas is over. We have to wait another year before we go pick out the best looking tree, take out the tinsel, and go over to grandma's house to see relatives we haven't seen since last Christmas. It will be another year before the mass chaos of last-minute shoppers flood the stores at four in the morning and bring you back to reality.

Another thing that brings us back to reality are bad gifts. Barkley believes that every idea has an expiration date. Except bad gift ideas. The agency has created the Bad Gift Emporium where you can share the bad gift(s) you've received over the years with others. If you want to, you can even exchange your bad gifts. I'm not sure specifically if the gifts are solely supposed to be from Christmas, because some don't look it. (If that's the case, I have a terribly awesome salt rock light I may display.)

Everyone's Invited to Swim

Only the great will make it to the other side.

The annual D&AD Student Awards competition is in full-swing. The British Design and Art Design Award is one of the most coveted and challenging student awards across the pond and around the world.

There's no limit of entries, but they had better be incredible. The best of the best will be grading them. Each entry needs to be signed by your tutor/professor, or you can't enter. Can a 30 year-old grad student enter? You betcha. (Coincidentally, that's the same age as this award.)

Winners receive an oversize pencil whose tree's growth must have been stunted due to the greenhouse effect. But this little stump can be used as a pedestal to reach the next level, or a doorstop to save yourself from having a crushed foot.

The categories are: Advertising, Animation, Furniture Design, Graphic Design, Illustration, Integrated Communication, Music Videos, Open Briefs, Photography, Product Design, Social Design, and What Else Do You Do? Description for the last onereads, "Having already entered one of more of the briefs this year, you are now entitled to now submit an additional piece of work that has nothing to do with this or any other competition..."

Because this blog is about advertising, I will only list the endless possibilities for the Advertising category.

Postcard
Breastfeeding, Sponsored by Best Beginnings
Press Advertising
Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Sponsored by Breakthrough Breast Cancer
Outdoor
HSBC, Sponsored by ClearChannel
Viral
Nando's, Sponsored by Nando's
Ambient
London Fashion Week, Sponsored by Grazia
Writing
If Only I'd Listened More Carefully, Sponsored by Ogilvy
Direct and Online
The Army, Sponsored by TEQUILA\
Poster
The Royal Opera House, Sponsored by This Is Real Art
TV
Belu, Sponsored by Weilands

You can't literally drown if you don't win; you only fill your metaphorical lungs up with water and have to be resuscitated by determination. Or you could change majors (quitter). Before you enter, read this. Did you read it? Okay, the briefs are here.

D&AD will accept entries from students from Jan. 14 – March 20, 2008. The grading takes place in May, and the awards ceremony is in June. All of the 'A' work is accessible in June.

Good luck!

'Advertise' for 10 Grains

draw attention

refill

nearsightedness

swing

FreeRice was started on October 7, 2007, and has generated a donation of 3 billion grains of rice for the United Nations World Food Programme. The donations are underwritten for by advertising dollars, using Google AdWords. The advertisers include top electronics manufacturers, retail stores, publications, hotels, and more.

On the site is a vocabulary quiz, and all you do is click on the word you believe matches closest to the word you're given. If you're wrong, it shows you the correct answer and finds an easier word to fit your vocabulary. Find out what level your friend can get to and have a friendly competition. Tomorrow on Thanksgiving, gather around the computer with your family and see who is the wisest in word knowledge. Not only is this a fun way to expand your nomenclature, but it's also a fantastic way to help feed the hungry.

Fifteen minutes of your time could feed a family for one day. "With almost 200 million grains being donated per day, the site’s creator, John Breen has already handed a US$100,000 cheque to the Agency, which will help provide food rations for 26,000 Burmese refugees sheltering in Bangladesh" (WFP).

Syria Bans Facebook

According to Global Voices, Facebook has been banned in Syria. Not very many Syrians were users of the social networking site (about 28,000 were affiliated to the 'Syria' network, out of almost 18 million citizens). Golaniya from Damascus says, "people are starting to organize their interests in concerts, galleries, conferences, plays, screenings…etc. and Facebook is facilitating the process which is very hard to do in an inactive militarily controlled society." Now none of them can gather together via Facebook and will have to resort to other avenues of communication, like Myspace. They're not sure why, and they're not sure who exactly ordered the ban. Blogger has already been banned, so they won't be reading this, either.

Nonsense

Exactly twenty days ago from today, the public chose a Web page concept for Nonsense, a creative agency in London. I cast my ballot in September. After voting, I entered my contact information and chose the "Just tell me when you have finished the entire project, as if I was one of your relatives" option. I am still waiting for them to contact me. It makes me wonder who else is waiting, or worse, who has forgotten about the whole thing.

The idea for their Web site is really smart. Free PR. Get the ad industry involved by having them post about the participatory election in blogs and online news sources. I'm sure there were other people who voted that aren't in the industry or even interested in advertising. A critical role agencies play is communication, and for me, Nonsense failed to communicate. It doesn't matter if the target audience was the ad industry or prospective clientele. Nonsense may have kept up with people who have their e-mail address ending in @ny.ddb.com, @bbdo.com, @ogilvy.com, etc., and not with the regular public. I don't know; maybe I was the only college student who voted. If the agency cannot create a dialogue with their product or brand, they aren't doing their job.

By the way, the winning vote was for 'The Rocking Chair Test'. The difference of 0.3% separated Media: Mixed from winning. On the Board was the big loser, with a 4.4% difference. This information is from their development blog, which Nonsense has created to update us on their progress. Hopefully they'll stay true to their word.

Volvo Interacts with Movie Premiere

Last year, SS+K and Brand Experience Lab came up with Newsbreaker for msnbc.com, a game using human joysticks and a motion sensor camera. Volvo is working in the UK with Brand Experience Lab and Carlton Screen Advertising by using this awesome idea as an interactive advertisement for the XC70 crossover. The audience is directed to move their hands left or right to gather as much luggage as possible within the time limit. I believe the brand recall will be high because the game looks like so much fun to play. I would probably go see the movie again just to interact with the technology, as well as with friends and strangers. At the end of the game, the theater's score is shown against other venues who are putting their hands up in the air like they just don't care. This is a great concept that works well with Volvo's tagline: 'Life is Better Lived Together'.

2006 | Newsbreaker



2007 | Volvo XC70

Buick May Have a Chance

Tonight I saw an ad online (left) for Buick. The Buick Enclave is the crossover vehicle in the picture. It seems like they're saying "we don't suck anymore, give us a chance" through Motor Trend magazine's review. It's your choice to accept a brand that's only acceptable and not the leader. Buick has been around for over 100 years, and we all know by the incredibly slow drivers that the brand still exists. Buicks are known to be called the car for an old person. I have heard younger people complain and say, "oh, they're driving a Buick", when in fact they're driving a Cadillac, Oldsmobile, or whatever. Buick is working to erase the stereotype by making their vehicles –- or at least the Enclave -- more romantic and family-oriented.

The 30-second spot, done by Vigilante, for the Buick Enclave features the Director of Design, Interior, Michael Burton, who subtley lets you know how he supposedly chose what materials to use in the design.



I would compare this commercial to the Lexus spots, done by Team One, which specifically talk about music and remind consumers about the Mark Levinson sound system. Lexus, a division of Toyota Motor Sales, is the number one luxury automaker company in the world. It was a great idea by them to focus on a small but important piece of the pie rather than the whole thing. It's engaging and entertaining. You can watch the other two here.



Michael Burton explains how he got inspired. (Video ends at 2:15)

Apple Commercial Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree

DIY Advertising, also known as consumer generated content, is becoming more prominent. Agencies' clients pay a large sum of money to grab your attention so you can do the same to others by creating an advertisement that is relevant to consumers like yourself.

Apple and their agency, TBWA/Chiat/Day, are doing something a little different; marketing employees at Apple found a 30-second video about the iPod Touch and wanted that to be their next commercial. The video was edited in Final Cut Pro and produced by Nick Haley, an eighteen year-old freshman from the University of Leeds in England. He's an Apple enthusiast, having received his first Apple computer when he was three years-old.

The spot is quite similar to something TBWA/Chiat/Day and Apple would produce, so it's no wonder the video matches their taste. The music, 'My Music is My Hot, Hot Sex' by Brazilian band CSS, is expected but fits very well with the fast tempo walk-through of the iPod Touch. Cansei de Ser Sexy (CSS), Portugese for 'Tired of Being Sexy', will be playing for Great Britain in December on their Christmas Tour. After Chiat contacted him via e-mail on his phone, he took his first trip across the pond and worked with agency creatives in Los Angeles to produce a similar HD broadcast-ready version.

Nick Haley spot


TBWA/Chiat/Day + Apple spot

Facebook Lures Advertisers

Mark Zuckerberg has something up his sleeves for November 6th, but he's keeping whatever it is under the table until then. Facebook sent advertisers and agencies in New York a little invitation in the form of a Lucite brick: "You are invited to a discussion with Mark Zuckerberg and the Facebook executive team as we unveil a new way of advertising online." There's a big rumor that all the de-classified information you provide on Facebook will be available to advertisers. Already, nine companies -- Apple, CBS, Chase, Coke, Condé Nast, General Motors, Nike, Sony, and Verizon -- have jumped on board and will pay at least $300,000 each to be "Landmark Partners". Another rumor is that, somehow, Facebook will be able to target non-Facebook users on other sites. Internet marketers salivate as the countdown begins.

Permit Pests, Prevent Fires

K-State reminds all residents that it's time to recognize our uninhibited friends who walk next to us on the way to class.

National Fire Prevention Week is also this week -- a little more important than swerving for suicidal squirrels (but still a good thing to do). These critters won't rescue you from a fire, but they may start one. Northern Idaho ground squirrels, for instance, like fires.

Join the Great American Fire Drill, so you'll be prepared. Schools, families and offices are invited to share their experience on YouTube.

Can You Tell Me How to Get a Design Job?

Personally, I can't tell you, but I discovered some great tips for students who strive to be designers. The best thing -- it's Sesame Street themed!

Amtrak Arrives Late

Better late than never, right? Amtrak introduces ARTE, the Engineer. "ARTE" looks like an acronym, and that's just what it is -- Amtrak Recognizes The Environment. Since when did "the" become an exception as part of an acronym? ARTE's mission is " to encourage environmental awareness — turning passion for the rails into passion for the earth" (Amtrak). They created events in Washington and Philadelphia this past week with childen to plant seedlings of 1,500 blue spruce trees. Does that make things better for us? Not necessarily. Is Amtrak doing this because they really care about the environment, or are they finally squeezing their way into the packed money train?

BRAVIA Bunnies!

The newest Sony Bravia advertisement is out. First, there was 'Balls', then there was 'Paint'. Now, there is 'Play-Doh', featuring 2.5 tons of plasticine in 1:30 of stop-motion. "Devised by Fallon [London] and shot over three weeks in New York, the commercial employed 40 animators from Passion" (Sony). The spot also included 189 2' bunnies, 150 1' cubes, a 10'x20' purple wave, one giant 30' rabbit, and six cameras.

Watch the Teaser


Watch 'Play-Doh'


For better quality, watch the video on Sony BRAVIA's site. It takes a little while to load, but you get to read some colourful facts while you wait. Update: Don't wait and watch it here.

The Website has more. First, put your headphones on. Colour your own on the personalized Colourwall, walk through sharp blades of grass, listen to calming music, fly through a tunnel, drip a droplet, and bounce a ball on some walls to drop psychedelic sounds and ripples of colour. You can download the old BRAVIA spots, wallpapers and images. Also, check out the colour experiments and some info on the singer-songwriter José González ('Balls').

NEXT Phones Arrive Too Soon

While browsing the news headlines at this early/late hour, I was linked to Breitbart.com from Drudge. At the top right of the page is a banner ad for Verizon Wireless Next series of phones. The banner ad has no animation. The two identical ads on the right at the middle of the page do, however. They go through each phone and then show the whole family together.

First of all, why two of the exact same ad? Do they think that the reader will not click one but give the other a chance? Maybe there's something I'm missing. Update: It has dawned on me that both ad spaces are taken because another tenant would distract from what Verizon is trying to sell.

The timing is way off, for those people who have laptop computers (smaller screen) at least, like me (15-inch). Sorry, my parents did not carry on the gene of reading a few hundred words every five seconds. I don't see the animation, so I have to refresh the page and scroll down. The average person is not going to do that.

What if there were a sensor to detect when the user has scrolled down to where the ad is located? The animation can then attract the reader's eye, doing what it's supposed to do. Scrolling over the ad itself is a good avenue to reach them, which is being used today. Seasoned current event lovers may train themselves to walk the fine pixelated line of not touching any ads or clicking, and that's why a sensoring program, code, or something, would capture more interested eyeballs.

Blendtec Blends Everything, Except Chuck Norris

(Do It) For the Glory of Love

In the latest issue of Communication Arts magazine, Ernie Shenck encourages us to appreciate every day, whether it's the day you get laid off or the day your agency lands an account with your favorite brand. The article is called 'Is There a Shoeless Joe in You?', referencing the baseball player, Shoeless Joe Jackson. Do what you do because you love it unconditionally.

Here's an excerpt of the motivational column. I encourage you to subscribe to CA. If you don't, at least get this issue for Ernie's uplifting words.

"I hope you love it all. Embrace it all. Suck it all in and let it shape and form you into something amazing, something with depth and breadth and subtle variations in texture and color, the likes of which we've never seen. Love what you do. Love the highs and the lows and weave it all into what you are to become. Be blindly in love. Be Shoeless Joe. Hold the bat up to your face. Look at the grain. Feel it on your cheek. Smell the varnish. You'll be better for it. We all will."

Here's a great example.

Purity in Digital Form

Featured on the homepage of YouTube, New Zealand Tourism works with Weta Digital, creators of the digital effects for Lord of the Rings, now working on Prince Caspian, the second movie in the Chronicles of Narnia, to promote the beautiful island of New Zealand for 24-hours. The campaign has gone global in 2007.

An awesome effects company is presenting the island of New Zealand, but everyday it is represented in its purest form -- that no digital animation could capture or re-create. If you have a great product, it shouldn't be hard to sell.

But having Peter Jackson on your side doesn't hurt (if you can afford it).

Philips Seduces Viewers

Philips has begun an international campaign for the Aurea, a Flat LCD HDTV that projects ROY G BIV onto your wall. It's much more than that, though. The Aurea is endless visual pleasure. The experience is like tripping on acid -- without the acid. The sad news: currently, it's only available in Europe.

DDB concepted the idea of a short film, directed by Wong Kar Wai, which can be seen on the Web and in stores. You are given the option to keep the "Ambilight On" or "Ambilight Off" to compare and contrast. A beautiful musical score, by Mark Slater and members of the London Symphony orchestra, labeled as the "Aurea Soundtrack", may also be downloaded on the Web site, created by Tribal DDB.

Most of the advertising will be television-based, by DDB Amsterdam, showing the brilliant, upgraded feature with a 60-second spot. Vincent Peters, fashion photographer, shot the print.

Philips is also staying ahead by partnering with Swarovski, a world-famous crystal and jewelry company. They're launching the Philips-Swarovski Active Crystals collection.

Rudy Provoost, Philips CEO, says it's a "fusion of function and fashion." Philips is targeting the female touch. "It's kind of bringing Philips 'sense and simplicity' with style and seduction" (Shiny).