A new kind of car calendar
Audi celebrates innovation with a new kind of car photo calendar – one with no photos of cars.
At least, none at first glance …
You have to download an iPhone app to get the full picture, and capture the beauty of mechanical innovation.
Each month, you get not just a pretty picture, but an intriguing blend of communication technologies and augmented reality (AR), a technique that combines a real-world environment with virtual imagery.
Chrome vs. time
The Google Chrome Internet browser touts its extreme page rendering speed, which greatly enhances the responsiveness of the Web browsing experience. To make its point, the Internet giant made this funny, viral little video that pits the browser’s speed against a potato gun, the speed of sound, and a lightning strike. The video is quite effective, and it must be pretty interesting too: the numbet of YouTube views is now at more than two and a half million, and counting.
Google has been very frank in disclosing the technical details of its experiments, such as the surprising fact that it used locally hosted — i.e., saved on a local hard drive – versions of two of the three Web pages in the experiment. This removed the variable of download speed from the experiment, which may somewhat limit the validity of the results for the average user. Still, the video gets its message across.
What is meta-reality?
It is recording a real image, in real time, and then using technical wizardry to add virtual objects to the scene. A real-world positioning sensor allows the virtual objects to be manipulated via computer to create an image that unites the real video with the virtual — fixing the virtual objects in the real landscape.
It’s a small but revolutionary advance for architecture, industry, defense, cinema, leisure…
Here is one of many examples:
Football vs Opera
World-famous beer brand Heineken, widely known as the armchair-footballer’s best friend, won big points at the Milan AC-Real Madrid UEFA match with an unusual strategy: Heineken offered Milan fans’ female companions free tickets to the lyric opera — but only if they could get their boyfriends to come along. The opera’s scheduled date and time, though, would confront the men with a very difficult choice: miss THE match, or please the girlfriend.
In the end, more than 1000 courageous guys made the right choice and opted to miss the football broadcast — and after 15 minutes of violin and arias, pain and regret showed on 1000 faces. But then a message appeared: “Hard to say no to your girlfriend, isn’t it? And to the match?” A few seconds later, a new message popped up: “How could you even think of missing the big match?” (Smiles started reappearing on those same 1000 faces.) Then came the winning play: “Are you still with us? Real and Milan AC are on the pitch; let’s enjoy the match together!” Shouts of joy and thunderous applause …
1.5 milion people watched this extreme fake-out on Sky Sports, more than 10 million saw it the following day on TV news, and it generated 5 milion unique Internet visits in the next two weeks — along with thousands more on blog and social media sites, which are still spreading the buzz.
“Heineken. Made to entertain.” Seems these guys got the message.
Selling ideas by the hour?
For marcom companies, much of doing business consists of selling concepts and ideas. Here is a little video that demonstrates why good ideas deserve good payment — featuring a young Walt Disney, selling his work to a studio for a time-based fee…
Citizen iPhone
As the ad says, there are at least 90,000 applications for the iPhone! Like what. you ask? A wide range of things, ranging from basic essentials (such as the app that lists all the world’s cat breeds) to more esoteric ones – like the one that connects you with the King (Elvis Presley), or the one that lets you use your iPhone to blow out your birthday candles!
Logo of Citizen Connect
Looking beyond such lighthearted uses for the technology, the mayor of Boston, MA has launched “Citizens Connect,” an app that lets Bostonians report city infrastructure issues (potholes, broken lighting, and a variety of other problems, depending on the neighborhood). The app can even send photos and GPS coordinates to accompany complaints. The app was developed at a cost of $25,000 U.S. Asked why it was created, mayor Thomas Menino explains that the goal is to get more citizens involved in keeping Boston running smoothly.
Aqualtis technology takes time out for dreaming.
Indesit Company, which owns the Hotpoint-Ariston and Scholtes brands, is Europe’s second-largest producer of home appliances, and the group posted sales of €3.2 billion in 2008. The company is known for its well-designed lines, where “Every product answers a need.” 
For several weeks now, our TVs have been screening a remarkable film about the Aqualtis washing machine. The award-winning ad has won more than a dozen international prizes since its production in 2006. It takes us on a dream-like underwater journey, lulled by the sweet melodies of Vangelis. We are far from the realities and guaranteed values conveyed by Vedette’s famous 1972 “Mother Denis” spot and from the technological seduction of that caressing wash Philips promised the now first lady of France in 1989.
Cuvée Belle Epoque by Perrier-Jouet
The champagne brand Perrier-Jouët is blending the old and the new. Swedish artist Barbro Andersson’s artwork based on the brand’s “Belle époque” vintage bottle was inspired by the brand emblem — a swirling flower design that evokes not only the champagne-making process, but also the wine’s swirling bubbles and delicate floral “nose.” Limited-edition prints are on display at select wine cellars and restaurants around the world. http://popsop.com/26467
Get a Hopenhagen passport
The leaders of our planet are meeting this month to determine our environmental fate. Seize the chance to make our voices heard and sign the UN-sponsored climate petition that will be presented at the COP15 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this December. Add your name to the list of Hopenhagen citizens on:
http://www.hopenhagen.org/
An exemplary usage of microsites and social media to spread the word around the world about actions that need to be taken.
Make me laugh and I’ll buy.
Humor is still one of the best and most creative ways to highlight a message, give a product personality, or simply surprise your customers in an over-advertised world. Consumers are like children: if you make them laugh you are halfway to getting your message across. Here is a selection of really funny campaigns — some simple, some subtle, but always original.
Despite the crisis….
Advertising for luxury brands is spread across more magazine pages than ever. This site reprises some of the glamorous campaigns of 2009.
