His Royal Highness, the Burger King, is finally winging his way to NZ! And it’s about time. Y&R has murdered that account for a decade or more, shooting TV ads about monkeys testing burgers and rugby girls on horseback. Meanwhile BK in the US has been doing a lot of good work, including branded Xbox games featuring the King for only $3.99. And now Colenso looks set to go down the same route. The TVC leaked so far looks pretty slick and leaves me wanting more. The only thing I found a little lame was the ‘reality video’ on Facebook (the one where the King arrives at the airport). Posting such faux user content is just treating punters like mugs. It’s an AD CAMPAIGN guys – treat it that way! Let’s hope BK uses this fresh start to improve its actual in-store experience – some of the stores are pretty grubby. (What’s with that 50s theme anyway?)
I know what you’re thinking – how can I sneak off to the football on Valentine’s Day without getting red carded from the bedroom? Well fear not, for the lads at Puma have brainstormed a truly romantic gesture to keep you onside with your better half. Simply dedicate this charming love song via Facebook or email and prepare for the red carpet treatment when you get home. The Puma ‘HardChorus’ ad, ‘featuring’ a motley collection of Tottenham supporters, will air during TV coverage of the Bolton v Tottenham FA Cup tie.
Introducing an exquisitely crafted website for French lingerie company, Aubade. The sophisticated and feminine tone, right down to the music box, is spot on for the brand. And the content has been carefully considered, with tips on topics such as the perfect French lover’s playlist, the fantasy wake-up call and the etiquette of the ear. Wouldn’t it be nice if more sites were this conceptual and visually interesting? I’m not saying everything has to have Flash animation but it is a bit of a downer when designers leave you to work with little more than a grid pattern (circa 1995).
Chainsaw, the agency that created the site, get more brownie points for extending the concept to include this piece of theatre, in which it reinvented the girl next door fantasy. I wonder how many people apart from agency staff actually saw it. (I’ll always remember the large billboard outside our office at Y&R that scammers would use between skinning to erect an idea, take a photo then pull it down five minutes later!)
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all clients were as adventurous as Red Bull (online I mean). The beverage giant has built pro snowboarder, Shaun White, his very own halfpipe deep, deep, in the heart of Colorado, in the interests of taking the sport to a new level. Now as you know, every good deed deserves an equally good website to shout about it and what a website this is. The art direction, photography and video production are simply too cool for school.
What a coincidence! I was just listening to Shane Carter (Straitjacket Fits) belt out the lyrics “saw truth explode through false windows” when I came across this site by Honda. I can’t quite bring myself to buy into their ‘model citizen’ argument when it comes to the environment. But I do find the way they have delivered their message, through the lens of children, very powerful and engaging. It strikes at the heart of why we all need to be environmentally aware from the beginning. A word to corporate affairs however: don’t put words in the mouths of babes – it tends to suspend belief.
If you can type you can make movies! That’s the word from Xtranormal, the text-to-movie specialists. A few frustrated creatives have already tried their hand at this game and posted on You Tube. WARNING: do not click on the video below if mindless swearing offends or you are in fact a client. All joking aside, this seems like sticky technology that ‘yoof’ brands in particular should latch on to while it’s still hot.
Google Creative Lab has put together a kick butt presentation to showcase creative uses of You Tube.
Most of it’s stuff I wish I was doing. But for all the big budget projects the one I really loved was the story of Lauren Luke (Slide 15), a self-taught make-up artist who defies many people’s perception of beauty in the cosmetics industry yet still attracts more than a million viewers. The crime is she hasn’t worked out a way to monetise her popularity. I hope she does!
Branded content such as Season in the Balance fits with my idea of infotainment. This online reality show followed the progress of a struggling high school lacrosse team in the US over the course of a season. Supported by a dedicated website, local PR and You Tube, the show attracted 1.4 million video views within rich media banners and pre-toll units and got more people buying lacrosse gear, so New Balance is reportedly very happy. (Speaking of You Tube, I wonder how long it can continue as a free TV station to the world if it’s losing US$500 million a year.)
Hmmm…rum+Jamaican theme+free party music…doesn’t sound like Malibu Rum has exactly reinvented the wheel with its new site but the execution is very slick. And they have made a big effort in terms of creating a whole story around the idea of Radio MaliBoomBoom. I really enjoyed the ‘weather forecast’ TV commercial – subtle but not so subtle that it is try hard (unlike the American version of The Office).
What do you do when your media empire loses $3.4bn (billion) in one year? Answer: make people pay for online content (or at least try). One of the biggest hurdles Murdoch faces is the fact the BBC will always provide a free news service. Then there’s the issue of copyright (what a nightmare to police online!). I’m no media expert so check out the response from rival publishers.
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