Ford Australia Unveils Art for Falcatron Transformer Concept

Ford Falcatron

Earlier this month Ford Australia polled it’s Facebook page followers to decide which of their Falcon models should be used to create an Aussie Transformers concept. The project is a partnership between Ford and Activision to promote the launch of the new video game Transformers: Fall of Cybertron.

On August 23, game developer High Moon Studios revealed the Falcatron; their interpretation of the Ford XR6.

Australia

Wobbly Table Stunt Raises Awareness of Parkinson’s Disease

Shake it Up Foundation

Here in Canada there are nearly 100,000 people living with Parkinson’s, while in the US, at least 500,000 are believed to suffer from the disease. Unfortunately these figures are expected to increase as the average age of the population increases. In Australia, Clyde Campbell (who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2009) launched the Shake It Up Foundation in 2011 to promote and focus on Parkinson’s research, where one in 350 people are affected by the disease.

On April 11, World Parkinson’s Day, Shake It Up Foundation volunteers placed 1,000 wooden door wedges under tables in cafés and restaurants around Sydney. As people sat down at the wobbly, shaky tables they experienced an example of one of the symptoms of the disease (thank goodness no one spilled hot coffee in their lap).

The wedge was printed with the message, “It’s more than just the shakes”, and then when flipped over read, “Thirty Australians are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease every day. But thousands more are affected, from family to friends. You can help stop it at shakeitup.org.au”.

[via mUmBRELLA]

Australia

Queensland Police Use Pinterest Board to Share Bizarre Road Safety Fails

Queensland Police Services - What the? FridayWhile most people are creating Pinterest boards chock full of recipes or home decorating ideas, the Queensland Police Services are using one of their boards to pin pictures of the bizarre behaviour that they come across while patrolling the north-east province of Australia.

What the? Friday” was started on the Queensland Police Services Facebook page where it remains one of the most popular content features. Recent posts have included a DIY tow truck, a driver performing a puppet show for a backseat audience, and a trucker who tried to repair a busted muffler with a pair of cut-off jeans.

The Queensland Police Services have been a leader in adopting social media platforms to better communicate with the public, not only on Facebook, but also with very active Twitter, YouTube, and Soundcloud profiles.

[via Mumbrella]

Australia

Meanwhile Downunder: Bonds Stages an Epic Underpants Dance-off

Bonds - What's Your Shape?

‘The Hipsters’ versus ‘The Quick Drys’… ‘The Cool Its’ versus ‘The GuyFront trunks’.. ‘The Comfy Tops’ versus ‘The Tails’? Not since the Jets rumbled against the Sharks in West Side Story has their been a dance-off like this, and seriously folks, who doesn’t love dancing in their underwear with a few of their closest friends.

Australian underwear brand Bonds wants to know ‘What’s Your Shape?’ and you could win a drawer full of undies for you and five of your mates. Just wander over to the Bonds Facebook page and choose which group you want to ‘hang’ with (oh yes, I went there). Right now, the Hipsters and are way out in front, with the Tails in second.

If you want to strip down, then get down with your bad self – you can download an mp3 of the music from the ad on the Facebook application as well… maybe just remember to draw the curtains.

The campaign was created by Banjo Advertising with the Facebook application developed by WiTH Collective.

Australia

Updated Version of Men at Work’s ‘Down Under’ Rallys Team Australian

Testra Down Under Olympics Ad

The 410 athletes that make up the 2012 Australian Olympics team were sent off to the rallying cry of Men at Work’s 1982 worldwide hit ‘Down Under’. The song is featured in a new ad for Australian mobile provider Telstra, has been become synonymous with Australia. I also introduced the rest of the world to the concept of a ‘Vegemite sandwich’.

The ad features Men at Work vocalist Colin Hay leading a choir, athletes, bar patrons and a stadium full or pumped up Aussies in an updated version of the classic. It was shot in seven different locations in London and took eight weeks to coordinate and shoot.

The updated version ‘Down Under 2012’ is available for download in iTunes.

The ad was created by DDB Sydney.

Australia

Oxy Australia Curates YouTube Zit Popping Videos for Gross-out Promotion

Oxy Australia Zit Popping

Oxy Australia has launched a stomach churning viral video campaign featuring a sampling of YouTube videos showing young men squeezing (or with the help of a close friend) their untreated pimples. So, be forewarned if you decide to press play on the video that I’ve embedded below.

Adam Ferrier, partner at Naked Communications said the video would “tickle the target market’s interest”.

“The idea came from the simple insight that guys like watching videos of guys squeezing big pimples. It speaks to our target much more authentically than the glossy, cheesy work of Oxy’s big spending competitors. We believe this work will result in mass trial of the brand, and change consumer behaviour towards Oxy,” said Ferrier.

The video points to a web site where visitors can request a free sample.

Many experts advise people against popping their pimples due to the risk of creating a scar or infection when you break through the skin. If you do feel the need to ‘pop’, then this set of instructions may help you out. Don’t forget your camera.

The campaign was created by Naked Communications Australia.

via B&T.

Australia

‘Delite-o-matic’: How Far Would You Go For a Free Vending Machine Snack?

Fantastic Delites Vending Machine
How far would go for a free vending machine snack?

Would you push a big red button 20 times, 100 times or how about 1000 times? Would you bow down on your knees, do jumping jacks or dance around like the robot?

Ad agency Clemenger BBDO Adelaide and production company Anifex combined their efforts to come up with an innovative way to promote rice snack brand ‘Fantastic Delites‘ by creating the Delite-o-Matic. A virtual version of the machine is hosted on the Fantastic Delites website. To enter the online version of the promotion, visitors are required to click the virtual Delite-O-Matic 100 times, then suggest new challenges for next appearance of the real-life machine. The more clicks that are accumulated the better the prizes get; from a Roomba for 10,000 clicks to a trip for 2 to a private island in Fiji. Contest is open to residents of Australia and New Zealand.

The real version of the machine made an appearance at Melbourne’s Southern Cross station where people proved how far they would go for a package of Fantastic Delites, including one woman who pressed the red button an incredible 5000 times.

Erik de Roos, account director at Clemenger BBDO Adelaide explained: “We started with the insight that once people try Fantastic Delites, they generally end up buying them. So we were looking for a unique way to get people to taste the product.”

via Ad Pitch, Campaign Brief

Australia

Brad Pitt’s Younger Brother Doug Headlines New Virgin Mobile Campaign

Doug Pitt - Celebro

Life in Springfield, Missouri may not be as fast-paced as Hollywood or Cannes, but it looks like it suits Doug Pitt just fine. Doug mows the lawn, washes the car, and (eventually) sinks basketball shots without hordes of paparazzi jumping out of the bushes.

Virgin Mobile Australia have tapped Doug, the younger brother of Brad and owner of Springfield’s ServiceWorld Computer Center, as the star of their new ‘Fair Go for All’ campaign.

The idea here, is that Virgin Mobile wants to give Doug a taste of the lifestyle of his more famous brother, starting with his first celebrity endorsement. Viewers are directed to fairgobro.com.au, where their Facebook Like will take Doug from ‘Just a Bro’ to ‘CeleBro’.

Oh, and by the way Virgin Mobile is offering Celebrity Deals at Celebrity Brother Deals.

Australia

Hyundai TV Spot ‘Breaks Free’ to the Tune of Queen Classic

Channel Hyundai - Break Free

Queen were one the most flamboyant rock bands of the 70s and 80s, and their video for 1984 hit ‘I Want to Break Free‘ saw them at their most memorably outrageous. The whole band appears dressed as women, including Freddie vacuuming the carpet dressed in leather mini-skirt, tight pink top, and full mustache. The song became a world-wide top 10 hit (except in the US where it only reached the mid-40s).

The song has been re-imagined for an Australian Hyundai i30 TV spot, stitching together scenes of characters talking to create the lyrics of the first verse of ‘I Want to Break Free’.

The ad was created by Innocean Australia and produced by Prodigy Films.

Earlier this year a spoken version of Bohemian Rhapsody was used in a humorous ad for The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

Australia

Australian Bank Rewards Honest Shoppers with an Instant Thank You Campaign

NAB Honesty Shouldn't Go Unrewarded

To promote their new ‘Honesty’ credit card the National Australian Bank rewarded shoppers for turning in lost items.

While the unsuspecting shoppers waited at the specially constructed lost and found counter. their name and picture was taken and distributed to other teams located in the mall. As the shoppers continued on their way they began to notice their face displayed on digital signage throughout the mall. I love the final scene where ‘Han’ sees his name spelled wrong.

The stunt was created by Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne.

Australia