Make Noise, Go Fast: Nissan Promotes ‘Z’ With Voice-Driven Radio-Controlled Cars

Nissan Voice Driver Cup

Anyone who has ever played with toy cars can tell you that the way you make them go fast, is to make the engine noise yourself. Nissan and their agency TBWA/Hakuhodo have collaborated to create voice-driven versions of radio-controlled four-wheel-drive models based on Nissan’s Fairlady Z Sports Car.

The first race, the Japan GP takes place on November 10 at the Nissan Galley in Yokohama, with visitors controlling the cars with their voice in person. The events will be broadcast live via UStream on the Voice Driver Cup website.

On November 17 (but just for 24 hours), everyone around the world will be able to join in and control the cars from their own computer using their microphone.

I’ll be rehearsing my car engine noises, see you at the starting line.

[via DigitalBuzz]

Japan

Uber App Goes Gangster-Style to Promote Boardwalk Empire Premiere

Uber Vintage Rides - Boardwalk Empire

It would be tough to top last year’s promotion for the season 2 premiere of Boardwalk Empire, which saw HBO partner with the MTA to run a prohibition-era subway train (complete with Boardwalk Empire-inspired ads) between 42nd and 96th streets in Manhattan.

But, for two days last week, Uber users in Manhattan were able to request free rides in a vintage Rolls Royce, Bentley, Cadillac, or one of the other 1920s-era vehicles.

Check out photos of the cars using the hashtag #Boardwalkride.

USA

MusicBunk promotes Music Discovery App by Tossing Vinyl Records

Musicbunk Vinyl Toss Viral4 friends of Pasadena agency Conscious Minds spent two days tossing vinyl albums onto a turntable in order to capture the successful landings you see in the video. The stunts are reminiscent of Ray Ban ‘Never Hide’ video from 2007 (5.1 million views) or Levi’s ‘Jeans Jump’ clip from 2008 (almost 8 million views).

The video went unbranded for a week, but now has been revealed as a promotion for MusicBunk. MusicBunk is an app that helps find out who likes the same music you do and connect with them to share songs and playlists.

While a few people will be shocked by the vinyl abuse, but anyone who’s visited a flea market or swap meet knows there’s enough scratched up vinyl to play around with.

The MusicBunk app is available for iPhone and Android.

USA

Lufthansa’s Anywake App Gives Sleepy Swedes a Winter Wake-Up Call

Lufthansa Anywake AppIf there’s one thing those of us who live in northern countries can relate to it’s the struggle of waking up in the darkness of winter morning. I’m an admitted snooze button abuser, especially in the winter. Lufthansa released the Anywake app to make the dark mornings a bit brighter for sleepy Swedes by waking them up to the sounds of another city.

Anywake works like a normal smartphone alarm clock app; you set your waking time before you go to sleep and in the morning you’re woken up to the sounds of a randomly selected city.

If you can figure out which city it is within 60 seconds, you’ll win a discount on a Lufthansa flight to that destination. If you can’t solve the challenge, you’ll have to wait until the next day. But at least you’ll be wide awake and mildly frustrated, which is a great way to start the day.

Anywake was developed by DDB STockholm and is available free in the iPhone App Store and Android Market.

Krispy Kreme’s ‘Hot Light’ app Tracks Fresh Supply for Donut Fans

Krispy Kreme Hot Light Mobile AppBefore 2001, Krispy Kreme donuts were a much sought after contraband in this area. We would seek out the glowing ‘Hot Now’ lights at locations in the Buffalo area before arriving back home with a fresh supply of the soft, warm sugar-glazed treasures for ourselves and closest friends. Eventually Krispy Kreme would open several locations in Canada before dwindling to just the 4 that are left in Ontario and Quebec.

Now with the ‘Hot Light’ mobile users can receive alerts when a nearby Krispy Kreme location has the a fresh supply of donuts. After learning that nearly 30 per cent of its web site and social media traffic was coming in by smartphones they worked with their ad agency Barkley to create the app. Users can search for nearby active Hot Lights or choose when and how often they’d like to get alert notifications.

According to Mark Logan, VP of Digital Innovation at Barkley, “If you’re a fan of Krispy Kreme, you know how powerful that Hot Light is. It’s such a strong brand icon. We wanted to find a way to extend its reach.”

The app can be downloaded in the iPhone app store or the Android Marketplace.

Note: the app only works with participating U.S. locations.

Moosejaw X-Ray Vision App Gives You Sneak Peek Underneath Catalog Models’ Clothing

Moosejaw Winter Catalog - X-Ray AppUS outdoor clothing retailer Moosejaw is giving it’s Winter catalog readers a much more revealing look at it’s models. They’ve released the X-Ray Vision app for iPhone, iPad and Android devices allowing readers to see what interesting items their catalog models are wearing underneath their heavy winter jackets and pants.

If you don’t have a print version of the Moosejaw catalog you’re still in luck, the app is also designed to work with digital versions of the catalog available at MoosejawCatalogs.com or the Moosejaw Catalogs App for the iPad. The app can also be used on signage at one of Moosejaw’s retail stores.

Now, I hope someone out there has a good explanation as to why that dude on Page 40 has an octopus underneath his clothes in what appears to be saran wrap.

Macy’s ‘Believe-O-Magic’ AR App Brings ‘Yes, Virginia’ Characters to Life

Macy's Believe O' Magic Augmented Reality AppWith the holiday shopping season lurking just around the corner, Macy’s has released the ‘Believe-o-Magic’ mobile app for iPhone, iPad and Android.

The app uses augmented reality marker technology at special ‘Believe Stations’ within Macy’s stores nationwide to bring the characters from the animated movie ‘Yes, Virginia‘ to life. The app can then be used to capture a picture of the character and your child to create a customized holiday card that can be sent to family and friends directly from the app.

For those not able to visit a Macy’s store, a marker can be printed from the ‘Million Reasons to Believe’ website that provides a sneak preview of the in-store augmented reality experience.

The ‘Believe-O-Magic’ app can be downloaded free for the iPhone or iPad at the iTunes app store or at the Android Market.

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Randy MathesonI am a Nova Scotia raised Creative Guy, currently Director of Emerging Media at Delvinia, a Digital Strategy & Customer Experience Design Firm in Toronto. I’m a huge fan of the creative use of digital technologies in social media, marketing, sports and entertainment. I use this blog to share the more interesting examples that I find. If you’re in need of a break, join me over at Madtini.com for a cocktail.

Starbucks’ New Mobile App Will Bring Your Coffee Cup to Life

Starbucks Cup Magic - Augmented RealityIt’s still only early November and while Christmas is still over 6 weeks away you can walk into any store and find the sights (and maybe sounds) of the holiday season all around you. I’m not sure of the exact day it started, but the Starbucks in our building has had their red Christmas cups out for a few weeks, along with the usual window decorations, and of course the Christmas coffee blend.

Starting November 15, you’ll be able to bring those red cups (and apparently 47 other Starbucks products) to life using the Starbucks Magic Cup app. Use your camera phone to focus the app on the cup and you’ll see short animated clips appear on your screen. If you’ve been in a Starbucks recently you’ll recognize the characters (an ice skater, a boy and dog sledding, a fox and my favorite a squirrel) from the door clings, cups and packaging. Tap on the screen and you can interact with the characters. Collect all five characters and you qualify for a prize. The app also features holiday ecards and special offers from Starbucks.

The Starbucks Cup Magic app was created by Blast Radius and will be available for iPhone and Android on November 15.

Via Agency Spy

Related Posts

Randy MathesonI am a Nova Scotia raised Creative Guy, currently Director of Emerging Media at Delvinia, a Digital Strategy & Customer Experience Design Firm in Toronto. I’m a huge fan of the creative use of digital technologies in social media, marketing, sports and entertainment. I use this blog to share the more interesting examples that I find. If you’re in need of a break, join me over at Madtini.com for a cocktail.

LEGO’s ‘The Life of George’ Connects Physical and Virtual Gameplay

LEGO - Life of GeorgeI can’t remember a time where I didn’t have LEGO around. There have been more than 400 billion LEGO bricks produced since 1958, that makes 58 Lego bricks per person on Earth if my math is reasonable correct. There must be at least that many still stuffed down between the couch cushions at my parent’s house.

LEGO has always been a leader in incorporating technology into the product. They created a Lego website in 1996 in the very early days on the web. They created a line of programmable robotic bricks and bit called Mindstorms, which it developed in partnership with MIT Media Labs. LEGO’s Digital Designer software lets budding designers create models using virtual bricks, then post the results online at LEGO Design ByMe and purchase the real bricks to make the design in real life.

On October 1, LEGO released it’s latest product ‘The Life of George‘, an interactive game that requires the player to recreate the items that appear in George’s vacation photographs using LEGO bricks assembled and placed on a special gridded gaming mat. Players use the free iPhone app to score to time and capture an image to test the accuracy of your LEGO building skills. The game features 12 levels of play with 10 group of photos in each level. The game begins with images from George’s trip to Hawaii including sunglasses, palm trees, a crab, even a cocktail glass(??). You can challenge yourself or battle against one of your brick-building buddies for LEGO dominance.

‘The Life of George’ kit is available for $30 at LEGO stores now. The free ‘Life of George’ app is available in the Apple app store.

JELL-O’s Jiggle-It App Brings Sweet Dance Moves to the iPhone

JELL-O Jiggle-It iPhone appI enjoy (free) fun, useless apps… well, at least for five minutes or so. Just look how excited I got last week ‘Spinning the Hamster’ on Scandinavian Airlines Time Waster app, or pretending to shave my face with the L’Oreal Men Expert app.

When I saw the alert that Crispin Porter + Bogusky had created an app called Jiggle-It featuring a dancing cube of JELL-O I was off to the app store in a flash.

To get started, choose one of the five jiggling JELL-O flavours, then select a track from your iTunes library (or use the microphone to listen to your speakers). Make sure you use your Fruit Ninja skills to activate one of the 30+ special dance moves by swiping your finger across the screen.

Apparently there’e more going on than just random jiggling according to the JELL-O Jiggle-It site. The app uses an audio analyzer to detect the BPM (beats per minute) and energy level of a song. All the moves were apparently designed by a professional choreographer (a food choreographer perhaps?).

Well, five minutes are up and now it’s Time for another fun, yet useless app to take its place on that last panel of my home screen. Was it good for you too?

Download the free JELL-O Jiggle It iPhone app at the app store.