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IKEA Turns Port-a-Potty Into Bathroom Design Showcase

May 8, 2012 By 1 Comment

IKEA Turns Port-a-Potty into Bathroom Product ShowcaseThe lowly Porta Potty may be a welcome destination when the need hits, but it’s also the last place you want to spend much quality time unless you’re looking to perfect your ‘hover’ technique.

With this in mind, IKEA pulled the old switcheroo on people attending the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan back in April.

Relief-seekers were drawn to what looked like a common portable toilet, but was in fact a portal into a 20 square meter lavish showcase for their latest innovations in bathroom design.

A hidden-camera captured the surprised reactions of washroom goers, as they tried out the products and features, and some even brought their friends in with them.

The campaign comes from Milan agency 1861 United.

Italy

Filed Under: Advertising & Marketing, Experiential Tagged With: , , , , ,

Aussie Casino Swings to Lounge Version of Welcome to the Jungle

May 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Welcome to the Jungle“You know where you? You’re in the jungle baby, and you’re gonna die!”

A few weeks ago, hard-rock legends Guns n’ Roses were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The guys from the classic lineup (even drummer Steven Adler) all showed up to accept the honour, except for Axl Rose of course.

The honours keep rolling in, one of their best-known songs ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ has been used in a new video promoting Sydney resort and casino The Star.

The clip features American singer Bill Baker belting out the song while seated at a piano as it tours through the hotel and casino.

The video is part of the ‘There Will be Stories’ campaign from Sydney agency, The Monkeys and was produced by Revolver.

Australia

Filed Under: Advertising & Marketing, Music Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Beneful Launches Virtual Dog Parks for Stressed-out Commuters

May 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Beneful Virtual Dog ParkLast week, dog food brand, Beneful surprised NYC commuters with a virtual dog park inside the Columbus Circle subway station. The 64 foot long interactive wall features a group of playful dogs of several sizes and breeds.

Motion-tracking cameras would watch as people walked by, triggering the dogs to start following them. The dogs then paw at the screen and bark to encourage the people to stand on one of the floor stickers, where gesture-tracking enabled them to play fetch with the virtual tennis balls on the interactive wall. After playing, commuters can choose to customize the dog of their choice and save a photo to their mobile phone to share on their social networks.

Street teams promoted the interactive wall by handing out tennis balls and flying discs to commuters. Beneful will also be launching interactive walls in Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta and St. Louis this May.

In a press release Beneful brand manager said, “At Beneful, we believe the power of PLAY enhances everyday experiences and enriches the time dogs and owners spend together. And, most city dwellers
would agree that their daily commute is definitely a time in need of some fun, carefree play. “We believe that using innovative, interactive billboards will encourage people to unleash their inner child and have some fun in unexpected places, with the help of our team of virtual dogs!”

The Beneful virtual dog park was created by InWindow Outdoor.

USA

Filed Under: Advertising & Marketing, Experiential, Out of Home Tagged With: , , ,

Nike Japan Twists Their Shoe to Match Your Funny Face

May 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Nike Free FaceMy mother would frequently warn me that if I made a weird face it might just freeze that way. Decades have past and many odd and twisted faces later it thankfully hasn’t frozen up.

Nike Japan has launched the ‘Free Face‘ website and is inviting people to come by and contort their faces for fun and profit.

The site uses facial and expression recognition via your webcam to capture an image or your face at both it’s relaxed and most twisted state. The site promotes the super-flexible sole of the Nike Free shoe. The more you can twist and contort your face the more twisted a 3-D image of the shoe ends up looking.

Once your image is captured it then competes head-to-head against others for votes. The face with the most votes each week ends up winning a NikeiD gift card. Contestants must be living in Japan.

The campaign was created by Wieden + Kennedy Tokyo.

Japan

Filed Under: Advertising & Marketing, Technology Tagged With: , ,

Gorillaz’ Artist Jamie Hewlett Creates Characters For Absolut Spirit of London Campaign

May 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Jamie Hewlett Creates Characters to Life for Absolut Spirit of LondonEarlier this year, Absolut released The Spirit of London in a Limited Edition bottle illustrated by Gorillaz and Tank Girl artist Jamie Hewlett. Now, Absolut has launched a special microsite where visitors can explore the back-stories of four of the characters featured on the bottle illustration.

The Absolut Spirit of London website features Karl Bugle (1987), a seller of fine clobber (had to look it up) for the distinguished gent; Ernest Scrubbs (1855), a Victorian-era entertainer of; Suzi Q (1966), a swinging 60s fashionista and Perry Lloyd (1964), a cool ska cat.

UK visitors who can complete the challenges in each of the character’s eras can win a signed and numbered print and limited edition glass featuring that character. A lucky Grand Prize winner will receive a complete set of glasses, 7 signed and numbered individual prints and a special edition bottle of ABSOLUT London vodka.

The site was reated by London agency Holler.

UK

Filed Under: Advertising & Marketing, Food & Drink Tagged With: , , , , , ,

IKEA Sleep ‘Expert’ Reveals the Seven Categories of Australian Sleepers

April 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

IKEA seven types of Australian sleepersIKEA Sleep Expert Alvar Kalsson (played by actor Matt Sterne) and his research team have traveled far to help identify the seven categories of sleepers in Australia. As Alvar explains, “Sleep is an important part of life, we spend nearly as much time sleeping as we do listening to ABBA“. (now ‘Dancing Queen is my head, damn you Kalsson!)

While I have never watched myself sleep, based on the condition of the bed in the morning I’ll classify myself as the ‘Virder och Vänder’ or Tosser and Turner. Watch the videos and figure out which type of sleeper you are. Or, better ask your bed mate, they may have a different opinion.

The seven categories are:

  • Starfish (Sjöstjärna)
  • Log (Stocken)
  • Black Belt (Svart Bälte)
  • Snuggler (Mysaren)
  • Hökey Pökey
  • Chatterbox (Pratkvarnen)
  • Tosser and Turner (Virder och Vänder)

Each category of sleeper is recommended a different type of IKEA bed that best suits their sleeping style.

The campaign was created by PR agency One Green Bean with production handled by DangerMouse Productions.

Australia

Filed Under: Advertising & Marketing Tagged With: , ,

If You Have to Make a Margarita, You Might as Well Make it With a Fireman… and a Kitten

April 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Sauza Margaritas - Make it With a FiremanIf you’re looking to learn how to make some Margaritas, then having a good-looking fireman walk you through the complex process is a bonus. If you were add-in a kitten wearing a beret, then well you have a YouTube win!

While comparisons to the Old Spice guy are inevitable. While he appeared ‘on a horse’, he never featured a kitten wearing a beret in his videos. Nor did he help anyone choose leggings or pants, telling people leggings are pants, or discussing leggings and jeggings versus… anyways you get the picture.

While the fireman glosses over the exact measurements of the ingredients of the pitcher, you can find it at SauzaMargaritas.com.

Sauza®-Rita

  • 1 can Sauza® Blue Silver 100% Agave Tequila*
  • 1 bottle light beer (looks like Corona to me)
  • 1 can frozen limeade
  • 1 can water

The ‘Make it With a Fireman’ campaign comes from EURO RSCG/Chicago, and is produced by Supply & Demand Integrated.

Filed Under: Advertising & Marketing, Food & Drink Tagged With: , , , , ,

‘Fifth Avenue Frogger’ Features Real Cars in Real Time

April 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Fifth Avenue FroggerWhenever I hear about Frogger, my mind goes back to the Seinfeld episode where Jerry & George return to their high school hangout for one last slice of pizza before it closes. There they discover that not only is the original Frogger arcade game still there, but George’s high score is still tops. George decides the buy the game and hilarity ensues.

It’s been nearly 14 years since that episode of Seinfeld was first broadcast, and over 30 years since Frogger was first released by Konami in 1981. In the game players must navigate a frog across a busy highway and safely back to it’s home.

Tyler DeAngelo, Renee Lee, and Ranjit Bhatnagar have created an updated version of the classic game that transmits real-time traffic from Fifth Avenue in NYC. The group is trying to get the project featured in the Art of Video Games exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

To track the traffic on Fifth Avenue, DeAngelo mounted a web camera high up in a building with a clear view of the busy street and wrote code that translated the real-time position of the cars into live-streaming data. In the game the car graphics are mapped on to those positions in the game in real-time.

As a final stroke of genius, DeAngelo hauled out his hacked version of game to the sidewalk facing Fifth Avenue, and invited passing New Yorkers to play.

Filed Under: Art & Design, Gaming, Technology Tagged With: ,

Oro Verde Turns the Trees of Germany into Activists to Protect Rainforests

April 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Oro Verde Rainforest Tree ProtestWho better to speak out against the destruction of the rain forests than their urban relatives.

Oro Verde, a German nonprofit with only 10 full-time employees needed to recruit new activists and volunteer donation collectors to help increase the number of cash donations. Instead of recruiting human beings, who are far too busy tweeting and updating their facebook statuses, they looked to the trees themselves.

Hundreds of trees in Germany’s outdoor pedestrian malls and parks were ‘outfitted’ with cardboard protest signs that read, ‘Brauche Geld für meine Familie im Regenwald’ (Need Money for my family in the Rainforest). The addition of wooden fingers that appeared to be holding the signs completed the striking illusion.

Filed Under: Environment, Non Profit Tagged With: , , ,

Diego Stocco Creates Buzzworthy Earth Day Music for Burt’s Bees

April 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Burt's Bees Earth Day Composition with Diego StoccoTo celebrate Earth Day, Burt’s Bees got together with Italian sound designer Diego Stocco to create the composition ‘Music From Nature’.

Diego creates his music using experimental recording techniques and custom built instruments. His composition ‘Music from a Dry Cleaner‘ featured Diego creating the music using the equipment in the dry cleaning shop as instruments.

In this Earth Day collaboration, Diego creates the composition using all natural elements including the ingredients from Burt’s Bees products. He taps away on a tree, flicks at the bark, shakes a handful of almonds and even uses a violin bow on a tree.

The ‘Music from Nature’ project was thought up by the creative folk at Raleigh agency Baldwin&.

Filed Under: Advertising & Marketing, Environment, Music Tagged With: , ,
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