Remembrance Day Project ‘Network43’ Shares Wartime Tweets of London Residents

Network 43 - Tweeting through the London BlackoutSince it’s launch more than 5 years ago Twitter has become the source of breaking news and commentary for dozens of major events around the world from air crashes, natural disasters, celebrity deaths, political debate and revolution. Before Twitter and Facebook our online discussions and sharing were mostly confined to commenting on news sites and blogs, instant messaging systems amongst our family and friends or literally hanging out at the office water cooler.

It’s interesting to imagine how past events may have been discussed or shared if social networks like Twitter or Facebook existed back then. With that concept in mind, London ad agency muirhoward have taken that idea and created Network43, a campaign launched in honour of Remembrance Day. The campaign documents the experiences of four Londoners during the three weeks between October 20th and November 11, 1943.

The campaign was inspired by conversations about the experiences of the grandmother of an muirhoward employee. The grandmother had been an evacuee during the war, and had attended 20 schools during that time. Four Twitter personas were created for the campaign including; Billy (@SpitfireBilly) a 14 year-old ex-evacuee; Ellie Blackwood (@EllieSE18), a 21 year-old factory worker; Kay Parker (@KayMakes), a 25 year-old school teacher; and Spr. James Campbell (@SprJames), a 28 year old soldier recovering from an injury.

The information for the tweets was drawn from The British Library Newspaper Archive, Greenwich Heritage Centre, London Fire Brigade Museum, experts, as well as the personal accounts and diaries of people who experienced that time period.

via The Drum.

National Geographic Launches Content-Rich Augmented Reality Experience in Hungary

Live Augmented Reality for National Geographic Channel / UPC from Appshaker Ltd on Vimeo.

National Geographic Channel Augmented RealityEarlier this year we saw Lynx generate a stir at London’s Victoria Station with an augmented reality experience that layered models from their falling angels campaign into live video of curious commuters.

A few weeks ago a similar experience was launched in Hungary by the National Geographic Channel and European cable distributor UPC. The augmented reality experience enabled people to immerse themselves into a variety of National Geographic Channel content including a petting a leopard, dancing in a conga-line with an astronaut, watching a dolphin do flips, interacting with large and small dinosaurs and even cowering from an intense lightning storm.

The experience was put together by UK creative agency Appshaker, who have previously developed augmented reality experiences for clients such as Ford and Budapest Bank.

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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.

Volkswagen Canada Creates Art Heist Promo for 2012 Jetta GLI

The Great Volkswagen Art HeistThe cool folks over at Toronto ad agency Red Urban are consistently hitting home runs with their work for Volkswagen Canada. Just last week I published a post about their augmented reality experience for the 2012 Beetle. The latest is the ‘Great Volkswagen Art Heist’, a bold experiential campaign unleashed across Canada for the launch of the 2012 Jetta GLI.

A few months ago Red Urban introduced the 2012 VW Jetta GLI with a TV commercial directed by Hubert Davis of Untitled Films. The shoot used a combination of traditional and long exposure videography to pain light trails using the headlights and taillights of a Jetta GLI. To see how they created the ‘Driving Beautiful’ ad check out the great ‘making of’ video.

Last week Volkswagen Canada began to reveal pop-up street galleries in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver where the public could find (and take) framed prints of the photography from the commercial shoot. The would-be thieves have been asked to post their ‘hot art’ in an album on the Volkswagen Canada page.

Follow the Volkswagen Canada Twitter page for next week’s locations.

HarperCollins Canada Launch In-Store Augmented Reality Experience at Indigo Bookstores

HarperCollins and Indigo Books Host In-Store AR Experience for The Dark EndeavorHarperCollins Canada has launched an augmented reality experience in conjunction with the launch of Kenneth Oppel’s latest young adult novel ‘This Dark Endeavour: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frakenstein’.

The large bookshelf installation pictured here can be found at Indigo locations in Toronto (Eaton’s Centre), Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton, Calgary and Ottawa. Android users can use the ‘This Dark Endeavor’ app to scan the shelves looking for the mystery book that will bring the animated secrets to life. Smaller posters and bookmarks that also trigger the AR experience can be found at more than 300 other locations of Indigo, Chapters and Coles Bookstores across Canada.

When I visited the installation at the Indigo Books store at the Eaton’s Centre in downtown Toronto, I was disappointed that the two available Android phones were out of commission. One was waiting for a software update and the other had been unplugged and the battery was dead (I own an iPhone and I was without my Android toting friends). Thankfully, I was able to experience the AR on Kenneth Hoppel’s web site using my laptop’s webcam and a printed marker.

The project was brought to life by the Toronto office of Dentsu.

The ‘Dark Endeavor‘ app is available as a free download in the Android app Market.

Locals Race Jenson Button in Vodafone’s Grand Prix of Roggel

Vodafone Grand Prix of RoggelMonza, Silverstone, Nurburgring, Roggel, all legendary racetracks… wait Roggel? On September 12, the citizens of the small Dutch town of Roggel (pop. 4,000) cheered as Formula 1 driver Jenson Button raced his Mclaren through their sleepy streets in the Grand Prix of Roggel.

The event was put together by Vodafone to promote the introduction of fiber internet to the Netherlands, with Roggel being one of the first places to be connected. A full-blown Formula 1 racetrack was constructed using the streets and roads around the small town, and the company sought out the fastest people in the town to challenge the 2009 Formula One champion.

Now, there are no race car drivers in Roggel, so Vodafone sought out the fastest archer, golfer even the fastest ping pong player. In the end, three local people were chosen to race against Button using sophisticated racing simulators.

Vodafone went all out on this event and it looks like the people of Roggel enjoyed the attention. Who won? You’ll have to watch the video to see.

Carlsberg Stunt Sends Unsuspecting Couples Into Biker-Filled Theatre

Carlsberg Stunt Sends Unsuspecting Couples Into Biker-Filled Movie TheatreAs part of the ongoing ‘That Calls for a Carlsberg’ campaign Belgian ad agency Duval Guillaume Modem filled a Brussels movie theatre with 148 tough-looking tattooed bikers.

They left only two available seats in the middle of the theatre for the suspicious couples to sit, and filmed the results. The reactions are priceless as the couples round the corner and come face-to-face with the intimidating crowd. Will they stay or will they run?

As several blogs have pointed out this is reminiscent of the Heineken Italy viral video that won a Cannes Gold Medal Lion in 2010. In that experience, 100 women managed to convince their boyfriends and spouses to attend a classical concert rather than watch the Champions League match between Real Madrid and AC Milan. If you haven’t seen it yet, I won’t give away the great ending.

Calling All Brainiacs; Can You Solve Dow’s Giant Chalkboard Equation?

Dow Giant ChalkboardHey, no one told me there`d be math!

That was the first thought that went through my mind when I looked at the math problem being written on a giant building-size chalkboard in New York`s SoHo District. The problem is being revealed a few lines at a time over the week with the ultimate solution being revealed on Friday.

The numbers in the formulas are associated with science and communications facts. From the obscure; 11232 (Patent number for bromine extraction) to the more mainstream; 8675309 (yes indeed, that`s Jenny`s phone number from the 1982 hit song by Tommy Tutone). It`s been hinted that when the answers to the formulas are put together it will create a narrative told in data.

It`s all a teaser campaign dreamed up by the folks at Draftfcb Chicago for Solutionism, Dow`s discussion forum for technology, science and communication.

You can follow the developing campaign on the Giant Chalkboard Tumblr blog or Twitter account.

UPDATE Sept 26: On Friday the answer was revealed to be 7 billion, which represents the soon-to-be world population.

HBO Promotes New Boardwalk Empire Season with Prohibition-Era Train Rides

Boardwalk Empire - Vintage New York train

Photos: Scott Beale / Laughing Squid (http://laughingsquid.com)

The HBO crime drama Boardwalk Empire is back on September 25. To help promote Season 2, HBO got together with New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority to run a Prohibition-era Interborough Rapid Transit train between 42nd and 96th streets in Manhattan during the weekends in September.

The three-car IRT train features Boardwalk Empire-inspired ads, as well as vintage looking ads for saltwater taffy to ladies beachwear fashions. No word on whether they’ll be any Prohibition-era hooch available for sipping.

I can’t imagine that the real-life ‘Nucky’ was a frequent patron of the Manhattan subways (he partied and had an apartment in NY). Enoch ‘Nucky’ Johnson most likely was driven from party-to-party in a style befitting an Atlantic City crime powerbroker; a 1920 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, like this one used by Steve Buscemi’s character on the show.

Fire & Rescue NSW Honours Everyday Heroes On Digital Statue

Fire & Rescue NSW - Be Super OrdinaryFire & Rescue NSW has partnered with Insurance Company GIO to launch a new campaign on the FRNSW Facebook page as part of their 2011 Winter (yes, it is winter down under) Fire Safety strategy.

Members of the public who take part in the eight question Home Fire Safety Audit can have their picture projected on the face of a 3 metre fireman statue that will appear in several places around Sydney.

People who complete the audit will be receive a notice when and where their face will appear.  Along with the honour of appearing on the statue, people receive a list of practical fire safety tips as well as a reminder in 12 months to take the audit again.

I was quite surprised that the audit evaluated me as a ‘High Fire Safety Risk’, so looks like I have some work to do.

My top 3 recommended action items are:

  • Testing and cleaning my smoke alarm
  • Not to leave my dryer unintended, clean the lint, etc.
  • Clean the filters in my bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans
The campaign is supported by banner ads and eDMs, and will run to September 15 with a goal of 15,000 fire safety audits. The campaign was created by Sydney agency MercerBell.

Macy’s Reaches Out to Facebook Fans For Elf Makeover

Macy's Elf AdventureWith the 2011 Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade a few months away, the department store is asking for its customers help in sprucing up the look of one of the giant elf-balloon featured in the parade. They’ve hidden 10,000 plain, undecorated elves at Macy’s stores across the US.

Clues to the location of elves are posted daily on Macy’s Facebook page or Twitter account. Customers must then figure out the clue and find a sales associate and reveal the secret word to get their elf. The customer can choose to receive the clues by text if they prefer.

Once the elves are decorated, customers can submit a picture of their elf along with its unique ID number. The voting will take place between August 30 and September 8. The winner gets a trip for four to NYC for the Thanksgiving parade where they’ll see their design transformed into a giant elf balloon just in time for the parade.

The Macy’s Day Parade began in 1924 and is broadcast to 44 million people each year.