Deep Focus Creates Doggy-Powered Rube Goldberg Machine for Beneful

Beneful Rube Golberg Machine

Rube Goldberg was an American sculptor, writer, inventor, but he was best known at time as a cartoonist in the early part of the 1920s and 1930s.

One of his cartoon characters, Professor Lucifer Gorgonzola Butts, was famous for inventing outlandish machines to accomplish very simple tasks. Goldberg became so well-known for illustrating these machines that in 1931 that Merriam-Webster dictionary included the word “Rube Goldberg” as an adjective for accomplishing something simple through complex means.

The advertising world has borrowed heavily from the Rube Goldberg machine concept, with dozens of ads and viral clips being created for brands over the years, including ‘The Cog’ for Honda and Panera Bread, and dozens of others.

The latest example, created by New York-based digital agency Deep Focus, with production handed by Quiet Man, for Beneful dog food may may just be the cutest. Dogs are everywhere; tossing “and” catching a frisbee, chasing tennis balls, wagging their tails, or just sitting in a small wagon looking cute as all heck.

[via Mashable]

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Beneful Launches Virtual Dog Parks for Stressed-out Commuters

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.

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