Nissan Brings Electric-Vehicle Charging Stations to SimCity

Nissan LEAF Simcity EV Charging Stations

Electronic Arts’ SimCity has partnered with Nissan to bring LEAF Electric Vehicle Charging Stations to the virtual streets of it’s players’ towns.

Players are free to download and install up to five of the branded charging stations for the next six months. The Charging Stations provide ‘happiness’ to the Sims and nearby businesses.

“Nissan remains committed to finding innovative ways to promote the development of EV infrastructure and to bringing practical, affordable electric vehicles to markets throughout the United States,” said Jon Brancheau, VP of marketing, Nissan North America.

[via CarScoops]

USA

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

Nissan Laughs It Up with Second City for 12 Hours of Facebook Improv

Nissan - 12 Hours of Improv

In the hands of skilled and creative comedy minds, improvisation can produce magical unexpected results. And few do improvisational comedy better than the performers at Second City. I’m lucky enough to work just a block away from Second City’s Toronto theatre, and have attended their Thursday night improv performances several times.

Over the past 50+ years comedy legends such as Dan Ackroyd, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Bill Murray, John Candy, Martin Short and dozens of others have developed their skills on the Second City stages in Chicago and Toronto.

August 20 starting at 11am CST, present day members of Chicago’s Second City will perform live improvised music videos on the Nissan Pathfinder Facebook page in the ‘12 Hour Improv-tastic Road Trip‘. Visitors can offer suggestions and enter to win one of two trips to see The Second City in Chicago or Toronto.

And, as for the connection between the Nissan Pathfinder and improvisational comedy? I have no idea. But, the press release mentions that it’s about next gen improv for the next gen SUV.

USA

Nissan Transforms Gasoline Pumps Into Everyday Items to Promote Electric Car

Nissan Leaf - Bowsers Art ExhibitWith electric car technology finally starting to go mainstream, it’s conceivable that the traditional gasoline pump will disappear or possibly transform into something else.

With that in mind, Nissan Australia is promoting the Leaf, their 100% electric car, with a huge interactive exhibition in Melbourne and Sydney. The outdoor exhibit features 40 petrol bowsers (gasoline pumps) that have been transformed into useful items such as a popcorn machine, fish tank, grandfather clock, bookcase, dollhouse and even a dog kennel.

Australians can vote for a chance to win their favorite petrol bowser, while the remaining bowsers will be auctioned off.

The campaign was created by Melbourne’s WhybinTBWAGroup, with video directed by James Dive of The Glue Society, and PR handled by Eleven PR.

Australia

30 Most Viewed Stories at RandyMatheson.com in 2011

Top 30 Posted Stories of 2011

The following list is an interesting collection of the the top 30 most viewed, searched for and shared stories on RandyMatheson.com in 2011.

30 / The 12 Days of Christmas Underwear
Bonds Christmas ad features Rachel Taylor eating canned pears in lingerie as Aussie crooner Jack Ladder channels Joy Division’s ‘Atmosphere’. Read more…

29 / Volkswagen AR Experiences
VW Canada’s campaign for the 2012 Beetle features an awe-inspiring AR experience over Toronto’s Dundas Square. Read more…

28 / Jonathan’s Starbucks Card
Mobile consultant Jonathan Stark invites the world out for coffee in a short-lived and much-debated ‘social experiment’. Read more…

27 / Moosejaw X-Ray App Reveals All
Outdoor clothing retailer Moosejaw launches x-ray vision app that reveals what’s underneath the warm clothes of it’s catalog models. Read more…

26 / Spongebob’s Frozen Face-off Goes Social
Nickelodeon uses Twitter to promote Spongebob Squarepants special with a week of Twitter trash talk between characters. Read more…

25 / Infectious Billboard for Contagion
Warner Brothers Canada posts a living billboard of bacteria and fungi to promote the release of pandemic-themed movie Contagion.Read more…

24 / Tetley Canada’s Shopping Butlers
Tetley Canada brings joy and confusion to grocery shoppers by replacing shopping carts with personal shopping butlers. Read more…

23 / Biker-filled Movie Theatre
Carlsberg directs unsuspecting couples into a movie theatre full of burly growling bikers. Who goes, who sticks around for a surprise ending?
Read more…

22 / Reebok Street Art
Reebok promotes Crossfit program at London’s Canary Wharf with an amazing record-breaking work of 3D street art.
Read more…

21 / Ballatine’s Interactive Tattoo
As part of their Human API campaign, whisky-maker Ballatine’s creates the world’s first interactive tattoo streamed live from their Facebook page.
Read more…

20 / Jack Daniels Letterpress Posters
Knoxville-based printers Yee-Haw Industries create gorgeous hand-crafted posters for Jack Daniel’s campaign.
Read more…

19 / Nike’s Back to the Future Shoes
Nike shoe designers create 1500 real-life versions of the Back to the Future MAG shoes and auctions them on eBay to benefit Michael J Fox foundation.
Read more…

18 / Starbucks AR mobile app
Starbucks releases ‘Magic Cup’, an augmented reality app that brings the coffee shop’s holiday-themed cups to life with animation.
Read more…

17 / Boston Pizza’s Playoff Rebrand
Boston Pizza jumps on the Canuck playoff bandwagon by rebranding it’s BC stores as Vancouver Pizza for the Stanley Cup finals.
Read more…

16 / Ariel Fashion Shoot
Laundry detergent brand Ariel lets Facebook users shoot a remote-control gun filled with chocolate, jam or ketchup at designer clothes… and win them.
Read more…

15 / O.B. Says Really Really Really Sorry via Song
Johnson & Johnson tampon brand O.B. responds to miffed customers by creating personalized apology song.
Read more…

14 / Karen O sings for Chipotle Halloween promo
Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Karen O provides vocals for Halloween-ish short film promoting the Chipotle Boorito campaign in benefit of the American family farm.
Read more…

13 / Honda Pilot’s Crazy Train
Ozzy Osbourne’s iconic 1980 hit ‘Crazy Train’ gets a unique a capella treatment in this fun Honda Pilot commercial.
Read more…

12 / You’re Never to Old to Sit on Santa
New York’s Improv Everywhere comedy troupe performs a holiday-themed surprise-musical for shoppers in a New Jersey mall.
Read more…

11 / Nissan Damned Ponies
A frustrated pickup driver opens the hood to find a group of prancing ponies that want nothing to do with getting dirty. Just when you think it’s over the leader turns into a demonic fire-breathing horse.
Read more…

10 / State Farm Giant Robots
The insurance provider brings the giant house-wrecking robot from their TV ad to your neighbourhood via an inventive Google Streetview mashup.
Read more…

9 / Red Hot Chili Peppers QR Code
A street poster campaign for the Peppers’ ‘I’m With You’ album features a QR code nicely integrated into the band’s logo.
Read more…

8 / Volkswagen Fans Vote on TV Ad
Volkswagen Canada’s Facebook Fans invited to choose scripts, car, cast and music for the latest TV commercial.
Read more…

7 / Spotify Launches in U.S.
After years of false starts, it was big news in July when European-based online music service Spotify finally launched in the U.S. (but still nothing for Canadian listeners)
Read more…

6 / Müller Wonderful Stuff Ad
German yogurt-brand threw everything on the screen, including unicorns, the Knight Rider car and Yogi Bear in this crazy TV commercial and campaign.
http://randymatheson.com/muller-wunderful-stuff-yogurt-campaign-features-unicorns-yogi-bear-k-i-t-t/

5 / Pan-Am Social Media
ABC launched an ambitious promotional campaign for Pan-Am using Facebook, Twitter, GetGlue to no avail as the series was shelved after just 9 episodes.
Read more…

4 / Mercedes Benz Blurs
Mercedes Benz Canada creates an attention grabbing street installation that makes their C-Class Coupe look fast even when parked on a Toronto street.
Read more…

3 / Canadian Tire Spirit Tree
Canadian Tire lights up Toronto’s Union Station with a 30 foot tall Christmas tree powered by the positive sentiment of social media.
Read more…

2 / Dermablend Covers-Up Zombie-Boy
Dermablend demonstrated the power of their skin coverage make-up by covering the tattoos of Montreal model Zombie-Boy.
Read more…

1 / TakeThisLollipop Creates Creepy Facebook Connection
A mysterious project provides Facebook users a creepy peek behind the screen.
Read more…

What were your favorite campaigns of 2011?

Nissan Adds QR Codes to Window Stickers of 2012 Models

Nissan Altima QR CodeNissan USA has launched a program featuring QR codes on window stickers of its entire 2012 lineup, starting with the Altima and Sentra models.

Car shoppers with smartphones can access a well designed mobile website by scanning the QR code. The website includes key features, images and a short video of each model. By sharing their current location through GPS or by entering their Zip Code, shoppers can instantly see current offers, inventory and request a quote from that dealership or one nearby.

People often justifiably scoff at the use of QR codes these days as they have been misused more often than not, but I think this particular use makes sense.

Shoppers who have already done research on their desktops want to see the cars in person. They may choose to browse a dealership by themselves, possible after hours while the dealership is closed (I’ve done this myself). Car shoppers can view the cars at their leisure without the intrusion of a salesperson. While some features, such as image gallery or videos make little sense in this scenario, good QR code scanning apps allow the URLs to be saved for later viewing.

In the near future this type of enhanced shopping experience could be triggered by a scannable NFC chip located on the car, however, I think the use of image-recognition has more potential. A mobile app that can check any car photo against a database could serve as a trigger to access new product information, local dealers, etc.

It would be a perfect idea for a company like AutoTrader. Someone sees a great looking car in a parking lot or parked on the street. The user captures the image with their mobile phone, the application checks against the database and displays if anyone or a dealership near your location is selling a car like that. I’m betting someone’s already working on that.

Damned Ponies Power This Weird Brazilian Nissan Truck Ad

Nissan Damned Ponies!This Brazilian commercial for the Nissan Frontier may just win the award (if they have one) for the weirdest truck commercial ever. Thank goodness I don’t understand Portuguese, otherwise the first time I saw this ad I would have been far more freaked out than I was.

In this ad for the Nissan Frontier pickup we watch an unlucky driver get his truck stuck in the mud. Frustrated, he yells out ‘Damned Ponies!! He opens the hood and we see that his truck is indeed powered by a trio of “pôneis malditos” (damn ponies) prancing happily on a merry-go-round.

The ponies then sing their song “Damned ponies, damned ponies, come get stuck with us. I hate mud, I hate sludge… what a yuck!! I won’t get movin’.” Watch a version of the ad with subtitles.

Just when you thought it was over a pink pony prances out and says “Hey you, don’t close that video yet, let me tell you something”. Then the pony changes into an evil black horse with blazing red eyes and a voice straight out of a hell says “If you don’t show this video to ten people, you will suffer the curse of the pony. You will live the rest of your life with this song stuck in your head!”

At the end of the video there is a link to www.maldicaodoponei.com.br, where visitors can send a curse to their friend or post a video of their own curses. Brazilians must be huge fans of curses or animated ponies as the original ad posted on YouTube features nearly 3.5 million views in the 4 days since July 29.

The ad was created by São Paulo agency Lew’LaraTBWA. Now all that’s left are the lawsuits from My Little Pony.

Renault & Nissan Electric Car Ads. One brief, two executions?

Great minds think alike? What are the chances two ads from two different car companies touting their electric vehicles would be released on the same day with an eerily similar concept? Pretty unlikley, eh?

Before everyone starts getting all excited remember that Nissan and Renault created an industrial and creative alliance back in 1999. Renault holds a 43.4% stake in Nissan, while Nissan holds 15% in Renault. The Renault-Nissan Alliance is working together to develop a complete range of electric powertrains.

Adverbog published a post earlier today pointing out the similarities.

Watch for yourselves below. One alliance, one brief, two executions?

Nissan Leaf – Gas Powered Everything ad by TBWACHIATDAY Los Angeles

Renault TVC ad by Publicis Conseil

What If Everything Ran on Gas?

This week Nissan released this funny 60-second spot for the electirc-powered Leaf. Nissan imagines a world where everything runs on gasoline. Well if you live here in Ontario most of your electricity is coming from nuclear and hydro, as you can see in these charts that show us where our electricity is coming from this hour.

Watching the technician check the oil in the photocopier and the laptop being filled with gasoline from the converted watercooler are particularly funny moments. Did you notice the ‘not-so-subtle’ jab at the Chevrolet Volt hybrid? The Volt owner stands at the gas pumps and looks longingly as the Leaf drives by.

While the building of infrastructure for the recharging of electrical vehicles is still in the early stages, it’s satisfying to see these cars starting to reach the streets.