Now you can Facebook Like everything on the planet with a Facebook Like sticker

Now you can Like stuff in real life with the Facebook Like sticker:

You can buy them on LikeStickers.net

Art on the crosswalk

Here is a Brazilian out-of-home campaign to raise awareness on crosswalk use in the city of Curitiba.  "Art on the Crosswalk" commissioned artists to paint colorful art pieces amongst the crosswalk stripes so that pedestrians would finally take notice.

Alongside the pieces of artwork was copy: "Now that you've taken notice, use the crosswalk" with website information.  The website features all the artists with geolocational information of where their artwork is located in the city.  The number of accidents went down 21.8%.

Educational pictograph print, eh?

Here's a great series of print ads for Canadian educational toy retailer Brain Candy Toys in Nova Scotia: 

 

The print ads use a combination of cute graphics, pictograms and mathematics to give a quick visual rendering of The Three Blind Mice, Humpty Dumpty, Cinderella and the Three Little Pigs.

What is the conversion rate for Monopoly money?

This is a fun promotion for McDonald's Monopoly game in Vancouver:

There are some nice touches in this promotion including a sidewalk decal that looks like the Monopoly GO square, and the Monopoly money tunnel.  Since chances are most people do not walk around town with Monopoly money in their pockets.  

The explainer doesn't say what the conversion rate was for Monopoly money to get the free fries.  I am kind of curious since it looked like cashiers were giving away Monopoly money as "change."  But if customers are already in McDonalds, spending fake money for free fries, the odds they'll spend real money on a burger or drink to go with their fries is pretty good.

Stunning film for Yves Saint Laurent

I am always intrigued when luxury brands have adverts since more up-scale brands typically don't do commercials.  This new one is more of a short film "La Nuit de L'Homme" for Yves Saint Laurent, directed by Darren Aronofsky, starring French actor Vincent Cassel.  It is visually stunning.

Spice up your life

This non-US campaign for Old Spice DangerZone includes some white dude who is only the fraction of awesome of Isaiah.  Are they going to have several people in this campaign with a "Spice Girls"-like-roster or rather "Spice Guy" personas.  And Isaiah Mustafa is "Sporty Spice" and this guy would be...

"Not so Tough Spice?" "Snakey Spice?"  He does seem to attract an inordinate amount of snakes.  This guy is not as great as Isaiah in that he seems much more affected by the elements; ergo, less awesome.  Is that a stick protruding from his chest?  Not as good as Isaiah, but still good.

Inspiration corner

Here's an amazing video from Radiolab:

This one entitled "Symmetry" shows the balance of all the naturally paired objects in our lives.  

Without darkness we cannot have light.

okay okay ... the Royal Wedding already

The announcement of Prince William and Kate Middleton marriage was a big so-what.  But I will say, she will make a very beautiful queen.  So here are a few adverts that are spotlighting the wedding.

This video from T-Mobile is still a pretty good watch, where the royal-look-alikes are pretty spot-on.  

This one is a "commemorative plate" for the Royal celebration from London for the brewery John Smith.  

 

Sit-up print ad

I've like print that works with the elements of the magazine.  Here's a print ad from Sweden for SATS Gym:

Doing nonsensical

There are great WTF nonsensical advertising that works.  But so much depends on execution and being tapped into the meme-mindset.  Otherwise it comes off as parody.  This one for Dairy Queen is trying to be nonsensical: 

This ad doesn't work is because it is a traditional commercial, selling before it becomes a nonsensical commercial, which makes the nonsensical elements seem extremely incongruent.  Everyone gets turned off before you can even get to the part about "rainbows on fire.*"  [*Which is kind of cool.]  But shaving bunnies?  

The rest in the campaign just relies on one "punchline" to drive the ad:

 

I'm not sick of flash mobs quite yet

More people should just bust out dancing in real life.  

Here is a flash-mob from Bucharest for Lipton Ice Tea.  In WTF situations like these, flash mobs are better in populated areas when people least suspect it.  

The thing about this particular flash-mob is that there is such a DIY-non-professional-dancer esthetic to it, which comes off as more genuine and real.  Fortunately this dance is tied to a product that can be easily given away as samples.  Free food!  Yes, let's dance!

This flash mob for American Airlines in Los Angeles, on the other hand, while being extremely polished, looks too staged; thus, fake.  And in the eyes of the internets: a fail.  And there really isn't much of a connection to flying to this dance routine.  It opens up with a father and daughter and I guess they're "in on it."  It adds some sort of story element to the dance, but isn't necessary considering no one was really watching them in the beginning to make the connection it's part of the dance.*

*[Oh you're not seeing the long-term, when it goes VIRAL they'll see it all in action]**

**[[Trust me, this is not going to go VIRAL.]]

It seemed like the majority of the people in that plaza were there to do the dance.  The dorky dance includes these professional dancers "flying," so the handful of people that were watching might have riddled it out that it was for an airline.  The only moment there was brand identification was at the end when they lifted up suitcases to form the American Airlines logo.  Which only benefits the people in the high-rises, and the four people on the ground have no idea it was for AA.* 

*If they were even watching to begin with.     

Fashion mash-up

Hybrid rock shirts were sewn together to create a fashionable mash-up of old-school-rockers-meets-new-bands for MTV in Brazil:

Are we sick of 3D projection mapping?

No not quite yet.

Especially when it's done in a new way.  This installation was done for the Hyundai Accent in Malaysia:

It starts like most typical 3D projection mapping adverts with the shifting walls and the sound of moving concrete, which makes me wonder if there is only one shop that is doing all this work.  A projected Accent shows on-screen, but then images start to get wavvy, as if it was a really cool part of the projection.   But then the white sheet falls, revealing the product.  Very nice touch.  A wall-climber in a Tron outfit gets inside the vehicle, turns the headlights on, and the real show begins. 

We get to see the car zooming around the city, jumping off cliffs - action-movie-style.  The Accent's wheels are actually spinning as a side screen provides a projection of the moving landscape speeding by.  

Then I'm not sure where the car goes during the epic finale.  Into another dimension?  Into Tron-land?  Does another white screen pop up to hide the Hyundai?

All in all, this is an amazing ad.  Too bad it's for such a crappy car.

Sarah Silverman gets around

I do not care for the Serenading Unicorn campaign, but here is a good spot featuring Sarah Silverman*: 

*I know I have horse-ish features.  I have horse-like features... but I'm a person.

Ping pong power

A pretty impressive commercial "Gravity, Meet Your Archenemy" for ASICS that uses ping pong balls and compressed air:

Hot Wheels for real

There has been some interesting stuff from the Hot Wheels' global repositioning campaign.

Team Hot Wheels is a part of the Hot Wheels for Real competition between four different drivers from four different disciplines of racing.  The story is that they were recruited for their driving skill and daring risk-taking and are only known by their uniform color names: Red, Yellow, Blue and Green.

Each driver has their story and distinct personality.  There are mini movies on the website.  Here is another video in the campaign starring Jeremy Piven as he tries to join the Hot Wheels for Real team as the 5th member:

Here's a really fun OOH advert in Colombia for Hot Wheels:

The xylophone phone

Some in the blogosphere are incorrectly calling this commercial from Japan for the NTT Docomo a "Rube Goldberg machine."  This Japanese commercial is pretty impressive but it does not have the multitude of moving parts that most Rube Goldberg machines have.

It is a pretty long commercial.  Almost three minutes, but there were no cuts or special effects CGI-ed in.  What was shot was a genuine wooden ball rolling down a xylophone ramp set up in a way so it plays Bach.  There are some "Rube-Goldberg-like" moments when additional xylophone ramps played faster notes in the song, but for the most part this commercial is fairly calm compared to typical Rube-Goldberg machines.  The forest shots are stunning, and the nature setting brings it back to the idea of the wood shell for the SH-08C phone.

That's one talented penis

Here's the new commercial "Clever Dick" from Paris for the AIDES Foundation:

It is from France so it is a little risque for American standards, but not as overtly pornographic as the Smutley commercial.

I like how this commercial's emphasizes condom use with the tag "Clever Dicks Use Condoms" and shows an actual condom about to be used, whereas the Smutley commercial just skirts around that issue.  I like the use of Black Keys' "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You" as the background music.

The story is far-fetched but really interesting and comical.  Even though the French guy's scrawny pale butt is slightly disturbing, this PSA uses humor effectively. 

Denny's tries to woo the drunken 3 am crowd

This video created for Denny's "Always Open" campaign, starring David Koechner, has all the ingredients for what may become an excellent video:

1) Sarah Silverman

2) awkward humor

3) Sarah Silverman

This spot is only mildly comical.  Kind of like Denny's food.  Yes they serve food, but it's not that great.  Where else are you going to go at 3 am and have senseless drunken conversations?  So maybe this ad is really spot on after all.  

The first Always Open "webisode" with Jason Bateman seemed even more rambling than the Sarah Silverman spot:  

The latest one stars Will Arnet and may actually the best one so far.

"Viral" sale-a-bration

Here is a "viral ad" by Pixar to promote Cars 2:

I think what initially bugs me about this viral vid is the fact that it is live-action.  Pixar produces great CGI-animated films, so why is this campaign live action?  Which in itself is not that bad, but the video is not really compelling nor does it contains the components of the typical weirdness found in viral.

This viral ad mimics low-budget local car dealership commercials usually found on telly in the wee-hours of the night.  There are hints of Pixar-stuff in the background with the mysterious bad-guy in the background and the robot that pops out from underneath the car, which will probably become clearer once the film is released.  

But this ad is such a disconnect from this, the image we have become accustomed to of Cars universe:

To this:

Teasers tend to tie-in with the whole campaign so this video was a gigantic HUH? for me.  Maybe it'll make more sense with the movie, but I don't recall there being a human in the first Cars film. 

But I will say it was incredibly meta to have a fake ad be the platform for your ad. 

Genki Sudo's Modern Civilization

Not neccesarily an advert... this is the new music video from Genki Sudo and the World Order:

"Machine Civilization" was written to help Japanese relief efforts.

World Order still continues to impress me with their simple yet stunning choreography.  Their timing is impeccable in creating some interesting visual tricks.

*Interestingly, one of the World Order dancers is holding a Dell Streak. 

Quit being such a tease American Apparel

It's about time American Apparel just goes straight into full-frontal nudity.

They have been skirting softcore with their not-so-subtle pornographic sexuality in the past:

 

Here is the new advert for The Weekend Tote:

I think this is the most "naked" I have seen in an American Apparel ad.

Down and out in Nehru Place

This is an OOH campaign from India to raise awareness for the only beer bar in super-crowded Nehru Place. 

So they hired seven guys to be drunken, passed-out human-directional-markers that would lead foot traffic toward First Floor bar.  For a week these guys were supposed to be "happy passed-out drunks" with printed t-shirts saying how close passersby were to the bar.  The look of the campaign is kind of cheesy, and far different from the sign-holding antics we're accustomed to in America, but apparently this campaign was effective in getting more customers.  The bar gets packed now, and it did generated a lot of word-of-mouth.  The actors didn't *seem* "drunk" to me... they just looked sleepy, and this campaign had a lot of potential for some really drunken antics.

Un cube noir

The beginning The Escape Machine video created for Voyages-snfc.com is so Kubrick's 2001.  People huddled around a black monolith that mysteriously appears in Paris.  Three "lucky" people nervously walk up to push the red button.

A creepy HAL-like voice asks, "If you could leave now, where would you go?"

Appuyez sur le bouton.

Surprise!  Three people win billets to their destination of choice.

I love the French in how they make everything so exaggeratedly large.  Think: big-hands in Michel Gondry's The Science of Sleep.  I love the big lips that gives the lady a congratulatory kiss. 

FedEx food truck

This was a FedEx truck transformed for SXSWi.

To communicate FedEx's international shipping capabilities, they gave away free food truck every day at SXSWi.

Each day the menu would change, and was "delivered" in a signature FedEx box.

Let ninjas do your adwork

Here is an ambient campaign from Brazil.  [They do really great outdoor out there...]  This was for Original Shundi, a Japanese restaurant in São Paulo.  

Ninja stars had copy saying "You'll never be the same" and were affixed on vehicles within a 2km proximity of the restaurant.  Bonus: the ninja stars were coupons for a free drink.  The lunch time crowd increased 80% after the ninja shock-and-awe campaign. 

What do you use Twitter for?

Overall, I like this Twitter advert.  They have a hodgepodge of celebrities/experts showing why and how they use Twitter.  But the pace of the video is a bit slow and it goes on a little too long. 

Considering the brand is a real-time, fast-paced environment, this advert seems contradictory to the product.  The astronaut part is interesting, in the fact you can tweet from outer space.  I wonder if @Astro_Paolo has checked in.  But seriously, this ad clocks in under 3 minutes, which [once again] goes against the whole Twitter brand of nano-communication.  But I guess they're focusing on the connection that can occur on this channel.

The copy being typed in to the box is a little too reminiscent of Google's better advert, which has a focused, developed storyline:

 

I wonder about the musicians they have chosen to highlight in the video.  I am a big fan of @Yelle but 1) don't follow them because they're not a grand Twitter tour de force.  It's interesting they didn't choose to highlight some of the people who have made Twitter a phenomenon, such as Ashton Kutcher, Oprah, Justin Bieber*... etc. [Twitter has servers devoted to 3% of their Justin-Bieber-related content].

But I guess they're trying to make the Twitter brand a wholesome environment filled with discovery rather than the noisy marketplace it is.  They have inadvertently showcased what the Twitterverse is truly like: a bunch of people yakking in less than 140 characters with no real story behind it. 

AR day

Here are a couple of AR apps.  The first one is created by Total Immersion and they tout the "Magic Mirror" as the "first AR app for the iPad."  The "magic" element is fun but I'm more excited with the fact there is finally a decent mirror app.

And here movie-tie in app with Rio:

There has been debate whether you should invest money in AR.  Some contend it is a big waste of $..., likened to QR codes being a waste of time/money*.  [*Also if you are going to do QR, don't fail like Jet Blue].  

There is a significant front-end barrier with users downloading augmented-reality apps.  I am fascinated with AR but there is a major assumption that users are going to waste their time to listen to your brand.  While AR is pretty cool, these technologies still present a massive moat to the brand message.  AR is still in its infancy, and it may become an easier, more integrated technology in the very near future, but the fact of the matter is we are not there yet.  It will be very exciting to see how marketers use this medium to communicate while reconciling the barriers AR presents.

Let's chromercise!

Here's a video for Chrome that is really clever.  

It is a bit long.  They could have shaved a minute off and it would have probably been more effective.  Maybe the part about mom's email?  It took me a while to figure out the Chromercisers were doing finger spinning [delayed reaction: oh those are mini bikes] and the remix neon colors bit could have been cut.  The C-H-R-O-M-E sweatbands* are hilarious.  And the shower scene at the end was great. 

*phalanges bands?

Wonderful claw machine

This is a modified claw machine for Nestea:

This seems like a fun idea.  Users can interact online with a simulated claw machine and the video displays shows the actual claw machine movements they are doing online.  This video doesn't explain if the people who won a Nestea online got an actual Nestea in real life.  Not a coupon...  But a real Nestea in the mail!  That would have been great.