Volkswagen recently launched their new 2012 Beetle with an Augmented Reality campaign. The company placed a series of AR billboards in cities around the world. Downloading the New Beetle app with your smartphone or tablet allowed consumers around the world see the billboards come to life.
In the video launching the campaign, Volkswagen says "advertising should always be as innovative as the car itself." Check out the video below and see for yourself - this one is based on the Canadian program.
I wanted to write about a live-action interactive site: takethislolipop.com. It is a warning to people who upload personal information to their Facebook profiles. Security settings or not, when you put information on your profile, it is there for the plucking. With permission from a Facebook user, Take This Lolipop was able to go through their photos, friend lists, news feeds and other personal information. The TakeThisLolipop.com site takes teh information and plugs it into a web video startting an stalker like character played by Bill Oberst Jr. who sits in a dark room staring at his computer screen.
Imitating a cyber stalker the actor is able to log into the Facebook profile of his target and access all of their personal information. Set to the tune of some creepy music, the actor is even able to find out his targets location. The video fades out after the stalker gets into his car (clearly to go and find his target). A countdown clock and the name of one of the user's Facebook friends comes up on the screen pointing to them being the next target.
As per the Inspiration Room, the TakeThisLolipop.com site has garnered over 5 million unique hits and more than 600,000 likes from around the world. The director of the project Jason Zada had this to say:
“I’m a huge fan of horror and of Halloween, and I really felt like this
was a great opportunity to focus on Halloween and mix it with the
underlying fear of privacy that we have nowadays with Facebook and other
social networking sites.”
From the Inspiration Room site, Dennis Jenders shared his version of the Take This Lokipop experience. See the video below:
It is a freaky way to make you think about your privacy, but I love the interactive nature. It really helps to illustrate privacy concerns.
As part of its Green Box Project, beer brand Becks plans on turning everyday locations into pieces of art - essentially making the world your personally art gallery. The beer brand has commissioned independent artists, designers, musicians, and fashionistas to have their works virtually scattered around cities around the world. Each piece is marked by a Green Box and can only be seen using an app that can be downloaded to your smartphone.
There are currently 30 Green Boxes around the world - Miami, NYC, LA, Rome and Milan. There are some surprise virtual locations too - recently some users were surprised to see red flames coming from the Statue of Liberty's torch when they scanned it with the app.
Get the app, and keep it handy as you travel through the city. Report back to us with any non Green Box marked pieces. We would love to get a map going of all the locations!
Here is a video explaining the campaign and the app:
Recyclebank is a company that rewards participants for recycling and reducing household energey with points that can be echanged for deals and discounts at nearby stores. It has been very successful both with signups, participants and using a social platform to get it's word out.
Recently, Transport for London, an organization that coordinates London's public and alternative transportation efforts contacted Recyclebank to help increase ridership in its bike-share program. The program was launched in 2010, but needed a boost. Recyclebank helped Transport for London create an overall aim: Reducing pollution and boosting overall health and fitness. The app allows Londoners to log the distance of their alternative transport journeys and receive points for the duration of the trip. At the end of each journey, the app assigns a certain number of points to the person's account. The points include health and environmental benefits. The app also points to local stores where they can redeem their points.
Live in London? Let us know whether you are signed up for the program, and whether you think it will help you chance your transportation lifestyle.
Live in the UK and have a friend who could use a get well message? Instead of sending a card, think about sending them a can of Heinz soup with a personalized label. Only available to Heinz Soup UK Facebook fans, each personalized can comes in two flavors, either Cream of Chicken or Cream of Tomato. For £1.99, fans can send a Get Well Soup to one of their friends with their name printed on teh label.
As posted by PSFK, Matthew Cullum, Heinz Soup Marketing Controller explains the campaign:
Because Facebook is a place people choose to engage with our brand, we
want to be there. Soup can be an emotive product and Facebook taps into
that. Our use of these channels doesn’t replace TV, but it is a great
compliment to it because it allows the consumer to spread the word and
they engage more than they would with traditional channels such as TV or
Radio.
I thought we would start the week off with some beautiful, artistic advertising. These amazing flower frescoes were created by Jo Lynn Alcorn for the print campaign of French champagne Perrier-Jouët. A great campaign that fits the delicate and beautiful nature of the brand.
