Samsung Slows it Down

Flash mobs and street stunts are definitely nothing new. This particular stunt is entertaining, but I am not so sure how successful it will be in the long run. Samsung commissioned Spanish performance group Colective de Arte to stage a slow motion campaign in the streets of Jerez in Spain.  The choreographed moves and music were sent to the performers via their Galaxy Ace Android smartphones. They were all filmed and the results made into a YouTube video. The video shows 18 minutes and 45 seconds of the slow motion performance sped up to appear like a stop-motion piece. 

I love the bystander reactions. And the piece is great to watch. My only concern is you watch the piece and then move on. There isn't much here to bring this back to Samsung. I am not sure how memorable it will be for people who were not actually on the streets watching...and I would also be a little concerned with Samsung being marketed in with the language Slow Motion. 

Would love to hear your thoughts! Should Samsung be happy with this?

Honda's Failure: The Secret to Success

Through our weaknesses and failures we find our strengths and ultimately success. Hang in there...and remember you live and learn!

Thanks to new friend Shabnam Aggarwal for sharing this video!

1000 Cranes for Japan

The people of Japan deserve our support. I love BBDO's efforts to allow people to share and and show their support. The agency created the 1000 Cranes for Japan campaign. As Japanese legend promises, anyone who folds one thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane. With the creation of their site: www.1000cranes4japan.org, the agency has provided a platform for people to leave messages of empathy, encouragement and solidarity. The site links to the Japanese Society, UNICEF, International Medical Corps and Save The Children. If you have already donated or are unable to contribute monetarily to Japan's recovery, consider sending a message with a crane. We all need to stand together with the people of Japan and show them we care.

Click here to go to the site and leave a message.

Create Your Own Code!

QR4 has created a great piece of software for all those who love the ingenuity of QR codes. The QR Code Generator allows you to create your own virtual post-it with a completely customized QR code. You can use it for absolutely anything as long as you have a URL.

Here is mine:

Click here to make your own!

Extend A Hand: Japan Relief Fund

By now, all of us have seen the shocking images of Japan's earthquake and tsunami disaster. More footage trickles in every day. If you are looking for ways to extend a helping hand to the earthquake and tsunami vicitims in Japan, check out this piece of info by our friends at Philanthro Productions. Sometimes it is hard to find the right organization that you trust to deliver you contribution wholeheartedly. Clearly, Direct Relief International is a good choice:
 

When a major disaster strikes, hundreds of organizations run to your inbox or browser to ask for money. However, not all of them are as efficient and effective as you’d hope. Philanthro strives to provide some clarity in these situations where chaos, confusion, and unaligned agendas often lead to inefficient allocation of resources. That is exactly what we’ve done with the recent earthquakes in Japan. We are proud to stand behind Direct Relief International, as an experienced, proven, and most importantly, extremely efficient provider of health services for those affected. Not only does Direct Relief’s website outline its relief response efforts, it also provides very clear and concise up-to-the-date information related to: Incident, Damage, and Human Cost.

Here's why we stand with DRI:

• Efficiency: 98.8% of funding went to program expenses with 1% dedicated to admin and fund-raising. In the past 10 years, each dollar spent has provided up to $30 (wholesale) of medical material aid specifically requested by in-country health professionals to care for patients
• Transparency: One of the most impressive features of Direct Relief International is its interactive maps: for Haiti and for the United States, Direct Relief provides a map detailing where it delivers its supplies and how much it spends on particular kinds.
• Proven track record: Direct experience with large-scale emergencies in Asia, including the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami of 2004. This will help guide them to best plan and execute a recovery strategy.
• Based in California: fast access to Pacific Rim countries.
• Endorsement from others: Through assessment of the NPO's performance in response to Haiti, Givewell endorsed DRI for Japan Relief Fund
• Charity Navigator (the recognized standard for charity ratings): DRI is a 4-Star Charity, which is labeled as "Exceptional: Exceeds industry standards and outperforms most charities in its cause."

Go to http://www.directrelief.org to donate.

The Honest Tea Stand

 

Honest Tea launched a social experiment this season. The company created an Honest Tea Stand to help introduce the beverage line to new customers. The pop up stands launched in seven of the largest US cities, and were installed on sidewalks and pedestrian ways. The stands were fully stocked with bottles of Honest Tea and relied on an honor system for purchasing them. Passerby's wanting a beverage were encouraged by signage to pay $1 for the bottles and place their money in a box. Hidden cameras were placed around the stands and recorded the activity.  Results show that 87% of Americans were honest!

The best part about this campaign was what it did for the brand. Metrics show that due to the media support, the brand was able to get millions of impressions and the experiment created ad value. Honest Tea supposedly doubled their sales and saw striking sales growth in the areas where the Honest Stands were placed. Now we need to see whether Honest Tea was able to convert those sales from one time buyers to long term buyers.

It shows that events like these really do work, and should be appreciated as much as advertising. Special events really can create ad value. Interaction with brands really help to create buzz and awareness when targeting the right audience.

Here is a video highlighting the ad company SS+K and The Honest Stand Promotion:

HONEST TEA from SS+K on Vimeo.

Coining for Cadbury

Helping to promote Cadbury, the UK based chocolate company created the Spots vs. Stripes Race Season campaign.  The goal: to dazzle the world with extraordinary feats of everyday speed. The company has gathered contestants from all over the UK to compete in races like fastest toilet roller, fastest tea maker, fastest clicker and fastest bedmaker.  Most recently, they raced to find the fastest coin stacker. To coincide with that race, Cadbury wanted to build up the momentum for the London 2012 Olympics by creating a coin sculpture reading London 2012. The sculpture used 31,010 coins assembled over 5 days by a team from 2D3D. The company had singer Alexandra Burke and athlete Steve Backley launch and compete in the stacking race next to the sculpture.

Check out the video below for more info on the making of the sculpture:

Click below for a video on the launch of the race:

 

Happy International Women's Day!

Every year the world comes together to celebrate International Women's Day. Each year has a theme, this year it is Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women. Check out www.internationalwomensday.com for more info.

To celebrate the centenary of International Women's Day, the Global Women's Arts Initiative is put together two programs: 100 Women, 100 Artworks and 100 Women, 100 Stories. The initiatives  include artworks and stories created by women from all over the world to inspire, challenge and provoke.

Here are some other great initiatives and promotions to celebrate International Women's Day:

Air India and Air France are among some airlines that are Flying 100% female crew-only today!

Last month, Google teamed up with Women for Women International to announce the Join Women on the Bridge campaign, a celebration of the achievements of women taking place on bridges around the world.  Almost 300 bridge events have been added to the WOW map. Today, join your sisers on the Brooklyn Bridge (NYC), the Millennium Bridge (London), and the Golden Gate Bridge ( San Francisco along with those joining in Kabul, Afganistan, La Paz Bolivia and Sydney Australia. Click here to find an event on the map and join in.

Happy Women's Day everyone!

TED 2011 Prize Winner JR

JR is an anonymous artist who drapes large scale photographic portrait banners across poor urban areas. JR was awarded the TED prize and when speaking to the audience he mentioned his one wish: To use art to turn the world inside out. Check out the video below for more on his art projects:

TED Prize Winner JR & INSIDE OUT from TED Prize on Vimeo.


Boing Boing reports:

JR creates pervasive art that spreads uninvited on buildings of Parisian slums, on walls in the Middle East, on broken bridges in Africa or in favelas in Brazil. People in the exhibit communities, those who often live with the bare minimum, discover something absolutely unnecessary but utterly wonderful. And they don't just see it, they make it. Elderly women become models for a day; kids turn into artists for a week. In this art scene, there is no stage to separate the actors from the spectators.

After these local exhibitions, two important things happen: The images are transported to London, New York, Berlin or Amsterdam where new people interpret them in the light of their own personal experience. And ongoing art and craft workshops in the originating community continue the work of celebrating everyone who lives there.
As he is anonymous and doesn't explain his huge full-frame portraits of people making faces, JR leaves the space empty for an encounter between the subject/protagonist and the passerby/ interpreter.

Target's Pledge for Education

To launch its commitment to education with a focus on reading, Target partnered with  The National Education Association to create an event at the New York Public Library. A 26-foot tall installation 'READ' book installation was built in front of the library using 25,000 books. The books were later donated to New York City schools; lending itself to Target's pledge to donate $1 billion in education-related giving by the end of 2015.

The launch coincided with the birthday of Dr. Seuss, and in celebration of his books, the launch took on a very red and white theme. To go along with the outdoor READ installation, the library's Celeste Bartos Forum was filled with hundreds of hardcover classics from Dr. Seuss. Breakfast bites were served, they too were inspired by the stories with mini bites like Green Eggs and Ham Sandwiches. Music was provided by educational band the Deedle Deedle Dees, and kids received photo ops with the Target brand's bull terrier mascot Bullseye. Celebrity parents like Uma Thurman, Mark Ruffalo and Keri Russell joined the party by reading to the audience.

Click here for more info on Target's education program.

Body Imprint Advertising?

 

Superette, a New Zealand retailer, has released an advertising campaign that places indented plates accross inner city bus stops, mall and park benches. When people sit on any of these seats for a period of time, Superette's Short Shorts sale message is imprinted on their legs. Anyone wearing short skirts or shorts will get the imprinted message if they sit on the seat long enough.

As reported by PSFK:

Developed by DDB New Zealand, the bench ads were strategically placed (literally and figuratively) by targeting areas where the retailer's fashion-conscious demographic was likely to traffic - arguable attempting to minimize the risk of having unsightly skin bearing the brand's message.

Not quite sure what to think about this campaign. It is risky enough that in my book it could totally work. However, I am not sure how many people would actually like to have the retailer's slogan imprinted on their legs. Do you think people would actually sit to make this an effectual campaign?