It's not very clear to me what Lexus has in mind with the launch of Luxury Awaits. According to the press release of the agency who did the job, "the website is designed for the women who reach for the first time the world of luxury".

The site contains editorial tips for a luxury lifestyle from travel to art, fashion and food. The idea is not bad, but the outcome is disappointing. Everything looks so fake, and you wonder why a luxury brand has to be didascalic and simplicistic to explain what luxury is about. Luxury is about showing, not telling... and If you really want to tell, there are much better ways to do it! Think, for example, about the Louis Vuitton travel guides launched last year.

This is the second ad about running I post in two days. I guess this means two things: either I work in the industry, or I need to start practicing to get in a good shape. Or maybe it means both?

Anyway, I'd like to share with you this nice work by BBDO New York together with The Mill (post-production) and Squeak E. Clean (music).

From Canada, test your breath using the mike of your PC or just typing in what you just ate. Silly. But viral!

The lovely illustration definitely makes the difference in the website launched by Nintendo to promote the videogame for DS "Professor Layton and the Curious Village". Developed by Pop the offers an immersive experience for kids who want to discover the game and adults that still enjoy cartoon animations.

I didn't know honey bees are in danger. I found it out today through a nice website created by Unit 9 and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners for Haagen-Dazs.

Honey bee populations are disappearing, endangering the all-natural foods they help pollinate which represents an amazing one-third of all the food we eat. Haagen-Dazs ice cream has decided to spread around awareness about the honey bee issue with a site full of information and very nicely designed.

I'm not sure since when this website is live, but it delivers an immersive interactive experience (around Hyundai), so I post it anyway, even if I realize the Think About It campaign actually started last September.

The site is rather heavy (so you'll better shut down all other browser windows while you experience it) but offers a lot of content to discover, watch and interact with.

If you look at the menu of the bottom you will be able to preview the kind of experience you will get from each element of the site. One of my favourite is surely "Save the egg" where you are challenged to build a safety system to protect an egg that is falling from the sky.

The Tv series Bionic Woman has debuted a few weeks ago on NBC. To promote it, the network has launched an online Bionic Assessment Test (Bat) that consists of five mini-games to check your audio visual abilities.

It's an amusing experience, and you feel like you're playing Braintraining on Nintendo DS. It's sticky, and it really keeps you on the site for quite a few minutes to prove yourself you are not as numb as the BAT results seem to indicate...

I'm only 60% bionic... but I took the test on a Sunday morning and today there was the one-hour time shift ;-)

Being original, when presenting and promoting technology products online, is getting harder and harder. We've already seen flashy websites, exciting animations and amusing video explanations, therefore coming up with concepts and presentations that impress us at first sight has become a sort of "mission impossible". But there's another way to "exploit" the online environment to promote, for example, mobile phones. It's called consistency, and to me it means creating Web experiences where the features of the site, and not only the copy, deliver the message about the characteristics of product.

A good example in this direction, it's the site for the new Palm Centro recently launched by Sprint. The agencies, Perfect Fools together with Goodby Silverstein & Partners, haven't done anything special, simply, they have applied the idea of "multitasking", which is the device main characteristic, to the interface as well as to the advergame featured on the site and even (but this was simple) to the URL (moreyous.com).

From Canada, the Theatre of the Absurd applied to cheese. An advertainment experience to make you discover great Canadian cheeses. It's so silly that it becomes amusing...

via

If you like science fiction and you’d like to quit smoking, this is the site for you: www.quitdoingit.com.

A part from the good video interface and the sarcastic domain name, I can't say I found the experience cool and engaging enough to convince me to quit smoking (maybe because I don't smoke? ;-) but as usual I appreciate the effort of using the Web to deliver socially relevant messages.

Also, if you click around, you'll find a sort of Web 2.0 program called FixNixer that should help you quit smoking in 21 days...

Thanks to Comcast TripleSlanguage I found out I often practice "snurfing" (surfing the internet when you're supposed to be on the phone) and I also learnt quite a few new words in English that I will probably never use in my life. But the visit on the site has been pleasant and this is probably the most important thing to point out when talking about an advertainment project.

Created by Perfect Fools and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners the TripleSlanguage site has the goal to introduce the Comcast Triple Play, a package that delivers all in one TV, internet and phone. The service promoted it's there, but it's perfectly "embedded" in the advertainment experience that takes the center of the stage.

The interface is simple but beautiful with a series of Flash animated cards and little cartoons that explains you the meaning of all the weird words we've been inventing in the Internet era. After browsing for a while you can take a quiz to test your knowledge of all these neologisms, or you can submit your own word in a dedicated section that for the moment is (quite sadly) completely empty. But good to see they've decided not to cheat starting the site with users words already there!

From Canada (via Freddy's blog), acampaign to raise awareness around the risks of brain injuries. The idea is to convince people to wear an helmet everytime the perform potentially risk activities, such as biking, skating, but also working in a construction site.

The website features a 3D brain that simulates what everyday social situations may be like after suffering brain injury. You can take a series of tests by answering questions or playing little games that show you how your capabilities may result affected if you don't protect your head.

I really like the approach and the tone of voice they've given to this campaign, because it touches important points to get teens' attention but, at the same time, sends out a positive message: having fun doing crazy things it's not prohibited, but remember to protect your head when you do it (see the "can I go out and play?" section).

The agency behind the site is Artistech Newmedia while the offline side of the campaign has been created by DDB Canada. If you continue reading this entry, you'll see the print ads they've created.

The Barbarian Group has created an extremely simple but also very good advergame for Red Bull and its Flugtag.

I like it a lot because it perfectly fits the Flugtag day concept. After playing it you will not say "wow! look how cool is this game" but rather "cool! this is what Flugtag is about!". It's a game which delivers a marketing message, and unfortunately even if advergames are now so popular, this is not so common.

To find out what Flugtag is, click here.

Are you a Friend of Bright?

Entertainment Anytime

You're faster than you think

Sprite: spray it, don't say it

Meet Honda and her friends

AOL: branding campaign for AIM

Lexus, it's just an hologram

The Weather Network

Streetdance McDonald's style

Mercedes promotes the new R-Class with rich media

Welcome to the Trojan Hotel

Virgin Mobile and the Parental Enlightenment Kit

Viral (and scary) teasers for The Corpse Bride

Lee Jeans, viral ideas for you career

Kraft Food: recipes for your iPod

Virgin Mobile: are you normal?

Advertising campaign for Bausch & Lomb

Snickers satisfies you with irreverent advergames

US users disappointed by mobile data services

Webisodes for Unilever

MMS, eventually the deal

Stylish website for the new Nokia 9300

A mobile trivia for Cry Wolf

Advertainment for Nestea Ice

Are looking for more cool interactive ideas? Check the archives