In Benelux, Harley Davidson has launched a online marketing effort called "Your perfect Harley Davidson week-end".

Through an interactive storytelling mechanism, visitors are asked to express their preferences and build up their ideal week-end, from Saturday to Sunday choosing from a range of different activities. At the end of the two days, they are presented with the Harley Davidson model that better fits their lifestyle and tastes.

The quiz is probably the simplest form of interaction you can use in online marketing. And most of the quiz often end up being also the poorest examples of interactive marketing you find around. But it doesn't have to be always like this, as Heineken demonstrates with its Destination Moscow action.

Created by Born05, the website delivers a great experience, through an excellent sound design and an accurate art direction. The quiz presents you with five questions, if you get them right, you can win tickets for the Champions League final next May in Moscow.

So next time you feel like complaining because your client is not brave at all and just wants to have a "quiz", think again, remember of Destination Moscow and, as Elvis used to say, "do something worth remembering"!

From Australia, the OriginalsFestival, a online pixel graphics game by Adidas and Vice which lets you create your own music festival.

You have a budget of 100k, that you have to use to a) put together your own dream festival line-up from a pool of around 200 bands, b) book the venue c) design the promo poster d) book the after-party band or DJ.

You have time until January 14th to cast your vote and select the best site of the year at the FWA's People's Choice Awards.

I don't want to bias your choice, but my personal favourite is Good Things Should Never End. It's brilliant from a creative point of view, but also extremely strong and consistent in delivering the promotional message.

The new chapter of the Bom Chicka Wah Wah campaign sees Axe partnering with Durex for a cross-promotion in Germany. The initiative is taking place now in Germany, with an online contest based on a puzzle game.

Don't expect anything special from the site, the only reason I post about this action is because of the curious partnership that, if you think about it, perfectly makes sense.

In the UK, Red Bull has launched an online cartoon competition. The goal of the Red Bull Tall Story contest is to make people interact with the brand and to find new stories to be featured in the next TV campaign, made of cartoons, that this year celebrates its tenth anniversary.

As explained on New Media Age, the energy drink brand is investing 500,000 pounds to promote the contest, using radio, print and online advertising as well as dedicated on-campus student promotions.

In the Netherlands Nivea has recently launched an online competition featuring an advergame where the action takes place in the metro.

Since the campaign it's targeted at Dutch metrosexuals looks like the brand has decided to play on words... and the result it's a straightforward, very simple, but apparently quite successful concept.

I'd like to share with you an online project we are currently running here in Italy. This year we are going to have two Italian Nike players in the NBA, so we've decided to celebrate them and allow two of their fans to fly to the US and attend the match Toronto vs Golden State (the teams where "our" players play).

First of all, when you get on the site you have to decide if you support Bargnani or Belinelli. Then you face four challenges, that mix user generated content, an advergame and basketball knowledge.

Using a helicopter designed for extreme conditions, Gnuf.com air-lifted huge dice, each over two meters tall and weighing half a ton, over a steep snow-packed slope in the mountains outside Nuuk, Greenland.

By visiting Gnuf.com, users can view the film of the dice on their journey down the mountain and place a bet on the result, which will be revealed on October 23.

Gnuf.com is (of course!!) an online gambling site.

Sweepstakes and trivia are among the "saddest" tools in online marketing. Give me your data, answer a few silly questions and if you're lucky you'll win something. I realize for a lot of brands collecting consumers' information is crucial to run their business, but I still think sweepstakes and trivia are good when done offline, in a supermarket, and not in the "interactive" media by definition.

In this case Kawasaki has shown there is still soom room for sweeptakes online. To promote their new KFX 450 they haven't taken the approach "gimme your data I might give you a prize" but, rather "have some fun, gimme your data and I might give a prize". There is a sensible difference in the two ways of running the promotion, and I appreciated the choice of using an improbable Mr Nigel "Salty" Graves to engage the audience. Of course, such a site is definitely more expensive than a simple html form, but how many brands can afford doing something online forgetting about the "branding" side of the project?

The agency is Fuse Interactive.

In the US, they're getting ready for Superman's return on DVD, as you can tell from the Daily Planet website and from Lex Luthor's page on Myspace.

Apparently, Lex Luthor is set to come back with a massive take-over... he has declared that on November 28th, he will assume total control of the Web. The menace is real and definitely scary, but you can do something to stop his evil plan: find 12 tags around the Web, you will save the world and win $1,000,000. I'm not sure of the exact mechanism of the contests, but it looks like websites around the world are currently featuring some Lex Luthor content. Find them, and get the chance to win the big prize!

Last year we had "Come Clean", now it's time for "Stain Art". Siemens Appliances UK has launched an online contest for artists (?!) who want to create "dirty" t-shirts. The best creation will their new auto stain removal washing machine. The concept isn't extremely innovative but, don't worry, you can go crazy with a wide range of stains: grass, blood, baby food, chocholate, sweat and much more!

The agency behind is Nexum Creative from Turkey, which is also interesting to point out as the client is British.
Devil's advocate question (also coming from personal experience): are UK agencies getting too/very expensive?

Can you write some inspirational lines about KLM? Do you fancy a trip to California? Do you live in Scandinavia? If you answered Yes to all these questions, than visit Flying Words, a new microsite launched by KLM to promote its destinations in the US.

The site in itself isn't very exciting nor interactive (the interface is quite scary, with a finger moving around the screen to drag & drop the words and compose the poem) but I believe the concept behind the contest is quite catchy for the target audience KLM is trying to reach. A simple game to appeal users who are not too confident with online games and interactions (of course mine is only a guess).

Are you ready to touch?

Volkswagen launches Beetle Art

Creme Eggs and podcasting

Vodafone and The life of the Mayfly

Download Yahoo! IM and win your family

Coup-a-soup, grab a prize

Walkers gives away iPod mini

SMS and win Beckham

Nike, fresh Air Max viral videos

Advertising campaign for Bausch & Lomb

El Visionario, online contest for AOL Latino

Sony: take your best shot

How well do you know Marilyn Monroe?

Win with American Airlines

Magnum, 5 Senses worth £6.5m

Win a wish with Fish Fingers

Cingular Wireless "Raises the Bar" with a photo contest

"Tag to win" with Transavia

Take a break with SN Brussels Airline

Win a private jet with Carlsberg

Crest launches "Brush the Vote"

Digital storytelling competition for Nokia

Campari and the Red Passion Tour

Ireland Tourism and the Taxi Challenge

Dan'up and win

Volkswagen launches the FoxGame

Take off with 7UP

Which value do online competitions bring to a brand?

Nescafé and the "Cappuccino Mystery"

3M: interactivity at its best

Paypal launches competition in Italy

The (Audi) A4 sum of the parts challenge

O2 pushes MMS in Ireland

Siemens gives away blogs

Sony Ericsson presents the WorldQuest.05

Trivial Pursuit, the challenge is online

Colt: the perfect rendez-vous is online

The right time for the time of your life

MSN Italia promotes Messenger

Discover the RBK Streets

Sony: Sleep Tomorrow

Ford wants your cell phone number

Personalize your coffee, customize your ride

Miles & Prizes with Air Dolomiti

Online ads for Pickwick Ice Tea

Allianz Formula 1 Quiz

Bacardi's online MixAbility

KLM: dream & win

Show your butt and win a car

Sweet online contest

Brush your teeth and win a cell phone

Philips promotes Expanium online

Drink a Pepsi, win a song

Golf's birthday celebrated online

The Best Game Face a Man Can Get

Travel by train and win a Ferrari

New web site for Evian

MTV presents 'Made in dream' competition

Take the "fire test" and win a great prize... maybe

Kellogg presents 'Crunchy Nut Clusters' competition

Are looking for more cool interactive ideas? Check the archives