Nokia has recently launched a website to present its environmentally friendly phone, the 3110. The site doesn't tell much about the technical features of the phone, rather it focuses on the ecological aspects of the project, with a series of interests to Nokia and WWF people.

At first sight (and also at second sight), the website hasn't got anything special. The navigation interface, in particular, is a bit "disconnected" and could be very much improved. However I appreciated the enrichment of the interviews with simple yet nicely done animations that reinforce the story telling and help the viewer to keep paying attention to what the testimonials say.

I believe the agency behind all this is Wieden + Kennedy.

Nike just released the full version (2 minutes) of a spot for the upcoming UEFA 2008 European Championship football. The 'Take It To The Next Level' commercial is directed by Guy Ritchy and shows a first person journey through several teams and players, including Ruud van Nistelrooy, Wesley Sneijder, Cesc Fabregas, William Gallas, Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Marco Materazzi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Nani and Arsene Wenger.

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.

From Nordpol Hamburg, a great Tv spot for the new Dacia.

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"!

Levi's Asia Pacific is offering us another weird digital experience. Metal Denim Passion is the destination website to discover the new Levi's Copper collection.

Unfortunately, despite the promising premise, the site hasn't much to offer. It takes a long time to load and what you get is a slow motion/kind of enhanced version of the TV spot. I'm the first one who says that every campaign should have a digital part too, but in this case the result is disappointing and the Web part looks more like a waste than a good supportive idea.

From Japan, a new chapter in the Axe saga. It's now time for the Axe Full Moon Party, with a sexy Thunderbird look-alike trying to seduce the girls on the beach.

Once again, given the language gap, I'm not able to tell you much about the campaign... As usual, it would be great if someone who speaks Japanese could leave a comment to explain what is going on. The whole thing looks quite weird and different, therefore it's very appealing for us curious interactive marketers.

I like the fact that this campaign doesn't present an ideal beauty, showing beautiful models and a sexy boy. Instead, you have puppets whose sex appeal is of course granted by the fragrance.

Over fifty experts from all around the world will gather next week in Paris to discuss the latest strategies and ideas in online communication and buzz marketing. The fourth edition of the Marketing 2.0 Conference will take place on May 5th and 6th. It offers an amazing range of discussion topics representing one of the must be events of the year in Europe.

To find out more and get your ticket, this is the website to visit.

The Lynx Effect is on air again in the UK with a new website that encourages consumers to mix the Lynx fragrances.

Created by BBH the site features the tagline "It's good to mix things up" and it's directly connected to a partnership Lynx has signed with MTV to give more visibility to the campaign and to the online competition that invites consumers to watch the Lynx "barman" mixing the fragrances, and then submit their own videos.

The Lynx Effect in this case is not as cool and innovative as we are used to. realize I'm not the target for Lynx' communication, but the site is nice to watch maybe once, when curiosity pushes you to explore it, but then the call to action for user generated content is not particularly compelling and it doesn't give you a reason to participate nor to spread the word. Too bad.

I love this ad - done in Australia for Schweppes. If that's how it explodes when pouring the stuff into your glass then I am getting some!

Greenpeace just released an interesting spoof on the popular Dove Onslaught commercial. (on)Slaughter reminds us that "Unilever, the makers of Dove beauty products, are buying palm oil from suppliers who destroy Indonesia's rainforests." Read here what Greenpeace has to say about Unilever.

Update: There is also a Dutch version available

From Sweden, the latest Nokia campaign created by Far Far and HobbyFilms. Think about playing "Snake" in the real world...

It's nice, but reminds me a lot of the great Nike "tag" commercial...

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.

I feel bad for not being able to blog as often as I would (and should) but spring is an extremely busy period at work, so I just hope you will excuse me...

To get back on track, I start with a Polish website I found through The FWA. It's the Ecco World, an endless walk around the globe to discover the spring summer collection of the brand.

It's a lovely and innovative experience... maybe the shoes are not that nice, but the navigation makes the difference to appreciate the products.

The agency behind the site is Click5 who has been so kind to share also a video with the "making-of".

Agency Fallon London once again managed to create a lot of buzz around an upcoming Sony commercial. This time they used foam in the streets of Miami to create an unreal scene. The commercial is for Sony's digital camera's. The commercial is out there now and will be aired worldwide.

Iceland Express has recently launched an advertainment website to promote its flights. The project is called "Iceland Socks" (watch out, not "Iceland Sucks" ;-) and features a series of talking socks visitors can use to create custom mini-story.

The concept isn't extremely original but the characters look quite nice and funny. The story can be customized selecting the location as well adding subtitles to the scene.

Once again, it's interesting to see online marketing examples from all around Europe.

via Send to Friend

Onitsuka Tiger made them OF Japan, Adidas made them FOR Japan. There is a subtle difference in the copy (and maybe even in the concepts) of the two footwear brands presenting their collections to the Asian and International market.

It makes me smile a bit the idea that the second comer, Adidas, celebrates its originality with a campaign that, in my opinion, is not very original. However, if we pass over this "detail", we can get some food for thought (aka inspiration) out of the Japanese Celebrate Originality website.

This is the first time I hear about an online marketing action by Crocs, the footwear brand everybody has been talking about in the last two years or so. The Crocs Photo Community is an idea coming from Japan, where they've launched a website to collect and showcase photos of the Crocs.

The initiative is dubbed "My Crocs Contest" and, at first sight, it doesn't look very original (visitors are invited to submit photos of themselves and their Crocs, or just of their Crocs). But I like the design of the page, this is why I post about it :-)

It's time again to discover the potentials of milk (and of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners) in an interactive environment. After Get the Glass, White Gold is the new Got Milk? concept to explore.

I'm not sure I've understood what the whole thing is about, so I'm not going to express an opinion (for now), but everything looks weird, and definitely quite interesting, since we are talking about a simple "product" like milk.

via.

After the successful Juke Box launched last Autumn, Volkswagen and Achtung! are back with Snake. The advergame idea in itself is not as original as the previous project, but is definitely as sticky and engaging.

Dick helps us understanding the game: "The idea is simple: Volkswagen lowered the prices of its most popular models. This means Volkswagen becomes even more popular. You can discover the new prices by playing Volkswagen Snake. Each bonus you collect, reduces the price. And that of course attracts more people. But be careful, be aware of the people behind your car when going for the lowest price".

Snake is definitely a popular game, many of us have already played for hours on a Nokia phone, however, despite the fact we might be familiar with the gaming mechanism, winning is not easy.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Space Invaders, Taito has invaded Yahoo! Japan for one day (on April 1st). The page was extremely well done, and fortunately is still available here.

From a media point of view, I like the "domination" of a portal's homepage for a day. No doubt it might result quite intrusive, but I think it offers great opportunities of creating something really outstanding and engaging. The goal must be to create an experience for the user, not just a bigger, enhanced version of a banner. And this, of course, takes time to develop, and definitely a different approach to online advertising.

via Imprint TALK.

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).

I like when technology gets stylish, therefore I appreciate the look & feel of the new website launched by Samsung to present its Black Line to the Russian public.

Unfortunately, after you pass behind the homepage and the animations are over, the second level of content is just full of text (which of course I don't understand, but this is not the point... :-) The usability gets poor with too many links to click but, most of all, there is just too much copy about the products that overwhelms the user experience.

It looks like there is a new chapter to discover in the passionate neverending story of Axe in Japan. On the website I couldn't find much interactivity, but the video experience is definitely new and quite catchy. The Axe "collection" is presented to a guy walking on the street, depending on the fragrance you decide to spray on him, you will meet different kind of girls attracted by that specific essence.

I like the chaotic editing, but the whole site is terribly heavy (takes some time to load and demands too much work from the CPU) and this doesn't help the browsing/brand experience.

Are looking for more cool interactive ideas? Check the archives