Hyundai has launched a new website to promote its Genesis model. I haven't found anything particularly fancy nor innovative (even if there is Goodby, Silverstein & Partners behind it), but still there are some details that make it a site worth having a look at.
For example, I like the mechanism to spin around the car on the homepage and to navigate the interiors looking for the hotspots to further explore the contents. Also, I liked the section that shows the car completely disassembled, which reminds me of a Honda Ad Cog played in reverse mode.
Clever job by Samsung which uses good recipes of a successful viral campaign for its last phone, the Omnia.
Surely the South Korean company has the means to produce a fake video with SFX. And it makes it well. But the context of the video and its scenario catalyze its potential. It plays with one of its community meme: the unboxing video.
I'm impressed by the site launched by Rokkan to promote the upcoming videogame for PS3 Bioshock.
You navigate through the site using your mouse and keyboard (exactly like playing a game with a PC), and it really feels like playing a videogame. Unfortunately from what I've seen spending a few minutes on the site, there isn't much else to do rather than walking and clicking on objects to discover them and their message.
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By: martina // Permalink // Comment(s):(1) Category(s):New websites
In Holland, this very odd TV commercial is making its way around the web, while it hasn't been on TV yet. In a typical Dutch setting, a cow judges cars that drive by. The Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus are boo'ed away. But for the Fiat Bravo, the cow has something else to say. See for yourself:
In the United States, Audi is online since the beginning of the year with a project called Truth in Engineering, a virtual showcase of all its models with a strong luxury touch.
The latest mini-site of the series, has gone live recently, and is dedicated to the A4 model. Althought it is a very corporate (boring) site (if you aren't specifically interested it in the car) I like it because of its autoplay system for navigation.
If you live in Rome, or you're planning to be there on Sunday 31.08, you can't miss joining me at the Nike+ Human Race. Carl Lewis is going to be there as well. And I'm not kidding! Plus, at the end of the race, you can enjoy a free concert with some of the Italian top bands performing live from Circo Massimo.
Here you can see a short 2D video we've created to promote the event and, at the same time, to explain the race route that will take runners through the monuments of Rome.
Drop me a line if you're going to be around, would be great to have a tiny Adverblog group running :-)
By: martina // Permalink // Comment(s):(3) Category(s):Europe
Sour Sally, a frozen yogurt brand from Singapore, has launched its new website. Lovely illustrations and a bit of creativity to navigate the site make the experience sweet and gourmand, perfect for kids and for adults who still enjoy fairy-tales (and we are a lot ;-)
To celebrate the impressive perfomances of Usain Bolt at the recent Olympic Games, Puma Running has launched an advergame that challenges users to run faster than the Jamaican champion.
It's a simple but amusing advergame, very nicely design with the integration of videos in the . To run you have to continuously hit spacebar as fast as you can. This is a mechanism that reminds me of the days spent playing vs my brother the Olympics videogame with our C64, and I love this!
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By: martina // Permalink // Comment(s):(2) Category(s):Advergames
I love this idea coming from Sweden. Viking Line, a ferry service between Finland, Sweden and Estonia, has launched an amusing website in which it invites users to send a video of themselves dancing in order to find their perfect dance partner.
Together with the video, users have also to submit a rating of their dancing skills in several types of dances from salsa, to disco, to boogie. All the videos are then uploaded in a gallery were other people can admire them and pick their ideal partner. Unfortunately my Swedish is not good enough to explain you exactly how the mechanism works, but I saw there are terms & conditions on the site, so I assume there is also a contest connected to the Dance Match project.
If you are a fashion brand and you want to be perceived as cool by your consumers you have to do things differently, also online and also when you simply have to present a collection on the Web. Obviously being innovative is not a simple task, but Hello Monday managed to create something different for Red Issue: a website where you can navigate by drawing symbols on the page.
WK London and Firstborn have created a scary monsters generator for Nokia. As part of the Music Almighty campaign, the site allows visitors to pick their favourite music genre and then transform themselves in one of the weird characters called Electro Blipper, Table Turnin' Hopper, Animal Rocker, Pink Popper and Philarmaniac.
You can upload your own photo, play with the control levers and... become someone (or something) weird. For example, you can admire me in an Electro Blipper version... More or less it's a revised (not necessarily) improved version of Elf Yourself, but the music tracks are pretty cool, and the illustration of the print campaign were beautiful, so we can excuse the lack of originality.
Actually, once you've created your avatar you can also rap a song and upload it as well, to finish the creation of your virtual singing Frankenstein. But it takes time and, most of all, motivation.
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By: martina // Permalink // Comment(s): Category(s):Advertainment
In Sweden, Suzuki has launched a website to promote its Hayabusa model. The experience is well designed, clean and simple and, like in the case of the Volkswagen R Range project, it's very much based on sound.
In the page that presents the engine characteristics you can also turn it on and listen to its sound. But then there is also a download section where you can get ringtones and sms tones that replicate the sound of the engine when it accelerates and brakes.
The agency is Delorean Webb.
By: martina // Permalink // Comment(s): Category(s):Automotive, Europe
I'm becoming a big fan of full screen websites. Not always, not for all brands, but in cases like the Closed one, I think the full screen mode really makes the difference to deliver a great user experience.
Especially when it comes to fashion brands, to be able to exploit the whole screen, without the functional but ugly browser buttons, allows you to establish a cleaner, more immersive, visual relationship with the user.
The Big Brother meets Ikea, but it has been done before. Warte bis September (Wait until September) is a website that streams 24h a day Nils, a young German who lives in an empty home waiting for the new Ikea catalog to be released in September. think iIt launched yesterday and, obviously, it will stay online until the catalog is out.
You can watch Jens living his daily life in his living room, meeting friends, playing videogames and, most of all, taking calls from those who watch him on the Web. This is his phone number if you want to give it a try: +49 40 22 61 11 61.
In Australia, Volkswagen has launched a website that is all about sound design. In the Volkswagen R Range website there is nothing more than cool, deep, intense sounds. Cars don't move. You just hear the sound of their doors, their brakes and their engines while they move through a static yet rich, imagined, journey.
This is certainly a website that only a limited number of people will appreciate. I don't want to sound odious by saying this however, for example, you'll agree that only if you have a pair of headphones you will fully enjoy and appreciate the experience. Also, it requires a bit of patience (for the site to load) and quite some curiosity to understand the site is not just about three photos and a series of short factsheets. Last but not least, without a touch of imagination, you won't hear sounds and experience the journey, but simply perceive no-sense even annoying noise.
A year ago, a Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 player posted a video on YouTube showing a new feature of the game: the Jesus shot. In the Jesus shot you see Tiger Woods hitting the ball while standing on water. Right now an EA Sports reaction pops up in which we see the real Tiger respond. Nice to see how EA Sports follows and reacts on consumer generated content around their brands.
The Paper Baron is a sweet black & white advergame launched by the Australian Defence Force to generate some buzz around the Airforce recruitment.
There's nothing special in the gaming mechanism, it has been done dozens of times: your goal is to make a paper plane fly as far as possible. What actually got my attention in this project is the visual tone of voice, that looks definitely weird given who is using it for self promotion.
Needless to say, in Germany they know who to build great cars, and how to build websites that present cars in the right way. The latest work we are talking about is by Tribal DDB Hamburg, that created an online experience for the new Scirocco by Volkswagen.
There is a lot of content to explore starting from the chrystal box where the car is kept that looks like a reliquary. Users have two options for the navigation, they can either follow the storytelling in video to get an overview of the car (style, performance and experience), or they can decide to find out all the details going through a good amount of text and videos.
A very nice work by Publicis London and Psyop to launch the new flavour of Stolichnaya vodka: Stoli Blakberi.
At first sight, from a creative point of view, it might look not very original. To promote a russian vodka with a russian proganda style graphic is a bit of a dejavu', however its important to point out the consistency of this spot with all the communications by Stoli. Check out for example the Stoli Hotel online or the Stoli official website (but be aware they are far from being perfect or at Absolut's level).
The Coke Zero tv spot featuring the two tongues talking to the eye is one of the ugliest things I've seen recently. The visuals to me just look disgusting and I can't find it amusing... Anyway despite the fact I don't like the spot, I share a nice online execution of the same Coke Zero campaign recently done in Australia.
It's called Trust your Buds and. among a bunch of goodies, it features the adventures of two pink slimy dudes trying to spot the real Coke Zero bottle. Your task in the advergame is to make the tongues jump around the kitchen to spot the bottle. Trust me, it is not as easy as you might think.
From the UK, an interesting application of online geo marketing. Wagamama, an Asian chain with over 60 restaurants in the country, is about to start its first online campaign in partnership with Multimap. Their idea is to target anyone preparing to visit an area near any of their shops. As explained on Brand Republic, a message will appear on the screen calling for people to "click here for noodles in this area". Then, on click, all the restaurants in the area will be pinpointed on the map in detail.
I very much like the idea. It's a smart way to mix geo targeted and affinity marketing.
The latest Wonderbra outdoor campaign is all about user generated content. Conceived like a mosaic made of about 8000 images of women in their bras, the creativity forms the image of a close up shot of the bust of Wonderbra model Katie Green.
The underwear brand has also launched a website that is the interactive version of the outdoor and gives space to all the girls who submitted their photos to become part of the big shooting for the campaign.
A few months ago Vitra has launched a new, beautiful website to showcase its product and inspire interior designers. A very nice job by de-construct that proposes a clean and beautiful design not forgetting about the importance of usability: exactly what you expect from a furniture/design brand like Vitra.
The new site also features Collage an online magazine about architecture, design and culture.
After Google Trends, another great tool Google offers to online marketing professionals. It's called Google Insights for Search and it allows you to understand search behavior more and more in detail.
Like Google Trends, you can just type in a search term to see search volume patterns over time, as well as the top related and rising searches. You’ll also have the possibility to compare search volume trends across multiple search terms, categories, geographic regions, or specific time ranges.
I'm not exactly a fashion victim, but there are a bunch of fashion & lifestyle websites that represent a weekly must in my navigation agenda. Two of them, Yoox and Dazed Digital, have recently relaunched with a new look and improved features and functionalities.
Yoox is Italian, so I write about it with a touch of pride. In my opinion it's the best ecommerce store for fashion. They offer very good deals, user experience before and after the purchase is great, browsing through products is easy and smartly conceived to drive compulsary shopping and, last but not least, you can even pay with Paypal, which is a detail but, for me, makes the difference. The new version they launched a few weeks ago is simply amazing. They managed to improve a site that was already almost perfect, changing the navigation and adding new products to the inventory. I can't help feeling a bit worried for my bank account... :-)
E-commerce websites are getting flashier and flashier, and fortunately also the user experience keeps improving with the time. For example, let's have a look at the new Crumpler website, developed by Reactive.
I like it because it looks like a real Crumpler shop, with the bags displayed on the shelves and a touch of sense of humour in the copy that really connects you with the soul of the Australian brand.
Also, they paid a lot of attention to the visuals, adding crazy details that add a touch of fun & unexpected to the shopping experience (see for example the nun playing the guitar in the product/color section).
If you are a fan of Japanese cartoons you can't miss this advergame launched in Japan by Toshiba. I have no idea of the products it aims to promote, but it's fun to play and, most of all, is fun to watch & listen to. With all the animations and sound effects that accompain the gameplay, you really feel like you are watching a cartoon.
The anime characters in the game are inspired to the Yatterman series that was broadcasted in Japan back in the Seventies.
In France, Dior is online with a new website to promote its cosmetics for men. The experience begins with a very nice 3D video that takes the user throughout the entire products range, with the possibility to click and further explore specific cosmetics.
It's quite new to see such a sophisticated approach to online marketing cosmetics for men. It clearly shows there is a big business behind the category, but also that the target they aim to reach is the affluent 30 to 40 years old man that frequently goes online and expects quality and a touch of luxury from the products as well as from the website that presents them.
The guys at Fluent Simplicity have created the Twitter Brand Index, an impressive collection of links to brands and small/medium size companies that have joined the Twitter Mania.
I anticipate I'm not a big fan of Twitter. I gave it a try here on Adverblog about one year ago, but I soon quitted when I realized my updates weren't interesting for anybody, including myself. Despite the fact my Twitter is discontinued, I keep collecting "followers". But this is another story.
The point of my post is that I don't understand which the added value of Twitter for a brand. What I mean, is that Twitter is cool for personal messaging, to keep in touch with friends or even with blog readers at a personal level, but, if you have a look around, for a brand (or a publication) Twitter is just a duplicate of an RSS feed.
So again, I ask myself (and you): what's the value of Twitter for a brand? It's just a question of feeling cool and up to speed with the 2.0 era? Or there is (or there could be) more? Is there any brand out there using Twitter fully exploiting its conversational potentials or is it just another broadcast channel?
Here's the link to the AdAge twitter / and this is the Forrester's one shown in the images above.
I very much like this TV spot by BBDO Toronto and Nexus Productions for the Royal Bank of Canada. I like it because it's beautiful, it's as simple as that :-) A sweet & retro style for an animated piece that tells the story of a successful business.
The guys at GoViral got in touch with me to share some interesting stuff they have been recently working on. The first piece of content is a video of the presentation that Jimmy Maymann, GoViral's CEO, gave in Cannes last June. It's quite a long video, probably not very Web friendly, but it definitely offers good food for thought to understand how to get consumers attention online and how to activate your brand in the online media.
If you prefer reading to watching & listening, you are a lucky man (or woman) because GoViral also published a book with its research: The Social Metropolis. The book is available online in Flash version, but can also be downloaded as .pdf or, even cooler, it can arrive directly on your desktop at work... but you have to act fast... (and continue reading this post to the next page to find out what's the deal)...
I like usually enjoy videogames, I said I followed the CyberLions but I really don't understand why I found out about Greenpeace - WeAtheR only today (maybe because their PR agency dropped me an email? ;-). After this silly premise, let's get serious and explore the advergame that looks like one of the best Flash projects of the year.
Greenpeace Weather is a strategy multiplayer game on which players become activists to fight against the climate changes. Their mission is to join other activists to solve environmental crises that affect the planet using cooperation and coordination.
Developed also as a real game, made on recycled paper and recycled wood, soon it will be distributed in schools around Brazil.
From the UK, a lovely piece of work by Agency Republic to promote the Mercedes-Benz Smart ForTwo. The truth about Smart is definitely a great example of interactive storytelling: simple, wit and even very informative.
The experience is divided in five chapters and the journey is accompained by a narrator that explains the car characteristics' and engages users in humorous interactions. The navigation through the five videos is smooth, engaging and even relaxing I would say... In a way, I felt like I was watching a BBC documentary mixed with a light version of Little Britain.
I realized I don't cover online advertising executions enough. Since the good old banners are getting more and more important also in my daily work I've decided to start taking them in more consideration also here on Adverblog. I personally believe online media are still relevant in the online marketing mix, however I also think that if you decide to advertise online you have to do it in the right way... which means by using rich media and a serving technology such as Eyeblaster or Tangozebra that allows you to be really creative and interactive.
The whole point is quite straightforward: being creative and interactive is nothing special, it simply means to use and exploit the Web at full for its potentials. And the first campaign I'd like to present you is a great practical example of such approach.
From Brazil, a very nice website created by JWT Brazil for the new Ford KA. Imagine you're an insect, an ant, a bee or a grasshoper, small enough to explore the car in all its tiny details, upload your photo (but fortunately it isn't mandatory) and start your navigation.
I feel that to create something new and appealing for a car website is getting more and more difficult. In this case I think they did a very good job by using lovely illustrations and the horizontal navigation that really gives you the idea of a travel, of an exploration. Also the concept of transforming the user into an insect is a good idea to suggest the attention to details the journey will offer.
Advergames with a sexy touch are an habit in Axe's online marketing strategy. The latest one comes from South America, it has been created by Lowe Mexico, but it's based in Brazil, in the hot Rio de Janeiro. Yes, Rio is terrribly hot, and with so many beautiful girls around sweaty armpits are boys' worst nightmare. Luckly, there is Axe Seco Ultra Focus.
A funny and strong product related concept for a nicely developed game, quite basic in its gameplay, but definitely worth generating some buzz.
