SPARK: Buying chocolate with good deeds, NSPCC's 'shit kids say' and Columbia make a rain parka for a cat

HEINEKEN: THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE CUP TOUR

To celebrate the launch of the 2012 UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour, Heineken gave a group of unsuspecting travelling fans the football moment of their lives. Heineken's victims believed they were checking in as normal to the hotel. But when they entered their room they were met by an unexpected guest – the real UEFA Champions League Trophy – and hidden cameras captured their reactions.

AMC’S NEW ORIGINAL SERIES: ‘THE PITCH’

AMC's new original series The Pitch offers viewers an intense, gripping, never-before-seen glimpse inside America’s top ad agencies. Each week watch two agencies as they compete to win a new client the only way they can: by going head-to-head in a cut-throat, winner-takes-all showdown, a presentation known as The Pitch With only seven days to prepare, the pressure to perform is intense. The whining, the brainstorming, the blue-sky thinking: it’s all here as the teams work around the clock and pray for the moment of inspiration that will win them the job and keep their companies alive

EARN YOUR MEDIA: THE MISSION BEHIND METHOD’S MADNESS

This year, Method ended its investment in traditional advertising to focus on social and digital, where the advantage shifts from companies with the most ad dollars to companies with the most compelling mission. A great segment from the article reads "It [the shift from traditional to social advertising] also moves the advantage from the companies with the most ad dollars to companies with the most compelling mission. People may see and remember an ad, but they will share and bond over a great mission, allowing your idea to spread farther than your marketing budget could ever take you. That’s the beauty of social media."

FORGET QR CODES: YOUR PHONE CAN ‘READ’ THIS INK

Ever since the smartphone era began, companies have looked for ways to quickly get information from the offline product world onto the phone. Barcode scanning, QR codes and tags are some of the (less used) solutions. They all require cameras and specifically printed codes; what if we could just use what looks like a standard ink solution and the touchscreen on our phones?

That’s exactly the idea behind Printechnologic’s Touchcode; the German company has developed an electronic print product with interactivity. Printed material using Touchcode technology looks no different than a standard print product, is recyclable and can be used on a range of products, such as tickets, food items, business cards, or nearly anything that you can put ink on. A customizable electronic code embedded in the print process interacts with a phone’s capacitive screen, much like your fingers do, giving the handset a web address or file download.
 
GAPING VOID: SOCIAL OBJECT FACTORY

One of the most important ideas in marketing over the last few years has been one championed by Hugh MacLeod. Hugh has been arguing from his site gapingvoid.com that we should focus on creating ‘social objects’ – ideas in content form (e.g. text, images, documents, movies) that can be shared with other people quickly and easily to communicate an idea.

While he has been producing these ideas for clients for a few years now, the creativity thought-leader and his partner Jason Korman have formalized the offering with the launch of the ‘Social Object Factory’, where they claim they can help clients and businesses create and distribute ‘social objects’ for communications

NSPCC: SHIT KIDS SAY

The NSPCC have jumped on the internet meme bandwagon of ‘shit girls say’, a single topic blog and a YouTube video series that has been parodied across multiple categories, in order to raise awareness of child abuse. They enlisted Skins director Amanda Boyle and London agency Inferno for this heartbreaking YouTube spot, highlighting the fact that many people wait too long to report suspected abuse.

MONTIETHS: SORRY ABOUT THE TWIGS

It's generally not great when you discover non-food items in your food—a finger in your frozen custard, say, or a mouse stuck to your hot-dog bun. But of course, one man's disgust and revulsion can be another man's marketing opportunity. Colenso BBDO In New Zealand noticed a little something about these gross-out food horror stories—they get a lot of play in the press. So, the shop asked the mischievous question: What if the surprising object, minus the grossness, were put there on purpose? Thus began the twig project—in which Colenso started packaging random twigs inside 12-packs of client Monteith's Crushed Cider. The point was to reassure New Zealanders that Monteith's is made using fresh fruit, not concentrated fruit syrup—while unnerving them first, and all but forcing them to call the company and complain.
 
MCCAIN: LUCKY SPUDS

McCain's, the frozen food brand, is launching its biggest on-pack promotion to encourage consumers to play a digital game called 'Lucky Spuds'. The promotion runs for 84 days across the brand's Home Chips, Oven Chips, Rustic Chips, Hash Browns and Roast Potatoes ranges in the. A code on McCain's packs will allow consumers to log onto the Lucky Spuds game once-per-code on Facebook. The game features a potato field that consumers must explore to find the "lucky spuds". McCain’s is giving away £1,000 each day to the player with the fastest time. The fastest score during the 84-day period will win the £100,000 grand prize.

FRIENDS REUNITED TO RE-LAUNCH

Friends Reunited was the original UK social network, and it also used to have the most visitors. Now, 12 years after it first launched, it’s going to relaunch with a focus on memories and nostalgia. This is all very well, where it not for that fact that Facebook Timeline also focuses on the past, making it hard for Friends Reunited to return with a vengeance. Too little too late?

KOTEX: WOMENS INSPIRATION DAY ON PINTEREST

Kotex created an out reach campaign using Pinterest to find 50 women in Israel and what inspires them. From there, they created individual inspiration packages using what each woman had on her Pinterest Boards, turning them into gift boxes which were ultimately pinned and blogged about. It’s basically a standard blogger campaign but with Pinterest as the main network holding them all together, interesting…

BRITISH AIRWAYS SERVES AIRPLANE FOOD IN POP-UP RESTAURANT

Airplane Food. Even the words conjure up images of mystery meat or the mushiest-pasta you’ve ever had, paired with old lettuce leaves and factory produced dressing. Well, British Airways is hoping to change your mind: on the ground, at least. For two weeks in April, they’re launching a pop-up restaurant in London based around the flight experience. Called Flight BA2012, for £50 you’re treated to a three-course meal inspired by British Airways menu’s from 1948, prepared by a real chef – overseen by Heston Blumenthal – inside what looks like an aircraft. The whole shtick is to publicize BA’s status as the official Olympic airline

THE NIBBLED JAFFA CAKES OF BRITAIN

Jaffa cakes are a British biscuit institution, made by McVities, they are one of the most popular snacks in the country. So, to celebrate the upcoming Olympic games being held in London, McVities challenged sculpture artist Dominic Wilcox to test how far he could push his creativity using only jaffa cakes as his material.

Using his teeth as tools, Wilcox nibbled away to shape landmarks and even the Loch Ness monster which weaves in and out of the plate. Perhaps the most impressive of the tiny structures is the miniature version of Stonehenge, which standsatop another cookie. Wilcox even shone a light through the orange plastic the biscuits came in to create a sunset effect. Check out the video.

GUARDIAN LAUNCHES STORYTELLING AUDIO APP

Guardian News & Media has launched a really interesting experimental mobile app for iPhone and Android, which is inspired by its London home of King’s Cross and the stories that surround the historic area of London.

The free mobile app – ‘Kings Cross – Street Stories’ is described as an immersive audio walking guide that automatically activates sounds, music and stories relevant to your GPS location as you walk through the streets of King’s Cross providing listeners with old and new tales from this part of London.

What a wonderful way to discover a City…
 
COLUMBIA OUTDOOR CLOTHING: GREAT MOMENTS IN TRYING STUFF

Columbia’s taken a few notes on what works in social. To punt its Omni-Dry waterproof fabric, it made an ultra-small rain parka for a cat. And then got it wet. Brilliant.

They’ve also tried a few other experiments including ‘sweaty buns’ which should be watched because it’s just disgusting!

A CHOCOLATE STORE WHERE THE PRICES ARE GOOD DEEDS, NOT CASH

Indulge your sweet tooth with your best intentions at the Anthon Berg Generous Store. Recently unveiled in the heart of Copenhagen, the company’s Generous Store featured the usual assortment of the premium chocolates Anthon Berg is known for. Goods were sold, but money never changed hands. The only suitable form of payment at the Anthon Berg Generous Store is the promise to do a good deed for someone you love. Decked out with price tags that read, “Served breakfast in bed to your loved one,” or “Help clean your friend’s or house,” the Generous Store products demand a lot more effort than fishing a creased bill out of your pocket. When you commit to the price of your glossy goody bag, your “transaction” is processed on an iPad. Through Facebook, you let the lucky recipient of your good deed know what you have in store for them.

APP OFFERS STRANDED PASSENGERS STORIES BASED ON DELAY TIME

Public transport users in Brazil looking for entertainment while they travel have already been offered 24x7’s Cultural pay-what-you-want book vending machines located in subway stations. For travellers who weren’t planning on taking a lengthy journey however, Vertragings App now offers stories organized by the time it takes to read them for those stuck on a delayed service. Available from the App Store for EUR 2.99, VertragingsApp hosts a range of short stories tagged with the average time period needed to complete each piece – including 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 45 and 60-minute stories. The idea behind the app is that travellers experiencing delays due to poor weather conditions or problems with the route can search for fiction or non-fiction from well-known authors that they will be able to finish before they step off the train or bus.